Few people seem to get too excited about dental care.
If you haven’t developed the habit of regular flossing – chances are, you dig your heels in by saying, “Meh. I’ve never gotten into that so much – it’s not for me.”
BUT…
What if I were to share with you some things I am just learning about good teeth through the eons, good teeth today, the cheap way to improved teeth, and … what new research has found in the brains of Alzheimer’s victims that goes back to their mouths!
This is shocking!
Let’s start with A BOOK I’m reading by a Canadian author who reveals the results of Dr. Weston Andrew Price’s quest to answer the simple question, “Why were his patients experiencing so much dental decay?”
Dr. Price traveled the globe studying people who were not exposed to the influences of modern civilization. Good thing he was doing this in 1899, because the spread of modern civilization today is so complete, there are hardly any corners of the world left untouched.
The bottom line of Dr. Price’s investigations is that once introduced to a modern diet, patterns of change result, predictably, causing dental caries (cavities), gum disease, heart disease, crowded teeth, smaller jaws, infections, and more.
The patients of Dr. Price were not living on Mountain Dew and McDonalds. What was modern about the diets of North Americans in the late 1800’s? This was the time when a major shift to white flour, white sugar, white rice, vegetable fats, and the introduction of canned foods, occurred.
What was missing in the late 1800’s from previous diets were vast resources of minerals, water- soluble vitamins (B and C) and especially fat-soluble vitamins – all sacrificed in the name of longer shelf life, and in creating filling foods that easily survived unrefrigerated transportation.
While Dr. Price could not pinpoint the exact identity of his dietary activators, (later identified as Vitamins A and D), he knew that restoring certain elements to his client’s diets would transform their dental health better than merely filling and pulling teeth.
He started prescribing diets high in fish eggs, egg yolks, some organ meats, and – especially – butterfat from cows grazing on rapidly growing green grass.
Fast forward to 2007, and another element Dr. Price had called Activator X is identified as Vitamin K, which is a group of K vitamins K1-K7.
Vitamin K, Vitamin D, Vitamin A, and even chlorophyll, all does an intricate dance with each other that facilitates processes mandatory for our strong bones and teeth, healthy heart, arteries, and other things.
Turns out, Vitamin K2 is needed to put the calcium into our bones and teeth. A diet low in K2 results in the calcium getting put into the linings of our arteries – that’s called atherosclerosis. Bones without a supply of calcium equal osteoporosis.
In fact, K2 deficiencies are also associated with:
- Increased risk for breast, prostate, liver cancers
- Diabetes
- Varicose veins
- Wrinkles
- Dental caries
- Chron’s Disease
Bottom line? We can gulp all the calcium we want, but without proper levels of K2, that calcium will be routed away from the bones and teeth only to land in the soft tissues and linings of our arteries.
That’s the Calcium Paradox.
I had drastically cut back my calcium supplementation that was supposed to help with my bone issues because I feared clogging up my coronary arteries.
Another tidbit to consider is oral hygiene and what we are feeding our bodies to enable unusual bacterium in our mouths. It’s all being studied further after what scientists found HERE and I quote:
“Scientists have previously found that this species of bacteria, called Porphyromonas gingivalis, can move from the mouth to the brain. Once in the brain, the bacteria release enzymes called gingipains that can destroy nerve cells, which in turn can lead to memory loss and eventually Alzheimer’s.
In this study, researchers looked for evidence of this process in human brains. They examined the brains of 53 deceased people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and found high levels of gingipain in almost all of them. They also noted that the amount of gingipain tended to rise over time, which suggests there may be a tipping point when dementia symptoms first begin.”
The take-aways from this week’s post are:
By eliminating sugar, white rice, white flours, vegetable fats, and processed foods from our diet we will not only boost oral health, but also general health.
Consider supplementing with Vit K2 by reading Rheaume-Bleue’s book to get the full scope of how seriously our modern diets are causing a host of preventable diseases and conditions.
Brush and floss those pearlies, folks.
In health and personally taking 100-200 mcg K2 every day –
Deidre
If you found this post helpful, please share by clicking the MORE button below.
To my European readers, Rheaume-Bleue’s book, Vitamin K and the Calcium Paradox has been translated into Italian and Polish.
tempting. A great gift idea, too. Haven’t taken that swab plunge yet, but sometimes a very Nordic, “Yah,” periodically comes out of my mouth that I wonder, “where did that come from?”
what I mean: some ‘random’ thing that leads to something else that leads to something else? The dominoes keep tipping over in a beautiful opening of blessings?
