Regular vs Tea Tree Oil Toothpaste and Mouth Ulcers - Results after One Week

Regular toothpaste, the stuff of nightmares. (Photo by james_michael_hill)

A while ago I mentioned that I had ran out of the tea tree oil toothpaste I'd been using to get rid of the mouth ulcers that appear every now and then. During the first few weeks I didn't see much difference, but after that there was a longer than usual period of ulcer-free brushing.

A week ago I bought a tube of regular toothpaste, and the very next day I noticed a new ulcer. Whether that had something to do with the toothpaste or not is hard to say, though. Luckily it also went away after a few days - usually it takes at least a week. I did take 1,000 mg of vitamin C daily during the next few days, which may have helped.

I will continue using the regular toothpaste to see whether there is any difference to the tea tree oil toothpaste.

Read More......

Biotin Supplements: Strengthening Hair & Nails

Hair, nails, horns - biotin will help grow anything. (Photo by foxypar4)

I've started a new experiment: I'm taking 5 mg of biotin daily to see whether it has a visible effect on hair and nail growth. According to Wikipedia,

Biotin is often recommended for strengthening hair and nails. Consequently, it is found in many cosmetic and health products for the hair and skin.

The Recommended Adequate Intake is only 30 micrograms for males age 19-70. Biotin deficiency is rare, so supplementing with biotin is questionable:

There are, however, no studies that show any benefit in any case where the subject is not actually biotin deficient.

Still, some people have claimed that they have noted benefits after adding more biotin to their diets (just Google "biotin hair"). A lot of supplements contain only 5-50 mcg of biotin, which probably won't make any difference unless you have a deficiency. The strongest supplement you can get in Finland has 5 mg (which is equivalent to 5,000 mcg) and is sold as an animal supplement, though it is used by people as well, since it's cheaper and contains more biotin than products meant for humans.

The supplement will last for a month, after which I'll try to review the results using my unscientific and subjective methods.

Go to next post on this experiment

Read More......

Fat camp - day 43

Goodbye fat camp, I will miss you. (Photo by The Stakhanovite Twins)

I weighed myself yesterday and was glad to see that my weight had climbed to 61.5 kilos. 63 would have been pretty good, but I think I might have to settle for this, unless I manage to gain some more muscle by hitting the gym.

You'd think gaining weight was easier than anything, but when you're eating healthily, it's not that simple. I've had the occasional pasta during these past few weeks, but I'm not too keen on going on a high-carbohydrate diet. Instead, I've tried to get my extra calories from chocolate, fruit smoothies made with heavy cream, and the one ingredient that seems to be included in all my diets - beer.

In any case, I'm going to take a break from fat camp for now.

Read More......