Bristles and Floss: How to Create and Maintain a Healthy Mouth
Six months ago I came across a process of oral care that has completely changed the way that I clean my mouth. This process is very counter culture to what we believe is "proper" oral hygiene. I found this process on Anthony Johnson's blog thedreamlounge.net.
The Problem
Know how the American Dental Association has waged war on soda and sugar for oral health? Well they are not freaking lying. Sugar is the devil, in all areas of life. Why then, do we brush our teeth with substances that contain sugar or have sugar properties? Hell if I know.
Popular toothpastes contain so many chemicals and added coloring agents that it is surprising we all still have teeth. Toothpaste also contains fluoride. I will not pretend to understand why fluoride is detrimental to our health, but the EU and many other countries around the world have outlawed its use in drinking water and oral care products.
All I know is that I have a solution for the masses that want an all-natural, cheap and effective way to make your mouth whiter and cleaner than ever before. The substances used in this process are simple and effective. Floss, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Hydrogen Peroxide and All Natural Mouthwash.
Here is the 3 step process (in order) that I use on a daily basis to maintain a healthy mouth:
1) Floss. I know every bodies most dreaded bathroom activity. Well guess what? Flossing is the single best way to prevent gingivitis and cavities. If you drink lots of sugary sodas or eat sugary and high carbohydrate foods, you better be flossing. Actually you better be flossing everyday no matter what.
If you have not flossed in a while your gums will bleed and yes it will hurt. This is normal. Since no form of debris remover has been in between your teeth for the last 10 years your gums have become extremely sensitive to any kind of touch. It's your own fault so suck it up and do your mouth a favor. Allow 1-2 weeks, if you floss every day, for this to pass.
If you do not own floss, then besides the fact that you should be shot, go out and buy some. I personally do not recommend purchasing the "waxed floss". This stuff is simply a bunch of thread waxed together and it breaks apart in your teeth. Go for the "Glide" kind. It is simply a thin sheet of plastic and works much better than the waxed crap.
2) Mouth Rinse. This is where it gets weird. Create a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part 3-5% hydrogen peroxide. Then add any amount of all natural, non fluoride or alcohol containing mouth rinse (for taste and nutrients such as aloe). I put this mixture into an old Equate mouth rinse container (middle bottle in photo) and take a swig of it every time I do this routine.
I use Tom's of Maine mouthwash, but any natural mouthwash will do. The hydrogen peroxide is safe for rinsing in your mouth. It says so right on the bottle.
The reason why all natural mouthwash should be used is because it does not contain any alcohol, which causes the bite in conventional mouthwash. The bite is simply a lure for us to believe that the mouth wash is doing something beneficial in our mouths. Although alcohol does have anti-bacterial properties, it also dries out the mouth and can worsen bad breathe.
Never use alcohol containing mouth rinse
Alcohol containing mouth rinses are now being deemed as a cause of oral cancer. You can read the article here. A group of Australian researchers reviewed a number scientific studies done on patients and mouth rinses. People who used high alcohol containing mouth rinses (20%) actually had a 5x increase in mouth cancer compared to the control. I'm not condoning this study as the end all for conventional mouth rinses, but its findings are compelling.
Leave room when you take a mouth full of this stuff. The hydrogen peroxide bubbles like crazy and if you do not compensate for this you will have mouth rinse bubbles coming out your nose and ears.
Swish around in your food hole for 1-2 minutes. Any longer won't do you any more good so just stick to the time allotted. After this is over your mouth should feel refreshed and clean.
I dump an entire bottle of the Hydrogen Peroxide into the big bottle and then fill it up with water and add it to mix. The amount of mouthwash varies, typically I use half a bottle.
Hydrogen Peroxide is very cheap. I recently bought a two-pack of 16oz bottles at Walgreens for a dollar.
3)Brush with baking soda and sea salt.
Baking soda? Yes baking soda, the stuff that your grandparents and most other senior citizens use to clean their mouths. Baking Soda is antibacterial and is a simple and effective substance to fight plaque and tarter build up, so don't hate.
