H ealing gum disease nutritionally requires restoring the missing fat-soluble vitamins and minerals to our diet. This chapter synthesizes all the information from the entire book into guidelines and protocols that you can incorporate into your own life.
Here are some of the principal vitamins that are vital to incorporate into your gum healing diet along with some alphabetically listed reminders of key concepts in oral health.
A – Vitamin A prevents teeth from becoming loose by nourishing and strengthening the periodontal ligament and minimizing gum tissue irritation.
A – Acidity is typical in type 1 gum disease as discussed in chapter seven. Excessive acidity needs to be eliminated so that the body chemistry can be restored to health and balance. This can usually be accomplished through a program of detoxification and by consumption of greens.
B – B vitamins are abundant in liver, wild fish, pastured meats. and poultry.
B – Bone broth, collagen, or a cartilage-rich supplement will help with bone strengthening and nutrient absorption.
C – Vitamin C is crucial for gum health and reduction and mitigation of toxicities in the body.
C – Calories count. People who deprive themselves of food will not get the nourishment they need. On the other hand, there are plenty of malnourished people who consume excess calories in overly processed and denatured foods that cannot nourish their bodies. Choose nutrient-dense foods that will satisfy your hunger.
D – Vitamin D from sources such as real cod liver oil is required for calcium and mineral metabolism.
D – Everyone is different and unique. Not everyone needs the same thing nutritionally. Listen to your body and if you can, find a way to test supplements or dietary ideas with the bio-energetic system of your body using applied kinesiology, muscle testing, dowsing, cranial rhythm, or other intuitive faculties.
K – Vitamin “K2”/Activator X. This fat-soluble vitamin matrix helps rebuild and strengthen your periodontium. Again, for the sake of gum healing, I only recommend foods rich in activator X/“K2” that are from wild or humanely raised animal foods such as fish eggs, pastured butter, cultured grass-fed dairy or cheese, and very likely in bone marrow and organs like brain, kidney, tripe, spleen, pancreas, heart, sweetbreads, animal blood, and lungs.
K – Kelp, a small amount of kelp is excellent for trace mineral support along with the highly essential iodine. The trace minerals in kelp synergize with the fat-soluble vitamins. 1
The diet outline below involves several important aspects to heal gum disease. This outline will help you understand from an overview what foods need to be added to or removed from your diet in a way that is flexible and affirming to your dietary needs.
Now that the myth that saturated fat is unhealthy has been thoroughly and completely debunked, feel free to enjoy butter, red meat, eggs, organ meats, coconut oil, and whole milk. 2 Even the Harvard School of Public Health declares, “It’s time to end the low-fat myth.” 3
How much fat each person needs varies. When fat is not properly metabolized, it can cause inflammation. Some signs of poor fat digestion are inflamed joints, feeling overly full, lethargic, or depressed after eating fatty foods. If you have these symptoms, your liver likely needs to be cleared through detoxification and / or supported with bile and / or pancreas supplements while moderating fat consumption until the problem is solved.
The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and activator X/“K2” are absolutely essential to revitalizing the periodontium and halting gum disease. Here are my suggestions to obtain these essential vitamins:
I believe animal fats are healthy and surely most of our bodies crave them. But some people have gum disease and are eating lots of animal fats and not improving because the high fat foods are not being metabolized. This can happen because certain fats cause imbalances in people who have fat-metabolism problems. If you find you are not getting better, then consider removing foods that could be a problem, including bacon, lamb, fatty beef, nuts and nut oils like peanuts and sunflower, doughnuts, chocolate, olives, and potato chips. 4
The alveolar bone is comprised of five percent protein. Eating high quality protein in the form of grass-fed meat or wild game or fish will give gum tissue the high quality building blocks it needs. Good quality muscle meat (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) contains phosphorus, amino acids, and other minerals that can build healthy bones. Homemade bone broth, made from cartilage and bones, is rich in the conditionally essential amino acids proline and glycine, which are keys to the healthy collagen we need for teeth, gums, and the alveolar bone.
