Oral and Whole-Body Health
What is the common denominator between the various "pre-existing" conditions and death from COVID-19? We published a paper on this very topic. For interested readers, click on the title below......
Below is a figure from the paper...
I hope you find this result is shockingly interesting as do I.
Allow me to explain... Here is what we did to create this plot:
RED: Plotted the mortality rate from COVID-19 for people with pre-existing conditions.
BLUE: We did a simple search in the National Library of Medicine database for the following terms: "Infection" and "High blood pressure" and "Infection" and the other chronic diseases listed in the figure.
NOTE: The number of citations (papers) found, when you search the terms "Infection" and "Cancer" total over 6,000,000. There are over 6,000,000 articles relating Cancer and infection! (Why isn't anyone talking about this?)
MOST startling is the strong association between the number of papers and COVID-19 mortality rates.
Interpretation: Infection is an important underlying cause of chronic diseases and high COVID-19 death rates.
One major source of infection is from the mouth.
Scientific American published an important overview of the "Oral - Whole Body Health" connection in 2002. Too many of us believe that oral infection (periodontal disease) is an oral infection only. Yet, in 2002, this publication reported on disease and adverse outcomes as varied as: bone diseases, premature births, and cardiovascular diseases.
Where are you on the oral health / periodontal disease continuum?
Your traditional dentist is really only looking for RAGING periodontal disease. And, no one is looking beyond the mouth. However, the oralDNA test, which uses your saliva, is a very powerful tool at determining your true periodontal disease status. It accurately places you on the periodontal disease continuum. (See below if interested in this testing)
Other markers that can provide an indication of whole body periodontal infection include:
white blood cell counts
neutrophil counts
% neutrophils
neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio
C-reactive protein
erythrocyte sedimentation rates.
These tests are important but do NOT identify the specific causal agent(s).
Here is a note sent to me by one of my participants: (I'm electing to not show the link to the infomercial because I don't have any experience with the product. I give the ingredients after the note)
I came across an infomercial this morning - (product link omitted). Been there, done that! Thankfully, I was able to take steps to improve my health. My dentist wasn't any more help than my doctor - their focus was on treating symptoms not causes.
I figured out that bacteria overgrowth was my problem. My bad breath was one obvious clue. My autoimmune disease symptoms and Hashimoto's disease diagnosis were other big clues. I began treating myself, and through trial and error, I made progress. Ultimately, I improved my health and I am no longer not well, but perhaps because I haven't optimized my hygiene practices and/or supplementation routine.
Like I said when we first met, I agree allergens and pathogens including bacteria, viruses, and possibly parasites are the cause of most (all) of my health issues/problems. As sensitive and aware as I am, I am convinced I am not able to detect and target these sources of disease by myself. That's why I told you I just assume my pathogenic load is high whenever I notice my bad breath etc returning and treat it as such. I would like to avoid antibiotics if possible - scorched earth approach - and optimize my hygiene and supplementation to support my body's' immune system and eliminate/reduce allergens in my environment to support my health and well-being.
I have already tried and to some degree made progress along these lines, but I occasionally experience setbacks, again, mostly due to lack of due diligence maintaining my hygiene and supplement routine as well as my healthy diet, etc (emotional triggers and subsequent sabotaging behaviors being the number one cause things get out of balance until again). I see a pattern and I realize how it all connects together. Simply asking you for a silver bullet wouldn't be fair or make sense.
All of this to say, I am going to try the product because the lengthy (explanation) sales pitch makes sense. Rather than worry about the cost or alternatives at this moment in time, I am willing to take a chance on it - it seems right to me. However, I know it can work only as part of a holistic approach to health and well-being. Ultimately, I must address my emotional health, eliminate triggers, and eliminate/reduce toxic sources in my life similar to the approach I took to eliminating environmental allergens. Not as easy but no less important.
Not doing what must be done is probably the biggest reason someone fails at almost anything. There are many reasons for this. Some of them can be painfully difficult to accomplish. Like someone once said, when the pain of things remaining the same is greater than the pain of change sometimes people change. Onward! Thanks for listening. I look forward to your health and wellness feedback and recommendations particularly as it relates to reducing/eliminating pathogenic (bacteria) overload (overgrowth). I am taking high quality oral probiotic and I recently (re) started Bravo probiotic. This time using their suppository probiotic.
Product ingredients:
Milk Thistle- It helps repair your liver. Red Raspberry fruit, Ginger and Turmeric root, Beetroot, Artichoke, Jujube seeds, Chancapiedra whole plant, Yellow Dock root, Alfalfa, N-Acetyl Cysteine, and Burdock root are the other ingredients in this dental formula.
My next blogs will be a continuation of this topic and will include:
My recommended approaches to better oral care and why...
To find out where you are on the oral health continuum, consider taking this test...
The "MyPerioPath" analyzes for 11 oral pathogens
The "Alert 2" does the same MyPerioPath test but also tests for inflammation by why of the biomarker interleukin-6.
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Thomas J. Lewis, Ph.D.