Healthy Bytes

read time: 489 words, about 3 minutes

I started making my own toothpaste some time ago for a few reasons.
One reason – too many chemicals in commercial toothpaste.
Another reason – it’s easier to accomplish the goal with just the right ingredients.
Another reason – it seemed like fun… and it is.

The big issue with dental care is controlling bacteria. Every time you eat something, the PH in your mouth changes and generally becomes more bacteria friendly… more acidic.

The basic ingredients are baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Baking soda is alkaline. Hydrogen peroxide is anti-bacterial.
The combination is, err, an acquired taste…

…so, I don’t stop there
I add xylitol – shown to inhibit plaque formation, decrease tooth decay and kill germs that cause bad breath. It’s also a sweetener. Says so right here.

I also add powdered ascorbate Vitamin C with bioflavanoids… antioxidant, promotes healthy teeth and gums.

I also add folic acid… promotes gum health.

And I add flavoring. I’ve tried cinnamon (powdered), vanilla (liquid extract), orange (liquid extract), anise (essential oil) and peppermint (essential oil).
Since I really, really, really like peppermint, I’ve stopped experimenting with other flavors.
But you can add fennel (also fights bad breath), licorice watermelon, just about anything you can think of. It works with powdered and liquid forms.
I did find that stronger flavors were better since baking soda is rather strong.

Additionally, in Ayurvedic formulas they use Neem and Peelu, nicknamed the “toothbrush trees”.
Neem is antiseptic and alkaline. It strengthens gums and teeth.
Peelu fights plaque and tartar.
One of these days I’ll add them in.

I’m not very good with recipes… I just kind of wing it. So here’s a basic guideline you can start with.
I take a 4oz wide mouth container and spoon 2-2.5 ounces of baking soda.
then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients:
four 8mcg capsules of folic acid
about a teaspoon of Vitamin C
about 1/2 teaspoon of xylitol

Then I add 2-3 drops of essential oil or some amount of other flavoring. (Essential oils are concentrated so it doesn’t take much. For the cinnamon one, I used about a teaspoon of powder).

Then I pour in some hydrogen peroxide and mix with a spoon.
I’m not sure on the amount. I pour in about a tablespoon or so and start mixing. If I need more, I drip in a bit more. I will say, it doesn’t take much liquid. Also as you’re mixing it gets warm and rises… it makes a lot of air bubbles. So you do need to have some room in the container.

You can make it more wet or more dry/pasty to your preference. And of course you can forever play around with flavors.

There you have it. I can pronounce every ingredient and it’s not too hard to do.

Oh, and my dental health since I switched… no noticable change.

Tell me your favorite flavor.

read time: 320 words, about 2 minutes

Fluoride is a byproduct of many industrial products from metals to plastics.

In 1933, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) senior toxicologist Lloyd DeEds wrote:

“Only recently, that is, within the last ten years, has the serious nature of fluoride toxicity been realized. It is a well-established fact that chronic intoxication [poisoning] may manifest itself in man as recognized abnormalities only after constant, or at least frequent, exposure over many years….The possibility of fluoride hazard should…be recognized in industry…where this element is discharged into the air as an apparently worthless by-product.”

According to the EPA – currently – fluoride is one of industry’s largest pollutants both released into the air and into water bodies.

According to National Research Council (NRC) in March, 2006, the level of fluoride in community drinking water is too high.

Why is fluoride in drinking water?
As industry grew in the 1920’s and 30’s, fluoride dispossal became a big problem.
ALCOA (aluminum) funded a study at University of Cincinnati Kettering Labs that claimed fluoride – in low doses – might reduce cavities. Magically, a propossal to add fluoride to drinking water floated around soon after.

At the time, Andrew Mellon was the Treasury Secretary. Andrew Mellon was founder and major stockholder of ALCOA. Treasury Secretary over saw the US Public Health Service.

So now we have fluoride in our drinking water. Except in over 70 communities that have voted against it since 1999.

Fluoride is not biodegradeable.
There are studies that have linked fluoride to lowered IQ and a rare bone cancer.

There is also research that shows when applied TOPICALLY, fluoride decreases the incidence of tooth decay. The critical point here is TOPICAL. As in, ok for toothpaste, rinse and don’t swallow. And of course this rather casts a dim light on liquid consumption, i.e., drinking water.

You can read more about the sordid details in The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson.

read time: 293 words, about 2 minutes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the ok to bottled water manufacturers to decorate their labels with the claim that ‘fluoridated water may reduce the risk of tooth decay‘. (Watch how quickly the ad claims come).

The American Dental Association (ADA) let out a hip hip hooray…
ADA executive director James B. Bramson, D.D.S.:

“Thanks to the FDA’s decision, bottlers can now claim what dentists have long known—that optimally fluoridated water helps prevent tooth decay.”

But wait, there’s more…
The FDA says – and the ADA agrees – this ‘health claim‘ is not for infants (or bottled water marketed to infants). Why? Because lesser amounts of fluoride are ‘appropriate’.

Fluoride beyond the optimal amount creates a risk for “fluorosis” in teeth while they’re developing, before popping through the gums. Fluorosis damages tooth enamel. The results are a white spotting or streaking, and in the extreme – brown spotting on the teeth. There’s some nice pictures here.

Interesting. Teeth don’t only ‘develop’ in infants.

The ADA guidelines for fluoride and kids up to age 6 (which you can get here) advise:
- infant milk/formula – no fluoride. So if your using dry or concentrated formula, use fluoride free water (purified, distilled, deionized, reverse osmosis filtered).
- fluoride toothpaste – not under the age of 2 and no swallowing under the age of 6.
- fluoride mouthwash/mouthrinse – not under the age of 6.

In the next post we’ll take a look at how it came to be that fluoride was added to our tap water. Another tale of corporate and government intrigue. As they say, one person’s trash is another person treasure… or not.
Plus, how to make your own toothpaste… it’s rather simple. I’ve been doing it for sometime.