Organs and glands provide the missing fat-soluble vitamins and cofactors in our modern diet. In many countries across the world, people still consume organ meats and glands regularly. In our modern western culture, this habit has been lost, and as a result our growing boys and girls often develop poor facial structures and do not build strong bodies. Over a long period of time, without these nutrients from animal sources, our bodies become more susceptible to disease. The evidence of traditional peoples from around the world suggests “nose to tail eating” is the key to a healthy body and healthy mouth. Consuming many parts of the animal is an essential component to restoring your health and balancing your blood chemistry. If you do not regularly consume a wide variety of organ meats, consider adding them to your diet and/or buying an organ and gland supplement such as the one available at traditionalfoods.org .
The cooking methods mentioned here can increase your ability to safely digest and utilize proteins as well as improve the flavor of food and increase your pleasure in eating. Because proteins are body builders, proper cooking will increase protein assimilation and help stop gum disease.
Barbecue – Grill your food on wood coals. This adds a wonderful flavor and a juicy texture to your food. Commercially prepared charcoal with chemicals added can make food toxic, but real wood, or real wood coals without added chemicals for barbecues leaves your proteins juicy and flavorful. 5 Foods cooked on a grill taste addictively good. Marinating the meat beforehand for at least several hours can reduce potentially carcinogenic compounds from forming. 6
Rare – A well-done steak generally does not taste as good as one cooked to medium rare or rare. Beef, lamb, and tuna all taste great seared but not fully cooked.
Stews – Eating fully cooked proteins with a gelatin-rich broth as stew or with gravy enhances your body’s ability to digest the protein. Cooked protein repels digestive juices in our stomachs. But mixing cooked protein with a gelatin-rich broth that attracts digestive juices helps the body digest the whole meal well. 7
Raw – Many cuisines feature raw protein foods, although they often go unnoticed. Body builders favor raw eggs in smoothies. Other common raw foods are steak tartare, sushi, sashimi, cheese, and oysters. Some people have no problem eating animal foods raw; I have done it countless times. Other people prefer to freeze or marinate animal proteins before they consume them raw to destroy possible pathogens or potential parasites. Raw protein can be very easy to digest because it attracts digestive juices in the stomach. 8
No-Heat “ Cooking ” – We have cured and fermented raw meats available in our culture. Salami, cold smoked salmon, and corned beef are a few examples. Although many store-bought versions are cooked, some artisanally-produced versions are not. Ceviche is an example of acid from lemon or lime juice “cooking” the food (raw fish) while it marinates. These types of no-heat cooking methods make protein easy to digest and taste good.
People’s protein needs vary according to age, weight, climate, season, level of physical activity, and their digestive ability. It is important to listen to your body and feel what your protein needs are first and foremost. I provide you with two methods to measure and help you tune in to or sense your own daily protein needs below:
Method 1, Moderate Protein – This is based on the work of Dr. Melvin Page. These are amounts based on your ideal body weight, not your current body weight.
100 pounds: 6.5 ounces of protei
n
120 pounds: 8 ounces of protei
n
150 pounds: 10 ounces of protei
n
180 pounds: 12 ounces of protei
n
For other weights, calculate 1 ounce of protein per 15 pounds of ideal body weight.
Method 2, Higher Protein – Men consume two palm-size portions of protein per meal, and women one-palm size portion. 9
In reviewing cases of people who suffer from gum disease, I found two frequent dietary patterns: calorie restriction and carbohydrate restriction. In order to heal gum disease, do not unnecessarily restrict calories and be sure to eat enough to satisfy your appetite. And if your digestion allows, consume as much carbohydrate foods as you need to fuel your movement level.
Calorie restriction occurs more often with women than men because of body image issues and self-imposed pressures. People who severely cut calories to become fashionably thin can send their bodies into starvation mode. This, in turn, engages the demineralization process, leading to deficiencies of calcium, phosphorous, and trace minerals, and eventually to type II gum disease. When people fail to eat enough food, the body pulls minerals out of its reserves in the bones and fat out of the marrow. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and strenuous exercise severely deplete the body when calorie intake is not sufficient, resulting in the common symptoms of gum disease or tooth decay and bone loss in relation to pregnancy.
To maintain excellent health, it is essential to stay well nourished, eat regularly, and stay fit. Good looks do not depend on weight alone but on muscle tone, good hormonal function, and bone density. Given that muscle weighs more than fat, and mineral density often means stronger bones, it’s possible to look slimmer and yet gain weight. Eating plenty for many people creates the best chances to get adequate energy, minerals, and vitamins from our diet to be healthy.
