Top Foods and Drinks Detrimental to Your Oral Health

Does it matter which snack, breakfast cereal or beverage you reach for on the grocery shelf? When it comes to your oral health, it can make a big difference. The foods and drinks you select each contain different ingredients, including minerals, vitamins, sugars and acids, each with varying nutritional values and effects on your teeth and mouth. In some, the nutritional value is very low and their ability to cause problems to your oral health is high. The next time you reach for a soda, think twice. It could mean avoiding a cavity, even if you routinely use other good oral hygiene habits.

What Is So Bad?
The problem with some foods or drinks is what they are made of. Carbohydrates break down in the mouth into sugars. Sugar is detrimental for teeth. It works as an acid to slowly harm the enamel on teeth. It can damage the tooth structure. Overtime, this leads to cavities and tooth decay that may be hard to halt. Any type of acid that comes in contact with your mouth has the risk of harming your oral health.

Shoddy Food and Drink

What is the worst of the worst? What should you avoid at all costs? The following foods and drinks are considered the ones to vanquish from your diet:

    Carbonated beverages, including soft drinks, are hazardous thirst quenching choices that endanger your oral health. They have the least nutritional value, and have so much sugar and phosphoric acid that they can begin attacking the teeth within 30 minutes.

Beat the Heat, Eat and Drink - The Top Six Water-Rich Foods

Six of Nature's Highest-Hydration Foods

It is well-known that our bodies can get by without food for extended periods, but without water, we can face the most drastic of consequences within a few days. Our bodies are made up of 65-70 percent water and continuing to hydrate can be challenging for many people.

Using nature's fruits to flavor water is one great way to make drinking water more appealing, as well as thirst quenching. All of those wonderful electrolytes that are touted in sugary, artificial "sports drinks" can be obtained through lemons, limes, and oranges! Imagine that!! So start slicing those beautiful citrus jewels - they are also full of vitamin C and aid in digestion - great side benefits we could all use! The body's need for water is often taken for granted. If you wait until you feel thirsty, you are already in a state of dehydration. This means we have to replenish our bodily water constantly - so keep that pitcher in the fridge nice and full, with your water bottle close by and refill, refill, refill!

While essential to staying hydrated, drinking the recommended minimum 8 glasses of water a day isn't the only way to get all our water requirements. It's also important to consume foods that are high in water content to regulate metabolism, circulation, and vital biological systems. Smoothies are a quick and delicious way to get the best of both worlds. All of the foods listed below can be used in tasty and nourishing smoothies.

Food and Drink in the British Isles

UK restaurants offer a wide diversity of cuisine from all over the world but why not try some local dishes during your villa holiday. Traditional British food usually involves good plain cooking with fresh local ingredients and is often found in pubs or in restaurants which offer lighter versions of old favourites. Roast beef served with Yorkshire pudding or local specialties such as Lincolnshire or Cumberland pork sausages can be found on most menus. In the North Black Pudding made with offal is popular and lamb and chicken dishes feature on many menus along with hearty meat pies and homemade soups. Meals are usually served with chips, mash, boiled or roast potatoes and a good selection of vegetables. Whitbyon the east coast is famous for its crabs and the southeast coast is renowned for its mussels, whelks, cockles and jellied eels. In Britain you are never far from a fish and chip shop selling battered cod or haddock with chips sprinkled with salt and vinegar. Traditional puddings include fruit crumbles, apple pie or sponge pudding usually served with custard. Afternoon tea is still popular and you will find a good selection of cakes, scones, jam and cream and sandwiches on a teashop menu. Cheese is a great regional specialty; look out for different varieties at delicatessens and farmers markets.

There are some excellent award winning white English wines such as those produced by Three Choirs in Gloucestershire and Wickham in Hampshire.While enjoying your British Self Catering holiday you'll find a good selection of real ales is served in many pubs; look out for local micro-breweries. Mild such as Banks', Holdens and Highgate is most often found in the Midlands. Pale ales are more popular and Timothy Taylor, Adnams, Shepherd Neame and Marston's have good examples. Cider is still a favourite particularly in the southwest of England like Thatcher's in Somerset.

In Scotland look out for traditional foods such as haggis (spiced sheep's innards and seasoning) usually served with tatties (potatoes) and neeps (mashed turnip). Venison and grouse dishes are popular as are stovies, a mix of potatoes, onion and beef cooked in dripping. Scotch broth is made from mutton or beef stock, pearl barley, carrots and leeks while Cock-a-leekie soup is made from chicken, rice, leeks and prunes cooked in chicken stock. Smoked fish dishes such as kippers, salmon and Arbroath smokies (smoked haddock) can often be found. Finally, look out for a delicious chowder like dish called Cullen skink made from smoked haddock, mashed potato and milk. Scotland is also famous for its numerous whisky distilleries and a few beers too, like Deuchars and Caledonian.