PROLONGED SITTING AND BRAIN ATROPHY. GET UP, GET MOVING, & TAKE RESVERATROL

I got sick of sitting.  Literally.  In those Memorial Day, Twilight Zone marathons, one could easily get sick of sitting.  One, two, maybe three episodes, and I got to get up.  And I did, often to find more productive activities.  

I got sick of sitting, too, when I drove for a transportation outfit in Denver, hauling supplies to hardware and other stores in the mountain towns of Vail, Carbondale, and Aspen.  The schlep from Denver to Carbondale was 3 hours.  That's three hours of straight sitting, and after a handful of stops in the area, I'd have to drive it back . . . another 3 hours sitting.  My legs cramped.  Circulation caused pin-like needling.  It was awful.  And still, I stuck it out.  I needed the money.   

Turns out now that there is scientific proof now for the unpleasant experience of sitting for hours on end.  Today, I sit too much, too, because I work on the computer most of the day.  I've switched that out, however, for a desk of sorts where I can type while standing up.  Find a way to get up.  If you don't have that avaiable to you, then find a way to take breaks at 30-minute or 60-minutes intervals.  Further, we're not just talking about folks who sit for so long but also folks who've handed over too much power to their handheld devices and to sensitive individuals, who used to get tagged as "Emo's."  One should not abscond themselves to the dark recesses of their bed, lights off, blinds closed, with earplugs being their only connection to sensient life.  First, you don't want any part of your body to atrophy.  Zero.  Don't rationalize a foreboding outcome in favor of laziness or somehow justify that because things aren't going your way or you aren't being loved enough.  Remember the title of that Yes song, "Owner of a Lonely Heart"?  Great song.  Not my favorite, but great.  But those lyrics support your strength, since so many times we make emotional decisions based on neediness.  Not good.  

According to the study, the news pertains to middle-aged folks.  That in middle-aged folks, sitting for prolonged periods of time frays the lining of the medial temporal lobe, the Hippocampus being the major brain structure in that lobe.  Think truck drivers, taxi drivers, call-center workers, dispatchers, computer operators, and others.  This affects a lot of people not to make this information alarming news.  But I am not alarming you because you already know this.  But I don't think that UCLA suddenly exercised its empathetic or do-gooder's muscles.  I think that with the number of digital products available to people that American society is losing some brain and brain power.  Kids and adults sit and lie down a lot more now either to bounce around on social media, email, or something fun and interesting on Netflix, Hulu, or Kindle.  More people are on their backs or arse a lot more.  And given how the major media outlets have been bleeding, they are definitely upping their game to grab more and more of your attention.  Some people simply can't put these devices down for fear that they would stop learning something new.  And THAT IS the addiction.  

Prolonged periods of sitting in middle age is tied to brain atrophy, new research shows.

Using MRI, investigators found sedentary behavior is a significant predictor of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) thinning and its substructures and that physical activity, even at high levels, does not offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods.

What's at stake is brain volume.  Like so many organs in our bodies, they do give way to age.  Our Thymus, the immune system's master gland, shrinks on average about 1% per year.  Zinc regrows it to its original size, a fact ignored by almost everyone, but the point is that our organs undergo annual shrinkage.  Knowing that, would you still pursue risky behaviors that accelerate this shrinkage or impede their repair and regrowth?  One wonders.  

The LA Times reviewed the UCLA study and pointed out that 

The study did not find any correlation between subjects' exercise habits and the thickness of either their medial temporal lobe or its constituent structures. That surprised the researchers since other work has found that brain volume is generally greater — and cognitive performance is better — in people who work out more. 

Get that?  The greater the brain volume, the better its function.  And though the point is made

Even for people who are physically active, sitting a lot seems to be bad for your brain,

neither the review nor the study offer nutritional solutions to offset or reverse the damage from long-term sitting.  According to the study, no amount of and no kind of exercise reverses the damaging effects of sitting for prolonged periods of time.  You just can't rebuild brain volume.  Or can you?  And the study, apparently, only looked at the results of long periods of sitting but not what it is about long-term sitting that causes the thinning of the Medial Temporal Lobe where your Hippocampus is located.  Is it the deleterious effects that sitting has on your metabolism?  Is it poor circulation?  These are important questions to ask to measure the seriousness of the condition.  So far, the cause of brain thinning is a mystery.  And the study only shows a correlation . . . and a strong causation as well.  Toward the end of her LA Times review of the study, Melissa Healy does hint that the thinning may, in fact, be caused by poor metabolism.  

The brain, of course, relies on adequate supplies of oxygen and nutrients to maintain itself and resist the depredations of aging. If sitting too long is compromising those supplies, then it stands to reason that our delicate cortical structures will have trouble maintaining the volume and density they had when we were young, Siddarth said.

So the message is clear.  Prolonged sitting is bad.  So get up.  Prabha Siddarth, Ph.D, lead author of the UCLA study, and LA Times' reviewer, Healy, both insist that you get up.  And if you sit long hours during the day, set hourly alarms or email notices on your computer to remind you to get up off your arse. 

For those looking to keep their brains plump and their memories sharp, Siddarth said the message is clear: Get up. Pace while talking on the phone, dance with your headphones on, take a walk at lunch. And if you're at a computer all day, set hourly alarms that remind you to stand and march around.

Okay, so we know that prolonged sitting is bad for our health.  But we already knew this.  Remeber those cross-country treks in the old station wagon in mid-August.  Yeah, that one through Yuma, Arizona, where after driving for 2 hours in the Sonoran Desert, you asked to stop at any gas station or rest stop . . . just to stretch your legs.  There still is one point made in the study that bothers me.  It's "that physical activity, even at high levels, does not offset the harmful effects of sitting for extended periods."  Really?  Exercise cannot replenish brain volume?  Is she sure?  Is she positive?  What about stroke victims?  Don't doctors recommend exercise and better nutrition to get them back to work or to function?  Ditto with brain injured folks, like athletes.  

Now for the good news.  Took you long enough. 

Your brain volume changes through your lifetime.  It's not a one way trip to Hell in a handbasket or as a basket case.  Now the first sentence of the first article I find at NCBI on brain volume states this

Physical exercise has been shown to increase brain volume and improve cognition in randomized trials of non-demented elderly.

Which fits in with the lead author's recommendation to "Pace while talking on the phone, dance with your headphones on, take a walk at lunch."  

