Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I'm interested to see what you guys think of the paragraphs below that I just read on Amazon for a review of a book on diet and teeth health - link text

From what I can gather the author of the book advocates a paleo type diet for teeth health, while the quotes from the guy below try to assert otherwise.

I'm not a science guy so I have no idea whether he is making a valid point. Can someone here debunk/support his hypothesis?

Improving your nutrition will go a long way towards improving your teeth, but Ramiel's methods are not ideal. He begins with the premise that because many indigenous populations had healthy teeth we should eat like indigenous populations. There is some truth to that (more later), but it's not so simple. Tooth decay is largely the result of acid production and eating a diet that is largely based on meat will only increase the amount of acid in your saliva, hastening tooth decay. An alkalizing diet--which would consist of most fruits and vegetables, buckwheat, millet, some fermented dairy products and some fish oils--would do more to improve dental health than living off of bone meal and organ meats. Making the simple switch of 80% alkalizing foods and 20% acidifying foods will have a huge impact in allowing the body to remineralize tooth enamel.

The primary reasons that indigenous populations had better dental health before switching to modern western diets is because of sugar and breads. Sugar feeds bacteria while raising the acid content in your saliva, aiding in the destruction of your teeth. Breads are similar, but also have the added drawback of containing phytic acid, which prevents the absorption of minerals needed for your teeth and bones! Ramiel touches on this briefly, but with his bizarre and impractical diet of meat it's clear he doesn't truly understand what the key difference is between indigenous diets and modern ones.

flag	asked Apr 30 2011 at 4:32 Redbear 23●4

i suggest you look for solution not for confusions. – oak0y Apr 30 2011 at 22:45

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That comment makes no sense. Every person on this forum is looking for solutions. Asking 'why?' is the beginning of wisdom. – Redbear May 3 2011 at 16:13

becker · Accepted Answer · 2011-04-30 04:54:34Z UTC

The acid-base relationship is correct, as is his assessment of sugars feeding the bacterial biofilms in the mouth. His error is a simple one, and a common one: "indigenous" populations are not necessarily Paleolithic populations, and our teeth evolved to remain mineralized in a Paleolithic setting. I'm not decrying the healthfulness of farmed fruits or vegetables (though maybe I should because of artificial selection imposed to increase sugar content) or of fermented dairy or fish oils, but these things were not available to Paleolithic man, so operating from a standpoint of evolution, it follows that dental health can be maintained with only Paleolithic foods, but not necessarily only with Paleolithic foods.

The mineral content of the foods he listed are insufficient to support tooth remineralization, with the exception of the fermented dairy -- unavailable to Paleolithic man. The mineral content of meat is sufficient to support tooth remineralization. I'm not sure where the critical point lies between the two -- the critic guesses 80% non-meat, 20% meat -- but Paleolithic man didn't get enough calories to survive eating 80% fruits and veggies and 20% meat.

Acid-base load is important, but we possess a strong, endogenous pH buffer system, and I'm not so sure a Paleo diet introduce enough acid through meat to reduce systemic pH enough to pull base out of our teeth, let alone significantly affect systemic pH at all. You can certainly do that though. My 2 cavities came after a summer of drinking several cans of Mountain Dew a day. That's way, way, more acidic than meat.

And assuming this guy is right, would you sacrifice your results on Paleo for another 10 years with your teeth? Not me.

Domer88 · Answer 2 · 2011-04-30 15:39:48Z UTC

I don't buy the acid/base stuff. I think we all can agree that reducing sugar/carb consumption will provide less food for bacteria on your teeth. I suspect, however, that the acidic environment our bodies create in our mouths is entirely intentional, and is part of the ongoing chemical/biological warfare we conduct against pathogens. There is a war going on between "bad" bacteria and "good" bacteria in the mouth, just as there is in the gut.

I started using non-flouride toothpaste six months ago. My dental checkup/cleaning two weeks ago was the easiest in my life. Incredibly low levels of tartar to scrape away. I wasn't in the chair more than 15 minutes.

