Yay! Less dieters! Amaaazing!

Excerpts from a nice good-news story in the New York Times about the decrease in dieting, and increase of home-cooking. Especially interesting is this idea that cooking is a practice we've lost and need to pick up again. I used to think I was "not a good cook" (except baking!) until two summers ago when I said to myself: Self, you is an academic. And if academics are good at anything, it's learning the basics of ANYTHING... from a book.

So I started picking up vegan cookbooks that were well reviewed on amazon, and that looked quick, and I taughts myself how to cook well. I've been so amazed at the results, Eating Out doesn't hold much allure for me anymore, because good vegetarian food is so hard to find--even what I cook is usually better. And I've followed the books enough now that I can experiment a little without things going horribly wrong. (I toyed with a black bean salad recipe this week and it worked! I toyed with spaghetti sauce and it worked!)

The bottom line is... if I can learn to cook decent (and often delish) meals in one summer, so can any fool. It can't be that much of a lost art. I will add, however, that it requires lots of base ingredients to be on hand, and to have an organized kitchen.

*

AFTER decades of obsessing about fat, calories and carbs, many dieters have made the unorthodox decision to simply enjoy food again.

... The percentage of those consumers who are on a diet is lower than at any time since information on dieting was first collected in 1985. At the peak in 1990, 39 percent of the women and 29 percent of the men were dieting. Today, that number has dropped to 26 percent of women and 16 percent of men.

The diarists also report eating more organic foods and whole grains, said Harry Balzer, an NPD vice president.

...In May, the market research firm Information Resources reported that 53 percent of consumers say they are cooking from scratch more than they did just six months ago, in part, no doubt, because of the rising cost of prepared foods.

...“We need to demystify cooking,” Ms. Waters said. “It creates feelings about food that make you feel cared for, and that’s the kind of food that really changes habits.”

The cookbook author and television personality Rachael Ray has attracted both loyal followers and harsh critics for creating food that doesn’t focus on calories, fat, carbohydrates or even portion control. She intentionally doesn’t include calorie information with her cookbook recipes.

“I think that puts your head into science and away from what I think the experience of food should be,” Ms. Ray said.

...“If everyone ate more plant-based and more whole foods and unprocessed foods, that would be major,” said Arlene Spark, associate professor of nutrition at Hunter College in New York. “But that would mean people going back to cooking, and what we’ve lost is people’s ability and knowledge of how to cook.”

...Last year, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported on a study of 97 obese women, all of whom were avoiding high-fat foods. Half the women were instructed to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. By the end of a year, the women who were focused on adding vegetables lost an average of 17 pounds, 20 percent more than the women who were just paying attention to fat consumption.

Also, the more time people spend on tasks like food shopping, cooking and kitchen cleanup, the more likely they are to be of average weight. The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture found that people of normal weight spend more time on meal-related tasks than people who are overweight or underweight.

How to change!

A nice NYT article on how to make change in your life.

“Whenever we initiate change, even a positive one, we activate fear in our emotional brain,” Ms. Ryan notes in her book. “If the fear is big enough, the fight-or-flight response will go off and we’ll run from what we’re trying to do. The small steps in kaizen don’t set off fight or flight, but rather keep us in the thinking brain, where we have access to our creativity and playfulness.”

Tip: stock

I watched some Jacques Pepin how to cut veggies video last summer, and finally realized the easy way to make homemade stock. He suggests you keep all the ends and bits you cut off your veggies in a bag in the freezer. Ohhhh!

So all semester I've been saving the veggies. I made a list of which ones work well and which are too overpowering, from Karen Claffey's book, and hung this on my fridge. And every time I chop onions I put the root part that I lopped off into the bag; or the end bits of celery, etc.

By the end of the semester I had a full baggy, so I took out my Claffey cookbook again for instructions. I boiled them in a ton of water with salt and seasonings; cooled it down; wrung out the veggies when I removed them; and then froze the stock in 1/2 cup quantities in little tupperwares.

Tip: Chick peas

I've been trying to use dried chick peas these days, instead of canned ones. Less environmental foolishness, and cheaper, and easier to carry home. But the problem is remembering to do it!

