Can a Low Carb Diet Reduce Tooth Decay? by Dana Carpender

I first wrote this for Lowcarbezine! in July 2004:

For years and years, mainstream health authorities have been denying that sugar is detrimental to health. The only proven ill-effect of sugar, they insist, is that it rots your teeth.

The Ill-Effect of Sugar and Tooth Decay

Of this, there is no doubt. In his seminal work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, Weston Price, DDS, documented over and over and over again the ravages sugar and other refined foods brought to the teeth of “primitive” people all over the world as they first came in contact with such trash. In dozens of photographs Price showed the gleaming white, even, strong teeth of people who had always lived on their native whole foods diet (whatever that native whole foods diet might be) and the nightmarishly bad teeth that developed within mere years of sugar, white flour, and other rubbish (Oh, I’m sorry, I meant “foods of civilization”) being introduced. Today, not even the biggest apologist for sugar suggests that it’s not bad for your oral health.

However, this is generally admitted in a dismissive tone, as in, “Oh, the only bad thing about sugar is it causes cavities.” I think that a substance that can destroy the single hardest part of your body is sort of scary right there. But the sugar pushers aren’t telling you the whole story.

You see, rotten teeth and bad gums can make the rest of you sick. How sick? Really sick.

First, the worse your teeth are, the more your nutrition will suffer. This is a common problem among the elderly – many have trouble chewing their food, and therefore don’t eat enough, especially of foods like vegetables and meat, which are highly nutritious, but take a good deal of chewing. Malnutrition can, of course, lead to dozens of diseases, from scurvy to osteoporosis – both of which can cause you to lose yet more teeth.

Gum Disease Can Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke

But did you know that gum disease can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke? The danger lies in having a long-standing infection in your mouth. The bacteria invade the bloodstream, and can attack your arteries. Too, much heart disease research is now focusing not on blood fractions like cholesterol and triglycerides, but on inflammation, and gum disease is, by definition, an inflammation.

Oral infections also can interfere with pregnancy, increasing your risk of miscarriage and premature birth. Research has shown that women with periodontal disease may be up to seven times more likely to deliver a premature low-birth weight baby. While the risk escalates with the severity of the disease, even women with minimal signs of periodontal disease are still at increased risk for low-birth weight babies. I’ve been seeing public service advertising recently regarding premature birth; apparently the rate has increased 27% since 1981. I find myself wondering sadly how many families could have been spared this harrowing experience simply by shunning the foods that rot their teeth and gums.

Diabetics Have Extra Trouble with Gum Disease

Diabetics have extra trouble with gum disease, apparently because of a weaker immune response. But research suggests that the relationship goes both ways. Periodontal disease may make it more difficult for diabetics to control their blood sugar. Studies indicate that blood sugar stays higher, longer, in diabetics with gum disease. The result is a greater risk for diabetic complications.

Other than regular brushing and flossing, what is the recommended protocol for treating gum disease? Reduce carbohydrate intake, which in turn lessens plaque formation. This is absolutely standard medical wisdom, with not even a hint of controversy. As a little bonus, you’ll find – perhaps you’ve found already – that by reducing plaque-forming foods, your breath will be fresher. Nothing ferments more rapidly in your mouth than sugar, and the residue it leaves is stinky indeed. (Which, by the way, makes sugary breath mints a product that sells itself. Eat a sugary mint to freshen your breath, and you’ll need another 20 minutes later.)

Of course, there is a great deal of research backing up the dramatic health benefits of stable blood sugar, controlled insulin levels, and, of course, weight loss. But people who are still stuck in “Oh my God, you’re eating meat and fat! You’ll die of a heart attack!” mode tend not to be open to that evidence. That quitting carbs improves oral health, on the other hand, is inarguable, and the health benefits of that improvement are turning out to be profound.

© 2004, 2011 by Dana Carpender. Used by permission of the author. What do you think? Please send Dana your comments to Dana Carpender.