Mouth taping: Does it work?

Humans will do anything if it’s a shortcut for better health.

The latest wellness paradox – mouth taping, where desperate insomniacs wage biological war on nocturnal lip-flapping with surgical tape (or a fancy equivalent). But does science back this trend, or is it just another Band-aid for our poor health habits? 

The premise is simple: tape your mouth shut to force nasal breathing, thereby:

• Humidifying air (nose: built-in humidifier vs. mouth: desert wind tunnel)

• Boosting nitric oxide (nasal VIP pass for oxygen absorption)

• Reducing snoring (sparing partners from soundscapes rivaling chainsaws)

The data seems pretty fragile but interesting nonetheless:

• A 2022 study of 20 mild sleep apnea patients found taping halved apnea events (PMC9498537).

• Another pilot study showed snoring reductions in 30 mouth-breathers.

But these studies are smaller than your willpower at a bakery (almond croissant is my kryptonite). Most lack control groups, long-term data, or subjects with actual nasal obstructions. It’s like testing umbrellas indoors and declaring that it’s effective for a rainy day.

Mouth breathing science: Evolution’s backup plan gone rogue

Mouth breathing is the biological equivalent of using emergency exits daily. There’s a range of consequences including:

• Oral apocalypse: Cavities bloom in dry mouths like mushrooms in damp caves.

• Sleep hit: Less oxygen → fractured sleep → next-day zombie mode.

• Facial restructuring: Chronic mouth breathing (data predominantly in childhood) can sculpt faces into “long-face syndrome” (I’ll let you look this up)

Yet taping fixes none of this if your nose is clogged. 

Now there are some risks of mouth taping its worth noting: 

Sleep apnea patients: Tape + obstructed airway = hypoxia Olympics. One study found it worsens apnea severity

• Nasal blockages: Allergies, polyps, or deviated septums turn taping into a suffocation hobby.

• Vomit roulette: Nightly reflux? Tape = aspiration pneumonia speed-run (not recommended)

To tape or not to tape: 

Try IF:

• Nasal breathing is possible (test: close mouth, inhale – no panic = green light)

• No sleep apnea (snoring ≠ cute; get a sleep study)

Avoid IF:

• You’ve ever uttered “I can’t breathe through my nose”

• You’re a mouth-breather by necessity, not habit

Things you can try: 

1. Nasal triage first: Saline rinses, allergy meds, ENT consult. Fix the factory, not the exhaust.

2. If using tape, tape smart: Use porous medical tape (e.g., 3M Micropore). Duct tape = skinless morning.

3. Start sober: Test while awake. If panic ensues, abort – your body’s wiser than TikTok.

4. Track metrics: Snore apps, O2 rings. Data > vibes.

5. Exit strategy: Remove easily if nausea/nightmares strike 

For those dancing with chronic sleep issues: see a doctor, not a TikTok shaman.

But for the curious, minimally flawed human?

Tape cautiously, breathe deeply (through your nose now obviously), and remember:

The human existence is a series of poorly designed systems and glitches. Sometimes, literal band-aids almost make sense.

It’s not a panacea, but a plausible attempt for select nostrils. 

My shocking blood tests in 2018…

2018 was chaos. I was working non-stop, experimenting with questionable diets, and somehow managing to avoid full-scale collapse. My Indian ancestors were spiritually shaking their heads at me, because despite coming from a lineage of fibre-laden dal, lentils, and spice-rich cuisine, my diet at the time contained about as much fibre as a wet paper towel.

You could almost hear the garam masala, coriander, and cumin seeds collectively sighing in disappointment every time I ate yet another low-fibre, protein-heavy meal.

But the weird thing? I wasn’t suffering any obvious gut issues. I was still active, still functioning, still pooping like a king (or so I thought). Nothing about my daily life screamed -you are a fibre-deficient failure..

Then, I got routine blood tests, expecting a gold-star metabolic report but instead, my lipid panel came back looking… let’s say, suboptimal.

Not catastrophic, not heart-attack material, but abnormal enough for a 28-year-old guy who, by all measures, should have been in peak health.

