Gum disease is a growing epidemic, impacting half of all adults and oral health issues cause a wide range of problems all over your body. Reversing this trend starts in your pantry, identifying and removing the harmful foods. Here are 9 foods many people eat that can have disastrous effects on their teeth and overall health.
1Diet Soda
In the name of cutting out sugar, we’ve tried to replace it with something worse. Artificial sweeteners may have a harmful impact on the oral and gut microbiome leading to weight gain and put you at risk of acid erosion on your tooth enamel.
2Health bars
The thinking is we are giving the body the best fuel for lean muscle. A quick check of the packaging nearly always shows they are high in sugars and refined carbohydrates.
3Cereals
Nearly every cereal box on the supermarket shelf is filled with sugar, refined flour and other additives. Even if the cereal label proclaims to be whole grain, it’s often white flour with added fibre, which has the same effect on your mouth and gut as sugar.
4Canned sauces
Pre-made and canned sauces are a sneaky haven for added sugar and other refined additives. If you go to the trouble of making ahome-cooked meal, you could be undoing all your hard work by adding “junk-food” sauces that do your health no good at all.
5Margarine
For years we were told margarine was the heart-healthy alternative to butter. We now know that isn’t the case. Margarine is a refined unnatural spread that may have harmful trans fats.
6Low-fat yogurt
Flavoured and low-fat dairy usually uses sugar to replace the fat and sugar is bad for teeth.
7Fruit juice
The problem with juicing is that it provides a concentrated dose of simple sugars to your oral and gut microbiome. Even if it’s natural fruit sugar, it still feeds the bacteria that cause tooth decay and eventually gut problems.
8White bread
Refined flour is a refined carbohydrate. White flour based bread is basically like eating sugar.
9Canola Oil
Often branded as the healthy-fat option, canola oil is made from a GMO version of rapeseed. It’s refined in high-heat industrial processes and it’s a recipe for inflammation in the mouth and whole body.