Many people today endorse a low-carb diet rich in fat and protein. Following such a diet may initially feel good and help lose unwanted pounds, but any overly restrictive diet tends to fail after the honeymoon phase. 10 What I have noticed when I restrict carbohydrates is that my calorie consumption significantly drops, and my enjoyment of proteins and fats significantly decreases. For me, carbohydrates mixed with fats or proteins make a happy marriage. Some of the foods people crave most are such calorie-rich combinations. Think of pie and ice cream (carbs and fat), a cheeseburger (carbs, fat, and protein), or grilled cheese sandwich (carbs, protein, and fat). If carbohydrate restriction is improving your body chemistry and you continue to feel healthy while cutting carbohydrates, then there is no need to stop. However, some signs that a low-carb diet is not working are moodiness, loss of sex drive, hair loss, increased fat and decreased muscle, low energy levels, feeling cold, and having cold hands and feet. 11
An abundance of research indicates that a moderate or higher carbohydrate diet helps support thyroid function, and that an absence of carbohydrates reduces thyroid function. Carbohydrate research also shows that moderate and higher carbohydrate diets are not associated with weight gain and that eating carbohydrates helps balance hormonal levels. 12 The bottom line is that for many readers avoiding or restricting carbohydrates for too long may not promote health and in fact may cause harm.
Some people experience great healing when consuming large amounts of grass-fed dairy products including yogurt, kefir, and/or milk. Plenty of these foods provide adequate nutrient-dense carbohydrates (along with protein and fat) without the need for starches or grains.
There are many well-known authors and books that provide ample evidence for the argument that carbohydrates make us fat and that we should avoid them. 13 It is important to understand that most authors advocating such a position are ultimately writing from their own personal experience (as I am here as well.) Some people do fantastically well on a high-fat, low-carb diet and so they promote it. But for many people a balanced diet does not avoid any food major category (protein, carbohydrates, or fat). If you can get enough calories on a high-fat diet and your gum disease goes into remission, by all means do so. In general, I think readers with significant gum disease will ultimately benefit from a balanced approach. I have found that a balanced approach allows me to consume the most calories and feel the best. But try not to get stuck in any dietary paradigms. Think for yourself. Listen to your body. You are your own master. Trust your cravings and instincts and find ways to nurture yourself with food and enjoy eating. And if one dietary paradigm does not work for you, then simply try something else.
I am sharing four dietary programs to address the concerns of four main types of readers. I suggest reading all of the programs because there is minimal repetition and each program has something that can be learned from it.
General dietary guidelines are for people who want to get healthy on a well-rounded diet. You are interested in eating well, but do not feel the need at this time to do more serious body chemistry balancing. It allows for a wide variety of food while giving specific instructions on how to remineralize and restore the body.
The balancing diet program is more restrictive and made for people who are avoiding gluten, grains, and possibly dairy products. It is designed to help balance body chemistry more than the first program due to the avoidance of high carbohydrate foods. It is possible to start with this body chemistry balancing program and then switch to the general program after a few weeks.
The simple program is for readers who feel overwhelmed or just want to try something different without making big changes. The results may not be as good, but making some changes is better than none at all.
And this book would not be complete without an extreme program . I know some of my readers want to truly heal their body with only foods. So I offer a complete, raw animal and plant food diet outline.
6+ ounces of protein per day from healthy animal sources such as pasture-raised chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and /or from wild fish such as tuna, salmon, and sardines.
Calcium: Most people need between 1,200mg (1.2g) to 2,000mg (2g) grams of calcium per day; the average person needs about 1.5g. Excellent sources of calcium include dairy products from pastured goats, sheep, cows, mares, camels, or from whole bone meal.
2-4 cups of raw dairy products per day (600mg to 1,200mg of calcium) in the form of milk, kefir, whey, yogurt, clabber, or buttermilk. You can substitute about two ounces of cheese for every cup of fluid milk.
1-2 ounces of raw cheese (200-400mg of calcium).
1½ -3 teaspoons
Bone Marrow & Cartilage Calcium
(600mg
–
1,200mg of calcium)
.
½ - 1 teaspoon
Whole Bone Calcium
(770mg – 1,440mg of calcium)
.
½ - 3 tablespoons of grass-fed butter or ghee, cultured preferred
Choose at least one of the following per day:
4-8 ounces of fresh green veggie juice,
2-4 times per day in between meals.
