WrigleyvilleDental.com 773-975-6666

St. Patrick’s Day was not always about beer-guzzling revelry and dyeing the Chicago River green. Americans have transformed the religious celebration of Saint Patrick and the appreciation of Irish culture into a celebration of fortune and good luck, and the green four-leaf clover symbol is integral to the holiday’s branding.

Some superstitious symbols are so commonplace today that we don’t even question their origins. Items like the dreamcatcher, the horseshoe, and the rabbit’s foot are all charms we have appropriated. But since the dawn of civilization, people all over the world have used good-luck

symbols to represent the fulfillment of common needs, protection against injury or death, or the promise of money and wealth.

In Australia, Aboriginal people saw the frog as a symbol of good fortune, because they believed the amphibian brought rain and thunder to the land. Other choice animals, and their choice parts, are associated with luck in many cultures as well. One of these “charms” in Africa is the vulture head, believed to possess powers to predict the future due to the bird’s incredible sight. Sadly, the trade of vulture heads has resulted in increased poaching and has had a devastating impact on a majority of the vulture species there.

The “beckoning cat” is a good-luck symbol you might be more familiar with. Known in Japan as the maneki-neko, this paw-waving cat is often seen in storefront windows, and is meant to attract wealth (no actual animals harmed). In India, a cat’s eye gemstone is meant to bring good luck and is said to shield you from misfortune in business and money matters.

Other good-luck charms include tiny handmade worry dolls of Northern Guatemala, which are placed under one’s pillow at night to bring solutions to everyday woes. Acorns have been associated with power since the Norman Conquest, when the English carried them as protection from harm. And if you’re ever in China and spot someone who has a mole with an impressively long hair sprouting from it, don’t be alarmed! Moles are a sign of good luck, too.

Ma

rch

20

16

InsideIn the Market for Compromise pg 1

Why Holistic Dentistry? pg 2

Turn Up the Heat for Your Health pg 2

Freshen Up Your Spring Cleaning pg 3

Holy Guacamole! pg 3

Good-Luck Symbols From All pg 4Corners of the Globe

This newsletter produced & printed by the Newsletter Pro www.NewsletterPro.com

If you’ve seen me in the past few months, you probably know that my husband and I are in the middle of a great quest. We’ve been looking for a new home since the end of summer, and it has been nothing short of a crazy experience.

Going into house hunting, I knew finding a place would take some time, patience, and communication. But I had no idea how much I’d learn about myself and my relationship in the process. This sort of challenge has been a way for both of us to bond and learn about each other in a new way. Fortunately for us, I can honestly say the experience has brought us closer together. Buying our first home is a big deal, and it means really sitting down and taking a closer look at one another’s wants, needs, quirks, values, and areas of flexibility.

Most of our expectations for the new home are aligned fairly well, but we realized early on that if we were going to make any progress at all, we had to figure out exactly what we wanted in a home and reach a mutual agreement about what we were even looking for. To do that, we had to see properties and start developing prioritized lists. And the lists keep evolving with the more properties we see.

Every house has its perks. Every house has its eccentricities. It’s all about balance. We want convenience, but we don’t want to sacrifice windows or have to walk up five flights of stairs to live in the city. We want a home in our price range, but nothing we’ll have to spend years remodeling. We want a great neighborhood, but we don’t want to give up living close to the city. We had to start prioritizing and deciding which points were flexible and which simply weren’t.

This process is frustrating, but oddly funny. I remember standing in the doorway of a long hallway in one of the homes we were viewing. I noticed something strange and asked my husband to stand at the end of the hall.

“Do you see what I’m seeing?” I asked him. From that vantage point, you could see that the house was on a very clear slant. It was just one of the many strange things we’ve encountered in our search for the right home. We’ve seen uneven floors, super creaky floors, smelly homes, beautiful homes with windows facing the neighbor's bedrooms, beautiful homes with the El as its neighbor on one side and the Metra on the other, homes with strangely faraway garages and other odd construction quirks that just make you wonder “Why would anyone think this was a good idea?”

Regardless of the oddities of standard city living, we’ve narrowed our focus to places with a walkable neighborhood and a healthy restaurant or cafe within walking distance, and easy access to public transportation and entertainment. Although my parents have been trying to sell the suburban lifestyle, we're trying to avoid taking the car everywhere we need to go.

We’ve looked at over 50 properties now, and we’re still searching for the right home to suit our needs. So if you know about a nice home on the market, keep us in mind! ;) We’ll be on the lookout!

THE GREAT HOUSE HUNT CONTINUES

In the Market for Compromise

A CHARMED WORLD |

4 | WrigleyvilleDental.com

GOOD-LUCK SYMBOLS FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE

773-975-6666 | 1

3256 N. Ashland Ave. Chicago, IL 60657

Mondays 7 a.m.–7 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m.–2 p.m.

- Dr. Teplitsky

ADDED

NEW EXTENDED OFFICE HOURS!

PRST STD US POSTAGE

PAID BOISE, ID

PERMIT 411

FRESHEN UP YOUR SPRING CLEANING

DIRECTIONS

1. Open the avocados and scoop out the flesh.

2. Mash the flesh with a fork and stir in the other ingredients.

3. Enjoy right away over salad, on a burger, as a dip for fresh vegetables, or right off the spoon. Remember, guacamole browns when in contact with air, so for best results when storing, cover the guacamole with plastic wrap

that touches the whole surface of the avocado mixture.