DANCE, WALK, TAKE A HIKE
But the study on prolonged sitting was done independent of examining mitigating factors, like exercise and diet, and instead relied on patient reporting.  But that in no way diminishes or devalues the importance of her finding and the lesson drawn from the study: GET UP AND GET MOVING.  That same NCBI report on brain volume concludes

On the basis of published findings showing growth of brain volume with a physical exercise intervention [20], we hypothesized that the Walking [aerobic exercise] and Tai Chi [non-aerobic] exercise groups would demonstrate increases in brain volume when compared with the No Intervention group. We further hypothesized that those who walked faster would benefit more than those who walked slower.

So increases in brain volume COMPARED TO . . .  the non-intervention group.  When I walk in the mornings, I see several large groups of Chinese men and women in red T-shirts and white slacks stepping, moving through the air, reaching, and choreographing Tai Chi moves on the morning lawn accompanied by Chinese renditions of mid-century American and English rock-n-roll.  

A word on Tai Chi from that same article. 

The finding that a presumably less aerobic form of exercise, Tai Chi, had the greatest effect on brain growth and cognitive performance was unexpected, although modest gains in aerobic fitness have been demonstrated in clinical trials comparing Tai Chi participants to no intervention [36]. Tai Chi, which has been described as a type of moving meditation [37], requires continuous and sustained attention to maintenance of posture.

What does the Medial Temporal Lobe do that makes it so important? 

It's "essential for declarative memory (conscious memory for facts and events)." 

The medial temporal lobe includes a system of anatomically related structures that are essential for declarative memory (conscious memory for facts and events). The system consists of the hippocampal region (CA fields, dentate gyrus, and subicular complex) and the adjacent perirhinal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal cortices.  [. . . ] this system (a) is principally concerned with memory, (b) operates with neocortex to establish and maintain long-term memory, and (c) ultimately, through a process of consolidation, becomes independent of long-term memory, though questions remain about the role of perirhinal and parahippocampal cortices in this process and about spatial memory in rodents.

Notice how your brain is almost shaped like a mushroom cloud.  It's explosive.  

NUTRITIONAL REPAIR
Yes, there is hope; in fact, beyond hope, antidotes to this reduction in size.  I don't know how many times I've written here about Benfotiamine.  You can see its benefits here and here.  And two, I would get started on an exercise program that targets the brain.  If your joints are a bit crippled, try IP6 to loosen them up.  Benfotiamine should be considered part of a daily brain regimen.  

Here's why there's hope.  The hippocampus-based relational memory [is] sensitive "to the effects of nutrition."

 And this

Long thought of as the top of the body’s food chain, the brain has been shown in recent research to be sensitive to processes occurring elsewhere in the body. Lifestyle factors such as dietary intake, body mass, and physical fitness that affect bodily health can also influence brain structure and function in both humans and animals. 

This is good news.  As is this:

Hippocampal size is also known to increase in response to lifestyle factors including aerobic exercise, education, and intensive cognitive training, such as that experienced by London taxi drivers in training or medical students studying for a certification exam (7–10). Interestingly, as further discussed below, components of dietary intake have beneficial or detrimental effects on hippocampal health (11). 

Folic acid is excellent for the brain and the spine.  Seems to me that if you nutritionally support these structures, knowing that a feedback loop exists, that the nutritional support for one organ will support others nearby and distal.  Think of exercise.  When you do some squats notice how the strength in your haunches and legs transfers to other areas, like your lower back and your spine.  The same thing happens with nutrition. 

Finally, Bill Sardi says that you have to be crazy not to be taking Resveratrol for brain health.  The evidence is clear, in fact, it's visually clear: Resveratrol reawakens your brain.  See for yourself.  Find his Longevinex here. 

[The Egoist] is the man who stands above the need to use others in any manner. He does not exist for any other men and he asks no other man to exist for him.

Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the suffering of others.  But suffering is a disease.  Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance.  To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life.  Then man must wish to see others suffer in order that he may be virtuous.  --Ayn Rand

Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire.  He was probably burned at the stake he had taught his brothers to light.  But he left them a gift they had not conceived, and he lifted darkness off of the earth.  Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision.  The great creators, the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors stood alone against the men of their time.  Every new thought was opposed. Every new invention was denounced.  The first motor was considered foolish.  The airplane was considered impossible.  Anesthesia was considered sinful.  But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead, they fought, they suffered and they paid but they won.  No creator was prompted by a desire to serve his brothers, for his brothers rejected the gift he offered.  His truth was his only motive, his own work in his own way, that was his goal.  the creation, not its users; the creation, not the benefits others derived from it.  His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit.  A man's spirit, however, is his self, that entity which is his consciousness to think to feel to judge to act are functions of the ego.  The creators are not selfless.  The creator served nothing and no one.  He lived for himself and only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things which are the glory of mankind.  Such is the nature of achievement.  Man cannot survive except through his mind, but the mind is an attribute of the individual.  There's no such thing as a collective brain, a collective thought.  The primary act, the process of reason, must be performed by each man alone. The creative faculty belongs to single individual men; that which it creates is the property of the creator.  Nothing is given to man on Earth; everything he needs has to be produced.  Man can survive in only one of two ways: by the independent work of his own mind, or as a parasite fed by the minds of others.  The Creator originates; the parasite borrows.  The creator's concern is a conquest of nature; the parasite's concern is the conquest of men.  The Creator lives for his work; his primary goal is within himself.  The parasite lives second hand; others become his prime motive.  The basic need of the Creator is independence; to a Creator all relations with men are secondary.  The second-hander places the relations first; he preaches altruism, the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self.  Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve but to give, yet one cannot give that which has not been created.  Creation comes before distribution.  Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he had not produced above the man who made the gift possible.  We praise an act of charity; we shrug at an act of achievement.

4:05. Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the suffering of others.  But suffering is a disease.  Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance.  To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life.  Then man must wish to see others suffer in order that he may be virtuous.  Men have been taught that the ego is a synonym of evil and selflessness the ideal of virtue.  But the Creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge, or act.  These are functions of the self.  Egotism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self; altruism, the sacrifice of self to others.  This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain born for the sake of others, or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self.  This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.  The choice is not self-sacrifice or domination; the choice is Independence or dependence.  The egotist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others.  He is the man who stands above the need to use others in any manner.  He does not exist for any other men and he asks no other man to exist for him.  

