Showing posts with label dental health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dental health. Show all posts
March 24, 2014
260 Oil Pulling [24 March 2014]
I’ve been reading and hearing a lot lately about a novel use for coconut oil called “oil pulling”. This old Ayurvedic folk remedy from India involves taking a spoonful of oil in your mouth, swishing it around for 15-20 minutes, alternately pushing and pulling it between your teeth (hence the name), then spitting it out and rinsing with warm salt water. Traditionally sesame oil was used but sunflower, olive, and coconut oils have also been recommended and almost any vegetable oil should work. It is best done first thing in the morning before eating, drinking or brushing your teeth. Some people like to do it while showering.
A 2008 book by Bruce Fife “Oil Pulling Therapy: Detoxifying and Healing the Body Through Oral Cleansing” popularized the technique in North America. I only found three scientific studies on the technique, all published in India by the same chief author between 2008 and 2011. The studies found that oil pulling was as effective as chlorhexidine (an antiseptic mouthwash ingredient) at reducing bacteria (Streptococcus mutans), halitosis, and plaque-induced gingivitis.
People using the technique report a variety of benefits:
• mouth feels clean, fresh and healthy
• teeth white and shiny
• plaque reduced
• gingivitis and gum bleeding reduced
• gum pockets improved
• teeth sensitivity reduced
• halitosis (bad breath) improved
Several dental hygienists commenting on the internet caution that oil pulling does not replace brushing and flossing (and many users agreed). I would add not to expect the miracle cures of chronic illnesses promised in the book. But it’s simple, inexpensive and safe so why not try it and see what it will do for you.
For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.
March 10, 2014
258 Manuka Honey [10 March 2014]
Manuka honey is an example of a mono-floral honey – a honey made from a single type of flower. Manuka honey has a distinct flavor and a rich dark color, but its medicinal properties are what make this honey so special.
Manuka honey is made from the flowers of the Manuka shrub, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows in New Zealand and Australia. Leptospermum is related to the Australian Tea Tree from which Tea Tree Oil is made.
Some manuka honey, called Active Manuka Honey, has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties (in addition to the effect from hydrogen peroxide which is found in all honey). This property, unique to manuka honey, is called (surprise!) the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). Manuka honey is graded on the basis of its antimicrobial strength using a standard which compares it to a phenol solution. For example a UMF of 10 is equivalent to a 10% phenol solution. Honey rated between 10 and 18 is ideal for therapeutic purposes.
Manuka honey can be eaten to treat esophageal, stomach, and duodenal ulcers and other internal infections. Some stubborn bacterial infections which have become resistant to antibiotics – including Staph and MRSA – have been effectively cleared up with manuka honey. Other conditions for which manuka honey has been successfully used internally include: periodontal disease; sinusitis, bronchitis & laryngitis; canker & cold sores; throat infections; heartburn & hiatal hernia; celiac disease; and colitis, IBS & Crohn’s.
Successful external uses include: animal bites; poison ivy rash; infected surgery scars; diabetic leg ulcers; bed sores; stubborn infectious wounds; acne, rashes & eczema; and burns. When used as a dressing for open wounds, manuka honey has been shown to clear and prevent infection, speed healing, and reduce scarring. It also reduces inflammation and pain.
Manuka honey from New Zealand is available in Canada. It is of course more expensive than regular honey, but think of it as a medicine, not just something to mix with peanut butter on your breakfast toast.
For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.
Ed. Note: this is a repeat of #59 from April 2010.
Manuka honey is made from the flowers of the Manuka shrub, Leptospermum scoparium, which grows in New Zealand and Australia. Leptospermum is related to the Australian Tea Tree from which Tea Tree Oil is made.
Some manuka honey, called Active Manuka Honey, has strong antibacterial and antifungal properties (in addition to the effect from hydrogen peroxide which is found in all honey). This property, unique to manuka honey, is called (surprise!) the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). Manuka honey is graded on the basis of its antimicrobial strength using a standard which compares it to a phenol solution. For example a UMF of 10 is equivalent to a 10% phenol solution. Honey rated between 10 and 18 is ideal for therapeutic purposes.
