My family is blessed with good teeth and gums. I’m glad to say so far, I haven’t worried about gum diseases like gingivitis and periodontal disease. However, for over 50% of Americans gum disease is a fact of life. Luckily, you can stop the progression with a triple whammy strategy including professional care, improved oral hygiene and a diet packed with foods that help fight gum disease. Here are some of the best foods for periodontal disease and gingivitis. (1)
Nuts And Seeds For Periodontal Disease
Nuts and seeds packed with Omega-3s such as macadamia nuts, pistachios, and sesame seeds act as an anti-inflammatory to reduce symptoms of gum disease. (1)
Fatty Fish
Also packed with Omega-3s, fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel offer a boost to the immune system while also having an anti-inflammatory effect. (1)
Food For Periodontal Disease: Grass-fed Beef
Grass-fed beef is rich in collagen, a nutrient many of us are missing in our diets. However, it too is high in Omega-3s. Keep in mind we’re specifically talking grass-fed beef. Grain-fed beef can actually make things worse because it contains omega-6s, antibiotics, and other inflammatory causing elements. (1)
Chicken For Periodontal Disease
Chicken contains collagen and CoQ10 especially in the delicious, albeit rather fatty skin. (1)
Bone Broth
Bone contains tons of collagen. Bone broth is one of the latest superfoods and a delicious way to get more of important gum-healthy nutrients. (1)
Food For Periodontal Disease: Vegetables
There’s a long list of vegetables that are excellent additions to your gum healthy diet including: (1)
- Shiitake mushrooms for lentinan to attack the bacteria that causes gum disease while acting as an anti-inflammatory to boot.
- Broccoli for a major dose of Vitamin C, an antioxidant as well as rich nutrients Vitamin B1, magnesium, iron, calcium, niacin, and selenium.
- Red and green bell peppers are also high in Vitamin C, providing over 300% and 200% respectively of your daily requirement.
- Sweet potatoes are tasty and filling providing beta carotene to reduce inflammation while providing much-needed elements to create Vitamin A. It also has lots of healthy Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and Manganese.
Veggies are easy to add to your diet! Toss them in a salad, add them to an omelet, eat them raw as a snack or enjoy them as a side dish.
Green Tea For Periodontal Disease
Green tea contains catechins, one of the best nutrients to fight gum disease. It also works to prevent gum disease if you are at risk, or just want to avoid it. (1)
Cacao
Yes! Chocolate. Cacao is not only high in catechins, but also helps fight cavities, plaque, and tooth decay. This is thanks to high levels of CBH, which strengthens tooth enamel. To be clear, no noshing on chocolate bars. You need chocolate containing at least 70% cacao to get all the health benefits. The less sugar the better. (1)
Food For Periodontal Disease: Probiotics
Probiotics are found in things such as yogurts as well as fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. They promote good bacteria to help fight plaque buildup and gingivitis. (1)
What I love about this list is it’s full of foods easy to add to any diet. As always, speak to your doctor to make sure there aren’t any foods on the list you should avoid.
