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How Does Your Oral Health Affect Your Overall Health?

Oral Health and Overall HealthHow can the health of your mouth affect your whole body? The past 5 to 10 years have seen a growing interest in possible links between oral health and body health. Several studies have been conducted that show a connection between the health of your mouth and many serious health concerns. Below are just a few of the connections that have already been made.

Oral Health and Heart Disease

Inflammation in the body is a primary factor in heart disease. When you have inflammation in the mouth, this can increase the amount of inflammation throughout the body, including in the arteries, where it can lead to heart attack and stroke. Additionally, several species of bacteria that cause periodontitis (erosion of tissue and bone that support the teeth) have been found to be present in arterial plaque in the heart. This plaque can lead to heart attack.

Oral Health and Respiratory Infections

According to research published in the Journal of Periodontology. A new study suggests that periodontal disease may increase the risk for respiratory infections, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia. Researchers suspect that the presence of oral pathogens associated with periodontal disease may increase a patient’s risk of developing or exacerbating respiratory disease.

Oral Health and Rheumatoid Arthritis

Some studies show that people with moderate to severe gum disease are nearly three times more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. People with periodontitis also have higher blood levels of an antibody that has been associated with more severe, damaging RA than people with healthy gums.

The Bottom Line

There is definitely a connection between our oral health and the health of our whole bodies. All of the connections between the two are yet to be discovered, but it is clear that taking care of your teeth is not only an investment in your smile, but also your entire body!

Slow Down the Clock & Embrace Vitality: Anti-Aging Medicine

anti-agingWhy are more and more women becoming interested in Anti-Aging Medicine? Women today are more in tune with their health and well being. We not only wish to merely prolong our lives, but we want to ensure that those years are enjoyed in a productive and vital fashion. This is the goal of Anti-Aging medicine. This form of medicine is based on the very early detection, prevention, and reversal of age-related diseases.

If you have had your cholesterol tested, taken a lipid-lowering drug, had a mammogram, or taken HRT with thyroid, testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, melatonin, or DHEA, you have experienced anti-aging medicine.

You can take every pill and rue your parents for passing on their genes, but if you want to live long and healthy there are at least three things you must do:

  1. Eat right
  2. Be nutritionally & hormonally balanced
  3. Exercise regularly

While there are no guarantees in life, adopting these healthy pursuits can enhance your chances of vitality as you reach your 60s, 70s, 80s — and beyond, experts say.

You May Ask…How Do I Begin?

Let’s Begin with Diet and Nutrition:

We all need to eat a well-balanced, nutritionally sound diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Many people work hard at eating well, but may still have some vitamin, mineral or antioxidant deficiencies that will affect the function of their immune system. Research at the University of Texas showed that 50% of people eating well and taking vitamin supplements were still deficient.

A new state of the art test by Spectracell Labs measures intracellular levels of vitamins, minerals and other essential micronutrients. This test reveals a person’s functional nutritional status over a much longer time than conventional serum testing. A program can then be catered by your physician to focus in on your nutritional deficiencies and a tailor-made vitamin and supplement plan can be created to address your specific needs. Identifying and correcting your specific micronutrient deficiencies will help promote optimal function of your body and help prevent the development or progression of chronic disease.

Hormonal Balance is Equally as Important:

There could be deficiencies in a woman’s thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, or DHEA levels. All these hormones are crucial for healthy living and should be measured. Let’s take Thyroid as an example. The Thyroid Foundation of America (TFA) estimates that there are 14 million people in the U.S. with an underactive thyroid, about 70 percent of them women, and about half of whom don’t even know they have a problem. Recently, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) decided to raise its standards for “normal” levels of thyroid hormones, potentially making millions of additional women candidates for hypothyroidism treatment.

There are two types of hormone supplements that could be utilized…synthetic and bio-identical. The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine suggests using bio-identical hormone replacement. This is based on the idea of replenishing your bodies with hormones that are biologically identical to what your body has lost, thus minimizing potential side effects while increasing benefit. Speak to your Ob/Gyn about measuring and replacing hormones to achieve a balance that is right for you.

