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/FlashbackJon Mar 03 '25

If you can get Japanese carrots (I'm sure there's a specific name, but I just mean "the carrots we saw at every store when we lived in Japan"), they're usually extra girthy with a much woodier interior, and dogs still go fuckin' nuts for them.

E: The cultivar is shin kuroda.

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u/[deleted] Mar 03 '25

A frozen bone of the ananas too

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u/jazir5 Mar 04 '25

Oh that's a solid idea. Amazing really.

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u/Palico1986 Mar 04 '25

Japanese carrots are freaking amazing! We had to buy them every week while we lived there. I'm so glad the Asian market here sells them. They would definitely be in the top ten foods I miss about Japan.