Birkengold Xylitol Chewing Gum
Most schools do not allow chewing gum to be chewed during class. However, researchers have found out that chewing gum has a positive effect on the attention span. While the chewing muscles are working, the brain is better supplied with blood and thus receives more oxygen. Activating the nerve cells in the mouth in turn stimulates the brain cells. Many inventors, artists and creative thinkers chew gum at work.
Even in the Neolithic Age, people in Northern Europe chewed small lumps of birch resin. The ancient Greeks used the resin of the mastic tree. In China ginseng roots were chewed. The great-grandfather of chewing gum, as we know it today, is the sapodilla tree from Central America. If you boil the white juice that drips out of the cut bark, you get a viscous mass, which is called ”chicle“ when dry. Even the Mayans chewed small chicle pieces over 2,000 years ago. After the mysterious demise of the Maya civilization, other high cultures took over. The Aztecs chewed it to clean their teeth and to refresh their breath. However, only children and unmarried women were allowed to chew chicle in public. Married couples were expected to chew within their own four walls. Public chewing was a sign that you were still looking for a partner.
In North America, John B. Curtis is the inventor of chewing gum. In 1848 he launched the first commercial ”chewing gum“. Apparently, his creation with spruce resin and beeswax was based on an old Indian recipe. The breakthrough of chewing gum came only a few years later. The inventor Thomas Adams checked out Mexican chicle to develop a natural rubber alternative of that. As his experiments remained unsuccessful, he changed his strategy. In 1859 he was granted the first patent for chicle chewing gum. The first generation of these chewing gums came in the form of small balls that were still tasteless. But soon other manufacturers began to sweeten their chewing gums or added flavours. The shape also changed in the late 19th century. Instead of the small balls, there were now strips with notches that allowed the traders to tear off pieces of the same size. It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that smaller, individually wrapped chewing gum strips became the standard. In the 1940s they came to Europe and Asia in American GI baggages. A short time later, chewing gum was chewed on all continents.
In the first half of the 20th century, so much chewing gum was produced that chicle was temporarily unavailable. Because chicle production is complex and relatively expensive, many chewing gum manufacturers began to produce the chewing gum mass synthetically. However, most manufacturers keep its composition a secret. Birkengold relies on renewable raw materials for its xylitol chewing gum. The chewing mass of Birkengold chewing gums is made from the sap of the sapotilla tree and candelilla wax. They are sweetened with xylitol instead of sugar. The vegan Birkengold xylitol chewing gums are available in flavours such as cinnamon, tea tree oil mint, spearmint and fruit. In addition to its classic xylitol chewing gums, Birkengold also offers a range of cosmetic dental care chewing gums. They also get their taste only from xylitol and natural flavours. Whether on the go, at home or simply in between - Birkengold xylitol chewing gums are always a flavourful choice.
