Time for a Free TMJD Recipe!

I think you're all needing another FREE TMJD recipe for those ailing jaws. Last time I gave out "Yvonne's Mexican Chicken and Rice." How about we do a beef one today?

Here's "Becky's Beef and Barley Mix"

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground hamburger (or ground bison's even better!)

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 or 2 (or 3) carrots, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 can (7 ounces) green chilies

1 can Italian stewed tomatoes (14 1/2 ounces)

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 cup barley

Ready?

• Fry hamburger, onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery in a large high-sided fry pan. Fry until meat is well browned and vegetables are tender.


• Stir in all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.


• Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook on low for an hour and fifteen minutes or so. You may remove the cover the last ten minutes if mixture still has too much liquid. I doubt this will happen, but you just never know!

This is GREAT with a dollop of sour cream on top.

BARLEY BITS:

Barley has 5 times more fiber than whole grains. It can be used as an alternative to pasta and rice. It has high amounts of soluble fiber and studies indicate it can significantly lower total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations. Other studies report significantly lower glucose and insulin after barley or barley extracts are eaten.

This recipe is just one of over 70 nutritious, delicious easy-to-prepare, easy-to-chew dinner recipes from You Can Conquer TMJ: Ideas and Recipes, available from amazon.com or http://www.moonlightmesaassociates.com/.

Stress Induced TMJD

There are many causes of TMJ Disorder. This is one of the difficulties in diagnosing this disorder. Sometimes TMJD develops because of injury, such as a blow to the head or face, or whiplash. Sometimes arthritis irritates the tmj joint. Certainly clenching and grinding of teeth can cause or exacerbate the condition, and sometimes TMJD comes on for no discernible, apparent reason.

Often, however, sufferers will remark that they had their first bout with TMJD when they were undergoing a stressful time in their lives: divorce, death, job loss, financial difficulties...problems that sound very familiar to many people today.

So, when stress is causing a person to clench and grind his/her teeth, what exactly can he/she do about it considering all this clenching and grinding usually goes on at night while one is sleeping? There's a very simple solution here, although it is admittedly difficult to initiate.

Let Go of Things You Cannot Control

The fact is, most of the time the things that drive us to clench and grind our teeth are beyond our control. This is a difficult concept for some people to accept. As Americans, we tend to believe that we are in control of our destiny, that if we work hard we'll succeed, that we can do whatever we set our minds to. And to a large extent, I'd agree that this is true, but there are simply some things a person cannot control. For example, how much control do you really have over President Obama and his fiscal policies? How much control do you have over the weather? How much control do you have over North Korea's desire to deploy nuclear weapons? In other words, when you take a good look at things, there are just some things that are simply beyond your control no matter how much fretting and cursing and stewing you may be doing over them.

The key here is to recognize things that are beyond your control and to LET THEM GO. There are other things in your life that you CAN control. The truth is, when all is said and done, 20 years from now the concerns you have today will seem a mere blip on life's radar. Remember the quote: To Everything There is a Season. Learn to distinguish those things in your life that you can control and those that you can't. There is no point in making yourself sick, or destroying your teeth and jaws, over things that are beyond your ability to control.

Simplify

Another easy concept to understand, but difficult to employ, is the concept of simplification. Often our lives become "out of control" and subsequently stressful because we make things complicated. Some of us revel in confusion and chaos. We lose track of who we are and what we really need. Instead, we dash about fretting about things that ultimately are quite irrelevant. I NEED I NEED I NEED, is a continuous whine by so many. "I need a new car; I need a bigger house; I need to fly first class; I need a mink coat; I need to send my kids to private school; I need a private airplane; I need a facelift; I need I need I need."

Again, this obsession with our needs (superficial needs at that) can create a tremendous amount of stress as we gnash our teeth trying to figure out how we can afford a bigger car payment or house payment.

In the long run, this obsession with "needs" creates a very unhealthy lifestyle as we work longer and longer hours to make more and more money, which usually ends up simply creating more and more problems causing (you got it) stress...and there we have the gnashing and grinding of teeth again.

Exercise, Sleep and Good Nutrition...Meditation Too

Instead of having two or three drinks to dilute the stress stirring in your guts and causing you to clench and grind at night (alcohol contributes to clenching and grinding, by the way) try a new approach. Exercise to help ease stress. Sleep at least 8 hours a night. Eat healthfully...cut the booze, soda, donuts and fast food. Meditate. Learn to calm your thoughts. For many, your teeth and jaws will thank you.