Gingivitis Causes Heart Attacks

There are two things to know about gingivitis (gum disease) and heart disease.

First, a leading cause of heart disease is inflammation and gingivitis may be a sign of rampant inflammation. But gingivitis may just be the result of bad personal hygiene. It is surprising the number of people who do not brush or floss regularly. You should do both at least twice a day.

Second, an advanced case of gingivitis...whatever the cause...can result in bleeding gums. Once your gums are bleeding the risk of a heart attack increases for this simple reason: bleeding gums create an avenue for bacteria to get into your blood stream and it can cause an infection of the heart (infective endocarditis). The heart gets inflamed and whack! A heart attack!

Your mouth is naturally full of bacteria. When you swallow it your stomach acid kills the bacteria. (This is true if your digestive tract is healthy.) In this way, bacteria is eliminated before it can possibly get into your blood stream. But when your gums are bleeding the bacteria becomes a heart risk.

If you have red, swollen gums and especially if they are bleeding, you probably have gingivitis. Don't ignore it. It won't go away on its own. You must take action to correct it and you can reverse it. Ignoring gingivitis will eventually result in periodontitis. It is a much worse gum disease and it will cost you your teeth and a lot of money. Treatment is expensive and pulling teeth is expensive and dentures are expensive. Any way you look at it, periodontitis is expensive. Not to mention painful. I know. I have it.

Follow the link to read more about gingivitis, periodontitis, the causes, related diseases and a very effective natural gingivitis remedy.

Should You Take Supplements?

I am inspired to write this post by Dr Ben Kim's recent blog about synthetic vitamins. Just when I think I am convinced that supplements are possibly dangerous and a total waste of money (immiating Mother Nature is impossible) I stop and think about my own palpitating heart.

I first took Pharma Mag, a magnesium supplement at the suggestion of Kirsten Tremlett, an excellent naturopath and herbalist healer in Sydney, Australia. She thought it would help the distressing symptoms of tachycardia that I suffer from time to time. It did. Maybe it is the power of suggestion but it worked wonders. As long as I take 2 tablets, twice a day, my tachycardia goes away completely. I suffer from supraventricular tachycardia...aka SVT...it is benign as described by the cardiologist but extremely scary when it happens. Other magnesium supplements simply do not have the same effect. When I tried to find something similar at the Organic Pharmacy, they told me that this is a particularly strong dose and they knew of nothing like it.

I have not been able to find Pharma Mag outside of Australia and my search produced nothing comparable. So when I run short of supply I don't waste my money on supplements that don't work. I make sure I get my daily dose of magnesium rich nuts (cashews, almonds, brazil nuts) and then I just take a deep breath and ride out the palpitations.

I think that ultimately the best and most effective source of minerals and vitamins is your diet and it is so easy to eat a delicious, healthy and vitamin rich diet. The more organic foods you can eat the better. Eat more raw fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains and seeds. And cut the junk food. It will kill you.

(You cannot buy Pharma Mag just anywhere. If you want more information about where to get it, contact the Editor at Inward Bliss via this contact page.)