Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
A study published in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that vegetarians are much more likely to suffer from tooth decay, lower (more acidic) salivary pH levels, and lower stimulated saliva flow than control subjects that were matched by sex and age. In addition, plant-based diets pose a greater risk for fractures according to a related, peer-reviewed study of over 55,000 people.
Specifically, the study found that those who consumed a vegetarian diet were:
…much more likely than age- and sex-matched controls to have dental erosions on some tooth surfaces, lower salivary pH levels, and lower stimulated saliva flow. (1)
Conclusions from the study found that:
The rate of flow of saliva and consumption of vinegar-containing foods, citrus fruits, and acid berries was associated with the dental erosions noted. Diets that are excessively high in fruit juices were also found to erode dental enamel. (1)
The study confirms what Dr. Weston A. Price DDS in his book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, discovered on his 10-year journey around the world studying isolated, traditional societies still untouched by what he termed “the displacing foods of modern commerce.”
Dr. Price found that indigenous vegetarian cultures suffered from tooth decay at a higher rate than either the omnivore or the almost completely carnivorous cultures he studied.
The published study concluded that eating a vegetarian or vegan diet does not in any way impart a dental health advantage over non-vegetarians. Criticisms of What The Health, the pro-vegan documentary, reveal similarly ignored research.
The baloney-based claims in the book Blue Zones and the vegan bible The China Study are similarly misguided with shocking factual oversights, omissions, and data fudging.
Tooth Decay Signals Poor Immunity and Nutrient Deficiencies
Tooth decay is an indication of lowered immune function and a higher susceptibility to degenerative disease in general. Ever heard of the term “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”? This refers to the well known historical practice of examining a horse’s teeth and gums to assess overall health elsewhere in the body.
People can similarly assess their level of general health and whether it is improving or declining by observing the health of their teeth and gums.
Rami Nagel, author of the book Cure Tooth Decay, states that the dentinal-fluid transport mechanism is how the body controls the rate of tooth decay including whether or not it occurs at all. When tooth decay is present, Mr. Nagel says this is a sign that blood sugar levels are askew and that certain critical nutrients such as the fat-soluble activators A, D, and K2 are lacking in the diet.
Vegetarian diets are typically much higher in grains and sugars (from fruit) than non-vegetarians, and when the body senses too much sugar at one time, this can initiate demineralization of the teeth. Ever noticed how your teeth can get a bit sensitive for a period of time after a very sugary dessert or a day that included too many grain-based foods and treats?
If you are vegetarian and have noted a problem with dental decay, incorporating grass-fed meats, raw grass-fed dairy, wild seafood, and high vitamin cod liver oil into your diet will introduce the critical nutrients that are necessary to reverse caries and prevent further problems.
Moreover, whenever sweet foods such as fruit are consumed, they should always be eaten in the presence of healthy fat like cream to maintain stable blood sugar and not disrupt the body’s ability to transport minerals.
Reference and More Information
(1) The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 27 Dec 2011, 712-738
The peoples studied by Dr Price over ten years had perfect teeth and no decay. if they ate the diet of their ancestors. None of these diets were vegan, or vegetarian. Some were very meat heavy. In fact, one group ate nothing but wild game.
None of these groups ate refined modern foods, or sugar. Wnen ,members of these groups moved to more modern areas, and ate processed food and sugar, their teeth rotted away.
My kids don’t eat a lot of grains and those they do eat are (mostly) soaked and/or sprouted. They do get raw milk, grass-fed butter, milk kefir, raw egg yolks, lots a grass-fed beef, and bone broths. They don’t brush often or well.
Sarah – I thought you filtered out the crazies (ie Raquel and a couple others.)
