AP
Posted: 3:50 am
August 19, 2008
Can you chew gum and recover from surgery at the same time? British researchers say it's a great idea for some patients.
Chewing gum may speed the return of normal bowel function after colon surgery, a new analysis of five studies suggests.
Some patients have difficulty moving their bowels following colon surgery, but chewing gum may actually fool the body into good digestion.
Gum gets the juices flowing, literally. Besides saliva, it may stimulate gut hormones and pancreatic secretions, according to the study's authors, researchers at Imperial College London.
The findings, published in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, come from an analysis of five studies with a total of 158 patients.