Plenty of cooked vegetables such as, but not limited to, beet greens, kale, chard, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and string beans.
Least preferred option: green juice powder (sweetener-free) 2-4 times per day (suggestions at: curegumdisease.com/alkalize
).
¼ – 2 teaspoons of High Vitamin C powder per day or equivalent vita min-C rich foods.
⅛ – ½ teaspoon Organic Kelp Powder (for some people a smaller dose is better).
Taken with or before meals: (available at codliveroilshop.com
)
¼ - ½ teaspoon
Blue Ice Royal Blend
2-3 times per day (½ to 1 ½ teaspoons per day / 6-8 capsules)
or
½ to 1 teaspoon of real cod liver oil per day (make sure to take with 1 to 3 teaspoons of butter or ghee)
For synergistic effect add: ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of
skate liver oil
(1-2 capsules)
Alternatives for those avoiding cod liver oil:
¼ to ¾ teaspoon daily of
skate liver oil
mixed with ½ to 2 teaspoons of ghee, or ⅓ to ¾ teaspoon daily of
X-Factor High Vitamin Butter Oil
1-2 cups of homemade broth per day as a tea or with meals or ½ to 1 tablespoon of gelatin reconstituted in water.
2+ ounces of fresh liver 2-4+ times per week and/or 1-3 teaspoons of Dried Powdered Liver 2-4 times per week (available at traditionalfoods. org).
6 fresh oysters 2-4 times per week and/or 4-12 capsules of Powdered Oysters 2-4 times per week (available at traditionalfoods.org ).
Alternative: If you are eating plenty of red meat like beef, lamb, and wild game, you are probably already getting adequate zinc. However these sources just do not have the magic that oysters have.
Good Salt – 1+ teaspoon per day of total dietary salt consumption. Probiotic Foods – 1+ tablespoon of some type of fermented food of either vegetable or dairy origin, such as sauerkraut or fermented dairy like yogurt or kefir.
Spices – Make food flavorful to enhance digestion by using culinary spices in your dishes.
Bones and Cartilage: 2+ times per week consume some type of cooked or powdered bone. See chapter five for information about bone consumption from food.
Magnesium Baths or Topical Magnesium Oil : Apply 2+ times per week for magnesium supplementation. This can be especially important if exclusively consuming bone calcium.
Grass-fed Organ Meats: kidney, brain, tripe, “Rocky Mountain oysters,” etc.
Fermented Dairy: include buttermilk, clabber, or whey for their healing benefits and calcium.
Essential Multi-Glandular : a blend of dried organs and glands such as thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, and gonads: to balance body chemistry and provide missing elements.
Organic Colostrum: to help rebuild the body and speed healing.
Fish Eggs: for trace elements and activator X/“K2.”
Bone Marrow: or ½ teaspoon of freeze-dried bone marrow and cartilage powder to build teeth and bones.
Spirulina: rich in absorbable nutrients.
Coconut Oil: 1-3 teaspoons per day of coconut oil, for some people, can aid in overall body functioning, as well as enhance digestive function and liver health. 15
Edible clay in small amounts: may provide trace minerals as well as absorb toxins in the body.
Many foods listed above are available at: traditionalfoods.org
White potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, poi (taro root).
Organic sourdough bread from wheat, rye, spelt, etc. The bread should be made from flour that has most of the bran and germ removed. In other words, bread that is not 100 percent whole meal, but more precisely around 75-80 percent (with 20-25 percent of the fibrous grain portion by weight removed).
Beans that are smaller or easier to digest such as peas, lentils, black beans, and mung beans.
White rice, partially milled rice.
Nixtamalized (soaked in alkaline limewater and dehulled) organic corn tortillas.
Quinoa, amaranth, teff, soaked/soured buckwheat.
Vegetables : Most cooked organic vegetables are safe to consume in any amount. Try a variety of different vegetables and see what works best for you.
Safe Fats: The best and tastiest fats come from healthy animals. Cultured butter or ghee from cultured butter is excellent. Grass-fed beef tallow, pastured lard, pastured duck, chicken, goose, or turkey fat. Organic coconut and palm oil, organic olive oil.
All nuts and nut products.
Entire (whole) grain products.
