I've been working feverishly on a project that will hopefully be ready for next year, so I've had to regrettably turn down many podcasts the last few months. However, I couldn't turn down a fellow St. Louisan, Lillie Kane, who has a great YouTube channel dedicated to helping people eat healthier and live better.

 

 

Lillie posted Part 1 of our discussion last week (linked above) and Part 2 comes out today, where we talk about nutrition, oral health, and how a diet that is good for your teeth is (perhaps unsurprisingly...) good for your whole body.

 

 

After Lillie posted Part 1 of our chat, I was scrolling through the comments and answering some questions, and one thing that comes up often is oil pulling. Does it work? The practice comes from traditional Indian medicine where one swishes or "pulls" oil through their teeth to remove toxins. The benefit claims range from curing cavities to whitening teeth to riding bad breath and healing gum disease.

 

What fascinates me about oil pulling is that the evidence for effectiveness is mixed / weak, proposed mechanisms of action are hazier than a deep morning fog, yet the testimonials and advocates are undeniable. Since there is little to no downside risks, for me it falls into the category of "why not experiment?"

 

Recommendation: while it's common to use sesame or sunflower oil, I would opt for coconut oil.

 

Fellow Saturday 7 reader, Daniel Todd, is a very successful entrepreneur, having built numerous multi-million dollar businesses. He had an article published on Entrepreur.com that I think gets at the crux of successful businesses (as well as fulfilled lives): Obstacles are Opportunity.

 

Reading this, I thought back to a guest lecture I gave a couple years ago to college students about career path, and how your biggest pains can lead to your biggest passions. It's your choice whether to lean into them, or flee from them.

 

 

With the confluence of technologies (that I've talked about in recent newsletters like VR/ NFTs / AI) the future of music could look very different in 10 years. This article explored 12 predictions of what might happen to music / musicians. While I don't think AI will be composing popular music, I do think musicians will use AI to assist in song production, VR to hold concerts, and NFTs to create business models that work for them and reward their audiences for tuning in. I think these technologies will amplify the artists, not replace them. 

 

 

 

– Graham Duncan

 

 

6 months ago Colin Stuckert (Wild Foods founder) and I chatted about bitcoin. This week we recorded a 6-month update that includes some predictions whether bitcoin will continue it's boom and bust 4-year cycles or continue more in an up-only direction. I'm looking forward to revisiting in another 6 months!

 

🫂 How to be yourself:

 

A Saturday morning roundup on health and wealth, art and science, creativity and innovation, laughs and life by Kevin Stock.