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Hummingbirds and hooves take over the red carpet at Met Gala

By - May 09,2024 - Last updated at May 09,2024

US actress Zendaya arrives for the 2024 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday, in New York (AFP photo)

NEW YORK — From Bad Bunny’s Tudor-inspired hat and shoes resembling cloven hooves to the hummingbird perched delicately on Zendaya’s neck, the hosts set the tone at fashion’s biggest night — the annual Met Gala in New York.

Florals, animals and vintage couture abounded at the so-called Oscars of the East Coast, a mammoth fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

The extravaganza’s dress code this year is “The Garden of Time” — which draws inspiration from the 1962 short story of the same name written by English writer J.G. Ballard.

In essence, it is about the ephemeral nature of beauty — perhaps a weighty theme to press on the luminaries attending this year’s gala.

For sheer drama, co-hosts Bad Bunny and Zendaya along with rapper Cardi B and singer Lana del Rey commanded the red carpet.

Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny evoked a kind of Tudor matador with a sweeping hat and a black bouquet, with the only pop of color his bright red inseam and the patent shine of his cloven shoes.

Zendaya’s look had been among the most highly anticipated.

For her first Met Gala since 2019 the 27-year-old star was wreathed in jewel-toned lame, organza and satin designed by John Galliano, with vines crawling up her duchess corset and arms and what appeared to be a hummingbird nestled into her neck.

Most attendees chose to evoke awakenings and life, and perhaps to defy the theme by demonstrating the immortality of fashion through the centuries, with many 17th and 18th century flourishes.

Some — such as singer Lana del Rey — emphasized decay, with stark sculptural twigs rising from her gown to hold a veil of tulle like a canopy over her head.

South African singer Tyla’s strapless Balmain gown evoking the sands of time — right down to the hourglass purse — was sculpted so tightly to her body that she had to be carried up the steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Cardi B was resplendent in funereal black, with a train so expansive it required nine tuxedoed men to lift it up the stairs. “It’s a black rose,” she told journalists.

 

‘Mysterious and unexpected’ 

 

Celebrity interpretation of Met Gala themes have been wide-ranging and often sparked social media debate — but attendees this year appeared to shrug off the pressure.

“I don’t even think there’s pressure at all, I think it’s more of an opportunity,” actor Colman Domingo, who also carried a bouquet in a lily-colored caped jacket and wide-leg trousers, told journalists.

The theme parallels the exhibit “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion”, which focuses on the most fragile pieces of the Costume Institute’s vast collection.

The show, which will be on view to the public from May 10 through September 2, features clothing so delicate it cannot be displayed on mannequins.

The Costume Institute relies on the blockbuster Met Gala to fund its work, including exhibitions and acquisitions.

The gala was first held in 1948 and for decades was reserved for New York high society. Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, the high priestess of fashion, took over the show in the 1990s, transforming the party into a catwalk for the rich and famous.

This year, a ticket costs a cool $75,000, with tables starting at $350,000. The 2023 gala — which celebrated the late Karl Lagerfeld — raised nearly $22 million, a record sum.

But what exactly goes on inside is an enduring mystery.

“Something mysterious, I’m sure, and unexpected,” actor Jeff Goldblum told journalists on the red carpet, dressed as a count swathed in Tiffany jewels.

Guests are likely to peruse the exhibit, and stars such as Rihanna — whose command of the red carpet is usually unparalleled — have performed in the past.

 

Social media frenzy 

 

The spectacle is social media catnip for celebrity watchers — and once again, both the gala and the exhibit are co-sponsored by TikTok.

The tech world joined luminaries of music, film, politics and sports on the carpet, with TikTok CEO Shou Chew, also an honourary co-chair, in attendance.

 

Unique venues heat up sauna scene in Sweden and Finland

By - May 09,2024 - Last updated at May 09,2024

Saunas are enjoyed around the world as a method of relaxation (AFP photo)

 

BORLÄNGE, Sweden — Deep underground in a disused iron mine and under the bluish glow of a flashlight, a small crowd emerges from a sauna, steam rising off their bodies as they plunge into a crystal clear turquoise lake.