Then I discovered that you can freeze them perfectly--they dethaw with no change to their physical properties. So now I make a lot, and then freeze 1 cup per baggie.

Michael Pollan: In Defence of Food

The skinny: Good book, or try some of his articles. This is probably the best nutrition/diet book you could buy (even though it is purposely neither.) Basically a confirmation that Ye Aulde hippie crunchy granola diet/way of living is, indeed, the healthiest you can choose... only Pollan is bringing in the latest science and information to prop up that fact.

***

I think I read a Pollan article last year, online, and found him too sort of *extreme* for my taste. The whole organicee-buy local-cook-all-from-scratch thing... it seems A-OK for those with money and education, but those aren't the people at the most risk health-wise. But I sped-red through his latest book, and I really liked it. --> And he does address the fact that not everyone can afford to live the way he talks about in the book, considering that crappy fast food is highly subsidized by the US government (foods based on corn and soy) and therefore cheap. And he does address the connection between poor health, poor eating and class.

There's nothing too radical in this book--it's the same crunchy granola information that hippies have been touting for decades (and when you're a vegan, you're massively exposed to Crunchy Granola-ism.) But he puts a spin on the topic that I liked.

The big mystery we hear about these days is why Americans have only become more unhealthy / obese over the decades, despite the big push for low-fat foods, diets, etc. Pollan criticizes the way nutrition scientists look for answers by isolating one nutrient component of food at a time, and trying to find the *magic bullet* that reduces cancer, heart disease, cholesterol, weight gain etc. He recognizes that their approach is understandable--it's the only way you can test things scientifically--but he suspects that by looking at one nutrient away from its food (omega-3 from the flax seed -- the flax seed away from the bagel), and a single food away from its buddy-foods (eg. the bagel away from its peanut butter), and food away from its culture (how people have cooked and eaten for 1000s of years) you're going to have trouble finding out The Secret to healthy eating.

His proposal is that you don't need to find out What Makes the Carrot Tick--why certain foods impart health benefits--in order to benefit. You just need to eat carrots. Preferably ones grown with love (in good soil, eaten fresh.) And you need to eat carrots along with other plants, and in the ways people have eaten them for generations.

He cites some forgotten researcher type dentist guy from the 30s, who stopped dentistry and ran around the world instead, studying people's teeth. Because of the period in which he did his research, there were still many cultures relatively untouched by western foods, and he found that they ALL had better teeth than Americans. And this was across a variety of cultures, from the blood-and-milk drinking Masai, to the fish-and-few-greens Inuit... they just had very few signs of wear and decay.

Pollan goes on to describe the scientific search for The Mystery behind the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet, or the French diet, or the Okinawan diet (he says if you search those terms in PubMed you gets 100s of hits)--and Pollan's point is that there's little point in isolating the Secret Formula in those diets, and then building it into white bread... you should instead just adopt a similar diet, in all its complexity, and including the way of life that goes with it. (I think you should also be adopting a diet etc. that matches your genes, however. If little ole celtic me started eating an Inuit diet, I'm pretty sure I'd die.)

So. This is where the information is Nothing New. Eat less meat, eat less of these corn and soy derivatives, stay away from Yea Aulde High Fructose Corn Syrup, eat lots of plants, a variety of them, preferably fresh, cook your meals, set aside a lot of time for cooking a cleaning up, sit down to eat, eat in company with others, eat less, enjoy your food. (He doesn't address exercise at all, but I would assume that all kinds of Walking and Biking go along with the Okinawa and French and Greek diet.) And he's in for gardening.

Like I said, nothing radical. He brings in the latest research, but I've already read most of it on CSPI. But what I like is his perspective... which is basically that almost every regional diet in the world is good for you, except our recent Western diet--which emerged from the industrialization of food.

Which leads us to... tum tee tum... our entire way of life in North America?

One of my profs, who I otherwise quite like, is one of these "ohhh you think grad school is busy, wait until you're in the real world" or whatever. This irritates me on many levels, but one of the interesting things is this built in Protestant Work Ethic that our culture is built on. That if you're not busy all the time, there's something wrong. I mean, I understand why we do this--it's surely part and parcel of being (for Americans) one of the strongest economies in the world. But personally I think you've got to be aware of the trade-offs you're making when you choose that 50 hour a week job.

