Staying healthy used to be easier. 

What do you do to take care of yourself and stay healthy and well?

Wellness is a whole body intentional practice. To stay well and healthy, one has to eat the right foods, have a sufficient amount of protein, vitamins and minerals, exercise daily and even keep your mind healthy with good thoughts. Toxicity from the environment, media, foods and even toxic people can create an unwell environment disrupting your happy meter and stasis stability.

Battling the daily onslaught of your environment can take a toll on your longevity. What works best for you to keep yourself in a good place of wellness?

One of the easiest areas of your health to address are in the areas of nutrition (e.g. what foods you eat, eliminate foods that you may be sensitive too, get the proper vitamins, minerals and protein) and dental care.

Once you take a look at your overall diet, the good the bad and the ugly and recognize what changes you can make, you may start feeling better. 

Another important area of health to address, that is often not a priority is your dental health.  Taking care of your teeth, flossing, using a water-pic daily, using the appropriate toothpastes for your dental needs and even brushing teeth correctly can make a change in your overall health. When you have inflamed gums, calculus build-up on your teeth and swollen gums, it's usually a sign that your oral health needs some special attention.  When you get into the stage of periodontal disease, you have further risks.  Keep in mind, also, that when your mouth isn't healthy, you are also swallowing the bad bacteria in your mouth which can then affect other areas of your digestive tract.  

Never fear, it's never too late to get into good dental hygiene habits. 

The best tools are brushing three times a day, up to 2 minutes each time.  Do not brush your teeth hard as this can also wear your gums down. If it's impossible to brush, at least rinse out your mouth and get those lingering sugars off of your teeth.

You need good gum tissue to protect the stability of your teeth.  Use a waterpik daily. You wouldn't believe what comes out of your teeth that your toothbrush didn't get. 

Also, consider using a ultrasonic toothbrush, which will help to loosen extra food debris. 

Brushing technique is also pretty important; circular motion, do not press hard and be sure to look at your mouth in four quadrants.  Each quadrant has two sections, the upper section where your gums are and the lower section that covers the teeth.  Brush each section in those parts both the cheek side (facial) and the inside (lingual) and you will start seeing a difference.  The place that our teeth seem to take on most of the tartar/calculus is at the lingual side of the lower central teeth and the lingual side of the upper central teeth.  Be sure to position your tooth brush at an angle to get these areas covered.

Our family practices good health principles, not the hocos-pocus stuff, just addressing best nutrition, vitamin's-minerals, support for detoxification (glutathione) etc. Areas to strengthen are good metabolism (insulin resistance is the core of all health issues), efficient mitochondria (are you going gray; senescent cell damage, signs of mitochondria dysfunction), get good sleep, exercise daily, and laugh more.

How to live with chronic illness

Some of us live with a myriad of health issues, some issues we can control, and sometimes despite all of our efforts to take care of ourselves, we flare up unexpectedly. Maybe there are some positive thoughts from this article that may be helpful as you journey through your life and all of it's challenges.

How Giving Up Refined Sugar Changed My Brain

Sugar affects your immune system and bottom line, your insulin.  Dialing down sugar in your diet is a healthy choice.   This article gives you tips and the experience of the author as he went through the process of reducing sugar and loosing 80 pounds.

The use of Anti-depressants and emotional blunting.  I read this article out of curiosity.  My simple response is that is some people go through really difficult times in their life whereas emotional blunting might be very necessary to cope. *This is not a substitute for any advice from your doctor, this is merely an observation for discussion.  Always get advice from your doctor.

Link to article:

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/common-antidepressants-can-cause-emotional-blunting-what-to-know#Reacting-to-feedback-in-antidepressants-study

• Researchers say common antidepressants may cause a condition known as emotional blunting, which is characterized by a lack of feeling of both happiness and sadness.

• They say the condition can also make it difficult for people to process feedback to complete tasks.

• Experts say emotional blunting can affect a person’s daily life, including sexual activity.

What happens when you stop eating sugar?   Has anyone purposely taken sugar out of their diet?  I have to admit after giving up Stevia, and going back to sugar, all the alternative sweeteners taste weird. The other weird observation is I don't have strong cravings anymore.   I stopped sweetening my tea this past summer, because I found that Stevia was suddenly aggravating.  I don't purposely sweeten anything, (except for oatmeal) unless a recipe calls for sugar or brown sugar.

Eating carb's full of sugar (carb's turn to sugar) is another problem though and you can get strong cravings within an hour or so after eating those carbs due to the drop in your insulin.

Here's an article to read about giving up sugar you may find interesting:

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/what-happens-when-you-stop-eating-all-sugar

@Mark Ransome, thank you for your comment.  I tried to "like" both of your comments this morning and I got an error message  so I'll post a reply here to your comment:

@Mark Ransome said: I have never heard of "Stevia" before so I looked it up and to me there seems quite a few downsides, to quote one of many I found "Stevia is healthy for you as long as you consume it in moderation, according to dieticians. However, too much Stevia may cause gas, nausea, and inflammation in the kidney and liver."! Eeerrrmmm! 