Use seal salt. Sea salt is exactly what it says, salt from the sea. Their are no added chemicals in it like the salt that is usually found on our kitchen tables.
Simply wet your toothbrush and lightly coat the bristles with baking soda. An even smaller amount of sea salt should be sprinkled on top as salt can be very abrasive and more salt would prolong its dissolving.
Brush thoroughly and do not press too hard. Our mouths are tender areas, any harsh or abrasive movements can result in damage to our gums and teeth.
Use a soft bristled toothbrush. I recently talked to a dental professional and was told that any stiffer bristles are abrasive and can scratch off enamel that coats our teeth. Also, if the bristles on your tooth brush have frayed outward you are pushing way to hard when you brush. Ease up on the pressure Arnold. The bristles of the toothbrush are what do all the work, not the plate that they are attached to.
Brush for any amount of time that you want. Just make sure that you thoroughly reach all the areas of your mouth, including your gums and your tongue.
I dread brushing my tongue as my gag reflex is way to sensitive for me to do this for more than a few seconds.
Baking soda is also extremely inexpensive. I bought a one pound bag for a dollar and have hardly made a dent in it. Sea salt is also pretty cheap and will last you a lifetime.
The floss is called "Super Slip" by the way. This bundle cost only $5. I know that only one toothbrush is shown, but I actually use two different ones. Keeps my life interesting.
My experiences
The end result of this process is a clean and refreshed mouth. The best part about all is that I only do this once per day.Yes you read right, one time.
I do this in the morning as it is a great way to start the day. Plus I can get rid of morning breath and clean away the gunk that cakes my teeth.
On a normal day I brush in the morning and just floss before I go to bed to get all the wedged food particles out of my mouth.
And let me tell you, my mouth is cleaner than it has ever been. Instead of my mouth staying clean for an hour, I experience the feeling of clean for most of the day.
In my opinion their is no best time to brush your teeth. As long as you clean your mouth on a daily basis, you should be fine. I only brush in the morning because it works for me.
What does your breath smell like?
Nothing, the way our breath is supposed to smell. Contrary to popular belief, our breath's natural scent is not peppermint or wintergreen. As crazy as it is to say, breath should smell like breath.
How long does this take you?
On a normal day this process takes anywhere from 3-5 minutes. And since I only do this once a day, it is well worth the time.
Update: I recently went to the dentist after having done this process once a day for the past six months. My curiosity got the best of me, so I asked the hygienist how clean my mouth was on a scale of 1-10. She was obviously caught off guard, but eventually answered a 9 and "The cleanest mouth I've seen all day." 
Your pearly white comrade
-Ryan
PS I also want to note that I drink coffee on a daily basis. Even though coffee is said to stain our teeth yellow, I have never experienced this phenomenon.
My life as a vegan: Anger, hunger and why I hate vegetables
Eight months ago a dark cloud hovered over my view of healthy living. I refused to eat cheese, milk, eggs, meat and pretty much any cholesterol or saturated fat of any kind. I was a full fledged vegan and proud of it!
Not eating animal products was very difficult in a state (Wisconsin) where cheese curds and whole milk are as abundant as air and water. The most difficult aspect of being a vegan wasn't the constant ridicule by family and friends, no, it was not eating foods that made my taste buds have an orgasm in my mouth.
Let's face it, fatty foods taste frickin awesome and keep us full for long periods of time.
This brings me to the first downfall of being a vegan. Unless a vegan eats ungodly amounts of nuts and olive oil, they will be hungry most of their days.
We all hate being hungry and let me tell you, eating apples and spinach all day filled me up as much as Fat Albert ordering a Happy Meal at McDonalds.
The second shittiest part about eating healthy (in general) is that whole foods ( foods that are not physically altered in any way. An apple is an apple, a steak is a steak and Doritos closely resemble cardboard with spices) are extremely expensive.*
* Thank you United States Government for financially supporting products such as Mountain Dew, Fritos and Macaroni and Cheese. It is no wonder our country cannot make scales large enough to weigh our own citizens.
