National Cholesterol Education Month

The Impact of Dental Care on  

Your Overall Health

Dental Medical Connection: The Mouth Matters
To many people a dental visit is about getting their teeth cleaned, having a tooth pulled or having a filling placed. However, a dental visit is not just about teeth. It is also about your overall health.

• What goes on in your mouth can affect the rest of your body and what goes on in the rest of your body can have an effect on your mouth.
• Many diseases and conditions can affect your oral health.
• People with weakened immune systems may be more likely to get fungal and viral infections in the mouth.

Did You Know? Medication Can Affect the Health of Your Mouth
Many drugs cause dry mouth, which can increase your risk of dental decay, oral yeast infections and other oral infections.

Oral Health Can Affect Other Medical Conditions

• If you are a diabetic, an infection in your mouth can disrupt your blood-sugar levels and make your diabetes harder to control.
• Researchers are also exploring the role of periodontal (gum) disease as a potential risk factor for various medical conditions, including heart disease.  

Your Dental Professional Plays an Important Role

• Your dentist might see something in your mouth that is a sign or symptom of an illness or disease.
• Your dentist can make sure you get specialized oral and dental care if you have a chronic condition that requires it.

Additional Information:
Adult Dental Care  
Dental Health During Pregnancy

Dental Care Nutrition

Diabetes and Oral Health

Oral Cancer

Periodontal Disease: Cause & Prevention

Wellness Tip of the Month 

Taking a healthy lunch to work is a simple way to trim your waistline and your budget. Here are 3 easy steps to survive your work-week. 

1. Keep it simple:

Packing a lunch that includes lean or low-fat protein along with carbohydrates (fruit, vegetables or whole wheat grains) will fuel your body for the rest of the afternoon. If you love sandwiches choose whole wheat bread and a lean protein like tuna or chicken, also load up that sandwich with vegetables; sprouts, bell peppers, and lettuce. Looking to switch up your sandwich routine? Try the Chipotle Chicken Wrap at H3daily.com and pair it with a small fruit salad.  

2. Prepare on Sunday:

Always think ahead. Fill small plastic containers with fresh fruit or vegetables and make it a daily staple for your afternoon lunch. Add raw vegetables with a yummy dip like the H3 hummus to any lunch to get a serving of vegetables in.  Try the H3 asparagus salad to add fun and flavor to your day. Also, cook all of your proteins for the week and pack them in small containers to easily take away in the morning.

3. Heat up Leftovers:

By the time Friday rolls around you are probably almost out of all your wisely packed lunches. No problem! I am sure you have many healthy and delicious dinner leftovers in your refrigerator. Use them, pack them in an air tight container and reheat for lunch time. Take this a little further and cook your dinners in bulk. Then portion the dinners into smaller lunches for the entire week.  One of my favorite dinners to pack for lunch is the Chicken Souvlaki.

Don't forget:

Lunches with meat or dairy should be kept cold. Place your lunch in the refrigerator when you arrive to work. If you don't have a refrigerator available, invest in thermo lunch boxes and ice packs.

Warning: Your coworkers may be jealous that you have such healthy and satisfying lunches. 

Hilton Head Health just opened its now cooking school, The Culinary Arts Center. Join us in our interactive learning classes and learn how to create the delicious, healthy dishes mentioned in this article and more.  

Just visit the Culinary Arts Center page of our website at www.hhhealth.com/cac, or call (800) 292-2440.  

Alicea Glover is responsible for H3 Direct, a corporate wellness program, facilitated by Hilton Head Health (H3), designed to take the inspiration of H3's Healthy Lifestyle™ program, delivered to your door.  It's not too late to begin a program for your company in 2011 - call 785-3919 for information about how you can invest in your employees' health in the New Year for less than a quarter a day!

Recipe of the Month 

The Culinary Arts Center at Hilton Head Health, a state-of-the-art learning kitchen, has been very busy lately supporting the Farmer's Market of Bluffton by offering free cooking demonstration, recipe cards and more in bi-weekly visits to the Farmer's Market.  

If you missed us, don't fret.  

Here's one of the recipes we demonstrated live in the Market: a refreshing  Black Bean and Corn Salsa that adds Latin flare to your chicken, pork or salmon dishes, or can stand alone as a great tailgating dip when paired with homemade tortilla chips (simply cut your tortilla wrap into quartered triangles, spray baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes in 400° oven, sprinkle lightly with salt and you won't believe these chips aren't fried)!    

The Culinary Arts Center offers a variety of classes ranging from Chicken Basics and Vegetarian Variety, to Italian Cuisine and Tailgating Party.  

These classes are open to Lowcoutry locals and visitors so check out the Culinary Arts Center page of our website at  www.hhhealth.com/cac or call (800) 292-2440 for more information on class offerings.