Categories
Adulting Health Healthy Living

Taking Care of The Pesky Areas of Health That Can Improve Your Life

As a parent, you become aware of some areas of health that you might not give too much thought to otherwise. It’s one thing to do these things for yourself, but it’s different when you manage them for someone else. You think about it more when you are responsible for another person’s health, and that’s when you start to realize how much you have been neglecting yourself. In this article, we’re going to be looking at some of these pesky areas of health, and how you can take care of them.

Oral Health

The first thing you need to take care of is your oral health. Unless you want your teeth to fall out, turn yellow or get constant infections, you must look after them. Taking care of your teeth means brushing and flossing twice per day. It also requires dental check-ups every six months or so. You can find a family dentist that you can all attend together, such as http://www.cherry-creekdentist.com/. Many people are scared of the dentist, but there isn’t anything to be afraid of. You should be more concerned about not going to the dentist and dealing with the adverse impacts.

Hearing Health

The next thing that you may be thinking about is your hearing health. Hearing health tends to be a forgotten aspect of your health because you don’t believe it will impact you until you are older. However, this misconception isn’t true because hearing problems can start at any age. It’s a wise idea to get regular hearing tests and consult with an audiologist. If you are experiencing a degree of hearing loss then you may be a candidate for hearing aids. Be sure to take good care of them by cleaning them regularly and finding hearing aid repair services in your area to head to if they are malfunctioning. Hearing clearly will not only improve your relationships with others but also your quality of life. If you constantly expose yourself to loud noises, then you could be damaging your ears. We recommend wearing earplugs to protect your fragile ears from getting damaged. You can find out more about things like this on a site such as https://www.earq.com/hearing-health/articles/9-ways-to-protect-your-ears.

Mental Health

The final thing that you need to think about is your mental health. Mental health can start impacting people at any age, so don’t think that your kid is too young. Look for signs, recognize them for what they are and then start doing something about them. It’s vital to look after your mental health and the mental health of those around you.

Recap: The Pesky Areas of Health That Can Improve Your Life

We hope you have found this article helpful and recognize what you can do to take care of some of the peskier areas of health. We often forget about these for long periods, give them a day or so of attention, and then get back to ignoring them. However, ignoring them is not the way to go. We wish you the very best of luck and hope that you manage to take care of all areas of your health.

Categories
Health Healthy Living Mental Health Parenting

4 Important Family Health Goals Worth Setting

According to the CDC, about 48 million people get sick each year in America. Nearly 128,000 end up in hospitals because of their illnesses. Add these numbers to other causes of health issues, and the results will be frightening. These figures should sound alarming to any loving parent, highlighting the need to set family health goals right away. If you want to protect your family’s health, then here are some health goals to implement for those you love. 

Family Health Goals to Set Today

1. Get a Family Health Insurance Package

Health insurance offers a major boost to your chances of raising a healthy family. It makes it more affordable to seek certain medical assistance, including emergencies, expensive surgeries, and other medical procedures. Also, if you live with any severe health issue, you’ll probably be at risk of higher morbidity without any health insurance than someone who has coverage. You can find different health insurance packages from various insurance providers. Be sure to do your research to find what works best for your family.  

2. Don’t Ignore the Importance of Regular Health Exams

Another benefit of getting health insurance is that it makes it easier or cheaper to take your family for regular visits to your doctor. Medical examinations are an essential part of any healthy family life, as they help identify potential health issues even before they become problematic. Your healthcare practitioner will also be able to offer quick treatment.

Opinions vary on how often you need to visit a doctor, but ideally, getting a routine physical examination once a year is a good idea.

3. Mental Health Support

It is essential to ensure that every family member has good mental health. You can do this by finding ways to make your home as stress-free as possible. Spend time together as a family, go on fun trips, and most importantly, be there to support each other through difficult times. However, some issues may go beyond family support and require professional help.

For example, if any member of your family is struggling with addiction or substance abuse issues, you can visit https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/texas/carrollton/ to get all the professional assistance you need. Also, encourage healthy communication, and create an atmosphere of positivity at home. 

