A recipe for health: The dental health quotient?

A couple of years back to develop obesity at 40-45 years, diabetes at 50-55 years and heart disease at 60-65 years was not considered alarming, but what the healthcare industry is seeing today is the onset of this sequence of events much earlier in life. Obesity, a poor quality diet, sleep deprivation and physical inactivity predispose to almost all of the major lifestyle diseases. To delay the progress of disease today we depend on statins, anti-hypertensives and anti-diabetic medications, procedures to open or bypass blocked arteries and even bariatric surgery. But are all calories alike? Does weight loss result from simply eating less and being more active? Contrary to this belief, research has shown that food affects hunger, hormones and even genetic expression and this cannot be explained by caloric balance alone. In other words the type of calories you consume can affect the type of calories you burn. Getting people to eat right is not a simple task. But we can regain control of our health by preparing more of our breakfasts, lunches and dinners at home rather than eating out. This brings me to my second point: Is there a dental health quotient which we can incorporate in our diets? Can we prepare a yogurt and avocado containing tooth friendly dip as an appetiser for the next party at home? How about incorporating turmeric and coconut oil in our diet? There has been research about the interrelationship of IQ with caries and gingivitis but can our oral health tell us about survival in later life? I'm sure that's something we will have to determine ourselves because beyond a certain point, advances in medicine may not be able to compensate for our lifestyle choices.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-SA

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