Gum base is made from a combination of waxes, resin, and elastomers. The elasticity and stretch that come from the gum base ...

You may have another culprit to consider: It’s gum, according to a new pilot study that found chewing just one piece can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics into saliva.

Microplastic release from gum occurs primarily within the first two minutes of chewing due to the abrasive action, not enzymatic breakdown. By eight minutes, 94% of the microplastics are released.

Researchers at UCLA found that chewing gum – even gum labeled "natural" – can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics per piece into saliva and potentially be ingested.

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 ...

A person chewing 160 to 180 pieces of gum a year, they said, could potentially be ingesting 30,000 microplastics. And while the effect of ingested microplastics on human health still isn’t clear, ...

Extrapolating this further, a 2–6 gram piece of gum may release as many as 3,000 microplastics. Multiply that by the average amount of gum chewed annually, that you could be looking at around ...

The plastic shed by chewing gum was three times wider than a red blood cell. SmirkDingo / Alamy Stock Photo. This is important because the microplastics that are known to be capable of harming ...

Q: Mint gum is the only thing that gets me through the workday. Is all that chewing bad for my health? If you’re a regular gum chewer, you’re in good company.