I won’t bore you with the exact numbers, but let’s just say certain fractions of my cholesterol were slightly higher than they should have been. My triglycerides were creeping up, whispering ominous things about my future and the overall pattern wasn’t what you’d expect from a “healthy” young person.

At first, I was confused. I wasn’t living off fast food. I exercised regularly. I wasn’t chugging pints of heavy cream like a medieval king. What was happening?

Then, it hit me...I had completely neglected one of the most powerful metabolic regulators: fibre.

Fibre: More than just the key to glorious dumps

Most people think of fibre as nature’s plumbing assistant; helpful for keeping you regular, preventing constipation, and producing structurally sound poops.

But fibre is a metabolic heavyweight.

Lipid & cholesterol regulation

Soluble fibre (like psyllium, oats, beans, and flaxseeds) binds to bile acids in the gut. Your liver then pulls cholesterol from your bloodstream to make more bile, effectively lowering LDL (the “bad” cholesterol).

It reduces cholesterol reabsorption, meaning less circulates in the blood, keeping arteries unclogged.

It also affects triglyceride metabolism, potentially lowering the very lipids that were misbehaving in my blood test.

Blood glucose control

Fibre slows down digestion and glucose absorption (especially handy if pre-diabetic or diabetic)

High-fibre diets have been linked to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes… and if you already have diabetes, fibre can blunt those glucose swings.

Cognitive & neurological benefits

Emerging research suggests fibre indirectly supports brain health by feeding gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

SCFAs reduce neuroinflammation, improve the gut-brain axis, and may even protect against cognitive decline.

The microbiome’s influence on neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine also ties back to mental health, anxiety, and mood stability.

Microbiome & liver function

Fibre feeds gut bacteria, which produce SCFAs that regulate immune function, inflammation, and even liver health via the gut-liver axis.

A fibre-rich diet lowers systemic inflammation, reducing fatty liver disease risk and keeping gut-derived endotoxins from overwhelming the liver.

Certain fibres even promote bacterial species that outcompete harmful ones, meaning less inflammation, better digestion, and overall metabolic harmony.

My redemption arc

By 2019, I had gradually increased my fibre intake…not by eating exotic, Peruvian monk-blessed ancient grains, but by strategically adding more fibre-packed foods to my diet in a sustainable way.

My repeat lipid tests? Back to normal.

Which just proved: fibre isn’t optional, it’s metabolic fuel.

Hitting 30g of fibre a day sounds simple in theory, but when you actually try to do it consistently, it can feel like a full-time job.

Luckily, my dietitian friend helped me create a crib sheet; a quick reference guide of easy, high-fibre foods and meal combos that wouldn’t require cooking elaborate meals, eating kilos of raw vegetables like a distressed rabbit or spending a fortune on rare, overpriced “superfoods.”

You can download the fibre cheat sheet which I’ve added to over the years and I’m hoping it helps in making the task of eating enough fibre more accessible and simple:

Creatine in women’s health…

This was something pretty interesting I learned only this week (thanks to this paper: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7998865/ )

Despite having extensive research on creatine, what we know about using creatine specifically in women is vastly understudied versus its effect in men (not surprised here…).

For example women have 70-80% lower endogenous (internal) creatine stores compared to men. It also appears hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle and later life can directly influence creatine metabolism.

This deficit isn’t trivial. Creatine phosphate is your cells’ emergency generator, fueling everything from muscle contractions to neuronal fireworks. Yet, likely a biological software glitch decided women should ration this resource while multitasking through hormonal tsunamis.

Female hormones like estrogen can directly dial down creatine synthesis during the menstrual cycle. The result? Potentially symptoms like fatigue, brain fog etc

Phase 1: Menstrual mayhem

During the luteal phase, when estrogen peaks, your brain’s energy reserves crash and creatine steps in to bail you out:

It helps preserve protein and stops muscle catabolism and stabilizes mood by boosting cerebral (i.e. brain) phosphocreatine (PMID: 33800439)

Phase 2: Menopausal mutiny

Post-menopause, estrogen abandons ship, and often takes your muscle mass and bone density with it. Enter creatine + resistance training…an effective & dynamic duo that can spark osteoblasts into action (i.e the bone-building cells) 

Hacking your inner biochemist (according to science) 

Dose: According to most research it seems 3-5g daily gives you the benefits(1 tsp). No loading phase needed.

