> Is gum ever NOTICEABLY smaller when you spit it out than when you first began chewing it? No.

Actaully, it is. I've noticed it. After chewing my gum for some hours, when I spit it out I notice that it's significnantly smaller than when I first put it in my mouth. Unless it's some kind of illusion or I unknowingly swallowed some of the gum (which is unlikely, as I've noticed the gum getting smaller more than once), the gum has really shrunk because I ingested a significant amount of sugars or fats or whatever from it.

Even so, I don't think gum is food. The main purpose of eating food is to nourish yourself. You don't "eat" gum at all, but even if you did, it wouldn't be for the nutritional value, even if gum contains nutrients. Let me put it another way: you eat food when you're hungry in order to satisfy your hunger. Youi don't chew gum to satisfy hunger.

knivetsil