Gluten and GMO’s in Food
Vote Yes on California Prop 37

As a San Diego holistic dentist, I want patients to know that food sensitivity traced to gluten intolerance is involved in different inflammatory conditions, including gum disease. Gluten intolerance has been linked to auto-immune problems like type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and Hashimotos’s thyroid disease. The wheat generally used in processed foods has been hybridized to have a higher gluten content. As public awareness of these facts increases, there is also an increasing interest in a gluten-free diet.

Since the U.S. is the world’s biggest exporter of wheat and countries like the European Union and Korea are do not want genetically modified wheat, this crop has not yet been engineered for commercial use in this country. However other crops such as soy, corn and canola have been. These GMO crops do not have to be labeled and have been fed to livestock that many of us have consumed. A majority of us have, in all probability, been eating them for years in meat and/or dairy products without knowing it, and this may have long term effects on our immune health. (See Holistic Dentist A-Z blog post at:

http://bit.ly/T6uBVJ.)

The release of genetically modified organisms into the environment without regulation is creating a situation in which there may well be uncontrollable consequences to the global food chain.
The following video explains some of these concerns:

Earth Day is about holding to our intentions of being good stewards of the environment.  It’s a trust that we hold for the generations to come

Everyone wins when environmental health is respected and safeguarded

Each time the healthy balance of our environment is downgraded and environmental health on the planet suffers, quality of life becomes more difficult to sustain. As a San Diego holistic dentist I see a responsibility to the environment as well as to my patients.  When green dentistry acts as a monitor of dentists’ environmental footprint, the impact of our profession on the oceans, for example, can be softened.

One important way for dentistry to go green is to filter out dental metals before they get into the water system. The filter that does this is called an amalgam separator. It is only mandated in a few states, and California is not one of them. Since the filters are pricey- around $1000,00, dentists often don’t volunteer to install them. Ask your dentist if he or she has an amalgam separator.

Amalgam separators are used to filter out dental metals before they get into the water system.

This blog was launched as a celebration of Earth Day 2009 and to showcase the video on ocean conservation we created for Encinitas Environment Day that year. We are giving our blog a new look in honor of Earth Day 2011.

Some exceptional videos are available to mark this year’s event. Above is one from Greenpeace, an organization that has been championing conservation since 1971. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Greenpeace’s now has an Earth Day network in 41 countries.