Healthy Smiles Support Healthy Bodies
A great smile does more than just brighten your appearance. Mounting evidence shows that a healthy smile can also support total body health. With an overwhelming number of dental products lining store shelves, making an informed decision on what to use can be daunting. Consumers are bombarded with colorful mouthrinses that can stain teeth and dental work, alcohol that can worsen bad breath and dry tissues, and harsh abrasives that can cause unnecessary wear on enamel.
5 Ways to a Healthier, Brighter Smile
1. CoQ10 — the mouth-body connection
Research has shown, and experts agree, that there is an association between periodontal disease and other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's disease. That's why we created a unique nutritional formula to safeguard your dental health and your body. CoQ10 is a naturally occurring compound that has been shown to neutralize the destructive effects of free radicals (cellular damage) in the body, increase energy production in vital organs and support metabolic cell function. CoQ10 levels in the body slowly diminish as we age. Now you can bullet-proof your immune system with a powerfully enhanced supplement that will restore nutrients essential in supporting vital systems in your body.
2. Oxygene® — the secret weapon in eliminating odors
Oxygene® is the exclusive ingredient found in our revolutionary odor-fighting dental products. It is what makes Oxyfresh dental products the No. 1 choice for freshening breath among leading dentists and hygienists nationwide. Oxygene® is activated immediately when introduced to the saliva in your mouth. The longer the solution is in contact with the oral tissues, the greater the effectiveness. Oxygene® rapidly and completely oxidizes the sulfur-containing molecules rendering them inactive and your mouth odor-free! We maintain complete control over the manufacturing process of this key ingredient to ensure the solution maintains a neutral pH and meets the highest quality standards every time.
3. Xylitol — the natural cavity fighter
The use of xylitol in dental products is packed with amazing benefits! Regular use of xylitol has been shown to significantly reduce acid production in the mouth by stimulating salivary flow and bringing the pH to a neutral level, thereby decreasing the risk of cavities. In fact, studies show a reduction in tooth decay by up to 80 percent. Additional research demonstrated the ability of xylitol to remineralize damage to tooth enamel, reversing the early stages of a cavity. The most recent studies with the use of xylitol have shown a reduction of the formation of biofilm (bacterial plaque). This revelation makes xylitol an especially unique ingredient in eliminating the harmful effects caused by the accumulation of bacteria in the mouth. We are a pioneer in sharing this increasingly popular ingredient with its inclusion in the formulation of our professional-grade dental products.
4. Clear Rinses — to maintain whiter teeth
Ever notice the colorful mouthrinses lining store shelves? Or how they are attractively splashed all over television commercials? Artificial dyes and colorings are intentionally added to commercial mouthrinses to attract your attention. Unfortunately an attractive red, blue or green dye is not so attractive on your teeth or the investment of your dental work. Dyes stain! In fact, they can permanently stain tooth-colored bonding materials. While advertisers are busy competing for your attention you can be confident knowing we spend our time formulating the highest quality, professional-grade dental products that deliver results.
5. Alcohol-free — safe for the entire family
Most commercial mouthrinses contain an alarmingly high percentage of alcohol (up to 27 percent). The use of alcohol has reportedly been responsible for burning, irritating and even degrading the hardness of tooth-colored filling. Another harmful effect linked with alcohol is the dryness to the oral tissues. Maintaining moisture and a healthy salivary flow provides essential nutrients to the teeth and tissues, assisting in digestion, reducing bacteria and naturally washing away food particles as well as reducing the risk of cavities. Additionally, the dryness caused by alcohol can encourage more odor-causing bacteria to accumulate and thereby, making a bad breath problem even worse. Keep in mind there is a large population that currently suffers with dry mouth symptoms as a result of certain medical conditions, aging, medications, radiation and chemotherapy treatments. The use of alcohol with these individuals can increase the severity of their symptoms producing harmful side-effects.
No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That's it, just junk. Other than this, you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Now, how hard can that be? Guess this depends on what I mean by "junk." But all I'm concerned with this week is the obvious stuff like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, etc. You may be stricter if you'd like, but for Week 1, don't be too hard on yourself. For many of you, this step alone will reap huge benefits.