Quit worrying about your diets and use the everything in moderation system for a change ya freaks. Your future is predetermined for you before you are born so just deal with it best you can instead of spending too much time trying to figure out something that is waaaay beyond anyone presently alive. So you are a vegetarian with great teeth??? boo hoo obviously if you ate sugar all day and didn’t brush that would change so don’t do it!!!!!!! Any diet that is specific in any way is good in some ways and lacks in others so use common sense and stick to eating everything as the once mobile human did daaaaah. too many cheese burgers=health problems, too many “healthy” foods=other health problems. If things were that simple someone woulda figured it out by now instead of these having these stupid debates that are forever ongoing …….bahaha go get some bk (but don’t do it everyday) daaaaaah
My husband just told me that he commented using my name! The above response. I dont know how to erase it???
My pet hypothesis about this stuff is that K2 is the most important element missing here, that and possibly some minerals. In the latter case, fiber consumption in excess of fat consumption, especially saturated fat consumption, reduces absorption of minerals. This is particularly true (as in, documented in research) of calcium. Here’s a study:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/2/466.full
As for K2, it is known to contribute to osteocalcin production. Osteocalcin is like a concrete matrix in your bones and teeth; it makes your bones strong and is a major component of dentin. You could lose all the enamel on your teeth tomorrow and they still would not rot as long as the dentin was healthy, or at the least they would take a LOT longer to decay. Enamel helps, but it is not the be-all, end-all.
Also, FYI, osteocalcin is metabolically active. It stimulates your fat cells to produce a substance called adiponectin, which in turn stimulates greater insulin sensitivity all over your body. Obesity is usually a disease of insulin resistance, the opposite of insulin sensitivity–and type 2 diabetes always is.
So now you know why tooth decay’s so strongly correlated with diabetes. It also explains why tooth decay correlates with heart disease, since type 2 diabetes and heart disease are pretty much two sides of the same coin.
I pretty much consider all the fat-soluble vitamins miracle substances at this point. The more I learn, the more amazed I am.
Sarah… this makes me so sad. You have such a WONDERFUL website and such great information to share. But this study does not say that vegetarians have more tooth decay. The entire study (all 27 pages of it) are about the health benefits of vegetarianism! Why not just stick with the Dr. Price information that does agree with the point you are trying to make? The study says, “In summary, vegetarian diets do not provide any distinct dental advantage over nonvegetarian diets.” That’s not even CLOSE to “Vegetarians have more tooth decay.”
So disappointed.
Well said and respectfully. I read the study.
Agreed.
This is interesting but hardly a reason for vegetarians to eat meat. There have been countless studies proving that Vegetarians on average live longer than their meat eating friends so whilst this is interesting to read it’s more spin than substance.
Did you read those studies yourself or did someone tell you about them?
I ask because, for example, vegans in particular love citing T. Colin Campbell and his China Study, but the man did not read his own data. Know which food was most strongly correlated with early mortality in the Chinese groups he studied? Wheat. Not meat.
In fact, animal protein had a much lower correlation with several types of mortality than plant protein did. Fish performed even better.
Go figure, huh?
I ate meat for most of my life and had numerous cavities. Do not plan to go that route again. There are certainly other ways to stay free of cavities!
I ate meat for most of my life and had numerous cavities. Do not plan to go that route again. There are certainly other ways to stay free of cavities!
As a former vegetarian, I can testify that I did not have any(!) tooth decay but that was also because I hardly ate any sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, etc. and consumed very little gluten. I know tons of “meat-eaters” who have constant trouble with tooth decay and cavities because they load up on potatoes, bread and cereal – in fact, they have an emotional connection to these foods because their mother or grandmothers used to prepare them often . Their notion of healthy is eating a lot of white meat chicken, whole grains and hardly any fats, organ meats, seafood or red meat. One crucial mistake a lot of vegetarians make other than ignoring their protein and fat intake is that they load up on grains instead of veggies.
It also has to do with your teeth. I have twins they are only 7 and I recently took them to the dentist. The one with no caries and in need of only preventative treatment was the one who had a poorer diet (I literally have to force feed her veges) and doesn’t brush her teeth well (although she tells me she does) the other one has horrible enamel so it has made her more prone to cavities even though she brushes religiously and who eats a well rounded diet and doesn’t refuse anything.