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Cavemen didnâ€™t have cavities, but we do, Why?

In the late 1800s, a dentist by the name of Weston A. Price started to wonder about dental caries, deformed arches and to what extent the role of nutrition played in the creation of healthy teeth and bone structure. He began to research this in earnest, traveling the world and documenting the diets and health of indigenous cultures with traditional diets. In 1939, Price published Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book that details a series of nutritional studies he performed across diverse cultures, including the Lötschental in Switzerland, Native Americans, Polynesians, Pygmies, and Aborigines, among many others. The research materials include some 15,000 photographs, 4,000 slides, and many filmstrips.

Across the board, he found that beautiful straight teeth, freedom from decay, stalwart bodies, resistance to disease and fine characters were typical of native peoples on their traditional diets, rich in essential food factors.

He also found that, in comparison, people from the same indigenous groups who had given up their traditional diet and instead ate white flour products, sugar, polished rice, jams, canned goods and vegetable fats experienced a loss of the immunity to dental caries and in the loss of freedom from degenerative processes.

In 1929, Donald MacMillan, an Arctic explorer, noticed the healthy teeth of the Indigenous of the Smith Sound. He took impressions of 616 teeth. Of these 616 impressions, only one was deformed, and only seven teeth were missing. The conclusion was the same as Price’s: because the natives ate their traditional diet, they were free from the dental issues of modern eating. Their diet consisted of seals, walrus, caribou, and fish and included only four ounces of vegetation per year.

Archaeologists’ findings of neanderthal teeth and jawbones showed little decay or damage.

So why, in today’s world with everything imaginable available at any given moment, does nearly every single American have tooth decay?

Studies continue to show sugar causes tooth decay

Many studies point to modern diets that are rich in processed foods and sugar are the main culprits in tooth decay. Beyond tooth decay, these foods contribute to obesity, inflammation, dysbiosis (leaky gut), irritable bowel disease, and possibly autoimmune disease.

A collection of studies resulted in a publication that summarized “the importance of sugars as a cause of caries is underemphasized,” and “factors such as fluoride and dental hygiene would not be needed if we tackled the single cause–sugars.”

Aside from demineralizing the body, sugary and high-carb, processed foods feed the bad bacteria in our mouths. This causes the bacteria to produce acids that cause inflammation and tooth decay.

Phytic Acid and the Fermentation of Grains

Price’s work also turned up the consumption of phytic acid plays a major role in tooth decay.

Phytates and phytic acid are antioxidant compounds found in whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. The purpose of these compounds is to assure the preservation of seeds until sprouting conditions are ideal. The chief concern about phytates is that they can bind to certain dietary minerals including iron, zinc, manganese and calcium and slow their absorption.

So the whole grain bread and crackers that are sold as health food may actually be detrimental to your teeth and bones. The good news is that soaking, sprouting or fermenting your grains, seeds, legumes and nuts reduces phytic acid and increases the bioavailability of nutrients stored in these foods. While most cultures around the world rely on grains as a staple in their diet, these staples are of the fermented variety.

Oral Care

To give you a rough estimate of the revenue brought in by a dentist, on average, general practices are bringing in $771,000 annually and specialists are bringing in $1.1 million. It’s totally an assumption, based on these numbers, that the dental care industry may be similar to the medical industry: dentists stay in practice as long as there are teeth to fix. So, healing tooth decay at home isn’t something that is talked about or believed to be true.

There is plenty of documentation out there to prove otherwise. One only has to Google “Heal Tooth Decay Naturally,” to be open to the world of tooth decay healing.

Here are some common threads in all the methods:

Eliminate Sugar and processed foods: Body care begins with food. Replace processed food with nutrient-rich whole foods. Bone broth, pasture-raised animal foods, raw dairy are all recommended to reverse tooth decay.

Supplement Vitamin D: One thing found in studies was that supplementing Vitamin D encouraged the regeneration of teeth and bones. According to research done by Weston A. Price, the Vitamin D available in fermented cod liver oil became more bioavailable with the addition of Vitamin K2, found in high vitamin, raw butter oil.

Oil Pulling: Oil pulling is an ayurvedic approach to healthy teeth and gums. Studies show that oil pulling heals gum disease, prevents cavities, supports the immune system, eliminates bad breath, whitens teeth, and prevents heart disease. This method of oral care is better for the microbiome of your mouth than standard mouthwash. The alcohol in mouthwash kills off all bacteria, good and bad, while also disrupting the flow of saliva, which is needed to ward off decay. Oil pulling reduces plaque and the bacteria that thrive in it, which eliminates bad breath. Mouthwash simply masks bad breath. Oil pulling is easy: choose an oil (coconut and sesame are great), take 1 TBS in your mouth and swish for 15-20 minutes.

Use a remineralizing tooth powder: There are many options to buy and many ways to make your own. I make one from bentonite clay, calcium powder, baking soda, mineral salt, powdered peppermint leaf and powdered stevia leaf (which the children LOVE). It’s simple, natural, affordable and accessible.

Floss: My dentist had a picture hanging on his office wall that read, “You don’t have to floss all your teeth…just the ones you want to keep.” I remember that from 30 years ago. There are a lot of biodegradable flosses out there that work. We use this bamboo floss with added activated charcoal.

Addition Supplements: Whether working to reverse tooth decay or wanting to maintain health, there are a few extras you can add to your life. They are magnesium (calcium needs magnesium for absorption and topical is thought to be superior over ingested magnesium), vitamin C (liposomal is the best) and silica.

(11/30/2020)
by Annie Kin

More Information: https://achnews.org/2020/01/25/cavemen-didnt-have-cavities-but-we-do-why/

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