Our diet and nutrition play a large role in our management of tooth decay. Traditionally, people followed healthier diets that provided around 10 times more beneficial fat soluble vitamins, as compared to modern diets. This is one of the reasons why they suffered fewer incidents of tooth decay.
There are challenges associated with the consumption of vitamins and minerals, since no one really knows the amount of minerals present in our diets and whether these are sufficient for us. Many foods are considered ‘anti-nutrients’, which make the minerals harder for our body to absorb and use. This is partly because industrialised farming methods discard nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium into the soil, which exhausts the soil to the extent that it stops producing the minerals that are necessary for us to live a healthy life. The second reason for our bodies not having sufficient minerals is because of food digestion issues. Even if we eat quality, if we are unable to digest it properly, our bodies can face nutirtional shortages.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are essential for body and oral health. All these vitamins are present in cod liver oil and egg yolk, chicken liver, chicken breast and fish eggs.
Given this information, we should be able to maintain a healthy diet and reduce tooth decay.
Below is a list of foods which provide the highest nutritional components to enhance our oral health and reduce tooth decay.
Fish eggs, Chicken eggs and Ducks eggs
Meat such as chicken, fish and other grazing animals, plus their bones to make broth or stock. Consumption of animal meat and products help stabilise phosphorous levels in the blood, which in turn helps keep teeth healthy.
To get calcium into your body, eat dairy products such as milk, yogurt and cheese. Drink skimmed milk and low-yogurt to cut down fat. Other options for calcium are leafy greens, such as broccoli and bok choy, canned fish with bones, almonds, Brazil nuts and dried beans.
Eat fruits like dates, raisins, figs and fresh fruits
Eat vegetables, nuts and pulses like beans, Brussels sprouts, peas, peanuts and almonds.
Eat grains like brown rice, whole grain cereals and pasta
In order to prevent tooth decay, we must focus on eating the highest quality foods we can to maximise the minerals and fat-soluble vitamins in our diets and to achieve optimal oral health.