Sweets

Your mouth is the door to your health. Excessive bacteria in your mouth not only leads to tooth decay and infections, but also to heart disease and even joint pain.  Bacteria in your mouth promotes lactic acid.  This hardens and sticks to our teeth .  The result: plaque buildup – a substance which actively de-mineralizes the teeth and decays them.  But that’s not all.  Don’t forget, what’s in your mouth leaks into your gut and into your bodily systems.

Dr. Stacey Stein’s preventative advice. Dental visits should be quarterly in order to control bacteria accumulation and to monitor oral and physical health.  Why?  Because every 3 months bacteria accumulates in your mouth.  After cleanings, a good dentist looks for any symptoms in your mouth which reveal signs of illness. Thus, this quarterly oral health check by your dentist is also beneficial.  Both provide cost efficient health insurance.  Cleanings by your dental hygenist are cheaper than fillings, caps, crowns and oral surgery, much less heart disease.  Get thee to your dentist’s friendly dental hygenist!   And, chuck junk food.

For lots more great info on oral health from Dr. Stacey Stein, listen to the archived interveiw (Oct.30th) on www.BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Per Terry Wakefield, Chocolatier for Bissingser’s Chocolate, chocolate’s melting point is 87 degrees F which is why it melts in your mouth. If you have to bite into chocolate, unwanted fats have been added in a process that gives it the waxy harder texture – talking about hydrogenated oils, the sickening kind. Now you know how to determine if you are eating good chocolate! See if it simply melts in your mouth.

If you missed this radio show, listen to the archived version. Terry was loaded with neat information about chocolate. It is well worth your time. Go to www.BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com.

… for the health of families,
ellen

Smarties have always been on our NO list – a combination of sugar, artificial dyes and flavors. The good news is that kids are wonderfully inventive. The bad news is that some invent bad ideas. Here is the latest one. First they smash Smarties in their wrapper. Then they suck the powder into their mouth, and exhale it out of their mouth and nose. The turn on – it looks like they are smoking. They love freaking everyone out by doing this. Needless to say, there have been no studies on how this may prove damaging to their nasal or respiratory passages. There are no studies saying this will lead to the habit of smoking of cigarettes. Do we need studies to prove this is not good for them? If you want to view this in action, kids have made You Tubes so you can learn how smoke Smarties. I can just see it now, Smarties Parties. Just not cool. I shudder to think what those artificial dyes and flavoring chemicals may do to the young as they pretend to smoke. Medical professionals warn against possible, coughing (lung irritation), infections and even the existence of maggots in the nose since they live on powdery sugar. Gross.

Parents, there is not one good reason to have Smarties in your house, your kids’ lunch boxes or pockets, as party or school favors. Take action now. Buy your kids Sun Drops (like M&Ms with naturally colored coatings) for treats instead. It is really hard to “smoke” real smooth chocolate.

… for the health of your family,
ellen

Moms Making Noise confess their regifting experiences – yes, we all have participated one way or another.  Jodi has one that is missing in action, Body Paint - it’s a mystery.  She also has mom stories for the worst presents – seems her mom was an expert at selecting the most off-the-wall gifts.  One dynamite gift received from a husband was a snow-blower, the latest and greatest of course… Yes, it really was for him.  These moms talked about holiday treats (snowballs, carrot cake) meals and frustrations…  You’ll learn from their good and bad ideas!  Have fun and tune into this archived show aired Dec. 26th!

$2 Billion – that’s how much money shoppers are expected to spend on candy for Halloween.  That’s 2 with nine zeros following it – $2,000,000,000!  How much of this is going on credit cards adding to debt?  How many credit cards will be used to pay for the medicine purchased for all the kids who will eat this candy and then get sick?  How much money will be spent paying for dentist bills afterwards?  Halloween is a costly holiday and no one even gets presents – just candy full of fake dyes, flavors, and sugar. 

What’s the solution?  Since we are warned not to give out or receive anything thing that is not packaged, why not some small bags of trail mix, crackers (Cheddar Bunnies), and even cookies (Late July) that kids love – the ones that meet our Better Food Choices standards? Joseph’s Lite Cookies has some little snack paks of cookies that have been Kid Kritics Approved.  This is money better spent.  I also like the idea of having parties with home-cooked treats, especially those using fruit.  Serve a good ice cream made with real cane sugar and cream topped with frozen berries and nuts (for those not allergic) - yum!   If you use chocolate syrup, make sure it is Ah! Laska.  Let’s Go Organic has some sprinkles made with natural food colors that are fun. 

As a child years ago, I loved running around our village in a home-made costume going from house to house for treats.  There was one house always to be avoided because they always made you do a trick first- sing a song or something – before they gave you anything.  I am afraid that those days of fun innocent trick or treating are over – too many real scary possibilites in today’s world of “crazies”.  Unfortunately, this holiday tends to lend itself to bad experiences.  

Please spend your portion of this $2 billion on good healther food and fun.