My family keeps up with Dr. Paul Saladino, aka "the carnivore guy". 

https://www.carnivoremd.com/

Recently, my daughter said she watched one of his videos on stevia and he recommended against it for the reasons you've listed above. We have had stevia as a sugar substitute in our house for years but recently, this past summer, when I got ill, I could no longer tolerate it and haven't used it since...also as noted by a dear friend of mine who avoids it too.  I had never made the connection, but I was surprised to learn from Dr. Saladino that stevia interferes with your gut biome (gut bacteria), which totally makes sense.  What I didn't know is it can cause cause inflammation in the liver and kidney until you shared that in your post.  Thank you for that extra detail.  It's hard enough navigating age, but with the challenges of trying to age healthfully, sometimes you think you are doing something healthy and then find out later that you weren't.  Learning something new from friends is always appreciated, so thanks for sharing what you found out about stevia.  More reasons to stay away from stevia.  I also stay away from all of the sugar alcohols.  We refer to them as the "tols" in our house, like xylitol, maltitol, mannitol etc.  If you have any gut issues, these will be very aggravating..... "Eeerrrmmm" to quote you....nuff said...lol

There are also other sugar substitutes that are "still sugar", that can be used in moderation, such as agave.  Allulose is another sweetener that can be used, but may also be aggravating. Allulose is a popular bakers sweetener so if you've ever had your favorite muffin or chocolate and was less then comfortable, check to see if allulose was used.

Interesting article posted on Mortal's Realm about the relationship between sugar consumption and Alzheimer's.

https://www.mortalsrealm.com/groups/topic/view/group_id/1/topic_id/20/post_id/20

Another interesting article found on Mortal's Realm.  The South Korean's have successfully discovered a way to test for cancer with a urine sample. 

https://www.mortalsrealm.com/groups/topic/view/group_id/1/topic_id/21/post_id/21

Below is an article on How Sugar Affects the Brain.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-sugar-affects-the-brain-according-to-a-neuroscience-expert?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

But here’s the thing about sugar and your brain: Your noggin needs it because sugar is actually its main fuel. Our brains run on glucose—it fuels our cells, including our brain cells. We’re evolutionary programmed to like sweets since they’re a great energy source. And when glucose levels are low in the blood (say, if you have hypoglycemia, or sometimes if it's just been a while since you've had something to eat), brain fog sets in, you fumble for words, you forget where you put down your phone, you look for a place to curl up for a quick nap.

When there’s too much sugar in the system, however, that can set off some really bad stuff in your body and your brain.

I personally need to reduce sugar in my diet, but now I get it why I crave it. 

Getting rid of age spots.  I use a variety of products and have also done the IPL.  Nothing is really permanent unless you change your diet and use mineral (zinc) sunscreen in my personal opinion.  Here are some good tips from OTC products to options at your dermatologist or plastic surgeon.  Cheers!

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/7-effective-ways-to-get-rid-of-age-spots-according-to-dermatologists?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

When It Comes to Age Spots, Prevention is Everything

Even though age spots are usually no biggie, it’s crucial to prevent sun damage not only for aesthetic purposes, but to stay protected against skin cancer, says New York City-based board-certified dermatologist Ariel Ostad, MD, who recommends amping up your sun safety habits—like frequently applying broad spectrum sunscreen, staying out of the sun during its most powerful hours (12 p.m. to 5 p.m.), and covering your body with clothing and hats, as able.

 

In post #3, I discussed the importance of good dental hygiene and how it affects our overall health.

Here's a compilation of links about "teeth" you might find interesting.

https://getpocket.com/collections/what-stories-are-your-teeth-telling?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

There’s a surprising amount of great writing about your pearly (or not so pearly!) whites. From the history of bejeweled grills to the reasons to rethink those veneers, keep reading for toothy tales that take a deeper look at what’s behind your smile.

I have your article opened to read, however for me it's behind a subscription/paywall. I'll try to locate it in another way; looks good from what I can see, thank you for sharing. 

I used to manage a dental office eons ago, so teeth are something I know a lot about.  It's amazing that there are so many details about teeth to learn and of course caring for your "pearly whites" can be a breeze with the right tools, toothbrush and toothpaste. 

I've noticed this for while, teeth too perfect! It is kind of creepy!

It's ok I think to have your teeth whitened, but please keep the natural look!

Totally agree, there are a lot of matching white teeth you see often on TV and in reality.  I do like natural teeth and a natural smile so much better too, that is if you can keep it.  Sometimes injuries or events happen and your teeth can get harmed.  I had a few skating accidents, hard to avoid on the ice during practice, but one fall I took I landed face down.  Sports can be a devil for injuries.

Interesting article about dementia, posted on Mortal's Realm.

https://mortalsrealm.com/groups/topic/view/group_id/1/topic_id/60/post_id/84

Dementia can be a very difficult issue when one's loved one has early onset dementia. This article was worth reading for the symptoms to watch out for and the validation that if I can't find my keys or my phone, I'm okay, as long as I don't find them in the freezer.

A guide to dental health.  Okay, so I'm into good dental hygiene.  This is a good article, however on basic dental care.  I'd add to it by buying a Waterpic, use it every night (lots of choices, designs and varied prices), and add smart floss to your routine. You can also add Risewell toothpaste which has hydroxyapatite, which is excellent for sensitive teeth, better than calcium carbonate that is found in your basic retail store selections.  Risewell toothpaste also helps to remineralize your teeth too.

https://www.consumerreports.org/health/dental-oral-care/your-guide-to-better-dental-health-as-you-age-a4998034165/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

Dental issues may even harm your heart. A study in the Journal of Periodontology in 2021, for example, found that people with gum inflammation were more likely to have inflammation in their arteries, which raises vascular disease risk. “Gum disease creates gum pockets where anaerobic bacteria can thrive and travel to vulnerable sites in your body, such as your heart,” Zavras says.

 

This is the part of poor dental hygiene that can affect your health greatly. Periodontitis can be very serious and when you have that bacteria in your system it can affect the health of your heart. 

Take care of your teeth for better health.