The newest craze in Japan: chewing gum to enhance breasts.
B2Up, the company that makes
gum, claims that their product, can enhance the shape, tone and size of breasts. It also increases circulation and reduces the effects of stress and ageing.
The gum contains an extract from Pueraria mirifica, a plant found in Thailand and Burma that is known to have medicinal properperties by local indigenous tribes.
The plant's underground tubers contain a number of chemicals called phytoestrogens - natural compounds which mimic the effects of the female sex hormone oestrogen.
These include miroestrol and deoxymiroestrol, which are believed to exert a particularly strong effect, as they are very close in chemical structure to oestradiol, the main human oestrogen.
B2Up says that it is the effect of these two chemicals, coupled with a third phytooestrogen isoflavone, which makes its gum so effective.
It cites tests carried out by Thailand's Chulalongkorn University which found Pueraria mirifica therapy was able to enhance breast size by 80%.
Further tests carried out in England found that the plant had a beneficial effect on the skin, and hair, as well as the breasts.
Coming soon, toothpaste containing Viagra...