5 Superfoods that Promote Strong and Healthy Teeth

Teeth can remain strong and vibrant for a lifetime as long as proper dental care is provided. This means that the teeth need to be brushed, flossed and rinsed daily. A proper diet packed with essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins helps to keep teeth strong and healthy as well.

There are a wide variety of foods that can establish ideal dental health. Consider the five super foods listed below though to get the most out of your nutrition. Also, think about a consultation with a general dentist at http://www.palmbayfldentist.com to make sure that your diet is healthy for your teeth.

1. Milk


Milk is high in both calcium and vitamin D. These nutrients help to strengthen teeth by replenishing nutrients that have been lost during the demineralization process. Calcium helps to strengthen dental enamel as well. A single glass of milk that measures eight ounces is enough to provide your teeth with valuable calcium every day.

2. Apples


Apples contain essential nutrients to help with overall health. Apples are also hard and crunchy. This means that apples actually scrub the teeth as they are eaten. This helps to remove food particles and plaque that have built up on the teeth. The apples help to reduce cavity formation by removing harmful plaque before it has the opportunity to turn into dental tartar.

3. Nuts


Almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts, peanuts and sesame seeds all contain a good deal of calcium. Peanuts also contain vitamin D, and walnuts contain iron, magnesium and folic acid to aid in overall health. Cashews and other nuts also help to produce excess saliva in the mouth to help control demineralization of the dental enamel.

4. Tea


Certain types of tea can help strengthen the teeth by killing harmful bacteria that form within the mouth. Black and green tea offer the most in the way of health benefits. These types of teas contain polyphenols that directly affect the way that bacteria are able to thrive along the gums. Tea also boosts the immune system and it helps to rinse out the mouth.

5. Chocolate


Chocolate contains a variety of health benefits to the teeth. Cocoa in the chocolate contains a substance called tannin that works to reduce dental decay. Antioxidants help to boost the immune system, and chocolate is considered to be quite a tasty treat. Chocolate also helps to limit the amount of plaque that can form on the teeth. Dark chocolate can bring down the acidic conditions within the mouth as well.

Categories: apples, chocolate, Dental, dental enamel, essential nutrients, Health Benefits, Healthy, helps, promote, strong, superfoods, teeth

Snack Yourself Young: How 5 Snacks Can Help You Live Longer

Categories: apples, apricots, avocado, body, cancer, Disease, heart disease

An Apple a Day Keeps Cancer Away (As Do These Other Foods!)

In the Nature vs. Nurture debate, there’s a clear winner when it comes to cancer prevention. While up to 10% all cancer cases can be attributed to genetic defects, the remaining 90-95% percent have their roots in environment and lifestyle. One of these lifestyle factors is having the right diet, containing all the vitamins and antioxidants you need to guard your wellbeing against cancer. So, which foods should you be including in your diet?

Firstly, apples are a good source of cancer protection as they contain fibre and vitamin C. However, as most of apples’ antioxidant power come from phytochemicals – quercetin, flavonoids, and triterpenoids – found in the peel, make sure you don’t take the skin off! Cherries are also full of fibre and vitamin C, as well as potassium. Cherry juice, dried cherries and fresh cherries have a high antioxidant content in particular, but there is a still significant amount of antioxidants in frozen and canned varieties.

When it comes to cancer-fighting beverages, crack out the caffeine! Coffee is an excellent source of the B vitamin riboflavin, as well as antioxidant phytochemicals. However, the exact level to which coffee benefits your wellness will depend on how the beans are grown and how the coffee is prepared. For tea lovers, green tea contains potent antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonoids which are great for cancer protection. In fact, green tea has been shown to lower your risk of bladder, colon, stomach, pancreatic, and oesophageal cancers.

Whole grains are important for cancer protection as they are rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and hundreds of phytochemicals, which protect cells from the types of damage that may lead to cancer. Studies have also shown that the phenols, lignans (which is a kind of phytoestrogen) and saponins found in whole grains work to lower your risk of cancer. When you’re eating your whole grain sandwich, don’t forget to add tomatoes! The phytochemical lycopene found in tomatoes has particularly attracted the attention of prostate cancer researchers because lycopene tends to concentrate in tissues of the prostate. However, laboratory studies have also shown tomato components to prevent the proliferation of several other cancer cells types, including breast, lung, and endometrial.

Categories: apples, cancer, Tomatoes