Book Review: Cure Tooth Decay by Ramiel Nagel

Tooth decay has become an accepted norm in our culture. Sure, we fluoridate our water, scrub our teeth with plastic bristles and dutifully have our teeth scraped with metal objects a couple times every year. But for all our effort, tooth decay remains an ever present part of our lives. While modern dentistry preaches prevention, the underlying policy is to drill and fill the imperfections in our teeth. Above all, the word "cure" is never used in conjunction with subjects like cavities, gingivitis and other dental woes.

Until now. Ramiel Nagel takes the daring leap from drilling to curing in his book Cure Tooth Decay. To be perfectly honest, before hearing about this book I never even considered the idea that tooth decay could be reversed. I was so swamped by cultural bias that I assumed cavities could only be prevented by brushing, flossing, and staying away from sweets. And if that didn't work (as it often doesn't) then it was time to drill those poor teeth to oblivion. But according to Rami, this system of dental care fails at every level:

"Modern dentistry is a profound failure. The enormity of suffering and disease caused by dentistry is so massive that it is beyond comprehension."

"High speed drilling creates high friction and raises the temperature of the tooth nerve, causing irreversible nerve damage in 60% of cases."

Nagel goes into depth about why and how modern dentistry has failed us. For not only are their treatments ineffective (some might even call them cruel), but the focus is never on the right thing: preventing and healing tooth decay. He also addresses several of the common myths about tooth decay (such as food on teeth causing cavities).

A Comprehensive Guide to Tooth Decay

I was floored by the amount of information contained in Cure Tooth Decay. I honestly did not expect to learn so much about what makes teeth healthy and why tooth decay happens. I was also surprised how little I really knew about dental health. Reading about the process of how teeth remineralize was absolutely fascinating.

For years, dentists have been treating teeth as if they are separate from the rest of the body. And perhaps this is the greatest mistake concerning the health of our teeth and gums.

Nutrient Density and Tooth Decay

As we know from the work of Weston A. Price (detailed in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration), tooth decay was far less rampant in traditional cultures who consumed their ancestral diet than it was in modern society. Price took the information he gathered from traveling the world and applied it to his patients when he got home. 

It's interesting to note that Price did not put his patients on traditional diet. Instead, he applied the principles of traditional diets by adding a few key nutrient dense foods to their diets. This had a marvelous effect on their general health as well as the health of their teeth.

In Cure Tooth Decay, Nagel outlines these same principles and gives specific tips for supplying the body with the nutrients it needs to remineralize teeth. Some of these key nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K2 (what Price refers to as Activator X), and important minerals like calcium, phosphorous, and trace minerals as well. 

Nagel suggests specific foods that can help supply these nutrients (grass-fed dairy, pastured eggs, bone broth, liver and seafood top the list, of course) and also outlines which foods may be causing problems with nutrient absorption. Following in Price's footsteps, he emphasizes the benefits of supplementing with high quality cod liver oil and butter oil.

"If you have tooth decay, you are presumably deficient in vitamins A and D."

  

Metabolic Function and Tooth Decay

"A malfunctioning thyroid gland also plays a role in producing tooth decay and gum disease because the thyroid plays a role in maintaining blood calcium levels."

I was impressed when Nagel brought metabolic function into the picture. He touched on how overall metabolic health (such as thyroid and pituitary function) can affect how the body regulates where minerals are deposited. A poor metabolism may very well lead to tooth decay and gum disease.

Obey Nature, Heal Tooth Decay

"All you need to do to heal cavities is understand Nature's rules for health, and then follow them. When you follow these rules, the built-in ability for your teeth to heal will take over."

Nagel goes into great detail in Cure Tooth Decay about all of the ways our diet can affect the health of our teeth and gums. He offers plenty of practical and specific directions for healing tooth decay.

But he does manage to avoid sounding preachy and rigid in his suggestions. While he admits that those with extensive tooth damage will probably need to follow the stricter approach, he fully embraces the idea that you should do what works and what feels right for you as an individual. He also offers meal ideas and suggestions for eating out. He even provides details for a "One-Amazing-Meal-A-Day" protocol that can be really helpful for those need a stepping stone into the world of nourishing food.


Final Thoughts on Cure Tooth Decay

There is honestly so much good information packed in this book that it's impossible for me to even come close to summarizing it in a blog post. I'm pretty sure that tomorrow I'm going to think of a hundred things I forgot to mention. Here's some more topics Nagel covers in Cure Tooth Decay:

• Weston A. Price's original tooth decay curing protocol
• How teeth remineralize
• Blood sugar regulation and tooth decay
• Why healthy gums matter (and how to heal your gums)
• What causes plaque and calculus deposits
• Toxicity of mercury fillings and fluoride treatments
• Safe filling materials
• How to find a good dentist
• How your dental palate affects your health
• Alternatives to braces
• Safe tooth whitening
• Healing your children's teeth (from infants to older children)

Read more reviews of Cure Tooth Decay here. Or you can check out the official Cure Tooth Decay web site at www.curetoothdecay.com. If you're looking for sources for the nutrient dense foods and supplements that can help cure tooth decay, check out my resources page.

