Kiwi Fruit Heals Mouth Ulcers

Last week in the “Peoples Pharmacy” it was reported many people who suffer with mouth ulcers (apthous ulcers) benefit from eating ripe kiwi fruit. Eating kiwi fruit every week may help prevent chronic oral ulcers.

Too Much Sugar Just Ain’t Good For You!

Below is from a MSN.com headline:
Health report says sugar needs its own scary warning labels
1 hr ago
Capping off a week of mind-bending health news, a “60 Minutes” report airing on April 1 sets its sights on the toxicity of sugar. On the heels of stories on how chocolate keeps us slim and mummy poop may solve the obesity damage done by chlorinated water and antibiotics, “60 Minutes” is reporting that sugar is no better than high-fructose corn syrup, contributing to heart disease, diabetes and even helping cancer tumors grow due to increased insulin production. Dr. Robert Lustig calls it a “public health crisis” and suggests that sugar should be regulated and include warning labels similar to those used for tobacco and alcohol.

The Bittersweet Story of Sugar

The Daily Press printed a great op-ed article today. I have attached the article here: 

http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-nws-oped-cuker-0318-20120317,0,2366120.story

Smoking Slays Good Bacteria

It appears as if good bacteria are more susceptible to tobacco smoke than the infection causing bad bacteria, which explains why smokers have more oral infections and diseases than non-smokers. This is the finding of researchers at Ohio State University, recently published in Infection and Immunity. Today is always a good day to quit smoking!

Second Hand Smoke Contributes to Gum Disease

Breathing second hand smoke for a few hours each day can double a person’s risk of suffering from severe gum disease. Evidence reported in the American Journal of Public Health (Dec. 2011), suggests that the more time spent breathing second hand smoke the greater the risk of periodontal disease. For many years we have known that smokers are significantly more susceptible to many oral diseases, but this is the strongest evidence to suggest minimal exposure of a non-smoker can have measurable effects on oral health.

Diabetes and Dental Decay

There is an interesting connection between diabetes and dental decay. In response to brain signals, your body releases insulin, which is critical to many body functions and overall health. We know that a diet high in refined carbohydrates (let’s just say junk food) can disrupt your insulin metabolism (causing diabetes). As recently reported in the journal General Dentistry (Sept/Oct 2011), your major salivary glands also produce a similar hormone (parotid hormone), which regulates the metabolism inside your teeth. And the same high sugar diet also disrupts the parotid hormone and makes your teeth more likely to form cavities. This disruptive effect seems to be especially problematic for children with developing teeth, permanently weakening the layers within the tooth. Take home message: a diet with less junk and more antioxidant rich foods (fruits and veggies) will help prevent/control both diabetes and dental decay…and this is especially critical for children.

Heart Burn Medicine and Magnesium

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has warned that long term use of proton pump inhibitors, used to treat heart burn (gastroesophageal reflux disease—GERD) may lead to low levels of circulating magnesium. Magnesium is essential to total body wellness, including oral, musculoskeletal, neural and hormonal health. These medications include: esomeprazole magnesium (Nexium), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant), omeprazole (Prilosec), omeprazole and sodium bicarbonate (Zegerid), lansoprazole (Prevacid), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix), rabeprazole sodium (AcipHex) and the combination product esomeprazole magnesium/naproxen (Vimovo). Importantly, in many cases taking a magnesium supplement does not reverse the magnesium deficiency and the only solution is to discontinue the medicine. Ask your doctor to check your magnesium level. Also, do your best to modify your lifestyle/diet to eliminate or minimize the impact of GERD.