High fat way to end decay

Aug 21 2003

For years we've been told fat is bad for us, but now scientists say it could save you a trip to the dentist by helping fight tooth decay.

By Anastasia Stephens

link to article

THE Atkins diet claims you can eat all the fat you want and still lose weight, and now scientists claim grease could prevent tooth decay.

According to a paper published in the dental journal Caries Research, fat and oils can actually strengthen teeth by protecting against demineralisation.

In the study, some teeth were dipped in olive oil or plain water before being placed in the sort of acid conditions that cause tooth decay.

The teeth coated in oil were significantly protected from demineralisation and cavity formation.

Dr Wolfgang Buchalla of Georg-August University in Gottingen, Germany, who conducted the research, says: "We found that fats significantly reduce tooth demineralisation, while studies on animals have found that incorporating five per cent of oil in a caries-forming diet can reduce tooth decay."

Caries-forming diets are typically weight-loss regimes which are high in carbohydrates but low in fat.

Bacteria in the mouth quickly turn foods such as bread, crisps, potatoes or sugar to acid, which can remain in the mouth for hours, dissolving minerals from teeth. Animal fats such as those in butter and cheese, and plant oils such as olive oil are thought to work by neutralising acid as well as placing a protective film over the teeth, to prevent erosion.

The findings mean that eating oily fish and nuts, cheese or salad dressed in oils throughout the day could protect against the tooth-weakening effect of carbohydrates and sweets.

"Foods rich in starch and sugar but low in fat are especially dangerous," says Dr Maria Rodriguez, Professor of Dentistry at the University of Madrid, who is researching the effects of oils on teeth. Eating low-fat crisps and rice crackers as snacks is as bad as eating sugary foods or chocolate regularly, as they make the saliva dramatically more acid for long periods of time.

However, if you balance carbs with fat or protein - for example by eating an egg on toast or chicken with potatoes - you will not be damaging teeth because the fat exerts a protective effect. If you eat a sugary dessert, you can prevent any damage it might do to teeth by finishing off with some cheese.

Ultimately, the best diet for teeth is one that's low in carbs and sugar and high in fat and protein. While that sounds unhealthy, it isn't. The fat and protein should come from olive oil, fish, cheese and nuts. And by adding 'neutral' foods such as vegetables, you have a very healthy diet for your body and your teeth.

So far, research has focused on olive oil after it was noticed residents of Spanish towns which make olive oil have abnormally low levels of tooth decay and gum disease.

"Studies subsequently revealed that olive oil works internally and externally to protect teeth," explains Dr Rodriguez.

"Apart from lowering acidity, olive oil attaches to bacteria and washes them away. Then, when you swallow olive oil, its high levels of oleic acid and vitamin A promote bone and tooth mineralisation, strengthening your teeth and jaw," she says.

Olive oil is proving so effective at keeping teeth strong, it has been incorporated into a brand of toothpaste, Airlift, which is sold in Boots.

And Dr Rodriguez believes other toothpaste makers will soon follow suit. She says: "Because of the benefits, it wouldn't surprise me if in five or 10 years most major toothpaste brands include some sort of fat or oil."

The British Dental Association welcomes the findings. "Research into the effect of fats on teeth is just beginning and it seems promising," says a spokesman. "However, fluoride is still the best way of keeping teeth strong."

Be kind to your teeth

According to the food experts there are acid-forming types which weaken teeth, neutrals foods and those that actively fight tooth decay. So which foods should you eat and which should you avoid?

Top acid-formers

Grapes, sweet nuts such as cashews and almonds, crackers, milk chocolate, crisps, white bread.

Neutrals

Cauliflower, cucumber, carrots, meat, fish, ham, walnuts and Brazil nuts, unsweetened popcorn.

Top tooth-friendlies

Olive oil and other vegetable oils, butter, cheese.

How interesting.
It backs up my personal experience.

Every time I went to the dentist for a 6 month checkup, I needed fillings. Apparently I have soft enamel, to do with having measles as a baby.

Except that the last twice I haven't needed anything doing - since I started LCing.

Yet another great advantage of this WOE.

This has been known for a long time but ignored. Here is a quote by Vilhjalmur Stefansson in
Harper's Monthly Magazine, January 1936

"Teeth superior on the average to those of the presidents of our largest tooth-paste companies are found in the world to-day, and have existed during past ages, among people who violate every precept of current dentifrice advertising. Not all of them have lived exclusively on meat; but so far as an extensive correspondence with authorities has yet been able to show me, a complete absence of tooth decay from entire communities has never existed in the past, and does not exist now, except among people in whose diet meat is either exclusive or heavily predominant."

Mike