Each week's rules are cumulative, so the "no junk" rule from Week 1 will apply until the end, as will each subsequent week's rule. Remember that this is a learning and conditioning process. It's like you're in school and the subject is your own body.
Eat some colorful, low-density food at every meal. These are foods that take up a lot of space without a lot of calories. Veggies are the most obvious example. You can eat a salad bowl overflowing with lettuce and veggies and you most likely won't exceed 100 calories. By eating low-density foods like veggies and fruits, you'll keep your portions under control naturally, because they have very few calories for their size. Conversely, high-density foods, like chocolate and butter, are loaded with calories in even the smallest amounts. So beware of salad dressings and other things you add to salads and veggies. Only add enough for flavor; don't fill up on them. When it comes to live foods, the richer the colors, the fresher the products tend to be. Try to eat a variety of colors in your diet. This simple and somewhat random act will help ensure that you're covering your bases, nutrient-wise.
Cook at home. One of the best ways to control your eating is to prepare all your meals yourself. Eliminate all fast food (which should have been gone in Week 1) and most other restaurant food. You may still eat food from certain restaurants where you can be sure of the ingredients (most will be savvy enough to make a point of how healthy their food is). But avoid all fast food chains, even ones that claim to be "healthy." Restaurants need their food to taste good, so they'll often use compromised ingredients, even when they list low numbers on fats and/or calories. Fast food can contain many hidden evils in addition to calories. For example, next time you see one of those nutrition charts, check the sodium levels; most fast foods use ridiculously high amounts of salt. Avoiding fast food alone will often bring your body closer to homeostasis (its desired state of balance). This can be hard for many of us because we now have to plan our meals and prepare ahead of time, but try and treat it like vocational school—you don't learn a new "job" without a little retraining.
Reduce starchy carbohydrates. Starches include rice, bread, potatoes, corn, beans, and other legumes. While many of these are in no way bad foods, most people tend to consume far too many of them. So what you want to do this week is cut way down on them, if not cutting them out completely. Then add them back in when your body feels like it needs energy, which it will at some point if you're exercising (and why wouldn't you be?). But don't add a huge plate or bowl of pasta; instead, add a small single serving. Starches are great energy food, but if you eat too many, they turn the tables and make you sluggish!
If man makes it, don't eat it. This is likely to be the hardest week of your diet. You want to eat onlywhole foods and eliminate all processed foods, even good ones, for the week. This includes breads, most salad dressings, all cereal, luncheon meats, cheese, dried fruits, anything with preservatives, and alcoholic beverages. What you can eat are whole foods such as fruit, raw or steamed vegetables, meat (sans any type of sauce), natural whole-grain rice, poached eggs, etc. Since your eating habits have been slowly changing, this shouldn't be that big a shock to your system, but keeping in focus that you only have to do this for 7 days will make it easier. (Although each week's rules are cumulative in the plan, Week 6 is more of a "cleanse" or "reset" week where you avoid all processed food; after Week 6, you can go back to the occasional processed food, but chances are you'll take what you learned this week and tend to make healthier, smarter choices.)
Be yourself. No rules—just try and eat as healthily as you can and do it by feel. Trusting yourself might seem like a lot of responsibility, but by now you'll be up to it. Learning to eat by feeling what your body needs is an important step in your transformation. Consider the way you've been eating over the last 6 weeks, but don't worry about what you should and shouldn't do. Just fuel yourself. The point is to take a mental break. Relax and allow yourself to eat in a way that feels normal. You may be surprised to find yourself craving something healthy instead of a candy bar or soda. You'll be better at listening to your body because it'll tell you what it needs to eat, as opposed to what you're used to eating. Your body should feel somewhat transformed. Does it?
Eat a perfect diet. Now it's time for a real challenge—are you ready? The perfect diet is strictly individual, as there's no one diet that suits everybody. So who better to choose the perfect diet for you than you? Our bodies are all different, and the key to your own perfect diet is learning about how your body reacts to different foods under different circumstances. Your journey over the last 7 weeks should have brought you to a new understanding of how food affects your body, both for good and for bad. Now it's up to you to put it to the test. See how well you can eat for a week. In fact, see how well you can eat for the rest of your life. Live and enjoy.