I want to work enough to live on, enough to be able to retire one day, but I also want time to live pretty much as Pollan describes. I want time to cook (and recycle, and read, and write etc bla bla bla.) And I don't want to live the kind of life where I'm always Counting Calories and calculating fat grams and feeling guilty for eating something nice. (Pollan cites a study where Americans associated a photo of chocolate cake with the word "guilty" while the French associated it with "celebration.") So basically Pollan just confirmed me in a new Way de Vivre that I'm already starting to live.

From all I've read, and from all my following of the nutrition since the 80s, I suspect that Pollan's got the right end of the stick. Stop looking for the miracle nutrient (conventiently baked into your pasta and cereal and bread) and eat like a hippie cookbook. I'll continue baking cookies instead of buying them (and then ENJOYING them), I'll continue trying out vegan cookbooks, I'm going to sign up for one of those vegetable delivery programs (but er maybe when school is done) and once this school foolishness is over, I'm going to make an effort to be Less Involved in the future, have Less projects, be Less the Super Employee, and jealously guard as much spare/fun/personal time as possible. And this is probably the best *diet* I could be on.

And since my ancestors survived on potatoes, I will no longer apologize for my starch addiction! ;-)

Another fun site!

I just came across this quack-medicine busting site. Ah yes, my kind of thing.

I like to think I'm a broad-minded person. I'm certainly willing to admit that there are realities out there that science hasn't uncovered yet; that there are things we're wrong about, or very ignorant about; and that non-western cultures can contribute to Ye Aulde Knowledge Base.

But there is a side of me that will always be a skeptic. I have a *fear* of being accused of being Culturally Biased in my love of "Western science" (crunchy granolan peer pressure)... but the love, I do have nonetheless. I don't want to believe a certain kind of medicine or medical treatment works, just because I'm trying to be culturally sensitive.

I love the double-blind test. It's so simple, so elegant. If some people get the real pill, and some get a fake pill, that should tell us the pill's effect non? Not everything can be tested this way, but some things, like a lot of psychic phenom, can. Even some of our common ideas: Can people tell when they're being stared at? Can people tell when others are lying? (No, and no... except, in the latter case, for a small percentage of spies.)

That's why I'm less interested in the "it's been used for 100s of years!" argument. Just because people believe something works, for hundreds of years, doesn't mean it does. Let's test it!

And that's basically what Quackwatch is all about. This is the first well-rounded information I've found, for example, on acupuncture (which Dr Oz was touting on Oprah lately.) I don't want to over-state this page, because I think it's a bit too extremist and this probably makes them err in some other ways. I prefer the CSPI for food information. But for medicine, I think Quackwatch raises some good points...

* 25 Ways to Spot Quacks and Vitamin Pushers
23. They Claim They Are Being Persecuted by Orthodox Medicine and That Their Work Is Being Suppressed Because It's Controversial."

*More Ploys That May Fool You
"We have no money for research." Proponents of so-called "natural" products (dietary supplements and herbs) often complain that funding is difficult or impossible to obtain because the products can't be patented and therefore drug companies have little incentive to study them. That may be true for some products, but it is certainly not true for all. Think, for a moment, about plain, ordinary aspirin. Although not patentable, it has been subjected to thousands of published studies." [As someone at university, studying something as useless as a social science, I happen to know that there is money available for aaaaany number of crazy studies!]

"They persecuted Galileo!" The history of science is laced with instances where great pioneers and their discoveries were met with resistance. William Harvey (nature of blood circulation), Joseph Lister (antiseptic technique) and Louis Pasteur (germ theory) are notable examples. Today's quacks boldly claim that they, too, are scientists ahead of their time. Close examination, however, will show how unlikely this is. The ideas of Galileo, Harvey, Lister, and Pasteur's overcame their opposition because they were demonstrated to be sound.

*Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science
5. The discoverer says a belief is credible because it has endured for centuries: There is a persistent myth that hundreds or even thousands of years ago, long before anyone knew that blood circulates throughout the body, or that germs cause disease, our ancestors possessed miraculous remedies that modern science cannot understand. Much of what is termed "alternative medicine" is part of that myth. Ancient folk wisdom, rediscovered or repackaged, is unlikely to match the output of modern scientific laboratories.

6. The discoverer has worked in isolation.The image of a lone genius who struggles in secrecy in an attic laboratory and ends up making a revolutionary breakthrough is a staple of Hollywood's science-fiction films, but it is hard to find examples in real life. Scientific breakthroughs nowadays are almost always syntheses of the work of many scientists.

Tip! fruits and fruitflies

When I get home from grocery shopping I toss most of the veggies into the sink, and when I get the energy I wash them. (I don't wash things that are stuck together at the root, though, like lettuce and chives. Will they keep as long if I rip them up? I don't know.)

It saves time later, but I'm also keen to wash off any fruit fly eggs. I even wash bananas. I got a fruit fly invasion last summer and I tell you they are a BITCH to get rid of. Prevention is everything!

Rachael Ray agrees.

Resealable bags are kitchen essentials. Rachael explains you should wash and dry your produce as soon as you return from the grocery store, then put them into resealable bags so they are clean and fresh when you need them. "This is a huge time saver," she says.

Tip! garbage while cooking

I got this from one of my friend's mothers--when you're cooking, especially chopping up veggies, keep a garbage bag on the counter. I usually use one of the baggies that the veggies were in. Not only is it convenient, but you can tie it closed and keep it from being so smelly in the garbage can after.

Rachael Ray agrees.

"Leave a big garbage bowl on the counter. "I can throw all my garbage in there and not run back and forth a million times to the garbage can," Rachael says."

tips! egg replacer

EGGS @ 01:37 am

First of all, in some recipes you can exclude eggs easily. For example, pancakes. And then there are recipes which would be very hard to egg-replace, such as Angel's food cake! But, if you need to replace the eggs, here are the two I've tried:

Flax Seeds:
This works very well.

1 egg = 1 Tablespoon of flax seeds + 3 Tablespoons of water

* grind the flax seeds in a blender [or a coffee grinder]
* add the water [Because flax seeds contain oil, they all glom together when blended. I knock the blender container around to loosen the seeds before adding the water.]
* blenderize
* stick in fridge a couple minutes until gummy

Flax seeds should be kept in the freezer, they go rancid easily.

Of course, this is also a source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which apparently survive the cooking process.
___

Kingsmill Egg Replacer
Purchased at Loblaw's, health food section
Easier than flax seeds, but I found my choco chip cookies were flat instead of puffy, so I think the seeds work better.

The Science of Bummerology

I have a new fave health magazine, found at the library. It's a newsletter put out by scientists, with no government or industry funding--some foundation funding, and mostly subscriptions. They take all the latest news and headlines about nutrition, and give you Just the Facts Ma'am.

This month's edition is about organic food. I read another edition about celebrities making money off their public trust--Larry King and Dr Phil, but mostly they went after Andrew Weil.

The other one I took out was about some recent studies that are making headlines like "calcium supplements don't work!" and "low fat food doesn't work!" -- and they talk about the actual study and what it says and does not say. (Yes you should continue to eat low fat, and get enough calcium.) They also brought up a new study about Aspartame being suckitudinous. (I have to say... the fact that we keep having to do more and more lab rat studies to try and figure this out, is enough to make me give up aspartame. I understand the arguments for animal testing re. Important Drugs, but this is "how to eat your sweets and be skinny too" type research.)

They also do a product profile each month, on the best cereal, or margarine--and since this is the Canadian edition, it's stuff you've actually heard of and bought.

The peeps who put this out, The Center for Science in the Public Interest, are the ones who convinced the govt to make it mandatory for all food to have nutrition labels. (Here's some other things they've done.) Now they're trying to get calorie counts put on chain restaurant menus. A subscription is 15$. Buy buy!