5:35. This is the only form of brotherhood in mutual respect possible between men.  This is the only possible form of relationship between equals.  Anything else is a relation of slave to master or victim to executioner.  From the beginning of history, the two antagonists have stood face to face: the Creator and the second-hander. When the first Creator invented the wheel, the first second-hander responded: he invented altruism.  The contest has another name: the individual against the collective.  The common good of a collective, a race, a class, a state was the justification of every tyranny ever established over men.  Now observe the results of a society built on the principle of individualism.  This, our country, the noblest country in the history of men, the country of greatest achievement, greatest prosperity, greatest freedom, this country was based on a man's right to the pursuit of happiness, his own happiness, not anyone else's.  The Savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of its tribe.  Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.  It is an ancient conflict.  Now in our age, collectivism has broken loose and is running amok.  It has swallowed most of Europe.  It is engulfing our country.  I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone's right to any achievement of mine no matter who makes the claim, how large their number, or how great their need.  I wish to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others.  It had to be said.  The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.  I wish to come here and say that the Integrity of a man's creative work is of Greater importance than any charitable endeavor.  Those of you who do not understand this are destroying the world.  I wish to come here and state my terms.  I do not care to exist on any others.  I recognize no obligations toward men except one: to respect their freedom and to take no part in and to take no part in a slave Society.  To my country, I wish to give the 10 years which I will spend in jail if my country exists no longer.  I will spend them in memory and in gratitude for what my country has been.  It will be my act of loyalty, my refusal to live or work in what has taken its place.

The Fountainhead https://t.co/YktEzG27ID via @amazon

— St. Michael, the Archangel (@aveng_angel) January 28, 2024

"THEY'VE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAD NO REASON TO"

 What an insidious hoax.  Peggy Hall illuminates the crimes of the states,

So they may be misrepresenting the science.  They may be misrepresenting the numbers, and they certainly are misrepresenting in California the fact that, because it's very well-defined in California, an emergency can only be declared when the threat of the event potentially overwhelms the resources available--the personnel, and then the infrastructure.  The fact that the hospitals are shutting down, the fact that healthcare workers are being laid off, okay, that's not my opinion.  And if I were to go into a court of law, I would say, okay, here's the evidence.  These hospitals have closed.  These healthcare workers have been laid off.  We have stockpiles of gowns and PPE, Personal Protective Equipment.  That was another element that the governors highlighted to say, "Here's evidence for an emergency that we don't have the resources."  

 

Peggy Hall of The Healthy American interviews Ohio lawyer, Thomas Renz, who is bringing a lawsuit against Ohio's Republican Governor, Mike DeWine.  Here is a PDF of the suit, filed on behalf of a citizens group, called Ohio Stands Up!  

About Thomas Renz, this was posted at the site, Make Americans Free Again, 

Mr. Renz’s experience with the law began with his mentor, Nuremburg Prosecutor and celebrated international lawyer and scholar, Henry T. King, Jr.

A shortlist of other accomplishments include: being the only American to ever serve as clerk for the Honorable Justice Tarun Chatterjee of the Supreme Court of India, winning the national Trailblazer Award for Political Action, assisting in advocating for numerous state and national legislative and regulatory reforms, and many more. – From Renz Law

Peggy's interview reviews the successes that Tom Renz has had in suing Ohio's governor, Mike DeWine over extrajudicial measures presumed in the lockdown.  I will transcribe a few details of the interview below.  

9:54  1300 public health officials who signed letters that said racism is a greater public health risk than COVID. 

Can’t use a health emergency to suspend the constitution. 

10:37 An emergency doesn’t expand constitutional rights, nor does it decrease them.  The rights remain the same. 

This case is about ensuring that we have those rights. 

12:15  “Discovery” is a critical part of this case. 

12:25  We’re going to ask for the data, the real data, not your translation of the data but the real data, and we’re going to try and make it as public as possible.  With that, the next guy can file this case, then the next guy and the next guy . . . .  once we get done, you can find out whether or not if we did it right.  If we win it, we did it right, great.  If we made a mistake, you can find out where.  But you know what, all the data and effort that we put in won’t be for naught.  The data is there, so even if I am not the greatest attorney in the world and I blow it somewhere, the next guy can pick up where we left and we left a heck of a foundation for them.  

Peggy identifies the first federal lawsuit against health orders in San Diego.  The law firm is Arete Law, and the lawyer is Philip Mauriello, Jr.  KUSI News reported that

A San Diego law firm has filed a federal lawsuit against Dr. Wilma Wooten over her face covering mandate.

Arete Law A.P.C. filed the lawsuit against San Diego County Public Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten, Nick Macchione, and Helen Robbins-Meyer, alleging that the requirement to wear a facial covering when in public violates both U.S and California Constitutional rights. 

15:20  All of our data came from the CDC and the ODH, or Ohio Dept. of Health.  We didn't make any of it up.  We posed a very valid question.  If we're right, and we think we are, people's rights are being very much abridged.  The process is set by the courts and the attorneys.  The judge did indicate that he's interested in seeing this done.  That's a good thing.  He seems interested in seeing justice served.  We have an opportunity to do it and it will set a precedent that can be used in other cases.  Tom adds that at the heart of the suit is the question, "When can you declare an emergency?"  He points out that "They've declared an emergency despite the fact that they had no reason to."  