4. Aim to boost physical health

As mentioned earlier, about 128,000 people end up in the hospital, with 3,000 losing their lives from food-related illnesses alone. The best way to avoid adding your family to this negative statistic is to ensure that you prepare healthy meals, eat healthily, and put measures in place to reduce the risk of food poisoning. For example, separate raw meat and poultry from ready-to-eat food, cook at the right temperature and serve and eat food while warm. Keep your refrigerator at 40°F or below for proper food preservation. Additionally, wash your hands and surfaces before, during, and after preparing your meals.

How is kombucha beneficial to health?

The fermentation process of the kombucha drink is similar to that of wine, yogurt, or cheese. The resulting product is a slightly sour, fizzy drink loaded with enzymes, probiotics, and antioxidants. Claims that Kombucha enhances digestion, prevents cancer, eases arthritis symptoms, and helps treat constipation are anecdotal. However, scientific research has shown that there may be some truth behind these claims. For example, some kombucha components contain glucuronic acid, one of the most potent antioxidants in nature. Glucaric acid binds to cancer-causing agents in the body and flushes them out through your kidneys.

Categories
Health Healthy Living How To

5 Easy Tips For Keeping Your Oral Health In Check

Keeping your oral health in check is essential to prevent teeth and gum issues. Likewise, it can help you attain your best smile. If you are looking for ways to keep your oral health in check, here are some top tips.

Tips for Keeping Your Oral Health In Check

Get the Right Type of Dentistry

You might be happy with the condition of your teeth yet want to maintain your health. Therefore, getting preventative dentistry will help you require less dentistry treatment in the future and keep your oral health in its best shape.

Getting the right type of dentistry will help you take measures to keep your teeth and gums in the best possible condition, keeping your oral health in check.

Be Aware of Teeth Browning Foods

Certain chemicals in foods and drinks can cause teeth discoloration. Some natural foods can even do this. It isn’t always just down to fizzy drinks and sugar.

Many surprising foods can make your teeth look brown, including:

  • Red wine
  • Coffee
  • Beets
  • Curry pastes
  • Soy sauce
  • Balsamic vinegar

You might enjoy these as a part of your everyday diet. That doesn’t mean that you need to cut these foods out. Instead, you can either cut back or ensure to brush your teeth after consuming these items so that teeth staining doesn’t occur.

Brush Your Teeth at the Right Time

Brushing your teeth twice a day is a must to maintain good oral health. Brushing them at the right time will ensure optimized oral hygiene and the condition of your teeth.

It is best to brush your teeth right before bed. You shouldn’t go to bed after eating or drinking anything other than water. Likewise, it is best to brush them as soon as you wake up so that you don’t forget to brush twice a day.

If possible, brush after breakfast so that you can remove chemicals from coffee, as coffee can stain your teeth. 

Attend your Dental Checkups

Your dentist checkups are there for a reason. You should attend them at least twice a year to stay on top of your oral health.

Attending your checkups will help to uncover any underlying oral health issues. Likewise, you can get tips on what foods and bad habits to cut out to prevent any oral issues in the future.

Quit Bad Habits

Speaking of bad habits, quitting them will help keep your oral health in check. They may be the reason that you are suffering from oral issues, bad breath, or staining. 

Bad habits include:

  • Smoking
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Consuming a lot of coffee
  • Having too much sugar

Keeping Your Oral Health in Check

These habits can hinder the health of your teeth. Stopping them will help prevent oral damage and restore the health of your teeth and gums. Along with quitting, make sure to attend your checkups and maintain a regular oral health routine so that you can optimize your journey back to good oral health.

Categories
Allergies Big Kid Classroom Health How To Parenting

How You Can Help Keep Your Child Safe At School

Primary school may be overwhelming for both pupils and their parents, and this is exacerbated even further during a pandemic. Parents are concerned about bullying, emergencies, and other frightening situations as their children navigate through school and important developmental years. Learn how to keep your child safe while at school in this post.

How to Keep Your Child Safe At School

1. Familiarize yourself with COVID-19 updates

We all have a lot of additional questions when it comes to the health and safety of our children this year.   Is there really anything done at the school to stop the spread of COVID-19? What happens if a student in my child’s class or at his or her school contracts the virus? What will the school do in the event that a teacher becomes unwell as a result of the virus? Is the school COVID safe in general?

