For nearly the last decade of my life I’ve constantly struggled with my weight. The best thing that came out of this journey was a heightened appreciation for my body and the realization that the fat was my body protecting me and my health, and not compromising it as so much dialogue and medical advice surrounding weight errantly advocates. The reason that we see health problems when we get fat has nothing to do with being fat, but instead is a consequence of stress to our body which comes from caloric and nutritional insufficiency, environmental stresses, or even microbial pathogens which literally try to eat our body from the inside out such as Heliobacter pylori, Candida, or one I’d not heard of until recently called Porphyromonas gingivalis.

P. gingivalis and other oral pathogens such as Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Tannerella forsythia, Streptococcus gordonii and mutans, Prevotella intermedia, etc., are actual infectious agents which cannot be controlled by standard oral care and have nothing to do with how much you brush your teeth or floss, which are instead communicated by kissing. For this reason they can be passed between family members such as mother to child and as such are not considered officially as sexually transmitted diseases, but the majority way in which they are communicated is through romantic partners and dating. Mothers who get it don’t just get it out of the blue—it comes from the men or women they become involved with, and even men and women who’ve only ever slept with one person can harbor these pathogens for decades and decades, which is often likely since they view themselves exempt from such risks and as such never consider treatment that might address it. While I’ve always struggled with my health and weight and likely had some oral pathogen even as a teenager, it really became a problem after I got into a relationship with someone whom I found out later was cheating on me with spectacular, pathological frequency, engaging in unprotected sex with no discretion for the quality or quantity of their sexual partners nor concern for my wellbeing. It was during this time that my gums suddenly began to recede noticeably, but not being painful or otherwise a problem and lacking dental insurance never sought treatment. But this also coincided with the most severe and alarming declines in my health in spite of my strenuous efforts to stay healthy and lean until one day I found myself riddled with extreme issues far worse than just the weight gain (chronicled throughout this blog and in my book).

My journey over the last several years since getting [mostly] well has indeed been a struggle against infectious pathogens taking advantage of my weakened state, but it is the recognition of my exposure to these kinds of oral pathogens by which I can accurately chronicle the exact stages of my decline. After my relationship dissolved I was angry but also curious about my ex’s sexual adventures and was in no small part jealous of his freewheeling sexuality. Humiliated by my experience but having recovered my libido and stamina I resolved to gather some courage and engage in some similar sexual adventures, to reclaim my autonomy and revel in the same kind of unbridled fecundity. A time later after an encounter I noticed a marked activation of my immune system and suspected a sexually transmitted disease. I went to a clinic, got tested, but asked for treatment at the same time since my sexual activity had been so reckless. I got better and surprisingly the test results came back negative for the standard STDs. Even though I was having some of the most risky and abundant sex of my life I only contracted an STD once during this time, regularly tested and receiving treatment again during similar periods of feeling hit by an infection but not testing positive for standard STDs. Once during an episode of feeling ill I noticed a dramatic dissolution of my gum tissue and suspected that perhaps oral chlamydia was causing it, but was again surprised when the tests came back negative, and also noted that treatment suspiciously stopped the problem and helped restore my gum health somewhat in spite of not having had an STD.

It wasn’t until the last several months that I realized these episodes were being caused by oral, gingival and periodontal pathogens. Pathogens which are communicated by oral contact, ones which we are never cautioned or informed, and these pathogens account for a great deal of human health problems from obesity to cardiovascular diseases and even Alzheimers. These pathogens have evolved to cause minimal pain and discomfort so that they may proliferate unchecked, hijacking our immune system and inactivating our pain impulses, which is why people’s gums recede over their lifetime without too much notice, only becoming a problem when catastrophic infection finally erupts and teeth are beyond saving. Dentists often do not help or even promote the spread of these pathogens by telling people that their gum recession occurs from “brushing too hard,” which is like the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard from the dental profession. The failure to recognize these pathogens in other health problems is one of the reasons why our society is so rampantly ravaged by these diseases, where even dentists do not universally treat or address them in effective ways, accusing everyone of failing to brush their teeth and floss when such measures have absolutely no effect on the infectious nature of these microbes, only being cured by the incidental use of antibiotics for other problems. Unfortunately these microbes can be harbored between family members, so that treatment can be futile when regularly exposed to such transmission vectors. Young people and others who regularly seek out romantic partners unknowingly expose themselves to these pathogens, and the health problems which result later in symptoms of weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer seem unconnected because there is no real awareness or recourse.

While these pathogens can be treated by a competent dentist and the use of antibiotics, true resistance is conferred easily by our natural immune factors based on zinc, vitamin C, and healthy fatty acids like those in butter, coconut oil, and cream, which are toxic to many pathogenic microbes, though other pathogens can also interfere with these nutrients as well and is not so simple as just taking them but instead requires the facilitation of the pathways which promote them and eliminating the factors in our environment by which they are inhibited. My book has been updated with specific directions to achieve gingival regeneration and the inhibition of these microbes which can in turn lead to the resolution of many other underlying health problems but also the restoration of oral health, and once this is accomplished sexual interaction can occur without worry of infection, because the presence of these microbes is not evidence of their virulence, else all humans including the young would all have rotten teeth, but is instead evidence of the decline of our natural, healthy systems, poor nutrition, and stress which prevents the proper function of our innate immunity, as these microbes are actually pretty easy to control with these methods. Addressing pathogens such as Porphyromonas through the accessible and simple strategy now discussed in my book brought me to a state of my health where I finally felt like I could start taking it somewhat for granted again, which made me realize I’d been fighting these all this time, and now that I have found an effective method for treatment, everything else I was doing to take care of my health has a far more pronounced and generous effect, including easier weight maintenance because extra fat is just a protective mechanism against threats to our health, so neutralizing them in turn makes it unnecessary for our body to thus retain excess fat. If you have any gum recession or bleeding you have or may have had one or more of these pathogens. Especially if you have extra weight, fatigue, and other health problems these pathogens must be addressed to find real resolution to your health issues (as an aside—if you do go to the dentist do not get X-rays as the radiation can damage our tissues, especially if they are already compromised, and instead demand only visual evaluation—but even competent dental care will not restore our natural defensive mechanisms and will not protect you from future reinfection, where the information in my book will).

These pathogens likely also have a role in diabetes, which is discussed in my book as well. Sexual compulsivity is not an addiction but is driven by our natural instincts under stress, and it is precisely because of our need for extra fat during stress that diets are dangerous to our health .