Conditioning the Body to Prevent TMJ Pain

7 Steps to De-stress After a Tough Day

Decompressing and releasing tension after a difficult day is essential for your overall health. You can easily create a soothing ritual that will help you to unwind.  Carrying stress and anxiety in your body will deplete your energy and could turn into a more serious health issue. It can also cause chronic muscle fatigue that can eventually develop into a Temperomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ).  It’s important to disconnect from the stressful situation so you can bring positive energy into your evening.

Immersing your senses in multiple relaxation techniques will help you recover from fatigue more quickly, improve sleep habits and improve the body's immune response to further stress or illness. Below are seven steps to a new, energized you!

1. Express your stress but don’t repeat it over and over  – It’s healthy to talk about a stressful day to a friend or significant other but don’t repeat it again and again to multiple people. Every time you share your upset, you bring it back into your energy field and get upset all over again. Your friends begin associating you with your problems and that’s not helpful. You want them to send you positive energy. After you share, ask your friend or companion to help you by envisioning you free from this stress and feeling happy.

2. Cut the cord – After you leave the demanding situation, it’s important to “cut the cord” from the person or event that stressed you out. Your solar plexus (soft area between your ribs) is a place that gets zapped with negative energy. Simply put, you are connected to people through invisible energy cords that gather in that area. To disconnect, swing your hand in front of your solar plexus with your palm facing your body like you are cutting the cord to that person. Visualize your hand as a sword and say “I’m cutting the cord from this person or this situation.” Making the hand gesture and stating your intention helps to disconnect you from the negative energy.

3. Take off your shoes before entering your home - Leave your stress outside of your home. Once you step inside, you will be entering a sanctuary. Your home is your temple. Don’t bring the dirt (negative energy and stress) with you. Click here for a video on De-Stressing in the Home. 

4. Drink a cup of herbal tea - Calming herbs and relaxing teas can take the edge off stress and offer you a bit of herbal anxiety relief. There are many tea companies offering relaxing blends of herbal tea that are caffeine free. Some relaxing herbs include Chamomile, Verbena and Valerian.

5. Light an aromatherapy candle - There are a variety of aromatherapy scents that can be useful for calming and relieving stress. Try Lavender, Jasmine, Rose, Neroli, Sandalwood, Ylang Ylang, Vanilla or a combination. Bring the candle into your bathroom or bedroom and gently focus on the flame to quiet your mind.

6. Take a salt bath with lavender essential oil - Sea salt (not Epsom Salt) is an effective way to clean your body and energy from a stressful day. Pour two cups of sea salt into a bath and add eight drops of Lavender essential oil.  Relax your body in the warm bath for at least 20 minutes. Make sure the water covers your solar plexus. You’ll be amazed at the lightness you feel when you emerge.

7. Do a visualization in the bathtub - As you are soaking in your salt bath, visualize the water as a warm violet lake. Violet is the color for clearing emotions. Close your eyes and envision the stress leaving your body, mind and spirit and immediately dissolving into this violet lake.

8. Sooth your soul with music - You can play a guided visualization on a CD that will leave you relaxed. In addition, you may also choose to watch a funny movie, play relaxing music and eat healthy food. Be purposeful in bringing positive energy back into your body!

Formulas Could Drive Sugar Tendencies for Growing Kids

Dentist Warns Some Formulas Condition Children to Crave Sugar

Grandmother Nancy Brecj said she could not believe her eyes when she couldn't find a sugar amount listed on her granddaughter's infant formula.  "We looked at all the formulas in the grocery store, even the store brand ones, and none of them listed the sugar grams per serving. None of them," Brecj said.

Baby Kimberly's weight had recently shot up four pounds in one month, Brecj said, after her mother switched her from breast milk to formula.  As she was preparing Kimberly's bottle of Enfamil one day, Brecj said she began to wonder exactly how much sugar was in it.

A call to the formula maker did not satisfy her concern.

"I called the company and I said, 'You know, how many grams of sugar per serving are in your baby formula?' And (they said), 'Well, ma'am, we don't add sugar to our baby formulas.'"

With 'corn syrup' solids listed first on the ingredients part of the label, Brecj said she wasn't buying that answer. She knew sugar was in there, but how much?

Her question took NBC to independent lab Deibel Laboratories with seven popular brands of formula we bought for testing.

Scientists conducted a sugar profile on each sample, testing for five types of sugars.

Among the notable sugar findings:

Enfamil Premium and Parent's Choice premium infant formulas had the highest sugar content, at 13.5 and 12.4 grams per serving. The amounts are high but experts say the type of sugar revealed is the best: lactose, the same type found in breast milk.

Three brands tested low for any sugar: Gerber Good Start, Similac Advance Complete and Enfamil Pro-Sobee.

Conversely, in two types of formula made by Similac, the test revealed other added sugars.

