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and lost track of time
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Now let's start today's episode.
You chew it.
You stretch it.
You blow it.
And, to be honest,
sometimes you stick it on things.
And, not just once but
all the time?
If you always swallow your gum,
This is What If
It's minty,
fruity,
and mmm, delicious.
We love it so much that
that's expected to double by the year 2025.
Chewing gum
might even help your health.
A study from Swinburne University said that
chewing gum can help reduce stress levels.
And a 2002 study showed
that chewing a piece of sugar-free gum
could improve your short-term memory.
But it also contains many ingredients
used in things like
caulking,
white glue, and
plastic bags.
So,
Well, first,
let's start by saying that gum
does not stay in your stomach
for seven years.
You knew that, right?
A healthy body
can expel a piece of gum in
a few days.
So, swallowing a piece of gum
from time to time
isn't going to kill you.
But if you always choose
to gobble down your gum,
it could be another story.
The problem is,
gum doesn't break down like other food.
Gum, like some seeds and corn,
can turn into indigestible masses called
bezoars.
They can accumulate in your digestive tract,
and even cause a blockage.
It's because gum
is a kind of rubber.
Originally made of chicle,
a sap from the sapodilla tree
in Central America,
it was synthesized in a laboratory
after World War II.
Do you still wanna try this?
Seriously?
All righty then.
You've been swallowing
several pieces of gum
each day, for a few days.
And they are building up
in your digestive system.
If foods,
fluids,
gastric acids, and
gas
build up behind the blockage,
it could create pressure.
You would probably experience bloating,
diarrhea,
vomiting, and
constipation, among
other things.
And pain.
You would definitely feel pain.
You should probably
pack a few things and
seek treatment at the closest hospital.
If it's a partial blockage, then
you're lucky.
It's easier to treat the problem.
You'll likely get
intravenous fluids to rehydrate your body.
A catheter into your bladder
to drain out your urine, and
a tube in your stomach
to relieve pressure, swelling, and vomiting.
But if you have a complete blockage,
it could tear you apart.
Your intestines could rupture,
leaking harmful bacteria
into your abdominal cavity.
That could kill you.
Even if your stomach or intestines
don't rupture,
a blockage
can prevent blood from
getting to other parts of your intestines.
That can cause infection,
tissue death,
sepsis, and multiple organ failures.
And that could kill you too.
Just in case you're wondering.
In both cases,
you might need to go
under the knife and
that would be no fun.
So, yeah, it's
a terrible idea to
keep swallowing your chewing gum.
Now, if you have a taste for chewy stuff,
what would happen
if you only ate raw meat?
Ewww.
Well, that's a story for another What If.