Should i chew gum while running

Does a mint flavor bring out more benefits than say a true Bubblegum flavor? Is chewing gum on your run something you really should be doing? Gum has been around for eons, since the Neolithic period where it was made from birch bark tar.

The birch bark was thought to have antiseptic powers and medicinal benefits. The Mayans and Aztecs were the first to evaluate the benefits of gum, they used chicle, which comes from a tree and was used for many subsequent years. It might remind some of the gum called Chiclet, and yes the name is a nod to the original chicle gum. The Ancient Greeks chewed mastic gum, like all early gum, it was also made from trees and is thought to have been used as an aid for oral health.

While the entire world has its own ancient version of gum, the innovation and commercialization of gum took place in the United States. The first Americans made gum from paraffin wax, which was a little better tasting the spruce gum first made by the Native Americans. The first flavored gum was made by a pharmacist in the late s. The most common health benefit is related to dental health and sugar-free gum. Chewing sugar-free gum has been linked to a reduction in cavities and plaque.

Gum not only helps to make your breath better, it assists in removing food and bacteria. After a meal, chewing a piece of sugar-free gum for 20 minutes can help prevent tooth decay since chewing produces saliva. Chewing gum after a meal replaces brushing and flossing in a pinch.

Whatever the reason may be, is there a benefit to chewing gum while running? And if so, what are the benefits to this? The study concluded that athletes were able to run longer distances and decrease their time to exhaustion. However, while this may be a positive study, the improvement is largely related to the inclusion of caffeine, which is already known to improve athletic performance.

Caffeine is widely used by endurance athletes across a range of sports. This is largely due to performance-enhancing benefits, and there is substantial scientific evidence to support this. However, there are multiple ways you can deliver caffeine to the body. Coffee, energy gels, and tablets are usually the most common, but recently delivering caffeine through chewing gum provides the athlete with an alternative.

While your typical chewing gum will not affect your performance, many runners chew gum during a run to help the respiratory system. Chewing gum while exercising forces the athlete to focus on breathing through the nose rather than the mouth. However, it may contribute to a more relaxed breathing pattern, helping the runner relax their breathing and upper body.

It is also important to note, doing so will add to the workout load, so it is wise to limit chewing to easier workouts. The gum in my purse is for breath-saving purposes. After eating, I may need to freshen my breath, so I always keep a pack of Orbit sweet mint gum. The gum in my desk at work serves 2 purposes so I have 2 different types of gum there.

Orbit sweet mint gum for "work-out gum" and a periodic breath freshener and Dentyne FIRE spicy cinnamon for a quick breath freshener. The Orbit gum has much longer lasting flavor, so it will last through my workout, while the Dentyne is short-lived, but stronger. The gum in my car and at my house is my "running gum.

The flavor of my running gum helps me feel ready to run, it can give me a distraction, it keeps my mouth from getting dry, and allows me to go further without needing to hydrate. I have forgotten my running gum at races before and found myself needing every water stop possible — even for a short race.

Does this mean I am more prone to dehydration? I am an obsessive water drinker all the time, so I tend to be well-hydrated. Let me assure you, that I have not choked yet. I have managed to accidentally swallow my gum on occasion and have even ended up having it fall out of my mouth, but so far I have managed to avoid any emergency situations involving my gum. Also, the risk factors that are associated with chewing gum while running especially choking is something to be taken seriously. We hope the mentioned information will help you make a wise choice.

Always remember that everything you do during your run will have both short term and long term effects. Before you decide to start the habit of chewing gum, make sure you know all the facts. Do you chew gum while you run? Do you agree with the information in this article? Feel free to share this with fellow runners. Chewing Gum With Running. Getting into the habit of chewing gum can greatly increase your sugar intake which in turn will lead to higher dental bills.

Even if you use sugar-free gum, the ingredients may still have health hazards. Some athletes claim that chewing gum on the run actually reduces your performance because it distracts you from your run making you less effective.