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Gum recession reversal?
@wavygravygadzooks And you don’t consider something other than Vitamin A causing your gum recession? Such as bacterial issues or poor microbiome status which can both impair collagen synthesis. You eat a carnivore diet which is an acidic diet, high in iron and low in copper and all of these could contribute to gum disease. Copper is needed for collagen synthesis too. Acidic environments increase iron and also can promote growth of unideal microbes. While I’m not denying that this is the diet you feel best on, restrictive diets like these aren’t good for your microbiome health or diversity. And it’s probably that you had a poor microbiome to begin with that made you go on a carnivore diet.
I’ve had the gum recession myself in the last few months and it came from consuming way too much refined sugar, exposure to mold and possibly too much calcium from foods (Calcium feeds biofilms). When I stopped all the sugary foods and just started having lots of cooked alkaline veg the gum disease went away.
And for copper issues I don’t think it’s as simple as taking a copper supplement (which you mentioned you’ve tried before) as you need good adrenal health and liver health, high potassium and magnesium levels for the copper to become bioavailable and work.
Of course I've considered other causes. Unlike some other people here, I don't limit the cause of every ailment to Vitamin A. Most potential causes that appear relevant to me are nutrient-based, mostly deficiencies (absolute or functional), but Vitamin A and iron are a couple that fall in the "excess" column. I feel that I've essentially narrowed the possibilities to Vitamin A through trials with supplements and dietary changes and consideration of the chronology of recession over 6 or more years in tandem with other symptoms.
The recession started well before I adopted a carnivore diet, when I was eating a high-carb, high-sugar, low-fat, moderate meat diet. It continued when I completely eliminated added sugar and most starches and went high-fiber, low/moderate carb, moderate/high fat, moderate meat. The only 2 cavities I've ever had developed AFTER eliminating sugar and starches and adopting a diet heavy in your beloved "alkaline" cooked vegetables. My adoption of a carnivore diet coincided with removing almost all Vitamin A from the diet, and considering all the other crazy shit that's happened since then that could be found in a list of side effects from retinoid pharmaceuticals, it is very reasonable to attribute my gum issues to Vitamin A turnover. I healed from "adrenal fatigue"/HPA axis dysfunction on a carnivore diet.
My gum issues could very well be related to the gut and oral biome, but I don't feel that gets me anywhere useful because practically everything is related to that and we don't really understand what a "healthy" vs "unhealthy" one looks like. Pre- and probiotics get thrown around left and right even though we don't understand what they are actually doing (typically nothing but draining your wallet). Bodily "flora" tend to shift rapidly with dietary changes, and the dietary changes I've adopted most recently are strongly associated with (primarily anecdotally, but from sources I currently trust) improvements in both oral and gut biomes.
Virtually every food item that humans derive much use from is "acidic" based on its ash content...the acid/alkaline diet concept is almost entirely bullshit and is mostly held up by advocates for plant-based diets or people who just don't know better. There is a shred of truth in that the body does need to maintain pH balance, but the vast majority of people easily accomplish that through breathing and basic kidney and liver function. If you have really fucked up kidneys and/or liver, you may need to think slightly harder about the overall acidity you are adding via food, but you'd also have to carefully consider things like moving your muscles, which generates an acidic environment as well. What doesn't appear in the acid/alkaline concept is the disproportionate effect of compounds like oxalic acid, phytic acid, and lectins...the idea is overly simplistic and unscientific and entirely ignores human physiology and evolution.
Putting social aspects of eating aside, a carnivore diet is only restrictive if you believe we need to be consuming plants regularly or you have a carbohydrate addiction. Obviously, I no longer believe that we need to eat plants, having been on a variety of plant-inclusive diets over 35 years and had various health issues for over 15 of those years. People who stand to benefit most from a carnivore diet tend to find it liberating mentally, time-wise, and health-wise.
A muscle meat carnivore diet is "low" in absolute copper amounts relative to a plant-based diet. But that doesn't take into account bioavailability and potential changes in physiological needs on a carnivore diet, and you could get plenty more by eating a small amount of organs here and there, including heart which is low in Vitamin A. If my problem was collagen synthesis due to nutrient deficiencies, I should have a bunch of other issues with collagen around the body, and I don't.