In Sweden and Finland, some unusual saunas have been built in recent years, offering truly singular experiences.

Nestled in the snowy forests of Bergslagen in central Sweden, hidden 90 metres below ground in this region known for its mines, lies this very special sauna.

The old iron mine in the town of Borlange closed in 1968 before reopening in 2022, redesigned to welcome visitors looking for a unique — and sweaty  experience, Daniel Karlsson, the head of Adventure Mine, told AFP.

“If you look at saunas today, it’s more like a luxury experience,” he said.

But “down here it’s not just a sauna. It’s also the experience that you get with nature”, he said, clad in a thick red parka to protect from the cold and a helmet with a headlamp.

The space offers visitors a moment of respite from the busy, connected world above.

“Because the sauna is down in the mine, there is nothing that disturbs you from enjoying the sauna.”

“You don’t have mobile phones, you don’t have the sun, you don’t have the wind,” he said.

 

Heat on a high 

 

Saunas are enjoyed around the world as a method of relaxation, claimed by some to provide health benefits.

They originated in Finland and Estonia, typically built as small wooden cabins where dry heat up to 100ºC with very low humidity is produced from a stove or hot rocks.

Having a sauna has been a social and hygiene tradition for more than 2,000 years.

Now, sauna enthusiasts who want to expand their horizons can reach new heights in Helsinki.

In the Finnish capital, a giant ferris wheel overlooking the city offers a sauna in one of its specially-built pods.

The sweat session could easily burn a hole in your wallet though, costing between 240 and 350 euros ($255 to $375).

“You can get a pretty good steam and heat here if you really want to,” said Shift Manager Viivi Makelainen.

“Although it’s pretty small, you can fit quite a few people in here, four or five. Also the views are more fun when you’re in the sauna.”

Saunas are an integral part of daily life for most Finns.

The country of 5.5 million inhabitants is home to 3.3 million saunas.

Traditionally considered a sacred space in Finland, “a church of nature”, the Finnish sauna culture was named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.

 

‘Intimacy with the surroundings’ 

 

Saunas in the Nordic countries are typically small wooden cabins located near the shore (for a quick dip), deep in the forest (for a quick roll in the snow) or in a home (with a quick shower to refresh).

But one special sauna in the Stockholm archipelago is making waves — sailing on the waters of the capital city.

The “Big Branzino”, a luxury floating sauna measuring 30 square metres, was designed and built in 2022 at the request of a private person.

The structure resembles a square wooden cabin, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass windows and an open-air wheelhouse on the deck.

Inside, a custom-made wood stove with hot rocks is surrounded by wooden benches and chairs, while outside, a rooftop terrace features a large table and seating area to take in the view.

“A client came to the firm and he wanted a truly extraordinary sauna that he hadn’t seen before,” architect Johan Strandlund told AFP.

“So we came up with this shape in order to really maximise the intimacy with its surroundings, and we also wanted a truly breathtaking presence on the horizon,” he said.

Strandlund said the floating sauna appealed to nature- and sauna-loving Swedes.

“I think it’s the way that we really like to enjoy the beautiful nature that we have around here in Stockholm.”

And “even when you’re not using the sauna, the fire is a great source of heat, for example for cold summer nights.”

Five budding stars to watch at Cannes

By - May 08,2024 - Last updated at May 08,2024

Anya Taylor-Joy stars as ‘Furiosa’ (AFP photo)

 

PARIS — This year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 14 to 25, has a heavy dose of Hollywood veterans, but it’s also the place to see the budding young stars who will take their place.

Here are five names to watch as they walk the red carpet on the French Riviera.

 

Sebastian Stan 

 

Bound to be the most talked-about role at the festival, Stan finds himself in the skin of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” about the early years of the property mogul, reality TV star and US president.

The 41-year-old Romanian-born actor’s biggest role to date has been as the Winter Soldier in a number of Marvel films, but he received critical acclaim for his performance as rocker Tommy Lee in miniseries “Pam and Tommy” and won best actor at this year’s Berlin Film Festival for “A Different Man”.

