The Dental Diet by Dr. Steven Lin, a Dental Nutritionist

What if crooked teeth haven’t always been as commonplace as
they are today? How about the theory that modern wisdom tooth
extractions aren’t actually linked to evolution but rather to
diet? And what if we thought about dental health as the foundation
for our physical health as a whole? These are some of the ideas
that Dr. Steven Lin puts forward in his ground-breaking book, 
The Dental Diet: The Surprising
Link Between Your Teeth, Real Food and Life-Changing Natural
Health.

Dr. Steven Lin is an experienced dentist and the
world’s first dental nutritionist. In The Dental Diet, he
analyzes our ancestral traditions, epigenetics, gut health, and the
microbiome in order to develop food-based principles for a literal
top-down holistic health approach. 

The Dental Diet posits that two of the biggest societal
changes to influence and permanently alter our relationship with
food are the Agricultural Revolution followed by
the Industrial Revolution.

 

The (Second) Agricultural Revolution streamlined the farming
process so that more people in the growing population could be fed.
 While the first agricultural Revolution happened in 10,000 BC,
 the second occurred with the increase of labour and land
productivity and the introduction of fertilizers.  Food was more
easily produced and certain crops became more abundant, but the
soil was no longer able to pass on the same quality or quantity of
nutrients.

 

The Industrial Revolution, which followed the Agricultural
Revolution, shifted the bulk of the work to machines.  Work which
had previously been done by hand or by using simple tools in rural,
farming societies was now mass produced using powered tools,
special-purpose machinery and factories. 

 

As a result of these two major societal shifts, we no longer
eat the same foods that our species consumed in the past, and the
foods that we do ingest are often processed and stripped of the
nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are vital for our bodies to
function.  Additionally, processed foods often travel longer
distances and are chemically altered to prevent spoilage which can
wreak havoc on our digestive systems and throw off the balance of
our gastrointestinal microbiome (essentially, the ecosystem
existing inside of our mouths, stomach, intestines, and
colon.) 

What Changed after the Agricultural and Industrial
Revolutions?

One of the major consequences of the shift from how our
ancestors ate to how we currently eat is that many peoples’ jaws
are no longer developing properly. Underdeveloped jaws can cause an
array of health problems ranging from the obvious (crooked
teeth/malocclusion and not enough room for wisdom teeth to erupt
into the mouth properly) to the seemingly unrelated. Dr. Lin
believes that most breathing and sleep disorders (like sleep apnea,
for instance) are a direct result of an underdeveloped jaw. Those
with an underdeveloped jaw don’t just lack room in their mouth
for all of their teeth, they also don’t have enough space for
their tongues to sit comfortably when at rest (which can result in
the tongue blocking the airway when a person is sleeping.)

 

So how can we fix the problem? Dr. Lin believes that we need
to change our habits (breathing through the nose and pressing the
tongue against the roof of the mouth to strengthen the palate) and
change our diets in order to re-align and strengthen our digestive
systems (which begins with the mouth and teeth.)

 

Dr Lin acknowledges that we can’t go back to eating the way
that our hunting and gathering ancestors did (nor should we), but
we can cut down on our consumption of processed foods and sugars
while simultaneously working to incorporate more whole foods into
our diets.

What are Whole Foods?

 Whole foods are foods that can be eaten as-is or with very
little preparation/alteration. Whole foods are not processed or
refined and are free of the kinds of harmful additives typically
found in processed foods.

Some examples of whole foods are fruits, vegetables, legumes,
nuts, seeds, and certain grains like brown rice and rolled
oats.

Whole foods are vital for our digestive system’s microbiome
because they maintain balance and feed the good bacteria living in
our bodies. Whole foods also provide maximum nutritional value and
often contain phytochemicals like antioxidants which boost the
immune system and help repair cells that have been damaged by a
diet high in processed foods and low in nutritional value. Many
whole foods – things like blueberries, ginger, and garlic –
also contain anti-inflammatory properties which can help your body
heal from a number of conditions ranging from joint pain to
IBD.

In addition to eating
locally sourced and organically grown fruits and vegetables, one of
the best things you can do is eat meat and consume animal
by-products from animals (like cows and chickens) that are
free-range and have been fed grass rather than grain.

 

An animal raised on a diet of grain rather than grass lacks
the nutrients their body – and by extension your body – needs
to function as optimally as possible. The same concept applies to
fish; the next time you’re buying salmon (an excellent source of
omega-3 fatty acids), look for wild Atlantic rather than
farmed. 

 

Want to learn more about how our diet impacts our health and
what foods you should eat to protect your oral, digestive, and
overall health? Read The Dental Diet (complete with recipes and a
detailed scientific breakdown of all of the information discussed
in this blog post.)

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by Dr. Steven Lin, a Dental Nutritionist appeared first on
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