One evening, we dined with an Amish family who served traditional Amish fare supplied by a local restaurant and who opened up for an honest and frank question and answer period. As a personal thank you gift, I gave her a signed copy of my book, Toolkit for Wellness, as a gesture of sharing, in kind, a bit of myself.
when her husband had died in 2010, but that she waited two years to read it. She said that reading the book, When God Winks at You, changed her life.
accident that you just picked up When God Winks. In fact, you may have suspected all along that there is more to coincidence than meets the eye. These seemingly random events are actually sign posts that can help you successfully navigate your career, relationships, and interests. By recognizing the God winks our Creator sometimes places in our paths, we can understand—and embrace—the journey God has laid out for us.
Speaking of book-giving at Christmas – where did that tradition come from? I have always loved giving and getting books for Christmas. Yah?
items readily available to give as gifts at Christmas. Hence, a strong tradition of book ownership, reading, and Christmas gift preferences.
While change is one of the few constants in this world, it’s the one we tend to like the least. The older we get, the tighter we cling to the old ways and resist anything new.
I have to say that the simple wisdom found in this quick read of Out of the Maze has helped me in my own transitions of late. It’s a great book to pull off the shelf at the start of each New Year as we all move forward with our lives and pause to reflect on our progress or to consider if we are ‘stuck’ in a maze.
targeted to be ‘food’ for your mind, body, and spirit.
Thanksgiving? Leftovers may be my favorite part of the holiday, so it seems appropriate to have savored my Cranberry Secret Sauce over some peanut butter on gluten free toast for breakfast today.
Check last week’s post to keep that tasty and versatile jewel of redness around for the whole holiday season.
bacterial hand soap.
Finally, Bath and Body Works and other purveyors of “soap-ness,” have returned to offering most of their wares in the non-antibacterial form. Excellent!
squirt-top container, I discovered regular liquid is too thick to go through the apparatus. What to do? I tried diluting the liquid – one-part soap to 2-3 parts water – guess what? Foaming soap! Think of all the water I had been buying all those years.
No matter what soap we use, the trick is in proper handwashing technique. Rub, rub, rub those dirty paws thoroughly. Get to all surfaces of the hands, between fingers, and scrape your nails along the palm of the opposite hand to drive the soap bubbles underneath them. The rubbing process with soapy hands should last for 15-20 seconds or two hums of the Happy Birthday song.
truly proper handwashing, coupled with not touching your face, will break that hand-to-mouth/eye/nose circle of germ circulation.
Today’s next tidbit is something I’ve successfully employed in my recovery from being in a hypervigilant state for the past two years – even longer, as I endeavored to be “on-the-ready” for my husband’s changing needs.
mean our nervous systems magically switch to a normal maintenance mode. Some of my symptoms were manifesting as an irregular heartbeat at bedtime.
Maybe you, too, are trying to come off of a hypervigilant state. Whether it’s a different living circumstance, a change in jobs, or a change in relationships, converting to a calmer state of mind is not easy. Others may wonder why you may be having a rough time since the “problem” has been eliminated.
While I am still very much a work in progress, I would like to share a bit of success that may help you, too. Curing hypervigilance and anxiety requires a multi-faceted approach, often with professional counselors, but this may be a starting point for you.
This is how that went for me – here comes that nightly tension; I’m feeling those strong erratic beats of my heart which causes more anxiety – and instead of the usual tailspin, I applied alternate thinking.
quiet breathing.
Remember to be “off screen” before bed each night; the blue light of electronic screens is detrimental to the production of sleep-inducing hormones. Read something relaxing and helpful from a good old-fashioned printed book. It can be part of your winding-down routine for a good night’s sleep.
working is a big job. While post-hurricane mold spores swirl in the air along with the usual mix of wintertime viruses, many of us are walking a thin line between health and vocal collapse.
I’ve cheated the all-night simmering of chicken bones with large boxes of organic, free range, chicken bone broth.
2 chicken thighs
and recipes with my readers escaped me. Earlier this year, I pushed through the pressing personal concerns surrounding me to nurture the creative process, but I have sort of let you down of late. Apologies.
windows. Why, even doing dishes is fun while glancing up to appreciate my own little Eden.
When there’s a song in your heart, you sing – right?
Have you noticed the paleo writers all seem to have a side hustle about “Keto” related? After writing how-to books, recipe books, and countless blogs, my favorite paleo gurus are now on the Ketogenic bandwagon. Their new book releases all sport Keto-friendly labels. Their latest products are “Keto-centric” as well- meaning, they are totally focused on low-carb, high-fat foods.
Friend: Sodium is another weight adder. I recently had a cheat day where lunch was a cheeseburger with chili cheese fries followed by Chinese for dinner. I woke up the next day 7 pounds heavier! Couldn’t believe it. Went back on the good diet and lost all that water weight in three days