17:47  It's very clear to anyone in Emergency Management, whether you are an Emergency Room doctor or nurse, whether you have worked for the fire department, the police department, it's called EMT.  There are Emergency Management courses you can take.  I learned that there's a pre-emergency phase.  In California, we're prone to earthquakes, there's Earthquake Management, Emergency Management, and all of that.  You can actually become part of an Emergency Management Response Team in your city or county, and you go through training, and they tell you how to prepare for that earthquake, that flood, that disease, that outbreak.  Then you've got the actual emergency.  When the emergency hits, you go through all of your preassigned structures and roles, and so forth.  Then there's something called the Recovery Phase.  You're no longer in the emergency phase: the earthquake is over, the floodwaters have subsided, the fires have stopped burning, the chemical spill has been cleaned up.  It's called Recovery.  And then you have something called Mitigation.  Mitigation is where you look to see what went well, how we can improve on, and how we can plan next time.  Any 3rd Grader can tell you we are in the Recovery and Mitigation phases because there is no emergency.  The reason why they're declaring the emergency is because it is fraud.  It is fraud to get money . . . or to have gained when you've misrepresented the information.  So they may be misrepresenting the science.  They may be misrepresenting the numbers, and they certainly are misrepresenting in California the fact that, because it's very well-defined in California, an emergency can only be declared when the threat of the event potentially overwhelms the resources available--the personnel, and then the infrastructure.  The fact that the hospitals are shutting down, the fact that healthcare workers are being laid off, okay, that's not my opinion.  And if I were to go into a court of law, I would say, okay, here's the evidence.  These hospitals have closed.  These healthcare workers have been laid off.  We have stockpiles of gowns and PPE, Personal Protective Equipment.  That was another element that the governors highlighted to say, "Here's evidence for an emergency that we don't have the resources."  We have abundant resources.  Therefore, as I say, a third-grader could tell us there's no emergency.  The governors themselves have said there's no emergency.  Why?  Because they all have their reopening guidelines.  In California, they call it "Roadmap to Resiliency."  The governor's own words are a de facto declaration of an end to the emergency.  However, the counties and the cities--the state has kicked the can down the road.  In California, the governor has realized that we-the-people are onto him, so he's reissued press releases because they're not official orders, press releases that say, "Oh, we would like it if you would comply.  We hope that you'll be a good citizen and do this."  These are not orders.  So now the counties have issued health orders in terms of distancing and quarantine and all of that, but they also have very loose parameters.  Then the cities have issued emergency ordinances that at least in California are completely unlawful because they violate the California Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, and then the can gets kicked down the road all the way to the store and the businesses who've now become, as the phrase goes, the strong arm of the law.  The strong arm of the law means they have no legal authority or law enforcement authority to require you to do these [mitigation] measures but they are so oppressive and so belligerent in their outlooks and attitudes, they're so militant, they're so blatantly breaking the law.  So I want to talk about this structure, so we get rid of the governor's emergency, what is that going to look like down the line, what other remedies can we take, and then you and I can talk about our plan for the corporate approach.  

23:05  The governors know they're breaking the law.  They know it's unconstitutional.  They know it's nonsense.  So they're trying to distribute what they're doing.  They're trying to make it a multi-headed animal that no matter where you go you're getting nipped at.  One of the things that we challenge in our suit is the declaration of the emergency and the science itself.  If it's not justified at the state level, it's certainly not going to be justified at any other level.  How do you declare there's an emergency when there's no science or data to back it?  And if the CDC doesn't back it, and arguably the states don't back it, what do you have in the city that allows you to do that?  

THERE ARE 10 DIFFERENT METABOLIC TYPES

Had never heard of Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez until this week.  Yesterday, I listened to his overview on trophoblasts, which are the cluster of cells around an embryo.  Turns out that the trophoblasts are the stem cells.  Not only is it a fascinating presentation, but if you want to listen to one of the best commands of a topic and how to present it through intelligent repetition due to the complexity of the terms, this is it.  I like it for his ability to trace from the 19th century through to the 20th and 21st how very smart scientists made terrific insights but who've received very little credit.  Dr. William Donald Kelley, a dentist by training, is one.  The other is 

Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez writes

The embryologist Dr. John Beard proposed in 1906 that pancreatic proteolytic digestive enzymes represent the body's main defense against cancer, and that enzyme therapy would be useful as a treatment for all types of cancer. (1) Particularly during the first two decades of the twentieth century, Dr. Beard's thesis attracted some attention in academic circles, and several case reports in the medical literature documented tumor regression and even remission in terminal cancer patients treated with proteolytic enzymes. (2-6) In 1911, Dr. Beard published a monograph entitled The Enzyme Therapy of Cancer and Its Scientific Basis, which summarized his therapy and the supporting evidence. (7) In my book The Trophoblast and the Origins of Cancer (co-authored with my colleague Dr. Linda L. Isaacs), I review Dr. Beard's work from the perspective of contemporary molecular biology.

After Dr. Beard's death in 1923, the enzyme therapy was largely forgotten. Periodically, other practitioners have rediscovered Dr. Beard's work, and used pancreatic proteolytic enzymes as an alternative cancer treatment. (8)

Dr. Beard believed the enzymes had to be injected, to prevent destruction by hydrochloric acid in the stomach. However, recent evidence demonstrates that orally ingested pancreatic proteolytic enzymes are acid-stable (9), pass intact into the small intestine, and are absorbed through the intestinal mucosa into the bloodstream as part of an enteropancreatic recycling process. (10,11)

Okay, so the non-allopathic remedy to cancer is pancreatic enzymes. 

WHAT ABOUT THE PROTOCOL?  

Dr. Gonzalez explains

The main anti-cancer supplement is a specially manufactured pancreas product (containing naturally occurring enzymes) made from pig pancreas.

Kelleys Nutritional-Metabolic Therapy

(c) 1993 by Richard Walters

(Excerpted from Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book, Avery Publishing)

Over a twenty-five year period, Dr. William Donald Kelley, a dentist by training, developed a complex approach to treating many chronic and degenerative diseases, including cancer. The three main elements of his metabolic program are nutrition, detoxification, and supplements of pancreatic enzymes. Although the controversial Kansas-born practitioner was condemned as a charlatan by the orthodox medical establishment, thousands of severely ill patients sought his advice and followed his program, many with reported good results. Today, a number of practitioners claim to be using the Kelley regimen, though whether they actually are is open to question.

Interest in Kelley’s therapy has increased dramatically in recent years, largely due to the work of Nicholas Gonzalez, a New York City physician who treats cancer patients in advanced or terminal stages using a modified version of the Kelley program. A graduate of Cornell University Medical School, Dr. Gonzalez undertook a five-year case study of Kelley’s own cancer patients who had done well on the program.1 Gonzalez’s 500-page study was prepared under the sponsorship of Robert Good, M.D., Ph.D., then president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. It is “widely regarded as the finest case review ever conducted concerning an alternative cancer therapy,” according to Misinformation From OTA on Unconventional Cancer Treatments, by Robert G. Houston.2

“Gonzalez has given us convincing evidence that diet and nutrition produce long-term remission in cancer patients almost all of whom were beyond conventional help,” wrote the late Harold Ladas, Ph.D., a biologist and former professor at Hunter College. “Because the cases [in Gonzalez’s study] represent a wide variety of cancers, the implication is that the paradigm has wide applicability to cancer treatment…. What should happen is that ACS or NCI should immediately follow up with a half million dollar study to evaluate the rest of Kelley’s cancer patients. But don’t hold your breath,” added Ladas, who concluded, “The evidence is in, and it is stunning. Kelley is vindicated.”3 Dr. Gonzalez’s findings on Kelley’s patients are discussed later in this chapter.

