Monthly Archives: September 2012

I like milk

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Yes, I like milk, more specifically cow’s milk. I do enjoy goat’s milk from time to time but I drink cow’s milk on a regular basis. There are people out there that feel humans are not designed to drink another animal’s milk, because it is created to nourish a specific baby animal. Nonetheless, I enjoy it and have never noticed any negative effects.

Okay, now I made my declaration – but what type of milk do I buy? I prefer whole milk. Why whole milk? I believe the world’s healthiest foods are whole foods — foods that have not been processed. The nutrients in whole foods have a natural synergy with one another — that is, they work best in and are most beneficial to the body when they are taken together. Therefore, when you pull some or all of the fat out of milk, you throw its nutritional profile out of whack. Basically, you discard some of the health benefits when you discard the fat.

I used to buy local organic raw milk in glass jars. This made the most sense to me; cows were fed a healthy diet, so there was no antibiotics, no rBST hormones, no heat that would kill the nutritional content in the milk, no BPA from the plastic leaching into the milk. Unfortunately, Mathew stopped drinking it because there was too much cream in the milk. I tried skimming it off, but that was not good enough for him. I do not push Mathew to drink milk because I think he gets his protein, calcium and fat from other foods. Nonetheless, I know milk compliments a healthy diet. Therefore, when I needed to find another milk, three factors were important to me: local, no rBST hormones, and glass containers. Antibiotics are not an issue with milk, because it is tested and the farmers cannot sell milk from cows whose milk contains antibiotics.  I would love it if organic played a role in my decision, but to buy a local organic milk, I would have to eliminate one of my other three needs. Maybe you’ll have better luck in your area. Luckily, I do have a local distributor – Byrne Dairy. They sell their milk in a reusable glass bottle and do not give their cows rBST and get their milk from local dairies.

When shopping we have many choices. These are my choices, what are yours?

 

 

Teeth are strong but gums gotta go

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My last visit to the dentist did not go as smooth as I had hoped. I was told that I had the beginning stage of gingivitis and it was recommended that I have a deep cleaning or scaling. I was told, that at this point, if all the tarter that was developing below the gum level was removed I could turn it around. I was shocked since I brush and floss regularly and my gums do not bleed, well almost never. I simply dismissed it until I started to think about my family history. Two members of my family started to lose their teeth in their late forties, and another is working very hard not to lose any in his fifties.

I am forty-seven. Through my research I found that nutrition, genetics and stress play major roles in oral health. Unfortunately, I only have control over one – nutrition. I believe I handle stress relatively well, but I am human and life happens.

So I decided that I was going to bite the bullet and have the deep cleaning done, give my gums and teeth a fresh new start. I endeavored to work extra hard at maintaining gum health from then on. After the deep cleaning was done, I was instructed to rinse my mouth with salt water 6 times a day. Instead, I made an infusion of chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) and calendula (Calendula officinalis) and rinsed my mouth with the infusion six times a day. Both chamomile and calendula have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties; the combination just felt right. I went in a week later to have more work done, but the dentist told me it was too early to see any change. Nevertheless, when I was checked, my deep pockets in the gums went from a 6 to a 3. With results like that, I will continue to rinse my mouth with the chamomile and calendula infusion nightly – who needs Listerine! I will keep you posted.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.