Nutrient-Dense Food Supports Optimum Oral Health

Throughout life, we need to be more mindful to build good habits for having a healthy, nutritious diet.

At SHDC, we believe your oral health is connected to your general health. This means what you eat impacts your overall physical health and wellbeing. There are specific foods or food groups that can support optimal oral health.

Lessons From The Past For Good Nutrition

Dr Weston A. Price is considered one of the people who made a significant contribution to understanding oral and general health. Dr Price was a dentist who travelled the world in the 1920s and 30s in search of information about communities that were eating modern diets but instead continued eating traditional foods.

At the time, tooth decay was rampant…and actually is still a problem today. What he found was that these cultures consuming traditional, nutrient-dense foods were not only free of tooth decay but also free of all the degenerative diseases we have today. These “foods of commerce” as Dr Price called them, are those foods that people currently tuck into; those that are basically “commercial” in content and sloppy in nutrition.

Despite numerous kinds of diets across the globe, those who stuck with eating traditionally were the ones that were blessed with vitamins, nutrients and minerals that weren’t tainted by commercialism… they were consuming nutrient-dense foods

Foods that aid in supporting the proper flow of fluid inside the oral mucosa, thereby contributing to maintaining a greater oral condition. These foods had 4 key elements that contain the necessary elements required for achieving good oral health.

1. Healthy Fats

We need healthy fat. Our brain, our cells our nerves, our hormones….and so much more require healthy fats to work optimally. We have had a relationship with healthy fats for millions of years.

Incorporating healthy fats from healthy natural sources has always, and continues to be important. Avoid highly processed fats like sunflower, safflower and canola oils.

What are some good fats? 

• Butter (from pasture-fed animals)
• Tallow (from pasture-fed animals)
• Chicken, goose and duck fat (from pasture-fed animals)
• Coconut oil
• Extra virgin olive oil

2. Minerals

We need minerals (calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, sodium and sulphur) and many trace minerals (selenium, zinc, iodine, iron, copper, manganese, molybdenum) to be healthy…..another aspect of food that is ‘nutrient-dense’.

Nutrient-dense foods grow in healthy soils… so choose foods that are natural and unprocessed.

3. Vitamins

An important part of eating ‘healthy fats’ from healthy sources is they contain fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K2. We need fat-soluble vitamins to absorb the water-soluble vitamins (like vitamin C and the B group) as well as the minerals we need to be healthy.

Some vitamin A, D, E and K2 can be obtained through the following foods:

• Vitamin A: animal products, carrots, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables.
• Vitamin D: by sitting in the sun for 15-20mins without any sun protection, oily fish (sardines)
• Vitamin E: fruits and vegetables, nuts (almonds and hazelnuts), seeds (sunflower)
• Vitamin K2: cheese, egg yolk, butter, chicken liver, chicken breast, ground beef. Want to learn more about Vitamin K2? Here is a great article by Chris Kresser

4. Animal Products

Weston A Price found that the foods that were most nutrient-dense came from animals raised …throughout their entire life…on healthy pastures.

While animal products in general, and meat in particular have been demonised, at SHDC we believe there is a big difference – ethically, environmentally and nutritionally – between industrial animal agriculture and regenerative agriculture.

What is good for the animal is generally good for us as humans, and is also good for the planet.

In Summary

Overall it is important to eat a nutrient-dense diet grown in healthy soils.

Specifically, there may be food sensitivities even in what might be considered a ‘healthy nutrient-dense diet’.

At SHDC, we work with integrative doctors, naturopaths and nutritionists that can help you explore those nuances that can be part of our modern world.