I bet you have a lot of questions about the health of your teeth and your families’. After all, those gorgeous smiles are precious.
Is eating acidic food bad for our enamel?
Will the sugars in fruit cause cavities?
What about juice?
Let’s take this bite by bite, shall we?
I’ll start with my own experience. My teeth, as well as Ever Love’s, are in perfect condition. I’ve experienced no changes whatsoever in my dental health since transitioning to a vegetarian, then vegan, then plant-based diet.
That said, you may be interested to know that a vegetarian diet is quite high in sour, more acidic foods (due to larger consumption of raw fruit and veg), which can lead to more erosion and demineralization of teeth. Plaque, gingivitis, cavities and other damage, however, seem to occur at equal levels between vegetarians and meat-eaters.
Fruit and fruit juice consumption can equally lead to enamel erosion or higher odds of cavities. But hey, the odds are still not as high as with soda, so it’s not that bad! And, take those results with a grain of salt (or sugar!), as they were funded by the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionary Association. (Yep, that exists!)
So, what’s a fruit-loving vegan or vegetarian to do?
Well, one of the biggest recent studies should make us cautious about citrus fruit consumption. It found that eating or drinking citrus more than twice a day could be linked to 37 times the risk of dental erosion! Apple cider vinegar and sports drinks may be a concern too. Shoot…
But, should we really avoid all these healthy foods? Oranges, apple cider vinegar—even tea?!
Well not so fast…
We don’t know enough to swear off these foods just yet. Far more important than what we eat, in the end, is how we care for our lovely smiles. Brush twice a day. Wait 30 minutes after eating or drinking fruit to do so (apparently if you brush immediately you’ll actually increase enamel erosion). Even wait an hour to be really safe. Rinse your mouth with water immediately after eating or drinking anything acidic. Stay away from sodas and processed sugary foods.
And may you and your families’ teeth be gorgeous, healthy and strong like you!
Learn more about eating for your best health and strongest body. Check out my book on Amazon here: Everything You Want To Know About Being Healthy, Sexy and Vegan.
xx
Donna
Source:
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E. Lucenteforte, W. Garavello, C. Bosetti, C. La Vecchia. Dietary factors and oral and pharyngeal cancer risk. Oral Oncol. 2009 45(6):461 – 467
A. Arora, R. W. Evans. Is the consumption of fruit cariogenic? J Investig Clin Dent 2012 3(1):17 – 22
T. Attin, S. Siegel, W. Buchalla, A. M. Lennon, C. Hannig, K. Becker. Brushing abrasion of softened and remineralised dentin: An in situ study. Caries Res. 2004 38(1):62 – 66
S. Amar, N. Gokce, S. Morgan, M. Loukideli, T. E. Van Dyke, J. A. Vita. Periodontal disease is associated with brachial artery endothelial dysfunction and systemic inflammation. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 2003 23(7):1245 – 1249
R. S. Levine. Fruit juice erosion–an increasing danger? J Dent 1973 2(2):85 – 88
Originally published at donnawild.com