Dubai has been my second home for more than a year and a half now, but my heart still belongs to my original home. And although I have been greatly exposed to the international cuisine, even more than I can imagine, my love for Filipino food will never be replaced.

Admittedly, I always get giddy whenever I see Filipino restaurants here in Dubai, especially the ones that I usually frequent back home, and I make sure to try them out as much as possible.

Dubai being home of diverse cultures, with expats consisting more than half of its population, is no doubt a haven for foodies. If I remember it right, an Indian friend who grew up here once told me that there are more than 6000 restaurants in Dubai alone. However, I still find it odd that there aren't a lot of restaurants focusing on Emirati cuisine. There are few (that I'm aware of) but they are mostly hotel restaurants or are situated at the rustic parts of the city, which are not very much accessible to everyone.

As a parent, you will want to ensure that you do not give your children anything that could harm them in any way. However, when it comes to fluoride, deciding whether or not to give it to your children could be a tricky decision. Generally seen as safe and proven to be useful for dental care, fluoride is actually a toxin, which can cause illness if consumed in too large an amount. There has also been a lot of controversy surrounding fluoridation of drinking water and a possible link to cancer, resulting in many people switching themselves and their children to bottled spring water instead. So, should you really be giving your kids fluoride?

How Fluoride Can Be Beneficial
So, is fluoride good for your kid, or is it bad? Fluoride science and plenty of research has proven that fluoridated toothpaste can be hugely beneficial to dental care, with the potential to reduce cavities in kids from fifteen to thirty percent. Fluoridation of public water supplies has also been proven to reduce the risk of cavities in both kids and adults by around forty percent. However, if you look at the back of any conventional toothpaste tube, there is a warning to call Poison Control if more than a small amount is swallowed. Because of this, many parents are switching their children’s toothpastes to non-fluoride and natural varieties.

Fluoride Risks
Although it’s definitely true that fluoride can have a range of benefits for your kids’ oral health, there are also many risks involved that a lot of parents are unaware of. Experts on environmental health have often pointed out that whilst topical exposure to fluoride such as those from toothpaste and mouthwash products can appear to be relatively safe to use, ingesting high levels of fluoride in order to treat teeth from the inside out can come with a number of risks. Evidence backs this up, with a recent Harvard study revealing that fluoride ingestion can affect children’s cognitive development and abilities. Additionally, a National Academy of Science report in 2006 declared that it was apparent that fluorides have the ability to interfere with bodily and cognitive functions when ingested in too high amounts.

Reducing Fluoride Intake
Overexposure to fluoride can cause more harm than good, which is why the Obama administration is currently working to lower drinking water fluoride levels in the seventy percent of U.S.A. water supplies that are treated with the chemical. Even so, however, studies have found that the risks are minimal with the levels of fluoride currently in such mediums. Ultimately, it is up to parents to decide whether or not to attempt to limit their children’s fluoride intake, either by consuming more natural and non-fluoridated foods or sticking to bottled, spring water. When it comes to oral care, there are a range of natural alternatives to fluoridated toothpaste that work just as well.

When it comes to fluoride intake, there are both benefits and risks to weigh up, making it an important parenting decision.

Dubai is everything but ordinary—the buildings, the scenery, and even the restaurants—each has its own way of deviating from the mainstream. And when it comes to restaurants, is there any better way to stand out than featuring molecular gastronomy?

Molecular gastronomy is where science meets food. It has been on for years, but admittedly, I don't think I'd ever been to a restaurant which offers such. Well, there may be some which offers one or two dishes, but none which incorporates molecular gastronomy to almost every dish in their menu.

Being a blogger, I've come to embrace the fact that my voice also counts, so I always make it a point to give honest and unbiased views and opinions. I always get giddy when I receive messages from my readers saying how they somehow get to "taste" what I ate just by the way I write.

But I must admit that, in as much as I'd love to, I still haven't mastered doing regular updates in this blog, and so this is where social media and local business rating apps and websites come in handy. With that I can just post a quick review about my experience and share photos of what I ate or where I went.

But then again, it also gets tedious and most of the time hinders the actual dining experience as I'd usually have to take note of every single detail of the experience. Plus, I'm still not sure how far my little voice gets heard, especially by the restaurant management for when I didn't really have a good experience.

Good thing JustShouts came into the scene. It's where you can shout, listen, review, discover, and connect with the world around you like never before!

The Arabian Bubble Celebration is coming to Dubai on the 19th to 21st of May at the Dubai World Trade Centre, with 12 shows that the entire family will surely enjoy.