Even as we all work together to negotiate these difficult decisions, you may take steps to equip yourself, prepare your children, and assist teachers in preparing classrooms. Remind your children of the importance of regular handwashing. They should wash up after using the toilet, before eating, after playing outside, and if they have sneezed or coughed.

2. Find out how schools deal with issues

It is critical to understand how a school handles emergency circumstances as well as the policies that students are required to adhere to. Every school year, take time to go over the school’s handbook with your child at the beginning of the year. Many questions are answered in this guide, which covers topics such as school uniform, visitors policy, disaster drills and routes, and the school’s position on bullying.

3. Talk to the teachers

Speaking with teachers and administrators on a frequent basis is the most effective approach to stay up to date on the school’s safety policy. Plus, it’s the best way to follow up on any safety issues that may arise. If your child is experiencing difficulties, these discussions may offer insight into the situation. In order to keep physical contact to a minimum during COVID-19, you can conduct them via Zoom, email, or phone.

If your child’s school does not offer parent-teacher conferences, ask for one with each teacher toward the middle of each term. Staying in contact will help your child succeed and stay safe at school.

4. Make sure your children’s records are up to date

When you first registered your child for school, you had to fill out a mountain of paperwork. However, it is easy to forget about updating their school files as the years go by. In the event that your child develops an allergy or if there is an emergency at the school, this can be a problem.

Additionally, if your personal or contact information changes, make sure that you notify the school as soon as possible. Review and update your child’s files at least once a year, or at the beginning of each term if possible. 

Categories
Adulting Health Healthy Living Mental Health

4 Simple Hacks to Improve Your Health

Our health is so essential to our overall sense of happiness and wellbeing. The healthier we are, the more robust we feel, the more energy we have, and the less likely we are to fall ill. With so much attributed to good health, why do so many people take their health for granted? Bad health habits are detrimental to the way we feel, and they are so hard to break too. But that does mean that it is impossible to break them. By creating a few healthy habits, you can help conquer the bad ones and improve your health in the process.

How to Improve Your Health

Get More Sleep

A lot of people underestimate how important sleep is to their overall health. Constantly not sleeping enough over a long period can cause serious health issues such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, obesity, heart problems, and more. When the body is sleeping, the brain goes to work reorganizing and recharging itself. It transforms short-term memories into long-term ones, so not sleeping enough can cause memory problems, too. It also removes toxins from the body and repairs damage from the day. 

Eat More Raw Vegetables

Eating more vegetables has obvious health benefits, from helping the body become more regular, detoxifying, loading the body with healthy vitamins and minerals. However, eating raw vegetables maximizes these benefits. Since the vegetables have not been boiled or steamed, all the goodness remains intact. Eating vegetables raw can even stave off feelings of depression.

Hydrate

It may seem pretty unbelievable to find out that around 75% of adults in the US are dehydrated. Not drinking enough water can have serious health conditions, including a weakened immune system, weight gain, diabetes, and more. If you drink more water, you will hydrate your joints and have less pain from things like arthritis. You will enable the organs to work more effectively. You can lose weight, have better skin, and even smooth out fine lines on your face, which is always a bonus.

Find Natutal Remedies

Many people take a pill when they have a headache, but many natural remedies are just as effective. If you take prescription mediation, you need to discuss with a doctor before trying a natural alternative such as natural blood thinners. However, for something like a headache, drinking water is a great remedy. Often a headache is caused by dehydration. There are plenty of natural alternatives for things like anxiety too. So, do a little research and have a word with your doctor to see if you can try a healthier alternative to medication. 

Improve Your Health

Do you have any other ways to improve your health? Leave a comment and let us know!

Categories
Health Healthy Living How To

4 Guaranteed Ways To Help You Stay On Top Of Your Oral Health

Staying on top of your oral health is as important as maintaining your physical health. It will help to avoid any health complications and achieve optimal health overall. Getting lazy with your oral health routine can quickly cause your teeth to start to deteriorate. These tips are guaranteed ways to help you stay on top of your oral health.

