Thedietsinreview

If you have ever had a toothache you know what one, all too common, type of oral disease is. However, there are several ailments that fall into the category of oral disease and most of them can be avoided by taking preventative measures to protect oral health.

It’s worth noting that the risk factors for oral disease are also common to four other chronic diseases which are cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. In other words, if you eliminate or reduce those risk factors you will be doing more than promoting good oral health. You may even be saving your life! Those risk factors which are shared in common are harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use, and an unhealthy diet. Poor oral hygiene is also a significant risk factor for oral disease.

But just what is oral health? Obviously we all know that we are in good oral health if we don’t have any pain and we are free from sores or cancers. But oral health is also the absence of periodontal (gum) disease. Birth defects also fall into the category such as cleft lip and/or palate. The only remedy for that would be surgical if and when it is applicable.

In order to prevent many oral diseases it is important to maintain a healthy diet, refrain from smoking, and use good and frequent oral hygiene. Brush and floss regularly and use products with fluoride to prevent tooth decay. Going one step further, there are nutritional supplements that promote strong, healthy teeth. Vitamin and mineral supplements are available to give your body the nutrients needed to nourish and protect your teeth and gums.

If you have ever tried to quit smoking, now might be the time to try again. No, don’t try; you CAN be successful with the right tools. They are out there. You just need to find what will work for you. There are nutraceutical and naturopathic remedies that are clinically proven to resist the cravings and there are also supplements to help counteract the damages smoking has already done. Also, there are electronic cigarettes on the market that give you the kick of nicotine without the harmful fire and smoke.

Just look at these statistics published by the World Health Organization and you just might find the motivation you have been lacking. They state that “Tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.” Worldwide, there are currently more than one billion smokers. In the twentieth century there were an estimated 100,000 deaths directly attributed to tobacco usage but it is projected that in the twenty-first century there will be up to about a billion deaths.

But to get down to hard facts, tobacco kills at least 5.4 million people worldwide per year. That is one in ten adult deaths. And if that isn’t scary enough, think about this. Tobacco kills about half of all users! The WHO states that the risk factor is 6 of every 8 deaths worldwide.

There really are more effective solutions than those expensive patches that have been around for a few decades now. If you lacked the motivation before, just keep reading those statistics and you will have taken the first step to a healthier lifestyle. Let the risk factors sink in and then you can chose which method you would like to pursue. Remember, there are proven methods. You just need to find what works for you.

It has been a recent theory that meals high in carbs would increase the rate that tryptophan enters the brain, thus elevating levels of serotonin which is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. Unfortunately, if the meal includes even a small amount of protein the availability of tryptophan will be decreased. What this means is that if we eat a meal that contains even less than a 5% proportion of protein those carbs won’t do a bit of good.

It is true that some nutrients in specific foods have been found, under specific laboratory conditions, to affect our moods. But, the amounts of those nutrients we ingest during the typical meal are not sufficient to alter or modulate mood. Rather, it is found that supplements are more efficient for use as mood enhancers or regulators.

Doctors have found that a folate deficiency in elderly patients is often associated with depression in that age group. Folate is a form of a B vitamin, Vitamin B9, which is naturally found in food. If for some reason the body is not able to absorb enough folate from foods, supplementation is often required. The synthetic supplement used to treat folate deficiencies is folic acid. Although you can find it alone it is usually part of the water soluble B complex of vitamins.

Foods and beverages containing caffeine are said to elevate our mood, but the jury is still out on that. It appears that caffeine, rather than altering mood per se, actually gives up a quick metabolic boost that is often mistaken as an elevation in mood. More energy is not synonymous with elevated mood. The two can go hand in hand, but are not necessarily the same thing.

The conclusion is that while nutrients can and do effect mood, the best way to provide enough nutrients to make a difference is through supplementation as opposed to eating foods containing those nutrients.

Everyone has heard the terms heart attack and stroke. We know that they fall into a category known as cardiovascular diseases. What many of us aren’t aware of is that there are several groups of cardiovascular disorders. While all of them may lead to heart attacks or strokes, treatment may be specific to the type and severity of the disorder. In other words, while the main objective is to prevent heart attacks and strokes, the way we go about this prevention varies depending on the specific grouping in which the disease is found.

