News about Healthy Eating
More tips for cutting down sugar
As we near the end of sugar-free February, how did you get on with swapping it out or leaving it out completely? Here are a few more tips for helping to cut down sugar-consumption for you and your family. Cancer Research is one of the organisations encouraging us to live a healthier life and use…
Read more »Five core fitness tips for dental health – it’s worth it
Investing in our long-term health is definitely worthwhile. There are great personal gains from maintaining dental fitness. Fit teeth help us to look good and feel healthy, they save us money on treatment too. The good news is that it takes less time than honing our abs. Moreover, joining an ‘essentials’ dental plan with your…
Read more »Understanding how a vegan diet affects oral health.
Since January 2014, “Veganuary” encourages people to learn more about embracing a vegan life-style. Advantages are that it reduces animal suffering, promotes a conscious appreciation of our planet and can have considerable health benefits. As dentists can tell a lot about what we eat from just looking at our teeth, we’re interested in how a…
Read more »1/10 people are diabetic – World Diabetes Day 2022
The aim of World Diabetes Day is to raise awareness of the challenges of living with diabetes, as well as helping people to reduce their chance of becoming diabetic. 1 in 10 adults were living with diabetes in 2021 More than 1.2 million children and adolescents (0-19 years) live with type 1 diabetes Diabetes caused 6.7 million…
Read more »Screen time damages children’s teeth
In 2019 the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) published a report advising parents not to worry about screen time. Screen time itself is not a bad thing, the report suggests, so long as it’s under control. Since then, we’ve had a whole pandemic. During the last two years, children have spent even…
Read more »3 oral health benefits of walking your dog
Just as dogs need regular exercise, so do we! There are even oral health benefits for people from walking the dog! The benefits of walking your dog include: #1 – Developing good habits and routines Dogs enjoy routines. They know when you’re late feeding them and when they haven’t been taken out for the walk…
Read more »Too many sweet treats?
Sweet choices The sweet treats of Easter! Lots of sugar-laden ‘goodies’ ranging from beautifully wrapped eggs to seasonal shaped chocolates. Often lots of chocolates, many with sticky fillings. In the UK we love our festive chocolate! But we’re not alone. Many celebrations all around the world also include sweet delicacies of one kind or another….
Read more »Taking action to reduce mouth cancer risk
Mouth Cancer Action helps raise awareness of this disease that kills over 2,500 people in the UK each year. Because life-style choices can increase our chances of developing mouth cancer, awareness days are a special reminder to assess our habits, and reduce our mouth cancer risk. And don’t forget to check for changes in your…
Read more »3D delts or healthy teeth?
Are 3D delts and 6 pack abs on your fitness agenda? With gyms open, Park Runs running and sports events happening, there’s a lot we can do to keep ourselves fit, in mind, body and, of course, mouth. One of the joys of sport is the community that surrounds it. With gyms, it means you…
Read more »A sunny smile with increased vitamin D
After this winter we’re all looking forward to spending more time outside, not just in the garden, but a bit further afield too. We’re keeping our fingers crossed and feeling thankful for the science that’s getting vaccines into our arms. Getting outside in brighter weather is such a mood lifter, bringing out our sunny smiles….
Read more »Decrease dental decay with 3 simple steps.
Published figures provide statistical evidence that the number of children needing extractions because of dental decay decreases each year. Which sounds like great news. But in actual fact, taken as a percentage of the population from 0-19 years old, apparently the last set of statistical records showed no change from the year before. Which is…
Read more »SpaDental wishes you a happy and safe new year!
Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and safe new year! We sincerely hope that you’ll have a wonderful new year with your family and friends, full of happiness and joy. In particular, we sincerely hope that you stay healthy and have a safe new year, with no need to access our emergency services. That said,…
Read more »Beat the back to school packed lunch challenge!
Game on! The back to school packed lunch challenge is a tough one! There’s a lot in the news about children and sugar. Children need our help. With so much choice around and so much pressure from advertising and retailers, it’s not surprising that we’re all tempted to eat products with little or no…
Read more »Educate for life – exercise and food choice matter.
School meals are still a hot topic. School meals have changed for the better. Media focus on the benefits of a good school meal means that the standard of school dinners is definitely much better now than it used to be. Nowadays, schools are serving meals that are not only tasty but healthy too. As…
Read more »Schools fitness week is back.
When Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach) asked us to spread the word, how could we say no? We want kids who are fit in body, mind and mouth! So here’s the news: Schools Fitness Week is back! Schools fitness week encourages kids to have fun exercising! Joe Wicks is streaming a live workout on his…
Read more »The back to school packed lunch challenge
After the sunniest of summer holidays, it’s nearly September, and the school packed lunch challenge begins again! Day after day, throughout the school term, it’s hard to keep getting meals ready. It isn’t easy making something the children like, that fills them up, and is healthy too! Why do some families opt for school packed…
Read more »Increasing number of children have type 2 diabetes.
Update: In 2019, 1/11 people are diabetic worldwide because type 2 diabetes is increasing. What is type 2 diabetes? In the past, type 2 diabetes was a condition that adults got. A problem that developed with age; a problem often associated with weight gain and even called “adult-onset diabetes”. But times are changing. Type 2…
Read more »Government action plan targeting childhood obesity.
“The rise in severe obesity and widening health inequalities highlight why bold measures are needed to tackle this threat to our children’s health.”The chief nutritionist at Public Health England (PHE). Earlier this year, we saw the introduction of the “sugar tax”, tackling sugary drinks with the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). This was followed in June…
Read more »What’s the best drink for healthy teeth?
Feeling the summer heat? Need a little something to rehydrate? What is the best thing to drink for healthy teeth? Let’s look at what causes unhealthy teeth first. We’ve heard a lot about sugar in drinks, and the sugar tax. But it’s also important to think about the acid-alkaline balance in what we drink too….
Read more »Let’s talk about diabetes and oral health.
This week is a good time to talk about diabetes. Diabetes UK says: “Talking about diabetes can be tough, but it doesn’t have to be.” They invite you to share your stories, top tips, and offer support to other people living with a diagnosis of diabetes. More than ever. In England alone, according to figures…
Read more »Healthy children become healthy adults.
Both SpaDental Plymouth and SpaDental Whitchurch have hosted Children’s Days this week. We aim to nurture dentally healthy children. Yet it’s a time when, once again, there’s been a lot about children’s health in the news. The focus? The number of children who are overweight and obese. As dentists, we’re concerned because unhealthy eating habits…
Read more »Sugar habit? The UK sugar tax kicks in today
We need to kick our sugar habit because there are still too many children having bad teeth removed in our hospitals, and obesity is an increasing health problem. Junk food ads? A year on from the sugar tax – April 2019 The tax begins that will help us to curb our sugar intake. No longer…
Read more »Getting five a day is easier than it sounds.
We’ve all read that we should be getting five portions of fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet. Here are some explainers and tips on how to add natural colour to our menu. Why are veg and fruit so good for us? they’re a great source of vitamins and minerals dietary fibre helps keep…
Read more »Encouraging Healthy Eating for Obesity Awareness, 2018
National Obesity Awareness Week begins today The aim? To improve the health of the nation, through encouraging healthy eating, less snacking, and more exercise What’s the problem? According to the NHS: “The term “obese” describes a person who’s very overweight, with a lot of body fat. It’s a common problem in the UK that’s estimated to affect around…
Read more »The packed lunch challenge
After the winter holiday, our kids are back in school, and the packed lunch challenge is on again! It’s a tough one! Change4Life has launched its new campaign to remind us that too much sugar is bad for our bodies and bad for our teeth: “Children in England are eating nearly three times the recommended…
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