A healthy smile should indicate a healthy mouth and a healthy body.
My prescription for health is simple:
Eat REAL food
Move your body
Get sufficient sleep
Eliminate toxins
Watch your thoughts and
Love more – commencing with loving yourself
To assist you achieve your prescription for health here are my tips for a healthy mouth and a healthy you.
Drop the Soft Drinks: Soft drinks are no more than acid full of sugar and additives. They do not rehydrate you and strip your body of essential minerals. Do not be fooled by the diet version thinking it is healthy as there is no or less sugar. The diet versions are as damaging, more acidic and have artificial sweeteners. Soft drink has no health benefits. The sugar and acid dissolves tooth enamel making you prone to tooth decay. Plus there are studies which show they increase the risks of liver failure, asthma, heart disease and obesity.
Commit to Drinking Water: Water constitutes 70% of our body and hence it is very important to drink enough to remain hydrated. Often people drink water only when they eat their meals and some don’t drink any at all thinking they are getting enough from soft drink, tea and coffee. Caffeinated beverages actually lead to water loss and will dehydrate you further. Being dehydrated leads to poor health, weakening your immune system and slowing your metabolism and the ability to remove toxins from the body.
Drop the Sugary Food: Those sugary ‘treats’ may look tempting and taste ‘good’. But sugar is toxic to your system, increasing inflammation, weakening your immune system and overloading your liver to increase fat storage. Obviously as a holistic dentist I must mention that sugar is really damaging to your oral health increasing your risk for tooth decay and gum disease. Sugar has been linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and premature ageing.
Commit to your Dental Hygiene: Get into the habit of brushing, flossing and mouth-washing twice a day to keep your teeth, gums and mouth in the best of health. Visit your dentist regularly so we can help you to keep your mouth healthy and clean and detect and problems while they are small and easily treated. To state the obvious prevention is better than cure.
Drop the Smokes: Smoking not only harms your lungs, it produces massive amounts of free radicals leading to organ damage and oxidative stress to the cells and tissues of the body. They speed-up ageing and cause many other health and dental problems especially severe gum disease. As you start to care for yourself more you urge and need to smoke naturally decreases. In the meantime eat a diet jam packed full of antioxidants and take some supplements like vitamin C and Co-enzyme Q10 to help mop up the free radical damage.
Commit to Being Active and Gentle Exercise: Keeping the body active assists the organs and body to function adequately. People who exercise regularly live longer and healthier than those who don’t. Exercise keeps you looking healthy, young and in shape. But exercise doesn’t have to be hard or intense; just keeping your body moving, sitting less and walking more are a great start. Try walking, swimming and light weight training and see your body start to love you back.
Drop the Bad Fats: Trans fats and processed vegetable oils are alien to our body. These fats are found in processed foods, margarines, cakes and biscuits. Vegetable oils that are high in polyunsaturated fats have too high a ratio of omega 6 fats. Too much omega 6 leads to inflammation and inflammation is the trigger for many illnesses and diseases in the body.
Commit to Good Fats: Fats high in omega 3 like olive oil, avocados, oily fish and yes animal fat are beneficial to health. They have been shown to reduce inflammation and the risk for heart disease and stroke. They are great for brain function and fat helps your skin look younger too. Good fats are required as the building blocks to our cells and hormone production. Fat is required to transport essential fat soluble nutrients and vitamins. Fat also is very satisfying, makes you feel full and for longer thus reducing your appetite and food cravings.
Drop the Alcohol: If you are drinker and love to party, think twice next time as alcohol is a toxin causing damage to liver cells, kidneys and your nervous system. Alcohol has been linked to cancer, obesity, inadequate blood sugar regulation, heart disease, arthritis and psychological problems like depression and anxiety.
Commit to You: Caring for yourself is the best medicine and is an essential part of your prescription for your own health and well being. Make choices to care for yourself based on what you feel works for you and your body and don’t be afraid to experiment, learn and change the rules as you and your body change and you become more familiar with yourself. Be positive, smile more, laugh a lot, it’s good for you. Being positive boosts your immune system, improves your mood, releases feel good hormones, reduces stress and improves your work quality.
