Hello. Welcome to the regular blog of Plano Smile Studio, where we make it our mission to keep Plano, TX informed on the important matters of oral health and modern dentistry. In our last blog we wrote about the importance of a well balanced diet, and we warned against the the dangers of fad diets that restrict entire food groups to the point that you are actually damaging your health more than helping it.
In this installment we would like the shed some light on one of the most important ingredients to a healthy, well balanced diet, and that is dietary fiber. High fiber diets have been shown to be very beneficial to all the major systems of your body. There are two types of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber breaks down in water and helps to process sugar, as well as protect your heart health. Insoluble fiber, does not break down in fiber, so it helps to push food and waste through your gut, and it aids in digestive disorders.
Dietary fiber also benefits your oral health. Chewing foods that are high in fiber boosts your mouth’s output of saliva, and saliva is your number one defense against oral ailments like tooth decay and gum disease. Tooth decay is caused by bacteria called dental caries, and dental caries thrives in a dry mouth. Saliva keeps your mouth moist and makes it harder for plaque to stick to your teeth, and since dental caries like to hide out on plaque, this give the bacteria fewer places to hide.
It probably goes without saying that in order to chew foods that are high in dietary fiber, you need healthy teeth. That is the symbiotic relationship between oral health and dietary fiber; it is hard to have one without the other. But if you take care of your teeth, they will take care of you by making it so you can eat all the healthy food you want and need to.
General Health Benefits of Dietary Fiber
Most people probably think of stomach ailments, like constipation when they think about fiber. It’s something old people need to worry about, not anyone else. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Dietary fiber provides health benefits for people of all ages. In fact, a recent Harvard study revealed that those who have a diet high in fiber are 40% less likely to get heart disease, or high blood pressure. The same study showed that those who don’t have enough fiber in their diet are twice as likely to get type 2 diabetes.
Dietary fiber helps slows your body’s absorption of sugar, which is why it is helpful in the fight against diabetes, but it is also helpful in the fight against obesity. Most diets focus on what not to eat in order to lose pounds, but evidence shows that what you eat can be just as important, as is the case with dietary fiber.
Choose Real Food Over Supplements
You have probably see all the fiber supplements on your grocery store shelf, you don’t even have to go to a health food store to find them. These supplements have their place, but they are not healthy as actually eating the fruits and vegetables and nuts that contain high amounts of dietary fiber. As a matter of fact, some of the fiber powders and gummies are flavored with sugar, so that means those supplements are bad for teeth.
Take Care of Your Teeth with Checkups from Plano Smile Studio.
If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, you are going to have to have a strong set of teeth to give you freedom to eat healthy foods loaded with fiber. At our office here in Plano, we can help you do that.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment for a cleaning and examination.
