Most of us are led to believe that our teeth decay from a diet that is high in sugar and from not practicing good dental hygiene.
And that's true...partly. Research on indigenous communities who don't have access to candy aisles and who do not practice modern dental hygiene shows that these populations were found to have near perfect teeth. Information gleaned from these communities reveal that consuming nature's foods could be the best protection against tooth decay.
In his book, "Cure Tooth Decay: Heal And Prevent Cavities With Nutrition," Ramiel Nagel theorizes that the real cause of tooth decay is lack of proper nutrition. Natural tooth care that prevents dental cavities stems from eating certain foods that increase the body's immunity to tooth decay and avoiding certain culprits that enable it.
We're not talking about toothpastes or mouthwashes but good, old-fashioned nutrition, to let the body's natural healing capacity treat existing tooth decay and prevent new growth.
"Tooth decay is not only unnecessary, but an indication of our divergence from Nature's fundamental laws of life and health," said Weston Price, DDS, the first research director of the National Dental Association (which later became the American Dental Association).
According to Nagel's research with numerous indigenous communities, some of the best culinary weapons we have against tooth decay are unpasteurized dairy, organ meat from pasture-fed or wild land animals, organ and muscle meat from wild fish and shellfish and vegetables, even the sweeter ones like beets and carrots. Nagel encourages us to adopt a similar diet and drink plenty of raw vegetable juices.
Foods to stay away from are sugars, refined flours and starches, sodas, coffee, pasteurized milk, hydrogenated oils, non-grass fed meat, eggs, and alcohol. All of these foods break down the mouth's natural immune power to prevent tooth decay.
Nagel isn't saying that we can throw away our toothbrushes and let payments slide on our dental insurance, but with his approach to a diet of foods that are whole, minimally–processed, and organic, we can prevent and control tooth decay.
To read more about the book, "Cure Tooth Decay" and to purchase a copy, go to: http://www.curetoothdecay.com
- Heather Ashare, MPH