If you're going to play the stupid RDA game, two pounds of lean beef contains approximately 100% the RDA for iron...that's not really "a lot" then, is it? In fact, that would probably make your diet "deficient" in iron.
Choosing between a cogent evolutionary/biological argument for carnivory vs guidance based on unverified concepts like HTMA and verifiably incorrect concepts like those underlying the blanket RDAs, I'm going to stick by the evolutionary argument unless I see a real hole get punched in it.
Great post.
This paragraph alone deserves another upvote:
My gum issues could very well be related to the gut and oral biome, but I don't feel that gets me anywhere useful because practically everything is related to that and we don't really understand what a "healthy" vs "unhealthy" one looks like. Pre- and probiotics get thrown around left and right even though we don't understand what they are actually doing (typically nothing but draining your wallet). Bodily "flora" tend to shift rapidly with dietary changes, and the dietary changes I've adopted most recently are strongly associated with (primarily anecdotally, but from sources I currently trust) improvements in both oral and gut biomes.
It's crazy how much money there is in probiotics. And basically they don't do shit, most of them for sure. And what still doesn't get enough press is the devastating effects of LPS and how it's involved in the pathogenesis of most major degenerative diseases like cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
I think it's interesting that Jordan Peterson mentions that his gum recession seems permanent, and what HAS fixed is that they aren't infected anymore. Maybe in some cases of severe recession we won't see the gums glom back on, and maybe that is ok?
Now, in my case several teeth have seen gums grow back. I've even seen them recede again and grow back again in some areas.
And I definitely have some inflammation remaining in some places.
I recently have been doing oil pulling at least once a week. I think, for some reason, it makes my teeth cold sensitive. Perhaps they loose some sort of layer?
I'm currently not snacking and have found that my gums are happier with this new habit. At first I thought it was just because I was giving my body a break from eating and then "housework" can take place.
Has anyone had help from the ideas of Dr. Ellie Phillips? Yesterday one of her videos came across my YouTube feed. I think Dr Phillips does a good job of saying why the mouth benefits from non-snacking and non-sipping.
If I have listened properly to Grant, I don't think he snacks. It's so interesting how some of his ways aren't about VA, and yet might be part of his success.
I'm quite interested now in the rest of Dr. Phillips' recommendations. Has anyone done her tooth/gum regimen?
I bought her whole tooth regimen program before Christmas... I wanted to originally give it to my father so he could helps his bad teeth but he dont like any fluoride or poisons in he´s mouth, which I did not either, and this program is pretty toxic..lol
Anyhow I decided to try it out when I already had it, figured now when I am eating beans my liver can deal with a little toxins. I do have one spot where the gums are receded I have had forever(15+years), and thought lest see what this does.
It does work, my teeth have become whiter and shinier and feel really clean.. and somehow I like the crest toothpaste taste too...lol But it feels quite harsh, the mouthwash. But I have to say, it seems to really work. My gums like the program too. They have not gotten irritated from any of the products quite the opposite! Mornings as I wake up my mouth feels super clean and breath is super fresh... I am quite amazed, and decided to use the whole bottles until finished 🙂
I believe she tells the truth when she says, if you do this program, you will never have issues with your teeth again.
(I am just a bit worried about all the fluoride that might accumulate in my body but she says this kind of fluoride is not bad in these amounts... I have her book too, there she describes all of it very detailed, I can recommend that book, much to learn even if you dont want to do the whole program)
I've been doing the whole system more regularly in the last few months and really appreciate that she can tell you exactly why each product works. The whole system is necessary. I tried using only parts of the system and it did not work so well. I have a fairly healthy mouth overall right now though.
I wonder if a person could figure out how to do this with home-made versions that weren't toxic.
Red light gum treatment. Sometimes it includes a bit of blue light. Works perfectly, sold for whitening teeth. Sorry I cannot give links, I am in the wild. There are some Chinese product sometimes Korean. Amazing and cheap. No need to use the chemicals provided. the light does the work.
Enjoy!
Just in case someone really wants to ingest fluoride, think again:
https://truthaboutfluoride.com/ (general)
https://fluoridealert.org/ (general)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClqK7XvfLg0 (fluoride causes cancer)
Vanity (and insecurity) makes people do stupid shit. Botox is another toxin that young and old women use without a second thought. It even has the suffix tox for toxin.