Simple HEALTH tips that just might change your life! (Part 2 of 3) #Replay

Hey there, Hot Mess Moms I've got a confession—I used to think flossing was just for those pesky popcorn bits, but boy, was I wrong! Tune in as I uncover the surprising ripple effects that daily flossing has on our overall health. I'm not just talking sparkling pearly whites; we're looking at preventing cavities in those sneaky spots between teeth, warding off gum disease, and even dipping our toes into the world of systemic inflammation reduction. Trust me, this isn't your average dental hygiene pep talk—I'm here to flip the script on those tiny strands of floss and turn them into your newest health allies.

But wait, there's more! Don't you dare sit down just yet because we're about to get those legs moving with the simplest form of exercise—walking. I'll take you through a stride-by-stride breakdown of how this underrated activity is actually a heavyweight champion in boosting your health. Mayo Clinic's got our back with the facts: walking can help keep your weight in check, pump up your heart health, and even give you a mental pep talk. I'm serving up no-fuss strategies to sneak those steps into your daily grind and make them a blast for the whole squad. So, lace-up, tune in, and let's step up our health game together with flossing, catching those Z's, and, of course, hitting the pavement. Ready to walk the talk? Let's roll!

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:03

Hey there and welcome to the Hot Mess Mom Health Podcast. I'm your host, rebecca Santos, a wife, working mom of two littles, certified health coach and self-proclaimed hot mess mom. Do you find yourself on the perpetual struggle bus, trying to juggle it all and your health is the last thing on the to-do list? But you feel like crap. I can relate because I've been there. The reality is, you can get healthy and it doesn't have to be overwhelming. If you're looking for some education, inspiration, accountability, a kick in the pants or I'm not gonna lie some tough love, you're in the right place. So pull up a seat, grab a nice coffee and join me on this journey to better health. Hey, hey there, happy Monday and welcome back to another episode of Hot Mess Mom Health. I'm super excited that you're here. This week. I have been looking at the stats for the show and I'm super excited. It's so awesome to see all the different places that you all are tuning in, from all over the country and even in Germany. I was like I'm getting all the way to Germany, so I'm super excited about that and just grateful for all of you guys that are tuning in. I hope that I'm providing some type of value to you and that you are getting your health on track and you're feeling more motivated about it and you're finding easy, step-by-step ways to do that. So today I'm super pumped about today's episode. I am doing another three tips that I think could potentially change your health. So they're small things, they're not really big things, and that's what I like about this podcast. I try to bring you guys bite-sized information that you guys can start working on with your health journey and it really can build up to bigger things. So today, the first one, I'm kind of roping in my full-time job with my part-time passion with this one.

Speaker 1 2:04

But number one is floss your teeth every day. Now, if any of you are listening and you are like one of my dental colleagues, you're probably laughing, but I had to put this on here because I think it's so important and I think you know a lot of people. You floss your teeth, if you do and when you do, and your reasons are basically just to get the crap out from between your teeth, right, like usually something stuck up there, and you find floss and you take it out. I don't know about you, but flossing is something that I know I should do, right, and it's hard. I don't really want to do it. So I do do it because I am in the dental world, but I don't love doing it right, it's not something I love doing.

Speaker 1 2:43

But I want you guys to understand the reasons why flossing is so important. And it's not just to get the crap out between your teeth. Obviously that's happening, but there are some reasons behind it that are so big for your health. So I wanted to dive into that a little bit today. So my number one health tip for this week is floss your teeth every day, not just when you have crap in between your teeth. And another reason that you know you might just floss your teeth because you think it's going to help you from a personal standpoint is probably to help protect you against having bad breath right. Crap in between your teeth sits there for long enough it starts to get rank right, so anyway. So that's kind of the reasons you know as regular people out there in the world. That's why you think you should floss your teeth.

Speaker 1 3:27

So I asked one of my hygienist friends just blank I was like give me the two second spin on why you would tell people to floss your teeth. So her quick response was to prevent interproximal cavities and gum disease. Now, some of that might seem a little bit over your head if you're not in the dental world, but it does. Obviously, when you're removing the crap from between your teeth, you are preventing some food from sitting there, sugars from sitting there and building up tartar and plaque and then therefore creating a potential cavity. So that's what the interproximal cavity prevention is. You're flossing to get rid of those things so that you're able to prevent having cavities in between your teeth, which a lot of people do have. And the other part, gum disease. So flossing 100% helps reduce the risk of gum disease.

Speaker 1 4:12

So when you hear the term gum disease, that might seem a little bit more medically, right Like not dental specific, but it kind of sounds a little scary, right Like? When you hear gum disease it's like, oh my God, like what have I done to my gums? But what you need to know about that is gum disease is caused by plaque that's forming on your teeth. So when it sits on your teeth it's hardened and then it turns into what they call tartar. So when you go in to get your cleaning, the hygienist is like picking apart all that hard tartar that has formed on your teeth. So flossing is going to help prevent that tartar from sticking there and obviously it's going to help prevent cavities from forming where that tartar is sticking as well.

