In today’s post, I will discuss how the mouth plays a significant role in the production of nitric oxide (NO) through a process called the enterosalivary cycle of nitrate. This process involves friendly nitrate-reducing bacteria in the oral cavity, predominantly on the tongue, which reduce dietary nitrate (NO3) from vegetables, meat, and drinking water to nitrite (NO2). The nitrite is then further reduced to NO, which helps regulate systemic blood pressure. This pathway highlights how important oral health is to cardiovascular health. But can mouthwash damage this process?
Read MoreI wrote about the increasing number of people dying in 2021 in August. The trend started around 2009. Interestingly, CDC death rates increased from 2020 to 2021, except for persons aged 75 and over. In other words, the increase in death was due to younger people dying, representing the ages least likely to die from Covid-19. As I had mentioned in the August 15 post, life insurance death claims for the five largest companies were up an average of 30% for people ages 18 to 64, corroborating the CDC findings. We were extremely worried about the rising death toll in 2020, but not in 2021, when more people died than in the pandemic year. I was distressed that nobody seemed interested in why this would be. I was on vacation then and said I would look into it to find out what was happening, and I have. I will discuss the CDC’s statistics from 2021 and a few other things I found out.
Read MoreIn my daily practice, I often find infected teeth that the patient is entirely unaware of. Most often, I find asymptomatic infections on radiographs (x-rays). Sometimes, I can see what appears to be a pimple on the gums adjacent to the tooth, usually at the level of the root tip. The pimple is usually on the cheek side (buccal). However, they are occasionally found on the tongue side (known as the palatal on the upper and lingual on the lower). Technically a pimple around a tooth is known as a dentoalveolar fistula. I will talk about what they are, how they form, what to do if you have one, and how to prevent them.
Read MoreI suffered from cold sores for my entire life. The things I noticed that brought them on for me were:
Sudden weather changes.
Too much sun exposure.
Lack of sleep.
Co-occurring illnesses like colds.
Nothing worked to prevent or treat them for me. Trust me; I tried everything.
Lifestyle Is the Best Prevention
Almost two decades ago, I changed just about everything in my life in an attempt to regain my health. I do not get Herpes Labialis cold sores anymore. I will talk about how I did it in this post. I will also talk about more conventional treatments as well.
Read MoreI want to share a shocking brief digital simulation showing how our faces have been drastically shrinking over several hundred years. I got it from Dr. Michael Gelb DDS in NYC, who got it from best-selling author James Nestor. Please concentrate on the lower face; you will see how the jaws are shrinking and moving back toward the throat. This causes the tongue to partially or fully occlude the airway, especially when we sleep. You should also notice how the face is less attractive now. In fact, it is rare to see someone who has realized their potential for full facial development. People with properly developed faces will always have straight teeth, room for their wisdom teeth, superior beauty, and better health. Whatever they do for a living, they appear to be actors and models. Since most of us have underdeveloped faces, this epidemic has gone primarily unnoticed by us, including most physicians and dentists. This needs to change because, as you will see in this post, it is one of the major contributing factors for many, if not most, of our modern health problems.
Read MoreMany traditional ways of measuring your risk for having a heart attack are not nearly as accurate as many believe. For example, many believe that our total cholesterol and LDL are the best indicators for heart disease, but the association is weak. As far back as 1964, Garrett, Horning, and Creech found no definite correlation between serum cholesterol levels and the nature and extent of atherosclerotic disease. They published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The famous Framingham heart study concluded in 1977 that HDL was a much better predictor of heart disease than LDL, and total cholesterol was not associated with any risk. In 1997, The Lancet published a paper on the elderly that showed for each 18 mg/dl increase of cholesterol, the chance of death went down by 15%. Amazingly, they also found that mortality from cancer and infection was significantly lower among the participants in the highest total cholesterol category. We believe these readings to be the best way to predict heart disease because we have been told to. Today I will show you some more statistical hocus pocus that helped promote these tests, and tell you about a much more accurate one you should get.
Read MoreThe combination of obesity, specific heart-health markers, and some metabolic measurements are collectively known as metabolic syndrome. Essentially our metabolism has a direct impact on our overall health and heart health specifically. The health implications are dire, not just for our cardiovascular systems. With Covid-19, obesity is strongly associated with increased severity of COVID-19 infections, even in the absence of other underlying health issues. In this post, I have included an interactive guide to all of the steps you need to include to improve your looks, mood, and energy level. Your "body composition" will take care of itself as you focus on the things listed in the guide. Best of all, your chances of dying from disease and infection will diminish.
Read MoreDental insurance, although a benefit is more limited than it appears. The amount of money insurance companies are willing to pay in any given calendar year does not go very far. To that end, I am dedicating today’s post to the ins and outs of insurance, the typical indemnity-style ones, and the traditional insurance our ancestors all benefited from.
Read More