A recent pilot study found that chewing gum – even those labeled "natural" – can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics into the body, according to researchers at the University of ...

Still, a gum-chewing habit could add up. Based on their findings, the researchers calculated that someone who chews 160 to 180 small sticks of gum per year would ingest about 30,000 microplastic ...

Extrapolating this further, a 2–6 gram piece of gum may release as many as 3,000 microplastics. Multiply that by the average amount of gum chewed annually, that you could be looking at around ...

There are some plastic-free chewing gum alternatives on the market, including Nuud. In 2018, Iceland became the first UK supermarket chain to stock and sell plastic-free chewing gum when it ...

The study estimated that an average person chewing 160 to 180 sticks of gum per year could ingest approximately 30,000 microplastics, significantly increasing the overall annual intake of ...

An unrelated 2016 study found that gum chewing is a significant source of phthalate exposure. Phthalates are chemicals used to increase the flexibility and durability of plastics.

Q: Mint gum is the only thing that gets me through the workday. Is all that chewing bad for my health? If you’re a regular gum chewer, you’re in good company. In one 2019 study of over 3,000 U ...