April is Oral Health Month: Realistically Whole

Realistically Whole
by
Taylor
​Wilkinson

A few important concepts re: what's behind that beautiful smile.

Where Does Digestion Begin?
Have you ever been out for dinner & started drooling over your food before it even gets to your table? Haven’t we all?!
 
When we use our senses to see, smell, or even anticipate a plate of food, the body immediately begins preparing for digestion with the release of saliva in the mouth and stomach acid, a.k.a. ‘gastric juices’ in the stomach. There are enzymes located in both our saliva & stomach acid that assist in the chemical breakdown of food into an absorbable form.
 
Our saliva contains a specific enzyme called amylase. Once the food’s in our mouth the enzyme in our saliva begins to immediately break down starches and carbohydrates while the tongue and teeth also help to physically break down the food. The mouth’s role in digestion is BIG. It’s to ensure the food is broken down enough and prepped for the next phase of digestion - as we may all know, occurs in the stomach. The less our food is pre-digested in the mouth, the higher the workload for the stomach and stomach acid.
 
Our stomach often isn’t given the credit it deserves for all the hard work we force upon it. The stomach's role in digestion is to further metabolize our food into a form that can be used in the absorption phase. When we don’t chew our food thoroughly, or eat foods simultaneously that are digested at different rates, we are simply asking for trouble. This frequent overcompensation we force upon our stomach may eventually lead to an under-active stomach.
 
If you aren’t digesting your food enough in your stomach OR mouth, the truth of the matter is you won’t end up absorbing much of your meal at all. Therefore, you really aren’t reaping the full benefits of nourishment that your meals actually have to offer you. Malabsorption can then lead to a snowball effect of concerns: skin issues, brittle hair and nails and low iron to name a few.
 
Along with the above-mentioned issues, frequently scarfing-down your meals can also be connected to other concerns such as acid reflux or heartburn, gas and bloating, gut dysbiosis or candida, and can also be linked with other pathologies.
 
Side note: There are a lot of misconceptions about acid reflux. It’s important to understand that ant-acids are actually going to enhance the severity of your acid reflux over time. They create a snowball effect, and you are only getting instant ‘band-aid’ relief rather than long-term results.
 
While you’ve just learned a few ways that digestion is impacted in physical aspects, it is also directly affected by many other external factors. This will definitely be a topic discussed in the future, so stay tuned!
 
The Condition of Your Teeth Can Reflect Your Bone Health 
 
Here are some simple ways to ensure you’re supporting your teeth (and your bones):

• Incorporating supportive vitamins and minerals into your diet, specifically calcium AND magnesium: almonds, beans/lentils, dark chocolate, leafy greens, seeds
  • Calcium needs the support of other nutrients to be effectively absorbed.
• Increase your intake of chlorophyll-rich foods: spinach, kale, broccoli, collard greens, parsley
• Avoid the sugary foods
• Limit the exposure your teeth have to acidic foods to prolong the life of the enamel on your teeth by taking some simple precautionary steps (i.e. I like to drink my lemon-water through a straw to avoid exposure to my teeth).

 
Finding the Balance
 
As a Holistic Nutritionist, I believe it’s just as important to focus on balancing all aspects of life, not only your food consumption. Therefore, oral health and hygiene is just as important as your digestion of the foods you choose. Here are some simple considerations to ensure good oral hygiene:

• Brush your teeth, morning and night, for more than 30 seconds.
• Floss!! I know, I know, your dentist has told you this a million and one times already, but it’s for more than the health of your smile!
  • If you resent wrapping floss strings around your fingers and cutting off the circulation, get the floss picks - these were a game changer for me.
• Don’t neglect your tongue
  • Consider getting a tongue scraper - this can help to eliminate millions of little bacteria that stay trapped on your tongue, remove undigested food particles and can help with bad breath.
• Drink lots of water
  • Dehydration can be shown through body-talk as chapped, flaky lips, dry mouth and bad breath.

 
Thank-you for hanging out with me. Stay tuned for more educational blog posts.
Be happy & stay whole.

​Written by Taylor Wilkinson, R.H.N.
​Check me out on Instagram @realisticallywhole