And that by chewing it you are ingesting a bunch of microplastics? Please confirm if this is true. I don’t want to believe.
Side question: what alternative means is there for sustained, minty fresh breath that does not involve ingesting microplastics? (Mints don’t work that great imo, the freshness wears off too fast. Gum was my go-to. Now what is left?)
Yes it’s true. Gum base is made from various polymers and plastics, either synthetic or naturally extracted from plants. Regardless of whether it’s natural or synthetic, some microparticles will strip off into your saliva during chewing and enter your digestive tract. The vast majority of this will pass all the way through your digestive system without ever being absorbed into your bloodstream. But there may be nanoparticles small enough to pass through your gut membranes into your bloodstream.
The amount that gets absorbed is unknown, as are the long term affects of this. It’s clearly not dangerous in the short term, else billions would be sick all the time from chewing gum. But more science needs to be done to fully understand the implications of this.
As for alternatives, altoids are a particularly strong mint that lasts, imo. But if mints aren’t your jam, you can always keep a small bottle of mouth wash with you to get an occasional swish from (be careful not to dry your mouth out with it, or that will make your breath and oral health worse) and dissolvable breath strips if you can find them (feels like they’re nowhere near as common as they where when I was a kid). Also proper oral hygiene including twice daily tongue brushing/scraping keeps your breathe from getting bad in the first place, even if it’s not actually minty from that.
We need to bring back Binaca.
Mostly, yes. Although the aspartame part is optional, it could be any other sweetener or even real sugar.
it’s mostly a type of latex, some waxes, vegetable oils, lecithin, and glycerin, terpenes, but not polymer plastics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_base
I was today years old when I learned that talc is used as a filler in in acidic gums, so like every fruit flavor.
Hope they are paying for the asbestos free talc.
Floss daily. That’s the best way to ensure your breath isn’t bad.
But not with Oral-B “glide” floss, because it has a shocking amount of PFAS.
God dammit. Every time I think I’m doing something right… Lol
Frankly it should be criminal for them to even put PFAS in hygiene products, it’s reasonable to assume floss is nontoxic. Apparently some recent studies have found mucilagenous fiber (like what is in oatmeal, peas, carrots, beans, and Metamucil) help your body remove PFAS, if you’re worried about potential past exposure.
Oh awesome, I love fibre. I get those fibre-boosted cereals!
I have some bad news about those fibre-boosted cereals…
Just kidding, no PFAS there.
Donating blood, especially plasma, has also shown to be a good way to reduce pfas and plastics in your blood
Awesome. So the only floss that doesn’t break between my tight teeth is bad. Figures.
Was using that Oral-B glide shit for ages because it was so easy to floss with. Now I use a silk floss that’s objectively a worse flossing experience but I’ve adjusted to it and I’m not scraping off forever chemicals into my mouth so that’s an overall win 👍
Floss mainly pushes the bacteria further down between your teeth and causes parodontitis. Use those wee brushes instead.
What wee brushes are you talking about?
Well shit.
Edit: Apparently me being mad at finding this out is downvote worthy? I’m just scratching my head at this one.
People will downvote anything.
I’m not a nutritionist or a food chemist so I have no idea about the micro plastics
You could make like the log lady in Twin Peaks and chew on pitch. No idea about flavor or whatever.
What’s pitch?
Dang, any suggestions on plastic-free alternatives to chew on? I’ve been chewing gum the past couple weeks to work my jaw more to help my tense jaw muscles.
Another commenter on here was recommending chewing on soft wood. Of course you’d want to make sure it’s not treated first. Tree branches from certain trees would be more what they are talking about.