William Kelley held that a root cause of cancer is the body’s inability to metabolize (digest and utilize) protein. “The person gets cancer because he’s not properly metabolizing the protein in his diet,” said Dr. Kelley. “Then, to make matters worse, the tumor has such a high metabolism that it uses up much of the food which is eaten.” If a person’s disordered protein metabolism is not corrected, Kelley continued, “it will give rise to more tumors in the future, even if the first one is successfully removed. This, by the way, is the unfortunate reason why so many seemingly successful cancer operations end up in recurrences a year or two later. The tumor was removed, but the cause-improper protein metabolism-remained.”4

Dr. Kelley linked faulty metabolism to a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes, which he regarded as a fundamental cause of cancer. He believed that certain pancreatic enzymes, especially those that are proteolytic (protein-digesting) enzymes, are the body’s first line of defense against malignancy. This theory stands in marked contrast to conventional medicine, which holds that the immune system, with its natural killer cells, protects people against cancer.

STEVIA IS ANTI-CARIOGENIC. SO IS VITAMIN D, BUT THE LATTER HARDENS ENAMEL

One of the things that we all struggle with is getting the right information.  In the old days, if we didn't know something we'd rely on professionals--doctors, lawyers, dentists, teachers, and so forth.  Today, the internet has become a kind of equalizer, leveling the playing field of information, which puts an even greater premium on specialized information.  We'd like to think that this specialized information is more targeted as well to our individual circumstances.  But with greater information comes more competitors into a field.  And this can cause problems with getting the right, accurate, and actionable information.  Take dentistry, for instance.  For decades we were told that fluoride prevents cavities, and the science on this was so conclusive that municipal authorities began putting fluoride into the water supply of different cities around the country to the point that it is in almost every municipal water supply.  Then we learned that fluoride was bad for our health, that it was a neuro-toxin.  That can't be good.  Then companies and marketers began jumping on the non-fluoride bandwagon, convinced by the science and hopped up on propaganda, and to nearly ban fluoridate toothpaste and mouthwash from the marketplace.  The naysayers had won a victory.  But at what price?  Though we may not like having municipal committee members deciding for its citizens what we want in our water, the amount of fluoride in water is not enough to prevent cavities.  A lot of natural product supporters will cite this fact as proof for fluoride's poor performance in protecting teeth and gums.  But fluoride does have its place.   

I only wished I'd done my homework on dentistry when I was a kid.  Had I done so, I would have understood some of the terms that dentists threw around while my body was prone, my mouth agape, and twin female assistants took turns to warble flattering non-sense.  This image and these terms are a good start. 

So based on this picture, it looks like anything that threatens to unsocket your tooth is what you want to address immediately.  The gum tissue is what you want to nourish and clean.  Nutritionally speaking, vitamin C nourishes healthy gums.  But what about unhealthy gums, bleeding, or receding gums?  This is where the information gets overwhelming, and each person recommending this or that introduces an elaborate system for cleaning.  I hope that gum maintenance would be simple and elegant.  

GOAL #1: PRESERVE YOUR TEETH
We acquire 32 permanent, adult teeth.  KidsHealth explains that

By about age 12 or 13, most kids have lost all of their baby teeth and have a full set of permanent teeth. There are 32 permanent teeth in all — 12 more than the original set of baby teeth. Most people have four teeth (called wisdom teeth) grow in at the back of the mouth when they're between 17 and 25 years old.

How many teeth do you have today?  Following teenage cavities, braces, busted teeth from sports or rough play, we may only be left with 26 or 28 teeth at an early age.  And parents themselves don't know how many or what to do about lost teeth.  Can anything be done?  Since we don't know what is possible, it is better to adopt early a diet and hygiene that will keep as many of your permanent teeth as possible.  Remember that when you talk and when you smile, you show your teeth.  Make sure that that smile and that moving mouth during a speech or presentation is something to admire; least that it's not to frighten your audience. 

Periodontal Disease refers to the teeth and tooth structures inside and outside the tooth--gums, bone structure, and pulp inside the tooth.  One particular periodontal disease is gingivitis or swelling of the gums.  Swelling of the gums, or gingivitis, is different from a gingival recession, or receding gums.  So know your terms.  That doesn't answer for everything, but at least it will put you on a level footing with the dentist and keep him or her honest.  They don't really like their patients talking because questions and discussion eat into their scheduled list of patients for the day.  Better if you can put questions to them in advance.  
NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT FOR HEALTHY TEETH & GUMS Turns out that vitamin D is the main ingredient to help prevent cavities.  Oh, your dentist didn't tell you that?  Huh.  

from the Vitamin D Council, September 23, 2014.  Health Conditions: Dental Caries.  

DENTAL CARIES

WHAT ARE THEY?
Cavities.  

Dental caries, also known as tooth decay, is a tooth infection caused by bacteria that leads to a loss of the hard tissues of your teeth. It is one of the most common diseases in the world.  

THEIR CAUSE?
In a word, bacteria.  

Bacteria on the surface of teeth that can turn certain sugars into acids, which in turn can demineralize the hard tissues of your teeth. The bacteria form a sticky layer, which helps protect the bacteria from being removed by your immune system.

What produces corrosive bacteria?  Frequent snacking, sugary foods, and not enough saliva all increase your risk of developing dental caries.

PROVEN WAYS TO REDUCE BACTERIA
A few things.  Do all three.

1)  Vitamin D3. 

Research shows that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of dental caries in infants and younger children. Studies have shown that children with dental caries have lower levels of vitamin D.

More experiments are needed to know for sure if vitamin D can help to treat dental caries. Doctors and scientists don’t know yet whether taking a vitamin D supplement or getting more sun exposure, can help to prevent or treat dental caries.

Vitamin D will keep the enamel of your teeth hard.  The hardened enamel makes it more difficult for bacteria to corrode your teeth.  Vitamin D also keeps your immunity strong.  Saliva is part of your immunity that keeps bacteria in check.  

