r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Mar 03 '25

Neuroscience Chewing different materials affects the brain and a new study found that chewing on wood (wooden tongue depressors), compared to chewing gum, led to a significant increase in a natural brain antioxidant called glutathione, and better performance on memory tasks.

https://www.psypost.org/chewing-wood-may-boost-memory-and-brain-antioxidants-study-finds/
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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '25

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u/Mylaptopisburningme Mar 03 '25

Wood and paper 2 things I hate in my mouth (Well a third but won't mention it.) I hate the stick from a popcicle or corn dog, it's like teeth on the chalk board. And I was never able to do spit balls since the paper would make me gag.

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u/unclepaprika Mar 03 '25

Great... Now i'm stuck trying to imagine how one would go about to sink their teeth into a chalkboard, and how utterly dumb that would look.

Thanks a bunch!