 

Barry Keoghan 

 

Keoghan emerged from a difficult childhood — his mother died aged 12 from a drug overdose and he was raised in foster homes — to become one of Ireland’s most sought-after actors.

He earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, and won a BAFTA for his role in “The Banshees of Inisherin” and reached new levels of fame with the heavily-memed hit “Saltburn”.

Keoghan, 31, comes to Cannes with “Bird”, a coming-of-age tale set in suburban England from Oscar-winner Andrea Arnold, having reportedly given up a part in “Gladiator 2” for the role.

He has plenty of blockbuster fame to come as he plays Joker in “The Batman Part II”, due in 2026.

 

Anya Taylor Joy 

 

The lead of pandemic-era Netflix hit “The Queen’s Gambit”, for which she won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, Joy has appeared in a number of creepy and supernatural films like “The Witch”, “Split” and “The Menu” — as well as lighter fare such as “Emma” and “The Super Mario Bros Movie”.

The 28-year-old tries her hand at full-blown action in the latest “Mad Max” installment, “Furiosa”, which premieres at Cannes on May 15, playing a younger version of Charlize Theron’s character from “Fury Road”.

 

Margaret Qualley 

 

Still regularly referred to as the daughter of Andie McDowell, Qualley may soon eclipse her mother’s fame.

The 29-year-old has already had scene-stealing moments in films by Quentin Tarantino (as a Manson Family member in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Ethan Coen (“Drive-Away Dolls”). She earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Netflix hit “Maid” and mini-series “Fosse/Verdun”.

Now she features in two competition entries at Cannes: Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” — she already had a small part in his “Poor Things” — and slasher horror “The Substance” alongside Demi Moore.

 

Karla Sofia Gascon 

 

The film with the most intriguing premise at Cannes is “Emilia Perez”, a musical about a Mexican cartel boss undergoing a sex change to escape the authorities and affirm her identity.

For the starring role, French director Jacques Audiard chose 52-year-old transgender actor Gascon from Madrid, known for a number of Spanish-language soap operas and films.

A little bit of this & a little bit of that!

Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m referring to when I say ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that’. We’ve all been to that place where we justify ‘a little bite of this and little slice of that’.

By , - May 06,2024 - Last updated at May 06,2024

Photo courtesy of Family Flavours magazine

By Sonia Salfity,
Desperate Dieter

 

I don’t know about you, but I can get really creative at convincing myself that another piece of cheese won’t hurt.

 After all, it’s protein and not carb. In my mind, I should get a gold medal.

I conveniently forget that I just finished eating dinner and I already snacked on pistachios, yet I still crave biting into a piece of cheese as soon as the television is on.

It’s as if a secret signal is transmitted from the television screen to my brain reminding me it’s time to munch on something!

 

Reframing the scenario

 

I’ve found that trying to stop that pesky munching habit is easier when I change the narrative in my mind.

It’s a matter of reframing the entire scenario and flipping things around to work for me and not against me.

It takes practice to be our own best advocate. It also takes the willingness to accept that we’ll never do it perfectly, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying.

 

Replacing habits

 

Here is the strategy that I’ve been using as I aim to replace harmful habits by adding new ones and calling them “a little of this and a little of that”. Here are a few examples and you can have fun coming up with your own.

 

A little of this broccoli and a little of that spinach will make the good bacteria in my gut happy.

A little of this water and a little of that dance workout will help me have more energy which I desperately need.

A little of this hard conversation and a little of that honesty will help me not to shy away from facing conflict or feeling uncomfortable.

A little of this walk with a friend and a little of that connection with that neighbour will give my mood a much-needed boost.

A little of this slowing down and a little of that patience will help me focus better on the more important things in my life.

A little of this vulnerability and a little of that courage will help me not to sugar coat the true reality of my challenges and frustrations.

A little of this salad and a little bit of those nuts will help me not to show up starving to that birthday party I’m invited to.

 

 Food, exercise and connections

 

As you can see, some of these habits have to do with food and exercise and others have to do with relational connections. This helps us take our focus off what we’re going to eat and think about other enjoyable things we all like to do.

