Cure Tooth Decay and The Dental Diet - Book Reviews and The Importance of Dental Nutrition
Cure Tooth Decay and The Dental Diet are two books written to focus on nutrition for the teeth. Nutrition specifically for healthy teeth and gums is a topic that is largely overlooked by professionals, nutrition experts and even do-it-yourselfers.
The Origin Of Nutrition For Dental Health
Both of the above mentioned books draw on an older work by a dentist named Weston A. Price. His book is called Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. You can find a copy here.
Weston A Price set out to figure out why some populations around the world have great teeth and very little tooth decay. His work led him to the conclusion that diet has a lot to do with the health of teeth. I would add that much of this wisdom extends to gum health as well.
Unfortunately, the nutrition information for teeth may not square with the nutrition information for preventing or mitigating chronic diseases. You, dear reader, will have to do your own research, develop your own understandings and make your own decisions. I am not here to tell you what to do or not to do.
The Dental Diet - Book Review
The Dental Diet, which you can find here, is a book written by Dr. Steven Lin - A dentist. It's a good read and very interesting.
Dr. Lin focuses a lot on diet to prevent crooked teeth but much of the information applies to possibly reversing tooth decay as well. He was frustrated by the the question from concerned parents, "Why are my child's teeth crooked?" He didn't have a good answer and realized that his professional training sidestepped this issue.
Dr. Lin offers recipes in his book as well. Not everyone will take the time to fully understand all the nuances of this type of nutrition, so recipes are a quick way to get the benefits without a full understanding.
One of the interesting stories Dr. Lin shares is the contrast between his grandmother and grandfather. His grandmother did not eat sweets and had great teeth. She also extolled the virtues of having an egg with each meal. The egg turns out to be an important source of some of the nutrients teeth need to be strong.
The grandfather ate a lot of sweets and had very bad teeth and was not well in his final years. The sugar effect may not be entirely what you think. Everyone knows sweets are not good for the teeth, but the reason why may not be as obvious. We tend to think it is about sugar on the teeth. That action on the surface of the teeth may be only part of the story and it may be a smaller part of tooth decay than you might think.
In Cure Tooth Decay, which you can find here, author Ramiel Nagel describes how the blood sugar spike causes a disruption of the phosphorus to calcium balance which is crucial for getting important nutrients to the teeth and bones. This spike can disrupt this balance for up to 5 or 6 hours. Obviously, some people snack more frequently than that.
Dr. Lin provides good information about what nutrients you need and what foods may provide them. Ramiel's book does the same, but offers stronger and more stringent recommendations.
Cure Tooth Decay - Book Review
As mentioned previously, Cure Tooth Decay, is a book written by Ramiel Nagel. Available here. Ramiel's story is a little more intense than Dr. Lin's.
Ramiel needed to save his daughter's teeth and his own teeth as well. A deep dive into research for answers brought him to Weston A Price's work mentioned above. He obviously dug further and came up with some of his own extrapolations or ideas about nutrition and teeth.
Ramiel did a lot of work to get his daughter's teeth and his own back in shape. He mentioned in one of his videos that his teeth were as hard as diamond's - an obvious exaggeration, but you get the point. It wasn't always that way for him. And nutrition is what turned it around.
Ramiel talks about which foods to eat and which to avoid more so than Dr. Lin. There is a focus in both books on raw dairy and organ meats, that should be procured from local farms where the cows are fed 100% grass and are not given hormones and antibiotics. Grains are bad according to Ramiel. Supplements are generally not favored. Dr. Lin doesn't share all the same views or not to the same degree.
Ramiel goes on to discuss everything from the way bread is made and why it is typically bad for our dental health to why processed foods are also bad. This last part is not hard to accept as virtually every diet promoting professional mentions that processed foods are bad for you. Apparently, this is true for dental nutrition as well.
If you have serious issues with your teeth, Ramiel's book might be a stronger choice for you. On the other hand, if you situation is like that, both books probably need to be read. You'll get a slightly different approach from each. Ramiel's being more strict and stringent.
One Word Of Caution On The Cure Tooth Decay Book
There is a particular brand of cod liver oil that Ramiel promotes heavily in his book. It is called Fermented Cod Liver Oil. I recommend you stay away from this.
There is much controversy over this fermented cod liver oil. The debate is heated and laced with anger, particularly on the defensive side. However, there is enough of a question mark there that leads me to say: "It is better to error on the side of caution".
I'm not part of the debate on this product and I don't want to be. But the debate is a spirited one and there is a lot of history behind it. When I think of this topic, I think in terms of my own personal health. I'm staying away from it because there is enough doubt to make me wary. You can decide for yourself. I made my choice and you'll have to make your own.
Ramiel died a couple of years ago at the ripe age of 38. This untimely death has added to the controversy. His wife strongly opposes any argument that FCLO had anything to do with Ramiel's death. Many agree, but some do not. Again, there is enough controversy, in my opinion, that I am personally not going to use fermented cod liver oil. It seems to me that there is plenty that you can do to aid your dental health that it can be skipped.
Note: Comments about FCLO are likely to be immediately deleted. This page will not become a platform for the raging and angry debates about FCLO - from either side.
Ramiel's Book Helped Me On A Crucial Point For My Personal Dental Health
Even though he has passed away, I still want to thank him for some crucial contributions that helped me.
One is the issue of phytic acid. I hadn't had any cavities for quite a few years and I thought my teeth were doing quite well.
Something changed when I went on a diet that promoted fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes. I was making smoothies and drinking a lot of cacao.
I couldn't understand how, after decades of healthy teeth, that I was now developing sensitivities and brown and black spots were showing up on several teeth. It was Ramiel's book that helped me to put the pieces together.
Specifically, phytic acid, and way too much in my case, was cutting the nutrition to my teeth. It was Ramiel's book that alerted me to the fact that cacao in particular is loaded with phytic acid. At the time I was drinking multiple cacao drinks per day.
I've changed my diet and it seems to me that the dark spots are shrinking. I may have narrowly missed multiple problems for my dental health as a result.
The resources mentioned in this article are:
Cure Tooth Decay - Available here
The Dental Diet - Available here
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration - Available here
Resources Not Mentioned In This Article
The Hydro Floss Oral Irrigator is a device that helped me with my gum disease issues over a decade ago and it helps me to keep my gums healthy even to this day. Because of it, I was able to avoid, with the confirmation of my dentist, the dreaded SRP or "Deep Cleaning" treatments that are so popular today.
What You Should Know About Gum Disease This is the book on gum disease I wrote back in 2008. It has some unique and interesting information in it - all from the layman's or every day person's perspective. It is simple and easy to understand and may open your eyes to a few things you would never have realized had you not read this book or been exposed to this information in some other way.
Note: For some reason, this company is currently selling my book cheaper than I, the owner and publisher of the book can sell it for. If you know why or how they can do that, please let me know.
2nd Note: You can get my book at no extra cost with your purchase of a HydroFloss from this link: https://toothygrins.net/products/hydro-floss-and-book-offer