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They say you are what you eat, and science is proving that truer every day. The nutrition you put into your body affects everything from your immune system to your bones to how your joints react to pressure.
As a result, it’s important to eat in a way that makes sense for your body – including your teeth. Yes, there is specific food that can help you build strong teeth and keep your mouth healthy for years to come. Bad habits damage your teeth so avoid specific snacks and drinks.
What does it look like to eat for healthy teeth? Here’s what you need to know!
Eat a Lot of Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium is a key component in both bones and teeth, so having enough is a big part of being healthy. Consider low-fat or fat-free milk and yogurt, along with fish, almonds, and dark leafy greens.
Having enough calcium boosts the structure of your teeth and makes them stronger, and it may also help with remineralization of your enamel. When minerals such as calcium leach out of your teeth, you can suffer damage, uneven colour, and more.
Eating enough calcium helps keep those minerals available to your teeth and bones.
Focus on Phosphorous
Phosphorous is another mineral that is very important to a lot of body systems. In fact, phosphorus makes up 1% of your total body weight, making it the second most abundant mineral in the body.
Like calcium, phosphorus is important for the health of your teeth and bones. You can find this in foods such as eggs, fish, lean meat, and dairy. Phosphorous is also found in nuts and beans.
When your diet is full of these healthy foods, you are not only doing your teeth a favour, you will have better health and energy overall.
Get Lots of Vitamin C
We’ve all heard that vitamin C is important, and a lot of people focus on eating foods high in this vitamin when they are facing a cold. What you might not know is that vitamin C also promotes gum health. Healthy gums protect the roots of your teeth and helps them stay firmly upright.
Healthy gums are important for another reason too – infections in your gums can spread to other parts of your body very quickly through your blood. You want to make sure you brush and floss regularly while also eating a lot of vitamin C.
Foods high in vitamin C include citrus fruits, tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, potatoes, and spinach.
Avoid Sugars
We all know that sugars encourage tooth decay and are generally bad for our health. However, what you might not realize is how many foods contain sugar!
It’s not just the normal candy and sweets. Sugar is also abundant in juice, peanut butter, barbecue sauce, salad dressings, and even in multi-grain cereals or bread that you might consider healthy.
You want to makes wise choices with all of your food by carefully reviewing the nutrition information. Make sure you aren’t unexpectedly eating a lot of sugar that can affect your health and damage your teeth. If you do you can visit for dental checkups in London Ontario.
Avoid Acidic Foods and Drinks
Acidic food and drinks break down the enamel on your teeth and can contribute to discolouration, cavities, and other tooth damage.
If you are going to drink something acidic, such as wine or fruit juice, consider using a straw. If you eat acidic foods, brush your teeth after you finish. This will help reduce the damage while still allowing you to enjoy healthy acidic foods.
What foods are high in acid? Wine, fruit juice, and citrus fruits are high on the list. It may surprise you, but many times candy and sweets are high in acid as well – another reason to keep those a very rare treat in your diet!
Take Care of Your Teeth
Your teeth are a part of your body you may not even think about until they are compromised. The truth is they have a huge impact on our ability to eat, talk, and feel confident about our appearance.
When you eat a healthy diet full of the right nutrients, you can have healthy teeth throughout your life. Your whole body will thank you!