Call me a slave to statistics, but I do prefer to get my information on food from traditional science land, than from crunchy health food land. Health food magazines--the really hippie ones like Alive--are great, they're interesting, but I find that so much of this world is about buying expensive supplements. You're supposed to go in for such n such treatment, or take a certain extract, because for 1000s of years it's been used by Generic Chinese Healers. I'm not saying all this stuff is bad, but there seems to be an assumption that because something isn't processed much, or comes from a flower--because it's "natural"--that it's necessarily good for you. Give to a few hundred people in a double blind controlled test, and then I'll listen to you, it's that simple.

What I like about the CSPI is that they're about the most disinterested health source I've ever come across. (Ecinacea example.) I like their methodical manner of investigating a claim, rather than screaming out a headline. Sometimes I find that the health magazines I enjoy, like Alive, or the ones for vegetarian cooking, are too quick to jump on something that supports their philosophy, like supporting quorn, even though it's apparently making a lot of people sick.

I've been researching alternative sweeteners lately, although I basically believe that the safest way to approach sugar is (a) eat less of it, and (b) if you want an alternative, use something like maple syrup or apple juice, which are well known to us, and less processed than white sugar. But there are two "All NATURAL SO IT MUST BE GOOD FOR YOU!" products being pushed these days, which are agave syrup and stevia. The CSPI has a good article on stevia, and I've written and asked them to do a piece on agave; I've already read enough about the latter to make it a bit suspect.

Compare their review of stevia, with the one by Alive magazine. I believe that Big Business does naughty things, I really do; but sometimes the crunchy granolas, and peaceniks, and anti-corporatists etc. get so caught up in their condemnation of The [fill in blank] Industry, that they're blind to other arguments that just aren't money related.

From now on CSPI is going to be my Snopes of the food world--the first resource I hit when looking for info. Yippee! (These sites are crack to my soul.)

And now... watch a funny interview with one of the CSPI guys, on Colbert.

Conversion for Dummies

Many of us want to convert people to what WE believe. If we feel strongly about some moral point, we usually wish other people would agree. Having had some Experience With Christianity, I know all about this--it's called evangelizing. ;-) Here's my approach to evangelizing, no matter what the topic is (my faves being the usual granola suspects... animal rights, feminism, enviro, poverty, etc.)

Some sermon-giving type I heard, once compared evangelizing with a chain. Let's say you add a link to the chain leading someone to believe in God: If you're the first link, you may never be around to see the last one, to see it Happen. You might be a middle link. You might be near the end, or you might provide that final nudge.

So the first step is figuring out where the person is on this issue. An atheist has, say, no links. So does that person whose all "I looove the meat, and fuck the animals, dude, they is dumb beasts and I say SCREW them ho ho ho." You get the idea. You shouldn't see this as a Value thing, either; that is to say, that having no links means the person is evil. Which brings us to point two...

You not only need to know where they stand in relation to your issue, but you need to understand Them. Who is this person, why do they believe what they believe, how did they get to this point, what philosophical idea underpin their outlook, etc. You can't find this stuff out if you're labeling someone, assuming you already know, judging them etc. You have to listen, you have to have an open mind; you ask questions, you get to know the person over time. Eventually you may have an idea not only of how many links they have, re said issue, but why.

That's when you might be able to influence someone. I'm talking about a sincere influence, by the way; I'm talking about convincing someone of a new idea, at a deep level. Railroading is not the same. You can bash someone down with logical arguments, but it's rare that they are really agreeing with you in the end; instead they're just frustrated, shut down, powerless, and eager to come across any future reason why you're wrong. Or maybe the person is easy to influence, or looks up to you, or wants to sleep with you--then they might agree with everything you say. That won't last forever either. No, no, the hope is to really get someone thinking.

Now think about human nature, think about what you know of the person, and you can devise an approach. Most people don't like to be put on the defensive; they like to feel listened to and respected; people have egos, they don't want to be made to look stupid; they like to feel safe. You have to keep these things in mind when trying to convince them of your beliefs--you have to introduce small, digestible ideas.

You'll meet the occasional person who likes to debate, and you can be more straight-forward with them, use all your Logic! and Keen Intellect! But they have egos too... so you have to listen to their arguments, and be willing to agree when, well, they're right. If they're out-arguing you, and you don't admit it, then you'll lose their respect and any chance of conversion.

