Prescription for Health

September 16th, 2015     Health and Wellbeing, , Nutrition,

A healthy smile is more than straight white teeth.  It starts with a healthy, clean mouth without infections, gum disease, or cavities, and is supported by a healthy lifestyle.  A healthy body includes a healthy mouth and the two go hand in hand.

So our prescription for health is simple:

Eat REAL food, jam-packed with nutrition
Drink more water
Move your body
Get enough sleep
Ditch the smokes
Commit to your dental hygiene
Watch your thoughts, and...
Love more - starting with loving yourself

Drink more water: Water makes up over 60% of our body. It is essential for proper digestion, nutrient absorption, circulation, and detoxification. Often people drink water only when they eat their meals and some don't drink any water at all, thinking they are getting enough from soft drinks, tea, and coffee. Caffeinated drinks 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.

Avoid tobacco products: In simple terms, smoking is bad for you. Smoking not only harms your lungs, it speeds up ageing and increases your risk for gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers. Many of the cases of severe gum disease we see in adults can be attributed to cigarette smoking.

Commit to being active: People who exercise regularly live longer and are healthier than those who don't. Exercise doesn't have to be hard or intense. Start by keeping your body moving, try sitting less and walking more, your body will start to love you back.

Eat sugar in moderation and cut back on soft drinks: Everything in moderation is appropriate when it comes to sugar. Tooth decay occurs when sugar feeds the bacteria in the sticky plaque on teeth to produce acid. This acid can destroy tooth enamel leading to decay and cavities. Try to limit sweet treats to meal time. It is the frequency of sugar exposure that greatly increases your susceptibility for tooth decay. Soft drinks have no health benefits and are no more than a highly acidic liquid full of sugar and additives. They do not rehydrate you and strip your body of essential minerals. The same goes with diet soft drinks (minus the sugar, but full of artificial sweeteners).

Commit to your dental hygiene: Get into the habit of brushing and flossing twice a day to keep your teeth, gums and mouth healthy. Visit your dentist regularly and love your hygienist. Dentists do more than just clean teeth and give fillings. Regular check-ups can detect any potential problems early on while they can easily be treated as well as detecting serious oral health problems such oral cancers and gum disease. As we live longer and want to keep looking and feeling our best, making a regular dental check-up a part of an overall healthy lifestyle makes really good sense.

Protect your teeth: If you play contact sports, a mouthguard is a must. A custom-fitted mouthguard cushions teeth against impact, protects against soft tissue and jaw joint injuries, and may help to prevent fractured or displaced jaws. No mouthguard, no play!

Commit to You: Caring for yourself is the best medicine and is an essential part of maintaining your own health and well-being. Make choices to care for yourself based on what you feel works for you and your body. Don't be afraid to experiment, learn and change the rules as you go along, enjoy the process. 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.

Call us to see how we can assist you to achieve your dental health and well-being goals for 2015 and the years ahead.