How to Stay On Top Of Your Oral Health

Join a local dental practice

It is easier to stay on top of your health checkups if they are close by and convenient. You won’t want to drive or walk for miles if you have other things to do. Using local dental services will ensure that you don’t have to go out of your way to attend routine checkups. 

The appointments will be much more convenient, and you’ll have less of a reason to cancel them. Staying on top of your routine appointments and not delaying them will ensure that you maintain the best oral health and avoid any teeth or gum complications.

Eat the right foods

Surprisingly, many healthy foods can make your teeth look brown. Foods such as berries, beets, and soy sauce can change the color of your teeth. Although this color may disappear when you brush your teeth, it won’t if you lack a regular brushing routine. 

It is best to eat the right foods if you want to avoid your teeth from looking brown. Good foods for optimal oral health include:

  • Apples
  • Cauliflower
  • Pears
  • Cheese 

Should you eat foods that discolor your teeth, make sure to brush them as soon as possible to avoid staining. 

Use a fluoride-rich toothpaste

Although many of us might think that using any toothpaste will strengthen our teeth and make them look white and pearly, they aren’t all as effective as each other.

It is best to use fluoride-rich toothpaste as the ingredients will strengthen enamel and keep teeth in their best condition. Fluoride-rich toothpaste will also help your teeth stay white, which is essential to maintain your smile. 

Floss regularly

Along with brushing your teeth, it is essential to floss too. Some toothbrushes and brushing routines might not be effective enough to remove all plaque and food remains. The floss will loosen it and remove it from your mouth. A build-up of plaque or food can deteriorate the teeth as well as the gums.

Make sure to floss once a day and do it before you brush so that you can loosen anything that needs brushing and washing away. Taking it in your bag with you will also help you dislodge anything that gets stuck, which can deteriorate your teeth throughout the day. Or, you can use it to stay on top of the condition of your teeth and gums. 

Stay On Top Of Your Oral Health

Using these oral health tips can help you optimize and maintain the health of your teeth. Make sure to develop a good routine and check in with your dentist to avoid any oral health issues.

Categories
Adulting Health Healthy Living Mental Health

5 Important Annual Checkups For All Women to Schedule

Annual health checkups can be scary for women, but they are essential to take care of your body and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Annual Checkups for Women
Source

Essential Annual Checkups for Women And Why They’re Necessary

1. Dental Checkup

Dental issues like tooth decay and infections can affect other parts of your body, such as your heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. These chronic diseases also require medications that could interfere with other medical treatments (ex: antibiotics). Also, when you don’t use dental services, it leaves spaces between visits where bacteria can grow and lead to worse problems down the road.

2. Mammograms

Regular mammograms help detect breast cancer early on in its stages, which reduces mortality rates significantly. Roughly 1 in 8 ladies in the United States will develop breast cancer, but early detection by annual mammograms decreases the risk of death from breast cancer. 

The American Cancer Society recommends that women aged 40 to 44 get a mammogram every two years. Women over the age of 45 should start getting them yearly.

3. Cholesterol Screenings

This test measures your blood cholesterol levels to help detect if you have high amounts of bad cholesterol. High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol can lead to a higher risk for coronary heart disease or stroke. 

A low-fat diet and regular exercise are key to maintaining good health and reducing your risk for high cholesterol, along with regular screenings.

4. Hearing Test

Hearing loss is caused by many environmental factors such as noise from work, home, or recreational activities. Regular screenings can determine if someone has hearing loss, and working with an audiologist for treatments can be helpful.

5. Gynecological Exams

These exams are necessary to check the health of a woman’s reproductive organ systems. They help detect diseases and infections early on to reduce your chances of infertility. 

The types of gynecological exams women receive are different depending on their age group (ex: annual exam vs. pelvic exam). Still, each test helps detect any problems that may arise affecting female fertility and overall health. 

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women aged 21-65 go for a well-woman visit every year. Healthy lifestyle choices such as getting regular exercise and enough sleep can also prevent many diseases and decrease risks for abnormal health problems.

Annual Checkups for Women

Annual Checkups are important because they help maintain your routine healthcare needs. Talk to your doctor about what tests they recommend for your age group. Also, try to find a doctor you are comfortable with because your relationship with them will help promote better health.

