Where There Is No Dentist 2012 67
TAKING CARE OF ALL YOUR TEETH
This book often repeats an important message: eat good food and clean
your teeth. It is repeated because this is the most important thing you
can Iearn from this book. Later chapters will discuss what to do when
problems occur, but if you follow these two suggestions, you will almost
never have problems with your teeth and gums. This is true because good
food keeps your whole body healthy, including your teeth. Also, with no
‘colonies’ of germs (page 50) or harmful factory sugar (page 55) on your
teeth, your mouth cannot make the acids that cause both tooth and gum
problems. So, remember:
1. Eat Good Food
An easy-to-remember rule is the same foods that are good for the
body are good for the teeth. A healthy body is the best protection
against infection.
Good nutrition (eating well) means 2 things:
1) Eat a mixture of different kinds of foods
every time you eat. Look at the pictures
on page 55. There are several groups of
foods. Every time you eat, try to eat one or
two foods from each of the groups. This
way, you will get 3 important kinds of food:
grow food (body-building food) to give you
the protein you need; glow food (protective
food) to give you vitamins and minerals; and
The MAIN FOOD is at
go food (concentrated energy food) to give
the center of every meal. you calories to be active all day.
2) Be sure you eat enough
food to give your body the
energy it needs. This is even
more important than the first
suggestion. We get half or
more of our energy from our
main food. In most parts of the
world, people eat one low-cost
energy food with almost every
meal. Depending on the area,
this main food may be rice,
maize, millet, wheat, cassava,
potato, breadfruit, or banana.
The main food is the central or
‘super’ food in the local diet.
A spoonful of cooking oil
added to a child’s food means
he only has to eat about ¾ as
much of the local main food
in order to meet his energy
needs. The added oil helps
make sure he gets enough
calories by the time his belly
is full.