Keep Your Mouth and Gums Healthy – Naturally!
by Adrienne Rayski
You already know that diet plays a part in your overall health and wellbeing, but did you know that what you put into your mouth can affect your oral health? If you want to keep your chompers in good condition, here’s what to enjoy and avoid.
Avoid:
- Sugary sweets, such as candy, cakes and soft drinks: too much sugar that does not come naturally from fruits or vegetables can cause decay in the mouth and eventually lead to the loss of teeth. Sucrose, specifically, is known for building up dental plaque and bacteria in the mouth.
- Highly acidic drinks, such as citrus fruit juices, soft drinks, and black tea: Acidic drinks are known to cause damage and decay of the teeth – if you must drink acidic beverages, diluting with water can help. This also goes for acidic foods such as citrus fruit, tomatoes, lemons, and anything processed in vinegar.
- Fast food and high-calorie foods: The dangers of obesity include poor oral health, which is more frequently seen in this population.
Enjoy:
- Sugar-free chewing gum: Ever wonder why 9 out of 10 dentists recommend Trident? There really are oral health benefits to chewing gum after meals. Chewing gum not only increases saliva in the mouth – which helps to destroy bacteria and prevent cavities — but it can help to remove plaque and offer the teeth beneficial minerals that help to strengthen their enamel.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, specifically of the “crunchy” variety, because they too contain fluoride.
- Calcium-rich foods, such as yogurt, cheese, salmon, tofu, and green, leafy vegetables also help to strengthen tooth enamel – and, as an added bonus, can aid in preventing osteoporosis.
[photo credit:Dario ]
deal
What? You have nothing to say?
Now is not the time to be silent. These issues affect us all
March 5th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
“a little naturally occurring mineral called fluoride.”
Is that what they use?.
Or is it compound called
Hydrofluorosilic acid?.
Not so pleasant sounding as “naturally occurring mineral”
Call it for what it is.
Thank you
March 5th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Thanks for bringing this up, Lane. Personally, I don’t drink tap water because I believe it is, essentially, poisonous — from bacteria to toxic compounds, it’s simply no good unless it’s been treated with something like, say, reverse osmosis.
Oh, and I just read up on the hydrofluorosilic acid:
March 6th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Fluoridation of drinking water is dangerous pseudo scientific nonesense and only the insane can actually promote this muck with a clear conscience. Mass medication is also in contravention of human rights to clean and uncontaminated water. Of course if you really want to risk, thyroid damage, IQ loss in your kids, weight gain, dental fluorosis, osteo sarcoma etc etc etc, then go ahead swallow as much as you can. It must be really good for you, Stalin and Hitler both used it in the prison camps becasue it kept the prisoners quiet and docile.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Just curious - what kind of water do you drink?
March 7th, 2008 at 1:30 am
RO
But that’s not the point
What about the Food
It full of it (fluoride)
And why to we need to expose our children to more?
http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12354500/Data/Fluoride/F02.pdf