{"id":852,"date":"2018-11-19T12:53:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T12:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=852"},"modified":"2018-11-30T12:56:38","modified_gmt":"2018-11-30T12:56:38","slug":"sleep-apnea-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Holiday Foods Should You Avoid If You Have Sleep Apnea?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-853\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/AdobeStock_122590829-2-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"A holiday table filled with food\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/AdobeStock_122590829-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/AdobeStock_122590829-2-768x513.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/AdobeStock_122590829-2-1024x683.jpeg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Sleep apnea affects an estimated 22 million people in the U.S. and can have serious consequences to their overall health. In fact, researchers have found a link between sleep apnea and many serious conditions like high blood pressure, depression, weight gain, and stroke. But even if you\u2019re getting treatment for sleep apnea, you might not know that certain foods can aggravate it. With the holiday season upon us, keep reading to learn about which foods you can safely enjoy and which ones you should avoid!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Which Foods Are Beneficial For People With Sleep Apnea?<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some great examples of holiday foods that can help ease your night of sleep and calm your symptoms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Foods high in omega-3<\/strong> \u2013 If seafood is on the menu, feel free to enjoy it! Salmon, tuna, and even shrimp all contain omega-3 fatty acids that help your body produce melatonin, an important hormone that helps you get good-quality sleep.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fruits and vegetables that contain melatonin <\/strong>\u2013 Corn, asparagus, grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, cucumbers and cherries are all great sources of melatonin, so don\u2019t be shy about second helpings.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Foods that contain tryptophan <\/strong>\u2013 Tryptophan is a wonderful sleep-aid, and while turkey is the most well-known food that contains it, it\u2019s not the only one. Chicken, beans, fish, nuts and many vegetables also contain good amounts of tryptophan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Which Foods Should You Avoid?<\/h2>\n<p>Here are several foods that people with sleep apnea should avoid or minimize:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>High-fat dairy<\/strong> \u2013 Cheese, cream and full-fat milk are all examples of foods that can increase mucus production and make breathing more difficult. If eaten too frequently, these foods can also lead to weight gain, another risk factor for sleep apnea.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bananas <\/strong>\u2013 This one might surprise you, but bananas also increase the mucus production in your mouth and throat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fatty meats <\/strong>\u2013 High in saturated fats, meats like steak, burgers, bacon, pork, lamb, and sausage can increase inflammation in the body and complicate cardiac conditions, which then exacerbates sleep apnea.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Alcohol too close to bedtime <\/strong>\u2013 If you consume alcohol within a few hours of bedtime, the muscles in your throat become relaxed and more easily block your airway.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By combining good dietary choices with wearing your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/sleep-apnea.html\">oral appliance<\/a> each night, you\u2019ll be able to better manage your sleep apnea so you can have a healthy <em>and <\/em>happy holiday season!<\/p>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<p>With over 20 years of experience as a general and restorative dentist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/meet-the-dentist.html\">Dr. J. Peter St. Clair<\/a> is particularly interested in dental sleep medicine. Being a firm believer in the power of a good night\u2019s sleep for overall quality of life, he enjoys educating his sleep apnea patients about good choices they can make at every time of year. If you have any other questions, he can be reached via his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/contact.html\">website<\/a> or at (978) 948-2030.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sleep apnea affects an estimated 22 million people in the U.S. and can have serious consequences to their overall health. In fact, researchers have found a link between sleep apnea and many serious conditions like high blood pressure, depression, weight gain, and stroke. But even if you\u2019re getting treatment for sleep apnea, you might not know that certain foods can aggravate it. With the holiday season upon us, keep reading to learn about which foods [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":855,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852\/revisions\/855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}