Speaker 1 4:50

So the next thing to know and this is like really big as far as, like, flossing seems so mundane, right, like, oh, you're just flossing, you're getting some food from between your teeth, but it also reduces your risk of diabetes. So the big thing here is that if you don't treat your gum disease let's say you you end up developing gum disease because you're not flossing and you're not taking care of your teeth like you should, you're not going in for your regular cleanings. Your gum disease could turn into periodontitis that's bacteria forming, basically inflamed, in your gums. So the bacteria could then become systemic and that's the biggest thing here. Systemic inflammation is not good for your body. So when that happens, you're reducing your risk of all kinds of diseases diabetes, heart disease, all kinds of things and that is on the American Dental Association's website. So that's really really big.

Speaker 1 5:44

Inflammation in your mouth and gums can contribute to other things in your body. So this is a big deal. So I'm highly going to recommend that if you're out there it's something. It's so small, right, it seems so silly like, oh, floss your teeth. I know your hygienists are telling you this when you go to the dentist, but it's something that you really do need to take more seriously when you're on a health journey, because it could prevent you from getting to where you want to be if you have all this unnecessary inflammation that's starting in your mouth and going throughout your entire body.

Speaker 1 6:12

So get yourself some floss. There's some really great tools out there that you know different flossers, different picks. There's a water pick that actually will floss between your teeth. I will say I have one and I have no idea how to use it. All I know is that when I use it, I become splattered with water everywhere. So I need to start using it in the shower so I don't become like completely sprayed with water while I'm trying to water pick my teeth. So, but there's so many different devices and different flossers and different types of floss. You can find something that works for you. So that is my number one tip for this week is floss your teeth every day, all right, so let's switch gears.

Speaker 1 6:50

Now. This one might make you mad at me, but number two is don't go to bed too late at night. I know it's so hard. We're doing all the things you get, you know, probably an hour after your kids go to bed and then you're like, oh, I got to go to bed and start this all over again. I know I totally understand, but I just want to go through some reasons why getting your sleep and going to bed at a good time is super important.

Speaker 1 7:14

So a study published by the Journal of American Medical Association said that people who went to bed at 12 o'clock or later had a 20% greater risk of being obese. That's huge. So I do like to get some sleep. I do not like to stay up to midnight, but if you are a night owl and you do enjoy staying up, it's something to be aware of. And then those who went to bed between 2 and 6 am had a 35 to 38% increased chance of becoming obese. That is really big. And it's just a bedtime, right Like. It's not costing any money, it's not doing anything, it's just going to bed. It's not even even if you did everything else the same in your life. Just going to bed before midnight has such a huge impact in a positive way. So a lot of times it's just we don't know these things, we just get into some bad habits, and just becoming more and more aware of different things that you can do to benefit your overall health is so important. So highly recommend going to bed earlier.

Speaker 1 8:15

According to this study from the Washington Post, it said going to sleep between 10 and 11 is associated with the lowest risk of developing heart disease. So between 10 and 11 seems to be a sweet spot, according to this one study I was reading from the Washington Post. But obviously you have to find what fits within your life, but know that if you're going to bed at 12 or later, that has a significant greater risk of being obese. I mean, that's pretty significant as far as I'm concerned. So I just want you guys all to be aware of that. And then, not to mention, there's other health risks, you know, like insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, besides the weight gain. So there's a lot of other risks involved as well from that Washington Post study that I was reading.

Speaker 1 9:00

So it's you know it's really crazy and it's something that is easily fixed right. It may not be something that you want to do to put your phone down or to actually take the time that you need to get the good sleep that you know you do need. It's when you start hearing these things that it actually affects the rest of your health. It's a little eye-opening because I know we all get into habits and we all, you know, we're trying to do the best that we can and sometimes these little things like not flossing your teeth or not going to bed, you know, and getting yourself enough sleep, they're the things that are holding you back right, like they're the things that you've been doing, all the right things you're working out and you're eating right, and you just still can't get to that next level. A lot of times it's these little things that we often forget about and we put to the back burner because we don't even think about them, like going to bed at a good time. That can really be a game changer for you. So I want you to understand like I'm not trying to be mean, like go to bed early, like soon as your kids go to bed, but just knowing that there is research out there that is saying don't go to bed after midnight, like you know, obviously you're going to have the occasional like you've been watching Netflix all night and it's after midnight, but from a regular, you know, on a regular basis. Really trying to go to bed between 10 and 11 could potentially be an absolute game changer for you. So I highly encourage you guys to really examine your bedtimes, making sure you're getting the proper amounts of sleep, which is a whole other thing. But in this week I wanted to address trying not to go to bed too late. I think it's something that's really overlooked and there's a lot, you know, making sure you're going to bed at a proper time. So hopefully that helps.

