REALAGE TIP

All About YOU: What Your Mouth Says About Your Health

Here's one way to check your health: Open wide and say ahh.

Yup. Your mouth, more than any outward part of your body, speaks volumes about your well-being. Here’s what the state of your teeth and tongue can tell you.

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What's the first sign that you’re starting to get sick?

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Coconut-jam

1 of 1 people found this helpful.

7/5/2008 4:33:50 AM

I come from a Chinese background and since young have been taught by the older women in the family to listen to my body. If my lower body from waist down is stiff, then it means I'd been taking too much cooling or yin food. If my upper body, from waist up feels tight and edgy, I'd to stop eating yang food such as fried stuff, esp deep fried food, chocolates and baked stuff. These are the basic rules. My body tells me I'm going to be sick, but can still beat it back, when I feel cold on hot days and my mouth and throat is unusually dry. I try drinking more water than I usually do. It pays to consult a Chinese herbalist for prescription to cool or warm the body - whichever the imbalance is.

RodiKenley

5 of 5 people found this helpful.

6/27/2008 2:19:10 PM

Eat cruncy foods like apples, cheese and spinach. Drink Brita water and/or use a xylitol toothpaste, also.

widowlong

24 of 24 people found this helpful.

6/21/2008 7:21:41 PM

keep your weight at a healthy level, keep moving - exercise can happen anywhere, doesn't have to be in a gym, cultivate your inner smile, meditate daily, touch your pets, spend part of your day outside, breathe deeply and consciously when you feel stressed, nothing is worth the damage that anger causes to oneself, live in the moment

luci3

40 of 48 people found this helpful.

6/21/2008 5:41:38 AM

I find that I'm more tired, and I start getting dark circles under my eyes.

[Edited by luci3 on 6/21/2008 5:44:12 ]

MaxKon

46 of 50 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 3:25:49 PM

My mouth is the first place to show it when i'm getting sick.
Here's what i do to keep my mouth feeling fresh: First i brush with just the brush (no paste), then i floss, use a tongue scraper, brush with paste, then mouth wash. It feels like that 'just been to the dentist' feeling every time. And my teeth are a few shades whiter since i started doing it this way.

Hikerman

10 of 17 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 1:54:29 PM

Regarding brushing your teeth....I use several styles of toothbrush feeling that you get different areas of your teeth cleaned that another brush could miss. I told my dentist and he thought it was an excellent idea.

yoga_d

15 of 18 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 1:11:07 PM

The headline caught my attention... I often find when I'm run down my mouth breaks out with canker sores. This often happens instead of getting the cold or flu circulating or under times of stress. Any tips?

44yearsYoung

3 of 3 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 1:01:24 PM

I very strongly believe in the benefit of using a waterpik. This flushes food particles out where flossing and brushing can't reach. The waterpik is easier and faster than flossing, but flossing scrapes off some stuff that the waterpik can't. The waterpik is so effective that I only floss once a week. I just use water in my waterpik.

I second the use of yogurt (and keifer), but I think mouthwashes upset the balance of healthy bacteria. I'd only use mouthwash if I had periodontal disease that couldn't be managed by a more gentle and natural approach.

deegee33

8 of 8 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 12:41:39 PM

My dentist said that you should floss first and then brush. The flossing loosens plaque that gets removed when you brush.

middleaged...

4 of 4 people found this helpful.

6/20/2008 11:36:17 AM

Yogurt may help but this advice sidelines far more important factors - brushing properly, flossing, messaging gums and using Listerine at full strength. (And yes I saw the brushing and flossing as one line at the end of the tip).