What are the best foods to help you lead a longer, healthier (periodontal) life?

Improving your diet: the secret to longevity

One of the things you should do to maintain your health is to eat well. The difficulty is, nobody really knows what eating well means because each of us has different nutritional needs and eating well to one person could mean eating poorly to another. However, I believe eating well should mean eating in moderation, both in the quantity and quality of the foods we eat. It means reading the nutritional labels describing the contents of what’s in the food you purchase.

I tell my patients that if it’s something that you don’t know or recognize, then don’t buy it. Many prepackaged foods have fillers and dyes to make them feel good or look good. The food and drug administration doesn’t do long term testing of these products. Instead, they only ask the manufacturers to prove that the products are digestible. A good example of a filler in foods is propylene glycol. It’s a major ingredient of antifreeze- now you tell me what nutritional value this has for our long term health. Does it mean that if I eat a lot of diet ice cream (often contains propylene glycol as an ingredient) and I happen to fall asleep in the artic circle, I won’t freeze beacause I’ve got antifreeze in my body? No, I’ll still freeze, but nutritionally I didn’t help myself at all either.

One of the real misleading misconceptions is that if a food is labeled as “diet” or “light” that it means it good for me. The marketers (the people who make up the ads that entice us to buy products) have done a superb job of convincing the public that the word “diet” on a food label implies health for you, the consumer. Wrong, wrong, wrong! It just means less calories, but not necessarily better for you nutritionally. Just eat less of the good stuff. If you like real ice cream (with none of the preservatives and fillers) just eat half a scoop instead of the whole scoop and you’ve just cut 50% of your calorie intake. Another example is diet colas versus regular colas. They both contain food coloring, acid, and secret ingredients- now what part of this can be good for you? The manufacturers purposely make the ingredient labels very small so they are much less noticeable and hopefully you won’t even read them.

 

Foods that are good for you and your body

When you have infection, pus, and or bleeding in your gums, your body is trying to heal, and the healing comes from within our bodies. The treatment that we perform, as health care providers, only provides one avenue for the body to  heal from within. Exercise and a healthy diet play crucial roles in your body’s daily functions, including infection control and self repair. Your diet can certainly play a role in your overall dental health, and according to Dana Ellis Hunnes, a dietitian with the UCLA Health System, the top 10 foods to live a longer, healthier life are:

1. Almonds 
• packed with nutrients such as fiber, riboflavin, magnesium, iron, and calcium.
• one serving provides half of your body’s Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin E
2. Apples
• great source of pectin, a soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol and glucose levels
• lots of vitamin C- acts as antioxidant to protect your body’s cells from damage
• helps form the connective tissue collagen
• keeps capillaries and blood vessels healthy
• aids in iron absorption
3. Bananas
• great source of potassium, phytonutrients
• full of resistance starch, which helps you feel full, aids digestion, and promotes GI health
4. Blueberries
• source of phytonutrients which may prevent urinary tract infections
• may improve short-term memory and promote healthy aging
• low calorie source of fiber and vitamin C
5. Broccoli
• source of calcium, potassium, folate, and fiber
• vitamins A and C
• may prevent heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers
6. Beans
• good source of iron magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and thiamin
• excellent low-fat, low calorie fiber source
7. Beets
• betacyanin gives beets their rich, purple-crimson color and is a powerful cancer fighting agent
• source of B vitamin folate, maganese, dietary fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper, and potassium
8. Spinach
• great source of vitamins A & C, folate, riboflavin, calcium, iron, and magnesium
• may help boost immune system and keep hair and skin healthy
9. Sweet potatoes
• orange-yellow color due to antioxidant beta carotene
• source of fiber, vitamins B6, C, and E, folate, potassium
• fat-free, low cal
10. Wheat Germ
• part of the seed responsible for development and growth of new plant sprouts
• highly concentrated source of nutrients including niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin E, folate, magnesium, phosphate, potassium, iron, and zinc

It is recommended to look for fresh, and if possible, organic versions of these foods to avoid problems with pesticides and additives. However, if something is out of season, frozen fruits and vegetables are a great way to eat healthy all year long. So the take home message here: read the labels (before you buy), eat the good stuff (but only half as much- share the rest with a loved one), and drink lots of good water.