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Functional Foods: Dental Health and Diet · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello and welcome to Talking FACS. We have news you can use to strengthen your
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  family, your community, and our state.
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  I'm your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  Since childhood, we have heard the phrase, you are what you eat.
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  And this applies to our whole bodies, but probably more especially to our mouth than any other part.
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  My guest today, Dr. Heather Norman-Burgdolf, Associate Extension Professor for
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  Nutrition and Health, is here to share about Functional Foods:
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  Dental health and diet. Welcome, Heather.
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  It's great to be back, Mindy. Yeah, we haven't heard from you in a while.
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  I know. I'm excited to talk about this today.
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  Well, in this podcast, we're going to explore the direct connection between
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  what we eat and our dental health.
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  It makes sense that the health of our mouth may be impacted by what we eat since
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  digestion begins in the mouth.
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  There is a two-way relationship where nutrition impacts dental health and dental
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  health can also influence nutrition.
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  So let's start right there.
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  So how does dental health influence nutrition?
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  Yes, I'm so glad that you brought up the fact that the mouth is truly where digestion begins.
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  You kind of think of the stomach and, you know, your intestines,
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  but your mouth, just chewing it alone is an important part.
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  Your saliva is an important part. So just thinking about the health of your mouth.
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  So if you've ever had tooth pain or, you know, compromised oral health or tooth
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  decay, it is going to make it very difficult to bite and chew foods.
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  And that could easily limit the amounts and types of food that a person can eat.
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  So this is going to increase the likelihood that someone is unable to meet their
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  daily macronutrient and micronutrient needs if there is a restriction on what
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  they feel like they can chew and they can eat.
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  If someone has difficulty eating due to these issues with dental health,
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  they may also be less likely to eat meals with other people.
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  This can impact mental health as well if someone doesn't feel as comfortable
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  sharing meals or celebrations or being social because food is social and eating
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  meals is social and there are benefits to that as well.
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  So there's actually a little bit of an impact on both your physical and your
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  mental health if you think about someone who's got some dental health issues
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  that they're having to manage.
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  Oh, yeah, it definitely makes a difference. So how does nutrition influence dental health?
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  Yeah, so we can think about it the other direction too.
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  So nutrition really is protective and preventative for oral health issues.
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  The protective role is going to promote the healthy development and maintenance
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  of the mouth's tissues that are found throughout and the natural way that our
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  mouth starts the digestion process.
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  So nutrition can also prevent oral diseases by reducing plaque buildup,
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  increasing saliva flow, and just like the dietary guidelines that promote general
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  health, choosing a variety of foods,
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  balanced meals with a lot of different types of foods supports oral health,
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  making it more likely that the body is going to get the nutrients that it needs.
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  You know, I never really thought about this until recently, but the year that
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  I turned 30, I had six cavities, and I had never had that many cavities in one year.
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  And it didn't dawn on me until now, 25 years later, that the reason probably
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  is because I had gone through two very problematic pregnancies where I was sick all the time.
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  Yes. And so not only was I experiencing the stomach bile in my mouth all the time.
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  Heartburn. Yeah. All the heartburn. So that was a problem of something foreign in my mouth.
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  But also I was not getting the nutrients I needed because I was sick all the time.
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  I was worried about the health of my baby. My doctor said, don't worry,
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  your children are getting what they need, but you are not. And so you are being depleted. Yeah.
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  Yeah. You know, it wasn't until, like I said, recently that I figured out the
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  reason I had all those cavities at 30 and I haven't had them since and I didn't
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  have them before, but my body was just depleted.
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  Yeah, no, that totally makes sense. And I mean, that kind of is a perfect segue
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  to the next thing we could kind
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  of talk about. What do we need to do to maintain strong teeth and gums?
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  And, you know, if we have that balanced and varied diet, we're going to be more
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  likely to get some of these specific nutrients because the goal really is trying
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  to strengthen your teeth and your gums.
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  I was thinking about both of those. The main ones really are going to be calcium,
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  phosphorus, and fluoride.
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  So calcium and phosphorus work together as a little duo because they contribute
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  to the mineralization of your teeth. So that's going to be how strong they are,
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  the strength of your teeth.
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  And when we think of calcium, we obviously tend to think about those dairy products
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  like milk, cheese, and yogurt.
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  There are lots of foods that are non-dairy foods that also are high in calcium
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  for those who maybe don't tolerate dairy as well.
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  Think about your dark leafy green vegetables and broccoli, and there's a wide
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  variety that are out there.
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  Fluoride is another micronutrient to be aware of that's essential for strong teeth.
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  It's actually considered a non-essential trace mineral. So it's not one that
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  we, you know, have those strict, you know, recommendations that we receive every
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  day, but there's a lot of evidence to support that it is beneficial for our oral health.
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  It's actually quite low in content when you think about the foods that we probably
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  commonly eat across Kentucky.
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  But the most common ones are tea, which we know tea is sweet tea around here,
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  And then seafood, which might not be as common, but we do, it's in tap water,
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  it's in toothpaste, mouthwash.
