Integrative Health Blog

Recently, my husband and I hosted a wonderful engagement party at our home for our son and his girlfriend who will be married in the fall. My house was filled with out of town family who stayed for the weekend.

My normal routine and eating habits were put on hold from Thursday to Monday!

Can anyone relate to “I haven’t exercised in days and I have eaten my way through the weekend” feeling? Well, that was me a few weeks ago, let me tell you! I thoroughly enjoyed my family, the party was a huge success AND I was completely satisfied!

Enjoy the Moment

Laurie DeRosa RDH

First, what is biofilm?

Biofilm is a collection of many types of bacteria surrounded by a slimy substance that can stick to most everything.  Biofilms can be found in our bathrooms, on our kitchen countertops, cutting boards and yes, the kitchen sink.

Over 900 types of bacteria can live in our mouths but not all at the same time. There are usually 100-200 species on different surfaces at any given time.  The bacteria on our teeth are different than those on the gums, cheek and tongue. Different sides of a single tooth can have different biofilms. 

The plaque that forms on our teeth is a type of biofilm.  Biofilms play an important role in the health of your mouth.  Basically, biofilms are bacterial cells that  will  team up on and around your teeth and under your gums forming clusters of unhealthy bacteria. If left alone, these bacteria will become toxic.   The cells actually feed off each other and if left undisturbed, will multiply and can cause periodontal disease.  

So how do I get this plaque biofilm off my teeth?

Daily brushing and flossing is the best way.  The surfaces of the teeth and gums need to stay consistently clean in order to keep the bacteria from becoming toxic.

You need to see your dental hygienist regularly so that any plaque that has worked its way down into your gums can be removed.  If it is left down under for too long plaque will harden.  You may have heard the terms "calculus" or "tartar" from your hygienist or tv commercials.  This is what plaque is called after it hardens.  Tartar is unhealthy and cannot be removed at home.  It will cause inflammation which can destroy the gums.   It only takes 24 hours for plaque to harden.  Left on the teeth and surrounding gums for too long leads to gum disease. 

How can I prevent gum disease?

Chas Gant MD, PhD

I appreciated the article Got Constipation?  by Debra Graugnard, a Certified Colon Hydrotherapist at NIHA, and I plan to photocopy it and provide the copy to all of my patients who suffer from constipation.  Constipation as a symptom is not taken seriously by many healthcare practitioners, including me at various times in my career, which is in my opinion constitutes negligence.  Constipation is a serious and deadly symptom and should be aggressively cured.  

I have some good news to add to these nice suggestions about managing constipation in the article Got Constipation? by Debra Graugnard - the actual, primary cause of chronic constipation has been discovered. Anytime in history when the causal factor is discovered for a symptom or a disorder, clinicians have been able to zero in on the cause and be more effective in achieving positive outcomes.  Knowing the primary cause of chronic constipation helps us understand why colon hydrotherapy is so effective.  Knowing the cause also should help clinicians and patients alike take this symptom very seriously.

Constipation and  Neurotoxins

Are you interested in colon hydrotherapy, but not so sure you want to attempt such a thing?

Some people consider colon hydrotherapy a bit of an awkward thing to do. In fact, most people who come in for the first time are a bit nervous, but once they experience the procedure, they can’t believe they waited so long to try it.

So,  this post may help remove the “fear of the unknown” and put you at ease with the concepts, and help you to determine if this treatment could be right for you.

Cupping has been used for thousands of years in Africa, the Middle East and in China.  In fact, some of the oldest descriptions of cupping date back to 1,550 BC in the Ebers papyrus, one of the oldest existing medical texts unearthed in Egypt. Chinese medicine practitioners have been using cupping for over 3000 years for everything from the common cold to trauma to internal disease.  In fact, the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad describe cupping as an approved treatment and even go on to say “"The Hijama (cupping) is the best of your remedies".