Let’s Talk Nutrition with Dr. Avani Gandhi of
Pine Smiles Pediatric Dentistry in Chino Hills, CA
In today’s blog post we’re going to talk about WHY.
You might be wondering, as a kid dentist in Chino Hills, why we do things like post recipes. And the answer is; we want to be so much more than the best dentist in San Bernardino County! We want to make our community of Chino Hills a better and healthier place in every way, not just in ways having to do with clean teeth. We also want to help make parents’ jobs easier with things like our tooth brushing charts, and recipes.
We also know that healthy teeth and gums come not only from brushing, flossing, and visiting Pine Smiles Pediatric Dentistry, but from the inside! What you put on your family’s dinner table has a big impact on their dental health. BUT WHY?! Let’s talk about it.
Fruit and vegetables have important vitamins and minerals that keep our bodies going. Below is some information on the most important components of the produce rainbow so that the next time your kids ask you WHY they have to eat their vegetables, you’ll have something more to say than, ‘because I said so.’
CALCIUM: Calcium not only builds strong bones and teeth, but helps your blood clot and your muscles contract. Calcium can be found in oranges, tangerines, dried apricots, broccoli, kale, kiwi, dates, and plums.
VITAMIN C: Vitamin C helps repair tissue, and build collagen. Collagen is needed for making ligaments, blood vessels, skin, cartilage, and ligaments. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruit, strawberries, bell peppers, papaya, mango, brussels sprouts, and blueberries.
IRON: Iron is needed for hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs, to other parts of your body. Iron can be found in pumpkin, spinach, and broccoli.
VITAMIN A: Vitamin A is important for vision, the immune system, and the reproductive system. It also helps the heart, lung, and kidneys work the right way. Vitamin A can be found in carrots, sweet potato, and winter squash.
B2: Vitamin B2 breaks down fat, carbohydrates, and protein and turns it into energy that our body can use. B2 can be found in spinach, soy beans, and asparagus.
B3: B3 is good for your skin, digestive system, and nervous system. It also helps balance cholesterol levels. B3 can be found in tomato, avocado, and peas.
We love seeing your healthy smiles in our Chino Hills children’s dental office, and we hope that this post helps get at least one more fruit or vegetable into the rotation at your house.