Tell your doctor about any changes in your body so they can treat you accordingly. Avoiding annual checkups robs you of early detection and it’s dangerous because these disorders can escalate quickly.

Categories
Health Healthy Living Mental Health

4 of the Best Tips To Protect And Improve Your Mental Health

Most of us know that eating well and moving more can benefit our bodies, but you should know that you can also take steps to protect and improve your mental health. It’s not always possible to prevent psychological illnesses, but it’s beneficial to reduce risks. These simple tips can help you nourish your mental well-being

Protect And Improve Your Mental Health
Source

How to Protect And Improve Your Mental Health

Identify Triggers

Conditions and issues that affect our mental health are common. Many of us are prone to bouts of stress and anxiety, and 1 in 5 US adults are diagnosed with a mental health disorder in any given year. Try to identify triggers, which make you feel stressed, anxious, or low, and avoid them where possible. Perhaps checking your phone and reading work emails prevents you from sleeping, or scrolling through social media makes you feel anxious or worthless. 

Cut out actions, repeated behaviors, and activities that have a negative impact and try to be proactive by finding solutions. Speak to your boss about your workload if you feel like you’ve got too much on your plate. Or, set detox periods when you don’t use your phone. Simple strategies can have a dramatic impact on your well-being. 

Be Honest About How You Feel

Many people brush symptoms of mental health disorders under the rug, and we try to deny that anything is wrong. It is natural to experience emotions, reactions, and responses to different situations and scenarios. But, you must distinguish between a bad day or a bout of anxiety caused by a test or an interview and a prolonged period of feeling helpless, on edge, nervous, worried, or low.

If your symptoms have gotten worse, you’ve experienced long periods of feeling anxious or depressed, or you’re struggling to feel calm or switch off, be honest about how you feel and accept that you might need help. Most of us wouldn’t hesitate to schedule an appointment with a doctor for back pain, headaches, or a broken leg, but we’re reluctant to talk about mental health. Reaching out can make a hugely positive difference. There is help and support available.

Seek advice

If you struggle with your mental health, it is beneficial to see your doctor or visit a therapist or counselor. There are treatments and self-help techniques that could help alleviate or control symptoms. Reach out if your symptoms get worse or you find it tough to cope in the aftermath of trauma or difficult life events. Treatment options like rapid resolution therapy are designed to help those dealing with the effects of traumatic events. 

It’s also advisable to understand and recognize the benefits of talking, even if you don’t have a mental health disorder. Everyone can benefit from speaking about how we feel and having a shoulder to cry. It also helps to have a friend or relative to offer advice or reassurance. 

Devote more time and effort to your happiness

Many people rush around, trying to balance work with looking after other people. We don’t always have time to do things or see the people that make us happy. Try to manage your schedule so that you can socialize with friends, colleagues, and family members. Plus, you should make time to indulge your hobbies and enjoy time out to relax and recharge. 

Protect And Improve Your Mental Health

These tips can help you protect and improve your mental health. Do you have any other ideas? Leave a comment and let us know. 🙂

Categories
Health Healthy Living

9 Surprising Foods That Can Make Your Teeth Look Brown

Most people’s teeth are a natural shade of white – not pure white, but something close. However, sometimes their diets can change the color of their teeth, making them look closer to brown than pearly white. 

What’s more, certain foods are worse than others. That’s because they’re higher in compounds called chromogens that give them their color. These pigments not only change the appearance of food but, over time, can actually adhere to your teeth as well.

So what are the most common tooth-staining foods that cause people to seek tooth whitening dental services? Let’s take a look. 

Foods That Make Your Teeth Look Brown

1. Beets

Beetroot is one of the healthiest foods on the planet. This brightly-colored root vegetable is packed with phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Unfortunately, it contains a lot of chromogens – something you’ll know all too well if you’ve ever spilled beet juice on the carpet. 

If you’re a fan of beets but also worried about your teeth, you can drink beet smoothies through a straw. Using a straw to bypass your teeth keeps them shiny and white. 

2. Berries

Berries are another superfood that you should have in your diet every day. As with beets, though, they contain pigmented compounds that can stain the teeth if you eat them regularly.

