Potassium rich foods are an important ingredient in my “Keep Your Teeth “ Program. Potassium is important for preventing cavities and preserving healthy bone levels around teeth . Potassium is also important for getting the best results from LANAP laser periodontal therapy to reverse gum disease and save natural teeth.
What Is Potassium?
Potassium is an electrolyte, or a mineral that has an electrical charge. The recommended daily allowance for potassium is a whopping 4700 mg per day. That is a lot of potassium. Hardly anyone gets enough potassium and most Americans are deficient in this mineral.
Blood tests do not reveal deficiencies as potassium acts inside the cells and a routine test will not be diagnostic. Just eat more potassium rich foods.
A great resource for tracking your daily intake based on serving size is the book Food Values. If you prefer digital programs, you can use a Chronometer App that tracks dozens of micronutrients. Be mindful that it takes several months of eating potassium rich foods to raise your levels to healthy levels and see clinical results.
Why Is Potassium Important For Strong Teeth And Healthy Gums?
Potassium helps maintain the mineral balance in the body and the pH in the body. In the oral cavity, when the environment becomes too acidic teeth are more prone to cavities. In addition, the germs that cause gum disease and bone loss thrive in acidic environments.
Potassium is also important for regulating calcium and bone density. When potassium levels drop, bone density is decreased. Several studies have shown that dietary potassium intake is important for bone health and to rebuild thinning bones Strong, dense bone that is resistant to bone loss is important for gum disease prevention and should be part of your “Keep Your Teeth” program.
Natural Foods For Healthy Teeth
How To Eat More Potassium Rich Foods
Avocados are loaded with potassium, each avocado providing about 600 mg of potassium.
Bok choy is a vegetable that, when boiled, provides 1500 mg of potassium for every 2 cups. If you are in the habit of drinking bone broth for building collagen you can chop up a few bok choys and add it to the broth just before serving.
While bananas are famous for being a potassium rich food, you should be aware that half of the potassium is in the peel. Unless you enjoy eating banana peel, trying to get your potassium from bananas can introduce excessive amounts of sugar. Melons like cantaloupes are a better fruit choice.
Many green, leafy vegetables contain high potassium levels. Just be sure to choose food items that are low in oxalates. Cruciferous vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage have high levels of potassium and are relatively low in oxalates. Arugula and lettuce are also high in potassium with low oxalates.
The animal meats that are high in potassium include clams, red meat, liver, cod, halibut and tuna.
There are two nuts that are relatively low in carbohydrates and have good levels of potassium. These are hazelnuts and Brazil nuts. Almonds have a lot of potassium but are high in carbohydrates and oxalates.
If you would like to know more about oxalate toxicity, I recommend the book Toxic SuperFoods by Sally Norton.
Potassium Rich Beverages
In addition to eating potassium rich foods, I suggest getting into the habit of drinking fluids that are not just plain water but, rather, fluids that contain electrolytes like salt and potassium and magnesium. If you drink filtered water or reverse osmosis water you can add trace mineral drops for electrolytes.
Organic coconut water without added sugar is an excellent electrolyte that delivers about 400 mg of potassium per serving and helps you stay hydrated.
You can also add electrolyte powder to your drinking water. Look for powders with no added sugar. A few of the brands I personally use are LMNT, Dr. Berg’s Keto Electrolyte Powder, Jigsaw Health (they even have a pickle ball electrolyte mix!).
I also make my own electrolyte drink by mixing Pellegrino mineral water (always in a glass jar, never plastic) with fresh organic lemon and all natural salt like Selina Celtic Sea Salt and Redmond’s Real Salt.
Who Shouldn’t Supplement Potassium?
If you have end stage kidney disease or impaired kidney function consult with your physician. Otherwise, most people need to eat a lot more potassium rich foods.
Keep Your Teeth
I wrote a book called “Keep Your Teeth”, available on Amazon, to help people all over the world understand why they are losing teeth (it may not be what you think) and offer practical tips to avoid tooth loss. Buy your copy today!