If you have cavities and want to take vitamin D, it is unlikely to make your cavities worse or cause you any harm, as long as you take less than 10,000 IU per day. However, it’s not proven that taking vitamin D will help treat dental caries or reduce your risk of developing dental caries.  What is proven is that vitamin D hardens enamel; the harder your enamel, the more difficult it is for bacteria to eat the surface of your teeth.  

2)  You'll need to use a fluoride toothpaste.  Fluoride-free toothpastes no added benefits to your health.  It's not the amount of fluoride in the toothpaste that you should worry about, for it is very little, but it is the accumulation of fluoride on your teeth that is protective.  You need protection from bacteria directly on the teeth themselves.  By hardening the enamel, fluoride protects from acid-forming bacteria.  

3)  Stop feeding yourself and your children sugar and sugary foods, like donuts, cookies, cereals, candy.  These produce acid-forming bacteria on the teeth.  If a sweetener is required, consume Stevia.  

Look, you've got to have a long-term outlook on your children's well-being.  Vitamin D, by the way, is extremely important, particularly during the winter months when more of our activities are indoors, cooking, watching TV, on the computer, or whatever.  Vitamin D isn't just beneficial for your children's teeth as important as that is for their confidence and social life, but vitamin D also is important for the bones in your mouth.  Vitamin D

has a critical role in enamel, dentin, and oral bone formation as ameloblasts and odontoblasts are target cells for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form of vitamin D. 

Vitamin D should be taken by the mother in a prenatal regimen, perinatal regimen (yes, babies can be given small amounts of vitamin D supplements), and post-natal.  Your efforts in your child's teeth will pay off years down the road.  He'll be happier, more confident.  

PERIODONTITIS
Here's a definition for Periodontitis.

Periodontitis, also referred to as gum disease, is a gum infection that damages the soft tissue and bone that surrounds the teeth. It can often result in gum recession and loosening of the teeth. It is the most common cause of tooth loss in the elderly.

Gingivitis is one form of periodontitis.  Know what gingivitis is.  It's inflammation of your gums.  Gingival recession means receding gums.  

For further explanation, check this out: 

Periodontitis is usually a painless, slowly progressing infectious disease in tooth-supporting tissues. Persistent bacterial colonization on the tooth surfaces leads to chronic inflammation in periodontal tissues. Periodontal inflammation results in gingival bleeding, pocket formation, destruction of alveolar bone, and eventually loss of teeth (33). Severe forms of periodontitis are relatively common, affecting up to 20% of the population worldwide (34).  

It's vitamin D to the rescue again, thanks to its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

The pathogenesis of periodontitis is based on bacterial driven inflammation. Therefore, vitamin D has been hypothesized to decrease the risk of periodontitis by maintaining oral health by exerting its anti-inflammatory effects and reducing pathogenic bacteria.

Not only is periodontitis associated with low vitamin D, but so is low vitamin C.   10,000IUs of D and 500mgs of C should treat this condition.  The federal government of the United States collected dental data between 1988 and 1994 and found this: 

The study found a clear linear trend – the higher the vitamin D level, the lower the prevalence of gingivitis. There was no vitamin D level at which the relationship leveled off; the 10% of individuals with the highest levels of vitamin D (the group median was 45 ng/mL) had the lowest levels of gingivitis. 

A definition may not be enough to understand the seriousness of periodontitis disease.  It's serious.  Unfortunately, it's played down by dentists who either don't know how serious the disease is in connection with other vital organs or who are only interested in providing dental services--a tooth cleaning or filling--to remedy the disease in your mouth.  But it is serious stuff. 

Association of periodontal infection with organ systems like cardiovascular system, endocrine system, reproductive system and respiratory system makes periodontal infection a complex multiphase disease.

OIL PULLING REDUCES PLAQUE ACCUMULATION ON YOUR TEETH and, thus, ELIMINATES GINGIVITIS AND GUM RECESSION

Oil pulling with Sunflower oil, sesame seed oil, and coconut oil each reduce the amount of plaque on your teeth.  These reduce plaque accumulation on your teeth.  That, to me, seems like the number one benefit to oil pulling.  And because of its lauric acid, it seems that coconut oil could be the most effective of the three: sunflower oil, sesame seed oil, and coconut oil.  Odd that the study did not include olive oil.  How does it work?  

The oil film thus formed on the surface of the teeth and the gingiva can reduce plaque adhesion and bacterial co aggregation.⁵

TREATING GINGIVITIS with MOUTHWASH
Apparently, the best mouthwash to use is one that contains Chlorhexidine.

A 2017 study Trusted Source suggests chlorhexidine is the most effective antiseptic mouthwash to date. Dentists primarily prescribe it to treat the inflammation, swelling, and bleeding that comes with gingivitis.

Chlorhexidine is available in the United States under the brand names:

Paroex (GUM) [or PerioShield]

Peridex (3M)

PerioGard (Colgate)

There are a few unwanted side effects to using Chlorhexidine, so please read the link above where I obtained the information.

This video recommends a product called Gum Recession Rescue Tooth Powder, which sounds like a toothpaste.

WHAT ABOUT GUM SURGERY?  IS THAT THE WAY TO CURE GUM DISEASE? 
Hardly.  Gum surgery will only make gum disease worse.  Most surgeries in and around the body only compromise the tissue that is being cut.  David Kennedy, DDS, makes a good point.

So if you had an infected finger and went to the doctor and he/she got out a chopping knife to “fix” your problem you would likely run. If you go to a dentist and they recommend surgery I suggest you run as well. Cutting on gums merely accelerates the disease because it allows the bad guys to burrow deeper into tissue and bone and dose little to remove the offending bad guys. 

For gum recession and gingivitis, Andrew Saul recommends comfrey.  

DAVID KENNEDY, DDS, AMONG OTHERS, SUGGESTS USING A WATER PICK

HOW CAVITIES (or CARIES) DEVELOP
There are bacteria that live inside of your mouth that help break down foods and sugars that you eat. When dental caries develop, certain bacteria turn sugars into acids, which demineralize and destroy the hard tissues of the teeth. This demineralization and destruction of tooth tissue is tooth decay.

In children, dental caries are called early childhood caries (ECC). ECC, also known as bottle rot, is the presence of one or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child under three years of age¹.  

VITAMIN D TO THE RESCUE, LITERALLY 
Lacking Vitamin D has shown to be the main culprit in Early Childhood Caries.  Vitamin D keeps tooth enamel hard.  The way that works is that if you have adequate Vitamin D in your blood, the vitamin D makes the calcium in your blood more absorbent.  The result is that you get more calcium into the bone.  Know, too, that the cells that make up your teeth, the dentin and enamel and pulp, all have vitamin D receptors on the cells.  