This shifts our attitudes from “No Can Do” to “I can do anything I set my mind to do”.

This shift in attitude can be a game changer and I highly recommend you work on it daily.

As with any challenge in life, the more we practise the better we get. Think of it as retraining your brain and, above all, have fun doing it! You might as well embrace the process to take control of and not live at the mercy of those pesky habits!

 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

TikTok reaches music licensing deal with Universal, ending feud

By - May 05,2024 - Last updated at May 05,2024

NEW YORK -- TikTok and Universal announced a new licensing agreement on Thursday, ending a months-long dispute that saw popular music expunged from the social media platform.

The companies released a joint statement that said the new deal included "improved remuneration" for artists and songwriters under the Universal Music Group (UMG) umbrella, and will also assuage concerns over the growth of AI-generated content on TikTok.

Universal Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge said,"This new chapter in our relationship" would "drive innovation in fan engagement while advancing social music monetisation."

The deal "focuses on the value of music, the primacy of human artistry and the welfare of the creative community", he said.

TikTok's CEO Shou Chew similarly said "we are committed to working together to drive value, discovery and promotion for all of UMG's amazing artists and songwriters, and deepen their ability to grow, connect and engage with the TikTok community".

The deal wraps up closely watched negotiations that saw a breakdown earlier this year, with the companies -- two of the most powerful players in the music and tech industries -- publicly criticizing each other as they jockeyed for leverage.

Universal -- whose roster of artists includes Taylor Swift, Drake and Billie Eilish -- ordered music from all artists connected to its vast publishing catalog to come down off the app, leaving many concerned over losing the marketing potential TikTok can offer.

Millions of videos involving Universal artists became muted on the platform.

But while the stripped music will now return to TikTok, it comes at a moment of uncertainty for the wildly popular video-sharing app, one week after a new US law demands the company divest from its Chinese parent company ByteDance or be shut out of the American market.

The app has 170 million users in the United States alone.

Neither Universal nor TikTok disclosed any financial terms of the deal.

Several weeks ago, the powerful and popular Swift returned some of her music to the app ahead of the release of her most recent album.

It was unclear exactly how she did it, but Swift does own her own master recordings as well as her songwriting rights, though those too are administered by Universal's publishing arm.

In their joint statement the companies said they were "working expeditiously to return music by artists represented by Universal Music Group and songwriters represented by Universal Music Publishing Group to TikTok in due course".

Ghana’s Asante king displays return of looted treasures

By - May 04,2024 - Last updated at May 04,2024

A general view of artefacts returned by the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum on a three-year loan at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, Ghana, on Wednesday (AFP photo)

KUMASI, Ghana — Ghana’s Asante King on Wednesday displayed for the first time dozens of royal artefacts looted during colonial rule, after they were returned by British museums on a long-term loan as part of his silver jubilee celebrations.

The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum earlier this year agreed to give back 32 gold and silver treasures pillaged by British military forces from Asante leader Asantehene’s court during the 19th-century Anglo-Asante Wars.

They include the sword of the state known as Mpomponsuo and the gold badges of officials authorised to purify the king’s soul. The collection also features a gold lute harp presented by Asantehene Osei Bonsu to British diplomat Thomas Edward Bowdich during an 1817 trade treaty.

Speaking at the event dubbed “Homecoming: adversity and commemoration”, King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said the first-ever exhibition of the artefacts at Manhyia Palace reflected the “soul of the Asante people”.

“[Though] not all have been returned, what we have here still embodies the soul of the Asantes,” the king said of the items looted in 1874.

“So, the spirit is back here, and today is a day for Asantes, a day for the black African continent, and the spirits are back with us again today.”

The Ghanaian King showcased the items in the refurbished Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the seat of the Asantehene kingdom. Each item offered visitors a rare glimpse into the splendour of Asante history and culture.

The exhibition will be opened to the public this week.

 

Cultural restoration 

 

The return of the objects came as pressure grows on European and US museums and institutions to restore African artefacts stolen during the rule of former colonial powers Britain, France, Germany and Belgium.

