The Doctor Weighs In

By Dov Michaeli MD, Ph.D.

The story of 3 young Inca girls found intact in a cave were they were ritually buried about 500 years ago hit the news media a few days ago. The picture of one of them, a 15 year old, apparently asleep when she died, was especially striking: her modern-looking braided hair, her Sarape, the like of which is worn today by the locals in the Andes, and her faint smile (was she dreaming when she died?) evoked a sense of awe and marvel at how little things change (le plus ça change le plus c’est la meme chôse). Judging from the shape of her face and lips, one could tell that she had a full set of teeth. The Incas of 500 years ago obviously didn’t brush or floss their teeth. How did they maintain them in good hygienic condition?

Eat right!

With our emphasis on brushing and flossing we tend to forget that foods make a tremendous difference to our oral health. I remember my mother’s admonition not to eat sweets, because they cause tooth decay. But that’s about it. So I was delighted to read in the September/October issue of AARP magazine a delightful little article on oral hygiene and various foods. Did you know, for instance, that:

· Vitamin C kills oral bacteria. Oranges, limes, grapefruit, cranberries and strawberries are rich in this vitamin.

· Green tea contains a group of chemicals called catechins that kill bacteria.

· Grapefruit and oranges, because of their high vitamin C content, aid in wound healing and increase collagen synthesis in the gums. This helps maintain the collagen network around the tooth, preventing the latter from loosening. But be careful: grapefruit acid can temporarily weaken the enamel. So wait a minimum of 30 minutes before brushing.

· Calcium-containing foods build enamel and strengthen the bone matrix (which is made of collagen). Yogurt, cheese and milk are excellent sources of calcium.

· Calcium has another beneficial action: it forms a temporary film on the teeth and deflects natural acidic materials in the mouth; this helps prevent tooth decay.

· Want to have a bright smile? Cauliflower, spinach, lettuce and broccoli are all sources of minerals that create a protective film on teeth and help prevent red-wine, cola, or coffee stains from penetrating the enamel. Chewing on crunchy foods such as carrots, nuts and seeds helps slough off the plaque. It also stimulates saliva, which neutralizes acids that weaken the enamel coat.

· What about the scourge of intimate contact, halitosis? Mint and parsley kill bacteria in the mouth. In addition, they contain compounds called monoterpenes. These substances are rapidly absorbed into the blood, and are exhaled through the lungs, countering the odor in the mouth.

Did the Indians have great teeth?

Alas, the Inca Indians did not limit themselves to wholesome foods. The 15 year old girl had a coca leaf hanging from her mouth. Today’s Andean Indians still chew the leaf with devastating results: they lose their gums and teeth at a relatively young age. The fault is not in the leaf itself but in the way they chew it: in order to release the “good stuff” from the cells, they chew it together with lime (not the fruit, the mineral). And the mineral literally dissolves their gums.

You might wonder, if the results of chewing coca are so deleterious to their survival (they lose their teeth in their late 20s-early 30s), how is it that this habit survived thousands of years? Blame it on religion in the service of oppression. The Inca kings, trying to keep the farmers working the poor soil of the high Andes, in bitter cold and with hardly any food to sustain them, encouraged the use of coca to kill the hunger and dull the sting of the chill. They actually incorporated it in the religion, as a form of gift from the Gods.  Marx (not Groucho, the other one) was for once right when he said that Religion is opium for the masses. And he didn’t even know about the Incas…

Dov Michaeli MD, Ph.D is in the biotech industry.