The invisible toothbrush

Food as Medicine column by Lynda McFarland

Vitamin C is often referred to as the invisible toothbrush such is its role in dental health. Scurvy is a disease caused by a serious deficiency in vitamin C, symptoms include bleeding gums and loosened teeth.

It is most commonly linked with sailors in the 17th and 18th centuries who had no access to fresh fruit and vegetables, however there are modern cases, one in particular comes to mind of a student in this country who was sustaining himself on porridge and pot noodles.

I mentioned last week the best sources of vitamin C, apart from fruit and veg, are fermented foods and superfoods such as amla, acerola, camu camu and moringa.

Vitamin C is not the only nutrient important in dental health though. Vitamin K2 found in mature cheeses, raw pasture-fed milk and butter, egg yolks, chicken liver, and in fermented foods such as natto and sauerkraut.

Vitamin K2 helps with remineralisation by working with vitamins A and D and pushing calcium into the bones and teeth, rather than into the arteries causing heart problems. K2 also helps balance the gut microbiome.

Only humans with a very healthy gut biome can convert vitamin K1 in to K2 but animals such as cows and chickens have an enzyme that easily converts the K1 they consume from grass and greens in to K2. Lack of K2 in our diets is linked with all sorts of health issues from Alzheimers to infertility but also tooth decay and oral health problems. Purchasing grass-fed meat, dairy and eggs is a good way to ensure you are getting enough K2.

The gut plays a huge role in our dental health. If you are brushing and flossing diligently and eating a good diet but still experiencing oral health issues then it would be a good idea to try a probiotic and fermented foods to see if symptoms improve. Bleeding gums are often a sign of an imbalance in the gut biome.

Sauerkraut, kimchi, beet kvass, milk/water kefir, kombucha, sourdough bread and natto are some of our favourite fermented foods in the shop!

Dr Weston Price was a dentist who believed what happens in the mouth happens in the body so when you improve oral health everything else improves too, that's the great thing about nourishing your body with good, natural, unprocessed food, you realise everything in the body is connected and achieving a good state of health need not be complicated!

Check out www.westonprice.org for lots of good information on dental and general health.

Lynda McFarland is a local nutritional therapist, cheft and co-owner of Lowe. & Co Organic Grocery on O'Connell Street, Athlone along with her partner Eddie Lowe. Lowe & Co. opened in 2016 to provide nourishing chemical free food that Lynda's nutrition clients were finding it difficult to source locally, such as sourdough breads and other fermented foods, organic vegetables, meat and dairy. Lynda manages the shop and Eddie manages their small-holding where they grow vegetables and keep chickens and pigs, and hopefully this year, bees for honey. Lowe & Co. is open Thursday to Saturday from 9.30am to 5.30pm.