Breathe through your mouth as often as you eat through your nose
• I have been having this conversation with patients a lot lately. Here is a detailed BBC article on nasal breathing. Thanks, Mateo for another resource on nasal breathing.
Dental health
• Andrew Huberman continues to have great engagement online. A recent guest, Dr. Staci Whitman, talked about her holistic dentistry practice in this podcast episode .
• They cover fluoride, different toothpastes (hydroxyapatite), and nasal breathing. They discuss a book called Jaws that I am 50 pages into, about the epidemic of poor dental health through an evolutionary lens.
• No need to do anything crazy, just brush a couple times a day, floss once a day, and avoid eating refined foods (especially starches and sugars).
Snacks
• We have been loving these Drizzilicious rice cake bites. Satiates the sweet tooth but with about 15g net carbs. One bag has 90 calories, less than two Oreos. Thanks to my wife for finding these and keeping them stocked in the house.
Genius life and seed oils
• I had not listened much to Max Lugavere’s podcast, the Genius Life. Nor have I read his books. But after a few episodes, I like the content.
• This episode was interesting, with a borderline ‘debate’ about seed oils. Check out the lengthy post from Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, formerly known as Paleo Mom. She argues that much of the fear of seed oils is just hype. But I would still not heat them up.
More on notebooks
• If you have heard about the benefits of journaling, but don’t know how to get started, check out the Bullet Journal System. The method blends components of task management, brain dump, reflection, planning, and week / month review.
• Ryder Carroll developed this style of journal and has a book detailing the method. You can make it as simple (just start with a plain notebook) or as complex (dedicated notebook from Amazon) as you want. From the website:
“The Bullet Journal System helps you record what’s happening, reflect on why it matters, refine what’s essential, and respond with clear purpose. It’s more than note-taking—it’s a mindfulness practice in motion. These simple steps build the foundation for focus, intention, and meaningful change …”
Kentucky treasure
• I recently discovered Wendell Berry’s This Day: Collected & New Sabbath Poems. Excellent. Here is a sample from 1979.
I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
where I left them, asleep like cattle.
Then what is afraid of me comes
and lives a while in my sight.
What it fears in me leaves me,
and the fear of me leaves it.
It sings, and I hear its song.
Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it,
and the tear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.
After days of labor,
mute in my consternations,
I hear my song at last,
and I sing it. As we sing,
the day turns, the trees move.
Quotes
If I am worth anything later, I am worth something now. For wheat is wheat, even if people think it is a grass in the beginning.
– Vincent Van Gogh
Happiness is somebody to love, something to do, and something to hope for.
– Chinese proverb