All of this is in relation to their position on the chain. With an atheist, probably the only message you want to get across is: not all Christians/vegans/feminists/eco-folk/etc. are crazy. You only want to get as far as leaving a good taste in their mouths. But with someone at the end of the chain, you can pretty much be yourself. For example, we once had a guy come work at my store who looked like Tom Cruise, and was an animal activist. He didn't work much, but he leapt about enthusiastically like Tom Cruise, and preached about the evils of dairy.

With my friend who was animal-compassionate and interested in ethics, he got a hearing. He may have influenced him in the direction of vegetarianism, maybe got him to read John Robbins--I don't remember exactly. To me, who was vegetarian and knowing I should go vegan, he was my last link. I was able to ask him advice on food replacements etc., which allowed me to finally decide--yes, tis time. To the guy in magazines, Tom Cruise was just self-righteous and obnoxious. Magazines guy was a nice normal meat-eating sort, and I'm sure he didn't hate animals; but Vegan Boy's approach was so in-your-face, that Magazine Guy told me it made him want to run out and eat MORE meat. This was poor evangelism. This kind of evangelism only work on those ready to be converted; but for those on the low end of the link chain, it will likely have the opposite effect.

So there you have it. T-Scone's Patented How to Make Converts and Influence People. I have no idea if I've had any effect myself, over the years; but I think, over all, I haven't made anyone hate feminists/vegans/Christians/etc. more.

I have to go now, I'm getting a massive headache.

My old life as a cleaning lady...

I used to be a housecleaner, but I was cleaning using the products the people had (it was for veterans, paid for by the government.) So I got to try all kinds of products and techniques.

* Vacuum cleaners: The older the better. Electrolux or, best of all, the Filter Queen. These things are like old clunky cars, that are so much better made than the newbies. The Filter Queen's round design made it easy to turn with, and all the attachments are on the head, and it worked well. But I've never tried any of the fancy new-fangled ones out these days. Still, if on a budget, a fixed up Electrolux is a good buy.

* Floor cleaning: I actually believe hands and knees works best. I've used those weird orange mops, the sponge mops, and string mops--but nothing beats a regular rag, a little Hertel, and your hands. Dries fast too. I just tried my microfiber rag, and I'd say it's comparable--because you're getting the flat rag effect, that works so well with hands and knees, and it doesn't use a lot of water, so dries fast.

* Mirrors: Well now that I've tried microfiber I would never use anything else. But I also found that, when cleaning glass, the best clean came from window cleaner and a dry towel or facecloth. Better than paper towels, really.

* Dusting: I used to love the Pledge smell. Pledge was just fun to use. But either way, you need to dust with a cloth and something a bit wet, because feather dusters (or their progeny) don't work very well. For wood, I also used to love that orange infused stuff.

* Sinks/tubs: You have to use a cleanser, like Old Dutch or Comet or Vim. They take out the ring around the tub faster than any other product, bar none. Almost no elbow grease needed. A rag is fine. Lately I've also used one of those plastic body sponges that come with every gift basket on the planet, and it helps lift the dirt quickly.

* Counters/stove/fridge/walls/doorways: For stains, same as above--a cleanser. Otherwise any general cleaner will do, like Mr Clean, or Hertel. For the greasy underside of the stove vent, you need something that cuts grease well. This is why I like Vim spray--you can get it onto the vertical surfaces etc.

Greenying the easy way

Here are some relatively easy ways to greenify. Mind you, many products still require being laundered--but in my opinion, a wash cloth added to your regular laundry load isn't going to make a huge difference.

* Download music, instead of buying CDs.

* Instead of little cotton pads for cleaning my face, I took soft cloths and cut them into little squares. I bought a mesh bag at the dollar store which I keep in the bathroom, and just discard the little cloths into the bag, which I can now throw in the laundry.

* Microfiber cloths: They range in price, so I don't know how well the cheaper ones work. But basically they clean really well, with only water; apparently they pick up a lot of bacteria; you can use them dry to dust (also dust floors and walls if you attach it to your Swiffer wand, or buy a microfiber mop), and wet to wash just about anything.

