Health
Watch Your Mouth -- Stay Healthy
Watch your mouth and stay healthy. That is a suggestion worth taking, because when the body senses it is not getting enough necessary vitamins and minerals, says health expert Lyndel Costain, your mouth is often the first to suffer.
A lack of Vitamin B2, for instance, often causes dryness of the mouth as well as cracked and peeling lips, and a deficiency of B3 and vitamin B6 leads to soreness and burning of the lips and tongue. Severe deficiency of vitamin B3, Costain says, can produce a sore, fissured and painful tongue.
A change in the diet can be of help, and Costain lists some of the more beneficial foods. Fortified breakfast cereals can supply vitamins B2, B3 and B12, as well as folic acid and iron. Potatoes and bananas are good for B6, and peas, lentils, nuts and wholegrain bread are useful sources of iron, vitamins B3 and B6, and folic acid.
Getting adequate daily doses of folic acid, iron and vitamin B12 can help prevent recurrent mouth ulcers. The British Medical Association advises that a gluten-free diet also can be beneficial, but it strongly advises seeking medical advice, because mouth ulcers also can be a signal of other problems.
A lack of Vitamin B2, for instance, often causes dryness of the mouth as well as cracked and peeling lips, and a deficiency of B3 and vitamin B6 leads to soreness and burning of the lips and tongue. Severe deficiency of vitamin B3, Costain says, can produce a sore, fissured and painful tongue.
A change in the diet can be of help, and Costain lists some of the more beneficial foods. Fortified breakfast cereals can supply vitamins B2, B3 and B12, as well as folic acid and iron. Potatoes and bananas are good for B6, and peas, lentils, nuts and wholegrain bread are useful sources of iron, vitamins B3 and B6, and folic acid.
Getting adequate daily doses of folic acid, iron and vitamin B12 can help prevent recurrent mouth ulcers. The British Medical Association advises that a gluten-free diet also can be beneficial, but it strongly advises seeking medical advice, because mouth ulcers also can be a signal of other problems.
