You know the feeling you get when you learn something new about a health problem you've

been trying to reverse, maybe high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease.

Well, there's nothing I like better than bringing you the information that will help you

do just that.

Welcome to the Nutrition Facts Podcast.

I'm your host, Dr. Michael Greger.

Today we reveal some interesting facts about tone scraping.

Something that has been practiced for centuries and many continents around the world.

But does it do anything?

Here's our first story.

Tung cleaning can reduce the stinky gaseous compounds that cause bad breath by up to 75%

where it's just brushing your teeth alone, mainly reduced by 25%.

This is why tongue cleaning has the greatest priority in the treatment of bad breath.

Are there any downsides?

Well, most people do not enjoy placing an object towards the back of their throats as it can

trigger the gag reflex.

Tips to help prevent this include momentarily stopping breathing during tongue cleaning.

You can experiment in if the mint flavor in toothpaste sensitizes your throat to an elevated

gag reflex.

You may want to clean the tongue before tooth brushing.

Some recommendations even suggest doing it on an empty stomach in case vomiting ensues.

That doesn't sound very pleasant.

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