1. Lift heavy, live longer: Pair with resistance training 3x/week. Your osteoblasts will throw a gratitude party.

2. Brain fuel: Mix into morning coffee. There’s emerging data linking creatine and cognitive benefits… and we already know plenty about the mildly nootropic effect of caffeine. 

3. Gut check: Interesting there seems to be some growing data about creatine & gut health. Specifically suggesting it may help to tighten intestinal barriers (i.e gaps between cells lining your intestines!) 

While everyone talks about its muscle supporting function (very well researched), there is a growing body of evidence suggesting creatine supports nearly every aspect of daily life! 

The myth of natural talent

This isn’t intended to sound harsh but…you’re not special. No-one is.

I used to think of “talent” as some sort of divine gift or genetic lottery which fast tracks someone for greatness. But there is no mystical force separating geniuses from the rest of us mortals. It’s repetition, failure, adaptation, and being stubborn.

The neuroscience of "talent": your brain is just a meat computer that adapts

Your brain is not a magical vessel of pre-loaded abilities (although it could be in a dystopian future)... it’s a biological adaptation machine. When you see someone who’s “naturally talented” at something, what you’re actually seeing is:

1. Neural plasticity in action – the brain rewires itself based on repeated exposure. More reps = stronger connections.

2. Pattern recognition – “gifted” people aren’t born with skills; they just notice patterns faster because they’ve spent more time around them.

3. Myelination – the more you repeat an action, the faster and stronger your brain’s signal transmission becomes. The process of wrapping neurons in myelin (biological insulation) makes skills feel effortless - but this only happens with practice… no-one is born being able to ride a bike!

Famously Malcolm Gladwell spoke about the “10,000-Hour rule”; which, granted, has been debated and semi-debunked… but it still holds a core truth: excellence is a function of deliberate practice, not genetics.

Personally, one of the reasons I succumbed to the myth of “natural” talent was because it absolves me of responsibility. If geniuses are born, not made, then I don’t have to try. If success is genetic, then failure isn’t my fault.

Take Mozart; he was composing symphonies at five (supposedly). Then clearly he was gifted…right? (The missing puzzle piece was that his father was a ruthless music teacher (+ composer + violinist) who drilled him from infancy. He had a childhood of forced, obsessive practice.)

Every “overnight success” was years in the making. Every "born writer" was just a kid who read obsessively. Every “natural athlete” was someone who ran and climbed things constantly as a child.

Talent isn’t a gift…it’s the ability to suffer through failure without quitting.

Start being bad at something now until you’re good at it. That’s the only real path to mastery.

P.S this week’s podcast episode was a pretty deep one for me…an in depth chat with a Zen Buddhist Monk Haemin Sunim:

The Gut-Liver axis…

Your gut and liver are basically conjoined twins, connected by the portal vein, a superhighway that delivers nutrients, bacteria, toxins, and inflammatory signals directly from your gut to your liver… whether your liver likes it or not!

If your gut microbiome is thriving, your liver gets a steady supply of beneficial metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), polyphenols, and antioxidants, which help reduce inflammation, improve insulin sensitivity, and keep liver cells from self-destructing.

But if your gut is a dysbiotic dumpster fire, your liver becomes a biochemical crime scene, flooded with endotoxins (LPS), pro-inflammatory cytokines, and metabolic waste, which can increase the risk of fatty liver disease, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and metabolic dysfunction.

In short: Whatever goes down in your gut doesn’t stay in your gut.

How the Gut-Liver axis works (or fails miserably)

1. Your gut feeds your liver:

• The gut ferments fibre into SCFAs, which protect the liver from fat accumulation and oxidative stress.

• A healthy gut microbiome reduces systemic inflammation, taking the burden off the liver’s detox pathways.

2. Leaky gut = angry liver:

• When the intestinal barrier weakens, bacterial toxins (LPS) escape into the bloodstream, triggering liver inflammation and damage.

• This process is linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), cirrhosis, and metabolic syndrome.

