?? why oral/dental health is important for MC'ers

[jgivens]

Reading thru this thread has caused me to think about a bunch of different connections. I do not have dental issues--thank God! I wore braces as a young adolescent and just getting the braces on me was a big deal. I ran a fever for the three days of my orthodontist putting them on. It was a very big deal and hurt like crazy. Hmmmm....

My mother has terrible gingivitis and has spent all of her adulthood having gum treatments, getting teeth pulled etc. She chalked that up to getting NO dental care as a child of the Depression. At 92, she still has to see the periodontist regularly. I was the ONE child of the four she had who did not have dental issues. I am also the ONE child in the four that has all kinds of bone and joint issues in my feet.

I am reading a book called Deep Nutrition by Catherine Shanahan MD and her husband, Luke Shanahan, that my acupuncturist told me that I should read. I started it after Tex's book on MC. The two books together are really quite fascinating as the Shanahans talk about how little physicians know about nutrition (that is not news) and the huge role we can play in influencing our genes going forward just by manipulation of our diet. It is the tags called epigenes on our genes that get triggered that make us sick. Dr. Shanahan's premise is that we can change that by reverting back to eating unprocessed foods and organic foods. Our own genes have gone astray by whatever was influencing our grandmothers and even our great-grandmothers when they were pregnant, but it is possible to reverse the damage at least somewhat. That has to be why we see so much success in MCers who eventually get their diets right and can have their lives back. I have yet to read how men play a role in this---I know that I cannot be at solely at fault for everything my children think, feel, or any illness they have, nor can my mother or her mother!

My other thought is about what Tex said about circulation going to the parts that are inflamed and need healing. Aside from being about 25 lbs. lighter than I was at this time last year, I think that circulation going to my gut is why I cannot get warm! Granted it is 17 degrees here today and the wind chill makes it minus something, but the rest of my family thinks I am nuts because I cannot get warm. I braved the white outs this morning to get to the store for some long underwear. That said, I would not give the beauty of this snow up for anything. I LOVE my four seasons, which probably proves that it is a good thing that there are people like me willing to live here in Michigan and there are people like those of you in Texas or Georgia who are willing to put up with God-awful heat. For that, I thank you!