14 Mar Let’s Talk Nutrition with Dr. Krista Kunz of Magnolia Pediatric Dentistry in Mt. Pleasant, SC

In today’s blog post we’re going to talk about WHY.

You might be wondering why dentists do things like post recipes. Our answer is that we want to be so much more than the pediatric best dentist in Charleston! We want to make our community a better and healthier place in every way and not just limited to clean teeth! We also want to help make parents’ jobs easier with things like our tooth brushing charts and recipes.

We know that healthy teeth and gums come not only from brushing, flossing, and visiting Magnolia 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. Here are some of 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, and cartilage. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruit, strawberries, bell peppers, papaya, mango, brussels sprouts, and blueberries.

IRON: Iron is needed for hemoglobin, which 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 office, and we hope that this post helps get at least one more fruit or vegetable into the rotation at your house.