Top Superfoods That Help Your Teeth
There’s no getting around eating and drinking and the consequences these actions can have on our teeth. In order to have a healthy, balanced diet, your teeth are going to have to work, and with that, they’re going to become damaged over time. Thankfully, by adding in a few special foods to your diet, you can help reduce the harmful effects of food on your teeth while enjoying tasty meals.
What are Superfoods?
Superfoods. You may have heard this word thrown around a lot, whether in person, on the television, or even in the magazines in the grocery store checkout, but chances are, you’re not too sure what it means exactly. Superfoods are those foods that are nutritionally dense – meaning they’re packed full of the good stuff with little to no harmful ingredients.
They are foods that provide a wide variety of nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, and healthy fats while not adding any additional sugars or bad fats into your diet. More often than not, the foods that fall into this category are fruits and vegetables.
How Do Superfoods Impact My Health?
Superfoods full of antioxidants can help improve your health and are even thought to help prevent cancer by binding the free radicals within your body. Finally, superfoods are full of vitamins and minerals that keep your body running smoothly and efficiently.
How Are Superfoods Good For My Teeth?
Our teeth need a lot more than brushing, flossing, and regular dentist appointments to stay healthy. One of the most important minerals that superfoods can provide for our teeth is calcium. Calcium is responsible for building a healthy, strong jaw as well as healthy teeth. However, in order to work, calcium requires phosphorus, another mineral found in superfoods. Phosphorus acts with calcium to make sure your teeth are as strong as they need to be to handle day to day activities. Finally, Vitamin D both regulates calcium and phosphorus intake and helps reduce the inflammation that is associated with periodontal – or gum – disease. To learn more about how superfoods can improve your dental health, contact our practice today!
Beyond Calcium, What’s the Importance of Vitamin D and K2?
Vitamin D deficiency is a very common problem today because of our modern diets. In order to have strong bones and teeth, fight tooth decay and gum disease, we need vitamin D. To ensure our bodies are absorbing the vitamin D we are intaking, we must consume it with fat. Vitamin D rich foods should also be from natural and organic sources to ensure the animal’s body absorbed the nutrient properly as well. While sunlight is the best way to absorb vitamin D, there are many foods rich in the nutrient.
Vitamin K2 is also essential because it tells the calcium where to go in your body so that its benefit can be fully maximized. Vitamin K2 is also produced by gut bacteria in your large intestine. Most people are not getting enough of this vitamin in their diet. Vitamin K2 is found in animal foods and fermented foods. You must eat the fat in the animal products in order to absorb this nutrient.
Below are the best dental superfoods that contain calcium, vitamin D and vitamin K2:
High-Fat Dairy
This includes butter, cheese and milk. The dairy must be from grass-fed cows in order to ensure that the nutrients were properly absorbed in the animal.
Salmon & Fatty Fish
Fish must be naturally raised from the ocean since farmed fish don’t receive natural food sources.
Beef Liver
Meats from animal organs are rich sources of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K2, as well as many other nutrients not found in other foods.
Egg Yolks
Look for eggs from grass-raised chickens to ensure the eggs contain vitamin D3.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, miso, kefir and kimchee are superfoods for the body. The healthy bacteria in these foods have many positive impacts on the gut, which ultimately impacts dental health.
The Dental Diet
To learn more about the impact of these vitamins and nutrients on your body and ultimately dental health, Dr. Steven Lin describes the impact of nutrition principles on dental disease. His popular book The Dental Diet describe the link between our modern day diet being low in these key nutrients, and orthodontics along with a variety of other dental issues. Learn more about Dr. Steven Lin and The Dental Diet here.
Part of maintaining healthy teeth and gums is to schedule routine dental exams and cleanings. To learn more about the health of your teeth, or to schedule an appointment, contact us at 5Points Advanced Dentistry at 614-451-5435.