Exercise & Weight Control is Another Key to a Longer, Healthier Life:

Overweight Americans are sicker late in life than normal-weight people and die prematurely, a new study shows. Researchers at Columbia University in New York found that overweight and obese women spend an average of three more years in ill health than normal-weight women. Heavy people are more likely to suffer from pain, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses.

Today, Americans spend more on health care than anyone else in the world. And yet, we aren’t much healthier as a people. The take-home lesson: it’s never too late to start eating well, balancing our hormones and nutrition, and exercising, but getting a jump start while you’re still agile is best.

Live a Longer, More VITAL Life – Adopt Anti-Aging Medicine!

With all that long and vital lives can offer us both personally and as a society, anti-aging medicine has accelerated the pace of advancements in health promotion and prevention, and is the most important new model for health care for this new millennium. By implementing a proactive health program embracing elements of anti-aging preventive medical care for yourself, you increase your ability to live a long and robust lifespan in which you will spend quality and abundant time with your family and its future generations.

Progesterone: The Missing Link

progesterone-deficiencyTo function optimally, the female body requires an optimal balance of progesterone and the estrogen hormones (a trio of related hormones called estradiol, estrone and estriol). Progesterone Deficiency occurs when the hormonal balance is shifted in favor of the estrogens. This condition is also referred to as Estrogen Dominance. The signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance are often seen in the form of exaggerated and painful PMS.

Millions of Women Suffer From These Premenstrual Signs and Symptoms of Progesterone Deficiency:

  • Breast Tenderness
  • Mood Swings
  • Fluid Retention and Weight Gain
  • Headaches
  • Cramps
  • Clotting
  • Irregular Cycles

In Addition, Here are Some Other Symptoms of Progesterone Deficiency:

  • Uterine Fibroids
  • Breast Disease
  • Endometriosis
  • Infertility
  • Miscarriage
  • Joint Pain
  • Muscle Pain
  • Decreased Libido
  • Panic Attacks

How Does Progesterone Deficiency Happen?

For the most part, it is the inevitable result of the aging process. A woman’s ovaries generally function best between a few years after puberty until around age thirty. However, as a woman ages, so do her ovaries. By the time a woman reaches thirty-five years of age she is over halfway through her menstrual life and her ovarian function begins to falter.

The ovaries are the primary site for the production of both the estrogens and progesterone. But while both estrogen and progesterone levels decline with age, progesterone declines much more dramatically. By menopause, a woman’s progesterone level is likely to be a mere 1/120 of the level she experienced in her early twenties. In contrast, her postmenopausal estrogen level may remain at 40% of the level she experienced in early adulthood, because even when her ovaries no longer produce estrogen, her fat cells continue to do so. Due to this additional source of estrogen, an obese postmenopausal woman may have higher estrogen levels than a thin premenopausal woman.

Another reason why Progesterone Deficiency becomes more common with age is that as a woman ages she begins to have anovulatory cycles, menstrual cycles during which her ovaries do not release eggs. When a woman does not ovulate, her ovaries produce NO PROGESTERONE AT ALL.

The stimulatory effects of estrogen unopposed by progesterone can cause the endometrial lining to become abnormally thickened, resulting in heavier periods, clotting, and painful menstrual cramps. As women enter their thirties, anovulatory cycles become more common, and symptoms of estrogen dominance become progressively more severe.

In Addition, Some Other Causes of Progesterone Deficiency are:

  • Hysterectomy
  • Bilateral Tubal Ligation
  • Childbirth
  • Oral and Injectable Contraceptives
  • XenoEsrogens (Petrochemical products found in plastics, herbicides and pesticides)

Natural bio-identical progesterone replacement can help you to counteract these symptoms by getting your Estrogen and Progesterone into proper balance. If you suspect you may have hormonal imbalance, consider taking this free self analysis hormone quiz to find out how likely it is you may need treatment.

