Chewing Gum May Speed Up Recovery from Colon Surgery

Okay, admittedly, this is stretching the ’superfoods’ label a bit, but hey, it does have a positive medical impact. Chewing gum has been demonstrate to help bowel movements get back to normal following colon surgery.

When the trial results were combined, patients who chewed gum took an average of .66 fewer days to pass flatus (gas) and an average of 1.10 fewer days to have a bowel movement, both signs of returning intestinal function. “Postoperative length of hospital stay was assessed in four trials comprising 134 patients,” the authors write. “This was also reduced in the chewing gum group by longer than one day; however, this result was not statistically significant.”

Gum chewing is thought to act as a kind of “sham feeding,” stimulating nerves in the digestive system, triggering the release of gastrointestinal hormones and increasing the production of saliva and secretions from the pancreas, the authors note.

The data doesn’t look that impressive, one needs to consider the potentials on a large scale basis; imagine the impact of reduction in hospital stay (even if just a day less!) on the healthcare system. And with such a simple and cheap solution, too!