Dr. Weston A. Price, a dentist in the 1930's, began seeing an increase in crooked teeth and gum disease in his patients. He wanted to see if diet was the link to having healthy teeth and gums, so he traveled the world to study healthy cultures that were still on their native traditional diets. He compared their diets to the modern processed diet (of his time) of white sugar and flour. He saw that when people stayed on their traditional diets they had no tooth or gum problems. He also saw they had ample room for all their teeth, whereas modern children had overcrowded teeth and jaw structure changes.
So how does this information help us today?
Gum disease is rampant today. Even with fresh fruits and vegetables available, the modern world still thrives on Hamburger Helper, chips and sodas. These modern foods are even worse than the "modern" foods in Dr. Price's time, which were mainly sugary jams, white breads and canned fruits and vegetables. Today we have an assortment of preservatives, additives, fillers and colors to enhance our eating pleasure!
To keep our gums and teeth healthy, we have to go back to eating traditional foods. These foods were products like meat, eggs, raw milk and cheeses from animals that were grass-fed and allowed to range. Fruits and vegetables were grown or gathered without the use of pesticides. Grains were not genetically modified and were fermented prior to eating or making bread to neutralize the phytic acid that causes intestinal problems for people today.
Gum and tooth health is more than just eliminating bacteria around the gums. It's about nutrition. Remember, the gums and teeth are a window to what is going on inside the body.
©2009 Shanna Ohmes
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