Your gums age, too! Importance of Good Oral Health

Forgot that your gums age, too...

I went to the dentist today and came home determined, absolutely determined to take care of my teeth and gums.

My dentist told me that if I don’t change the way I brush my teeth, I may soon face serious consequences with my gums. So I sat there with my little red tooth brush that he handed to me, like a trained dog being watched, to practice in front of him. As instructed, I tilted the bristles at 45 degree angle against the gums, focused on brushing in very small horizontal movements, imagining hard that your hand suddenly turned into Sonicare. As his piercing eyes followed every movement of my red tooth brush, I realized I was sweating from nervousness...

I thought I was following a pretty strict oral care regimen until today. Look at these so-called periodontal-preventative products lined up on my sink! Apparently, the most powerful of all is this minty green liquid called “ConCool.” My dentist tells me that its germ-killing power is no rival to any of the oral hygiene products out in the market.

Periodontal (gum) diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis, are serious infections that, left untreated, can actually lead to tooth loss. Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. And this type of inflammation gets worse as you age (because of your immune system getting weaker) so better act now before it is too late!!

Periodontal disease begins when the bacteria in plaque causes the gums to become inflamed. If you don’t fight that plaque, which you may not take too seriously, it will spread under your gum line without you knowing. The toxins from this hardly visible “plaque” will cause chronic inflammation which will slowly but surely destroy the tissue and bones that support your teeth. The tricky thing is, it is not painful, so this can continue unnoticed. By the time your gums start to bleed, you are in trouble. If you leave that untreated, soon your gums will start to thin out, creating pockets between your teeth and gums. The pocket deepens and the next thing you realize, your teeth are loose… you have no teeth…

Cigarette smokers are susceptible to periodontal disease so be careful! Also, women going through menopause should be aware that hormonal fluctuations can seriously affect your gums. Surprisingly, according to research, more than 30% of the people are genetically susceptible to gum disease. Despite aggressive oral care habits, these people may be six times more likely to develop periodontal disease. So they have to go through preventative treatment at an early stage to keep their teeth intact. Furthermore, stress can be a big risk factor that can cause periodontal disease. When you’re under stress, your body cannot fight off the germs and infections. According to my scary but concerned dentist, Dr. Toguchi, most people have some kind of gum infection so you don’t need to panic. But the scary thing is, once your gums recede, you cannot reproduce them again. They will not heal like the rest of your body heals after a cut. The best you can do is to maintain what you have.

So you see, the key is to make your body healthy and strong to fight off the infection inside your mouth while making an extra effort to remove that annoying plaque!

Vitamins...Natural vs. Synthetic??

Did you know that most of the vitamins and nutritional supplements you find on the shelves of drug stores are made synthetically through chemical processes, rather than derived directly from plants or other natural materials?

Some health authorities claim that these synthetic vitamins are useless and ineffective. If your body cannot absorb the nutrient, it becomes toxin in your body and later excreted. However, there are some orthodox doctors who claim that synthetic vitamins have a molecular chemical structure identical to the natural vitamin and that they are just as effective. So who’s telling the truth?

First of all, it is tricky to define what a “natural vitamin” is but it is usually defined as “a concentrated nutrient derived from a quality natural source. The key is maximum retention of the natural material; no artificial colors, sweeteners, or preservatives should be used. Nutrients are concentrated from its natural source as carefully as possible. (This is where the patented technology of each manufacturer will become a crucial factor!) No extreme heat, pressure, or possibly toxic solvents are used. There are no sugar or chemical tablet coatings. The nutrients are prepared from high quality raw ingredients and no artificial chemicals are added.” So, processing is limited in order for natural ingredients to be retained.

On the other hand, synthetic vitamins are made in a lab setting from coal tar derivatives. Most of the food supplements sold on the market today are synthetic and often cheaper to produce than natural vitamins. So the key issue here is…is the molecular structure of natural vitamins altered by the synthetic process or not?

My anti-aging advisor, Dr. Andrew, the other day revealed to me that our cells are pretty smart. Even if synthetic supplements have identical molecular structure as its natural counterparts, somehow our cells can detect the difference!! “They will reject anything synthetic…”, he says.