An Alternative Mommy Makeover

mom-with-childAfter having a baby, it’s often difficult to get your body back to the way it once looked. Many women experience excess fat remaining in their stomach area, as well as sagging skin.

The Traditional Mommy Makeover

Plastic surgeons tout a ‘Mommy Makeover’ as an answer to these issues, which involves ‘going under the knife’ to correct the problems. Typically this procedure would involve having a breast lift or augmentation as well as a tummy tuck. While those procedures are often effective, they come at a cost. Of course, there is the literal cost-those surgeries can be quite expensive. But other risks (which are increased by the fact that multiple procedures are done at once) include:

  • Scarring
  • Excessive bleeding
  • Blood Clots
  • Infection
  • Complications with anesthesia

Many moms believe that having the ‘Mommy Makeover’ is the only solution, but technology has come so far and now there are many non-invasive alternatives to doing something as drastic as surgery.

Coolsculpting

Coolsculpting is a phenomenal treatment that is effective in reducing fat in those areas where diet and exercise just aren’t doing the trick. To help moms eliminate their leftover baby belly, it can be performed in the stomach region. We usually are able to achieve around 30-40% reduction in the fat layer in most patients, which greatly improves the appearance of the area.

Reaction

For tightening loose skin in the stomach area and around the breasts, we can utilize a treatment called ‘Reaction’. ”Reaction combines the mechanism of advanced RF energy and vacuum therapy that work with the body’s natural regeneration process to deliver safe and efficient treatments for cellulite, body contouring and tightening of the skin.”

Both treatments are non-invasive, very safe, and much more cost effective than surgery. By combining these treatments, we have seen fabulous results and helped many moms look and feel they’re best!

Finding Balance and Harmony

Incorporating ‘Balance and Harmony’ in every area of our lives is vitally important in our quest for health and happiness. In my practice, my goal is to empower my patients to attain both.

Balancing Our Hormones = Harmony in Our Bodies

balance-harmonyThroughout our lives, both women and men will have hormonal changes that can affect their overall health. For instance, a woman can become what is called ‘Estrogen Dominant’, which means their body is producing too much Estrogen and not enough Progesterone.

This can happen:

  • During Puberty
  • After Childbirth
  • When taking birth control pills
  • During midlife
  • When taking synthetic Estrogen hormones

When a woman is Estrogen Dominant, it can manifest in symptoms such as headaches, fluid retention and difficult, heavy periods. A lack of Progesterone can even trigger hypothyroidism, uterine fibroids and increase the risk of breast cancer.

I recommend that my female patients who are exhibiting these symptoms be tested for hormonal imbalances by using a saliva testing kit from ZRT labs. The reason I recommend this type of testing is because it makes it possible to see how much of each hormone is available for your body to utilize. This gives us a much broader picture of your hormonal fluctuations than a standard blood test would be able to provide.

Balance Your Time = Harmony in Your Life

Even too much of a good thing can be bad-every area of our lives, including our health and our time, need to be in proper proportion.

We are all on a quest to juggle the responsibilities of life…the key to managing it all is balance.

What are the most important things in your life? It can be helpful to think about what really means the most to you-even to write them down. Now ask yourself, ‘Does the way I spend my time reflect what is most important to me in my life, in my heart?’ By prioritizing your life’s passions and making time for what really matters first, you can more easily filter out the meaningless things that steal your precious time.

Remember … let’s BALANCE ourselves the best we can … Mind, Body and Spirit. Enjoy!!

Could Your Heartburn Actually be Caused by Too Little (Not Too Much) Stomach Acid?

Common “knowledge” is that heartburn and GERD are caused from having too much stomach acid. However, today I want to challenge you to see the flaws in that theory and consider that it may be from having too LITTLE stomach acid.

