Swallowed chewing gum stays in your stomach for seven years
The seven-year figure is one of the most repeated playground warnings about swallowing gum. Doctors who've gone looking for old wads with endoscopy and imaging keep coming back with the same answer.
Myth or fact? Reveal
Myth. It's a myth. Gum base resists digestion like other fiber, but the body still moves it through the gut and out within a few days — endoscopies have never turned up old wads sitting in anyone's stomach. Swallowing large amounts can rarely cause a blockage in small children, but the seven-year claim itself is false.
— Scientific American, Fact or Fiction?: Chewing Gum Takes Seven Years to Digest