We crave food for a variety of reasons. My problem is that I develop cravings for pizza, that thick luscious gooey cheese makes me swoon. Sometimes. Other times I could eat a salad morning, noon, and night. What’s with the cravings for foods that aren’t really good for me? Why can’t I crave healthy food?

Many bad food cravings come from our frenetic lifestyle. When we’re stressed, we’re looking for food to sate us. Not to satisfy our hunger, but to make us feel better. We don’t care that we’ll end up hungry, grumpy, and with a likely case of heartburn later. We want food that is going to send our endorphins soaring and give us that “feel good” feeling within minutes of eating it. Pizza is one of those foods. High in fat, salt, and depending on the sauce and crust, sometimes sugar.

We also associate pizza with a party or a celebration. So not only does the food make us feel better temporarily, we also associate it with good times, and memories like that make us feel good too.

Then there is a deep, dark, and dirty little secret the food industry hopes we won’t notice.

We’re being tricked.

Yes indeed. Our taste-buds have been high-jacked by well-meaning scientists who started creating convenience foods to make our lives easier. Then they discovered that convenience foods were a big money-maker. And once money’s involved, all bets are off.

Soon the processed food industry went from helping the 50’s and 60’s housewife enjoy a little cuddle in the evening with her hubby and a re-heated frozen dinner on the TV tray in front of them to a full on assault of our nearest and dearest.

Our children.

Notice food commercials. Many of them are directed at adults, but most of them are designed to get kids to nag their parents into stopping by a fast food place because the kiddos want to. It’s fast. It’s cheap. It’s convenient. And darn if it doesn’t smell good too.

Millions of dollars have gone into the processed food industry to get people to buy one brand over another. They know exactly what smell we respond to, and they use it against us.

We’re working so hard to be healthy. We want to be a good example to our children. But they’re hungry and crabby. You’re tired and don’t want to cook. Besides, you haven’t gone grocery shopping in ten days. There is nothing at home you can make quickly.

“Just this once,” you think, “it won’t make that much difference.” But you’re wrong. Every time you give in to the desire to have those french fries, that greasy burger topped with buns that don’t rot and ketchup that is only sugar that masquerades as a relative of the tomato.

I really hate to tell you this, but fast food and processed foods are merely chemicals that masquerade as food. If you love yourself and you love your family…schedule some time every single week (preferable more than once) and shop for fresh food and produce that needs to be stored in a refrigerator. Identify quick and healthy meals you can serve your family that will serve them and you well.

Food cravings occur because we believe they do. By having better choices available, we can teach ourselves and our children to want a better choice.

Photo Credit : Double Whopper, Whopper, Fries, Onion Rings – Hungry Jacks,Queanbeyan from Alpha
via Flickr

When it comes to dental health in the workplace, men win the battle of the sexes.

Survey data show that more men practice good dental habits while at work than women. Two in five men either brush or floss their teeth after eating lunch or a snack at work.

Women, on the other hand, find the practice impolite or inappropriate.

Interestingly, nearly 90% of both men and women agree that there is a strong connection between overall health and dental hygiene.

With the newest gluten-free food craze, everyone is looking for something that will satisfy the need for a grain but isn’t one. And while most people believe that this non-grain is a newcomer on the market, it was actually considered to be a superstar back in 1955. A relative of spinach, beets, and chard, quinoa is a versatile food. The portion we’re most familiar with is the seed portion, but the entire plant is edible.

Quinoa answers the cry for a complete food because while no single food supplies all nutrients necessary for sustaining life, quinoa comes very close, closer than any other plant or animal. Quinoa is considered to be a complete protein in that it contains all nine of the essential amino acids that the body is not able to make. We rely on food for them, usually meat.

Quinoa is also alkaline forming, while not strongly, it is not acid forming like most other grains. For people who are looking for a grain-like substitute for grains, but are on an alkaline diet, quinoa fits the bill.

