Chewing gum is a treat older than almost any other candy in the world. Prehistoric people enjoyed chewing tree resin. Ancient Greeks chewed what they called "mastiche," which consisted of lumps of mastic tree resin that they felt made their breath fresh and helped clean their teeth. Native Americans chewed sap from trees, and early American settlers chewed tree sap mixed with beeswax, which made the mixture softer.
History
Although people had been chewing tree resin and paraffin for many years, the first commercial gum, called State of Maine Spruce Gum, was sold by John B. Curtis in 1848. More modern gum was invented by Thomas Adams, an inventor who was introduced to "chicle" by Mexican general Santa Anna. Chicle is the resin of a sapodilla tree, and it is somewhat rubbery in texture. Adams tried to use chicle to make items like rain boots and toys, but instead found that the texture worked well as a gum base and it retained its flavor longer than anything else on the market. Adams obtained a patent on February 14, 1871, and sold his gum under the name Adams New York No. 1. Later, he added flavor to his gum and called it Black Jack. In 1906, Frank Henry Fleer invented bubble gum, calling it Blibber-Blubber.
Gum Base
The gum base is what makes gum chewy. According to the International Chewing Gum Association, the gum base is "made of a combination of food-grade polymers, waxes and softeners that give it the texture desired by consumers and enable it to effectively deliver sweetness [and] flavor."
Production
Gum is made in a factory that first melts the gum base until it has a maple syrup consistency. Next, powdered sugar, corn syrup, softeners and flavoring are added as huge mixers blend the ingredients. The mixture is cooled and machine-kneaded to improve its texture, and then it is passed over rollers that flatten it into sheets the thickness of the pieces of gum they will become.
Gumballs are made by pressing the cooled gum mixture into the shape of a pencil, which is then fed into a machine that forms it into balls. The balls are coated with liquid sugar and then a wax-type product, which produces the candy coating.
Benefits
The International Chewing Gum Association reports that sugar-free gum is "beneficial to oral hygiene" because "saliva is your body's natural defense against tooth decay. It contains buffering agents that help neutralize the acid that causes cavities. When you chew gum, the acid is neutralized after only 20 minutes of chewing."
In addition, some studies suggest that chewing gum helps people have better concentration and focus and that the chewing process helps relieve tension and stress. A study conducted in 2002 reported that "chewing gum appeared to improve people's ability to retain and retrieve information" according to PioneerThinking.com's article "Chew Your Way to Better Study Habits."
Warnings
You may have heard that if you swallow gum, it will stay in your stomach for a long time, but this isn't true. Gum isn't intended to be swallowed, but if it is, the gum passes through the digestive system like roughage and is not dangerous. However, some chewing gum contains ingredients such as sorbitol and maltitol, both of which can cause a mild--but not harmful--laxative effect on the body.
Chewing gum can cause choking, but the The International Chewing Gum Association says they are "unaware of any fatal choking incidents to date." Just to be safe, though, they recommend not to give your child gum until he is able to chew without swallowing and he understands the dangers of choking. Toddlers may have all of their teeth, but they are active and may inhale the gum inadvertently.
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