I tried this experiment because I think fluoride may be screwing up the balance of good and bad bacteria. It probably kills all species indiscriminately, then the bacteria repopulate over the following hours. But, it is not at all certain that both good and bad bacteria repopulate at the same rate, and soon after brushing with fluoride, we may have a poor mix of species in our mouth.

At any rate, I'm continuing the experiement. The problem is I have two variables that have changed: sugar/carb intake and fluoride.

Ryan H · Answer 3 · 2011-04-30 10:46:30Z UTC

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I know before I went paleo I had one small cavity, dentist told me it was too small to really do anything with, 2 years later I've had no new cavities and that one is still to small to do anything to.

answered Apr 30 2011 at 10:46

Ryan H
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Egk · Answer 4 · 2011-04-30 17:14:07Z UTC

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you can use ph test strips to check your mouth after a meal if you like. see dr ellie's blog. rinsing your mouth out with water after eating should be sufficient. I like a slice of lemon in a glass of water, but that's not that great for enamel that's in so so shape after so many years on the SAD.

answered Apr 30 2011 at 17:14

Egk
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	what makes me a bit cautious with Dr.ellis is the comercial products she promotes. I haerd somethin harming in crest toothpaste. – oak0y Apr 30 2011 at 22:19
	sorry, not trying to promote her products; i thinkshe offers a good explanation of what is going on with dental health. – Egk Apr 30 2011 at 22:55

Harry · Answer 5 · 2011-05-03 05:54:08Z UTC

What I have read recently is to not brush right after meal because the acid in your saliva and perhaps the food or drink has somewhat weakened your enamel. Not sure if this is true but I have been waiting a while after eating to brush.

I have been fairly primal for about 9 months. At my last cleaning, the hygienist said there wasn't much plaque to remove.

The whole acid/alkaline concept doesn't make sense to me. If anything changes the balance much, your body corrects it. Otherwise, you would probably die.

Jem Jones · Answer 6 · 2012-09-08 15:03:23Z UTC

Hello, first time commenter on this site, I was just browsing and I know that it's been more then a year since this post has had comment, but I wanted to share my discovery in the teeth dept with you all! I have a giant cavity (it can fit a peppercorn in it) in one of my molars and was hurting like a mofo, I've brushed all my life (sure I forgot to somedays, who hasn't?), and I've noticed that my teeth have gone rapidly down hill over the past few years, despite my increased vigilance, so again I started thinking "back to nature" again, I stopped using tooth paste in an attempt to normalize my bioflora (not as uncommon as you would think, much like not using soap and shampoo), then I started with why animals in the wild have VERY low incidences of tooth decay, and I remembered that carnivores especially have low tooth decay, so I started thinking about the why's.

I put two and two together, the body's PH level is very important, along with the fact that carnivores have VERY basic saliva, filled with calcium, phosporus, and sodium with some more I'm sure, and that people advocate eating mineral-filled dark green veggies to increase the baseness of your body. WELL thats all well and good for herbivores, but why especially do carnivores not need veggies to not have tooth decay?

Bones. Simply put, bones have the exact same minerals in them that alkalising diets advocate about what's in their vegetables, and carnivores eat ALOT of them. And guess what humans STOPPED doing? Thats right, eating bones. I'm sure that our paleo ancestors noshed on some bones for a snack, if not for a diversion (like bubblegum) then for some sustenance.

So, I took myself and the lightbulb above my head to the local organic store, and bought some bone meal tabs, I've been on them for 3 days now, and while that is not enough time to really satisfy the die hard skeptics out there, you know what? I went from debillitating headaches (I'm poor and have no dental insurance, even though i work more then full time) to pain free within one day, and the only pain I do have is after I take a swig of soda, and even that is 1/10 of what it was...imagine the difference between someone stabbing you, and someone just touching you.

So, in the end? If you're looking to make sure you are "whole", or "complete" in your paleo quest, go get some bone meal tabs cuz it was very obviously lacking in my diet. good luck people, stay strong, and LIVE PALEO!!!

Tooth decay and paleo.

6 Answers