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Less Common Oral Hygiene Options
Plus: can exercise actually boost your metabolism?
The 10almonds Team
November 05, 2023
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
Are you a great cook, and/but then overeat when your delicious dinner is ready? Snack on some nuts (assuming you're not allergic) while cooking; the protein and healthy fats will help start the clock ticking on your satiety, helping you to eat in a more mindful fashion when you do sit down!
⏰ IN A RUSH?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Tooth soap is an as yet unstudied means of cleaning teeth with far fewer chemicals than toothpaste etc. Given the lack of science for it, we can’t recommend for or against it.
Oil pulling has some science for it, but also some enthusiastic detractors, so it appears that the jury is out on that one
The chewing stick (of a specific tree with special medicinal properties) has lots of science to back its use, and is consistently found to be more effective than toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Being unable to easily participate in spoken conversations is not just an inconvenience; it’s also a [causal, fixable] risk factor for age-related cognitive decline.
Today’s sponsor, Hear.com, are offering the most cutting-edge dual-processing technology in hearing aids that isolate and separate speech from background noise.
Read on to learn about these things and more…
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
TED | Can Exercise Actually "Boost" Your Metabolism? | Body Stuff with Dr. Jen Gunter (3:30)
Can you "boost" your metabolism by exercising more? Well, it's complicated.
Dr. Jen Gunter reveals what your metabolism actually does, the role of exercise, and other things weight loss culture doesn't want you to know:
Prefer text? You might like our previous main feature:
Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖
🦷 MAIN FEATURE
Less Common Alternatives For Oral Hygiene!
You almost certainly brush your teeth. You might use mouthwash. A lot of people floss for three weeks at a time, often in January.
There are a lot of options for oral hygiene; variations of the above, and many alternatives too. This is a big topic, so rather than try to squeeze it all in one, this will be a several-part series.
The first part was: Toothpastes & Mouthwashes: Which Help And Which Harm?
The second part was: Flossing, Better (And Easier!)
The third (and for now at least, final) part will look at some less common alternatives.
Tooth soap
The idea here is simplicity, and brushing with as few ingredients as possible. Soap cleans your teeth the same way it cleans your (sometimes compositionally quite similar) dishes, without damaging them.
We’d love to link to some science here, but alas, it appears to have not yet been done—at least, we couldn’t find any!
You can make your own tooth soap if you are feeling confident, or you might prefer to buy one ready-made (here’s an example product on Amazon, with various flavor options)
Oil pulling
We are getting gradually more scientific now; there is science for this one… But the (scientific) reviews are mixed:
Wooley et al., 2020, conducted a review of extant studies, and concluded:
❝The limited evidence suggests that oil pulling with coconut oil may have a beneficial effect on improving oral health and dental hygiene❞
The “Science-Based Medicine” project was less positive in its assessment, and declared that all and any studies that found oil pulling to be effective were a matter of researcher/publication bias. We would note that SBM is a private project and is not without its own biases, but for balance, here is what they had to offer:
A more rounded view seems to be that it is a good method for cleaning your teeth if you don’t have better options available (whereby, “better options” is “almost any other method”).
One final consideration, which the above seemed not to consider, is:
If you have sensitive teeth/gums, oil-pulling is the gentlest way of cleaning them, and getting them back into sufficient order that you can comfortably use other methods.
Want to try it? You can use any food-grade oil (coconut oil or olive oil are common choices).
Chewing stick
Not just any stick—a twig of the Salvadora persica tree. This time, there’s lots of science for it, and it’s uncontroversially effective:
❝A number of scientific studies have demonstrated that the miswak (Salvadora persica) possesses antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-cariogenic, and anti-plaque properties.
Several studies have also claimed that miswak has anti-oxidant, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects. The use of a miswak has an immediate effect on the composition of saliva.
Several clinical studies have confirmed that the mechanical and chemical cleansing efficacy of miswak chewing sticks are equal and at times greater than that of the toothbrush❞
Read in full: A review of the therapeutic effects of using miswak (Salvadora Persica) on oral health
And about the efficacy vs using a toothbrush, here’s an example:
Want to try the miswak stick? Here’s an example product on Amazon.
Enjoy!
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
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Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
🌏 AROUND THE WEB
What’s happening in the health world…
Special mouth rinse and brushes can help treat gum disease among diabetes patients
Reducing anxiety and stress with pupil feedback
Could a cheap, DIY air filter help rid your home of viruses?
Testosterone efficacious for correcting anemia in middle-aged men
The wrong type of plumbing can increase the risk of Legionnaires' disease, researchers say
Kink communities can help people build connections and improve body image
New guidelines: if you've never had a heart attack, don't take daily aspirin until you talk to your doctor
More to come tomorrow!
📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW
How to Think More Effectively: A guide to greater productivity, insight and creativity – by Alain de Botton
Our brain is our most powerful organ, and our mind is an astonishing thing. So why do we sometimes go off-piste?
The School of Life's Alain de Botton lays out for us a framework of cumulative thinking, directions for effort, and unlikely tools for cognitive improvement.
The book especially highlights the importance of such things as...
making time for cumulative thinking
not, however, trying to force it
working with, rather than in spite of, distractions
noting and making use of our irrationalities
taking what we think/do both seriously and lightly, at once
practising constructive self-doubt
The style is as clear and easy as you may have come to expect from Alain de Botton / The School of Life, and yet, its ideas are still likely to challenge every reader in some (good!) way.
Bottom line: if you would like what you think, say, do to be more meaningful, this book will help you to make the most of your abilities!
What did you think of today's newsletter?We always love to hear from you, whether you leave us a comment or even just a click in the poll if you're speeding by! |
May this weekend bring you plenty to smile about,
The 10almonds Team