Not to burst your bubble, but your gum might be packed with plastic.
A new study found that chewing a single piece releases hundreds — if not thousands — of microplastics into your saliva, which you’re most likely swallowing.
That’s a real blow, especially since a growing body of research suggests these tiny particles may pose a threat to our health, potentially even raising the risk of three chronic, harmful diseases.
Microplastics — tiny fragments of plastic ranging from 1 nanometer to 5 millimeters in size — are released as larger pieces of plastic break down over time.
Research has shown that humans ingest a stunning amount of plastic every week through the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe.
These dangerous specks have been detected throughout the body, including in the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, blood, testicles and breast milk. One study even found that the average brain contains an entire spoonful of microplastics.
Something to chew on
The new study, led by UCLA researchers, aimed to uncover yet another way these harmful particles make their way into our bodies: through chewing gum.
Gum is made from three main ingredients: a rubbery base, sweeteners and flavorings. Natural gums use plant-based materials like chicle or tree sap for the base, while synthetic gums rely on petroleum-based rubber.
“Our initial hypothesis was that the synthetic gums would have a lot more microplastics because the base is a type of plastic,” said Lisa Lowe, a PhD student at UCLA.
To find out, Lowe chewed seven pieces each of five brands of synthetic gum and five brands of natural gum. Researchers then measured the number of microplastics in each sample of her saliva.
The results were striking: an average of 100 microplastics were released per gram of gum, with some individual pieces shedding as many as 600.
Given that a typical piece of gum weighs between 2 and 6 grams, researchers said a larger piece could release up to 3,000 plastic particles.
“Surprisingly, both synthetic and natural gums had similar amounts of microplastics released when we chewed them,” said Lowe.
The research team estimated that if the average person chews between 160 and 180 small sticks of gum per year, they could ingest around 30,000 microplastics annually.
“Our goal is not to alarm anybody,” said Sanjay Mohanty, the project’s principal investigator and an engineering professor at UCLA. “Scientists don’t know if microplastics are unsafe to us or not.”
An invisible threat
Though no human trials have nailed it down, animal studies and research with human cells suggest that microplastics could be harmful to our bodies, potentially damaging cells, triggering inflammation, disrupting organ function and altering immune responses.
New research also points to a troubling connection: higher exposure to microplastics is associated with a greater prevalence of hypertension, diabetes and stroke.
A study due to be presented next week examined the potential connection between microplastic levels in water and health issues in US coastal and lakeshore communities between 2015 and 2019.
“When we included 154 different socioeconomic and environmental features in our analysis, we didn’t expect microplastics to rank in the top 10 for predicting chronic noncommunicable disease prevalence,” said Sai Rahul Ponnana, a research data scientist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio and the study’s lead author.
Notably, cancer wasn’t consistently linked to microplastic pollution, a surprising twist that contradicts earlier studies suggesting exposure could be tied to cancers of the lung, liver, breast and prostate.
The researchers stressed that while there’s an association between microplastics and high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, it doesn’t prove causation.
They said more research is needed to figure out whether microplastics are directly causing these health issues or if they’re just occurring alongside other environmental or lifestyle factors that contribute to disease.
How to protect yourself
In UCLA’s gum study, most of the microplastics were released within the first two minutes of chewing. So, if you want to reduce your potential exposure to microplastics from gum, Lowe suggests chewing one piece for a longer time instead of popping a new one.
Mohanty also urged people to “be mindful” when they’re done chewing.
“The plastic released into saliva is a small fraction of the plastic that’s in the gum,” he explained, adding that improperly discarded gum creates another layer of pollution.
Ponnana echoed these sentiments.
“The environment plays a very important role in our health,” he said. “As a result, taking care of our environment means taking care of ourselves.”
Though completely avoiding microplastics may be nearly impossible, experts say there are other steps you can take to limit your exposure.
Start by ditching your plastic water bottle, boiling and filtering tap water, avoiding plastic cutting boards and never microwaving plastic food containers. If you’re a tea drinker, experts recommend opting for tea in paper bags or as loose-leaf, rather than in plastic bags.
