Everyone knows that eating healthily is good for your overall wellbeing. Eating plenty of fruit and veg and supplementing it with proteins, carbohydrates, dairy and the like is the best way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But did you know of the effect that a well balanced diet could have on your teeth?
It’s true. The foods and drinks that you consume have a huge effect on your dental health. A well balanced diet could not only lengthen your life and increase your overall wellbeing; it could also lengthen the life of your teeth. So what specifically should we be looking to eat and drink to give our teeth the best shot at surviving for a long time?
Returning to traditional foods is a very good starting place. If you live on a fast food diet it might be hard to adjust to at first but it is important to start to eat products such as cheese, milk and meat without the usual preservatives associated with our convenience lifestyle. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables are also an essential requirement to help us to get hold of the vitamins that we need to keep our teeth and bodies healthy.
Even drinking a lot of water can help with your dental health by keeping your mouth moist. The more water you drink the more likely you are to wash away harmful bacteria and food remnants that could be lurking between your teeth. This in itself can lower the risk of gum disease.
Other drinks can have an opposite effect such as fruit juices or fizzy drinks. No one is saying that you should cut them completely from your diet but the important thing to remember is to enjoy them now and again, not ten times a day. If possible try to follow a drink that’s high in sugar with some water to wash the acid from your teeth. It’ll do your enamel a world of good!
If you’re still lost about how best to improve you daily nutritional regime to help to support your teeth then try to incorporate some of the following ingredients as often as possible:
- Milk is packed full of calcium which is what the body actually uses to help to make your teeth and your bones strong. Other dairy products such as yoghurts and cheese will also help you to get the required level of calcium each day.
- Citrus fruits such as oranges will up your vitamin C intake which will help to strengthen your body’s immune system.
- Fresh vegetables are high in fiber, eating them can create more saliva in your mouth which is one of the best ways to keep your teeth clear from harmful acids and remnants of food.
