Israeli Study: Gum Chewing Causes Migraines

Gum zu letovah.

Chew on that.

If your child suffers from headaches, don’t give him gum. A new Israeli study suggests that gum chewing contributes to a high percentage of headaches among teenagers. According to the researchers, when the gum chewing is eliminated – so are the headaches, reports Yediot Achronot.

The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the Pediatric Neurology journal.

Chronic headaches, including migraines, are a common phenomenon among children and teens: About 2.5% of children under the age of 12 complain of regular headaches, and the rate goes up to 40% with age. Up to 75% of children will continue suffering from strong and irritating headaches by the age of 15.

A one-year study conducted by Dr. Nathan Watemberg, Dr. Manar Matar and Dr. Miki Har-Gil of the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, together with Dr. Muhammad Mahajnah from the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera, looked into the link between gum chewing among teens and headaches among 183 children and teenagers ages six to 19, according to Yediot. The patients were divided into four groups: The first chewed gum for about an hour a day, the second chewed gum for up to three hours, the third for up to six hours, and the rest for more than six hours a day. They were then asked to kick off the habit of chewing gum, and were reexamined a month later.

In the first group, which had chewed gum for about an hour a day, all patients reported an improvement in their headaches. In the second group, an improvement were observed among 91% of the patients, in the third group among 75%, and in the group which chewed gum for over six hours a day – 80% of patients reported an improvement in their headaches.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}