Whether we want to admit or not - or even just think about it - some of us are putting thing into our bodies that we don’t actually know what they’re made of.
You know, maybe you’re partial to a nice dirty, greasy fat doner kebab on a night out but then are quickly grossed out when you realise what’s in it.
And similarly, although you’re not technically eating it, people can’t believe it after finding out what chewing gum is actually made from.
Back in the day, chewie, chud or ‘chudder’ (if that’s seriously what you call it) was made from the chewy sap of the Sapodilla tree.
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But nowadays, we’re chewing away on something rather different.
BBC Science Focus says that most companies now use a substance called polyisobutylene to make gum. Yep, that’s the main component of butyl rubber, the thing that’s often used in the manufacture of inner tubes.
Not every company that lists ‘gum base’ will use this but still, seems weird right?
“Polyisobutylene is mixed with plasticisers and materials - all food grade - to make the gum mixture chewable,” it explains.
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“The success of chicle and polyisobutylene lies partly in the narrow temperature range over which materials soften. So a material that's firm and easy to mould becomes soft and pliable in the warmth of the mouth.”
If you’re more in to the natural, organic way of living, not all chewing gums are made with artificial substances like this as sometimes there made with chicle - that tree sap from before.
And scientists have apparently also looked into using corn zein to make that essential chewy part of chewing gum.
Don’t start panicking about it all though, because for chewing gum to be safe to have in the first place it will have needed to be classed as such to be sold.
Although, while this might have unearthed a bit of worry over what chewing gum actually is, there’s still the age-old scare of swallowing it.
But thankfully, those terrifying rumours of it piling up in your stomach have been debunked time and time again.
Because, to put it bluntly, stuff in your stomach eventually receives marching orders whether it's been broken down by the acid or not, and the chewing gum continues its merry way along your digestive tract. So eventually you’ll end up sh**ting it out basically. No worries.
Topics: Science, Food And Drink
Jess Battison