Study finds microplastics in gum
If you are anything like us, you are addicted to chewing gum. It's a universally recognized rule of girlhood that the majority of us always carry extra gum in our bags.
Pop it in your mouth. Chew. Fresh breath.
Life continues.
What if I told you that this minty grail is hiding a secret ingredient.
Microplastics.
The sticky truth
According to a recent UCLA pilot study, chewing gum, both the “natural” and synthetic kinds, can release plastic particles into your saliva while chewing.
The study also states that around 100 microplastics particles can be found per gram of gum, with some releasing up to 600 particles per gram. This means that heavy gum chewers are potentially ingesting up to tens of thousands of particles per year.
While this does sound dramatic at first, do not spiral just yet.
This does not mean that your Hubba Bubba habit is immediately super toxic, so pause your panicking just for a moment.
It just means that gum (like all the other ultra-processed products you consume) contain synthetic polymers that can shed microscopic fragments while chewing.
In simpler words it shouldn’t be the start of your villain origin story — although who are we to stop you– but just another reminder that we live in a plastic world.
The nuance of it all
Scientists are still figuring out what microplastics really do inside of our bodies. We already know that they come from things like plastic water bottles, seafood and food packaging.
Gum isn’t the only unexpected source though; microplastics have also been showing up in feminine hygiene products particularly those made with synthetic fibers, so pay attention ladies.
There is currently no clear evidence that the small amount of microplastics released from chewing gum is actually harmful; it’s just a small contributor to overall exposure.
So, there is no need to throw out all your gum yet, maybe just reconsider the amount that you chew.
Chew on this
If you are currently in your twenties, you are probably existing in a perpetual state of reading labels and caring about ingredients all while trying to cling to some sort of sanity.
Chewing gum occasionally probably changes nothing, but if you are consciously trying to reduce your microplastic intake, think about chewing one piece for longer rather than constantly swapping fresh ones to reduce your overall exposure.
Or quit the habit all together.
What’s weird though, is that it isn’t just gum. Plastic exposure has become evident.
Our generation grew up on convenience. Fast, loud and addictive.
Now we are the first ones to really sit back, evaluate and confront the long-term consequences of it. From skincare packaging to God awful polyester clothing to food systems, we are basically existing inside of a synthetic living experiment.
Gum is just a minty example of this.
So… Are we quitting gum?
Maybe. Maybe not.
All we know is that we need to stay curious and informed about what we wear, put on our bodies and consume.
By: Milan Meyer and Anaïs Bosbach
Photo: Quinten de Graaf via Unsplash