When I came out of the closet (as a vegan!) I honestly believed that eating animal products was "unhealthy". I also knew that processed foods were cancer in a bag, so I avoided those as well (I still do).
By process of elimination I was left with fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and legumes.
I heard this phrase countless times "If you don't eat chicken, fish, beef, pork, turkey and dairy then what do you eat?" Well I eat everything but chicken, fish, beef, pork, turkey and dairy, duh. There are over 200 kinds of vegetables and fruits available for the US consumer. I had a vast sea of food at my finger tips.
However, I am a tree hugging, dirt eating hippie so I refuse to eat conventionally grown produce. Organic all the way baby!
My food options were again dwindling.
I decided, in my fiber flooded brain, that I would sack up and buy organic vegetables and fruits. Again, I ran into another problem. Surprisingly the Oshkosh grocery store has all of 1/4 of an aisle devoted to organic produce. Spoil me.*
I really need to move to a larger city
I decided to pick my battles and pay a lot of money for certain organic items. Again, by process of elimination I ended up eating these foods almost daily. Seriously.
- Organic Spinach salads. With conventional onions and tomatoes (sue me) and an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
- Organic Apples
-Peanut butter (all natural) and jelly sandwiches. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday for over 6 months. I was addicted.
-Potato, onion and pepper stir fry with Worcestershire sauce. I honestly ate this 4-6 times a week.
- Shit soup. I would make this soup weekly. It includes all the shit that I could find in my cupboards and in my freezer (I'm a poor college student and funds are real tight). Random recipes included: spaghetti sauce, onions, butter beans, garlic, basil and corn...
- For snacks, which ended up turning into small meals, because I was ravishingly hungry, consisted of homemade trail mix. Which included: raisins (not organic, goddammit), sunflower seeds, almonds ,which are super expensive so I stole them and maybe some M&M's if I was feeling edgy.*
*I'm kidding about the almonds
What a life huh? I seriously do not know how I survived eating those foods everyday.
Disclaimer: Somewhere in my genetic code, I have a gene that is called the "eating -the-same-food-everyday-and-being-ok-with-that gene" it is quite unique and results in a very boring food life.
Despite the fact that I was constantly on the prowl for food, I was constantly being ridiculed by the assholes (family and friends) around me. I would like to apologize to all of those who are close to me for my behavior while I made the switch to vegan, even though you all probably deserved it.
In all honesty I was a self centered, my way or go fu$$ yourself, humanitarian, "free the animals" lunatic (I still am, just mellowed out a bit).
There was a Miller High Life commercial on TV a while back that portrayed a large man running around stealing Miller High Life from those who were not worthy of "Livin the High Life". Well him and his crew of beer retrievers came across a couple of guys tailgating and cooking Ostrich burgers while drinking High Life. Flabbergasted, the large man proceeded to take all of their High Life and left the poor fellows felling like pampas assholes for not eating "real" meat.
Welcome to my world.
Tailgating turned from a joyful time of eating and drinking to a dreaded event of fessing up and claiming to be the "faggot who's eating the veggie burgers". Followed up by 20 questions of why I would do such a thing. It was comparable to being interrogated for rape.
"Why don't you eat meat?" Well I do not believe it to be healthy for me.
"How don't you eat meat" I do not put it in my mouth.
People seriously became angry at me for not eating meat. I especially enjoyed arguing with fat people. No explanation necessary.
While I'm on the topic of veggie burgers, I must defend them. While I did taste my share of newspaper flavored patties, most of them were actually pretty good. My favorite brand comes from Trader Joes. They are pretty much congealed mashed potatoes with peppers, onions and Indian spices. Whatever, they taste great. Even though I am no longer a vegan I still buy them.
Final Thoughts
Although switching from the American definition of healthy eating to vegan was the hardest thing that I have ever done, I'm glad I did it.
The experience of living a guilt free life was quite liberating. I learned a lot about people and how they react to "them meatless folk". I also gained an immense knowledge of our current food system and the unbelievable horrors that are inflicted on the animals and humans involved in the process.
