Does Chewing Gum Give You Ulcers?

There is no medical proof that chewing gum can give you ulcers. There are several differing opinions to whether chewing gum is harmful to the health or not.

There are some health risks in relation to aspartame which is often used to sweeten the gum. Long term use of aspartame has been in some studies linked with cancer, diabetes, neurological disorders, and birth defects. The quantities of aspartame in chewing gum are minimal and it is also possible to buy chewing gums that do not contain aspartame.

On the other hand another research has indicated that chewing gum may help to make people smarter by improving memory and brain performance. In tests, scientists found the ability to recall remembered words improved by 35% among people who chewed gum.

The reasons leading to these results were found to be that chewing raises the heart beat, which causes more oxygen and nutrients to be pumped into the brain and chewing also triggers the production of insulin, which stimulates a part of the brain involved in memory.

You're not specific about what kind of ulcers so here's my two cents. My dad chewed cinnamon gum regularly for many years. He was a dentist and needed constantly fresh breath for working in close proximity with his patients. After a while, he started developing ulcers in his mouth and wasn't sure why. They went away when he quit chewing gum and came back when he resumed. He tried switching over to a peppermint flavor and the ulcers went away. It seems that after all those years, his mouth just developed a vulnerability to the cinnamon and it was causing sores. He hasn't had a problem since.