Side effects of chewing gum: If you are also fond of chewing gum, then this news will promote you 440 watts. American scientists have discovered a surprising thing. Chewing chewing gum leads to very small pieces of plastic, or microplastics, in our mouth. It goes straight into the abdomen with saliva produced by chewing gum. This has increased concerns about microplastic pollution. There are very small particles of microplastic plastic.
- According to an American research, chewing gum contains plastic.
- When we chew it, this plastic breaks into small particles.
- These particles enter our body together with our saliva.
This research paper was presented in the US.
The American Chemical Society meeting was recently held in San Diego. A research paper was presented in it. This research saw how people are taking microplastics inside themselves through chewing gum. The research was done by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the US. He took samples of saliva after chewing the chewing gum of various brands. UCLA student Lisa Lov chewed seven gums of ten different brands. The scientists then analyzed the chemical analysis of his saliva.
What was found in the investigation
During the investigation, he found that an average of 100 microplastic pieces originate from one gram of gum. Some gums were leaving more than 600 pieces. The weight of a piece of chewing gum is usually about 1.5 grams. According to this, people who chew chewing gum per day can swallow 30,000 microplastic pieces every year.
Microplastic inside the body?
During this research, microplastic has been found in many parts of our body. Such as lungs, blood vessels and brain. However, Sanjay Mohanty, the chief scientist of this research, said, “I do not want to scare people.” It is not yet proved that microplastics harm humans. But getting such a large amount of quantity is a matter of concern.
Is chewing gum artificial?
Most of the chewing gum sold in the market is synthetic. Artificial means which is not natural. It contains polymers made of petroleum. Polymer is a type of chemical that makes you feel good in chewing gum. But the name of plastic is not written on the packet. It has only “gum-base” written in it. Mohanty said, “Nobody will tell you the real thing.”
Microplastics are also present in natural gums.
Researchers examined five artificial glue and five natural glue. Natural glue contains polymers made of tree glue. Microplastic was found in both types of glue. Most microplastic goes out within the first eight minutes of chewing. Researcher David Jones at the University of Portsmouth said that gum companies should provide more information about the material. He said that the presence of plastic in gum shows that dirt is coming from other places as well. Jones said, “When people find that chewing gum -making elements are also found in car tires, plastic bags and bottles, they get a little scared.”