Exceptions
: teff, amaranth, and quinoa are pseudo-cereals and not grains.
Organic nixtamalized corn is from a whole grain, but the nixtamalization process neutralizes the toxins in corn. (Steer clear of genetically modified corn.)
Sweet ripe fruits
Very sweet sweeteners—even natural ones like honey, maple syrup, and minimally processed natural sugar—need to be consumed wit h moderation .
And for some people with poor fat metabolism, reduce or avoid consumption of fatty foods and fatty cuts of meat like lamb and bacon.
Some foods that are popular with health-conscious people should actually be avoided. Those who desire healthy teeth and gums would benefit from the following list of things to avoid:
No protein shakes
No energy bars or breakfast bars
No sweetened drinks
No beer, wine, or other alcohol (sorry)
No whole wheat bread
No packaged foods with added sweeteners, no matter how “natural”
No coffee
No caffeinated tea
No chocolate (very sorry)
No peanut butter
No white flour, store-bought, overly refined carbohydrate foods like pancakes, waffles, biscuits, pound cake, wheat / spelt / corn pasta, and
crackers.
This is a summary of foods to avoid that were discussed in greater detail in chapter six. Again, this list is to help you clarify which foods are going to deplete your body of nutrients and which foods are going to bring you back to life. The more disciplined you are in avoiding foods that cause or aggravate deficiency states in your body, the more successful you will be in healing gum disease, provided of course you continue to eat enough food. How you translate that guidance into action is totally your choice. I suggest that you give these guidelines your best attempt to follow and then judge how you feel.
|
white sugar
|
erythritol
|
brown rice syrup
|
|
cane sugar
|
lo han
|
malted barley
|
|
evaporated cane juice
|
palm sugar
|
grain sweeteners
|
|
xylitol
|
coconut sugar
|
maltodextrin
|
|
agave nectar
|
stevia extract
|
sucrose
|
|
jams
|
glycerin
|
dextrose
|
|
dried fruit
|
fructose
|
sucralose
|
|
candy bars
|
high fructose corn syrup
|
aspartame
|
|
“health food” bars
|
inulin
|
saccharine
|
|
yacon syrup
|
fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
|
If you do not know what the sweetener is then avoid it.
unheated honey
organic maple syrup (grade B / very dark/strong taste preferred)
real cane sugar (Heavenly Organics™ or Rapunzel)
whole fruit including dates or fresh squeezed fruit juice
|
crackers
|
pies
|
muffins
|
|
cookies
|
breakfast cereals
|
pastries
|
|
doughnuts
|
granola
|
flour tortillas
|
|
bagels
|
pasta
|
|
|
noodles
|
pizza
|
Avoid bread even if it is organic unless it is sourdough from unbleached sifted (bran and germ free) grains, and nearly every packaged product that contains grains. Also avoid sprouted whole grain products and gluten-free foods made with brown rice.
Avoid whole grains that are not soured or sifted according to the guidelines in chapter six, including whole versions of: wheat, rye, kamut, spelt, or brown rice.
Acceptable grains: Sourdough bread made with unbleached flour (bran and germ removed), partially milled rice or white rice soaked overnight, nixtamalized organic corn tortillas, quinoa, amaranth, teff, and soaked/ soured buckwheat.
Avoid raw nuts and nut butters including all raw nuts, as well as peanut butter, raw almond butter, and raw tahini. Too many nuts are harmful for people with significant gum recession.
Acceptable nuts and nut butters should be roasted or otherwise cooked. Low temperature dehydrated nuts and nut butters are acceptable in moderation.
Avoid partially hydrogenated oils such as margarine or other butter substitutes.
Avoid low quality vegetable oils such as vegetable, soybean, canola, corn, and safflower oils. Avoid potato chips, cottonseed oil, and any food not fried in a natural fat. Unfortunately most restaurants use these cheap vegetable oils, which makes their food unhealthy for regular consumption.
Acceptable fats are all natural, organic, and ideally from small producers. They include coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, butter, lard, tallow, chicken, duck and goose fat.
Avoid pasteurized, homogenized, or grain-fed milk and ice cream . Also avoid low-fat conventional milk and powdered milk along with anything that contains it.
Acceptable Ice Cream: Make ice cream at home from fresh raw milk and cream and a natural sweetener. It is sooo good.