Dr Tristram Hunt, the Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, said the artefacts, symbolising the rich heritage of the Asante Kingdom, were returned to address “the very painful history surrounding the acquisition of these objects, a history tainted by the scars of imperial conflict and colonialism”.

“These treasures have been witnesses to the triumphs and trials of a great kingdom, and their return to Kumasi is a testament to the power of cultural exchange and reconciliation,” he said.

A member of the Board of Trustees of the British Museum, Professor Chris Gosden, said the museum is “wholly committed to continuing this relationship, building on this loan in a manner based on friendship, trust, mutual respect and a willingness to discuss”.

He said the agreement reflects almost half-a-century of discussions between Manhyia Palace and especially with the British Museum.

The accord “provides the basis for enhanced cultural cooperation between the Manhyia Palace Museum and the British Museum, and this loan is its first tangible outcome”, Gosden said.

The Fowler Museum in the United States also returned seven royal artefacts to the Ghanaian Asante king, making the Manhyia Palace Museum now home to 39 artefacts that were lost to colonial powers.

King Osei Tutu II appointed two technical advisers — Ghanaian historian, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, and Scottish historian and former vice principal of the University of Glasgow, Professor Malcolm McLeod — to facilitate the return.

Nigeria is also negotiating the return of thousands of 16th to 18th-century metal plaques, sculptures, and objects looted from the ancient Kingdom of Benin and currently held in museums and with art collectors across the US and Europe.

The neighbouring Benin Republic received two dozen treasures and artworks stolen in 1892 by French colonial forces.

Paul Auster: Cool narrator of noirish New York

By - May 02,2024 - Last updated at May 02,2024

Honoree Pedro Almodovar chats with writer Paul Auster and wife at the ‘Viva Pedro!’ special event honouring director Pedro Almodovar during the 42nd New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Centre October 7, 2004 in New York City (AFP photo)

PARIS — American author Paul Auster who made his name with noirish, existentialist novels about lonely writers, outsiders and down-and-outers that were a huge hit in Europe particularly, has died aged 77.

He died on Tuesday evening at his home in Brooklyn surrounded by family, including his wife Siri Hustvedt and daughter Sophie Auster, his friend and fellow author Jacki Lyden said in a statement sent to AFP.

The author with the soulful, sunken eyes gained cult status in the 1980s and 1990s with his “New York Trilogy” of metaphysical mysteries and his hip film “Smoke”, about the lost souls who patronise a Brooklyn tobacco shop.

In March 2023, his wife, fellow author Hustvedt, announced he had been diagnosed with cancer. American media said he died of complications from lung cancer.

Auster’s work straddles the divide between the middlebrow and the highbrow.

His more than 30 books are as likely to be found in airports as on university reading lists and have been translated into more than 40 languages.

In later years his life was marred by tragedy, with his 10-month-old granddaughter dying after ingesting heroin and his son Daniel, the child’s father, dying of an overdose 10 months later.

 

Father-son stories 

 

Auster grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Jewish Polish immigrants.

He moved to New York to attend Columbia University and after graduating spent four years in France, where he lived from translations while honing his craft as a writer.

He went through particularly dark times in the 1970s when he married, then four years later divorced, US short story writer Lydia Davis, with whom he had Daniel.

“I had run into a wall with my work. I was blocked and miserable, my marriage was falling apart, I had no money. I was finished,” he told The New York Times in 1992.

The turning point came with the sudden death of his father, which spurred Auster to write “The Invention of Solitude”, a haunting reflection on father-son relationships, a recurring theme in Auster’s work.

Published in 1982 it was a critical success and set Auster free with his writing.

The same year he married Hustvedt, forming one of New York’s starriest intellectual couples.

New York Trilogy 

 

His big breakthrough came with “The New York Trilogy”, a philosophical twist on the detective genre featuring a shady quartet of private investigators named Blue, Brown, Black and White.

That period also brought a downbeat dog tasked with getting his dead owner’s unpublished manuscript out of a bus station’s luggage locker in “Timbuktu” (1999) and a series of existential capers: “Moon Palace” (1989), “The Music of Chance” (1990) and “Leviathan” (1992).

