The relationship between tooth decay and nutrition.

If you don’t brush everyday with toothpaste and floss between each tooth you will get cavities!

It’s a common misconception widespread across North America that toothpaste and brushing will prevent cavities (along with a “well-balanced” nutrition). I’ve come to believe that industries and corporations are continually finding out what “needs” humans have and delivering the cure in a form of a product for their profit. What about the holistic side of modern medicine?

There is a quasi-popular dentist by the name of Weston A. Price. He was a genius dentist who thought beyond the scope of cavities/gum recession and poor jaw formation, and wondered himself whether there was any correlation between the dental problems and the nutrition and health of a person.

Price traveled the world in search of human groups, these included secluded villages in Switzerland, Gaelic communities, Eskimos, African tribes etc… All isolated groups who hadn’t come in to contact with any western foods and proceeded to examine their overall dental health. His findings were astonishing yet not surprising.

He noticed these isolated groups had great jaw, face and dental bone formation. He also noted that their diets consisted of foods very rich in vitamins and minerals as well as foods high in fat. They contained at least 4 times the amount of water soluble vitamins as well as 10 times the amount of fat soluble vitamins.

Prices research was a breakthrough for the dental industry, however much of his research has been lost over the last 70 years because of the dentistry cover-ups. Let’s face it, there’s no profit when YOU can fix your own problems without the help of a third party service.

Vitamin k2 has been gaining popularity over the past few months and to me it just sounds like a marketing/commercial thing to get people to buy more supplements.

It’s funny because much of all the research done on vitamin k2 was done by Price himself well over 50 years ago when he discovered activator X, now known as vitamin k2. Price noticed the necessity of this vitamin in the proper metabolism and assimilation of calcium. It also works synergistically with vitamins A and D to create strong healthy bones and teeth enamel.

Vitamin K2 is quite scarce in most foods but can be found in abundance in any dairy byproducts by grass fed cows. Grass fed butter especially is a popular food containing ample amounts of vitamin k2. Natto, a traditional Japanese food of fermented soybeans is also rich in vitamin k2 because of the fermentation process.

While the bacteria in your intestines do manufacture vitamin k2 on their own supplementing with food is a must for maximum health.

These types of vitamins are most necessary for overall bone and teeth development and formation.

They differ from water soluble vitamins in that they ONLY dissolve in FAT as opposed to water soluble only dissolve in water. There needs to be a presence of fat when taking these vitamins so they can be properly assimilated, a common problem for vegetarians.

Vitamin A: is necessary for vision, skin and mucous membranes as well as tissue repair and bone growth. Vitamin comes in two forms: retinol and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the more popular version of vitamin A and is indeed a powerful antioxidant in itself, but even in a healthy individual as much as 10 times the required amount of beta-carotene may be required to accommodate the daily requirement of true vitamin A, retinol.

Retinol, on the other hand, is found in animal fat sources such as, raw milk from grass-fed cows, egg yolks from free range chickens, fish and fish livers.

Vitamin D: needs no introduction and has been proven to prevent many types of cancer. It isn’t available in many foods, however can be produced through the exposure to UV on the skin. Vitamin D is necessary for proper calcium and phosphorous absorption and can also prevent osteoporosis, rickets and osteomalacia, a disease that causes weak bones.

Vitamin E: is only needed in very small amounts, but is a very powerful antioxidant. These tocopherols and needed for proper circulation, tissue repair and healing. Again, it must come from fat sources; butter from grass-fed cows, wheat germ oil, palm kernel oil and organ meats, these have the most concentrated amounts, lesser amounts include: grains, nuts, seeds and dark leafy vegetables.

Vitamin K: found in two forms, vitamin k1 and vitamin k2. Vitamink2 is crucial for proper formation and activation of the “GLA proteins.” These proteins when properly utilized by vitamin K allow for the proper binding of calcium to the bone matrix. It also prevents calcium deposits along the arterial wall, which can lead to reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases.

While vitamin k1 is involved in blood coagulation and is found in many vegetables vitamin k2 is the more essential nutrient when it comes to proper bone and enamel formation.

These fat soluble vitamins are more than crucial for sustained health and proper formation of bone and enamel matrix and must be incorporated several times a day in various meals.