Magic Minerals for Healthy Teeth and Bones

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that minerals are essential for healthy teeth and bones. What is less commonly known is that the minerals have to be present in the correct ratios otherwise the imbalance in the levels will have to be corrected by drawing minerals from the bones and teeth?

There are two inter-related factors that will determine if the minerals in the blood stay in balance:

1. the ratio of calcium to phosphorous
2. highs and lows in blood sugar levels

Calcium, Phosphorous and Dr Melvin Page

Melvin Page was a dentist who practised from 1919-1960. In a quest to learn why the mouths of his patients deteriorated, Page studied Weston Price’s work with primitive people and started his own investigations in the hospitals where he worked. He tested thousands of samples of blood and discovered that bone health and tooth decay risks where dependant on the calcium to phosphorous ratio of the blood and on the level of blood sugars.

If the calcium to phosphorous ratio was balanced at a level of 10:4 calcium was not pulled out from the bones and teeth did not decay.

Dr. Page believed that a 25% imbalance of body chemistry caused teeth to decay. After 30 years and thousands of blood tests, Dr. Page discovered that the biochemical cause of tooth decay and gum disease was caused by a disturbance in the ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood.

A ratio of 8.75mg of calcium to 3.5mg of phosphorus per 100ml of blood, with normal blood sugar levels, creates immunity to tooth decay.

When there are blood sugar spikes, phosphorous levels in the blood become too high so minerals like calcium are pulled from the bones. When the amounts of calcium or phosphorus in the blood deviate from normal levels, or if they are not in the exact proportion of 2.5 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus, minerals are withdrawn from the teeth. This results in tooth decay and or gum disease.

Persistent imbalances over a period of several months were sufficient to deplete the dentine of its mineral composition.

Page’s research leads to the knowledge that white sugar and refined carbohydrates increase serum calcium. This calcium is drawn from the bone tissue or teeth and is then carried in the blood.

One of his major conclusions was that one of the biggest stressors to the body was hyperglycaemia – imbalanced blood sugars. The only way to control this was to remove starches from the diet such as white bread, potatoes, rice pasta and milk. Dr. Page found out that milk was actually more detrimental than sugar for many people and that avoiding dairy made it much easier for people to maintain hormonal balance and blood sugars.

Summary of Page’s Findings

• White sugar and refined carbohydrates and cow’s milk are harmful to the balance of the body’s biochemistry
• using chemical additives and food preservatives upsets body chemistry
• daily food intake may be supported with supplements of vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes

Your Body Needs Minerals

By now you would be beginning to grasp that minerals are not only required to form strong teeth but have a crucial role in the prevention of tooth decay and dental disease.

Minerals play a huge part when it comes to regulating the body and maintaining good health. Without minerals, your body lacks the building blocks for growth and repair, energy production and cellular function.

Your body cannot make its own minerals, you must obtain them from the foods that you eat. The foods that you eat uptake minerals from the soil and thus if the soil produce is grown in is lacking in minerals then so will be the vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and meats that you eat, as like us animals get their minerals from their diet.

Optimal nutrition, in theory, should easily give you all the minerals that you require, assuming your digestion is in good working order. However, as the soils become more depleted of minerals and agricultural practices are designed to produce fast growing and high yielding crops, the mineral content of food becomes less and less abundant. This is why I feel it is important to supplement with mineral complexes to support the body, even if you are eating all the right things and especially if you are prone to tooth decay or health issues.

The Roles of Minerals In The Body

Minerals are the keystones to good health and makeup about 4% of the human body. As stated earlier you must get your minerals from food, the mineral content of which is dependant on the quality of the soil. Good soil contains 45% minerals, yet our soils today are quite lacking in minerals due to modern farming processes and techniques. Many soils contain 86% fewer minerals than they did 100 years ago.

There are around 100 minerals and human beings require 18 of these for good health. However, mineral deficiency is rife and is linked to many health conditions with osteoporosis being the most commonly known one. Almost everyone is deficient in magnesium which is essential to 70% of your biochemical processes that make your body function. As I’m sure you can imagine the impact of mineral deficiency on your body is extremely significant.

What Minerals Do

• act as cofactors for enzyme reactions – cells require enzymes to work and function
• maintain the pH balance of the body
• help transfer nutrients into cells
• maintain proper nerve conduction
• help to contract and relax muscles
• help to regulate our bodies tissue growth
• provide structural and functional support for the body
• help keep bones and teeth strong

Types of Minerals

There are two groups of minerals the ones you need in large quantities and the once you only need a trace of. Having said that no one mineral is more important than another as they all need each other to remain in balance for you to have good health and vitality.

The minerals that your body requires are:

• ⁃ Calcium
• ⁃ Phosphorous
• ⁃ Potassium
• ⁃ Magnesium
• ⁃ Sulphur
• ⁃ Sodium
• ⁃ Chloride

And in trace amounts

• ⁃ Iron
• ⁃ Boron
• ⁃ Chromium
• ⁃ Iodine
• ⁃ Manganese
• ⁃ Molybdenum
• ⁃ Selenium
• ⁃ Silicon
• ⁃ Vanadium
• ⁃ Zinc
• ⁃ Lithium
• ⁃ Germanium
• ⁃ Rubidium
• ⁃ Cobalt
• ⁃ Copper

Calcium makes up almost half of the mineral content in the body. 99% is stored in the bones and teeth. For calcium to be absorbed and used properly by the body depends on your pH (acidity) levels, hormone function, level of hydration and digestive function.

If you are not eating a nutrient dense diet, staying hydrated and maintaining adequate your digestion, you could be eating all the calcium in the world and not be able to retain it.

To properly absorb and transport calcium and other minerals you need fatty acids and vitamin D.

Calcium availability is not normally an issue as you get adequate calcium in your diet, but when you are missing some or all of the above co-factors you cannot make it of use to the body. And this is why it is important to not only address your health but all the other underlying issues, like toxicity and digestive health, which I have already discussed in this book.

Mineral Rich Foods

• bone broths
• quality sea salt
• mineral water
• animal proteins from well-raised animals
• seafood
• nuts, seeds and legumes
• free range eggs
• dark leafy greens
• sea vegetables and seaweed

For healthy teeth and healthy life, you need to eat a nutrient dense diet full of vitamins and minerals as well as having a good oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing.

If it’s been 6 months or since you last dental visit or you have any dental concerns like sensitive teeth, bleeding gums, bad breath, broken teeth or pain then contact us today to book you comprehensive holistic dental check – 07 3720 1811