An inquest heard excessive consumption of gum may have contributed to 19-year-old Sam Jenkins' death
Too much chewing gum may have played a role in the death of a “vibrant, happy and fun loving” 19-year-old shop worker.
An inquest heard Samantha “Sam” Jenkins, 19, of Felinfoel, Llanelli, collapsed and died suddenly after complaining of a headache at home in June 2011.
The inquest heard Samantha’s cause of death was cerebal hypoxia (brain swelling) caused by convulsions due to low salt, magnesium and calcium levels in her body.
But experienced Morriston Hospital pathologist Dr Paul Griffiths who carried out a post mortem examination also suggested her death could have been contributed to by the laxative effects of excessive consumption of sugar free chewing gum – her favourite brand being Trident.
Dr Griffiths told the inquest he would be filing a “yellow form report” to the UK’s Drug Monitoring Unit to flag up a possible harmful reaction from large amounts of everyday sweeteners such as aspartame which are in chewing gum and fizzy drinks and diet products.
He said he examined Trident chewing gum and found it to contain sweeteners like sorbitol and aspartame – ruled safe by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) here and also by authorities in the USA.
Dr Griffiths said if Samantha had been consuming up to 14 sticks a day of the gum it would have amounted to “a substantial amount” of sweeteners, up to 16 gms and may have played a role in reducing her levels of salt, magnesium and calcium levels though he said there was no evidence to show the laxative effect of chewing gum had ever played a part in anyone’s death.
He said there had been two reports in the British Medical Journal of patients losing weight due to sweeteners but that was as far as the evidence went.
Dr Griffiths told the inquest when he carried out the post mortem examination he found five “large lumps” of bright green coloured mint smelling chewing gum in Samantha’s stomach, something he had never encountered before.
Samantha’s mother Maria Morgan, 45, has spent four years campaigning for Tuesday’s inquest which she hoped would finally explain the mystery of her daughter’s death which was initially put down to natural causes.
Describing how Samantha collapsed, Mrs Morgan said: “She had complained of feeling unwell that day and told me she felt a headache coming on and had pins and needles. She went upstairs that night and suddenly shouted down to me ‘Is this what it feels like to die? I feel paralysed’.”
Mrs Morgan told the inquest: “On Friday June 3, 2011, myself and my family’s lives were turned upside down and destroyed forever when my beautiful daughter Sam became unwell late one evening and suddenly collapsed at our home.
“She was rushed to hospital and put in an induced coma to control her fitting and convulsions while getting her salts back up to a normal level – unfortunately the damage had already been done and the continuous fitting had caused her brain to swell causing her to have a brain stem death.
“She never recovered consciousness.”
Walesonline reportage
Wetin I no go read?
ReplyDeleteWow!
DeleteTo think that people rush and buy them because they are sugar free and still this happens?
May she rip
I tell you.
DeleteWow
DeleteHow is cerebral hypoxia = brain swelling and caused by low salt, mag, and calcium??? Cerebral Hypoxia is low oxygen supply to the brain and can be caused by inhalation of smoke, choking, strangulation, heart attack, drowning etc. This article is very questionable.
DeleteHian.....and kid sis living with me can chop chin gum for Africa oooo!!!
ReplyDeleteAs chewing gum don dey kill, babes biko make Una beware of all these broke died wretched CHEWING GUM BOYS!!!
Dead* not died* . Ehya...may her soul rest in peace
DeleteLmao @ chewing gum boys!
DeleteThey are poisonous.
Lol. I expected that
DeleteLMAO
DeleteBroke ass chewing gum boys can kill
Hahahahahahahahaha
Apparently she swallows it hence the reason they believed it contributed to her death. If chewing alone kills, Ferguson should be dead.
DeleteLmao
DeleteXOXO MYSTERY
Mysterious bitch, I go give you slap one day oooo!!!
DeleteHaha @Okija Wife through the internet? Lol
DeleteLolzzzz....yes o through internet!!!
DeleteLmao!
Hian!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSugar free can kill u
ReplyDeleteNa wa
Hian, i for don die since na fllg this headline.
DeleteThey say "sugar-free" and everyone runs to buy thinking they're avoiding sugar.....no know say na frying pan to boiler
ReplyDeleteI think we've discussed about aspartame here sometime back
ReplyDeleteToo much of everything is bad
I thank God I'm not addicted to anything .
Oxygen and Magnesium.
ReplyDeleteAspartame again?
Am officially off anything low/no sugar/artificial sweetener.
That's y I love my sugar. May her soul find rest.
