As well as looking at the potential benefits of treatments for particular illnesses, Cochrane Reviews also examine ways to reduce the problems that might be caused by those treatments. One such new review in February 2015 brings together the evidence on whether chewing gum helps the digestive system recover following surgery, and lead author Vaneesha Short from the NIHR Biomedical Research Unit in Nutrition, Diet and Lifestyle in Bristol in the UK tells us more.