Healthy mouth, Healthy body, that's an old expression.

Healthy mouth, Healthy body and Wealthy pocket , it's the new mantra.

A Healthy body starts with good dental hygiene. That's what drives us all to brush our teeth first thing in the morning. With that comes, fewer trips to dentist and more importantly to physicians which translates to less money spent on dental and medical expenses. Believe it or not, chewing sugarless gums comes for help to make it even easier in keeping your teeth strong and protect from cavities.

When we were kids, we were told to avoid sugar-ladened chewing gum for health concerns. Now, it is hard to see a kid without gum in their mouth. At the same time, chewing gum manufacturers came a long way attracting health consicious consumers by providing products which ensures good oral health. In this post, we will see how sugarless gum helps to save money and keep us healthy.

What are Sugarless Chewing Gums?

Chewing gum is no longer is meant to provide a sweet treat or freshen breath. It has taken different avatar in oral health. You've seen the claims on sugarless gum wrappers. Packages of Orbit say the chewing gum helps strengthen the teeth. And a package of Trident gum containing xylitol says it helps prevent cavities. The question in our minds, Are these claims solid?

According to Martin Schlatter, Wrigley's marketing chief, it seems so. A three-year clinical study showed 8% fewer cavities, and a two-year study found a 38% drop, because chewing the gum strengthens teeth and creates saliva that reduces plaque acids.

But not all chewing gum have this magic packed inside, health advantage is totally depend on the type of gum chewed. Two types of sugar substitues are used in sugarless gums depending on the manufacturers. They are xylitol and sorbitol. They are also called sugar alcohols, referring to their chemical make-up but they don't actually contain alcohol. By adding natural sweeteners like xylitol, manufacturers added the benefit of fighting against bacteria.

How Sugarless Gum works?

Let's take Xylitol. It is a natural sweetener found in fruits such as strawberries, plums and pears. Xylitol looks and tastes like sugar. For this reason, it's used to sweeten food and candies like chewing gum, gumdrops, mints, medicated syrups and tablets, toothpaste and mouthwashes. It' is also found in dietetic and diabetic foods. Several dental associations endorse sugar-free products that are at least 50% sweetened with xylitol.


Xylitol is an anti-microbial which acts against the bacteria itself, preventing tooth decay according to scientific research. When bacteria in your mouth combine with sugars, they produce acid. This acid damages teeth, causing cavities. Bacteria in your mouth can't break down xylitol, so no acid is produced. Also, the sweetness of xylitol encourages salivation. Saliva washes out the mouth and helps prevent cavities.

It is important to note that studies suggest that sugarless gums made of another sugar substitute called sorbitol do not seem to have the same preventive effect. Sorbitol can increase saliva flow which secondarily strengthens teeth, explains another analyst. But there are no studies that directly show that sorbitol-based chewing gums can strengthen the teeth.

How does Chewing Sugarless Gum save money?

In a PR Newswire post regarding a Majestic Drug survey, we learn some interesting statistics that may not shock you, but will inform you.

One in six Americans experienced a dental emergency in the past year.

Seventy-two percent of Americans have fillings, caps, or crowns, and 23 percent of dental emergencies relate to these restorations.

The survey revealed that out of a thousand people, respondents with an annual income under $35K had a higher instance of dental emergency than those with an income exceeding $100K.

Prevention is always better than cure. Brushing one's teeth and scheduling
regular visits to the dentist are primary in preventing dental and gum disease, but chewing sugarless gum will strengthen teeth and assist in preventing cavities. That, in turn, adds to a person's savings.

For example, an Orbit gum 12 pack with 15 strips in each pack cost = $15. It is 9 cents a strip. If you chew 5 pieces for an average 25 days, it cost just $11 a month and $132. It is far better than spending $150 - $250 for fillings, pulling teeth and more for pain relivers as well. Think about it!

What should I do?

As reported by npr.org, Milgrom, dentist at the University of Washington and his colleagues have studied how much xylitol is needed to actually knock out bacteria and prevent cavities. And he has two pieces of advice.

First: Read the ingredient list on the gum package. If xylitol is the first ingredient, then there's probably enough of it to be effective. (below list Sorbitol is the first ingredient and not really sugarless gum)

And second: Chew a lot of it. "You have to chew at least two pieces, three times a day to have an effect," says Milgrom.

This may sound like an inordinate amount of chewing, but in Finland kids have really gotten used to it. The Finns have been chewing xylitol gum for years as part of a public health initiative to reduce cavities. And Finnish researchers have documented a preventive effect in numerous studies going back to the early 1970s at the University of Turku.

Throughout Scandinavia, xylitol products are widely available, from lozenges and toothpastes to chocolate and candy gummy bears, says Ramos-Gomez, a pediatric dentist at U.C.LA.

Sugarless chewing gums are not only good for you but also good for your pocket. And of course, dental professionals have one more recommendation. Watch your diet. Make certain your toothpaste includes a fluoride ingredient.

Source: Last month(Sep) was dental month and npr(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106347234 ) aired an interesting story on chewing sugarless gum triggering me write this blog after good amount of research. Thanks to NPR.ORG.

President signed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 into law on May 22, 2009. Amending the Truth in Lending Act, the Credit Card Act of 2009 requires certain measures to be implemented by the credit card companies in order to comply the new law and help consumers, taking efffect on July 2010. Let me share the changes and challenges of this new law from my research.

Changes
Some changes to look out from the credit card companies:

- Require CC companies and banks to give customers a reasonable time, such as 21 days, to pay the bill before it is considered late.

- Bans double-cycle billing, which eliminates the interest-free period for consumers who move from paying the full balance monthly to carrying a balance.

