Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Homemade Toothpaste from Invite Health Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Toothpaste is an interesting topic because to be frank everyone has their favorite brand. Which brand do I think is best? The one you will use! If you like strong peppermint that is great. But if …
PRIMARY FOOD, LIFESTYLE AND OUR HEALTH~CAREER by: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT Most people do not think about their career and work environment when discussing their personal health and wellness. However, it can be a driving force in managing a healthy lifestyle. I even …
Periodontal Disease and Gingivitis
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Both gingivitis and periodontal disease are conditions in the mouth that involve an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria. But just how are these 2 conditions related? What are the symptoms you may experience? How do you even develop these conditions? And just what can you do to reduce your risk factors and even reduce any symptoms of these oral diseases? Let us get into it, shall we?
While it is normal for our mouth to contain a certain number of bacteria, they are kept in check by the body. Several factors can disrupt this balance. This can lead to gum disease. The beginning stages or mild gum disease is called gingivitis. If this is not treated the inflammation can get progressively worse and then the gum disease will worsen to severe gum disease, or periodontitis. A straightforward way to think of this is that gingivitis is stage 1 and periodontal disease is stage 2. I know what you are thinking. That is great but Dr. Claire but WHAT is gum disease? When you have gum disease there is a film of bacteria that becomes plaque that is coating the teeth. Over time this leads to gum inflammation which then goes on to eventually cause damage to the gums and even lead to tooth loss over time.
How do you know if you may have gingivitis or periodontal disease? Gingivitis will typically have less severe symptoms than periodontal disease. These symptoms include red, swollen gums, gums that bleed when you floss or brush your teeth and sometimes just randomly. Periodontal disease will have symptoms that get worse as the disease progresses. Once again there may be red, swollen, bleeding gums. Additionally, there may be sore, sensitive gums and teeth. There may be bad breath. There may also be pain when you chew. There may also be loose teeth or teeth that change positions. Lastly you may notice that the gums are pulling away from the teeth. (1) How is gum disease diagnosed? Your dentist will check your gums for signs of inflammation and use a probe to measure pockets around the teeth. Just as an aside this may be both painful and bloody. They may also suggest x-rays to check for bone loss. (2)
How do you develop gum disease, or in other words what are the risk factors? Well to start with smoking, chewing tobacco, substance use, some medication and even certain chronic diseases such as diabetes all increase your risk. Additionally, not maintaining oral hygiene for any reason can increase your risk. For example, if you have misaligned teeth, they can be hard to properly clean. If you are not able to go to a dentist for routine dental work due to a lack of accessibility this can also increase the risk of gum disease. In my experience certain mental health disorders, such as depression, can impact proper dental hygiene practices. Genetics can also increase the risk of gum disease. Stress, as well as a lack of important nutrients can increase the risk as well. Lastly hormonal changes such as pregnancy and even puberty can increase risk as well. (1)
Gum disease can have series complications. The bacteria that is associated with gum disease can enter and travel to other parts of the body. Periodontal disease is linked to respiratory disease, RA, coronary artery disease, uncontrolled blood sugar, and both preterm and low birth weight. (3) As I said in my introductory blog periodontal disease can increase the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. See my introductory blog on dental health for statistics on how gum disease impacts the heart.
What can you do?
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Introduction to Dental Health Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Dental health may not seem like a topic that would come up in an Invite health blog series but here we are talking about dental health! Dental health, or in other words oral health, does not just …
All About Detox Part 2 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In my last blog I wrote about how it can be beneficial to do a detox twice a year. I described it as being a spring and fall cleanse. Just like you would do in your …
All About Detox Part 1
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Liver health is important for our overall health for so many reasons. One of the most well-known functions of the liver is to detox our bodies. Doing a detox, or cleanse is one of the topics that people tend to feel very enthusiastic about. Some people will insist a detox is necessary every few months. In contrast other people will insist that a detox is not at all necessary and that the liver can do all the detox you need on its own. With these 2 polarizing opinions it is easy to see why this topic can be difficult to understand. So, let us get into it, shall we?
What do we mean when we say do a liver cleanse or detox? Well, a detox helps the liver process toxins through both phase 1 and phase 2. (2) It is important to understand that not all products that say they promote detox are healthy and safe for our liver. In fact, some supplements can cause more harm than good and end up actually damaging our body! While a juice cleanse is often promoted as the best way to do a detox it can affect your blood sugar in a negative way if you are a diabetic or have prediabetes. (2) I know you’re thinking if that is all true it’s best to avoid the whole detox thing! And while yes, it is important to understand that not all detox supplements are the same it is also important to remember that all Invite Health products are made based on studies and undergo testing to ensure that they are both effective and safe.
The one question that I get asked all the time is how often should I do a detox? I tend to promote a happy medium between “every month and never.” Based on my clinical experience I find doing a detox is like doing the spring and fall cleaning. Just like you clean the house to keep everything neat, organized and working well it is a good idea to “clean” or detox the body. That’s why I recommend doing a detox in the spring and fall. Now a detox can be a part of a protocol to address different health goals. In those cases it’s always important to speak to an Invite nutritionist.
I do want to take a moment to talk about who should and should not do a detox. For example many herbs are not safe to use during pregnancy. (3) Additionally doing a detox during pregnancy would expose the growing baby to toxins which most people would agree is not a clever idea! In addition to pregnancy, it’s also not recommended to do a detox if you are on certain medications. For example, NAC has been found to help the liver process medications and get them out of the body. An example of this is Acetaminophen. (4) This means if you are on a medication that requires a certain blood concentration to work if you do a detox, it may detox these meds out of your body faster than expected and thus it will not be as effective. For example, seizure medications. One of the first things we are taught in Naturopathic school is never detox anyone on seizure medications because it can increase the risk of them having a seizure.
Based on my clinical experience I have found that doing a detox can help the liver and kidneys do their jobs better. As I said it’s like spring/fall cleaning. NAC is a great overall supplement. Among its many benefits it works to support detox and even helps promote liver and kidney health. (4) Milk thistle has also been found to help protect the liver and kidneys from toxins. (5) Alpha lipoic acid has also been found to help promote detox. It is interesting because it is extremely helpful at detoxing heavy metals. (6) Dandelion is interesting because it has been found to help get rid of bacteria that are associated with heavy metals. (7) Glutathione has often been called the master antioxidant. Studies have found that it is important for detox and “protecting against toxicity” and even certain diseases. (8)
As you can see the studies clearly show that certain nutrients do promote liver and kidney health and even detox! Thus, it is not all a bunch of rubbish as some might say. Now I’m sure your thinking but Dr. Claire what Invite supplements even have these nutrients? Invite has many supplements that contain these nutrients. Please look for the following products: Daily Detox powder, Detox Hx, Hepatox, NAC and Milk Thistle!
Our next blog will have more details on just what goes into doing a healthy detox.
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