*Additional Tip! Another trick is to cover the guacamole with raw purple onion. The onion will keep the guacamole from browning much more effectively than with plastic wrap alone. You can also keep the whole thing in a glass, airtight container, so you can store it for even longer.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium or 4 small avocados

• 1 firm tomato, finely diced

• ½ white onion• ½ cup chopped cilantro• 1 teaspoon of cumin• 2 cloves garlic (minced)• 2 tablespoons fresh

lemon or lime juice• ½ teaspoon red pepper

flakes, or more to taste• Optional salt and

pepper to taste

If you typically pass on a dash of red chili flakes, or if you cringe at the sight of the jalapeños in your pico de gallo, you may need to consider retraining your spice tolerance.

There have long been claims that instances of cancer are lower in parts of the world where spicy food is more prevalently consumed, and that a diet rich in hot chilies is responsible. Various studies on the effects of spicy chilies on the body demonstrate that the capsaicin contained in the chilies works as an anti-inflammatory and blood thinner, suggest that it also helps normalize insulin and glucose levels, and some even say it boosts energy.

But the most popularly held belief about a taste for heat might well be that it temporarily increases your metabolism and suppresses appetite — claims that have been supported by science. One study of 25 non-overweight adults found that among the participants, the people who were given hot sauce at the beginning of a meal ate an average of 200 fewer calories later on, and expressed feeling decreased hunger, especially for fat, salt, and sweets.

The thermo-genetic properties of capsaicin found in peppers like habanero, cayenne, and jalapeño cause body temperatures to rise, and the amount of energy being burned rises along with it. The extra heat causes you to burn more calories. This process might be why the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study showing that capsaicin increases abdominal fat loss.

Not a pepper person? Maybe it’s time to stop refusing spicy food and make heat a part of your daily menu.

We all know how the medical field works. You go to the general practitioner for a checkup, and if you have a problem in one area, you get referred to a specialist. The only problem is, fixing one part of the body at a time ignores the fact that your body’s systems are all interconnected.

This same logic is applied to dentistry, and that’s a problem. Many doctors feel that what happens in the mouth, stays in the mouth. But the reality is that your overall health can have an effect on your oral health, and vice versa. Why treat your mouth as an independent entity when it’s actually integrated into a greater whole?

It’s this new way of thinking that’s giving rise to holistic dentistry. While holistic dentists still fill cavities and clean teeth, they also consider how other factors could be impacting the health of your teeth and gums. Your diet, lifestyle, and emotional well-being can all help or hurt your oral health. Even conventional dentists concede that

someone with periodontal disease has a two- to four-times greater risk of heart disease. Now if that doesn't convince you of a mouth-body connection, I don't know what will. But holistic dentists are also worried about other connections.

For instance, there has been concern over the effect that mercury amalgam fillings could have on a person’s overall health. As a holistic dentist, the body is part of the equation — for conventional Western dentists, the body is barely a consideration, because it’s some other doctor’s domain.

That’s why holistic dentists use fillings that are safer than traditional silver mercury fillings. They believe that it’s better for patients if they offer procedures and materials that won’t stress out the body.

From holistic cleanings and safe amalgam filling removals to amenities that improve patient comfort, we offer holistic

practices that make your dental experience better. Here at Wrigleyville Dental, we care about your total body health. Please contact us if you have any questions or want to know more about what we can do for you!

Holy

Guacamole!

You may not be ready to hear this, but it’s that time of year again. That’s right — it’s time for spring cleaning! Like so many other yearly rituals, you’re probably going to hear about spring cleaning for the next few months, at least until the season changes. Until then, we have a couple of tips to ease your cleaning burdens — particularly for those things that often get forgotten in the rush. Here’s what you can do to have the freshest …

… GARBAGE DISPOSAL. How regularly do you clean your garbage disposal? It tends to be one of those appliances that gets forgotten until that smell starts to invade the kitchen. While you can find specialized cleaning capsules at most home stores, they aren’t something you’d typically keep around. What you probably do have on hand is citrus: oranges, lemons, and limes.

Whenever you peel an orange, juice a lemon, or find yourself with a few leftover lime wedges, toss them into the garbage disposal with a few ice cubes. Then turn on the appliance for 20 to 30 seconds. Once the disposal sounds clear, run hot water for another 30 seconds to rinse. Done! Not only will your garbage disposal be nearly as clean as the day it was installed, but your kitchen will smell citrusy-fresh!

… PILLOWS. No, we’re not talking pillow cases — this is a tip for the actual pillow. In the past, you may have washed your bed pillows only to be left dissatisfied with the results — that is, if you’ve ever actually washed your pillows. No matter what you do, they stay dingy and discolored. They’re just plain gross. Well, no more! Add a little extra cleaning power to your regular laundry detergent: hydrogen peroxide and vinegar. The hydrogen peroxide is a natural whitener, while the vinegar attacks deep, hard-to-get-rid-of stains. First set your pillows to soak with just the peroxide and vinegar, and then wash your pillows on a separate cycle with your regular detergent.

As a general rule of thumb, add about one part of each ingredient. Run the pillows on a cycle with hot water. To dry, you’ll get the best results from leaving your pillows under the sun for a few hours. However, if you’re crunched for time or the weather isn’t on your side, you can put your pillows (but no more than two at a time) in the dryer. Just be sure to toss in a couple of tennis balls to avoid lumps!

Why Holistic Dentistry?

TURN UP THE HEAT FOR YOUR HEALTH

Avocados are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, and they’re a good source of pantothenic acid, dietary fiber, vitamin K, copper, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Looking for a way to cram a little bit more of this delicious superfood into your life? Guacamole is best enjoyed when it’s fresh, so try this guacamole recipe.

TWO TIPS FOR AN EVEN CLEANER HOME

773-975-6666 | 32 | WrigleyvilleDental.com