According to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Periodontology, researchers have found a significant correlation between healthy eating and healthy gums. Specifically, those people who were not overweight, consumed a nutritious diet, and regularly exercised with moderate intensity were 40% less likely to suffer from gum disease.

Of the over-12,000 people surveyed, only 3% of the people possessed all three traits (not being overweight, eating a nutritious diet, and exercising regularly), but its interesting to note that as people added more of these traits to their arsenal, their periodontal health improved as well. Those people who possessed two of the traits were 29% less likely to suffer gum disease, and those who possessed only one of the three key traits were 16% less likely to suffer gum disease.

In statistics, there is a saying that goes like this: “Correlation is not necessarily causation.” This means that, while the correlation is statistically significant, one must decide whether it is the healthy behavior that is the cause of the healthy mouth, or the healthy mouth the cause of the healthy behavior.

Researchers pointed out that there were a few possible factors contributing to this statistical relationship. Eating healthy foods (such as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables) tends to help scrub the plaque off of teeth before it can turn into tartar, which causes pockets in the gums where bacteria can take root. Also, it has been suggested that the increased circulation that comes from exercise may help to reduce inflammation.

The bottom line is that, whether the mouth is the window into the body or the body is the window into the mouth, it’s just one other weapon to help you win the battle of the bulge. One measure of one’s self is weight. We can step onto a scale once a day and see if we have gained, lost, or maintained weight in comparison to the previous day.

A scale can be “out of sight, out of mind,” but your mouth never leaves you. The health of your teeth and gums, the lack of plaque and debris, and the freshness of your breath can be a constant reminder of the status of your overall health.

There are other dental health-related weight loss tips that you can use in conjunction with this periodontal health study.

1. Brush and floss your teeth immediately following each meal. Doing so will give you a clean mouth and fresh breath and you will be less likely to mess up your clean mouth by snacking on food prior to your next meal.

2. Use a strong, mint-flavored toothpaste, mouthwash, or both. The mint flavor does not mix well with many foods and flavors. Remember the last time you brushed your teeth and then finished off the glass of orange juice before rushing off to work? The very thought of that after-taste is enough to keep you from eating before your next meal.

An executive at the California Dental Association told me several years ago that, in his opinion, the biggest health crisis in this country was related to people not realizing that their oral health was so strongly related to their overall health. This new study seems to confirm his understanding of that relationship. The well-armed warrior will use this knowledge to his or her benefit in order to gain an advantage in fighting the “Battle of the Bulge.”

References:
http://www.perio.org/
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/110/109676.htm

Michael Callen is the author of the Weekly Weightloss Tips Newsletter (http://www.weeklyweightlosstips.com) and the Chief Technology Officer for WellnessPartners.com (http://www.WellnessPartners.com), an online retailer of dozens of health and wellness products such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), r+ alpha lipoic acid (R+ ALA), and green tea extract.

Tags: behavior, diet, exercise, fat, gums, health, lose, loss, nutrition, snack, teeth, weightbehavior, diet, exercise, fat, gums, health, lose, loss, nutrition, snack, teeth, weight

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Do you remember the day you first joined your gym? Wasn’t it a great feeling, knowing that you had finally taken that first step towards living a healthier life? Making a conscious, positive decision to improve is rewarding, and hopefully we’ve all kept that promise to ourselves. But try as we might, it seems that there’s always a handy excuse to not exercise.

While gym attendance peaks around January, it slacks off every March/April as people forget about their New Year Resolutions. Summer BBQ’s and vacations tend to make people stay away from the gym, and six months later holiday parties and planning to the same thing. Finally, we can all relate to those days when we simply don’t want to work out!

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, a trade association serving the health and fitness club industry, reports that the average health club member in the United States spends only about 90 days at the gym per year.

The purpose of this article is to help you STAY MOTIVATED to exercise! We don’t just want to help you with the ‘how’ of exercise - we want to help you with the ‘why’ too! We want you to look forward to exercising!

So what can you do to stay motivated? Here are five great ideas to help us all keep that inner fire burning..

1) Find an exercise buddy! When we know that someone else is going to meet us at the gym at a certain time, we will automatically be much more likely to show up ourselves. After all, who wants to abandon their friend? Don’t have a friend at the gym? Invite one along! She will appreciate the invitation, and will be much healthier for it!

2) Get to know people in the gym! One of the many reasons why women enjoy the gym so much is that it’s part exercise facility and part social club! Visiting with friends and family while we’re exercising makes the time go by so fast it hardly even seems like we’re doing something good for us. It’s great to get out of the house or office and just have some fun with other ladies!

3) Talk with your doctor! We all know that exercise is good for us. From helping to prevent cancer to lowering our blood pressure to helping us fit into that swimming suit, exercise is the best thing we can do for ourselves. Even with that knowledge, it’s sometimes encouraging to hear about our progress from our doctor. Here’s a hot motivation tip: ask your gym for a copy of your fitness records (monthly body fat analysis and measurements) and then share that information with your doctor. He or she will be so happy that you’re exercising, and will encourage you to continue!