Avoid store-bought rice milk, soy milk, and nut milks like hemp and almond.
Acceptable milk alternatives: Make nut or seed milks at home—do not settle for store- bought sterilized versions.
Acceptable dairy products are raw and grass-fed from any type of ruminant and whole fat, not skimmed.
When you have only grocery store options for dairy products then organic unsweetened yogurt and butter are the best of the pasteurized dairy products. A good cheese selection will have some raw grass-fed cheeses. There are some acceptable pasteurized grass-fed cheeses from Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand that are reasonable in cost.
Avoid table salt: Many foods have commercial, refined salt added. Table salt seems highly irritating to the body perhaps because of its missing minerals, the additives, and substances used during the manufacture of it. 16
Acceptable salts: Himalayan salt, Celtic Sea Salt® , and other sea salts are good to use.
Avoid conventional fast foods and junk foods. These foods are usually high in trans fats, food additive, and sugar.
Avoid stimulants: Do not drink coffee, sweetened drinks, or sports or energy drinks. Do not smoke cigarettes. Reduce or avoid chocolate.
Avoid alcohol: Alcohol is the enemy of calcium metabolism, and as such, it should be avoided—especially hard liquor. If you still choose to drink beer or wine, choose organic varieties as the grains or grapes can otherwise be heavily sprayed with pesticides.
Avoid unfermented soy in any form including isolated soy protein, tofu, soy/veggie burgers, soy “meat,” and soy milk. Often gluten-free products contain hidden soy.
Acceptable soy products are traditionally fermented. Enjoy small amounts of unpasteurized soy sauce, miso, natto, and tempeh.
Caution with green powders: Most green powder supplements have sugar added and contain questionable ingredients. There are a few exceptions to this rule, which would be 100 percent food-based dried powders with no sweeteners added.
Avoid factory-farmed meat, fish, and eggs. These offer inferior quality proteins, support the unhealthy treatment of animals and regular consumption may cause or contribute to cancer. 17
Acceptable animal proteins are grass-fed or wild . These offer superior quality and bolster health and also support a healthy ecosystem.
Avoid too much fruit. Even though fruit is natural, people often eat too much. Be very careful with sweet fruits like oranges, bananas, grapes, peaches, cherries, blueberries, and pineapple. This caution also includes excess consumption of unripe fruit because they are high in salicylates and in general upset digestion.
Avoid prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and vaccines . These alter your glandular balance and many can be causative factors in gum disease. Vaccines can contain substances very toxic to the body. Prescription drugs often treat symptoms and not the core problem, and as a result have unwanted side effects.
Avoid food additives like MSG. In addition many mass-produced commercially cured and processed meats contain preservatives that are irritating to the body.
Avoid commercially processed foods such as TV dinners and packaged sauce mixes.
Avoid synthetic vitamins and any foods containing them. I believe the whole food approach is a more effective way to nourish our bodies.
This dairy-free and grain-free diet is meant to help balance your body chemistry and is based on the work of dentist Melvin Page. 18,19 This plan should help improve your health by balancing body chemistry, which can positively affect the gum health. The first sign that it is working is some temporary detoxification symptoms like headaches, chills, and fatigue. (These should not last more than a few days.) Try this plan for one to four weeks if you feel like your body needs a reset. After the initial period, you can expand to the general dietary plan if you like.
This diet consists of a protein element, a moderate amount of fat, and plenty of vegetables with every meal. Make sure to eat plenty of calories when implementing this plan and do not deprive yourself of what you need.
Body Chemistry Balancing Food Plan
6+ ounces of protein per day from healthy animal sources such as pastured chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and/or from wild fish such as tuna, salmon, and sardines.
Healthy Fat: ½ - 3 tablespoons of grass-fed butter or ghee, cultured preferred.
Vegetables: Plenty of vegetables of any sort to go with your protein. The following list is just a sampling as any vegetable you feel drawn to you can include in your diet: beet greens, kale, lettuce, collard greens, cucumber, chard, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, bok choy, salad greens, zucchini, and string beans.
Starches : Starches are not required, but they will help you get plenty of calories and feel full. Safe starches for body chemistry balancing are sweet potatoes; yams; taro root; acorn, butternut, summer, and winter squashes; pumpkin; carrots; beets; turnips; and rutabagas.
