10 Easy Ways to Boost Your General Health

How to Make 2019 a Healthy Year

The New Year is coming and with it all the opportunity for change and growth that you could ever want. It’s normal to make resolutions at this time of year, promises that will improve your life, your relationships or your work. While you’re setting these resolutions, make sure to base some on improving your general health as well. And if you’re struggling to find resolutions that will help, here are some that will make 2019 a happy and a healthy year for you.

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1. Eat the Rainbow

You probably already know that you need to eat more fruits and vegetables, but did you know that you should be eating a rainbow? Fruits and vegetables of different colours contain different phytonutrients, all of which are essential for good functioning. So if you eat the rainbow every day, you’ll be much closer to getting all the nutrition you need.

2. Laugh More

Laughter does more than make you feel happy. It also boosts your immune system, eases pain and can help fight allergies. This is a habit that children indulge in, but forget as they grow up. So set a resolution to laugh more each day, and seek out ways to make it happen.

3. Drink More Water

Your body is more than 70 percent water, which is why dehydration is so damaging. Water lubricates your joints, makes your skin better and even improves your oral health. So make sure that you’re drinking at least 8 glasses a day to really start seeing a difference in your general health.

4. Get Your 8 Hours

When you’re busy and stressed, the first thing to go is usually sleep. After all, what harm can it do to miss a few hours here and there? But thinking this way is a mistake. No matter what anyone says, your body can’t function at its best if you’re not getting enough sleep. This is time that your body needs to heal, to relax, and to prepare for the new day, so honour that and take the time you need.

5. Exercise Everyday

This doesn’t mean that you have to join a gym. Even a quick walk around the block every day will improve your mood and start toning your muscles. And no matter how busy you are, you can always find 15 minutes to gain these kinds of benefits.

6. Straighten Up

If you sit at a desk all day for work, chances are that your posture isn’t very good. Working at a computer tends to make people round their shoulders and hunch forwards. This can cause neck and back pain and cramps the lungs so it’s harder to breathe. Work on straightening and lifting. Not only will this improve your muscle tone, it will make you feel and look better too.

7. Get to Know Food Labels

You probably don’t really know what’s in your food. If you’re trying to lose weight and struggling, then start learning about the measurements and ingredients on labels. You’ll probably be really surprised which foods have a lot of hidden sugars in them.

8. Go to the Dentist

If your oral health is bad then it can affect your entire body. Infections from your mouth can travel throughout your system and cause heart or lung infections or even end up in your brain. So make sure you visit the dentist regularly and take care of your body from the mouth outwards.

9. Reduce Stress

Stress is one of the biggest killers in the modern world. It’s linked to heart disease, stroke and different types of cancers as well as to mental health disorders. So if you really want to improve your life, look at your stress levels and take steps to reduce or eliminate causes of stress. You can also adopt practices that reduce stress such as yoga or meditation.

10. Connect to Others

This is the big one. A recent Harvard study conducted over decades showed that the key to health and happiness is relationships. Not money. Not your job or car. It’s how connected you feel to the people and to the world around you. This is a truth that’s often forgotten in the modern world with devastating results. Loneliness or disconnection has been linked to mental health disorders as well as to a variety of physical diseases and problems. So have a look at your relationships. Do you have enough in-person relationships? How connected do you feel to those people? And if you have reasons to be concerned, then take steps to improve the relationships you have and to forge new ones. This is one change that you will never regret.

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Emergency Dentist Sydney Says:

So have a happy and a healthy Christmas and New Year. And if you have a dental emergency over the festive season, contact our Emergency Dentist in Sydney. Our caring and expert staff are available 24 hours a day to help you with all your emergency dental needs.

Can Toothache Be Prevented?

How to Avoid Toothaches by Protecting Your Oral Health

Toothaches are fairly common but also extremely unpleasant. There are a number of problems that can cause toothaches including infection and abscesses. However, the most common cause is tooth decay. When this occurs, it means you will have to make an expensive trip to the dentist for a filling. Fortunately, it’s also fairly easy to avoid this kind of toothache. You just need to take better care of your oral health with the following steps.