Also, if I had never become a vegan, then my neighbor would have never called me a "vegetabletarian" which is my new favorite word.
Your (former) vegetabletarian lunatic,
- Ryan
The Incredible Power of Cold Water
COLD WATER!? Yes I said cold water.
About this time last year I purchased the book Health 2 0 written by Dr. Alexa Fleckenstein. This book focuses on the immense benefits that water brings to us.
Dr. Fleckenstein is a certified medical doctor from Germany. She specializes in natural healing.
Whole and natural healing are very popular in Germany for one reason: When Hitler was in power in the 1930's and 40's he despised highly educated members of society (other than scientists). Therefore the medical field was stripped of its greatest minds and citizens were forced to find methods of healing without the use of medicine.
The practices have continued and natural health thrives there to this day.
One such practice that Dr. Fleckenstein recommends is the regular use of cold water showers.
I know that the use of cold water is completely foreign to a lot of people, especially in the western world. Fortunately for me, The US Food and Drug Administration has actually promoted the use of cold water by saying: “It’s not chicken soup. Believe it or not, a much more unorthodox therapy of warm-and-cold showers has recently been proposed–though not proven–for the prevention of the common cold.”
Cold water also provides many other benefits to the human body besides an improved immune system.
Before you write me off as a lunatic and stop reading, let me explain why I do this on a daily basis .
First, The Process
I have ended my normal hot shower with a cold "shock" shower for over a year now and let me tell you, it is awesome.
First, never take a cold shower when your body is cold. This will only make your body even colder. All the benefits of cold water can only be obtained by pairing a hot body with cold water.
Always use cold water treatment when your body is warm. Either from exercise or by taking a warm shower first.
After a warm shower I immediately turn the knob as far cold as it can possibly go. I then stand under the shower head and wait.
For beginners, start with your feet and work your way up. This is much more gradual and allows you to get used to the intense shock.
* In the dead of a Wisconsin winter, the cold water is almost unbearable
The intensity of the cold water is almost euphoric. This is very difficult for me to explain but the same phenomena happens to others who do this. Having the will power to get through that initial shock is the toughest part, after that it is not as bad as many think.
For most of you, the first couple of experiences with cold water will most likely result in the cursing of my name. If you care about your health, you will keep at it and eventually come to enjoy the practice. And hopefully see results
After showering in cold water for no longer than 30-45 seconds, my body feels completely foreign. This alien feeling is a reflection of the immense benefits that cold water brings to our bodies.
Cold water prompts our blood to leave our skin and cascade down into our organs, leaving our skin looking pasty white. Not to worry, in only a few minutes time the blood comes back and we look "normal" again.
Aren't you cold after you get out?
No, quite the contrary. All of the blood that left my skin comes screaming back to the surface after drying off, leaving me feeling toasty warm.
This immediate warming of the skin happens rather quickly. Dr. Fleckenstein explains why this happens: "Cold is a greater danger to the body (compared to heat)*, so your bodies answer is swift and thorough".
*My parenthesis
She continues as to why cold water is beneficial "The cold response is more like an alarm reaction, so it will activate more regulatory systems in your body...Cold water stimulates your body to create heat by itself--and that is a healthy occurrence."
The Benefits
Their are many health benefits that take place in the process that I just described. Although I can not explain them all, here are the few that I find most beneficial.
Our Immune systems are strengthened. Why? When cold water contacts our bodies, it sends a shock wave throughout. When we mix hot and cold water, we train our blood vessels (and other bodily systems) to become stronger and adapt to sudden changes, such as an illness.
Cold showers improve our mood. About a month ago I partook in a water only fast for three days (read about it here). During that time I was quite depressed to say the least. My savior was a warm shower that ended with cold water. This improved my mood dramatically and took my mind off of wanting to gnaw on my roommates ear.
Warm and Cold water greatly improve skin and hair quality. When we take a warm shower our blood vessels open up. This process also promotes optimal health, as blood rushes to our skin and a hormone is released in our bodies that calms and soothes us.
