Everytime I stepped on chewing gum, the very first word out from my mouth will be ‘YUCKSSSS’ !
ps: ‘Why can’t those people be more responsible and hygiene?’ The second reaction I will have. Then I wonder, why chewing gum can be so sticky and elastic? DangDang….! I found the answer through internet!
We know that there are many brands of chewing gum in the market, but do you know the main ingredient in chewing gum that made it so chewy?
Originally, chewing gum is made of chicle, the latex sap of the sapodilla tree. Chicle is made up of thousands of C5H8 isoprene units and called as polyterpene. Besides, other natural gum bases such as sorva and jelutong also used as the component to make chewing gum. After World War II, synthetic rubber is created by chemists and therefore replaces most natural rubber in chewing gum. The examples of synthetic rubber are styrene butadiere, polyvinyl acetate and polyethylene.
Sapodilla tree and its sap.
Others than the gum base as main ingredient, chewing gum also contains sweeteners, flavorings, colorings and softeners. The purpose of adding softeners are to blend the other ingredients and help prevent the gum from becoming hard or stiff. Ingredients of softeners are such as glycerine or vegetable oil. The mint flavor chewing gum is the most popular chewing gum flavor that can be found in the market. Besides, other flavors such as peach, lemon, strawberry, apple and green tea also can be found due to demanding of consumers.
Chewing gum is made of gum base component, thus makes it sticky. By the way, do you interested in the process of making chewing gum? Let me tell you here. =)
How to make chewing gum?
1. First, put the tree sap into a pot for about 115°C until it turns really thick.
2. Next, the thicken tree sap is filter through a fine mesh screen to let the liquid go through. This
process is keep hot.
3. Mix the powdered sugar, corn syrup or glucose, softeners, flavorings, colorings, preservatives and other additives in mixing vats and then gather in cool air
4. The gum then goes into extruders, machine that makes the gum smoother and finer.
5. After that, the gum goes into the sheet rolling machines.
6. The gum put in a machine that could cut the gum into the shape desired.
7. Then, the gum put in a pan where it is whirled with wax.
8. After that, the gum is put on another pan and put it in a machine to cool it.
9. Finally, you take it out and you can EAT. ^^
The purpose of adding corn syrup or glucose is to coat the sugar particles and stabilize their suspension and keep the gum flexible. Thus, corn syrup or glucose serves as humectants in chewing gum. The amount and grain size of powdered sugar will determine the brittleness of the result.
Do you thinking now that actually we are chewing tree sap added with flavoring and glucose? The answer is definitely YES! Long time ago, researchers discovered that the Mayan Indians once chewed chicle, which was the sap of Sapodilla tree mentioned above. Now, you should be glad that we get to chew ‘tree sap’ with a variety of flavors, smoother and tastier instead of tasteless tree sap that they chewed.
Apart from being a snack in our daily life, chewing gum offers us some health benefits that will surprise you! By the way, as each person is unique and will have different responses to chewing gum, there are no standard benefits on everyone. Research indicate that chewing gum may good for improve memory, stress reduction, increase focus, alertness and concentration, manage weight, improve oral health and etc. So, the conclusion is: chewing gum is our BEST FRIEND during EXAM!
a. Chewing gum improves memory
I bet most of you will think: How it works to improve memory? @@ Let me tell you that! Actually, the act of continuous chewing or moving our jaw improves our memory. While people chew, the activity in the area of our brain that is crucial for memory (the hippocampus) increases. Besides, some research shows that insulin receptor in the hippocampus play a role in memory too. The body and mind fuel i.e. the glucose level is increases when we chewing gum. Moreover, blood flow to the brain increases when we chewing gum and thus the heart rate increases too. The increased heart rate speeds up oxygen delivery to the brain which can enhance our cognitive power. As heart rate increases, heartbeat and blood pressure also speed up and that enough to wake up both left and right hemispheres to work together.
b. Chewing gum reduces stress
Psychiatrists and psychologists believe that chewing gum reduce tension, release nervous energy and provide an outlet for frustration and irritation. There is a recent research that shows the rhythmic motion of chewing gum has a stress reducing effect due to relaxed and satisfied feelings.
c. Chewing gum increase focus, alertness and concentration
When we sleepy, we will drink coffee to take away the sleepy feeling. Here, I introduce you the substitute for coffee, chewing gum. Chewing gum is a better choice as chewing gum that is sweetened with xylitol does not raise blood sugar and also it has good taste. Chewing can take away sleepiness and thus some people become more attentive and feel more alert when they chew gum.
d. Chewing gum help to manage weight
Girls, this definitely is a good news for you. =) According to some studies, the adults who chewed the gum ate 36 calories less of the snack than adults who did not chew gum. Both regular and sugar free chewing gum has the effect of helping adults to eat less. Besides, the physical act of gum chewing helps to reduce your cravings for high calorie snacks and chewing gum can burn about 11 calories per hour according to a group of scientists.
e. Chewing gum improves oral health
I believe that most of us will chew chewing gum when we have bad breath to freshen the breath. Besides, chewing gum can whiten teeth by reducing stains and preventing stains from accumulating and reduces plaque. When we chew, the amount of saliva increases which is the most important component of oral health and powerful protector of the oral cavity. Saliva contains buffers, minerals and antibacterial components, thus it can help to correct a potentially harmful environment. Furthermore, sugar free chewing gum does not cause tooth decay. In turns, it demineralizes tooth enamel and has antimicrobial effect. Hence, those who chewed sugar free gum after eating had fewer cavities than those who did not.
As a reminder, there is no standard effect on everyone for the benefits stated above. However, chewing gum is always a better snack than others. Lastly, I hope those who eat chewing gum can be more responsible and hygiene by disposing your chewing gum properly because chewing gum is difficult to remove once it dries.
Ps: I do not wish to step on any chewing gum again! I hate it!
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