High Fibre Diets
Scientists have agreed that there are several potential advantages that occur when we consume a diet that is high in fibre:
- Helps to clean the teeth. Food that is high in fibre may gently scrap and clean tooth surfaces by removing the plaque build-up as we chew
- Increasing saliva production. As consuming high fibre foods involves a lot of chewing more saliva is naturally produced. The increase in your mouth’s production of saliva will decrease chances of tooth decay as well as stimulation the blood flow to your teeth and gums
The best high-fibre foods:
When we talk about foods that are high in fibre, we are referring to dietary fibre.
To help our bodies get the fibre we need the following is a list of foods that are rich in fibre:
- Vegetables – carrots, celery, broccoli, beetroot, leafy greens and potatoes
- Fruit – apples, oranges, pears, bananas and berries
- Wholegrains – whole grain breads (choose a bread that has at least 3 grams of fibre per slice, oats, brown rice, bran and barley
- Beans and Legumes – lentils, peas and beans
- Seeds and Nuts – chai seeds, quinoa, pumpkins seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios and almonds.
How much fibre should be eaten per day?
The Heart Foundation recommends the following daily fibre intake:
- Approximately 4 serves of wholegrain or wholemeal foods
- Approximately 5 serves of vegetables, beans or legumes
- Approximately 2 serves of fruit
Fun Facts:
Ancient hunter-gatherers had almost no dental crowding issues, the condition first became more common about 12, 000 years ago among the earliest farmers in Southwest Asia.
The hunter-gather’s diet was based on harder foods such as raw vegetables and meat that required lots of chewing.
Move forward a number of thousand years and the farmer had a diet that was a lot softer and included more processed foods, such as cereals and legumes, that required less chewing.
The popular opinion of the effects of this change in diet is that our jaw has lessened in size over time but has not reduced the dimensions of the teeth.
Often, we do not have adequate space in the jaw for our teeth resulting in approximately one in five people experiencing malocclusion and dental crowding.
Dentists are finding that an increasing percentage of the population is needing to have their wisdom teeth removed, as there is simply not enough room for them.
There is also an increase in the number of people who never even get their wisdom teeth, making us believe that our bodies are making allowances to this change of diet.
New Patient Professional Check-up + Clean
Passion Family Dental North Lakes are offering the following for new patients.
– Adult check-up + clean $178*
Includes: Exam, Scale and Clean, Fluoride, two X-rays. *Terms & Conditions
To book an appointment with your North Lakes dentist, call us on (07) 3465 1199 or book your appointment online.
We are located at Unit 4/6 Endeavour Boulevard in North Lakes.