So are all so-called “natural vitamins” equally effective? The downside of “natural” supplements is in its lack of dose consistency. In nature, one orange might contain 100 mg of vitamin C and in another, only contain less than 20 mg. The retention of natural ingredients depends on various conditions like time of harvest, climate, storage conditions, etc. So the manufacturer will have to invest a lot of money to standardize and manage quality in such a volatile environment. This is really costly for the manufacturer and that is why most of the supplement products you see in the market are synthetic. We need more information on manufacturers that have R&D capabilities to provide quality vitamins at affordable price for consumers.
Quality in vitamins and nutrients is extremely hard to quantify especially when one cannot simply trust that what you find inside the bottle is what is written on the label. So what do I do? Well, supplements are called supplements because they are supposed to supplement the nutrients you gain from eating healthy food. However, with most of the vegetables and fruits (in Japan) made in hot houses these days, the amount of nutrients you find in there are much less than what were found decades ago, so I definitely think there is health benefit in taking supplements.

My anti-aging doctor recommends multi-vitamins from companies like Pharmanex. Otherwise, I would purchase supplements from pharmaceutical companies that are known for outstanding R&D technology. My recent health “fad” has been to eat lots of pistachio nuts and dried fruit because they are after all great “natural supplement sources.” Will talk about that in another post.

Myths about Dietary Supplements: Not All Vitamins Are Created Equal!

Another shameful confession here…the other day, I made this decision to get rid of about 50 bottles of dietary supplements from Company D--, after talking to my health advisor, Dr. Hirahata, who is one of the certified doctors of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He revealed to me that supplements in Japan are classified as food and therefore are not regulated strictly by the Health Ministry. Hence, the drug store shelves are lined up with expensive but bogas supplement products, he says. I sheepishly revealed to him that I was taking at least 20 types of supplements from the famous mega-mail order supplement company D--. I confessed the following list to him:
Multi-vitamins, minerals, Grape Seed extract, Alpha Lipoic Acids, L-Carnitine, Selenium, Coenzyme Q10, Chromium Picolinate, Zinc, Vitamin B-mix, Omega 3 or 6 oil, Calcium, Amino acid, Tocotrienol (Vitamin E), Flavonoid, Polyphenol, Catechin, Isoflavon and other oriental herbal stuff. I think I will stop here, since if I start including these “new” products that were not my “regulars,” the list will look really scary. My best friend A, would watch me fill in the shopping cart at Trader Joe’s with bottles and bottles of supplements when I'd be visiting her in California, and say, “You know what, you’re sick...”

Dr. Hirahata revealed to me that not all vitamins are created equal so don't waste your time swallowing cheap supplements!

Did you know that because supplements are not classified as “drug”, the manufacturers don’t have to provide any evidence to the Health Ministry that it is effective? Did you know that there are no standards that require the ingredients in the bottle match what is written on the label? Did you know that the claims made about the effects of these supplements on the ads and labels on packages are not approved and therefore could be inflated? Did you know that quality control is up to the manufacturer. I am not saying that all supplements are not effective. All I am saying is that you need to choose the right ones if you are looking for any kind of real health benefit.

What’s in the bottle may not always match what’s on the label! A Japanese news program analyzed 30 supplement products claiming to contain Coenzyme Q10. Out of these, only 5 or so contained what was listed on the label!! There were several products with NO active ingredient in there. And most products contained less than half the amount of ingredient listed on their labels. Unbelievable!!

So, this is the eye-opening reality about the supplement market. Don’t be fooled by the inflated claims on packages and ads. If you’re going to buy something, choose a product from a well-known manufacturer or pharmaceutical companies that will avoid taking quality risks. I will continue later about how to choose the right products.

To Do Nothing May be the Ultimate Skin Care?

To do nothing may be the ultimate skin care…the controversy of Hada Danjiki or “skin fasting”

Being such an ardent experimenter of cosmetic products, I have probably tried almost every major brand’s skin care products in my twenties, ranging from Dior, Shiseido, Clinique, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Lancome, N.V. Perricone, Obaggi, name it. I soon became bored and disappointed with their lack of “visible” effects and shifted slowly into the niche brands that advocated use of “natural ingredients.” I have even gone through the entire catalogues of both Avon and DHC. And what happened next? Just got tired and stopped doing anything.

For the past few years, I have been complimented by my friends for my skin condition. They often ask me what I did to it, one person even asked me if I got some botox shots! The truth is, I got so fed up with the time-consuming regimen that made no difference, and my basic attitude became “forget it.” I just stopped caring for the past few years. I hate to shock people (and please do not try it yourself!!!) but every night I washed my face with soap, out of laziness, I have stopped putting anything on my skin. I just wash my face with soap and that's it! I didn’t even own a moisturizer or cream. I continued with this habit for years and realized that my skin condition seemed to be actually improving with age, looking younger each year…it has been quite a mysterious phenomenon.

