“Gut Health” has become a huge buzzword in the health world. It has become oversimplified to be solved by probiotics or fiber supplements, but it goes so much deeper than that. The gut microbiome is an extremely complex system.
One of the pillars of a healthy gut is healthy digestion. It’s one of the main signs people point to when they feel like they are having gut health issues - diarrhea, constipation, etc…But did you know the digestive process actually begins in the mouth?
We talk a lot about the gut microbiome, but directly connected to that is the oral microbiome.
Yes we all love a beautiful smile & white teeth but our oral health is actually SO much more important than aesthetics. Oral health is interrelated with skin health, gut health, hormone health and beyond. Our mouth is where the digestive process begins and it is very important to take care of the health of our mouth for a multitude of reasons.
What We’re Chatting About
The Importance of Oral Health
My Top 8 Tips to Improve Oral Health
My Top Non-Toxic Oral Health Product Swaps
Our oral bacteria and health, if unhealthy, can lead to inflammation. This inflammation can trickle down to negatively impact our hormones, skin health, and gut health. “What happens in the mouth doesn’t stay in the mouth,” Dr. Staci Whitman says on What’s The Juice Podcast. I highly recommend giving this podcast episode a listen to learn a bit deeper from a professional.
Just like our gut microbiome, we need good bacteria in our oral microbiome to be flourishing and thriving. The good bacteria helps to crowd out the bad and create a healthy environment. A lot of the conventional products on the shelves today contain ingredients that completely wipe out our oral microbiome - good and bad.
I want to share with you the tips that I have incorporated into my personal routine that have made a big difference in improving my oral microbiome, and also some healthy swaps to conventional oral products.
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Ways I’ve Improved My Oral Health
1. Nasal Breathing.
Nose breathing is so important for health. Mouth breathing can affect posture, facial structure, jaw/teeth, breath, oral health, facial symmetry, digestion, and ability to breathe properly. It can cause congestion, heavy mucus, asthma, snoring, poor smell, and crooked teeth. The best and most natural way to breathe is through the nose. A few benefits to nose breathing:
Better sleep
Optimal athletic performance
Improved response to stress and anxiety
Facial symmetry
Stronger jawline
Improved head posture
Optimized oxygen absorption
Improved Smell
Cleaner air (nose helps to filter impurities)
I highly recommend learning more about the proper way to breathe from Patrick McKeown, here is one of his short Ted Talks, but he also has wonderful books that go deeper into it!
I luckily am a nose breather, but there are times where I am breathing out of my mouth without noticing (especially when I am feeling sick and congested - Patrick McKeown has a wonderful decongesting exercise for this). The biggest thing that has helped me is being more intentional about my breathing. Taking deep intentional belly breaths through my nose all throughout the day. My main tips for nasal breathing:
Use pre-meal times to take three intentional deep belly breaths through the nose prior to eating. Add in when during wake up and before bed. Slowly add in more till this feels comfortable.
When I am active, consciously breathing through my nose. I like to chew on Greco Gum to strengthen my jaw while I do this, also helps prioritize nasal breathing.
Mouth taping. I do this every so often and it used to be a daily habit for me. Helps to train to breathe through the nose throughout the night.
When eating, sit upright and chew each bite of food ~30 times.
Oil pulling also helps train to nasal breathe which I get into next…