5 Tips on How to Prioritize Your Health

What is the secret to a long, well-lived life? Here are 5 tips on how to prioritize your health.

A Quick Look at Genetics

As the saying goes, the more you know! Here are four pieces of genetic advice to incorporate into your diet: avoiding sugars, supplementing with Vitamin D and Omega3, maintaining (or increasing) muscle mass, and meditation. There are two types of tests to consider when seeking understanding of longevity potential: those that measure the onset of chronic disease, which includes elements like glucose, insulin, GSP, low density lipoprotein or cholesterol, body mass index, and blood level indicators of inflammation); and those that measure different biological ages. It would be wise to ask your doctor for an annual blood work checkup as well.

Avoid the Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods

Did you know that you can keep your gut healthy by eating 30 different plants a week? This ensures you have plenty of diversity within your diet. Some medical experts promote and prioritize the four Ks: kefir, (sauer)kraut, kimchi, and kombucha, which have all been shown to reduce inflammation. Conversely, try to avoid consuming processed foods entirely. Here’s a wake up call: the mere fact of eating ultra processed food increases your risk of death by 29 percent, according to a report in the American Journal of Epidemiology and this is because it affects our gut health. 

Make Your Teeth a Priority

We’re a dental practice – of course oral health is going to be a part of this! Kidding aside, it has a major impact on your overall health. So, look after your teeth; gum disease, an indicator of chronic inflammation, is increasingly linked to a wide range of health problems from Alzheimer’s to heart disease and diabetes. We recommend brushing twice daily for two minutes before breakfast and then again before bed at night as well as once-daily rinsing with a good mouthwash, and once-daily flossing using interdental brushes or an oral irrigator. In addition to avoiding sugar in your diet, you should refrain from using nicotine. Those who smoke (or vape) are at a much higher risk of developing gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancer.

Keep it Cool

Cold plunges and ice baths seem to have taken the world by storm over the last couple of years. There is increasing evidence to support that controlled cold exposure can reduce inflammation and increase longevity, so it’s not surprising as to why many athletes and health-focused individuals have incorporated these into their daily routines.

Relationships Do Impact Your Health

“An often underestimated longevity factor is social engagement,” says TCM practitioner, Dr John Tsagaris, “as loneliness and social isolation have been linked with a higher risk of chronic diseases.” That being said, you should also be aware of the fear of being alone and what this can actually do to you if it means keeping you in an unhappy relationship for longer. “Staying with someone who is destructively critical and unkind is debilitating for the psyche and soma,” says Jane Haynes. “Whatever our relationship status is, we all–from birth to death–need people to communicate with and ideally have at least one intimate relationship where we can drop our mask and be recognized in our vulnerability. Nobody likes waking up alone in the dark with a panic attack but is it even worse if there is someone there who couldn’t care less?”

Goodnight, Sleep Tight

It’s more than just a classic explanation… Do as yogis do and push the cyclic pattern of negative attitudes far away so that tomorrow will be an even better day. It’s important to take time to “watch” our days’ actions and behaviors before going to sleep. This practice can make you aware of your limitations and help to break negative thought patterns.

Have questions about how any of these factors relate to or impact your oral health? Reach out to us – we’re here & happy to help!