Benefit of chewing: Current evidence and future direction
Issue 4 2010 / 26 August 2010 / Taichi Inui, Technology Scientist, Wrigley Science Institute
Oral stimuli, such as flavour, taste and mastication, have been suggested to impact both oral and systemic health. Chewing gum, as a non-nutritive source of such oral stimuli, may serve as a food surrogate and help control adverse health conditions related to food intake, such as caries and obesity. Recent studies have shown potentials as well as challenges in impacting human physiology and psychology by non-nutritive mastication.
Oral food processing is an inevitable step in food digestion and thus intake of nutrients. While there is no direct contribution for nutrient intake by masticating elastic substances, there is a relatively long history of humans chewing natural gums, such as chicle in Central America and mastic in Greece. Chewing gum typically consists of three main ingredients: gum base to provide texture, sweeteners to provide taste, and flavours to provide a pleasant note in addition to taste. Thus, while gum chewing has little impact on intake of nutrients, there are multiple oral stimuli provided by chewing gum. Indeed, gum chewing provides a unique experience in which the consumer can enjoy oronasal stimulation as well as exercising their facial muscles without ingestion of food. These combinations of orofacial sensory stimulation without significant caloric and nutrient intake provide chewing gum a unique position in the food industry.
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