Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years
| Swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "If you swallow chewing gum, it stays in your stomach for seven years because the body cannot digest it." | |
| Domain | Food, Nutrition & Wellness |
| Tactic | Fabrication |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 20th century |
| Origin | Parental warning and schoolyard lore |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Food, Nutrition & Wellness | |
The warning that swallowed gum stays in your stomach for seven years is a classic childhood myth. The body cannot digest gum base, but it does not need to. Like other indigestible material, swallowed gum passes through the digestive system and leaves the body within days.
The claim
Children are told that gum will build up inside them for years.
What the evidence shows
- Passes through. The digestive tract moves indigestible material along; gum is expelled normally.
- Rare problems. A 1998 report in Pediatrics described a few children who developed blockages after habitually swallowing large amounts of gum, sometimes with other objects. These cases are rare.
Sources
- David E. Milov, Jeffrey M. Andres, Nancy A. Erhart and Dennis J. Bailey, "Chewing Gum Bezoars of the Gastrointestinal Tract," Pediatrics 102, no. 2 (1998).