Eat For Your Teeth

All of the information you've learned from this blog will be useless if you cannot put it to use. So today let's learn how to read labels and find out what's in your food. Here are some easy steps to follow: 1. Look at the serving size.  The nutrition facts apply to the serving size, so if you ate more than 1 cup of this item you would be getting more than 280 calories and 850 mg of sodium. Sometimes we may pour ourselves a bowl of cereal or grab a handful of something and not realize we are getting way more than 1 serving. It's especially important to pay attention to the serving size, and maybe even measure your food, if you are sticking to a strict diet.  2. Look at the calories  Calories are a measure of energy. They determine how much weight you loose or gain. Check out MyPlate to determine how many calories you need a day in order to maintain, loose, or gain weight.  3. Look at the nutrients  The nutrients that you want to get le

This is an amazing snack that is so good for you. Chickpeas are high in many nutrients, including fiber, protein, and phosphorus. All of these nutrients are essential for the health of your teeth. They also contain no sugar, which means snacking on them won't harm your teeth and cause cavities.  Ingredients:  2 15 oz cans of chickpeas  1/4 cup olive oil  1 tsp sea salt  1/2 tsp chili powder  1/2 tsp cumin  3/4 tsp paprika  3/4 tsp garlic powder  1/2 tsp onion powder  1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper  sea salt to taste  Preheat oven to 425F.  Empty chickpeas into a paper towel lined strainer. Let air dry for 10-15 minutes.  Place chickpeas on parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sea salt, stir to combine.  Place in oven, cook for 20-25 minutes stirring every 5 minutes until chickpeas are golden brown. As chickpeas cook they will pop.  As chickpeas are cooking, mix remaining spices.  Remove chickpeas from oven, and mix hot chickpeas with spice

These tacos are delicious, and are packed with nutrients that your body and your teeth need. You get your Omega 3 and protein from the salmon, health fat from the avocado, and vitamin C from the oranges. Salmon Taco Ingredients:  1 1/2 pound boneless salmon filets  1 tablespoon chili powder  1 teaspoon ground cumin  1/2 teaspoon dried oregano  1/2 teaspoon salt  1/4 teaspoon black pepper  1 tablespoon olive oil  small corn or flour tortillas  Citrus Salsa Ingredients:  2 medium oranges, peeled and diced  1 large avocado, diced  1 jalapeño, cored and finely diced half of a small red onion, finely diced  1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped  1 lime, juice (plus extra for serving)  Preheat the oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or grease with cooking spray. Whisk together the chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Lightly pat the salmon filets dry with paper towels. Place the filets in a single layer on the baking sheet, brush all

Let's get a little more scientific today. Let's talk about what nutrients your teeth need, why they need them, and how you can get those.  Vitamin A  Vitamin A is important because it keeps your oral mucosa healthy, and assists in the formation of the cells that form your teeth. Foods that contain vitamin A: carrots  red bell peppers  spinach  liver  sweet potatoes  Vitamin B  Deficiencies in the different B vitamins can cause glossitis, a condition that means inflammation of the tongue.  Foods that contain vitamin B:  whole grains  eggs  legumes  meat  yogurt  nuts and seeds  Vitamin C Vitamin C is essential for wound healing, so it is important to keep your gums and the other tissues in your mouth healthy.  Foods that contain vitamin C:  citrus  kale  broccoli  strawberries  kiwi  Vitamin D  Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium, and therefore needed to strengthen your teeth and bones.  Sources of vitamin D: 

Here's another recipe to help you get your superfoods and do your teeth some good! Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and vitamin C, kale has lots of calcium and folic acid, and quinoa is high in protein and fiber. Salad Ingredients:  1 medium sweet potato, cut into chunks  1 tablespoon olive oil salt and pepper to taste  1/3 cup dried quinoa  1 cup water or stock  1 cup finely chopped kale  1/2 cup dried cranberries  1/2 cup fresh parsley  1/4 cup finely chopped red onion  2-3 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds   Dressing Ingredients:  4 tablespoons olive oil  2 tablespoons lime juice  1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar  1 tablespoon honey (can substitute maple syrup or agave)  1/8 teaspoon each of cinnamon, ground cumin, ground cayenne pepper  1/8 teaspoon sea salt  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Drizzle chopped sweet potato with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cover the sweet potatoes loosely with a piece of foil and bake for 20 minutes, or u

Water is the best thing you could possibly drink for your teeth. There are several reasons why water is so good for your teeth: 1. It washes out your mouth with no negative side-effects. Drinking water washes away any food debris and sugar left behind. Soda, juice, and sport drinks do the same, but they also leave behind sugar. They also contain high amounts of acid, which help the bacteria in destroying the teeth and causing cavities. If you cannot give up these sugary drinks, swishing with water will help remove the sugar that these drinks leave behind. 2. It can strengthen your teeth. A lot of water has fluoride, a mineral that strengthens your teeth and fights off the acid caused by bacteria. Whether or not the water has fluoride and how much it has depends on your local government. Check out this site to see whether or not your water has fluoride. 3. It can raise the pH in your mouth. Swishing with water after eating acidic foods, like sugar, carbs, and soda, can h

We all know that soda is bad for our teeth, but why? Here are some of the reasons why drinking soda is one of the worst things you can do for your oral health. 1.  The amount of sugar  Soda has one of the highest counts of sugar out of all drinks. As we learned in an earlier post, sugar is bad for your teeth because it allows the already existing bacteria to eat, grow, and produce acid that erodes your teeth (check out the post here ). Soda has such a high sugar content that it provides a plethora of sugar for the bacteria to feed on.  2. Diet Soda   Diet soda may seem like the perfect alternative to the high sugar content in soda, but it is actually just as bad, maybe even worse. Diet soda may not have sugar, but it has a high amount of acid. This skips the step of bacteria producing acid from sugar, and just places the acid directly on the teeth.  3. Continual sugar attack  Another big issue with soda is that it continually bathes the teeth in sugar

Here are some ideas for healthy snacks so that you're not tempted to reach for potato chips and sugary snacks. 1. Bell peppers and humus  2. Frozen grapes  3. Baked kale chips  4. Popcorn (preferably air popped, not microwaved!)  5. Apple slices with almond butter  6. Celery sticks and peanut butter  7. Green smoothie  8. Trail mix (but not with tons of m&ms)  9. Roasted peaches drizzled with honey  10. Greek yogurt with granola