How to Germ Proof Your Kitchen and Other Household (dental care) Areas Against Bird Flu and Other Diseases
No commentsBy Richard Stooker
Chances are there’re a lot more germs growing in your kitchen and the rest of your house than you think. Your kitchen is a breeding ground for cold, influenza and stomach viruses, as well as the normal microbes that inhabit your skin and digestive tracts.
Even though you think you’re a great housekeeper.
The most dangerous area is the kitchen. Yes, surprising as it seems, your kitchen probably has more germs than your bathroom — where the worst of them are flushed away.
Your kitchen contains a huge number of surfaces. You and your family touch them, and spatter and spill food over counters and the table and onto the floor. You pick up utensils. You cut up and cook food that even if not contaminated also contains nutrition for germ growth.
Yes, you clean your kitchen. But few people practice sanitation as strictly as they could.
One problem is raw meat. Beef can contain E coli 0157 and poultry can contain Salmonella and Campylobacter.
It’s highly unlikely in the U.S. or other developed countries that are watching their poultry flocks very carefully for signs of bird flu, that the chicken you buy in the store has H5N1 virus in it.
But if that should ever happen, these good sanitation habits will help protect you from it.
You should wash your hands WELL at every stage of meal preparation. That means before you start. After you cut up the vegetables. After you put the meat dish into the oven. Before you set the table. And then before you eat.
Every stage of handling and preparing food can possibly spread an infection to your skin. If you wash your hands between the handling of different foods, you reduce the risk that you’ll introduce the new microbes into the next dish you’re cooking.
This washing between foods also applies to utensils and cutting boards.
Never cut up chicken and then use the same surface and knife to cut up vegetables without washing them thoroughly with soap and hot water first.
And don’t wipe food off your hands with your apron or a rag you should throw down, or your apron or rag will have lots of germs from food growing in it and you’ll be transmitting them into what you’re cooking.
And don’t touch your face with your hands until they’re thoroughly washed, or you could be introducing germs from the food into your own body.
Also, all meat and fish should be thoroughly cooked — well done. Never serve any meat with any pink left in it. The heat of cooking kills a lot of microbes and parasites that could otherwise make you ill.
Of course, you need to keep your floor swept and mopped with disinfectant, and all counters and tables cleaned and disinfected. And all dishes and utensils washed well with hot water.
Any throw rugs or curtains in the kitchen should be washed regularly. Any rubber mats should be cleaned with water and bleach. Washclothes and sponges should be kept dry.
c 2006 by Richard Stooker
Richard Stooker is the author of How to Protect Yourself and Your Family From Bird Flu and
Bird Flu Blog
Creating The Brilliant Smile You Deserve
Dental Health Flossing - How A Good Floss Technique Is Vital For Your Teeth
By Martin Haworth
Mouth and dental hygiene are vital for more than just your teeth. Indeed your total health is a reflection of how well you look after yourself orally.
Using a toothbrush frequently and with good technique is a start and one which challenges many people in itself. For those who have accomplished a steady and adequate brushing technique, there is another step.
To get really clean between your teeth - those places where you just know you haven’t cleaned everything properly - you must use a dental floss technique to make sure that you are fully protected.
Dental floss will remove food particles lodged in between your teeth in those areas that, for one reason or another are just inaccessible to your brush. It may not be your fault, more a layout error at design stage in your mouth! Still, it’s no excuse to let your dental health suffer in this way.
After all, you now have a great solution!
Did you know that all the bits of food that get lodged between your teeth, start to rot in only a few hours. This will almost certainly be one of the causes of bad breath, if you suffer from that.
So if you want to enjoy the best of dental health, it’s always best to make sure that you get rid of these food particles as soon as you can after eating. And as we now know, just brushing on it’s own, simply cannot get to all the hard-to-reach (bits of stuck food rich) places, which is precisely where plaque builds up.
And that’s where a good dental floss can help you.
