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It is a classic playground scare story - if you swallow chewing gum it will stay in your digestive system for seven years.
这是一个经典的耸人听闻的故事：如果你吞下了口香糖，它将在你的消化系统停留七年。
But according to scientists at the American Chemical Society, while gum is harder to digest, it tends to pass harmlessly through our guts much like other foods.
但是据美国化学协会的科学家表示，虽然口香糖很难消化，但是它和其它食物一样，都能从肠道排出。
When we eat something - whether it be normal foods or chewing gum - it goes through three main phases in our bodies.
当我们进食时--不管是正常的食物还是嚼过的口香糖--都会在消化道内经历三个主要阶段：
The first of these phases is the 'mechanical' phase (otherwise known as chewing).
第一阶段是“机械”阶段（也就是咀嚼）。
The second phase involves enzymes - biological catalysts which speed up chemical reactions - which are found in your saliva, stomach juices and intestines.
第二阶段是酶促化学反应消化阶段—--这些消化酶主要存在于唾液、胃液和小肠液中。
Enzymes 'kick start' the reactions to break down the food into its constituent parts, whether they are fats from foods such as cheese, carbohydrates from food such as pasta, or proteins from meat or nuts. These constituent parts are the nutrients your body can use.
酶能“启动”这些化学反应，把食物分解成脂肪、碳水化合物或者蛋白质等基本成分。比如从奶酪里分解出脂肪，从面团里分解出碳水化合物或者从肉类、坚果类中分解出蛋白质。这些成分就是人体需要的营养物质。
Stomach acid, which is made up of hydrochloric acid and salts, leads the third phase of digestion. After this point, whatever remains goes straight down the toilet.
第三阶段就是胃酸介导的消化。胃酸由盐酸和盐分组成。经过此步之后，剩下的东西就以粪便形式被排出体外。
How does your body process chewing gum?
那么身体又是如何处理口香糖的呢？
As you'll have probably noticed, the main difference when processing chewing gum is the fact that during the 'mechanical phase' you don't crush the chewing gum down into tiny bits - that would somewhat defeat the purpose of chewing gum.
可能你已经注意到了，处理口香糖，和其他食物最大的不同就是，在“机械”阶段，口香糖不能被分解成小块--如果真的被嚼碎了，一定程度上就没有达到吃口香糖的目的了。
Instead, if you swallow the gum, it will go down in one big wad before it enters phase two - the enzyme phase.
因此，如果你将它吞下去了，它就会整个一大团直接进入第二阶段--酶消化阶段。
Most of the molecules in gum are carbohydrates, oils and alcohols. As with any other food, on their own these molecules are easily broken down. However, the video explains 'your body doesn't have an enzyme for the rubber polymers, regardless of whether they're natural or synthetic' so the gum passes through to Phase three.While stomach acid is strong, it still can't dissolve the rubber polymers in the chewing gum.
口香糖里的主要成分是碳水化合物、油类和醇类。与其他食物一样，仅仅是这些分子的话，它们很容易分解。然而，相关视频解释称：“你的身体里没有能分解橡胶基质的酶类，不管是天然的还是合成的。”所以，口香糖来到了第三个阶段。尽管胃酸很强大，但它仍然不能分解口香糖中的橡胶基质。
In fact, the rubbers are very good at shielding from acids in general - that's one reason we wear rubber gloves for protection.
事实上，橡胶从来就没有怕过任何强酸，这也是我们在进行涉及强酸类实验时戴橡胶手套保护的原因。
So, while part of your gum does survive digestion, it does not remain in your stomach for seven years. The video concludes 'even though you don't break down the rubber polymers, your body has no problem moving that lump of gum through your digestive system and out the other end within a day or two.'
尽管口香糖的部分物质确实在消化系统中幸存下来，但它却不会在肠道中呆上7年。因此，相关视频最后总结道，“尽管身体无法分解橡胶基质，但仅需一到两天，你的肠道就能将这团橡胶排出体外。”
