READINGS FOR FINAL EXAMINATIONS By ACHRAF KHALY LE MAGNIFIQUE

NUTRITION
The use of food additives has increased dramatically over the past decades. As a result, it has been
estimated that today around 75% of the Western diet consists of various processed foods, with each
person consuming an average of 3.5-4.5 kilograms of food additives per year. Adverse reactions and
conditions attributed to consumption of food additives include eczema, dermatitis, irritable bowel
syndrome, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rhinitis, bronchospasm, migraine, anaphylaxis, hyperactivity and
other behavioral disorders.

It is also now clear that the health of populations in developed countries has deteriorated considerably
over the past decades. In a recent study that compared the health records of more than 5,000 people
born in the UK in 1946 to those of their firstborns a generation later, researchers found among the
younger generation a substantial increase in admissions to the hospital for children up to the age of four,
a tripling of cases of asthma, a six-fold increase in eczema and juvenile diabetes, as well as a doubling of
cases of obesity.

The study found that the number of children admitted to psychiatric hospitals has also increased sharply,
an increase of almost 50% in the number of children under 10 seen by psychiatric services and an
increase of two-thirds. for children aged 10 to 14. 15-19 year olds in mental hospitals has also increased.

Although the 21% increase was not so strong, the numbers are surprising. Crime is currently at the top of
the political agenda in many developed countries. When crime statistics increase, governments and the
media tend to blame various socio-political influences such as TV and film violence, poverty, lack of
parental guidance, child abuse, frustration, the system prison or police.

In fact, the blame has been placed on a lot of things, but never on poor ( Bad ) nutrition. Yet, as studies
increasingly show, improper nutrition can alter brain function in susceptible individuals and lead to
serious mental dysfunction, including manifestations of criminal and violent behavior. It should be noted
that not all manifestations of negative behavior are of nutritional origin. Sociopolitical influences of
course play a role, probably much more important.

However, inadequate nutrition and subclinical malnutrition appear to be two of the factors contributing
to many current physical and mental health problems. This could be at least in part corrected by
reducing the widespread use of non-essential food additives, which in turn would simply limit the
amount of non-nutritious food currently on sale, which would translate into wider use of food. more
nutritionally dense.

The main argument of food manufacturers and government officials for the importance of using
preservatives is that without them, food would spoil quickly. This argument is indeed ( en effet ) quite
reasonable. However, it is interesting to note that out of nearly 4000 different additives currently in use,
more than 90% are used for purely cosmetic purposes and as colorants, preservatives representing less
than 2% of all additives, in number or in quantity. weight.

Text B2 Food additives 9. Another rationale for maintaining the approval of the use of additives is based
on the argument that they are present in foods on such a minute scale that they must therefore be
completely harmless. . This argument may be acceptable regarding additives with reversible toxicological
action; however, neither the human body nor the animal body is able to detoxify additives which have
been shown to be both mutagenic and carcinogenic. Therefore, even small doses of these additives,
when consumed continuously, can eventually lead to an irreversible toxic load. This is completely
unacceptable, especially since the majority of these questionable agents belong to the group of food
colors.

THE SLEEP
Studies have shown that sleep is essential for the normal functioning of the immune system and for
maintaining the ability to fight disease and illness. Sleep is also essential for the normal functioning of
the nervous system and for the ability to function both physically and mentally. In addition, sleep is vital
for learning and for normal, healthy cell growth. Despite the enormous importance of sleep in people's
lives, scientists and the medical profession do not fully understand this complex physiological
phenomenon. It is not clear exactly why the body needs sleep, although insufficient sleep, including
disorders such as insufficient sleep (Exemple , insomnia) or disturbed sleep (Exemple , sleep apnea) , can
have serious adverse health effects.

Insomnia is defined as the perception or complaint of insufficient or poor quality sleep in the form of
difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, or waking up too early in the morning. Sleep apnea is
breathing that is interrupted during sleep. It usually occurs due to a mechanical problem in the trachea,
but can also indicate a neurological disorder involving nerve cells (neurons). There are three distinct
forms of sleep apnea - central, obstructive, and complex - with over 80% of cases diagnosed as
obstructive sleep apnea, where breathing is interrupted by a physical blockage of air flow despite effort.
of the body to breathe normally. Central sleep apnea, on the other hand, is a much rarer condition
caused primarily by issues related to how the brain controls the respiratory process. In mixed sleep
apnea, which accounts for over 15% of apnea cases, there is a transition from central features to
obstructive features during the events themselves.

