We’ve all done it. We’ve all told ourselves on the first day of the year that we’re going to go to the gym every day, eat more vegetables or go cold turkey and stop eating chocolate. Yeah, right. Rather than pledging to eat healthier—because that’s a broad idea—make it concrete. In the past, I’ve focussed on my mental health and I’ve come away from it taking better care of myself and reducing my stress. Now as I enter my late 20s, I’m focussing on my physical health.
Make Your Goals Achievable
In my case, I wanted to cut down on grazing. Snacking isn’t just bad for your waistline, it has an effect on your teeth and your whole system. Every time you eat, the pH of your mouth drops and the buffering action of saliva kicks in. It takes about half an hour for your mouth to return to neutral. Now, if you graze throughout the day, the pH of your mouth is consistently in the red and that’s when you start to develop cavities. Enamel starts to erode at a pH of 5.5. That’s not very low, that’s about the same as cauliflower or string beans.
Furthermore, every time you graze, your blood glucose spikes and your pancreas secretes insulin into your bloodstream to bring your glucose levels down to normal. When your blood glucose is consistently high, you can develop insulin fatigue and eventually insulin resistance, even if you’re snacking on broccoli!
My goal for 2024 is to get my snacking habit under control. But instead of telling myself I’m not going to do it—because how likely is that—I set a goal to put my viveras in at 7:00 pm instead of 10:00 pm. When I was in Invisalign, I ceased snacking altogether because it was such a pain to clean my trays and my teeth every time I ate or drank anything other than water. Two years later I’m still in retainers and it’s the same deal. If I brush and floss and clean my retainers I’ll be less likely to reach for a snack in the evening because I don’t want to perform that whole song and dance again.
Baby steps are OK!
One of the dental hygiene modules I was most excited about this semester was our nutrition unit. Did you know that it’s part of the dental hygiene scope of practice to provide nutrition counselling and smoking cessation counselling? I didn’t either, until now. Of course, as a busy student, it’s easy to let healthy eating slip by the wayside. There were plenty of occasions when I was in a rush to get out the door on my way to work and I knew I would have a short lunch break if one at all, so I’d grab an apple and a couple of slices of cheese and crackers.
For 2024, I’m meal preping. I can already see the changes in my diet reflected in the journal activities we’re doing in class as part of our nutrition unit. If I spend an hour or two on a Sunday preparing a nice hot meal that I can split five ways, I only need to grab it and go in the morning Monday through Friday. In the long run, it saves time and it ensures that I’m eating my leafy greens.
How are you planning to prioritize your health in 2024?