Similac Advance Organic Complete Nutrition contained one of the sweetest kind: sucrose -- measuring in at 3.5 grams of sugar per serving. Similac Soy Infant Formula with Iron contained four kinds of added sugar, including sucrose, for a total of 3.8 grams per serving, roughly the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar every 5 ounces

In Europe, concern over childhood obesity led to a ban on sucrose in baby formula.  Dozens of countries do not allow the kind of sugar we found in the two Similac brands.

We shared our results with Chicago pediatric dentist Kevin Boyd, who also has a Masters in nutrition and dietetics.  Boyd said he has long been concerned about the sweetness of formula and the effect it has on babies.  "We're conditioning them to crave sweetness," Boyd said. "I would say any formula that has sucrose, it's super sweet, it makes the kid crave sugar. It triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, and it's a comfort-level thing. It makes the kid want to eat more, so they become hypersensitive to sweetness."

While the amounts of sugar grams may be low, Boyd said the impact on babies is huge.

"They're conditioned to just really like super sweet.... And their fat cells are saying more, more, more please."  He said some of the formulas are so sweet -- he calls them 'baby milkshakes' -- and believes they may play a role in our country's battle with childhood obesity.  "If a child makes too many fat cells, they never go away. And they always want to be fed," he said.

While the Food and Drug administration does regulate many aspects of formula, it does not require makers to list sugar amounts.  The agency is also silent when it comes to how much sugar is allowed.

The maker of Enfamil said it does not include any added sugars, including sucrose, because they are not found in breast milk.  The maker of Parents Choice echoed that philosophy.  The maker of Similac did not respond directly to our questions, but industry group The International Formula Council did step in to point out sucrose has been found safe in both clinical trials and years of consumer use.

The IFC's full statement:

"Similar to breast milk, most milk-based infant formulas contain a carbohydrate called lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. In some formulas, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, or sucrose are used to replace some or all of the lactose to maintain a carbohydrate level, similar to human milk. Corn syrup solids are NOT the same as high-fructose corn syrup.

Lactose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, and sucrose are safe ingredients and some of the carbohydrates that may be used to provide calories for energy needed by term infants. All of these carbohydrates have been shown in clinical studies and many years of consumer use to be safe, and support normal growth and development in infants. International Formula Council* (IFC) members select infant formula ingredients for their ability to meet nutritional targets and assure product quality.

Infant formulas are highly regulated and must meet rigorous safety and quality standards set by national and international regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada, the European Union and other regulatory agencies.

According to 21 CFR 107.10, the labels on infant formula packaging must declare total carbohydrates. Individual carbohydrates are not required to be listed on the nutrient panel for infant formulas, but are provided on the product label's ingredient list.

Parents and health professionals can be assured infant formula is safe and nutritious."

Green Tea May Strengthen Your Teeth

Researchers Suspect Antimicrobial Molecules Contained Within Green Tea Helps Preserve Teeth (as long as you don't add sugar).

A cup of green tea a day may keep the dentist away.

That's the finding of new research published in Preventive Medicine. The findings show that drinking at least one cup of green tea a day increases the odds of keeping your teeth as you age.

The researchers suspect that antimicrobial molecules called catechins present in green tea and in lesser amounts in oolong tea provide the benefit. But be careful if you like your tea with sugar: sweetener may negate the effect, the team found.

"Green tea may have bacteriocidal effects, which would affect teeth, but only if you drink it without sugar," said Alfredo Morabia, of Columbia University in New York and editor of Preventive Medicine, who wrote an editorial accompanying the new research.

"They also reported that drinking sweet coffee was actually deleterious," he added. "Coffee alone had no problem, but sweet coffee would actually make you lose your teeth." 

THE GIST:

• People aged 40-64 who drank one cup of green tea a day were less likely to lose teeth.
• Drinking unsweetened coffee had no effect on keeping teeth.
• Antimicrobial molecules called catechins may account for green tea's benefits.

Yasushi Koyama of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine and colleagues looked at more than 25,000 Japanese men and women between age 40 and 64 in making the determination.  They found that men who drank at least one cup of tea a day were 19 percent less likely to have fewer than 20 teeth (a full set including wisdom teeth is 32) than those who did not drink green tea. Tea-drinking women had 13 percent lower odds.

One possible explanation for the benefits of tea drinking is that warm drinks wash out your mouth. But coffee, which also provides a mouth rinse, had no benefit, suggesting something else is going on.

Catechins have been shown to kill mouth bacteria associated with tooth decay and gum disease, so the researchers suspect this is what gives green tea its dental benefits.

"Previous research has indicated that regular consumption of green tea may lead to a lower instance of periodontal disease, a leading cause of tooth loss in adults," said Samuel Low of the University of Florida College of Dentistry and President of the American Academy of Periodontology in a statement to Discovery News.

Maintaining healthy teeth and gums is part of maintaining a healthy body, Low said. "That is why it is so important to find simple ways to boost periodontal health, such as regularly drinking green tea -- something already known to possess certain health-related benefits."