Gelatin, and/or Broth with meal s o r ½ to 1 tablespoon of gelatin reconstituted in water .
Liver from any Animal Source: 2+ ounces of fresh liver 2-4+ times per week and/or 1-3 teaspoons of Dried Powdered Liver 2-4 times per week (available at traditionalfoods.org ).
Adequate Zinc: 6 fresh oysters 2-4 times per week and/or 4-12 capsules of Powdered Oysters 2-4 times per week (available at traditionalfoods.org ).
Probiotic Foods: 1+ tablespoon of some type of fermented vegetable such as sauerkraut.
Good Salt: 1+ teaspoon per day of total dietary salt consumption.
Supplements - Most people should take these 4-6 days per week and not every day to allow the body to recalibrate.
Calcium: 1½-3 teaspoons Bone Marrow & Cartilage (600mg – 1,200mg) (or for those who can do dairy, fermented liquid dairy products like kefir or yogurt).
Trace Minerals: ⅛–½ teaspoon Organic Kelp Powder (for some people a smaller dose is better).
Vitamin C: ¼–2 teaspoons of High Vitamin C powder per day or equivalent vitamin C-rich foods.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins A, D, and Activator X/“K2” : See the general dietary guidelines earlier in this chapter. These vitamins are essential; do not skip them.
Optional : Some people will benefit by eating 4-6 smaller meals per day instead of two or three larger ones.
Foods to Avoid for the Body Chemistry Diet Plan In addition to avoiding the foods listed in the general dietary plan , this plan excludes nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, grains, corn, pseudo-cereals, regular potatoes, and cheese.
For the longer term, this body chemistry diet plan is fairly restrictive and may be limiting some foods that your body craves. In the long run, you can modify this diet how you like by combining it with principles from the general diet plan to accommodate other dietary preferences such as paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. The key is to use your best judgment and if something continually does not feel good or does not work for you, change course and get additional support. Remember, these guidelines are not meant to cause food deprivation or orthorexia, an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy.
Raw primal diets are based on the late and outside-the-box nutritionist Aajonus Vonderplanitz. His dietary guide is The Recipe for Living without Disease . Some people following such a diet experience excellent health and healing over time, even with “hopeless” cases for whom no other treatment has worked. The highlight and basic concept is that uncooked animal fats and proteins are easiest to digest. Of course, use these guidelines at your own responsibility and adapt them to work for your body. This is not a “one size fits all” approach and these guidelines may need modification if you choose to follow a diet like this.
2–4 cups of vegetable juice daily between meals (see green juice recipe in chapter seven)
8+ ounces raw grassfed meat, chicken, or wild fish per day
6 raw oysters per day 4 ounces of raw grass-fed cheese
2-4 ounces raw grass-fed butter per day
4-8 raw pastured eggs per day
4-8 cups raw grass-fed milk, yogurt, or kefir per day*
1 tablespoon raw grass-fed bone marrow 1-2 ounces of raw grass-fed liver
⅛–½ teaspoon organic kelp powder
½-1¼ Green Pasture Cod Liver Oil / Butter Oil Mix (Blue Ice Royal Blend)
¼-½ teaspoon Skate Liver Oil
1 teaspoon organic colostrum
Other raw organs and glands
1 teaspoon Essential Multi-Glandular (if not consuming raw organs and glands)
½-1 teaspoon Bone, Marrow, and Cartilage (if not consuming bone marrow)
*lesser amounts of raw cheese can be used to replace the milk.
This raw diet can also be modified into a semi-raw diet by cooking or searing the animal foods, creating a diet that is low in dietary fiber with easy-to-absorb milk, meat, fat, and vegetable juice.
If you find the advice in this book too much or too hard to follow, then try to break the program down into one or two dietary concepts that most appeal to you. Here is a simple program to help you get started in which you can improve your nutrition but without having to make any significant changes.
Dentist George Heard (author of Man vs. Toothache ) linked gum disease to a diet heavy in meat, gravy, bread, and potatoes. 20 Too much meat and animal fat consumed for a long time without enough calcium and trace minerals can cause the bone structure to waste away. 21 One reason this occurs is because grains and animal flesh are very high in phosphorus. Because a diet high in phosphorous and low in calcium leads to gum disease, proteins and grains need to be balanced with plenty of calcium and trace minerals. Likewise, a high fat diet requires minerals in our body for metabolism, as much as the minerals need the fat to be utilized correctly and efficiently by the body. If you eat a high fat diet, balance it with mineral-dense foods like seaweed and dairy products, or a bone-based calcium supplement.
