Month: May 2019

Have you ever brushed your teeth, looked in the mirror and saw that your tongue’s color is different? Well, this unusual color of your tongue may tell a lot about your health.

Here are 6 colors you may encounter and what they mean.

White Tongue

That thick and heavy white coating on your tongue is called leukoplakia, which can be the result of smoking.

People usually can’t tell the difference between leukoplakia and another health issue known as thrush. The former has a coated appearance, while the latter has a cottage cheese appearance. Thrush is often linked to diabetes and a weak immune system.

If you smoke, then you are very likely to experience leukoplakia. However, you may not notice that you have it, since this condition develops slowly and gradually until it gets out of control. It is at this moment that you notice you have a thick coating on your tongue.

Black and Hairy Tongue

Black and hairy tongue occurs when there is accumulated yeast in your mouth. Actually, this condition occurs in heavy smokers. So, if you are a social smoker, you probably have nothing to worry about.

To prevent this condition, you have to take a good care of your oral hygiene, stop smoking, brush your teeth three times a day, and floss regularly.

In addition, you have to visit your dentist for a check-up and a professional cleaning once or twice a year, especially if you are a smoker.

You can consider using an electric toothbrush, as it helps achieve better mouth cleaning. When you brush your teeth, you have to brush your tongue too. That is why an electric toothbrush would be effective.

Yellow Tongue

Having a yellow tongue can indicate that you may have liver or stomach issues. Having a yellow tongue can be the beginning of a disease that would later turn your tongue’s color into black or brown.

Yellow tongue occurs when the bacteria build up on your tongue and form a layer. This is often the result of poor oral hygiene. When you don’t brush your teeth and mouth after each meal, you give bacteria the chance to thrive on the papillae of your tongue and turn its color into yellow.

Yellow tongue can also be the result of smoking or using certain medications.

Pale Tongue

If you have a pale-colored tongue, then you might have a deficiency in certain vitamins, namely, vitamin B12 and vitamin A. This condition can be easily treated with the help of your doctor. After the necessary diagnosis and tests, they would prescribe some medications and supplements to add to your diet.

To prevent this condition or manage the symptoms, try to consume foods rich in vitamin A, such as liver sausage, beef liver, lamb liver, salmon fish, butter, cheddar, camembert, carrots, sweet potatoes, collards, turnip greens, etc. Or foods rich in vitamin B16, such as leafy greens, liver, eggs, milk, black beans, lentils, etc.

Brown Tongue

According to the American Academy of Oral Medicine, brown tongue is the result of the growth of bacteria on the surface of your tongue. It occurs when your tongue is covered with small tissue known as filiform papillae, which are about 1 mm long.

Colored tongue is usually the result of smoking, poor oral hygiene, or the excessive consumption of tea or coffee.

In order to treat this condition, the first thing you should do is to stop smoking. You have to reduce you daily intake of coffee and tea as well and improve your oral hygiene.

If you don’t notice any changes, then you might want to have an appointment with your dentist.

Strawberry Tongue

Strawberry tongue refers to a red swollen tongue. This condition usually occurs in children and is related to other health conditions, such as scarlet fever.

Strawberry tongue can indicate an allergy or a vitamin deficiency. Generally, strawberry tongue is accompanied by watery and itchy eyes, and a scratchy mouth.

A deficiency in B12 and B9 can cause strawberry tongue. This condition can cause tiredness, weakness, and memory complications.

Strawberry tongue in children can also be the result of Kawasaki disease, which is a serious condition with inflamed blood vessels all over the body, including the tongue and the mouth.

The treatment of strawberry tongue varies from one child to another, depending on the cause.

The next time you notice that your tongue is colored, consider the above-mentioned causes and consult with your doctor to find a viable treatment. The sooner, the better!

Grapes have been utilized since centuries in the production of wine. There are various types of grapes, including black, green, yellow, red, and pink. They can be seedless or seeded and grow in clusters. Grapes are grown in Africa, Southern Europe, North and South America, and Australia. They are high in nutrients such as manganese, copper, potassium, vitamin B6, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin K, vitamin C, antioxidants, fiber, fat, protein, carbs, polyphenols, and calories. Due to all the important nutrients that grapes contain, consuming them for a whole month will absolutely improve your overall health and prevent you from having a number of diseases.

Grapes Can Prevent a Potential Heart Disease.

There are various reasons why eating grapes can help you improve your heart function. Studies showed that grapes contain a high potassium level. Potassium is the nutrient that is directly linked to blood pressure. It was scientifically proven that low levels of potassium can lead to high blood pressure, while elevated levels of potassium can lower your blood pressure. According to studies, healthy blood pressure is equivalent to a low risk of heart diseases and strokes. Additionally, grape polyphenols were proven to lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and reduce inflammation. Moreover, it was proven that diets rich in veggies and fruits can help you lower the risk of having a cardiovascular disease.

Grapes Can Help You Improve Your Digestive System.

Fibers are carbohydrates that cannot be digested by the digestive system. That is why they are so important in the digestion process. They are widely found in plant-source foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. They are very beneficial for the digestive system because they are considered as the fuel the colon cells need to keep healthy. Fiber, also, keeps your digestive tract flowing since it improves and regulates the bowel movements. The daily recommended intake of fiber ranges between 25 g for women and 38 g for men. If you eat too much fiber your body will know it, as you may experience bloating. In order to maintain a healthy digestive system, you can moderately consume grapes.

Grapes Can Boost Your Energy.

