I have had a lot of fun blogging about events going on in my life. But let's get back to conscious prevention, my idea of living a lifestyle to promote health.

I read something this week from a gentleman named Buck Rizvi, which brought to my attention that there is a link between inflammation and how insulin works in our body. He points out the diet and our environment are the sources of this inflammation. I read up on it on the net and found that there are numerous studies out there that show that inflammation definitely is involved with insulin resistance, which in turn leads to weight gain. Increased weight gain, in turn, leads to more body inflammation. This is a vicious cycle that really affects the health of many today. Mr. Rizvi cites a study from UC San Diego that suggests that increasing our intake of omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce this dangerous inflammation. Two popular sources for these good fats are fish oil and flax seed.

Now here is something that I lifted from an article by Mark Hyman that I found on the net. "If you are inflamed for any reason, it is very important to find the cause and reduce the inflammation, not just for the purpose of weight loss but because it is a major cause of all the major degenerative diseases of modern civilization: heart disease, dementia, diabetes, and cancer. "

If you want to learn a little bit more about inflammation and it's detriments to your body I suggest you look up C-reactive protein on the internet and see how high levels of it can be a marker for heart disease and for much poorer outcomes for any one having any type of coronary issues.

While I can appreciate Mr. Rizvi's concerns about diet and environmental stressors to the body let me remind you that to date, perhaps the number one source of inflammation in the body is simple gingivitis. Ok, being a dentist this is near and dear to my heart and if you value your own health I suggest you take it a little more seriously as well (unless you are one of the few that brush and floss meticulously every day). And all it takes is 5-10 minutes twice a day to help ensure your overall health.

It is important for you to understand that I did not mention periodontitis, the more destructive and less common form of gum disease, but I said gingivitis, something that is present in well over 50% of the adult population (and some think this is really an underestimated number). If you have any gums that bleed (it can be from brushing, flossing, eating or just touching the tissue) you have gingivitis.

Nothing would make me happier than if just one person out there reads this blog and decides it's time to brush and floss better, or that it's time to go to the dentist to learn how to stop bleeding gums. And the good news is that gingivitis is totally reversible. Want to know how...see your dentist today.

I'll step off of my soap box now and wish all of you a great and healthy week.