Polymer != Plastic. Plastic is a polymer, but not all polymers are plastic. Wtf is this source.
this post was submitted on 09 Dec 2024
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A lot of gum base is made from plastic. Below are some more sources.
- polyethylene
- vinyl acetate
These ingredients are hidden behind “trade secrets” so they aren’t listed on the wrapper.
The irony about asking if gum could be made from a plant source — what do you think it was made from originally? I’d much rather chew on chickle than something that’s going to deposit petroleum-based microplastics in my gut. I get enough of that from food packaging already. “Natural” gum bases still exist and if you Google around you can find lists of chewing gums that still use them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gum_base&wprov=rarw1
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723063878
Your first link is about micro plastics, and they even say not all brands have them. So if a product is made of plastic and doesn't always contain micro plastics (which are found in the air and water and soil and foods), then....polymers might not actually be plastics sometimes. Or in gum, many times.
Random person who took a material science course in college here, polymers like polyethylene are constructed from their component monomers in chemical reactions. Not all monomers end up in a polymer chain, and some remain trapped in the material. These are what leeches out of the plastic over time. Better manufacturing processes have cut down a lot on this over time but it's not something that can be eliminated entirely. These are also referred to as micro plastics sometimes, and sometimes not--it depends on the knowledge of the person speaking and whether or not it suits their point. Anyways, there's your not so fun fact for the day.
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It does cite an FDA statement and federal regulations that allow polyethylene as an allowed ingredient in "gum base." Other sources are more broad just calling it "polymers."
But this points out that "gum base" is a very vague term that can include lots of ingredients. Which kinda sucks.
It's also used in fiber supplements.
Are you sure your aren't thinking of osmotic laxatives? Miralax, for example, is polyethylene glycol.
You are correct.
Like another response stated, the big concern to me was the ambiguity that companies are allowed to have behind “gum base” as an ingredient, and this article dove into that more than others I could find on short notice.
I have no buy-in to the source, so please downvote and report to remove it for infactual information! I will leave it here to foster thoughts and discussion around unusual sources of unexpected materials we may unwittingly put into our bodies.
I’ll admit lately I get more than freaked out anytime I hear about potential microplastics getting into my system orally. It would be a relief to know this is a false alarm, though I’ll still personally be looking into alternatives instead of grabbing whatever off the checkout lane next time.
It's largely not worth freaking out over, in the sense that they are ubiquitous enough that it's impossible to meaningfully avoid. By all means reduce your exposure if you can do so without great inconvenience, but we are all collectively inundated with the stuff and just have to wait for science to figure out what effects (if any) it will have. "Only worry about what you can control" and all that.
It is 100% discretionary product. People can just stop buying it and deny corporate revenue
Rubber and plasticizers but the idea is an oil based product.
Also silk, wool, cellulose, protein
That's why you shouldn't swallow it. Like toothpaste it stays in your mouth until you are done with it.
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Before that was the case, chewing gum as we know it today came from the sap of the chicle tree. It was chewed without much processing by indigenous people in mesoamerica, but it was (of all people) former Mexican general Santa Ana who brought the concept to the U.S. when he emigrated to New York- yes, he decided after fighting against the U.S., it might be a good place to live- and a partner helped him to develop it into chewing gum.
Chicle is still the word for gum in spanish.
Ah, so that's where Chiclets gets its name.
It is indeed!
Thank you for the little history lesson! (not /s)
True Gum is explicitly marketed for not containing plastic, but IMO it loses flavor much quicker. Still, it's worth trying. Maybe it's okay for you.
It also starts to fall apart. It's not bad, but given the choice between this and no gum, I'll choose no gum.
Thank you for the link! Will definitely check them out. The last 2 days have been so frustrating because I basically depend on gum to distract my AuDHD brain enough to get through difficult social interaction outside of the house. Had to stop myself more than once from finishing off the trident in my purse.
I wanna try the original chicle types of gum that they made in ancient times
There are some brands.
Yeah they use chicle but I can't get them around here. I wanna try the old ancient recipe. Not from a factory.
https://www.natural-chicle.net/natural-gum-base made from pure chicle. You gotta add the flavors etc on your own.
Chicle isn't the only natural chewable by the way. Many resins can be jawed on for a while, I'm very fond of chewing mastic resin. Mastic comes from Greece, and has a piney taste when you've chewed it for a while.
Mentos is just a discarded petroleum product.
The freshmaker!
How else are you supposed to get your daily dose of Vitamin P?
"Alexa: play Breathe (in the air) by Pink Floyd."
I guess there was some truth to it staying in your stomach for 7 years...
It stays in your balls forever!
TIL most water is made of Hydrogen
Most water?
I heard some water is made of oxygen
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