For many of us, our bodies have endured years if not decades of a nutrient-deficient diet. The toll this has taken on our bodies has resulted in poor overall health and specifically mineral depletion in our jaws and supporting tissues, resulting in inflammation and tissue destruction known as gum disease. Because of the long, slow process for disease to form, it may take an equal amount of time to see satisfying results and to repair the damage done. Give yourself at least two months to see some results (of course they can happen much faster!), and at least six months and up to a year or longer to see more definitive and permanent changes. As you are following a healthy diet, you should be feeling better and better and have a sense of well being more and more. If you do not continue to feel better and instead start feeling worse, then seek additional support, as something is going awry. If you are feeling better but are not seeing the results you had hoped for, then it is time to be patient and to find additional ways to evaluate if your health goal is being satisfied.
Everyone is unique and faces different challenges. Here are some things to watch out for if you are not experiencing the degree of gum healing you may have expected:
Poor food quality: Absolutely avoid packaged foods, even foods labeled organic, as they may not truly nourish you. If you are a great fan of dairy products, be aware that grain-fed dairy products, even if they are raw, can cause imbalances. Get the best and freshest food you are able to find.
Skipping fat-soluble vitamins: Fat-soluble vitamins are of utmost importance in nourishing strong alveolar bones and supporting tissues, especially vitamin D. If you skip this step, restoring gum health can be difficult to achieve.
Too much sweet food: A sweet is a sweet. If you have gum disease, you must limit your sweets. Your gums are worth it. Natural sweets are safer than highly refined ones, but there is a point at which you may suffer consequences.
Lack of minerals: Bone broth aids in nutrient absorption and is rich in minerals. Seaweed, fish, and shellfish are very rich in minerals. Calcium is critical for those suffering from gum disease.
Poor food absorption: Perhaps you are not digesting your food well. Focus on adding fermented foods, bone broth, kefir, and raw eggs, to aid in digestion. Perhaps you need to reconsider a deeper cleanse or detoxification as discussed in chapter seven. Many times chronically poor digestion can be the result of heavy metal poisoning, particularly from mercury, or scar tissue that resulted from large doses of antibiotics. You may need some of digestive aids recommended in chapter seven.
Eating Good Food Now that you know the outline of what to eat and what to avoid, you have the rewarding challenge of converting these ideas into meals and menus. At curegumdisease.com/food you will find a list of suggested cookbooks and online resources you can use to find recipes that in general complement the dietary advice in this book. Listed below are also some grain-free meal ideas to get you started. These do not necessarily represent an ideal diet, but are a good start for a balanced diet.
Meal Ideas : These can be served at any meal of the day—breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Making lunch the biggest meal of the day may work well for some readers.
Snacks should include both some protein and some fat, such as:
Milk, yogurt, cheese, kefir, beef jerky (with some butter or beef fat)
If you are consuming large amounts of fluid milk or yogurt, try consuming them away from meals that contain other animal protein, as it may make it easier to digest.
In the Aruyvedic tradition, raw fresh milk is brought to a gentle boil for one to five minutes and mixed with spices like turmeric, ginger, and cardamom to create a milk tea. Usually a touch of sweetener is then added. In the same tradition, yogurt can be mixed with water and spices to form a digestive aid called a Lassi. For specific instructions, visit curegumdisease.com/milk
If you “need” to have a sweet, have it in the middle of the day so that there is time for your blood sugar to stabilize rather than after dinner when it could affect your sleep.
(Hint: In general use less sweetener than is suggested in recipes.)
Fresh fruit salad with egg custard or cream
Baked apple, center filled with maple syrup with ice cream
Homemade ice-cream with raw milk / cream and using a modest amount of sweetener like honey or maple syrup
Rice pudding made with white rice
Homemade Jello with good gelatin
Homemade cheesecake
After reading through this entire book and learning step-by-step how this dietary advice came about, I hope that you have a reasonable grasp on what causes gum disease, and how to make real and lasting changes in your life. Next, let’s take a look at the different treatment options available at your dentist and periodontist so you can create an integrative treatment plan for healing gum disease naturally.