AGD Shares Some Tips As You Prepare for Thanksgiving

This is the season that pumpkins are blooming everywhere. Many households and cafes will be filled with the aroma of pumpkin spices this Thanksgiving. Aside from being this season’s most savory ingredient to some amazing drinks, soups and desserts, pumpkins pack in the nutrients to support positive oral health benefits.

The Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) highlights healthy ways that you can enjoy pumpkins this season and receive all the oral health benefits:

Aids in strengthening gums and fighting gum disease 

Pumpkins contain both Vitamin A and Zinc. If you suffer from a zinc deficiency you are at risk of having weak bones. Zinc and Vitamin A can strengthen your gums, build your immunity and help you fight oral infections.

Contains Vitamin C to fight bacteria

Vitamin C is essential in working to fight bacteria. Individuals with good oral hygiene have about 1,000 to 100,000 bacteria living on each tooth surface (and this is a healthy mouth).

Aids in increasing calcium intake and strengthening the tooth enamel

Pumpkins are high in magnesium. Working together with the mineral calcium, magnesium is needed in order to maintain or strengthen tooth enamel. Stronger tooth enamel decreases the chances of tooth decay.

Contains fiber to promote the production of saliva

Saliva breaks down acids released by bacteria that causes tooth decay. It is the cleansing agent of the mouth and aids in the digestive process.

Absorbing all of the oral health benefits from pumpkins shouldn’t make satisfying your pumpkin palette boring. You can get the suggested intake without sacrificing your sugar count in one serving. Try healthy helpings of pumpkin seeds, pumpkin oil over a salad or for meal prep, pumpkin smoothies, homemade pumpkin chai lattes with unsweetened ingredients and many, many more savory and healthy pumpkin recipes.