Want more book reviews? Check out my other reviews below:

• Fat Politics by J. Eric Oliver
• Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride
• The Coconut Miracle by Bruce Fife
• The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean
• The Detox Book by Bruce Fife
• The Gabriel Method by Jon Gabriel
• Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes
• Adrenal Fatigue by James Wilson
• The Schwarzbein Principle (the entire series) by Diana Schwarzbein
• The Mood Cure by Julia Ross
• Eat Fat, Lose Fat by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday and Fight Back Friday.

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Is Butter Healthy? Part Three: Vitamin K2 Benefits

So far on our Is Butter Healthy? quest we've talked about the benefits of butyric acid and the benefits of vitamin A. Butter is a rich source of both of these important nutrients, but they aren't all butter has to offer. Also found within every bite of creamy, golden grass fed butter is vitamin K2. The benefits of vitamin K2 have only recently begun to receive the attention they deserve.

Vitamin K2 is the mysterious "Activator X" in grass fed butter that Weston A. Price valued so highly for its ability to promote the health of bones and teeth, as well as for treating a variety of chronic ailments. It is the synergistic element in high vitamin butter oil that was combined with the vitamin A and D in cod liver oil to provide nothing less than miraculous results in Weston Price's work.

Vitamin K1 Benefits vs Vitamin K2 Benefits

Vitamin K1 comes from plant sources (like spinach), while vitamin K2 comes from animal sources (like grass fed butter and liver). Conventional health information doesn't make much of a distinction between vitamin K1 and vitamin K2, but their functions in the body are quite different. Vitamin K1 plays the role most of us associate with vitamin K: supporting healthy blood clotting mechanisms. Vitamin K2, however, is in another league entirely. Its role in bone health, dental health and heart health appears to be completely separate from vitamin K1:

"A study recently published by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has revealed that increased intake of vitamin K2 may reduce the risk of prostate cancer by 35 percent. The authors point out that the benefits of K2 were most pronounced for advanced prostate cancer, and, importantly, that vitamin K1 did not offer any prostate benefits." From The Healthy Skeptic blog

"A recent study examined the relationship between K2 (MK-4 through 10) consumption and heart attack risk in 4,600 Dutch men. They found a strong inverse association between K2 consumption and heart attack mortality risk. Men with the highest K2 consumption had a whopping 51% lower risk of heart attack mortality and a 26% lower risk of death from all causes compared to men eating the least K2! Their sources of K2 MK-4 were eggs, meats and dairy. They obtained MK-5 through MK-10 from fermented foods and fish. The investigators found no association with K1, the form found in plants." From the Whole Health Source blog

A common misconception is that if we get plenty of vitamin K1 from plant sources, then our bodies will convert it to K2 (therefore getting vitamin K2 from animal sources is deemed unnessecary). In reality, this doesn't seem to work so well. I imagine this to be similar to the beta-carotene issue: while converting it to a usable source of vitamin A is possible, it simply doesn't work for many people and leaves the majority of us deficient if we're relying on carrots for our vitamin A. The simple fact is that these vitamins are in a more bioavailable state when they come from animal sources like grass fed butter. So using butter to reap the benefits of vitamin K2 is going to much more effective than, say, eating a bowl of leafy greens.

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Book Review: The Magnesium Miracle by Dr. Carolyn Dean

A couple years ago, I was lucky enough to be contacted by the Nutritional Magnesium Association. They offered me a copy of The Magnesium Miracle by Dr. Carolyn Dean. I'd never heard of it before, to be honest, and I didn't know much about magnesium at the time.

Halfway into the book I went out and bought my first magnesium citrate supplement. It was that convincing. And I've made it a priority to get enough magnesium ever since. Last month I returned to The Magnesium Miracle because I wanted to share it with you all.

If you're skeptical about the title of this book, I don't blame you. It sounds a little far-fetched that one simple nutrient is so potent it could be considered miraculous. But the proof is in the pudding. Carolyn Dean has seen the benefits of magnesium firsthand in her practice and throughout her medical career. She has also read (and referenced in the book) countless research papers demonstrating how magnesium can be used to improve and even resolve a number of health problems.

In the book, Dean says,

"We imagine that medicine has advanced to the stage of miraculous cures, yet it's not technology that we're lacking but basic nutrients that power our bodies and give us our health."