Probably the most well known of cardiovascular disorders is called coronary heart disease which effects blood vessels to and from the heart itself. Then there is congenital heart disease in which the heart was malformed at birth. Cerebrovascular disease involves blood vessels which supply the brain and peripheral arterial disease affects the vessels supplying the arms and legs. Rheumatic heart disease is caused by streptococcal bacteria that damaged the heard muscle and/or valves as a result of rheumatic fever. The two forms of cardiovascular disease that involve blood clots in the veins of the legs are deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. These clots can dislodge and travel to the lungs and heart.

While there are medications and surgeries that can treat symptoms once the disease is present, scientific research has proven that we can and should do something to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease. Diets and supplements high in fiber are known to be heart healthy. Recent research has also shown that antioxidants reduce the risk of heart attacks by attacking free radicals in the bloodstream. Resveratrol is known to counteract bad cholesterol. And don’t forget exercise. The World Health Organization suggests that we should get at least 20 minutes per day of moderate activity. Live heart healthy and you’ll live heart longer.

Everyone knows about Vitamin C and Vitamin E and Vitamin A. Those are some pretty popular vitamins. How come your mother never told you about that amazing Vitamin D? Well, she may have told you that it is necessary for strong bones and that’s why they fortify milk with it, but did she ever tell you that research has linked deficiencies in Vitamin D to a myriad of health issues which include obesity, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, infections, inflammation and even heart trouble? Probably not, but let’s give her the benefit of the doubt. She may not have known those things because some of them have only recently come to light, even within the last decade or so.

The reason so many of us are probably deficient in Vitamin D is because it is comes from a photocemical reaction in the skin when we are exposed to direct sunlight. That exposure needs to be DIRECT, meaning NO SUNSCREEN which limits the UV exposure which is the necessary element in sunlight we are talking about. Brittish researchers have concluded that perhaps two or three brief 10-15 minute periods in the direct sunlight per day would provide enough direct sunlight for the photochemical sysnthesis to take place.

We have heard so many horror stories about being exposed to direct sunlight that we don’t even buy shampoos that don’t have sunscreen in them. If you are unable to get enough sunlight you WILL be deficient in Vitamin D unless you take a supplement.

The recommended dosage is 200 IU (International Units) for children and adults through age 50, 400 IU for adults 51-70 and 600 IU for people age 71 and above. Researchers and medical professionals are saying that even these levels are too low so the US Institute of Medicine is currently reviewing these recommended levels.

Because of the increased risk of skin cancer from exposure to the sun, doctors and scientists alike are recommending supplementation rather than exposing yourself to potential dangers.

While we all know that pharmaceuticals are prescription and non-prescription medications to treat illness and other health issues, many of us have never heard the term ‘nutraceutical.’ Actually, it is a compound blend of the words nutrition and pharmaceutical. And, blending the definitions of those two words it can be understood that the term nutraceutical refers to a nutritive substance that is used to prevent or treat an illness or health related condition.

In days gone by we referred to many nutraceuticals as ‘homeopathic’ or ‘naturopathic’ remedies. For instance, grandma used to give you warm water with honey and lemon when you had a sore throat or a cough. We always thought it was simply to soothe because the lemon cut the phlegm and honey coats the throat. But, recent research has shown that lemon has amazing properties that actually are healing as well! It is high in Vitamins C, B6 and B12. It acts as a tonic to the liver and flushes toxins and unhealthy bacteria out of the system.

Many people are reluctant to treat illnesses with pharmaceuticals because of the very real dangers of toxicity and long-term negative side effects. Consequently, a lot of emphasis is being placed on using nutraceuticals whenever possible because of the reduced risks involved.

Then, there is a whole school of thought that nutraceuticals are actually preventative as opposed to curative. Individuals will still treat many ailments with natural, nutritional supplements, but they ALSO aim to prevent those illnesses with proper diet and supplementation. Nutraceuticals, therefore, are used for both prevention and cure.

As a society we have gone from being overweight to being morbidly obese. It might be a painful realization for many of us, but the truth is, we are killing ourselves needlessly. Many of the illnesses and subsequent deaths which are directly linked to obesity could have been prevented if more focus would have been placed on weight loss and exercise regimens as opposed to symptomatic treatments.

It is common knowledge that coronary heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer can all be directly attributed to being profoundly overweight. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical corporations make big money off patients buying expensive medications such as insulin and drugs to control blood pressure.