Health Benefits of Walking

Speaker 1 10:37

And then number three this week, which is actually one of my favorite things to talk about, is just walking. So if you're somebody out there who you know, your exercise is just not something you either have time for, or you don't have any gadgets, or you don't have any, or you don't have a treadmill, you don't have a gym membership and you're just trying to find ways to be healthier and to move your body more. Walking is absolutely amazing. There's so, so, so many benefits to walking alone and, honestly, it doesn't even have to be like a 30-minute walk here, 30-minute walk there. It could just be simple, like, if you have a 10-minute break, go for a 10-minute walk, fit in five, 10 minutes when you can Just moving, getting up and walking around your office, walking around your house, going for a walk around your block, walking your dog, taking your children for a walk in a stroller, going for a walk with your spouse, your significant other, your friends. It could be a social thing where you have walking groups in your neighborhoods meet up with a girlfriend, walk the mall. I mean, it's such an easy thing to do to fit into your life.

Speaker 1 11:44

And I'm going to go through some of the health incentives involved with walking as well. It's so big and it's something that we all can do. Right, it's something super easy. I'm not asking you to go buy a Peloton. I'm not saying go buy a treadmill. You can literally put some sneakers on and walk out your front door. You literally could do that. It's super easy and it could potentially just open up your eyes to like oh, just moving my body more, 10 minutes at a time, a couple of times a day, it really adds up.

Speaker 1 12:14

So, according to the Mayo Clinic, here's the reasons why a brisk, brisk, regular walking is beneficial to you, and this is incredible. There's so many great reasons. So it helps you maintain healthy weight and lose body fat. It helps prevent various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and type 2 diabetes. It helps improve your cardiovascular fitness. It helps strengthen your bones and muscles, improves muscle endurance, increases energy levels, improves your mood, cognition, memory and sleep, improves your balance and coordination, strengthens your immune system, reduces stress and tension. It's like, oh my goodness, why are we all not just trying to walk more? But if you don't do anything else, just walking more is so incredibly important for your health. I cannot stress that to you enough.

Speaker 1 13:05

Honestly, I know I could incorporate more walking. I try to do more walking. If I'm not doing some scheduled workout that I had on my schedule, I always, always, always get a 20-minute walk in, even if it's later at night. It just makes me feel better and I know that I've moved my body. I've gotten some additional steps in for the day.

Speaker 1 13:23

I do try to hit the 10,000 step mark. I mean there's a lot of different information out there about why walking 10,000 steps is important too. If you have a Fitbit or a ring or an Apple Watch, I think even the Apple phone tracks how many steps you do. There's tons of research out there stating that 10,000 steps a day is a really healthy point to be at to know that you're moving the proper amounts during the day. And I know for me, when I'm on the road from my job a lot and I'm just getting in and out, it's crazy how little I'm actually walking. It's actually frightening to me. But I'm sitting on my butt so much in my car making sales calls that I'm not getting the steps in for the day. So doing that 20-minute walk at night, if I know I haven't gotten my steps in, it really helps me feel a little bit better knowing that I got to the goal that I wanted to for most days.

Speaker 1 14:11

I'm going to try to get to 10,000. It's not always perfect, but, oh my goodness, reading all back to that list increases energy levels. How many of us out there need more energy? I know I do. I know a lot of us out there are craving energy. So even if you just take a 20 minute walk once a day, twice a day, 10 minute walks a couple times a day, even getting some fresh air, there's so much benefits to doing the walks outside right or partnering up with a buddy or a friend.

Speaker 1 14:38

There's tons of things you can do to make walking fit into your life and I know, you know encouraging your children. There was a day in the summer where I just I knew I was going to get on the bike. My son wanted me to spend time with him, so I took him on a walk and we made it a game. We started with the letter A and we had to find something that began with A, Then we had to find something that began with B while we were on our walk and it made it fun and it was very distracting and by the time we got back we had walked for 45 minutes.

Speaker 1 15:04

So it's a really good activity to do as a family, like go on a hike, go, you know, walk on a trail you haven't walked on. There is just, it's just get out there, right and enjoy the world and just start walking, because there's literally no downside to it. I, if you do all the research, I don't see anything saying walking is bad for you. So get some new walking shoes, some new running shoes, whatever you want, that make your feet feel good and open your door and walk. I encourage you to. I think there's an amazing list of benefits that go along with it.

Speaker 1 15:36

So, to wrap up today's episode in a little bow, my three quick tips for this week are floss your teeth every day, go to bed at a good time so research is suggesting between 10 and 11 is the ideal time and get your walking shoes on and get some walking steps in. So I hope those little tips helped you this week. Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help you guys, or if there's any other episode, any other topics you want to hear about on future episodes, or any interviews that you would like me to do. Please send an email to hotmessmomhelp at gmailcom and I look forward to talking to you guys next week. Bye, thank you so much for tuning in and listening to this episode of Hot Mess Mom Health. If you love this episode, please leave me an iTunes review. It would mean the world to me and it would help me get the word out about helping other moms reclaim their health. Thank you so much.