Chewing gum can give you fresh breath and help cigarette smokers kick the habit but can it also give you wrinkles? Before you spit out your gum in haste, though, know this: there have not yet been any certified clinical studies to prove a link, although a Washington, D.C. cosmetic surgeon told MSNBC that she’s believes excessive gum-chewing contributes to the loss of skin elasticity.
A Nebraska dermatologist and plastic surgeon says, in the same story, that he has seen a “certain pattern of wrinkles” around the mouths of gum-chewers. And it’s been long recommended that the anti-wrinkling facial fillers like Restylane can be less effective if the patient chews gum. Gum-chewing and its effects is a regular beauty blogging topic of apparent concern. Consider, for example, that a companion MSNBC poll found that almost a third of the respondents would give up gum because it might lead to wrinkles. But what is the truth behind a Dentyne habit and saggy skin?
There have been some studies on chewing gum and they have actually found positive results. For example, one study of middle school students in Puerto Rico found they had fewer cavities if they chewed sugar-free gum after each meal. And a Mayo Clinic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that it’s possible to lose 11 pounds a year chewing gum all day at a rate of 100 chews per minute. It raises the metabolic rate — weird, right?.
So before you chuck your chewing gum, consider this too. Dr. Joel Schlessinger, the Nebraska cosmetic surgeon who thinks chewing gum is “responsible” for some degree of facial wrinkling, also says, repetition is the key. “We’re not talking about the occasional gum chewer. We’re talking about the person who has a habit of chewing gum and is rarely if ever seen without a piece of gum in their mouth,” he says. So perhaps the key here is chewing in moderation?
Photo by Mary (Mayr) via Wikimedia Commons.