Manuka honey can be eaten to treat esophageal, stomach, and duodenal ulcers and other internal infections. Some stubborn bacterial infections which have become resistant to antibiotics – including Staph and MRSA – have been effectively cleared up with manuka honey. Other conditions for which manuka honey has been successfully used internally include: periodontal disease; sinusitis, bronchitis & laryngitis; canker & cold sores; throat infections; heartburn & hiatal hernia; celiac disease; and colitis, IBS & Crohn’s.
Successful external uses include: animal bites; poison ivy rash; infected surgery scars; diabetic leg ulcers; bed sores; stubborn infectious wounds; acne, rashes & eczema; and burns. When used as a dressing for open wounds, manuka honey has been shown to clear and prevent infection, speed healing, and reduce scarring. It also reduces inflammation and pain.
Manuka honey from New Zealand is available in Canada. It is of course more expensive than regular honey, but think of it as a medicine, not just something to mix with peanut butter on your breakfast toast.
For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.
Ed. Note: this is a repeat of #59 from April 2010.
January 23, 2012
149 The Rediscovery of Vitamin K2 [23 January 2012]
Vitamin K2 was first discovered 70 years ago but it is only in the last few years that its full significance is being appreciated.
In the early 1930s Danish biochemist Henrick Dam discovered a nutrient that was essential for the blood clotting process. He named it Vitamin K for “koagulation”. A decade later an American researcher Edward Doisy isolated this nutrient and identified its structure. The two researchers shared a Nobel Prize in 1943 for their discovery.
Dam and Doisy recognized two forms which they named K1 and K2, but believed them to be variations of the same nutrient with the only known function of blood clotting. It was 30 years after that, in 1975, that the K2-dependent enzyme osteocalcin was discovered. And it was another 20 years, in 1997, before researchers understood that osteocalcin was essential for deposition of calcium in bones and prevention of calcium deposits in arteries. So why haven’t we been hearing about it for the last 15 years?
The reason is that it was assumed that a K2 deficiency was rare. K1 is readily available in leafy green vegetables in sufficient amounts for clotting purposes. It was only 5 years ago, in 2007 that the extent of K2 deficiency became known. Confusion between the two forms continues, though it is now known that they are two different nutrients with entirely different functions, not just different forms of the same vitamin. Research is still coming in showing how important K2 is for our health and its role in preventing atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, dental caries, diabetes, cancer and more.
Ironically the importance of K2 and the significance of its deficiency were first written about in 1939 by dentist and nutritional researcher, Weston A. Price. He discovered that a nutrient he called “Activator X” was deficient in modernized diets, causing changes within a generation of deformed dental arches, dental caries, and other chronic diseases. From his observations we now know Price’s “X” is K2.
Source: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Kate Rheaume-Bleue, Bsc. ND, John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Watch a 15 minute interview with Dr Rheaume-Bleue here.
This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.
In the early 1930s Danish biochemist Henrick Dam discovered a nutrient that was essential for the blood clotting process. He named it Vitamin K for “koagulation”. A decade later an American researcher Edward Doisy isolated this nutrient and identified its structure. The two researchers shared a Nobel Prize in 1943 for their discovery.
Dam and Doisy recognized two forms which they named K1 and K2, but believed them to be variations of the same nutrient with the only known function of blood clotting. It was 30 years after that, in 1975, that the K2-dependent enzyme osteocalcin was discovered. And it was another 20 years, in 1997, before researchers understood that osteocalcin was essential for deposition of calcium in bones and prevention of calcium deposits in arteries. So why haven’t we been hearing about it for the last 15 years?
The reason is that it was assumed that a K2 deficiency was rare. K1 is readily available in leafy green vegetables in sufficient amounts for clotting purposes. It was only 5 years ago, in 2007 that the extent of K2 deficiency became known. Confusion between the two forms continues, though it is now known that they are two different nutrients with entirely different functions, not just different forms of the same vitamin. Research is still coming in showing how important K2 is for our health and its role in preventing atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, dental caries, diabetes, cancer and more.
Ironically the importance of K2 and the significance of its deficiency were first written about in 1939 by dentist and nutritional researcher, Weston A. Price. He discovered that a nutrient he called “Activator X” was deficient in modernized diets, causing changes within a generation of deformed dental arches, dental caries, and other chronic diseases. From his observations we now know Price’s “X” is K2.
Source: Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox by Kate Rheaume-Bleue, Bsc. ND, John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Watch a 15 minute interview with Dr Rheaume-Bleue here.
This article is intended for educational purposes only; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.
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