One of the most frequently asked medical questions today is related to diet, "I need a diet to loose weight. Can you recommend one?" "What can I do to loose weight?" First of all there is no magic answer or a magic diet to weight loss and healthy eating. It is a lifestyle that includes a well balanced diet and regular exercise. All persons require a healthy diet whether overweight or not. In order to consume a healthy diet, we must eat a variety of foods from all groups. Balance the foods you eat with physical exercise. Everyone should exercise for 20 to 30 minutes daily. Choose foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, modest in sugars, salt and sodium. Drink 48 to 64 ounces of water daily. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Guide Pyramid is a diet plan to help individuals meet the dietary guidelines. These guidelines can be obtained from most medical offices and even at the library. These guidelines include:

Bread, Cereal, Rice and Pasta (6-11 servings daily)
Vegetables (3-5 servings daily) & Fruits (2-4 servings daily)
Milk, Yogurt, Cheese (2-3 servings daily)
Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, Nuts (2-3 servings daily)
Fats, Oils, & Sweets (Use Sparingly)

We must also monitor the amount of fat and calories in our diets. The average diet should be approximately 1800 - 2000 kcal. The total fat should not exceed 30% of the calories with 10% as saturated fatty acids. We should consume no more than 300 mg of cholesterol. Our diets today are heavy in starches (carbohydrates) but should be less than 60% of the calories (300 grams). Most of our breads, cereal, rice and pasta should come from whole grain foods such as wheat bread, brown rice and grain cereals (not sweetened cereals). If you eat regular meals and exercise regularly, you should be able to maintain a proper body weight. Regular exercise assists to increase your metabolism and helps your body to burn the calories you have consumed throughout the day. No! You cannot decrease your caloric intake to avoid exercising. It does not work that way. Your body metabolism will decline as you reduce your caloric intake and decrease your exercise and can actually cause you to gain weight on limited calories. Exercise is as essential to good nutrition as the foods you eat. Enjoy the upcoming beautiful weather, go for a walk, eat healthy and live long.

Sore gums, bleeding gums, swollen gums, loose teeth, bad breath? These are all signs and symptoms of periodontal disease, more commonly known as gum disease. You have probably heard the term 'periodontal disease' (PD), even in reference to your own oral health, but what exactly is it?

PD is the resultant effect of the body's defense against infection of the gums and other supporting structures of the teeth, such as ligament and bone. PD is caused by a chronic inflammatory response to irritants located in the sulcus or crevice of the gum tissue surrounding the teeth. These irritants exist in plaque matrix and are composed of various species of bacteria, the toxins they produce and broken down food debris. In chronic cases, the plaque matrix can calcify and become a hard calculus, otherwise known as tartar.

As stated in the opening line, PD presents itself in varying degrees of severity, ranging from slight inflammation of the gums, to extremely loose teeth and bleeding gums. These varying degrees of presentation are based on the amount of irritant present, the body's response and efficiency of response to those irritants, and the length of time those irritants are present.

The very nature of your body's inflammatory defense mechanism is destructive to the gums and bone, thus ultimately undermining the support structure of the teeth. Another factor involved with the disease process is the circular effect of symptoms and the patient's response. Due to the fact the gums are sore and bleed, patients are reluctant to brush or floss the teeth with any intensity. This allows the irritants to remain and cause more sensitivity and bleeding resulting in less brushing and flossing and so on and so on.

So what can you do? Patients will often ask if antibiotics will cure the disease. Unfortunately, unlike many other diseases, PD is not self-limiting; due to the fact irritants are always potentially present. This is why mechanical elimination of irritants is the method by which the disease is controlled. One of the keys is patient home-care. Recommended is brushing after each meal and flossing between the teeth at bedtime. This regular and sustained type of cleansing is of paramount importance. Your dental care provider also plays an important role. A dentist or hygienist can evaluate the condition of the periodontium and recommend a course of treatment for you. Often this will include a series of deep cleanings followed by exams and cleanings at regular intervals. There are also some antibacterial rinses and other medications that can be used in selected cases. More advanced disease can be treated by surgical procedures including reshaping gum and bone tissue. In some instances, teeth must be extracted based on the severity of a particular case.

Who gets PD? Everyone is susceptible to PD. However certain groups should pay particular attention. Those include the immune-compromised including diabetics, the elderly, mentally and physically impaired, and any person who does not practice regular oral hygiene.

So why is this information important to you? As PD progresses, the support of the teeth becomes impaired to the point that it is irreparable, resulting in the loss of a tooth or teeth. Abscesses may occur, and lead to potentially dangerous infections. The breath is often notably offensive. Also studies are suggesting that there is a link between periodontal disease and diabetes, heart and cardiovascular disease, and low birth-weight babies.

Therefore if the importance of your oral health has not been a priority for you, then ponder the link to your systemic health and think twice about the next time you want to skip brushing or flossing your teeth, or the next time you cancel your dental exam and cleaning. Hopefully the information contained in this short article has been of some interest to you, and maybe you can share it with someone you know.

For more information regarding periodontal disease or to receive an evaluation, please call your dentist or the Cafe Fear Community College Dental Hygiene Department at 251-5968 where cleanings are done at a very minimal cost.