Because quinoa is not a grain, it is safe for people who are on reduced or gluten-free diets. Millions of people find that they feel better reducing gluten grains and quinoa is an excellent substitute. Some people liken its texture to couscous. It makes an excellent substitute for rice, pasta, and oats.

More available now than in years past, quinoa can now be found in traditional supermarkets and while it might already be rinsed a little, we still recommend an additional rinse until there is no longer any cloudiness to it. This removes a bitter taste that people new to quinoa find displeasing.

Unlike most foods, quinoa contains both complex carbohydrates and a complete protein, important for maintaining energy and building lean muscle. It is considered to be a rich source of zinc, selenium, and multiple B vitamins that we use for energy, mood, and our ability to concentrate.

A 2010 study in the Netherlands put rats on a high fructose diet to increase their harmful level of LDL cholesterol. Once they were put on a quinoa diet, the bad effects of their fructose-laden diet were reversed and their cholesterol levels returned to normal.

I’m not quite sure how to define a superfood…but quinoa is coming close to it.

Photo Credit : vitamin-d-and-depression-01 from Gloria Cabada-Leman via Flickr

Salem, Oregon – The dentists and staff from SofTouch Family dental are happy to announce the launch of the practices new website, http://SofTouchDentalSalem.com.

The Website is designed to make it easier for patients to learn about the dental services offered by SofTouch as well as to inform people of the many ways to take care of their smile and keep it beautiful.

The new website contains a blog and links to articles on Facebook and Twitter, as well as videos posted by the dentists and staff at SofTouch to YouTube.

 

 

 

Many patients ask when their child should begin seeing a dentist. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends children see a dentist by 1 year of age, or, when the first tooth erupts, unless of course, they have risk factors for having problems with their teeth.

At SofTouch Dental™, we start talking about dental hygiene from infancy when we discuss fluoride and encourage parents to use tap water when making formula (most cities have fluoride added to their water, but you should check),or, to dilute juice (if they give their baby any juice at all).

When baby’s first teeth come in, parents can wipe them off with a soft washcloth. Never leave a bottle in a baby’s crib,or, nurse a child throughout the night, as this may lead to early cavities in the first teeth.

We recommend getting a child a toothbrush at 12-15 months and letting the toddler begin brushing his/her own teeth by mimicking the parents or siblings. Dab on a smidgen of toothpaste with fluoride, but don’t let your child just “eat” big globs of toothpaste because they like it. Too much fluoride can also be a problem. (You can buy fluoride-free toothpaste if you are concerned.)

Pediatric dentists encourage parents to floss their children’s teeth in the early years. Many dentists will do what’s called a “lap visit” for the first few appointments, during which they let the mother or father hold a 1- or 2-year-old and the dentist gets the child comfortable by opening his/her mouth or having the child look at the dental instruments. For most kids, their first cleaning is done at their 3-year-old visit. Dental checkups are then scheduled every 6 months.

Due to good dental hygiene, many of my patients are cavity free even as they enter their teen years!

On this Memorial day, we’d like to say thank you to all our Military Veterans and Military Service members.

Thank you for all you do and have done for our great country.

It is estimated that 80% of adult Americans have a fear of the dentist. Though this fear decreases a little every year, it is still prevalent in 2013. The question people, dentists included, should concern themselves with is not whether they still have some fear about going to the dentist, but why aren’t at least 50% of Americans having aregular dental exam every six months?

Not having enough time and money are probably reasons one and two for not going to the dentist. Time was, is and will always be money; that is both the beauty and the beast of capitalism. The best way to address this particular issue is to imagine what will happen if after twenty years of not going to the dentist a sudden and very sharp pain overtakes the senses.

At this point all that can be done is an emergency dental visit, which will be expensive with both time and money. A regular checkup may have foretold of the impending pain. Lastly, in regards to time and money, many employers have or will be forced to have medical insurance by 2014; if one has dental coverage as part as their health coverage it is better to be checked out sooner rather than later.

Don’t let lack of dental insurance prevent you from a visit. We offer new patient specials and, work with patients that are without insurance. It’s estimated that over half the patients seeing a dentist regularly do not have insurance.