3 Ways To Fight Gum Disease From The Inside
Having a strong genetic predisposition for gum disease or a chronic disease are risk factors that are beyond your control. If you know that you are at an increased risk of developing gum disease, in addition to regular dental visits, find ways to put the odds in your favor by reducing your risk with changes in your diet and lifestyle.
Incorporate More Antioxidants
Gum disease is a type of inflammation that mainly affects your gums, but in severe cases can affect your heart. A strong and healthy immune system is one way to fight back against gum inflammation. Green tea is an easy addition to your diet that has many antioxidant properties. When you are selecting a green tea, it is better to find one that is purely green tea, with little or no additives.
You should strive to minimize the amount of sweetener you add to your green tea by reducing the sweetener a little at a time. A cup of green tea is also a great way to relax at the end of the day, while incorporating more antioxidants into your diet. You can purchase green tea in powdered form to add to smoothies, or to ice cream, for the occasional frozen treat.
Antioxidants are found in everyday foods, if you know where to look. Many of the antioxidant-rich foods are colorful fruits and vegetables. If you are not fond of vegetables, find ways to sneak them in by combining them with foods you already eat. Adding a handful of diced yellow and orange peppers to a soup or marinara sauce is one option.
Reduce Stress
It is impossible to eliminate all stress in your life, but you can make the effort to reduce stress and find better coping mechanisms. The influence of stress on your gums includes increasing inflammation and reducing the effectiveness of your body's immune system. Look for ways you currently deal with stress that are maladaptive. Eating bad foods, smoking, drinking excessively, or inappropriate outbursts of anger may be a few examples. Once you can identify the bad ways you deal with stress, you can find better ways of coping.
Exercises, such as walking or yoga, are common suggestions to help alleviate stress. However, creating a relaxing environment inside your home can be equally important. Turn your bedroom into a stress-free zone, especially if you work from home or are a stay-at-home parent. Incorporate color schemes and scents that you find soothing into your bedroom environment.
Learn the art of meditation by listening to instructional recordings or podcasts. Use noise-cancelling headphones if background noise is a problem. Even 15-20 minutes alone, focusing on your breathing and clearing your mind of stressing thoughts, can help you effectively manage stress and lower your heart rate and blood pressure.
Fight Inflammation
Try incorporating anti-inflammatory foods into your lifestyle. Ideally, you should add more foods containing omega-3s into your diet to help reduce inflammation. There is a fine balance between adding omega-3s through dietary sources and acquiring too much fat in your diet. Strive to add fish, such as salmon or sardines, into your diet twice per week and use supplements on the other days of the week. Flax seeds are another dietary source that is high in omega-3s, but are low in calories and fat.
When you focus on increasing omega-3s, make sure you are mindful of the amount of omega-6s in your diet, which can exacerbate inflammation. The omega-6s are easily found in your diet and can counteract the benefits of adding omega-3s. Omega-6s are found in most cooking oils, nuts, seeds and poultry. This does not mean that omega-6s are bad, but you should reduce your intake of omega-6s when focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet.
If developing gum disease seems inevitable, do not lose hope. Small changes in your diet and lifestyle can have positive effects on your gum health, even with uncontrollable risk factors.
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