Wet:
- with a bit of water you can clean your mirror and chrome to shockingly bright cleaniness - scary, really
- with water only, I was able to clean grimy finger marks from my cupboards
- for tougher stains I used a cleaning product as well
- and I mopped my floor

You just have to be careful not to bleach them, or use fabric softener on them.

Tips! Good baking

My friend Cheryl is known for her mad cookie making skillz. Her secret, she says: KNOW YOUR OVEN.

So I started to listen to my oven, and realized it always needs to be about 25 degrees less than the recipe says. She was darn tootin' right!

Tip! Cleeeean teeth

Every year I make it my goal to wring praise out of my dental hygienist. I don't know why... dental hygienists have become the Joan Rivers of my mind. The What Not to Teeth. The thing is, there are some ways in which you can still recover your health in old age--you can start eating right and working out in any decade, and it will almost always have some health benefit. But teeth are on a downward trend from the day your adults grow in--they were at the height of their powers when you were, like, ten.

Dental hygienists are prone to work-based arm injuries--in fact, it's not a profession you can really do for life. One of my dental hygienists tried to clean a bad mouth in one session, and she woke up in the middle of the night with pain shooting through her arm. So at the very least... do it for your hygienist. (And they're all young and hot, so straight men and gay women have no excuse not to go to the dentist.)

I've worked out a system for clean teeth, that takes into account my inherent laziness. For the past few years (I only go once per year because, with my insurance, I have to wait 9 months between cleanings) I haven't had cavities, and I have never yet had a root canal.

(My thoughts come from conversations with dentists and hygienists--but of course, everyone's mouth is naturally different.)

1. I brush my teeth once, at night.

If you're going to brush once per day (as I do) then you'll want to do it at night (the Canadian Dental Health dudes agree) otherwise the gunk will sit there for 7 hours having a party. In the morning you just need to get rid of the bacteria, which you can do by eating breakfast (as one should!)

WARNING: Don't brush too hard! Hold the brush lightly and don't overdo it -- because you'll make your gums recede, and then it's all about the skin grafts. My gums are receding a bit on my back molars, but since brushing lighter it doesn't seem to have gotten worse.

Use a soft bristle--my dentist recommends GUM products.

I also read a book while brushing, so there's no rush. (The husband says I need to cultivate the ability to be bored.)

2. I keep floss next to the couch, next to my bed, and next to my desk. (But not in my school bag... I am not going to pull out the floss in the middle of class.) This way if I've just eaten something sticky, or I happen to think of flossing, there's no effort--I do it while watching TV or reading a magazine. One of my hygienists said she does the same. Actually, I rarely floss before bed.

WARNING: Don't let your cat eat the floss!

3. I rinse my mouth with what I'm drinking, if it's sugar-free.

4. I chew sugar-free gum.

If you're a tooth-grinder, this is problematic cause it can make your problem worse. But I keep gum in my bag, and next to my couch/desk/bed, and eat a piece (or even half a piece) after each meal, or when my teeth feel gross.

5. Remember to brush your tongue. (My dentist gave me a Colgate 360 - ooo fancy!)

And that's how I keep my hygienist happy. :-)


FOODS BEWARE:
- Carbs sit on your teeth and make sugar, so that's when I usually go in for the gum and floss.
- I do drink apple juice, but otherwise I drink fake-sugar drinks at home.
- Apparently that hard powdery candy (like the little necklaces at Halloween) are like rubbing sandpaper on your teeth.

TYPES OF FLOSS:
I prefer cheap, mintee, and waxed, but I've tried many kinds because my hygienist awards them to me! Heh heh.
- shredding: if you hate the shredding, there are non-shred kinds
- poofy: there are ones with little poofy bits, that I assume help drag the food out
- tight teeth: you can get skinny brands, but also glossy ones - Gum eez-thru is like fine plastic, and it's so slippery I have trouble holding it. I don't know how tight-teethers like it (my teeth are spacious.)

Here's the Canadian Dental Dudes guide to flossing and brushing.

Tip! low fat baking

A lot of people use apple sauce in lieu of oil for their vegan baking. Like this blogger, I too discovered that it's easier to keep in stock those little snack-packs of apple sauce, than a whole jar -->which I don't think of eating and it goes bad.