4) Chart your progress! The CEO of a Fortune 500 company once said “What gets measured gets done”, and that advice is as good for us as it was for that business. Take the time to keep a food journal, an exercise log, or simply write down your fitness goals. Post it where you will see it every single day (on the ‘fridge, in the car, on the mirror, etc.). Life is just so busy these days, a constant visual reminder of our goals may be just the motivational push we need.

5) Give yourself a reward! Sometimes the ‘big picture’ can be too intimidating. For example, if you have 80 pounds to lose it’s tempting to think “It’s too much! I shouldn’t even try.” That’s one of the biggest motivation-killers out there, so combat those discouraging thoughts by rewarding yourself for smaller accomplishments. Treat yourself to a manicure when you lose that first five pounds. Buy a new outfit when you’ve lost ten pounds. Take a mini-vacation when you’re halfway to your goal. Give yourself small rewards for achieving smaller goals, and guess what…..many small steps make up a long journey! Before you know it, you’ll have accomplished your overall goal!

There are many other ways to give yourself the motivation to succeed. Try some of these tips today - the only thing you have to lose is the fat!

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Tags: diet, exercise, express, fat, fit, fitness, health, lady, nutrition, pace, shapes, slender, slim, weigh, weightdiet, exercise, express, fat, fit, fitness, health, lady, nutrition, pace, shapes, slender, slim, weigh, weight

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Remember when we were 7 years old? At that age, any insult (no matter how mean or despicable) could instantly be nullified by simply replying “I’m rubber, you’re glue….whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you!”

Even though we’re not seven years old anymore, insults still aren’t any fun at all! Many of us thought we’d outgrow name-calling and the ‘blame game’, but here we are….fully grown adults…..still playing those games.

Now, we may not all be calling each other names, but many of us are still playing the ‘blame game’. We blame others for our weight gain. We blame others for our failed diet. We blame others for our PERCEIVED failures. But are others at fault?

Sometimes what we say to others ‘bounces off them and sticks on us’, to paraphrase the old rhyme.

While we’ll admit that genetics plays a HUGE HUGE HUGE role in our weight, it’s also true that each of us makes DAILY CHOICES that impact the number on the scale.

So who (or what?) are we blaming for our weight? Genetics? Fast food? A busy lifestyle? Ice cream? Family? Work?

The bottom line is that WHILE WE MAY BE ABLE TO LEGITIMATELY BLAME SOMEONE (OR SOMETHING) ELSE FOR OUR CURRENT WEIGHT, WE ARE ALL IN CONTROL OF OUR FUTURE WEIGHT.

Each of us knows how we arrived at our current weight. Perhaps we’ve always been heavy. Perhaps that weight crept on during the last few years. Or, maybe, we were thin until we hit age _____ and then the pounds started piling on. However we arrived at our current weight, the fact is that we’re here. We cannot change the past. But, we do have control over the future.

No matter how hard we try, we can’t change what we ate yesterday. In the same way, we cannot go back in time and alter the amount of exercise we got yesterday. The past is behind us.

But the good news is that THE FUTURE HASN’T HAPPENED YET. Each of us can choose to eat better tomorrow. Each of us can choose to exercise tomorrow.

The tendency to get ’stuck in the past’ is a major reason why Americans are not getting thinner. Too many of us are wasting our time trying to place the blame for our weight on someone else, rather than planning to do something about it.

A perfect example are the lawsuits now pending against fast food restaurants. Thousands of people in the United States have decided that fast food restaurants are to blame for their weight. Are they right? Maybe, but probably not. This article isn’t the place to judge whether or not restaurants are to blame for the obesity epidemic in our nation. Instead, the point we need to learn here is that IF WE WANT TO GET RESULTS, WE MUST STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE PAST AND START PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.

So, while some of us may have legitimate complaints about the past, let’s ask ourselves if that really matters. Life isn’t fair…..some of us are genetically inclined to be heavy, just as some of us are genetically inclined to get cancer. Either way, it’s not fair. But rather than throw up our hands in dispair and give up all hope, let’s take control of our future!!

Remember that we cannot change our past BUT WE ALL HAVE SOME DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER OUR FUTURE.

The moral of the story is to START TODAY. Sure, maybe we’ve skipped a few (or a few dozen) workouts. Sure, maybe we ate four servings of cheesecake yesterday. WE CAN’T CHANGE THE PAST, SO LET’S FOCUS ON THE FUTURE.

The past may be full of bad diets, skipped workouts and expanding waistlines…..BUT THE FUTURE IS YET TO COME!! Let’s stop the blame, take control of our future, and get busy. It’s our choice.

* Copyright 2005 Pick Up The Pace. Permission is not required for the distribution of Pick Up The Pace articles as long as they are used in their entirety, are properly credited to Pick Up The Pace, and are accompanied by our website link: www.letspickupthepace.com.

* The information in this article and on this site is for general reference purposes only and not intended to address specific medical conditions. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice or a medical exam. Prior to participating in any exercise program or activity, you should seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional. No information in this article or on www.letspickupthepace.com should be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition.

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women, focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com for more information.

Tags: diet, exercise, express, fat, fit, fitness, health, lady, nutrition, pace, shapes, slender, slim, weigh, weightdiet, exercise, express, fat, fit, fitness, health, lady, nutrition, pace, shapes, slender, slim, weigh, weight

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