chewing gum diarrhea
Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
chewing gum diarrhea
A type of osmotic diarrhea caused by an excess of sugarless chewing gum, which contains hexitols–eg, sorbitol and mannitol; hexitols are major constituents of sugar-free dietary foods, are not metabolized by bacteria, remain in the GI lumen, and ↑ intraluminal osmotic pressure, resulting in diarrheaMcGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.