Most patients with sleep apnea lose sleep because each time the windpipe closes, the person has to
wake up enough to contract these muscles and resume breathing. As a result, the sleep cycle can be
interrupted up to a hundred times a night. In addition, every time the trachea closes, the brain is
deprived of oxygen. This lack of oxygen can eventually cause problems such as daytime sleepiness,
morning headaches, and decreased mental function. Sleep apnea also has a strong association with
heart and circulatory disease. While the nature of the links (liens ) is not entirely clear yet, researchers
do know that when breathing stops during episodes of apnea, blood carbon dioxide levels rise and
oxygen levels fall. This effect can trigger a chain of physical and chemical events that can then increase
the risk for these conditions.

DENTAL SILK
Flossing helps remove food stuck between your teeth. This explains why flossing helps keep your mouth
healthy, but some doctors say flossing can be good for your heart as well. It may seem strange that
something you do for your teeth could have an effect on your heart. Doctors have offered some ideas on
how dental floss works to keep your heart healthy. One idea is that germs that hurt your teeth can leave
your mouth and get into your blood. Germs that get into the blood can then attack your heart. Another
idea is based on the fact that when there are too many germs in your mouth, the body tries to fight off
those germs. For some reason, the way the body fights off these germs from the mouth can end up
weakening the heart over time. Not all doctors agree on these ideas. Some doctors believe the link
between good flossing habits and good heart health is just a coincidence. Coincidence is the occurrence
of two or more events at once, apparently by mere (simple) chance. The incidence of these events is
completely random, because they do not admit any reliable cause and effect relationship between them.
For example, every time I wash my car, it rains. That doesn't mean that when I wash my car I somehow
change the weather. It’s just a coincidence. Likewise (De meme ) , some doctors believe that people who
have bad flossing habits also have heart problems, and people who have good flossing habits simply
have healthy hearts.

GLOBALIZATION
Globalization has brought about changes in many facets of human life, especially in food. Trends
( tendance ) in the development of dental caries in the population have traditionally followed
developmental patterns ( models) where, as economies develop and populations have access to a
greater variety of food products due to increased income and trade, the rate of tooth decay begins to
increase. As countries get richer, there is a tendency towards a greater preference for a more "western"
diet, high in carbohydrates and refined sugars. The rapid globalization of many economies has
accelerated this process. These dietary changes have a substantial impact on diseases such as diabetes
and dental caries. The cariogenic potential of the diet emerges in areas where fluoride supplementation
is insufficient.

Tooth decay is a global health problem and has a significant negative impact on the quality of life,
economic productivity, general health and development of adults and children. Untreated dental caries
in preschool children is associated with poorer quality of life, pain and discomfort, as well as difficulty in
ingesting foods which can lead to inability to gain weight and impaired cognitive development. Since
low-income countries cannot afford dental restorative treatment and the poor are generally the most
vulnerable to the effects of the disease, they should be afforded more protection.

FLUORIDE
According to WHO (OMS) estimates, a third of the world's population does not have adequate access to
the medicines they need mainly because they cannot afford them. Despite the inclusion of sodium
fluoride in the World Health Organization's Model List of Essential Medicines, the global availability and
accessibility of fluoride for the prevention of dental caries remains a global problem. Optimal use of
fluoride is an essential and fundamental public health strategy in the prevention and control of dental
caries, the most common non-communicable disease on the planet. Although a variety of effective
fluorinated vehicles are available for the use of fluoride (drinking water, salt, milk, varnish, etc.), the
most widely used method of maintaining a low and constant level of fluoride in the environment buccal
is fluoride toothpaste. More recently, the decline in dental caries among schoolchildren in Nepal has
been attributed to improved access to affordable fluoride toothpaste. For many low-income countries,
fluoride toothpaste is probably the only realistic demographic strategy for the control and prevention of
dental caries, as cheaper alternatives such as fluoridation of water or salt are not feasible by due to poor
infrastructure and limited financial and technological resources. The use of topical fluoride, eg. In the
form of varnishes or gels for the prevention of dental caries is also impractical (peu pratique) as it relies
( repose ) on repeated applications of fluoride by trained personnel on an individual basis and therefore
cannot be considered in terms of cost as part of a population-based prevention strategy. The use of
fluoridated toothpaste largely depends on its socio-cultural integration into personal oral hygiene habits,
its availability and the ability of individuals to purchase and use it regularly. It is believed that the price of
fluoridated toothpaste is too high in some developing countries, which could hamper fair access ( accées
egal ) . In a survey ( enquete ) conducted at a dental clinic at a hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, 32.5% of
respondents said the cost of toothpaste influenced their choice of brands ( marque ) and 54% also said
the taste ( gout ) of toothpaste influenced their choice. Taxes and tariffs on fluoride toothpastes
can also contribute significantly to rising prices, falling demand, and inequality, as they target the poor.
Toothpastes are generally classified as a cosmetic product and, as such, often heavily taxed by
governments. For example, various taxes such as excise tax, VAT, local taxes as well as tax on ingredients
and packaging contribute 25% of the retail cost of toothpaste in Nepal and India, and 50% of the retail
price in Burkina Faso. WHO continues to recommend the elimination of taxes and tariffs on fluoride
toothpastes. Any lost income can be restored by higher taxes on sugar and foods high in sugar, which are
common risk factors for tooth decay, coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Producing toothpaste
in a country has the potential to make fluoride toothpaste more affordable than imported products. In
Nepal, fluoride toothpaste was limited to expensive imported products. However, thanks to the
successful advocacy (plaidorie ) for locally made fluoride toothpaste, the cheapest locally made fluoride
toothpaste is now 170 times cheaper than the more expensive import. In the Philippines, local
manufacturers are able to satisfy consumer preferences and compete with multinationals by lowering
the price of toothpaste by up to 55% compared to global brands; and generally receive a profit margin of
40% versus 70% for multinational producers.

