So one time I was out camping by myself and didn't bring a toothbrush or toothpaste (too much of a hassle). On this trip, I also had a summer sausage, which I ate before going to bed. In the morning, my breath stunk so bad that I was grossing myself out!
Here's a quick alternative to brushing your teeth while out backpacking. Go to your local Wally World and pick up one of the dollar travel mouthwash bottles. Rinse and spit in the morning, rinse and spit at night. It may not be as good as brushing, but it will kill those bacteria, and eliminate the breath that can stop a bear at 50 paces.
And when you return to civilization, you can always refill the bottle for your next excursion.
"Breath that can stop a bear at 50 pages"
ReplyDeleteBetter than bear spray!
The Kristin Says:
ReplyDeleteSounds like if you ate a sausage, your breath wouldn't actually stop a bear, just encourage it.
Try get a hold of some xylitol gum! It tastes great with a lot of yummy flavors to choose from and it prevents bacteria from adhearing to your teeth. The best part is its a all natural sweetener. You can find xylitol in strawberries, the cob of corn, and different barks of trees.
ReplyDeleteXylitol in it's sugar form got it's start in Europe around World War II when there was a sugar shortage. So many studies have been done with it since then. It's amazing how many more positive benfits associated with it. From liquid drops for ears to prevent ear infections to prevention from tooth decay. Did you know that tooth decay is a communical disease? It's true. The biggest example is mother to baby mouth contact. More small children get tooth decay from their parent bacteria more times than not due to contact with their mouths through kisses and sharing eating utensils. When you use xylitol studies show that the xylitol mixes in your saliva and when mouth contact happens in get into other's mouths thus helping them fight against the harmful bacteria as well.
So look into getting some for camping trips. No water, brushing or paste needed. Its safe for diabetics and cost the same as regular gum too! For more info go spry.com or contact a friendly dental assistant who loves cherries!
I'm actually a fan of Xylitol already. Originally it came from Birch bark. The word Xylitol comes from "Xyl," which means "wood" (such as Xylophone -- Wood sound), and "-itol," which is the suffix used for sugar alcohols. The other sugar alcohols include Sorbitol and Maltitol, but Xylitol is superior in that the other two can cause gastric distress if you use too much of them (i.e. the runs).
ReplyDeleteXylitol can be found in nasal sprays as well, to fight infection. Being a sugar, the bacteria latch onto the Xylotol molecules, but being a sugar alcohol, the bacteria can't process it, and so the bacteria starve.
The human body can't process the sugar alcohols, either. So used as a sweetener, it goes straight through the system without being processed or spiking the blood sugar levels (the going straight through is what can cause the gastric distress). It's safe for diabetics, has no bitter aftertaste (unlike Stevia), and causes a cooling sensation to the mouth. The only thing to remember is that it can't be used for baking bread, as the yeast can't use it to make the dough rise.
As you can see, I'm a big fan as well!