If you are currently on the carnivore diet, you have already eliminated a major source of toxins coming into your body. But there are other simple things that you can do to further reduce the amount of toxins that you ingest and ditching commercial toothpaste tubes is one of them.
Commercial toothpaste contains harmful chemicals, including fluoride (a neurotoxin), sodium laurel sulfate (a cleaning and foaming agent), titanium oxide (a whitening agent), saccharin and aspartame (artificial sweeteners), triclosan (a pesticide used as an antibacterial agent), parabens (a preservative) and many others. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
These chemicals, of course, have been approved for use in toothpaste because low dose is considered safe for human consumption. But we do know that they are toxins and I don’t see any reason to ingest toxins even in the tiniest quantity unnecessarily. [7, 8]
From Weston A. Price‘s work, we know that the primary cause of all modern-day dental health problems is bad diet rather than inadequate dental care.
There are many anecdotes about how people’s dental health immediately improves after they cut out all processed food and high carb and sugary food and drinks from their diet.
You still need to brush your teeth but my personal view is you don’t need to use toothpaste with toxins to kill the bacteria in your mouth any more. This is because, when you are on the carnivore diet, your carbohydrate intake will be very low and that will create an unfriendly environment for mouth bacteria that rely on sugar to proliferate.
Below are three ways that you can try to clean your teeth without resorting to commercial toothpaste.
Go toothpaste free
After your meal, start cleaning your teeth by using dental floss, floss picks, toothpicks, or interdental flossers to remove any remaining food stuck between your teeth. After that brush your teeth with a tooth brush as usual and rinse with some warm water. I find that warm water does a good job of getting rid of the meat and fat taste in the mouth after a meal.
If you want to, you can also rinse with warm salty water instead of using commercial mouthwashes (usually containing alcohol which has been linked to increased risk of oral cancer). Salty water is a great mouthwash alternative because salt is a natural disinfectant.
Baking soda toothpaste
Your next option is to use baking soda as an alternative toothpaste.
Just wet your toothbrush and lightly touch the baking soda to get a very small amount on top of your toothbrush and brush as usual.
Baking soda still causes abrasion in the teeth but I think it is still a much better option than commercial toothpaste.
Baking soda, salt and essential oil toothpaste
Your third option is to make your toothpaste from baking soda, salt and essential oil.
You’ll need:
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 drops essential oil (e.g. tea tree oil, peppermint oil or spearmint)
- water as needed
In a mixing bowl, mix baking soda, salt and essential oil. Add water slowly and continue to mix until you have a consistent paste. Transfer to a glass jar and store in a cool and dark place.
As above, you just need a tiny amount of this home-made toothpaste each time.
The essential oil helps leave a nice refreshing taste in your mouth afterwards which is what many people are used to.
My dental care routine lately has been dental floss plus brushing teeth using this homemade toothpaste twice a week. For the rest of the time I just use dental floss and plain water. In addition to getting regular dental check-up, please experiment and see what work for you.
Other recipes that you may be interested in:
How to Make Your Own Multi-Purpose Cream from Tallow
Pure and Natural Homemade Deodorant for Carnivores
How to Blanch Meat to Make Raw Meat Safer
Carnivore Chicken Broth Recipe
Carnivore Sticky Lamb Ribs Recipe
What Are the Best Ways to Cook Meat on the Carnivore Diet?
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for reference purposes only and is not intended to constitute or replace professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified medical professional before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle. Please check out our disclaimer for more detail.