There are quite a lot of different sorts of dental floss now on the market, each of them, according to their manufacturers, providing you with the perfect solution to meet and exceed your dental health needs
“With it’s light wax coating and it’s shred-resistant texture, it slides easily between your teeth and below the gumline”, is one manufacturer’s claim for it’s number one dental floss.
Whatever product, within whatever brand you choose, the technique is the same. Here it is, step by step:-
1) Take a big enough piece of floss to wrap around a finger on each hand, which keeps it tight
2) Manipulate the floss down through the gaps between each pair of teeth and letting one of the fingers slip, pull the floss all the way through
3) Avoid, where possible, pulling the floss back up from between the teeth as this can damage any dental work you may have had done - pull through the gap horizontally, rather than upwards
4) Some teeth gaps, especially at the back of the mouth, might be quite difficult to get at and this is where your dental health can slip. So do your best and if you really can’t reach, there are some specialized products that come with a ready stretched piece of floss on an implement, which will really help you.
5) Deal with every gap, every time you floss if you want the best dental health
6) After you floss, brush your teeth in the way your dentist or oral hygienist has advised
7) Ideally, floss twice a day, when you brush (you do brush twice a day - right?)
What sort of dental floss to buy? Well, to benefit your overall dental health, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that you need to buy something that you are comfortable enough with that you will use it regularly.
Some dental floss shreds a bit, so some people prefer a more plastic tape type. For others, they will enjoy using a floss with a flavor, so mint versions are available.
Whichever dental floss type you use, get one you like, even if it is a bit more expensive than the budget brand. Then you will not only enjoy using it regularly, but you will also benefit your own dental health every day.
(c) 2007 Best Dental HealthGuide. If you want to find the best information and product ideas to keep your teeth healthy and bright. You can, right here, on Martin Haworth’s fascinating website at http://www.BestDentalHealthGuide.com
Overcome Bad Breath in 7 Days through Proper Oral Hygiene
By Kelvin Ho
The easiest way to get rid of bad breath in just a week is to make changes to your regular oral hygiene routine. Although you might think you have done everything right in terms of brushing and flossing your teeth, there is still a chance that you are not. Let us take a look at some of the most important aspects of oral hygiene.
Brushing
First off, brushing needs to be done with fluoride toothpaste at least twice per day. While brushing, you should also take note that your brush strokes are correct and sufficient. You need to pay attention and brush the inner and outer areas of the tooth and even the flat surfaces of back teeth.
Some experts believe that you should spend about two to three minutes brushing to allow the toothpaste to have maximum impact on your teeth. Also, you need to replace your tooth brush every 3 months so that it can continue to provide maximum protection for your teeth and tongue. If you can, you should actually brush after every single meal but this is not always possible.
Chewing Sugar-Free Gums
In such situations, you can replace brushing with sugar free chewing gums. This is a great alternative that is easy to apply in your lifestyle. Of course, whenever possible especially in the mornings and evenings, you should choose to brush your teeth instead.
Cleaning the Tongue
One of the most neglected areas in the mouth is the tongue. This area must always be brushed. Apply a gentle back to front motion to remove bacteria and food leftovers that might get stuck there. In fact, not brushing your tongue is the most common reason for developing bad breath around the world!
Flossing
Flossing should be another important part of your oral hygiene routine. In order to prevent possible gum diseases, you need to remove plaque and food particles, even those located below the gum line and between teeth. This is easily achievable through flossing.
Visit Your Dentist
Usually you would not be able to remove everything properly; hence you need to visit your dentist once every six months. Your dentist will be able to perform a special cleaning session that will help clean up your mouth.
Conclusion
By applying the steps above, you will make a huge step in overcoming bad breath. So what are you waiting for, apply these steps today to overcome foul mouth odors in 7 days by making the changes that count in oral hygiene.
Suffering from bad breath during pregnancy? Learn what are the effective bad breath remedies and minerals to fight bad breath.
Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 5:45 pm and is filed under Creating The Brilliant Smile You Deserve. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
