Recent research has revealed a connection that may seem hard to believe and results in the fact that headaches, especially in children and adolescents, are directly related to regular chewing gum consumption. The underlying reason lies, according to the experts who have carried out the study, in the pressure that we exert on the jaw when we chew these products. This action can contribute to the generation of migraines, especially when the jaws are in a precarious phase of development, as is the case with minors.
Relationship between the generation of headaches and the consumption of chewing gum
It is difficult to identify such a specific cause in age intervals as complex as childhood or adolescence. There are numerous factors that, in these cases, can trigger the generation of headaches. In the case of adolescents, these abnormalities may be due to migraine episodes, tobacco use, alcohol intake, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, or noise. According to research carried out by Tel Aviv University, many of the patients studied repeated a common trend: chewing gum for at least one hour a day.
Around eighty percent of the cases studied, headaches and mild migraine attacks disappeared or were mitigated after a month without consuming chewing gum. Therefore, given these conclusions, it is possible to estimate that chewing gum consumption -specifically the forcing of the jaw muscles that it entails- can be considered as a direct factor in the generation of frequent headaches.
For obvious reasons, if we suffer from migraines on a regular basis, we should consult a doctor to find the exact cause of our discomfort. If we are regular chewing gum consumers, we can try to stop this habit for a while and see if the episodes of headaches subside, since if this were the cause, there would be no other kind of solution than the one described.