Green Foods That Are Great For Your Teeth
What comes to mind when you think of St. Patrick’s Day? Leprechauns? Pots of gold? Four leaf clovers? For us, it’s the color green! In honor of today’s holiday, we put together a list of some of our favorite green foods that are full of nutrients beneficial to our oral health.
Broccoli is high in calcium which helps to keep our teeth strong. This good-for-you green is also full of vitamin C, which not only helps absorb nutrients, but also plays an important role in maintaining healthy gums by synthesizing collagen. The iron contained in broccoli has also been cited to form an acid resistant barrier that protects tooth enamel, keeping them sparkly and white.
2. Leafy greens
Dark, leafy greens like spinach, kale, collard greens and swiss chard are highly recommended by dental professionals due to their high amounts of vitamin A and C, beta carotene, calcium and magnesium. These nutrients do a number of things to support your oral health from acting as catalysts for the absorption of particular nutrients to directly contributing to your gum health.
3. Green apples
For the record, apples of all colors and varieties are great for your oral health, but for the sake of this blog and our chosen theme of green, we’ll be discussing green apples. Crunchy, fibrous foods like apples helps to stimulate the gums and saliva flow, washing away lingering bacteria and food particles. The production of saliva helps bring the mouth’s pH back to a more basic level.
Celery is another crunchy, fibrous food great for naturally scraping food particles off teeth. It’s also full of vitamin A and C, which benefits gum health.
5. Green tea
Polyphenols are essentially micro-nutrients found in plant-based foods. Green tea is actually full of polyphenols and other antioxidants that work to reduce bacteria and toxins in the mouth.
Avocados have a great reputation for being a healthy (and delicious) fat. This is important when it comes to your oral health by helping absorb fat soluble vitamins like vitamins E and K1.
While there are lots of traditional favorites consumed on St. Patrick’s Day from corned beef and potatoes to pints and pints of beer, it doesn’t hurt to switch up tradition every once in a while. Perhaps you’ll consider planning dinner using the theme of green inspired by the foods on our list.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!