By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Want to know what REALLY happens when you swallow your gum?
8363f52a036dd68ae5012dd889a9640694ee6a0afb248cea44f96b61ee596f5e
Is there a giant gum wad sloshing around in your stomach? We're here to reveal the truth. - photo by Amberlee Lovell
Raise your hand if your mom (or dad) warned you about the perils of swallowing gum?

Youve likely heard all the rumors. Like, if you swallow it, the gum will stay in your stomach for seven years or worse never come out.

As a child I was convinced that eventually I would swallow so much gum that it would eventually build up in my stomach and start coming up my throat. Ew.

When you hear rumors like this, you do all you can to avoid swallopwing that delicious bubble. But, accidents happen! Is there truly someone who has never, EVER swallowed his or her gum?

Maybe you gulped to hard and down it slid. Or theres no good place to throw it away, and you dont want to be the person responsible for a gooey mess ending up on someones shoe.

And other times, you just get so excited, it accidently slips down your throat.

So are we all doomed? If you swallow gum, does it stay in your stomach for seven years?

Well, great news gum swallowers it doesnt. (Although its still not recommended that you swallow it.)

It is true that most of the components of bubblegum are not found in nature," gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan told WebMD. "And as such we dont have the enzymes to break them down. But eventually gum does get through the intestine and into the colon, where it is mixed with stool and then excreted."

And that eventually doesnt mean seven years. At most it could take about three days, but likely will come out in one. It's not going to get stuck to your intestines or find all the other swallowed gum friends to combine into a giant throat-climbing wad.

Since gum offers no nutritional value, its pretty pointless to swallow. Only the carbohydrates from the sugar are digestible. The rest are unnatural ingredients that your body cant do anything with. This is likely where the rumors about it staying in your body for so long come from.

So, yeah, swallowing gum wont kill you, but it makes your stomach work extra hard to digest something that gives you no value.
Sign up for our E-Newsletters