DeleteOliviasilk yes o, was going to say all the diet drinks are worse. Better to drink the normal ones sef if u want fizzy drinks. I was one of the people deceiving myself with low sugar drinks before my dietician advised against them. I no know wetin person go chop again wey no go get side effect.
DeleteY is Alex Ferguson still alive?(not wishing him death). D dude can chew gum for d world.
ReplyDeletehmmmmm life and its mysteries
ReplyDeleteNo matter how rich, too much of everything is bad, even too much money sef!
ReplyDeleteLol
Like seriously
ReplyDeleteI have been told about these sugar free gums. And I can chew and swallow for Africa oh. It was even a doctor that said the aspartame content slowly body system and warned against plenty chewing. Ahh, as I don read am now... But e go hard oh. Maybe I reduce to 1 or 2 a day and then sign off completely.
ReplyDeleteU swallow gum??? Hmmm. Even agbalumo gum, I can't swallow.
Deletehe who has ear,should hear oh.all the people wey dey chew gum,leave gum alone,make gum leave una.some people dey chew gum as if na life support but the one that pains me most,is the way most people chew it like goats.
ReplyDelete14 sticks a day. That amounts to a full pack. That's much mehn.A pack a week or more to help freshen mouth small naa.
ReplyDeleteHer jaw must have ached from too much chewing.
DeleteToo much of everything is bad
ReplyDeleteU said it all....not just only gum oooo. I was surprised wen my doc ask me to reduce the intake of banana and some other fruits like dat...hummm it's well.
DeleteDts a great eye opener. Too much of everytin is always bad.
ReplyDeleteNawa oh. chewing gum ke?
ReplyDeleteI can chew gum 4 africa nt sugar free gums tho,ayam free na abi??
ReplyDeleteEven orbit, nutri c and do many other sugar free items contain Aspartame. Let's run from them.
ReplyDeleteEya sugar free
ReplyDeletea.k.a EDWIN CHINEDU AZUBUKO said...
ReplyDelete.
So na chewing gum kill this person nw... May her soul RIP....
.
.
***CURRENTLY IN JUPITER***
Sad.
ReplyDeleteLow sugar kills, low salt now kills hmmmmm, wish she was in naija during the ebola/salt therapy maybe just maybe she'd have still been alive. The best way to life is to live like its your last.
ReplyDeleteWe shld go back to our natural foods.agbalumo chewing gim nko?
ReplyDeleteAm addicted to chewing gum as whatever. What else won't I hear
ReplyDeleteNa wa o. Abeg what is safe then? Too much sugar is bad, no sugar na wahala too?
ReplyDeleteIt is well.
Chai! Okija's wife, you are just funny abeg.
ReplyDeleteLoool.....
DeleteBut am very serious o, no be joke!!!
most sugar free stuffs contain aspartame
ReplyDeleteorbit chewing gum which way
Exactly, Agbalumo chewing gum will be perfect. Alnaturel!!!
ReplyDeleteWow....So sad....Well, this is an eye opener...less of all of it....Rest in Peace Sam, may God grant your family closure....
ReplyDeleteIn other news, I will spend today and the next few days, correcting your grammar. ...Some grammar I read on the is blog eh, is ridiculous! So, this is me, giving u a heads up....hehe
This article get kleg, how is cerebral hypoxia related to her brain swelling.... WTF...
ReplyDeleteAnytime I have aspartame products I break out in hives. It is not good
ReplyDeleteAnytime I have aspartame products I break out in hives. It is not good
ReplyDelete@anon 00.50 , the electrolyte imbalance especially low Sodium can explain the cerebral edema which can definitely cause cerebral hypoxia. picture all the fluid impeding on blood flow in the cerebral vessels. i'm sure sure u're in the medical field so surely you can picture what i'm saying. she also complained of paresthesia so that also buttresses the electrolyte issue, her magnesium and probably calcium were also off. inasmuch as the article did not spell out everything in detail, i don't think the article is questionable.
ReplyDelete@anon 00.50, the electrolyte imbalance especially low Sodium can explain the cerebral edema which can definitely cause cerebral hypoxia. picture all the fluid impeding on blood flow in the cerebral vessels. i'm sure sure u're in the medical field so surely you can picture what i'm saying. she also complained of paresthesia so that also buttresses the whole electrolyte issue, her magnesium and probably calcium were also off. inasmuch as the article did not spell out everything in detail, i don't think we can say the article is questionable.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm too much of everybody is bad ooooo
ReplyDeleteToo much of anything is bad,even water
ReplyDeleteToo much of anything is bad,even water
ReplyDeleteToo much of anything is bad,even water
ReplyDelete@ Irene Onwuchekwa, great response, I was about to give the same reply when I read yours. people need to do their homework before posting misinformation online.
ReplyDelete