If you are a fan of chewing gum, especially those that stay in the mouth for hours without losing properties such as: softness, characteristic texture, prolonged flavor, etc. Find out now which ingredients provide all these particularities of the popular sugar-free chewing gum:
Softness: Have you noticed that when we remove the gum from the packaging, it has a more rigid shape that gives it its shape? But we just put it in our mouth and we already notice the change in texture: the gum feels soft when we chew it, do you know why?
The “glycerin” present in the composition makes the gum soften when chewed, the temperature inside the mouth activates this function.
Elasticity: this feature makes the gum unique: being able to chew, bubble, play with food can be a relaxing pastime. The question arises: which component is responsible for this feature?
The so-called "Gum base" is the main component, it is produced from petroleum derivatives, this is perhaps the biggest attraction of chewing gum: the synthetic mass that stretches and pulls.
sweet taste: the fact that they do not contain sugar does not mean that they are not sweet, this feature is provided by the "mannitol", a natural sweetener also found in beets.
But the advantages do not stop there, some of these gums still remove tooth stains. This is possible thanks to Sodium Stearate, an exfoliant capable of removing impurities from the surface of the teeth, which, of course, does not dispense with traditional brushing.
Sodium Stearate: exfoliating salt also present in soaps.
In fact, the absence of sugar in the composition, along with the ability to remove stains, convinced the Brazilian Dental Association (ABO) to approve this treat as not harmful to teeth. Hence the reason for its popularity, in addition to having a delicious taste and not being caloric, it also promotes your oral health.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Brazil School Team
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
food chemistry - Chemistry - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "What's in my gum?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/o-que-tem-no-meu-chiclete.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