You can give your child up to 1,000IUs of vitamin D per day.  Children playing outside in the front or backyard or up at the local elementary school with short sleeve shirts and shorts can get some vitamin D.  They get more vitamin D at the beach where more of their skin is exposed to sunlight.  Same for adults.  But the point of this is to make sure that you provide your child with adequate vitamin D for strong teeth that can better resist tooth decay.  And as your child becomes a teenager and a young adult, they'll feel better about themselves and their smile if their teeth are strong and healthy.  

Also, for mothers, you should be supplementing with vitamin D during pregnancy.  Don't be so arrogant about your physical powers to think, "Nah, I don't need no supplementation."  You do.  You need it for you AND for your baby's well-being.  Supplementing with vitamin D during pregnancy will prevent several unfortunate occurrences with your baby.  Truly. 

Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy have been associated with a plethora of adverse neonatal outcomes, including small for gestational age and preterm births, detrimental effect on offspring bone and teeth development, and risk of infectious diseases. 

Without vitamin D, your child will be looking forward to regrettable and expensive procedures at the dentist's office as well.  Read for yourself:

Usually, treatment of caries involves removing the decay and then filling the space with restorative materials, such as porcelain or gold. In extreme cases, what is known as a “root canal” is needed if the pulp in your tooth dies from infection by bacteria.

MAINTENANCE

A professional cleaning every six months, brushing at least twice a day, and flossing daily can help you to prevent developing dental caries². Brushing your teeth removes plaque, which is a group of bacteria hidden under a protective surface on the teeth. As the amount of plaque increases, the tooth is more vulnerable to dental caries.

Nothing new here.  Except you might not know that using fluoride toothpaste is an added layer of protection for your enamel, dentin, and pulp.  There has been such a brouhaha over the hazards or toxicity of fluoride.  And yes it is an industrial solvent.  Yeah, so if you drink a gallon of the stuff, you're right, it is bad for you.  As to the fluoride in your municipal water supply, right again.  It's not nice that local governments put that in without your permission and then refuse to remove it after you're aware of it.  The government will always provide some rationale, usually false so that it serves some other purpose.  But the government's promise is that the fluoride is in the water supply to protect children's teeth.  Hardly.  The amount of fluoride in the water supply does not provide enough fluoride to protect your teeth.  Bill Sardi states it best

Fluoride helps harden dental enamel and thus makes teeth resistant to acid-forming bacteria that induce cavities.

Eating healthy can help reduce the risk of decay, such as reducing both the amount of and how often you consume sugars that are fermented by bacteria in the mouth. Increasing your intake of calcium is also often recommended to protect against dental caries because this can strengthen your teeth.

HOW CAN I AVOID ACID-PRODUCING FOODS?
Stop feeding yourself and your kids sugar.  

Start by reading this from Bill Sardi.  

Another major assault against dental decay would be for food processors and home cooking mothers to cease use of added sugars to foods that feed the growth of acid-forming bacteria in the mouth that are primarily responsible for dental decay.  In that regard, stevia leaf non-caloric sweeteners are considered to be “non-cariogenic” and would be a preferred form of sweetener for children whose taste buds are drawn to sweetened foods.  A stevia-based mouth rinse may even be superior to fluoride mouth rinses.

WHAT CAUSES DENTAL CARIES? 
Dental caries are caused by bacteria on the surface of teeth that can turn certain sugars into acids, which can demineralize the hard tissues of your teeth. The bacteria form a sticky layer, which helps protect the bacteria from being removed by your immune system.

Caries develop when your tooth enamel starts to demineralize by acids secreted by bacteria. Enamel is the thin, highly mineralized coating that makes up the visible part of teeth. The damage caused by the acids then spreads into the dentin, which is the softer tissue underneath the enamel. At this point, the tooth develops a cavity.

Before the cavity forms in the dentin, the process is reversible, but after it spreads to the dentin, it is not. The decay then spreads through the dentin to the layer below, called the pulp. The pulp is the part of the tooth that is made up of living connective tissue and its main purpose is to form dentin.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF DENTAL CARIES?
When caries begin to develop in your mouth, you may not be aware that you have the disease. As your tooth decays more and more, the most apparent symptom is pain in your tooth. This pain can be caused by sensitivity to heat and cold or consumption of sweet foods and drinks.

When your tooth is severely decayed, a toothache can develop which means the pain will become constant.

HOW COMMON ARE DENTAL CARIES? 
About 92% of adults aged 20 to 64 years old have had dental caries in their permanent teeth. In this same group, there is an average of about 3 decayed or missing permanent teeth caused by dental caries³.

About 92% of adults age 20 to 64 years old have had dental caries in their permanent teeth.

Medical conditions that reduce the amount of saliva in your mouth, such as Sjögren’s syndrome, diabetes, and sarcoidosis, can increase your risk of developing caries. Certain medications such as antihistamines and antidepressants can also reduce the amount of saliva in your mouth and increase your risk of caries. Saliva contains antimicrobial compounds, as well as minerals that neutralize the acids created by bacteria and help to protect and restore the teeth.

There are certain things that can increase your risk for dental caries, such as⁴:

Tooth location and surface. Caries are most commonly found on incisors, canines, premolars, and fissure sites in molars.
Foods that cling to the teeth, such as candy or chocolate.
Frequent snacking and sipping on sugary drinks.
Bedtime infant feeding.
Inadequate brushing of teeth.
Dry mouth.
Heartburn.

WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN VITAMIN D AND DENTAL CARIES? 
Enamel is the most mineralized substance in the human body. It is made up of mostly calcium and phosphate. Vitamin D is important for increasing the absorption of calcium and phosphate from the food you eat.

Increasing the absorption of calcium and phosphate can improve the strength of your teeth and their ability to fight demineralization from bacteria.

Vitamin D receptors are found on cells in your immune system and in your teeth. Vitamin D can bind to these receptors and increase the amount of good antimicrobial proteins in your body which help to fight the bacteria that cause dental caries⁵.

In addition, the cells in the teeth that form dentin and enamel contain vitamin D receptors, meaning that vitamin D may play a role in their functioning.

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY, IN GENERAL, ABOUT DENTAL CARIES?
Some studies show that dental caries are most common in late winter and early spring, when vitamin D levels are likely to be at their lowest⁶.