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  And there are some estimates that drinking water accounts for about 75% of the
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  fluoride that a person gets.
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  I do want to point out because it is Kentucky and it's a primarily rural state,
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  I myself grew up in a home that relied on well water. That was the primary source of water.
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  And I do want to point out that for those who primarily consume well water,
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  that fluoride levels vary greatly from well to well and can vary over time.
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  So even if it's high at one point, it might not be at another point in time.
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  So there are programs out there.
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  If you check with your county health department, they have private well programs
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  and that actually can include testing for specific nutrients.
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  And fluoride is one of those if you are interested. The other thing that I want
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  to point out, it's not necessarily a mineral, but are high fiber foods.
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  So this is going to be fresh fruits and vegetables. Think about foods that are
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  really fibrous, that you kind of have to chew a lot.
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  This is a natural way to really clean your teeth. So like eating that raw carrot,
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  taking a bite, that actually is cleaning your teeth to some degree.
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  Now, it's also stimulating saliva production, which helps clean the teeth as
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  well when you're chewing and you're eating.
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  And it's creating friction because you have things rubbing against your teeth.
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  So it's less likely for food byproduct to stay on your teeth.
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  I say that, you know, I'm encouraging people to eat their fruits and vegetables.
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  You still need to brush your teeth and floss.
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  But yeah, just the friction itself, the fibrous foods.
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  That can also be beneficial for your oral health. So there's a reason Bugs Bunny ate carrots.
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  It was big teeth. And he had big teeth, right?
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  All right. So what dietary habits can support both oral health and overall nutrition?
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  Okay. So yeah, well, we can wrap up with just a few tips or tricks that might
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  be helpful and are practical if you think about what choices you're able to
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  make. So first are beverages.
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  Beverages help keep the mouth clean during a snack or a meal.
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  When consumed with a drink, sticky foods, so like chips and crackers,
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  those things you feel like you kind of have to dig out of your teeth.
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  If you drink a beverage when you have that, that actually helps clean the teeth as well.
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  You might be able to wash away some of that food from the teeth more quickly,
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  lessening the opportunity for acid production. That really is what damages your
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  teeth. The longer food remains in the mouth, the more likely it is to actually damage the teeth.
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  So foods that are slow to dissolve, like cookies and granola bars,
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  they actually provide more time for the acids that destroy the enamel to work
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  than those that dissolve quickly, like water-soluble foods, like your fruits and vegetables.
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  Like I mentioned about the high-fiber foods, they are a natural way to clean the teeth.
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  Again, like I said, we still want to brush our teeth. We still want to floss.
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  But during that chewing process, those fibrous foods stimulate saliva.
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  Creating friction, removing sugar and food particles, again,
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  decreasing acid production over time.
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  And then finally, we say balanced meals a lot around here, but it really does
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  matter because this is a perfect example where carbohydrate foods, so grain foods,
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  produce less acid when they're eaten with other foods compared to when those
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  carbohydrate foods are eaten alone. Right.
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  So, you know, we say when you eat a snack, you've got some crackers,
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  maybe add in some protein or some fat with that.
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  And there's a reason why. Not only does it nourish the body in a variety of
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  ways, but here it actually makes a difference starting right in your mouth.
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  And so this is because when you eat those carbohydrate foods,
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  you're stimulating saliva production.
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  It's going to be increased during that meal. And the whole point of that saliva
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  is to help neutralize the acid and clear food from the mouth.
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  So just trying to add variety and balance out snacks and meals,
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  the benefits start right there in your mouth.
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  I have learned so much today. And I really appreciate you taking the time to
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  talk to us because I have been in this business for almost 30 years.
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  And part of that time was spent teaching nutrition. But this is not stuff that
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  we were trained to teach. So I really appreciate the fact that you are sharing this now.
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  And so I know that our agents are going to be better equipped to share information
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  with the public as they are. People really are interested in understanding the why.
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  You know, we're often told, eat your fruits and vegetables.
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  You can list off what those nutritious foods are. But it's kind of really helpful
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  when you see the why, like the true benefit in your body.
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  It kind of, it's a nice motivator, right? That's a little different to be like,
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  oh, that makes sense. Well, and I get the why question daily from my granddaughter.
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  There you go. I have the answer. Why we brush our teeth, right?
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  This is why we eat our fruits and vegetables. Yes. Now I have answers.
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  As always, I appreciate you sharing your vast knowledge with us.
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  And I've got some resources we'll be sure to plug as well. Yes.
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  And we will put those in the show notes so that everybody will be able to come
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  back and learn more because you have so many resources to share there.
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  Thank you for having me, Mindy.
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  And as always, if others have more questions and they need to reach out to their
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  local extension office, we have ways to find them also linked in the show notes.
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  If you are just tuning in, you're listening to Talking FACS,
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  and we are available wherever you find your favorite podcast.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local Extension
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  agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.
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  Music.