Are You Deficient in Magnesium?

Chances are, the answer is yes. Men average only 80 percent of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of magnesium, while women get only 70 percent. Dean and other experts say the RDA may not be enough to begin with, which means the vast majority of people aren't getting close to the magnesium they need every day. Our diets are woefully low in magnesium. Even healthy diets may not contain enough because soils are so mineral deficient these days.

Who Benefits from More Magnesium?

Who doesn't? It's hard not to be amazed by the list of conditions that magnesium can be used to treat. I didn't believe it at first myself. But chapter by chapter, Dean explains the exact science behind how magnesium is used in the body, and how it can benefit a variety of conditions and ailments:

- Anxiety
- Depression
- Panic Attacks
- Asthma
- Migraines
- Chronic Pain
- Strokes
- Hypertension
- Heart Disease
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome)
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
- Infertility
- Preeclampsia
- Cerebral Palsy
- Osteoporosis
- Kidney Stones
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Environmental Illness
- Detoxification
- Degenerative Diseases (Cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, etc.)

Whew! That was a lot to type. And believe me, that's not even the whole list. The great thing is, Dean doesn't stop after explaining how magnesium benefits these situations. She also makes also offers dietary, supplement and lifestyle recommendations for each condition she discusses throughout the book. The tone of the book is very easy to follow. The explanations are thorough but not overkill for the layman, there'll be no scratching your head while reading this one.

While Carolyn Dean is a medical doctor, she does believe in using the natural approach whenever possible. This question from page 46 speaks volumes:

"Does it make any sense to merely switch our addiction from sugar, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes to prescription medication without looking at the possible underlying metabolic causes?"

But What About Calcium?

According to Dean, calcium is over-emphasized in our society. Of course it's a valuable nutrient, but the constant promotion of calcium has unfortunately left magnesium in the dust. From page 21:

"Research shows that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in the Paleolithic or caveman diet--the ancient diet that evolved with our bodies--was 1:1, compared with a 5:1 or 15:1 ratio in present-day diets."

And another interesting quote from page 199:

"Centenarians (individuals reaching a hundred years of age) have higher total body magnesium and lower calcium levels than most elderly people."

Although Dean says magnesium deficiency is so widespread almost everyone will benefit from supplementation, she also elaborates about the different ways to test for a deficiency and explains which tests are most effective (and which ones are duds).

The Magnesium Eating Plan

As usual, I come away from the eating plan of this book somewhat disappointed. On one hand, Dean makes some excellent points about nutrition, like soaking beans to improve digestibility. She even suggests soaking grains for 8-12 hours before cooking to reduce the phytic acid content. She also warns against eating too much soy, and recommends only eating fermented soy. Good call, Carolyn. Dean also recommends nutrient-dense foods because these are most rich in magnesium as well as other vital nutrients. She surprisingly exonerates dietary cholesterol and has no trouble suggesting eggs can be part of a healthy diet. She even lists butter and coconut oil as healthy fats (yay!).

But you do run into a few unappealing "fatty foods" and "limit meat consumption" statements that I feel don't hit the mark. And I felt miffed when I saw dairy products on the "Foods to Avoid" list--right there with artificial sweeteners and hydrogenated oil! Granted, there are people with dairy sensitivities who may benefit from removing most dairy products from their diet. But to flat-out say "don't eat dairy" is going too far in my opinion. Raw milk has undoubtedly helped my own body heal and I'd hate for someone else to miss out on those benefits because of a blanket recommendation against a food that's been a part of many healthy traditional diets for thousands of years.

Dean includes lists of foods highest in magnesium, and does a good job demonstrating how hard it is to get enough magnesium on a processed foods diet versus a whole food plan.

A Guide for Magnesium Supplementation

In the back of the book there is a great chapter explaining every aspect of magnesium supplementation. You'll learn which magnesium supplements are most bioavailable and what the differences are between the difference kinds of supplements (like magnesium oil, homeopathic magnesium, etc.). Reading the book this time around I finally caught the paragraph where Dean ranks the different magnesium supplements in order of absorbability. Funny how I missed this the first time I read the book! (It's on page 250 in case you're curious.)

What's the Verdict?

This is a great read, hands down. I've gotta say I've noticed some improvements in my health since I started supplementing with magnesium--mainly a general feeling of well-being and improved PMS symptoms. I've enjoyed this book (both times I've read it), and am surprised how much more I got out of The Magnesium Miracle this time around. I'm definitely going to keep this one on the bookshelf for future reference. And I'll also keep taking my magnesium.

I'll sum up this review with a great quote from page 224:

"Clearly there is more to life than magnesium, but life can't exist without it."

Buy The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean today.

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