BALI
Bali is, without a doubt, one of the most culturally rich islands in the world. In fact, its sculpted temples,
dancing, and immaculately maintained rice terraces all seem too perfect to be true, even down to
people's smiles. But take a closer look at those smiles and perfect teeth look a little too perfect and for
good reason. These flattened teeth are the result of an important piece of dentistry that every young
Balinese man and woman experiences in their life, known as Potong Gigi, or tooth filing.

Teeth filing is a religious tradition in Bali and is not performed for cosmetic reasons. In fact, the tooth-
depositing ceremony is so important that without it, the Balinese believe that they might encounter
serious social or behavioral issues later in life, or that their personalities might change the demons that
inhabit different levels of them. cosmic and real worlds. These deities range from the holiest of the
mountains to the lower ones who inhabit the ground and the sea. There are gods and goddesses
( déesse ) in all areas of life who have their own special forces. They inhabit temple statues, trees and
even fly in the air. They exist together in a double concept of good and bad, clean and dirty, etc. As such,
both good and bad spirits must be appeased, and offerings are thus made in the myriad of temples on
the island. It's not just good spirits that are revered, as Bali also has a dark and evil side. Terrifying
demons and monsters roam the land and although they are rarely seen, they also need to be appeased.
These demons can take over and inhabit the body of an animal or a human and wreak havoc ( faire des
ravages ) in the community, so it is very important to find a balance between the offerings made to all
the spirits that invade the island. At every stage of a person's life, she is sensitive to influences from the
supernatural - from demons and layaks to good spirits who can bring good luck. The purification of body
and mind is therefore at the heart of Balinese religious life and the tooth filing ceremony is one of those
rites of passage from childhood to adulthood. According to the Balinese, the long, sharp teeth resemble
the fangs of animals and these give the personal characteristics of the animal sides of human nature and
ferocity. The Balinese believe that there are six of these bad qualities: desire, greed, anger, drunkenness,
irresolute and jealousy. These are likely to ignite ( s'enflamer ) , with animal instincts, when the canines
are still sharp. To avoid this, if the points of the canines are filed, as well as the protruding points of the
lower teeth in a special ceremony of Potong Gigi. While this can prevent the person from picking up
animal instincts and beautifying the smile, it is unfortunately offset by early tooth decay as the
protective enamel is removed from the tips of the teeth, exposing them to acid decay. The situation is
exacerbated in those who continue to chew betel nuts because the caustic lime quickly attacks the teeth.
The Potong Gigi ceremony is usually held for members of the same family together as it is a very
expensive occasion to host. It is often necessary to wait until the youngest child is of age. Girls are not
ready to file their teeth until they are sexually mature, and boys are usually older, around 17 years old or
at least after puberty. A person must have their teeth deposited before marriage and because the
marriage is early, the ceremony is often undertaken as a prenuptial event. The high priest is first
consulted to choose an auspicious day in the Balinese calendar. Each day has a different function - the
best day for planting rice, the best day for cremations and other festivals, as well as the days for tooth
filing.

The dentist's chair, so to speak, is specially constructed for the ceremony from bamboo in the form of a
stand covered with coconut leaves, blankets and a variety of offerings and frangipani flowers. Around the
platform is food for guests, and a huge display of skewers of suckling pig ( brochette de cochon ) , fruit
and whole roast chickens adorn ( ornent ) the entrance to the ceremonial hall.