One thing I have continued for about a year is using this ultra-sonic esthetic device to massage your face. It's supposed to prevent sagging skin. And I have been impressed with the visible effect. Several people around me have noticed the difference, so every time I'm asked, I recommend to them this product called Aurora-ceutical from La Mente.
http://www.lamente.jp/shop.html

One day, I found this article in “Nikkei Health,” (November, 2003 issue) about Hada Danjiki, (translated as skin fasting) depriving your skin of any treatment over the weekend. It’s like fasting over the weekend to rest and rejuvenate your body’s system. Some dermatologists believe that women over-treat their skin with rich cream and moisturizers while over-cleansing their skin with both cleanser and soap. The skin not only becomes overly dependent on this external pampering but the weakened skin becomes exposed to rough cleansing that removes the skin’s precious natural moisturizing oil. Doesn’t it make sense? Your body has natural healing and rejuvenating power which should not be hampered with excessive external care! So, I was doing the right thing afterall, I thought to myself, but as I read on, my face ashened when I read the strict warning to the readers from the dermatologist that this, like fasting, should not continue for more than two days!! Oooops! It makes sense, I guess one must not over-do anything…

So a month ago, I decided to give skin care products another try and decided to experiment with this new anti-aging skin care line that my best friend, A, was ranting and raving about. Apparently, there is a raging trend among women in Orange county, California to use Arbonne, a skin care brand I have never heard of and apparently can only purchase through its reps or online. Anyway, listening to A get all excited about this product was enough to convince me that I should try it. And believe me, I am not exaggerating. I have been a skeptic of cosmetic products for decades but this is the first time I was impressed with the effect it had on my skin. It is called NutriMinC RE anti-aging line from Arbonne, I don’t know what is in this mysterious formula called RE9, but you will definitely see the difference. Can anybody tell me what's in there???(Mind you, I do not work for Arbonne or have any vested interest in this company.)

http://www.arbonne.com/products/skincare/

As for health supplements, recently I discarded my cupboard of more than 50 bottles of supplements from company D. I will explain the reason in my future blog. Today, the only product I continue taking is Hythiol C, which is marketed as a L-Cysteine-based-spot-preventative dietary supplement at drug stores, but according to its maker, SSP, the real benefit seems to be in activating your body's metabolism. What actually enticed me to try this product is when I happened to hear from at least two middle-aged executives mention that they swallow Hythiol C after a heavy night of drinking out and they clearly feel the difference the next morning. Now, these Japanese men are not the type of people who bother to take supplements, hence, my conclusion was “they must actually feel the difference!!”

http://www.ssp.co.jp/premiere/ls/index.html

Ganbanyoku, a great way to DETOX!

Ganbanyoku, which translates as “bedrock bathing” has been the raging health and beauty trend in Japan. Lying on this heated slab of rock is an ultimate healing experience. Unlike the physical challenge of staying in a sauna, you easily fall asleep enveloped in the comfort of the warm rock emitting negative ions. Apparently, this special rock is highly concentrated with minerals and emits far-infrared rays that warm up your body from the inside. As you doze off, you are surprised to wake up with your gown literally dripping with sweat. I don’t sweat much due to slow metabolism but this interesting rock seems to work on people like myself. You lie on the rock for about 10-15 minutes, sweat profusely, take a break, go back and lie down for another 10-15 minutes and repeat this set for 3 times. I must admit I have never sweated so much in my life! The sweat that is induced from infrared and negative ions seems to be very watery and un-sticky, and detoxes the body of unnecessary metabolites and excess water. The result is activated metabolism, better blood circulation, stress relief and deep relaxation. People say they were able to get rid of stiff shoulders, back pains, etc. The rejuvenation of body cells also induces extra benefits like weight loss and silky smooth skin. More than my actual experience, I was convinced of its detox effect when I saw my sister after Ganbanyoku, her face much smaller, looking five years younger!

She says that the best Ganbanyoku experience she had was at the Hilton Resort and Spa in Odawara. (Apparently, the optimal combination of the rock and room temperature makes a difference.) My elegant grandmother, whom we all love, has been aging gracefully and she just turned ninety years old. We all decided that it would be fun to invite grandma to a birthday treat at this luxurious spa outside Tokyo. I didn’t think she would actually join us in this hot stone spa but she was actually eager to try. As I lay next to her, I was worried if we were doing the right thing to her poor ninety year old body. Every time we got out for a break, sipped water and hydrated ourselves, she would quietly complain that she was not sweating as much as we were. But she was doing pretty good for her age!