Chew on This
I’m no different from anybody in that I dread taking trips to the dentist, for the impact on my cashflow, but perhaps more because of the seemingly inevitable stream of bad news. Universally, the term “dentist” is synonymous with bad news. Perhaps one of the few things that distinguishes my relationship with my dentist from that of most people is that for a long time it didn’t exist. Not until around the time of my graduation did I begin to suspect that maybe dental health was something I ought to be paying more attention to, and when I did pay a visit to a local dentist, the news wasn’t good. Without going into details, it was obvious it was high time to devote a little bit of time and attention to what exactly good dental health meant, and how to achieve it. I suspect it’s something a lot of people struggle with, but it’s not exactly the best topic for dinner table conversation. Hence, this blog shall pick up the slack.
As usual, the conventional answers weren’t very satisfactory. The official explanation of why so many people fall victim to dental decay is that when we eat sugary, starchy foods, remnants hang around on our teeth, give bacterial populations a big boost, and that these bacteria then create acidic secretions which gradually break down our enamel, and eventually our teeth themselves. The solution to this, the story goes, is frequent brushing and flossing, basically to the point that it becomes obsessive, which should slow decay. At the same, we’re told that we should avoid sugary foods and carbonated drinks. This all sounds pretty reasonable and logical.
For me however, this explanation leaves some definite gaps. It doesn’t explain why one guy that I know, who by all accounts considers coke and alcohol a food group of its own, and yet has nothing to worry about when it comes to the dentist; yet my brother and I, who grew up in a household that treated coke as a substance invented by the devil himself were obviously more severely impacted. It also doesn’t explain the well documented existence of indigenous groups with excellent dental health to whom a toothbrush is about as familiar an object as a condom to a Catholic.
So, as usual, when in doubt, I turned to the available literature; namely one book in particular (so far) called “Cure Tooth Decay” by Ramiel Nagal – a title with a bluntness that makes it promising. When I finally got it in my hands, it’s width also, raised my hopes for it. Rather than being a comprehensive treatise, a dictionary on its own, it was a slender, perhaps 75 page volume – something that promised not to stray too far from the topic at hand, while being easily, ahem, digestable…..(sorry, couldn’t resist).
Upon reading it, what I found was both shocking, as well as a tad relieving. In a nutshell, the author emphatically refutes any contemplation of a vegetarian, let alone a vegan, diet, stating that the essential elements of strong teeth, and by extension, bones, are the fat-soluble vitamins – A, D, E, & K, which are difficult to ingest from plant sources, and even when found in plant-based foods, are present in significantly higher concentrations in butter, yogurt, and milk. Importantly, unlike virtually all dairy products available on the market today, these products have to be raw – read unpasteurized – in order to be effective.
Now, I’ve long been afflicted by eczema, relatively insignificant from essentially high school onwards, but much more of a nuisance early in life – so much so that my parents went to some lengths to figure this one out, and they identified dairy as a possible culprit, an allergen, with the result that dairy was simply not included in my diet. Couple that with a not half-hearted addiction to black licorice, the saltier the better, and a stubborn streak that banished pretty much all vegetables from my dinner plate, and you have a recipe for a very rich dentist, to say the least.
The trouble with this whole raw dairy thing is that it goes against the grain of my dietary habits and education on dairy. From the common belief among vegetarians that dairy consumption is useless from a calcium absorption perspective unless care is taken to also ensure adequate intake of magnesium and Vitamin D, and perhaps more importantly, that milk, dairy, and animal flesh, instead of promoting protein fortification as many believe, actually cause the excretion of protein. Here I admit to a weakness of this weblog – it is not a scientific treatise, but rather a log of thoughts and mish-mash of facts which may or may not be referenced. In this case, I’m going to admit to not remembering the exact reason behind animal products such as meat and dairy causing protein loss, and just say that my understanding of this stems from a video featuring Dr. Michael Klaper, M.D., which unfortunately, after “borrowing” for two years from a friend, we’ve lent to another friend (without notifying the owner of course). I’ve just checked, and he does appear on Google and in limited fashion on Youtube. The video I saw is called “A Diet for all Reasons,” to the best of my knowledge (a 45 second search on Youtube) isn’t available for viewing, but available to buy. I believe the explanation for a diet including animal foods causing protein loss centred around the acidity of the amino acids which compose protein.
There are many more aspects to preserving that healthy bite in Nagal’s book, but I have covered the absolute essentials here. I should add that Nagal states that tooth decay and tooth remineralization have more to do with the concentration of calcium and phosphorus in the blood than with oral cleanliness. I do want to hear from you though, whether you are vegan, vegetarian, or just plain like to eat normally and not obsess over what goes into your body, what are you thoughts on this? Do you have any further information that I have not yet come across? How to achieve good dental health on a plant based diet, perhaps? Or perhaps why you think Nagal is right on the money? Other good books on this topic? Or just what works for you and what doesn’t?
Speak up, do. Or should I say, “Bite me?”
