Why is it seemingly so much harder to swallow gum/pills than normal food?

Question

Why is it seemingly so much harder to swallow gum/pills than normal food?

In: Biology

Answer 1

When we are about to eat, our bodies start to produce more saliva to help digestion and passing of food through throat much easier. Our brains usually don’t register pills as food so it makes the process a bit harder.

Answer 2

Because we chew normal food to a smaller size and it is easier to swallow. Gum doesn’t shrink and we don’t chew pills unless you’re psycho

Answer 3

We normally chew solids into a certain consistency before we swallow…Our brain tells us we have to chew it first, so it requires some forcing to get over the desire to chew things down to the level of consistency that we typically swallow.