Many studies have found that geographic location and sun exposure are related to dental caries. People living closer to the equator with greater amounts of sun exposure are less likely to develop dental caries⁷.

Mothers of children have lower vitamin D levels during pregnancy than mothers whose children don't have caries.

Most of the research on vitamin D and dental caries has looked at ECC and severe ECC.

Children with ECC tend to have lower vitamin D levels than healthy children^8,9. Mothers of children with ECC have lower vitamin D levels during pregnancy than mothers whose children don’t have caries¹⁰.

Some experiments have found that giving a mother vitamin D supplements while she is pregnant can reduce the rate of dental enamel defects in their children. Defects in dental enamel increase the risk of a child developing dental caries¹¹.

Studies that give people vitamin D supplements to prevent caries have found that vitamin D is effective at preventing the development of caries¹².

WHAT DOES RECENT RESEARCH SAY ABOUT DENTAL CARIES?
A study published in 2014¹⁰ looked at the vitamin D levels of pregnant Canadian women and whether or not their children developed ECC in their first year of life. They found that:

Mothers of children who developed ECC had lower vitamin D levels compared to mothers of children who did not develop ECC.

Children with ECC had more dental caries if their mothers had low vitamin D levels during pregnancy.

The researchers conclude that the vitamin D levels of a mother during pregnancy may relate to their children’s risk of developing ECC.

A Canadian study from 2013⁹ looked at preschool children with severe ECC and children of the same age without dental caries. The researchers measured the children’s vitamin D levels and the parents answered questions on their child’s nutritional habits, oral health, and family information. They found that:

Children with severe ECC had lower vitamin D levels than healthy children.

Winter season was also related to low vitamin D levels in children with severe ECC.

A 2013 review from the United States¹² looked at many studies that measured the effects of UV therapy and vitamin D supplementation in preventing dental caries. The main findings were:

Taking vitamin D supplements resulted in a 47% reduced rate of dental caries.

Taking vitamin D supplements had no effect on caries in those older than 13 years old, especially in girls.

The researchers concluded that taking vitamin D supplements may help protect against developing dental caries in children younger than 13 years old.

KEY POINTS FROM THE RESEARCH
Dental caries are more common in late winter and early spring, which is when vitamin D levels tend to be lower.

Children with severe ECC have lower vitamin D levels compared to children without caries.

Mothers with low vitamin D levels are more likely to give birth to children who develop dental caries.

Vitamin D supplementation may help reduce the risk of developing dental caries.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?
Research has shown that there is a link between vitamin D and dental caries.

Vitamin D can help strengthen your teeth's resistance to bacteria by helping to absorb calcium and phosphate.  

Vitamin D can help strengthen your teeth’s resistance to bacteria by helping to absorb calcium and phosphate. Vitamin D also increases the amount of good antimicrobial proteins which can destroy the bacteria that cause caries.

Research shows that higher vitamin D levels in pregnancy and early life can help to reduce the risk of dental caries.

However, more experiments are needed to know for sure if vitamin D is effective in treating dental caries. Doctors and scientists don’t know yet for sure whether or not taking a vitamin D supplement or getting more sun exposure, can help to prevent or treat dental caries.

If you have dental caries and want to take vitamin D, it is unlikely to make your dental caries worse or cause you any harm, as long as you take less than 10,000 IU per day. However, it’s not proven that taking vitamin D will help you prevent or treat dental caries.

You shouldn’t take vitamin D in place of the treatment medications for your dental caries. Talk to your doctor for more advice about taking supplements.  

HALITOSIS
Is bad breath.  But there are multiple sources for his.  NCBI describes one kind of halitosis: 

Physiological halitosis (foul morning breath, morning halitosis) is caused by stagnation of saliva and putrefaction of entrapped food particles and desquamated epithelial cells by the accumulation of bacteria on the dorsum of the tongue, recognized clinically as coated tongue and decrease in frequent liquid intake. 

Tongue scrapers are one way to remove 75% of the bacteria that causes halitosis.  So that's good.

Tongue scrapers are shaped according to the anatomy of the tongue and reduces 75% VSCs compared to only 45% using a toothbrush. 

Failure to floss leads to halitosis.  

REFERENCES

1. "Statement on Early Childhood Caries.” Statement on Early Childhood Caries. American Dental Association, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

2.  "Dental Cavities: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. 

3.  "Dental Caries (Tooth Decay) in Adults (Age 20 to 64).” Dental Caries (Tooth Decay) in Adults (Age 20 to 64). National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.

4.  "Cavities/Tooth Decay.” Risk Factors. Mayo Clinic, 22 Sept. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. 

5.  Youssef, D., C. Miller, A. El-Abbassi, D. Cutchins, C. Cutchins, W. Grant, and A. Peiris. “Antimicrobial Implications of Vitamin D.” Dermatoendocrinology 3.4 (2011): 220-29.

6.  McBeath, E., and T. Zucker. “The Role of Vitamin D in the Control of Dental Caries in Children.” Journal of Nutrition 15.6 (2937): 547-64.

7.  Grant, W.B. “A Review of the Role of Solar Ultraviolet-B Irradiance and Vitamin D in Reducing Risk of Dental Caries”. Dermatoendocrinology 3.3 (2011): 193-98.

8.  Schroth, R., N. Jean, E. Kliewer, and E. Sellers. “The Relationship between Vitamin D and Severe Early Childhood Caries: A Pilot Study.” International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research 82.1 (2012): 53-62.

9.  Schroth, R. et al. “Vitamin D Status of Children with Severe Early Childhood Caries: A Case-control Study.” BMC Pediatrics 13 (2013): 174.

10.  Schroth, R. et al. “Prenatal Vitamin D and Dental Caries in Infants.” Pediatrics 133.5 (2014): 1277-284.

11.  Cockburn, F. et al. “Maternal vitamin D intake and mineral metabolism in mothers and their newborn infants.” British Medical Journal 281.6332 (1980): 11-14.

12.  Hujoel, P. “Vitamin D and dental caries in controlled clinical trials: systematic review and meta-analysis.” Nutrition Reviews 71.2 (2013): 88-97.

This page was last updated in September 2014.

Stevia leaf non-caloric sweeteners are considered to be non-cariogenic.  Meaning that this sweetener, unlike sugar or high-corn fructose syrup, does not produce cavities.