Something to Chew On: A Mouth Map to Health Book

About The Book "Something To Chew On" is a Health Manual first and foremost, but it is a Health Manual coming from new perspectives. It is these new perspectives that make all the difference. It has been called the Health Manual with teeth. Although its primary focus is the Mouth, it introduces the Mouth as the Mirror of the body. This means that the mouth can be seen as an excellent predictor of the health of the body as a whole. Indeed the mouth maps in clear terms the overall status of health of the individual, - mind, emotion and body. In order to understand this, we must adjust our perspective. We must look at things in a different way. The bottom line is if we don?t acknowledge the need for change and set about it, we cannot expect any change in the healthcare crisis in which we are currently embroiled. The First New Perspective, - The Person As Partner This approach is quite different to the usual approaches to dental or general disease. Traditionally the focus is on the teeth and what can be done to them. The dentist finds the problems and then fixes them. The person has only the minor role while the dentist has the major one. This model serves to keep the focus on the dentist and away from the person and so tends to promote dependence rather than independence. This approach reverses the traditional approach, if you like, one where the person assumes the major role and the dentist the minor one. The person her/himself becomes the key factor in management with the dentist providing a guiding and helping role. It therefore promotes and encourages independence. The Second New Perspective, The Person As A Whole Holistic Dentistry - Understanding The Whole Person. This approach recognises the complex nature of a human being and the many factors that may be at play in problems manifesting in the mouth. Mind, emotion, habits and behaviours are all part of this comprehensive understanding of the human condition. Disease prevention becomes much easier in these circumstances. The Third New Perspective, - the Mouth is more than a chewing device!! This new perspective allows a completely new understanding of the mouth and its function. We go beyond a purely mechanical view of the mouth as a food chewing system. Certainly this is one of the functions and a very important one at that but it is not the only one. We offer to you that the Mouth is the Gateway of the Body. As such it is the organ through which we allow all manner of food and drink into the body. It is also the gateway for smoke and other pollutants and alcohol. So this is the Mouth as an entrance Gateway. The Mouth as the Organ of Nourishment and SustenanceOur relationship with food and drink has many and varied consequences for our health. The first and most obvious is management of weight. However other conditions such as health of heart and health of arteries as well as health of pancreas and health of bowels are all directly related to our relationship with food. Our relationship with food has effects on the stomach and the acid it produces and this can directly affect the teeth. A gateway functions in two directions so we can see the mouth as exit as well as an entrance. So now the Mouth is seen as the Organ of Communication and Expression. The Mouth as the Organ of Communication and Expression. Through the mouth we express our thoughts and feelings and this is as vital to our wellbeing as our intake of food. In this regard we consider the relationship that we have with speaking our minds. This particular relationship has implications for our psychological and emotional health as well as the health of the jaws, teeth and gums. The Mouth as an Organ of Pleasure and EnjoymentThe Mouth can also be seen as an Organ of Pleasure and Enjoyment through which we experience an infinite variety of flavours, textures and tastes. This relationship has implications for psychological and emotional health as well, in that enjoyment or pleasure is often seen in some cultures as wrong, selfish or ?sinful?. While this area is vitally important, it is not one of our areas of expertise. We encourage people strongly to pursue a healthy relationship in this area and if necessary to consult with those professionals who work in the field. The Fourth New Perspective, - Understanding the Nature of Habit. Unless negative habits are understood as founded on and supported by stress, there is little chance of dealing with them effectively. This is why we have had little success to date with these problems. The Fifth New Perspective, - Understanding Past Failure, - Never try to change an Effect without reference to the Cause We must stop believing that changing the light-bulb will fix the electrical fault. The cause of a problem must be clearly understood before a solution can be proposed. The book shows how we have been focussing on fixing the effects of stress without reference to its cause. The result of this error has been to increase the problem rather than solve it. The Sixth New Perspective, - Dealing with Stress as a Priority Once stress is understood as the source of the problem, our treatment becomes the dissolution of stress in all its various disguises, - anxiety, worry, fear, resentment, upset, regret etc. As we address these issues in the gentlest way our stress dissolves and the habits and behaviours that were supported and strengthened by the stress become amenable to easy change. Our dis-ease is gently replaced with ease and comfort. The Seventh New Perspective, - The Gentle Approach is a Requirement not an Optional Extra. To be gentle may sound like an option, something which can be used or not. Gentleness and patience are essential to healing because they dissolves stress and tension which produce disease in the first place. Any force or effort produces stress and tension and leads to more disease, not less. The Eight New Perspective, - The implications for the way we live. Because the problems in society are related to habits and behaviours which neither serve the individual or society as a whole, these principles have wide ranging significance. Applying the principles broadly will result in a broad beneficial effect.Read More