Stomach Acid & Your Age

It is statistically a fact that the incidence of heartburn and GERD increases with age, while stomach acid levels generally decline with age. How does this make sense? If heartburn was caused by too much stomach acid, wouldn’t your chances of having heartburn go down as you age? In fact, according to Jonathan Wright, MD of the Tahoma Clinic in Washington State, when stomach acid is measured in people suffering from heartburn and GERD it is almost always low, not high.

What Happens When You Have Low Stomach Acid?

When you have low levels of stomach acid (Hypochlorhydria), food will sit in your stomach longer than it should and not digest properly. When this happens, the partially digested food along with stomach acid is forced back up into your esophageal sphincter, creating the burning sensation.

If that’s true, then why does taking antacids help the pain?

low-stomach-acidThe symptoms of heartburn and GERD are actually caused by stomach acid, but only because it is backing up into your esophagus. Any amount of acid in the esophagus is going to cause problems. So, when you take antacids it will give you relief from the acid that has backed up.

Also, throwing antacids at the symptoms does not treat underlying causes of the problem and in fact it makes things worse. Americans spend more than $13 billion on acid stopping drugs each year. This expense might be justified if antacid drugs were actually curing heartburn and GERD, but just the opposite is true. Not only do these drugs fail to treat GERD, they will make the underlying condition (not enough stomach acid) worse. This virtually necessitates the lifelong use of these medications for anyone who takes them (what most drug manufacturing companies want).

Curing a condition means eliminating its cause, but this of course is not the case with antacids. As soon as the patient stops taking them, the symptoms return. And often they’re worse than they were before the patient started the drug. This is due to the fact that antacids actually reduced acid levels to even lower levels…this was the problem to begin with!

Serious Health Risks Beyond Heartburn!

There are also some serious dangers associated with Hypochlorhydria. Especially if you are taking antacids and further reducing stomach acid to extreme low levels. Without proper stomach acid your body can not digest foods properly and absorb all the nutrients and trace elements from the food.

Here are Some of the Major Consequences From This:

  • Substantial increase in one’s risk of Osteoporosis.
  • Malabsorption of B12. It is a konw fact that proton pump inhibitors can reduce your absorption of B12 to less than 1%.
  • Increase susceptibility to gut infections and food poisoning.
  • Increased liklihood of Candida Yeast overgrowth.
  • Increased risk of stomach cancer.

Common Symptoms of Low Stomach Acid (Hypochlorhydria):

  • Extreme fullness after meals
  • Belching
  • Heartburn/burning sensation
  • Gas, flatulence after meals
  • Indigestion
  • Burning
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency
  • Aging due to malabsorption
  • Food allergies/sensitivities
  • Anemia
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Food allergies/sensitivities
  • Skin probles
  • Weak nails

If Low Stomach Acid is The Problem, Then How is it Treated?

By taking a high quality digestive enzyme, you will help the body to break down the food you eat and prevent it from backing up into the esophagus. There are a variety of digestive enzymes on the market, including single enzyme and multiple enzyme. Most people are going to benefit most from a multi-enzyme product, so you’ll want to see a number of enzymes listed, including proteases (which break down proteins), lipases (which break down fats), and carbohydrases (such as amylase, which break down carbohydrates).

You should also stay away from foods you are sensitive to, which can cause inflammation in your gut and make your symptoms worse. You can find out what those foods are by doing a simple

Some Other Things Thant Can Help:

  • Chew your food fully. This will help your stomach to more easily digest your food.
  • Eat sitting down and while in a relaxed state. The mere sight, smell, or thought of food triggers reflexes in the brain that result in increased stomach acid secretion, so you want to give eating your full attention.
  • To temporarily increase the acidity of the stomach, drink a small amount of fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar added to room temperature water about 15-20 minutes prior to eating.

You Don’t Need to Suffer with Heartburn Any More!

I hope this information has been beneficial for you and has challenged you to rethink the way you approach treating your heartburn and GERD symptoms. Do you suffer from the symptoms of low stomach acid? Do you plan on making a change? Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments below.