Also, warm water increases circulation throughout our entire bodies. Unfortunately this "opening" of our blood vessels releases heat, which is why a cold feeling may occur in the minutes following a warm shower.
Warm water also leaves our pores and hair follicles open. Moisture found in the skin and hair is then released and all to often leaves skin and hair dry and clammy.
Ending a shower with cold water does the complete opposite. Blood immediately leaves the skin and engulfs the heart, lungs, brain and almost all other organs. And in doing so our pores are zapped shut. Moisture is sealed inside our skin and hair leaving them both tight and smooth.
*Never let scalding hot water touch your face. And for that matter never use scalding hot water to bathe. It greatly damages our skin. Don't forget that the skin is our largest organ. Hot water can rupture blood vessels and result in redness of the skin (especially on the facial area).
Cold water can normalize blood pressure. How? The shock of cold water awakens our bodies and throws us completely out of our natural comfort zones (similar to that of exercise). We must then find our balance once again. Cold water has been known to lower high blood pressure and raise low blood pressure.
This of course can take a long time to occur, but done on a regular basis it has the power to alter our blood pressure.
Cures cold hands and feet. Before I started doing this my feet used to be cold all the time (especially in the Wisconsin winter). Cold water promotes circulation as it lowers our core body temperature and in response we must heat ourselves in order to raise it.
Cold water forces us to open our lungs and breath deeply. If you try this you will know exactly what I am talking about. The initial shock of cold water prompts in us an instinctive reaction to take a massive breathe.
Dr. Fleckenstein calls cold water "the master harmonizer."
A Brief History Lesson
In Bolivia, during 1849 Sebastian Kneipps fell under a dreadful disease called tuberculosis. At the time TB was incurable and almost always ended in death. After doctors gave up on him, he randomly came across a cold water treatment program. He then proceeded to follow this program and jumped into the icy Danube River on a regular basis.
This unorthodox method of treatment cured him of TB. He then went on to become a doctor. And eventually brought his uses of cold water to the United States.
In the early 1900's when Dr. Sebastian Kneipps's use of cold water remedies to heal first came to the United States, cold water spas were created in the Mid-West and down as far as Louisiana!
Unfortunately when World War 1 started, all German ideas were shunned. Never to be heard of again. Until NOW!
Final Thoughts
Like all great change, time is needed for cold water treatments to actually have an impact on our health. Doing this one or two times a week will not bear any benefits.
*A little note to all of you who feel like you NEED to shower everyday. If you do not perform manual labor or any other activity where sweat is involved on a daily basis, how dirty can you honestly get? Sitting behind a desk, watching TV and eating does not put anybody in a situation where dirt and grim cake your skin. I know this is a foreign concept, but honestly cleanliness is vastly exaggerated in this country. We are not that important. Most people could give a shit what you look like. Stop trying to live like Mr. Clean and Danny Tanner.
During the winter months I take brief hot to cold showers almost daily. My only motivation is to strengthen my immune system. When the whether is warmer (more time outside), showers are pretty rare.
Cold shower remedies cost pennies to implement. Although it may take time, start when you are healthy and the occurrence of colds and overall sickness will dissipate.
Quick Side Notes
If you decide to give cold water treatments a shot, ease into it. For those who are older, the initial shock of a complete cold water treatment may be more than your body can handle. Start with your feet and work your way up.*
* If you are bold and adventurous, then feel free to start with your upper body.
Also, do not over do it. All of the benefits of cold water are wasted if you subject yourself to too long of a cold water session. You will know you over did it if you feel cold in the minutes that follow a shower.
The opposite is also true. We cannot simply touch the cold water and immediately turn it off. You must stay in contact for at least 15 seconds.
One last personal note: I have found that when I have a headache (i.e. hung over) a cold shower does wonders for my throbbing cranium.
-Ryan
I tried very hard to do this topic justice. If you would like to learn more about cold water treatments please visit Dr. Fleckenstein's blog at Own Your Health.com
PS. Cold water treatments have also been shown to reduce wrinkles and gray hair. Check out Dr. F's blog and read the comments. Many people explain their experiences with cold water there.
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