If more doctors would treat the obesity factor BEFORE it caused major health issues, literally billions of dollars in revenue would be lost to those very same companies. There is no wonder why more effort isn’t spent to educate the general populace. That loss of revenue has a way of filtering down to the physicians. Naturopathic practitioners and doctors are well aware of what they are up against, but continue to fight on to bring about necessary reforms.

There are many safe and efficient supplements that enable us to take pounds off quickly. Probably the very most effective supplements are a formulation of fiber, antioxidants, fat blockers, fat metabolizers, and herbal stimulants. It is not necessary to use dangerous diet pills or stimulants like ephedra to get the job done and to get it done quickly. Remember, obesity is known to significantly shorten our life expectancy. Treat it now before it causes irreparable damage to vital organs and biological systems.

It’s funny how we have all these body parts and most of us don’t have a clue as to what they do. Not only that, but even if we DID know what they did I don’t believe we would know how to keep all those parts running smoothly. Of course you know that your heart pumps blood throughout the system and you couldn’t breathe without your lungs, but are you aware of just how important your kidneys really are?

A quart of blood is filtered and cleaned every sixty seconds. If you want your kidneys to function that efficiently it is very important that you give them the nutrients they need to stay healthy. And did you know that in a twenty-four hour period they cleanse approximately two quarts of toxins, impurities and liquids from your system? Urine is created so that all that can be eliminated.

Actually, your kidneys do much more than that! Besides eliminating harmful toxins, waste and chemicals, they help to keep the levels of acid balanced in your blood. They help to regulate your blood pressure and actually are involved in the production of some hormones. Your kidneys regulate the level of calcium in your system and they also balance fluid levels.

Remember, keeping your kidneys healthy keeps you healthy as well. Pay special attention to chemicals and pharmaceuticals you are ingesting. Some of them can severely damage your kidneys. There are herbal supplements and nutraceuticals that have been formulated specifically to promote healthy kidneys. Help your kidneys help you by giving them the nourishment they need.

In recent years we have heard so much about foods and nutrients that are labeled as “heart healthy”. Have you ever stopped to wonder just why Madison Avenue advertising firms are able to cash in on heart healthy ads and logos? It is because heart disease, and more specifically cardiovascular disease, is still the number one leading cause of death in the United States.

Cardiovascular disease generally refers to hardening of the arteries or atherosclerosis. Over time fatty plaques are built up along the artery walls. When enough plaque builds up the arteries become hard and brittle. They also become blocked from the buildup and this eventually leads to what we refer to as heart attacks. It is known that genetics and lifestyle both play an integral roll in whether or not we will be predisposed to heart disease.

The common causes of atherosclerosis are unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, smoking and being overweight, all of which we can do something about. For once it might not be a bad idea to listen to those ad execs! Eat diets low in fat and high in fiber and antioxidants. The purpose is to flush out the plaque and toxins and keep it from building back up. Get your blood circulating with some good old fashioned exercise and by all means, quit smoking if you are a smoker.

Research says that the sooner we make radical changes to our diet and lifestyle, the easier it will be to repair your damaged arteries. It is especially important to pay attention to a heart healthy lifestyle if you have any history of heart disease in your family.

Millions of people suffer from migraine headaches every day and, unfortunately, until recently very little was understood regarding the root causes for those painful episodes.

Current research has proven that sufferers of migraines have a genetic predisposition to them and current pharmaceuticals only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. While migraines can have many triggers, the root cause is found to be hormones secreted by the endocrine system.

One researcher has found that the gene which causes the predisposition to migraines is most definitely a family connection. He further found that the gene was passed down from the maternal side in about ninety-five percent of cases studied.

This gene directly corresponds to the pituitary gland and the hormones it secretes. Besides being known to be linked to migraines, the pituitary gland controls many life cycles of the human body such as growth hormones, hormones that cause the onset of puberty, menstrual cycles and menopause.

Scientific research shows a direct relationship between the secretions of the pituitary gland and the intensity, duration and frequency of migraines.

Until very recently doctors have been treating these headaches symptomatically, meaning through the use of pharmaceutical pain medications. This has been the treatment of choice and still is for the most part. Fortunately, researchers have been able to come up with natural alternatives to dangerous prescription medications. These natural alternatives seek to prevent the onset rather than treating the symptoms once they occur.

Because of recent scientific studies which have focused on nutraceutical and naturopathic treatments for many common illnesses and diseases, a plethora of herbal and natural remedies are now available as viable alternatives to potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals.