Oral Microbiome II: 5 Groups of food to avoid

5 kinds of food to avoid if you want to have a happy oral microbiome

What you will learn in this article:

I would like to start by emphasising that I am definitely not a fan of a bossy approach along the lines of you may do this and you mustn’t do that. Likewise, I do not wish to classify foods as good and bad.

The purpose of this article is to share information with you. Information that will help you evaluate and understand which foods will support the health of your oral microbiome. In accordance with your goals and intentions, you can choose for yourself whether some of this information will become part of your future decisions.

Let’s begin!

In my last article, I explained that the health of your oral microbiome is affected by a number of factors. These include, for example, antibiotics, infections, a weakened immune system, medications, sugar, and the composition and amount of saliva.

Are there any specific foods, however, that are outright bad for our oral microbiome? And if so, why is it?

Foods to avoid:

• Pretzels and crackers (they stick to the teeth)
• Biscuits, granola bars
• Sweetened cereals
• Dried fruit (very high content of sugar)
• Sodas and sugary drinks

Why?

The listed foods and others like them play an important part in the formation of tartar and contribute to an oral imbalance. These foods are known as fermentable carbohydrates. The pathogenic bacteria in your mouth absolutely adore these fermentable carbs. It is very easy for them to split them in a process during which an acid is released that has devastating effects on our tooth enamel. As I described in this article, this acid contributes to the decalcification and demineralisation, and over time leads to the formation of caries and an imbalance of the oral microbiome.

“My pretzels are organic and I buy dried fruit in the healthy food shop.”

Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or organic? Pathogenic bacteria simply don’t care! The process in your mouth is still the same.

What is the main takeaway from this article?

If you are trying to support the health of your oral microbiome, then keep in mind the following:

• Avoid over-processed foods and eat a rainbow every day.
• Keep up your water intake by drinking pure water.
• Make sure you get enough restorative sleep.
• Focus on breathing through your nose, have control of your breath.
• Make sure you keep your gut microbiome happy. The mouth and the gut are closely related.

Bibliography:

Buffalo, 2022. Study: Carbs, sugary foods may influence poor oral health. [online] Buffalo.edu. Available at: <https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2022/04/008.html> [Accessed 11 September 2022].

Millen, A., Dahhan, R., Freudenheim, J., Hovey, K., Li, L., McSkimming, D., Andrews, C., Buck, M., LaMonte, M., Kirkwood, K., Sun, Y., Murugaiyan, V., Tsompana, M. and Wactawski-Wende, J., 2022. Dietary carbohydrate intake is associated with the subgingival plaque oral microbiome abundance and diversity in a cohort of postmenopausal women. Scientific Reports, 12(1).

Scardina, G. and Messina, P., 2012. Good Oral Health and Diet. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2012, pp.1-8.