3. Dysbiosis = Liver dysfunction

• An overgrowth of bad bacteria (like Proteobacteria) leads to excessive ethanol production, yes—your gut can literally brew its own alcohol, even if you’re sober.

• This messes up fat metabolism in the liver, worsening fatty liver disease and insulin resistance.

Now of course for a healthy liver, you still need to do all those boring basics that’s drummed into us all the time (sleep, movement, cutting down alcohol etc)... but there good evidence based on published research that there are some foods which can be benevolent to your liver!

1. Coffee (Probably your liver’s favourite drug)

• Coffee increases glutathione, the liver’s master antioxidant, helping it clear out toxins more efficiently.

• It can help reduce liver fat accumulation, slowing down the progression of NAFLD and cirrhosis.

• Modulates gut microbiota, promoting good bacteria while reducing gut-derived inflammation.

…so drink up, you caffeinated gremlin.

2. Dark chocolate >70% (yes you read that correctly)

• Rich in flavonoids and polyphenols, which combat inflammation and oxidative damage in liver cells.

• Some evidence it can lower portal vein pressure, reducing hypertension-related liver damage.

• Data suggesting it can improve insulin sensitivity, preventing fat accumulation in the liver.

The best part? You can now eat chocolate and say it’s for “liver health.” What a time to be alive.

3. Green tea 

• High in EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), a polyphenol that can help to reduce liver fat and oxidative stress.

• Some data suggesting it can help reduce markers of liver inflammation.

Green tea drinkers always act like they’re on a higher plane of existence, and for once, they may be right - it could actually have benefits at a cellular level.

4.  Berries 

• High in anthocyanins & flavonoids that can help prevent oxidative stress and liver fibrosis.

• Improve gut microbiome composition, indirectly reducing gut-derived inflammation that damages the liver.

Your liver has been saving your life since day one, filtering toxins, metabolizing nutrients, and preventing you from keeling over every time you eat processed garbage. And yet, society loves to glorify the heart, the brain, the muscles, while the liver works thanklessly in the background, absorbing all your bad decisions.

Your liver is a biochemical martyr, a quiet warrior fighting against your love of alcohol, sugar, and ultra-processed food.

Maybe it’s time we start treating it like the overworked, underappreciated detox machine it is.

So on behalf of the liver consortium, I’m passing on a message request that you eat more fibre, drink your coffee, sip your green tea, and if the moment takes you…eat some dark chocolate. 

P.S If you want to learn more about gut health, check out my book here:

One supplement that reduces age by 4 months?!

Aging is an inevitable biological betrayal…your cells degrade, joints creak, and at some point, you make a noise when standing up. But according to a new study in Nature Aging, we might be able to drag our feet against time’s merciless advance with a surprisingly simple formula:

1. Omega-3s (1g daily)

2. Vitamin D (2,000 IU daily)

3. Exercise (30 minutes, three times a week)

This seemingly holy trinity of health interventions was tested on 700+ adults over 70 in the DO-HEALTH trial across five European countries. The result was that participants biologically aged three to four months slower over three years.

That might not sound like much…but considering most aging interventions are wildly expensive, dubious, or borderline science fiction (looking at you, blood transfusions from 20-year-olds); this appears to be solid, evidence-backed advice.

And the benefits didn’t stop there:

• Additional data suggested there was a 61% lower risk of invasive cancer with the combined intervention

• Fewer falls & infections (meaning you might avoid breaking a hip or catching the flu from Dave at the supermarket)

The biological effects were measured using epigenetic clocks, which assess DNA methylation patterns…fancy science chat for how much cellular wear and tear your body has accumulated.

So…what can we learn from this? 

Omega-3s, Vitamin D, and basic movement aren’t just for wellness influencers trying to sell you supplements…they are pretty accessible and simple, science-backed interventions that could actively slow down biological aging and keep you from decaying at full speed. (granted there will be some confounding factors here and you could argue a degree of correlation versus causation)

While billionaires are trying to cheat death with AI, cryogenic freezing, and injecting themselves with who knows what, regular people can take a much simpler, cheaper, and less creepy approach.

You don’t need to live forever. You just need to live better, for longer. And according to this research, a little fish oil, sunshine, and movement might just be your best bet.