Nearly 15 percent of all chewing gum varieties sold promise to provide health-enhancing supplements to users, so Penn State researchers studied whether two vitamin-supplemented products were effective at delivering vitamins to the body. Their results validate the concept of gum as an effective delivery system for at least some vitamins.
Nearly 15 percent of all chewing gum varieties sold promise to provide health-enhancing supplements to users, so Penn State researchers studied whether two vitamin-supplemented products were effective at delivering vitamins to the body. Their results validate the concept of gum as an effective delivery system for at least some vitamins.
The research marks the first time that researchers closely scrutinized vitamin delivery from chewing gum, according to Joshua Lambert, professor of food science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. The findings, he suggests, indicate that chewing gum — a pleasant habit for many — could be a strategy to help reduce vitamin deficiency around the world, a problem described as an epidemic.
Even in the United States vitamin deficiency is a serious problem, with nearly one in 10 people over the age of 1 deficient in vitamins B6 and C, according to a recent analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
"I was slightly surprised that no one had done a study like this before given the number of supplement-containing gum products on the market," Lambert said. "But there is no requirement that nutritional gums be tested for efficacy, since they fall into the category of dietary supplements."
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