Jerusalem: Chewing too much gum can give teenagers and younger children migraine headaches, a new study has warned and until now there has been little medical research on the relationship between gum chewing and headaches.
At Meir Medical Center’s Child Neurology Unit and Child Development Center and community clinics, Watemberg noticed that many patients who reported headaches were daily gum chewers.
30 patients between six and 19 years old who had chornic migraine or tension headaches and chewed gum daily to quit chewing gum for one month.
Two previous studies linked gum chewing to headaches, but offered different explanations. One study suggested that gum chewing causes stress to the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, the place where the jaw meets the skull.
The other study blamed aspartame, theatificial sweetener used in most popular chewing gums. TMJ dysfunction has been shown to cause headaches, while the evidence is mixed on aspartame.
Bureau Report
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