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1. Regular Brushing

You should brush your teeth at least twice a day for at least 2-3 minutes if you want to avoid emergency trips to the dentist with a toothache. And don’t guess at the timing either, make sure you take a watch with you, at least while you’re getting used to your new habit.

2. Floss Every Day

Brushing is good but it can’t get rid of the small particles of food that get stuck between your teeth. Flossing at least once a day will help you avoid the build-up of food and bacteria between your teeth that causes cavities.

3. Avoid Sugar and Sticky Foods

The bacteria in your mouth need sugars to survive and multiply. This means that your diet is incredibly important in determining the health of your teeth. Try to avoid sugary foods like soft drink and juice. You should also cut down on the amount of sticky foods you eat because they can easily become stuck to and between your teeth. This means cutting down on candy and caramels, or at least brushing and flossing well when you do eat them.

4. Eat Vegetables

If you want healthy teeth and a healthy body you need to eat lots of raw, healthy vegetables. Vegetables are packed with essential vitamins and nutrients and they also contain lots of water, which can help to clean the bacteria from your teeth.

5. Drink Lots of Water

Water is essential for every system in your body and that applies to your teeth as well. Drinking water helps to wash bacteria away from your teeth and it also encourages saliva production, which protects your teeth in between brushing.

6. Have Regular Check-Ups

If you want to keep your mouth healthy, you need to visit your dentist twice a year for a check-up. Your dentist will be able to see signs of problems early, which is key to quick and easy treatments. This will help you avoid late night visits to your after hours dentist. Your dentist will also give your teeth a complete and thorough cleaning, which will improve your overall oral health.

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Emergency Dentist Sydney Says:

If you have a toothache after office hours, make sure you contact our Emergency Dentist in Sydney. Our caring and expert staff are available now to take care of all your emergency dental needs.  

The 'White Teeth Diet'

Take It With a (White) Grain of Salt

Scrap the Atkins, Raw Food or Paleo Diets, we love the White Teeth Diet. We'd like to share with you how you can eat your self to a whiter smile.

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When considering a diet that is friendly to keeping your teeth white, it is just as important to avoid certain foods as it is to eat others. It's a little crazy but if you want to maintain that healthy white smile you were born with, or paid for, a few simple practices can help you out. There are three factors to keep in mind on this diet, chewing, saliva production and staining They all help to keep teeth healthy and white. Please keep in mind this isn't a whole diet you should live by, it's just a few simple steps you can take to keep teeth white. Let's start:

Do The More Often:

1. Apples, carrots, cauliflower, green beans and celery. These are the firmer, crunchier foods that require you to chew more. They act similarly to a toothbrush and scrub your teeth while you chew.

2. Hard cheeses. Similar to crunchy fruit and veg, they help clean the teeth by removing particles and preventing plaque build-up.

3. Citrus fruits like grapefruit, lime, lemon and oranges help rinse your teeth naturally while you eat, encouraging saliva production which protects the teeth.

4. Dairy products of course contribute to keeping teeth white. The lactic acid in dairy products will also help to prevent decay.

5. Water. The purest way to wash away any foods that potentially stain your teeth.

Do These Less Often:

1. Coffee and tea will stain your teeth.

2. Soft drink such as Coke and sports drinks will stain your teeth and cause decay.

3. Red wine is one of the worst for staining your teeth. That red wine smile isn't so cute either.

4. White wine causes tooth decay. Just like red wine, white wine has higher than normal pH levels which increases your loss of enamel.

5. Fruits like blackberries, pomegranates and blueberries will obviously stain the teeth.

6. Sauces like soy or currie will also stain the teeth and aid decay.
   -  Hot Tip 1. Anything that stains your shirt will stain your teeth.
   -  Hot Tip 2. If you can't give up your coloured drinks, use a straw.

At The #EmergencyDentist Sydney we couldn't live without wine! #AfterHours of course. Some of us even drink our coffee through a straw, yes it's as weird as it looks. But, drinking in moderation, properly brushing and flossing and regular check-ups will keep your teeth healthy and strong.

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The #EmergencyDentist Says:

For those of us who aren't lucky enough to be born with a pearly white smile, and for those who love a diet full of teeth-staining foods and drink, a regular clean or whitening from us can help you out.

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