Let’s just lay our cards on the table: kids are experts at picking their noses.
And they’ve got no qualms when it comes to eating whatever they’ve just dug out from their nasal cavities either, as gag-inducing as this might be.
Despite what you might think about this being habit best avoided, science has just revealed nose gunk is good for you.
And that’s not just because fluids like snot and tears serve as our body’s first line of defense against a range of diseases, but snot, in particular, is beneficial for everyone’s – wait for it – dental health.
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According to a medical study published in Applied And Environmental Microbiology, salivary mucins (proteins found in mucus) work to protect teeth from a cavity-causing bacteria.
Differentiating from things like toothpaste and mouth wash that, as reported by Ozy.com, kill bacteria; mucus, in fact, stops bacteria from attaching itself to a tooth, as well as preventing the bacteria from leaking acid onto a tooth’s enamel.
The positive health benefits of mucus for oral health has also prompted these researchers to begin working on a synthetic mucus, with the idea that it could be combined with toothpaste or chewing gum.
We never thought our rational thinking would lead us to even consider digesting snot as a means of bettering our health.
This story first appeared on Now To Love Australia.
