So, What Is ‘Healthy Eating’?

By Jeffrey L. Brown, DDS

Sleep & TMJ Therapy

. http://sleepandtmjtherapy.com/

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So, What Is ‘Healthy Eating’?

We are all told by our doctors that we need to eat “healthy” in order to have a good life. So, what does that really mean? Ideally you should make sure to take in the right amounts of carbohydrates, protein, minerals, etc. The list of ‘ideal’ food intake requirements is huge! Depending on the doctor or nutritionist you talk to, it could vary greatly depending on their beliefs and your needs.

When it comes to healthy eating for a TMJ disorder person, it’s a bit of a different story. In almost all cases, when a person is wearing a TMD appliance, they need to be on a bit of a soft food diet. This immediately negates things like beef jerky, hard raw vegetables, and many other items. The soft food diet is for two reasons. First, the displaced discs in the jaw joints will heal faster if there is less stress on them, i.e., soft food means less stress to the joints. Second, when wearing a splint for example, it cannot handle hard foods because the acrylic might break. This makes a healthy diet more interesting.

With all of our TMD cases, we provide an actual recipe book to help with the dietary needs while in treatment. When a patient is in appliance therapy,  they need to be aware of their healthy eating requirements. This does take some planning and preparation for the 12-18 months in therapy to comply with the program. In almost all cases, however, the person can manage both the appliances and a healthy diet just by paying attention to the details.

Once treatment has been completed, it becomes much easier to maintain a healthy diet for the long term. A simple thing that is quite obvious to good health is good sleep. And part of good sleep involves the proper levels of  Vitamin D. Did you know that Vitamin D is not really a vitamin? It is actually a hormone that regulates sleep. If your D levels are too low, then the B vitamins cannot be manufactured in the gut. Good D levels are critical to good sleep and to proper B levels. This is why our patients are counselled in healthy D levels.

Another key to being healthy is hydration. That’s right, you need enough water to keep your cells active and healthy. Think of proper hydration when you think of proper eating- they are both critical to your good health. As a general rule of  thumb, whatever your body weight is in pounds, cut that number in half and you should  consume that number of ounces of water per day. This is the bare minimum. For example, a 200-pound person needs about 100 ounces of water per day. If you drink coffee/tea/soda/etc., then that number is higher due to the dehydrating effects of caffeine.

So healthy eating means healthy thinking and healthy planning!