Grapes have been proven to contain many nutrients that are key to boosting energy. They are rich in carbohydrates which are natural energy boosting compounds. In addition, grapes contain fibers which can slow your body metabolism, allowing you to benefit the longest from the energy provided by the carbohydrates. According to a study done at the University of Georgia, the chemical substances found in the skin of grapes can enhance the muscle strength and improve stamina due to the quercetin, resveratrol, and catechins it contains.

The study was done on rats, but the researchers expect the same results on humans.

Grapes Can Prevent You from Having Cancer.

Studies showed that grapes abundantly contain resveratrol, which is a compound that has been linked to protection against cancer. It has been proved that resveratrol can prevent you from having cancer through the reduction of inflammation. This compound acts as an antioxidant agent that blocks the reproduction and migration of cancer cells within your body. Many studies conducted in China and Chile, in 2017 and 2018 respectively, proved that resveratrol can block cancer cells in the colon. This can apply to different cancers of the body. It is true that, studies on grapes and cancer are still limited, as most of them examine the relationship between antioxidants and cancer in general but following an antioxidant-rich diet would absolutely prevent cancer.

Grapes are delicious fruits, full of healthy nutrients that can improve your health, prevent cancer, help you have an easy breath, and healthy gut. Eat grapes for a month and let us know about the results!

Too much salt in your food can lead to health issues. Salt, or scientifically, sodium, is a crucial ingredient in any cuisine. It comes in a number of forms, colors, and particles according to the region where it comes from and the purpose of use. Due to its constituents, salt is also used to preserve food. In addition to seasoning food and making it delicious, salt has many other benefits on your health, such as preventing hyponatremia, ensuring a healthy pregnancy, maintaining dental hygiene, relieving muscle cramps, etc. However, a diet rich in salt may be harmful.

This is what might happen if you consume big amounts of salt.

Salt Can Cause Kidney Disease

It has been proven that salt helps you keep your body hydrated. How so? Consuming salt helps retain the water in the body, which keeps it hydrated, but is too much hydration good for you? Absolutely not! Having too much water in your body means that your kidneys have to work harder to filter all the extra fluids.

In addition, extra water in your bloodstream means over pressurized arteries, which can lead to a strain on the arteries leading to the kidneys, and consequently damage.

You can even experience kidney failure, chronic kidney disease, or sudden death because of that extra pinch of salt you add to your meals.

Salt Can Elevate Your Blood Pressure

As I’ve have mentioned earlier, salt helps retain water in your body. Excessive water in your bloodstream requires harder work from your heart and arteries to be processed. The extra strain on your arteries makes their small muscles stronger and thicker. That is good, right? Not at all! Once your arteries’ muscles are stronger and thicker, the space in your arteries is smaller and narrower, and as we all know, narrow blood vessels are the major cause of high blood pressure.

It is true that this happens over the years, but having narrow vessels increases your risk of having chronic hypertension, a heart attack, and heart disease.

Salt Can Cause Heart Disease

Consuming too much salt in your meals can lead to heart damage through high blood pressure. Initially, this can lead to a reduction in the amount of blood that reaches your heart, leading to angina, which is a severe pain in the chest when you are active.

When you experience this condition, your heart cells stop receiving enough oxygen and nutrients to properly function.

If this condition persists without being treated, then know that you are heading towards a heart attack that might be fatal. When the heart does not get the oxygen it needs to function, the mere result is the death of this organ.

Salt Can Cause Brain Damage

Your high blood pressure caused by consuming high amounts of salt can lead to your brain damage. Similar to the heart damage, consuming too much salt can initially lead to a reduction of the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain. The lack of oxygen in your brain arteries can lead to dementia.

Not only that! The excessive consumption of salt can deactivate the endothelial cells. These are the brain cells involved in all the aspects of your vascular system.

Dysfunction of these cells may lead to many brain-related issues such as cognitive impairment, brain attack, strokes, cerebrovascular disease, etc.

Reduce your consumption of salt if you want to lower the risk of having your brain damaged.

Salt Can Lead to Cancer

A number of studies linked high salt intake to a higher risk of having stomach cancer. This can be the result of the growth of Helicobacter, which is a type of bacteria that can lead to a higher risk of stomach cancer.

In a study conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Portugal more than 1,000 participants were examined to investigate the effect of a high intake of salt and gastric cancer. The results revealed that there is an association between the high consumption of salt and stomach cancer.

In another review, 268,718 participants with a high salt consumption were examined, and the results revealed that these participants were at 68% higher risk of having stomach cancer than those who moderately consumed salt.

However, bear in mind that these studies examined the correlation between a high salt intake and the risk of having stomach cancer. Up until now, there is no study that examined if stomach cancer can be developed because of salt.

Salt Can Lead to Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which your bone density and quality decrease. As your bones become more fragile, they become prone to fracture. This health condition occurs silently and has no symptoms.

Usually, patients who have osteoporosis do not discover this until they get the first fracture. However, in some cases, osteoporosis and bone pain can be associated.

Statistically, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men are prone to osteoporosis. It is estimated that every 3 seconds an osteoporosis fracture occurs, and the risk increases as you age.

The major cause of this bone issue is the lack of calcium. When you consume too much salt, the sodium interacts with calcium and this leads to a low amount of calcium in your bones.

To avoid this health condition, you have to decrease your salt intake and increase your calcium and vitamin D intake. It is undeniable of the various benefits that salt has on your health, but it was my attempt rather to shed light upon the dangers of consuming too much salt. So, try to reduce your salt intake, and keep in mind that salt isn’t just that substance we add to our food. Salt, or sodium, highly resides in processed foods, so avoid these too!