Tap into your inner panda.

INSIGHT (what we need)

The beneficial habit of chewing fibrous materials to activate pre-digestion and strengthen our mandibles has lost the battle to our sweet tooths.

It’s not just our furry friends that have been chewing on natural materials for millennia  – humans have been doing the same with tree bark, sweet grasses, leaves, grains, waxes and resins. You can find a chew item in most traditional cultures in fact; to clean teeth, freshen breath, stave off hunger or thirst, improve digestion, and to pass the time or pacify nerves. The latter two being the main reasons we chew gum today.

However, the history of gum as we know it likely stems from the Native American tradition of quenching thirst by chewing a gum-like resin from spruce trees in the 1800s. Eventually (and characteristically) the colonialists stole this idea and commercialized a sweetened paraffin wax version as an ‘acceptable alternative’ that became popular across the eastern United States. This waxy replacement eventually continued to get softer, sweeter and more synthetic over the centuries. Voila: gum.

Along with our general modern diets turning mushier and personal dental care getting laxer, our facial structure has evolved to match. To counter this we have both the advancements in orthodontic care and the  mewing craze of chomping down on plastic gadgets among fitness enthusiasts. Both are focused mostly on vanity to reshape our teeth and jawlines, but they’re missing a slew of lost benefits that we got from chewing plants.
(Right now I’m imagining a row of various indigenous peoples throughout history slowing chewing on their barks and grasses with blank expressions while watching our madness). Like so many of our modern wellness habits, how could we have missed the plot so obviously?  

How might we bring back the benefits of traditional fibrous chewing in a convenient way to support our mandibles and more? 

INSPIRATION (what we want)

Various popular chews of indigenous cultures.

Today’s inspiration is more of a list or collection of the more known chew items of various indigenous cultures – many of which are still popular today. Google “neem stick” and you can even find them packed individually like a toothbrush. This is a short list of few ancient but mostly quotidian examples; to illustrate how fibrous chewing is still prevalent across the world outside of modern, western culture where we have opted for sugary gums, chemical toothpastes, and alcoholic mouthwashes.

• Birch bark tar in pre-historic Nordic cultures.

• Mastic tree bark in Ancient Greece.

• Chicle in ancient Mayan culture.

• Spruce tree and sugar pine in Native America.

• Tobacco leaves among early American settlers.

• Blubber in Eskimo culture.

• Cocoa leaves in South America.

• Ginseng root in China.

• Betel nuts across SE Asia.

• Pituri in Australian aboriginal culture.

• Cordia plant in Namibian culture.

• Goiania Lupuloides vine in Jamaica.

• Neem datun in Indian Ayurvedic culture.

• Similar neem miswak/meswak sticks (derived from the commonly known “toothbrush tree” or Salvador persica) grown across the the Middle East and much of the northern African continent was a popular commodity in early global trade that stretched all the way to Indonesia and SE Asian cultures.

Shout out to my mother (who is indigenous Taiwanese) and grew up chewing licorice bark and betel nuts for her pearly whites!

INNOVATION (what we wish for)

Chooables: compressed bark chews combined with adaptogenic herbs and spices to strengthen your jaw, freshen breath, and boost health.

A proprietary blend (“Choo Bark”) of soft barks selected from the highest quality sources are mixed with different adaptogenic herbs (ie. schisandra) and spices or flowering plants (ie. clove) for taste and functional benefits.

Smile: Choo Bark + Ashwaganda + Cinnamon + Cloves.

Focus: Choo Bark + Schisandra berries + Holy Basil + green tea leaves + coriander seed.

Power: Choo Bark + Asian Ginseng + Cordyceps + Goji Leaves + star anise.

Chill: Choo Bark + Rhodiola Rosea + Astragalus + licorice root.

Digest: Choo Bark + Marshmallow root + fennel seed + Ginger root.  

• Blends are compressed into chewable pieces to masticate for 2-3 minutes like chewing gum and then discard.

• Positively changes the microbial balances in your mouth (especially if you stop using mouthwash which destroys it). 

• Excellent for digestive health as a precursor to eating or post-meal digestif by getting digestive juices ready for breaking down food.

• Strengthens teeth and jaw as barks don’t easily break down.

• Advantageously get micro doses of helpful adaptogens and spices on a daily basis without ‘taking medicine.’

• Natural source of natural antibiotics and antioxidants to boost immunity, regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation in the body.