- Prohibits retroactive rate increases unless the cardholder is at least 60 days behind in paying the bill. If a person does fall behind and the rate on past buys is increased, lenders must restore the lower rate after six months if the cardholder has paid monthly bills on time.

- Requires lenders to post their credit card agreements on the Internet.

- Requires that customers receive 45 days notice prior to any change in the annual percentage rate (APR). The notification must also inform cardholders that they have the right to cancel the account before the effective date of the rate increase. If a cardholder cancels the account, the cancellation cannot be considered a default on the account, and cannot trigger an obligation to repay the account in full.

- Prohibited from increasing annual percentage rates (APRs) that apply to existing balances unless specific conditions apply. An APR may be increased only if
1) the index on which the rate is based changes,
2) it is a promotional rate that has expired,
3) a cardholder fails to comply with a hardship workout plan,
4) the account falls 60 days past due.

- Requires anyone under 21 to prove that they can repay the money before being given a card, or have a parent or guardian promise to pay off their debt if they default. (Big blow for college students)

- Prohibits over-the-limit fees unless a cardholder elects to be allowed to go over a limit.

- Requires lenders to say how much time it would take and how much money in interest would be paid if only the minimum monthly payments are made.

- Requires that gift cards remain valid for five years. Under the Senate’s rule, retailers and others that issue Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover gift cards or certificates will have to print explicit dormancy fee information on the card. Sellers of the cards will also have to inform the buyer of the fee.

- Bans "pay-to-pay" fees, which are charged when someone pays the bill by phone or on the Internet.


- CC companies need your permission before allowing you the “privilege” of spending more than your credit limit and paying a fat $39 fee for that privilege.

Other features of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 include:

If different APRs apply to separate portions of an outstanding balance, the amount of any payment beyond the minimum payment due must be applied to the portion of the balance with the highest APR.

If the payment due date is a date when a creditor does not receive or accept payments by mail (e.g., weekends and holidays), the creditor cannot treat a payment received on the next business date as a late payment.

Credit card companies are prohibited from charging a fee based on the manner in which a payment is made (e.g., on line, by telephone).

Some of these reforms are already on track to take effect in July 2010, under new rules by the Federal Reserve.

Challenges

The new law will be a savior for many credit card holders who are facing credit card debts with high fees during this tough times. But for people who pay off their bills in full each month, and milk card rewards programs for everything they’re worth, there is some cause for concern. After Home affordability and stability plan, this new law is passed to help distressed credit card holders affects consumers who act and does thing right. They might be less in percentage compared to the other group but still a reasonable crowd not really happy about this change for certain reasons.

1. These restrictions will cost more expenses for the credit card companies. To compensate, there are chances of them assessing annnual fees and increase or add other fees.

2. Good credit customers are offered happy rate of 0% APR which already vanished the scene and will never been for a long time to come.

3. With added restrictions, it is going to be hard to get credit cards, which might make more people strapped for money in this tough times.

4. Stripping reward programs - For months now, the card companies have been threatening to cut rewards programs sharply to make up for revenue lost because of the new restrictions. So will credit card companies kill reward programs or drastically scale most of them back? Of course not.

“If you strip away the reward component of a credit card, it’s essentially a commodity,” said Rick Ferguson, editorial director at the loyalty marketing company LoyaltyOne. “The reward is what gives it its personality. It works from a branding perspective as well as a mechanism to influence customer behavior and consolidate spending on a particular card.”

In all, I would say, this new credit card protection bill has lot of good measures packed to help all credit card holders whether they going thru tough times or not. It is very good step forward and should be welcomed but we will have to wait and see how it plays out in the field.

Thats my take. What is yours?

Saving is a habit and not a hobby. Let me start with that note. You might hearing lot on "How to Savings?" lately over the Internet. They always suggest some hard to follow strategies that doesn't fit to all type of people. I am here to share my own simple, realistic, and ideal plan sure won't turn you down on your thoughts about savings. So go and read on...

Whether you are looking to save small for your IPOD or little bit more for a new car or bigger amount for your first home. Let me tell you first thing you should know.

Savings is hard and never comes off the cuff. Not many like to hear, sorry that's the truth. You should first and foremost realize that tough fact. I always like to expose the fact first instead of coating the sugary picture before diving deep in. When I was kid(6th grade), my mom showed the value of real money. She taught me, how to save every paise(Indian currency equivalent of penny). I started my first savings bank account when I was at my 7th grade and started putting every rupee(Indian currency equivalent to dollar) I earned. That's the foundation for my savings and spending habit. If you don't have that Saving habit built into you as a kid, its going to be hard to start with but it was never tough act. Anything is possible under Sun and above earth if you ask me. It's just needs determination and to make habitual by constant practice.

A quote by Frank Outlaw goes very well at this point.
"Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."

You need to first cultivate the thought about Savings. Then talk about it to your spouse or friends anytime you talk about money or expenses. Then act on it by following any or all of 3 methods.

Prerequisite: Open a savings account either with Internet banks or local banks with just minimum deposit of $1. Credit unions are best for small saving accounts.

1. Start putting your change(pennies or dimes) which you gather every day or week in a piggy bank or a simple container. Every month, take the change to near by bank and deposit it to your bank account.

2. On every ATM withdrawal, take $10 out of it and put it away in the secret compartment in your wallet. Don't ever touch it whatever comes. At the end of the month, take it all out and deposit in your savings account.

3. I call this one it Blind savings - Put away a small amount from your paycheck automatically as a Payroll deduction or auto deduction from your checking account to your CD or Savings account.

Once you start taking actions. Everything falls into picture automatically transforming yourself and the savings habit gets built slowly into you. Once you got the habit, it comes off the cuff without even thinking about like your second nature.

Don't think its not possible. You already took your first step thinking about it on the path towards making savings a habit.

So start working your next step by talking and taking action.