Go to the dentist and brush your teeth.
This is what we are often told is the key to good oral health. This is the prescription for fewer cavities.
Modern dentistry has many solutions to the problem of cavities, which is the #1 preventable chronic condition.
They haven’t solved the problem. Your diet.
Modern vs. Ancient Diets
People in the Paleolithic region hunted for food thousands of years ago. These dietary patterns are what our bodies have evolved to follow for most of human history.
What was an ancient diet like?
- Meat (including all parts of an animal)
- Fish and seafood
- Vegetables and fruits
- Nuts and seeds
- Oils/butters (in certain civilizations)
You might be asking yourself, “Sure. But didn’t ancient people have horrible teeth?”
Truth be told, ancient people had better dental health that most of the developed world today!
Weston A. Price is best known for his discoveries of the 1930s which reflected ancient diets that produce healthy teeth.
He visited native tribespeople who had straight, healthy teeth and ate a diet very different to the modern day.
After just one generation, these children were exposed to a starchy, bread-laden diet and experienced a dramatic increase in their chances of developing orthodontic problems.
What is missing from a modern diet?
These diets differed not only because of the differences in sugar, bread, or processed foods. Price noted that native cultures ate a nutrient he called “Activator X”. Experts believe this to be the first discovery of vitamin H2.
Vitamin K2 is an essential nutrient for the synergistic movement calcium throughout the body to strengthen teeth and bones. This process, which also requires vitamins D and A, makes teeth more susceptible to decay.
Another reason modern diets may cause an increase in cavities might be that the textures of food are no longer varied.
A diet high in leafy greens and animal meats, butters and seeds can offer many textures for chewing, which is great for cleaning your teeth and keeping them clean.
Saliva and its Role
spit is essential to healthy teeth. Saliva is an extracellular fluid that provides nutrients to your teeth and protects you from harmful bacteria. It must be in good condition to prevent cavities.
Brushing your teeth does very little for saliva quality. The quality and quantity of saliva is affected by your diet.
Healthy saliva can help protect your teeth all day long by promoting nutrient-dense food, which are low in empty calories, processed sweets, acidic ingredients, artificial sugars and processed sugars HTML1.
What is the importance of brushing for your dental health?
You might be asking yourself if I recommend brushing teeth all. Yes, it is important to brush your teeth at least twice a day.
Dental health is improved by brushing your teeth. This helps to disorganize bacteria on the teeth’s surface. This makes it less likely for bacteria to accumulate over time, causing “acid attacks”, which eat away at tooth structure.
Additional benefits can be obtained by using a tooth paste with fluoride or hydroxyapatite as an active ingredient. These compounds protect the tooth structure against decay.
Even a thorough brushing routine can take up only a few minutes each day. Your dental health is affected by the food you eat.
Summary
Good oral hygiene and a healthy diet are best paired together. While brushing your teeth may fill in the gaps caused by poor diets, it won’t fix all the damage.
What’s the bottom line? You should brush your teeth twice a day. But, you should focus most your attention on giving your body (and your teeth) the nutrients they need to be healthy.