Kid-Friendly News about Ketchup and Gum

By Ethel Tiersky

May 30, 2012

Two products that kids love--chewing gum and ketchup/catsup--have been in the news recently. Kids will be happy about both discoveries: that chewing gum is actually beneficial and that ketchup may soon (or someday) be a breeze to remove from the bottle. Here are the details on these cheery stories.

Ketchup:

CNN reported it, and so did the Chicago Tribune, among many other news media. When this discovery hits the stores, ketchup will no longer put up a fight when you want to remove some from the bottle. The delicious red condiment will slide out with little or no effort on your part (we hope not onto the table and floor as well as the burger and plate).

The invention that will make mealtime so much easier is called "LiquiGlide." The product is a spray that coats a bottle and makes it nonstick. It's a flavorless coating made from FDA-approved food materials that won't leach into the contents of the bottle. It was created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology doctoral candidate Dave Smith and a team of mechanical engineers and other scientists.

Smith won't reveal the formula, but he points out that Liquiglide has many other potential uses, for example, to make mustard and salad dressing also flow easily and to prevent clogging of the lines of nonedible products such as oil and gas. The Chicago Tribune quotes Smith as saying, "We've patented the hell out of it." Want to see the product in action on ketchup? Click here: http://articles.chicagotribuneo.com/2012-05-24/news/ct-talk-liquiglide-ketchup-bottles-0525-20120524_1_ketchup-bottles-condiment

So when will these wonderful easy-flow bottles be available for purchase? It's too soon to say. At present, Smith is negotiating with several bottling companies.

Chewing Gum:

No, we're not moving from nonstick ketchup to nonstick gum. This good news is about the possible benefits of chewing. My long-time favorite is that chewing gum helps to keep the ears from hurting during an airplane ascent or descent. But now there have been discoveries of additional benefits that chewing gum companies can tout--and it's a good thing because chewing gum sales are on the decline. The Chicago Tribunequotes a Wrigley representative who said that teens were the largest group of gum-chewers, and 20 years ago 89% of them reported chewing gum on a weekly basis; today, the figure has declined to 60%.

Ask parents and/or teachers, and they'll tell you that gum and kids make an annoying combination. Gum seems to gravitate from kids' mouths to their faces, hair, desk tops, car seats, and pockets. During my childhood, when adults still had confidence that they knew what was good for kids, gum was often banned by parents and teachers, especially by those who were sick of seeing big pink bubbles blotting out their view of children's faces.

COMMENTS FROM THEUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY WELLNESS LETTER AND THE AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION:

Will gum-chewing help students perform better in school? Some of the studies contradict each other, According to the Wellness Letter (referencing an article in the journal Appetite), some early studies found that gum chewing improved performance on memory tests, perhaps by increasing blood flow to the brain and stimulating an information-processing section of the brain. Later studies not only found no brain benefit but also suggested that gum-chewing made test performance worse. To further confuse the issue, a recent study in Appetite found that gum-chewing improved scores on certain cognitive tests--but only if chewed before, not during, the test. The benefits lasted only 15-20 minutes. Chewing during a test was not recommended by these recent researchers because of "interference due to a sharing of metabolic resources by cognitive and masticatory processes."

Will chewing gum help the chewer control weight and live longer?

Although the process of chewing uses up only 11 calories an hour, if it keeps one's mouth from devouring a candy bar, it will have a slenderizing effect. The latest study, in Appetite, found that chewing gum left women feeling less hungry, and, as a result, the subjects consumed slightly fewer calories afterward. Note: the women in the study were not chewing sugarless gum, so the researchers don't know if that would have the same effect. Of course, if chewers are reaching for gum as an aid in breaking the smoking habit, gum could be a life-saver.

Will the gum-chewing habit damage teeth or protect them?

Gum has the ability to prevent cavities by increasing the flow of salivaand neutralizing the acids produced by bacteria in the mouth. Says the Wellness Letter: "Sugar-free gums are best for this, notably those with xylitol (contained in Trident), which suppresses the growth of cavity-producing bacteria." The Wellness Letteralso says that not enough is known about the effect of xylitol during pregnancy and breast-feeding, so the site advises pregnant women and nursing mothers to avoid its use.

What does the ADA (American Dental Association) website have to say about the benefits and pitfalls of sugared gum? Well, only sugarless gum has the ADA Seal of approval. Here's the message: "Chewing sugarless gum has been shown to increase the flow of saliva, thereby reducing plaque acid and strengthening the teeth and reducing tooth decay. Of course, chewing sugar-containing gum also increases saliva flow, but it also contains sugar which is used by plaque bacteria to promote decay-causing acids. Further research needs to be done to determine the effect of chewing sugar-containing gum on tooth decay." So, all things considered, is sugary gum beneficial or harmful? We just don't know.

COMMENTS FROM ADDITIONAL ONLINE SOURCES:

A few more online sources we checked mention what we've already discussed plus these additional points:

The website 3 fat chicks on a diet (I love that name!) says, "Chewing gum can help you fight stress and anxiety." To that, the site adds that gum can help the chewer relax and dispel feelings of frustration or irritation.

The same site also mention that chewing gum after meals can improve digestion. Why? Because gum-chewing increases saliva flow, it causes more frequent swallowing, which helps protect against acid reflux by keeping digestive acids in the stomach. However, the sugar substitute’s sorbitol and xylitol (both used in gum, sorbitol more commonly) can have a laxative effect and can cause flatulence.

A Yahoo! article by Aida Ekberg returns us to the subject of gum-chewing as a learning aid: "In one study done by the Baylor College of Medicine, students who chewed gum while studying and taking rests had a 3 percent increase in their math test scores. Teachers have also reported that gum chewers seem to be better at paying attention, staying focused, and not disrupting class by being noisy." It seems that the whole matter of gum-chewing and academic work needs further research before we'll have the definitive answer.

Still, all points considered, there seem to be numerous benefits derived by merely chewing a stick of gum. Now, wouldn't it be great if gum-chewing were a more attractive and quieter habit? And wouldn't it be nice if younger kids didn't swallow the stuff? Swallowing gum probably doesn't aid digestion.

Source(s):

Chicago Tribune "No more ketchup kvetching" May 25, 2012

http://articles.chicagotribuneo.com/2012-05-24/news/ct-talk-liquiglide-ketchup-bottles-0525-20120524_1_ketchup-bottles-condiment

University of California, Berkeley Wellness Letter, February 2012.

Chicago Tribune, Business section, "Seeking sweet spot for sugarless gum," May 8, 2012.

WebMD “XYLITOL SIDE EFFECTS AND SAFETY"

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-996-XYLITOL.aspx?activeIngredientId=996&activeIngredientName=XYLITOL

3fatchicks.com “5 Surprising Health Benefits of Chewing Gum"

http://www.3fatchicks.com/5-surprising-health-benefits-of-chewing-gum/'

voices.yahoo.com "The Many Health Benefits of Gum" by Aida Ekberg

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-many-health-benefits-gum-3179323.html?cat=5

wikipedia.org "Sorbitol"