3. Curry

Curry is another source of tooth discoloration. The primary culprit is the spice turmeric – although many other ingredients in regular curries contain chromogens. 

4. Balsamic Vinegar

If you love putting balsamic vinegar on your salads, then you’re doing something healthy. However, like the other foods in this list, the rich color is also a source of staining compounds for your teeth. Balsamic vinegar is one of the worst culprits because not only does it contain deep tannins, but it is also acidic, which means that it softens the tooth enamel, making it easier to stain. 

5. Cola

It’s a similar story with Cola. It is highly acidic due to the phosphorus content, and it contains a lot of color compounds that give it its characteristically dark hue. 

6. Fruit Juices Make Your Teeth Look Brown

Fruits naturally contain many color compounds. Cranberry, grape, and blueberry juices coat the teeth and leave them looking stained over time. 

7. Red Wine

Red wine is another culprit because of the color pigments contained in grapes. While many people love to enjoy the odd glass of wine here and there, doing it every night can darken teeth and make them appear a different color. 

8. Coffee

Perhaps the biggest tooth-staining culprit is coffee – the world’s second-most popular drink after water. 

Coffee is made of roasted coffee beans. The roasting process brings out their pigment more. When mixed with water and drunk warm, it creates the perfect tooth-staining combination. Not only is it brown, but it is also highly acidic. 

9. Soy Sauce can Make Your Teeth Look Brown

Asian cuisine makes heavy use of soy sauce. However, as you might imagine from the color, it also can stain your teeth. Eating it with plenty of vegetables, though, can help counteract some of the effects by making it easier to flush it from your mouth once you finish chewing.

Categories
Health Healthy Living

Beneficial Drinks That Can Help You Improve Your Dental Health

When it comes to your oral health, many aspects can affect it. The drinks you choose each day can make a big difference, and some drinks assist your dental health. Increasing the amount of these fluids you consume will help you notice improvements to your overall oral health.

Drinks to Assist Your Dental Health

Water

Water is very beneficial in maintaining teeth. Drinking water helps flush food debris from the teeth and mouth and helps maintain high saliva levels in the mouth. Saliva contains proteins and minerals that can neutralize the acid that damages the outer layer of the tooth (enamel), and therefore, it is the best protection against tooth decay. Saliva contains more than 95 percent water, so if you want to avoid damage to your teeth, you should drink a large amount of water throughout the day to enjoy complete and lasting protection. Consider having regular checkups at your dentist to ensure that your teeth are in good shape. You could look at Morgan Dental, for example. You will be able to get the treatment that you may need.

For those who drink water with lemon – lemon juice is an acidic drink. Acid (of any kind) damages the enamel layer of the tooth. The enamel is the coating layer that protects the tooth. Caries (holes in the teeth) occur when sugar residues remain on the teeth, and bacteria that consume this sugar residue in the fermentation process, produce acid as a by-product of the process. The acid (not the bacterium) that damages your enamel and forms a hole in your tooth. Drinking an acidic beverage frequently can cause damage to the teeth. You can reduce this damage if the consumption of water and lemon is through a straw, which will reduce the contact of the acidic water and the teeth. If you drink water with lemon every morning, rinse your mouth immediately after drinking the lemon water. It may be advisable to gargle with baking soda (an acid-contradictory powder). 

Green tea

Green tea is rich in antioxidants that inhibit the development of bacteria, causing gum damage and gum disease. The tea was brought to Japan by Buddhist monks more than 1000 years ago. The fluoride concentrations in tea are the same as those in the medical recommendations to prevent tooth decay. You can consume up to a liter of tea per day to maintain dental health. Of course, green tea is beneficial for many other things too!

Catechins and fluoride are two main ingredients in tea, and they work to maintain dental health. The catechins reduce the production of acid, which damages tooth enamel. Black, green and white tea extracts inhibit in vitro the proliferation of bacteria, which form acid. Consider drinking more green tea for better physical and dental health. 

Improve Your Dental Health

Your teeth are often the first things people see when they look at you or talk to you. Maintaining your dental health can make you feel better about yourself, but it can also improve your overall health. Are there any other drinks you can think of that improve your oral health? Leave a comment and let us know!