His gift for sharp dialogue — Auster mercilessly edited himself for sentence rhythm — was key to the success of “Smoke”, which he wrote and co-directed, about a Brooklyn smoke shop owner played by Harvey Keitel.

He also co-directed the follow-up, “Blue in the Face” that featured Keitel again, alongside Jim Jarmusch, Michael J. Fox, Madonna and Lou Reed.

In 2017 he broke with his concise style to deliver a 866-page tome, “4 3 2 1”, charting American society through the life of an everyman, Archie Ferguson.

Auster presented it as his masterwork.

But while America’s National Public Radio found it “dazzling”, others were less positive. The Irish Times deemed it “the last fat novel of a collapsed American pride”.

 

Public and private tragedies 

 

“Bloodbath Nation” — the book he brought out in January 2023 with his photographer son-in-law Spencer Ostrander about gun violence in America — took him into new terrain.

Auster penned the text to accompany Ostrander’s haunting black-and-white pictures from the sites of 30 mass shootings.

Guns are “the central metaphor for everything that continues to divide us”, he wrote.

In the book, he revealed how his own grandmother had shot dead his grandfather in Wisconsin in 1919 but had avoided jail and raised her five children after arguing temporary insanity.

A century on, Auster faced his own private anguish.

In 2021, his son Daniel was found guilty of negligent homicide in the death of his 10-month-old daughter Ruby from an overdose.

The following year, Daniel died of an overdose at the age of 44.

Auster never publicly discussed their deaths.

He and Hustvedt also had a daughter, singer Sophie Auster.

Japan bridal wear pioneer Yumi Katsura dies at 94

By - May 01,2024 - Last updated at May 01,2024

This file photo taken on February 25, 2015 shows Japanese fashion designer Yumi Katsura (centre) thanking guests during the finale of the 2015 Yumi Katsura Grand Collection in Tokyo (AFP photo)

TOKYO — Fashion designer Yumi Katsura, who helped popularise Western bridal wear in Japan and who made a golden cape for Pope John Paul II, has died aged 94, her office said on Tuesday.

Having studied haute couture in Paris, Katsura opened Japan’s first bridal salon in 1964 at a time when traditional kimonos still dominated in wedding ceremonies and Western-style dresses were worn by only 3 per cent of brides.

Starting in New York in 1981 with the “Yumi Line” silhouette dress, she opened stores worldwide including in Italy and France, “influencing brides not only in Japan but also around the world”, her office said on its website.

In 1993, she made a vestment — a robe for religious services — for John Paul II that took two years to make and showcased Hakata-ori weaving, a technique used for making kimonos.

The same year the pontiff, who died in 2005, wore the cape and matching golden mitre to an Easter service that was broadcast worldwide.

“Tears rolled down my cheeks when I received the Pope’s thank you note,” Katsura recalled, adding that it reinforced her sense of mission to “transmit Japanese beauty to the world”.

Katsura, whose real name was Yumi Yuki, also set a Guinness World Record in 2012 for the highest number — 13,262 — of pearls on a wedding dress.

She admitted not wearing a wedding dress for her own nuptials, however.

“White isn’t a good colour for me,” Katsura said in an interview in 2018. “I wore a dark green velvet dress.”

“My mission is to make women happy all over the world,” she told another interviewer.

Louvre says Mona Lisa could get a room of her own

By - Apr 30,2024 - Last updated at Apr 30,2024

Visitors take photos of the painting La Joconde , The Mona Lisa by Italian artist Leonardo Da Vinci on display in a gallery at The Louvre Museum in Paris, on April (AFP photo)

PARIS — The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the world’s most famous portrait, could get a room of its own in the Louvre, the museum’s president said on Saturday.

Such a move would give visitors, many of whom visit the Louvre for the iconic painting alone, a better experience, Laurence des Cars told the France Inter broadcaster.

“It’s always frustrating when you don’t give visitors the best possible reception and that is the case for the Mona Lisa,” she said.

“A better solution seems necessary to me today,” she said, adding that the Louvre was in contact with the culture ministry about potential solutions.

The Louvre, the world’s most popular museum, welcomed close to 9 million visitors in 2023.

