Chewing gum isn't just good for your teeth; it can improve your health in other areas as well. While chewing gum didn't improve memory, it did help improve people's attention spans, made them more alert and reduced their reaction times in a study published in "Nutritional Neuroscience" in February 2010. Additionally, if you're having certain types of surgery, you may want to chew gum regularly while you're recovering. A preliminary study published in the journal "Hepato-Gastroenterology" in 2006 found that people who chewed gum three times per day after surgery for colorectal cancer were able to pass stool sooner than those who didn't chew gum. This could lead to a quicker switch from a liquid to a solid diet and potentially improve the recovery of patients. Further larger studies are necessary to verify this effect.