Human jawbone left.jpg, Gregory F. Maxwell <gmaxwell@gmail.com> PGP:0xB0413BFA, GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>, via Wikimedia Commons
Deborah Tosline wrote and published “Skin Remodeling DIY: An Introduction to the Underground World of Do-It-Yourself Skincare” in 2015. Her approach to skin care is based on a scientific background, love of research and over 30 years of DIY skincare experience.
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Mainstream American culture has brought many delights and a multitude of not-so great-for-you lifestyle habits that lead us into what I refer to as “Mainstream American Culture Disease and Aging". Mainstream culture processed foods are soft. Consuming soft foods is not only bad for health (=beauty) but also bad for the teeth and jawline.
Why let mainstream advertisers and corporations inform your lifestyle choices? Veer far, far away from the profit induced path of mainstream culture not-so great-for-you choices, lean heavily into a natural/Mother Earth lifestyle and consume unprocessed, whole, basic, natural foods.
After leaving home at 18, with few exceptions, I’ve filled my cupboards with whole, raw, unprocessed foods. By 1980 I preferred whole, hard chewy foods and laughed at myself thinking I was similar to cave people or distant ancestors chew, chew, chewing on harvested seeds, grains, whole vegetables and fruits.
I continue to eat whole hard foods because I love eating this way and always have. I never fully understood the impact of hard foods on teeth and jaw health or on the architecture of the jaw and face. Pass the hard foods, I prefer to keep my jawbone (=jawline).
Symphysis menti (Gray190 edit).png, Henry Vandyke Carter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
The health of the jaw and jaw joint depends primarily on mechanical stimulation. Chewing hard foods strengthens the joint and helps maintain its normal function, jaw volume and strength to support facial muscles, skin and airways. Chewing not only helps strengthen the jawline, but also naturally cleans the teeth, maintains healthy gums and increases saliva flow which can reduce cavities. The strength of the jaw is important to facial structure and function. It’s important to chew hard foods to properly develop the jawline to maintain and support a wide, expanded face versus a face that “grows forward… and sag[s]”. Proper growth and alignment of the teeth is dependent on proper chewing.
Bone is constantly reabsorbed AND regenerated (when stimulated). Throughout a lifetime, bone responds by restructuring itself in response to applied mechanical forces like exercise and movement. Mechanical loads increase the biochemical growth factors associated with bone formation. Know that bone restructuring is not well understood and further research is needed.
Intrapulpal Denticles.jpg, Warren Lieuallen, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
When we chew hard foods, mechanical and biochemical mechanisms are stimulated in dental ligaments and teeth including stem cells which when activated promote strong teeth and bone growth! Stem cell activation is directly stimulated by micro-injuries that result from the mechanical forces of eating chewy foods. Activated stem cells regenerate damaged tissue.
Studies show that mechanical forces directly affect DNA and gene expression. The amount and direction of the mechanical force is proportional to the level of increased stem cell activation and the resulting location of bone growth and strengthening. Chewing hard foods promotes overall jawbone strength and flexibility versus the localized overdevelopment that results from jaw grinding and teeth clenching. Improper bone growth can negatively impact breathing.
Facial bone loss occurs when soft foods are eaten persistently over time.
Soft foods are primarily heavily processed and pervasive in American Mainstream Culture. Soft foods are not good for health and in the long run can result in weak teeth and jaw bones. Eating hard chewy foods provides the resistance necessary to maintain strong teeth, facial bone density, volume and jaw flexibility.
Blausen.com staff (2014). "Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014". WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436., CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
It’s important to eat foods that require that you open the mouth wide so that you move through a full range of chewy motion to provide optimum resistance for jaw and teeth strengthening and flexibility.
Mainstream culture promotes processed, mushy, and refined foods which do not promote a full range of jaw exercise. Try to prioritize “hard, fibrous foods that require chewing”.
Promote jaw development throughout life by eating rough and coarse foods instead of refined, processed foods. Switch to hard foods including:
whole fibrous fruits instead of fruit juice
whole grains like whole wheat instead of refined grains like white flour
brown instead of white rice
select hand crafted, sour dough bread with a chewy crust
I make a chewy neapolitan pizza crust for a veggie rich healthy DIY pizza
whole raw fibrous vegetables
whole nuts and seeds
chewy dried or cured stuff
unsweetened gum
Mastic Gum is the original and natural “gum” Chewing mastic promotes teeth, jaw and facial bone strength, exercises eight different face and neck muscles and can help reduce a double chin.
Everyone, young and old should consider avoiding or eliminating most soft foods. Carefully introduce hard foods into your diet to support strong teeth and jaw health throughout life.
Facial skin and muscles overlie bony infrastructure. When facial bones are strong and dense with good volume, muscles and skin overlie the infrastructure smoothly. When bones are lost to reabsorption the smaller bone volume can no longer support the overlying skin resulting in skin wrinkles and folds.
Keep yourself! Keep your bones! Seek out, integrate and consistently practice extremely healthy lifestyle methods to support bones and reap the benefits of maintaining and keeping as much of yourself as possible for as long as possible.
If you need more information, go to the library, search the Internet, read my past Blog articles, or it would be an honor to me if you purchased my book. Thank you!
Take good care of yourselves!
XO Deborah
This article is intended to be used as general information only and is in no way intended to replace medical advice, be used as a medical treatment program, diagnosis, or cure of any disease or medical condition. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, regarding the effectiveness of the practices described in this article. Products or substances discussed herein are for educational purposes only and are not intended as recommendations of the author.