Des Cars said 80 per cent of them — 20,000 people per day — braved the crowd to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile, often taking selfies in front of the painting.

The Mona Lisa currently hangs in the Louvre’s Salle des Etats (State Room), the museum’s biggest, in a protective glass case, but Da Vinci’s masterwork is not alone there.

It is accompanied by works by 16th-century Venetian masters, and across the room hangs the Louvre’s biggest painting, The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese.

Navigating hormonal changes for optimal oral health

Good oral health habits help protect against tooth decay, gum disease and other issues which are directly affected by hormonal changes in a woman’s body.

By , - Apr 28,2024 - Last updated at Apr 28,2024

photo courtesy of Family Flavours magazine

Dr Reham Ma’ani,
Dental & Oral Surgeon

Women are more susceptible to changing hormone levels at puberty and from certain types of birth control, pregnancy and menopause.

These hormonal changes can impact oral health. It is important to learn more about the connection between hormones and women’s oral health.

Puberty Estrogen and progesterone are hormones in the body and are major players in the process of puberty, triggering reactions in the gums that can lead to redness, bleeding and swelling of the mouth.

Gums may react differently to germs and bacteria in the mouth of adolescent girls and, as a result, can cause cavities and bad breath, along with gingivitis (gum inflammation characterised by redness, swelling, tenderness and bleeding).

Canker sores and swollen salivary glands are also symptoms a woman may experience during her menstrual cycle.

Maintaining good oral health habits and regularly visiting the dentist for cleanings and checkups are key components of healthy gums and teeth in adolescent girls.

Women who use birth control pills, or oral contraceptives, should notify their dentist. Maintaining good oral health while taking this medication is crucial.

Hormone levels in women using birth control pills, especially those containing progesterone, can increase blood flow to the gums. This heightens a woman’s risk of developing gum disease. In this case, a dentist may prescribe antibiotics to help treat gum disease.

At first glance, it may not seem like oral health has much to do with pregnancy, but maintaining good oral health is critical. A mother’s oral health can affect the overall health of her baby, so it’s important to pay close attention to dental care and any changes that may arise while pregnant.

An abundance of estrogen and progesterone are the culprits behind many dental-related changes during pregnancy.

Because of this increase in hormones, it’s common for pregnant women to develop “pregnancy gingivitis”; an inflammation of the gums and surrounding tissue characterised by redness, swelling, tenderness and bleeding.

Gingivitis can lead to a more severe form of gum disease, which increases the risk of pregnant women having pre-term or low birth-weight babies.

Professional cleanings help keep conditions, like gingivitis or gum disease, in check.

Also, to maintain good oral health habits such as brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily, paying special attention to the gum line.

It is recommended to schedule a regular dental cleaning and exam early in pregnancy to determine if any conditions exist that may require treatment.

The safest time for pregnant women to have X-rays or other dental procedures is during the second trimester.

Visiting the dentist regularly can help lower the risk of serious, ongoing health issues for a pregnant woman and her baby.

 

Menopause

 

It’s important for women experiencing menopause to pay special attention to their oral health. Postmenopausal women often experience dry mouth due to a decrease in saliva production. Saliva helps defend against periodontal (gum) disease and tooth decay as it washes food off teeth, neutralises acids in the mouth, fights germs and prevents bad breath.

Certain medications can increase the risk of dry mouth and menopausal women should alert their dentist if they experience symptoms of dry mouth.

The hormonal changes that occur during menopause can also increase a woman’s risk of osteoporosis, which causes bone loss in the body. Bone loss in the jaw increases the risk of tooth loss. Women can prevent the oral health effects of osteoporosis by following nutritious eating habits that include plenty of calcium and vitamin D and discussing proper treatment options with a doctor and dentist.

Hormones are part of life, but they don’t have to interfere with a woman’s ability to maintain a healthy smile at every age and stage of her life.

Women can maintain their oral health through good oral health habits like brushing, flossing, regularly visiting the dentist and following a healthy diet.

Taking steps to improve oral health, or encouraging an important woman in your life to improve her oral health, starts now!

 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

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