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Posted on 2/10/2019 by Office - Boone DMD |
Did you know there's actually a connection between flossing and weight loss? Everyone knows that flossing regularly is important for your teeth, but few people realize that flossing has other benefits. How Does Flossing Affect Your Weight?Flossing doesn't actually make you lose weight, but it does prevent gingivitis. In a study done with animals, those that had gingivitis were actually much more likely to be overweight. When the researchers treated the infection, the animal subjects lost weight.Why does this happen? When the body is dealing with a bacterial infection such as gingivitis, it becomes stressed. Inflammation forces the body to direct its resources towards that area. It also puts the body into a sort of crisis mode, which affects your metabolism. Inflammation can also affect fat cells, causing them to store glucose as fat for use later rather than using it as energy right away. Cells can also start to leak fatty acids due to stress, which can cause high cholesterol and hypertension. Developing Good Flossing HabitsTo combat gingivitis and the weight gain that can come from it, you need to develop good flossing habits. You should really floss each time you brush your teeth, but we realize that's not always possible. At minimum, you need to floss once a day. You need to do more than just floss, though. You need to floss correctly.Make certain you're using a good type of floss and that you're getting in between all of your teeth. Don't rush through it. It only takes three to five minutes to floss correctly, but it's worth it. Poor flossing technique is just about as bad as not flossing at all. Visit Us If you're worried about gingivitis, come see us. We can walk you through the proper way to floss and examine your gums to make sure there's no sign of inflammation. |