028 Dr. Steven Lin – The Dental Diet

Dr. Steven Lin, dentist and author, joins me to chat about his new book "The Dental Diet" and it's guiding principles. This is an episode for anyone that has a mouth and cares about their general health. We chat about Weston A Price, one of the most important bits of research that has ever been done, how the mouth is a powerful signpost and measuring point for the body, the microbiome and oral microbiome and the 4 different principles of a dental diet/diet for life. As Dr. Steven Lin says, "One thing I really try and contextualize with people, and I hope that this kind of talk has helped them too, is that dental health really does simplify it all. There are so many different, complex ways to approach an overall healthier lifestyle. But your teeth, your mouth, the principles that you use to keep your dental health tip-top, really do reverberate throughout the body."

Selected Links from the Show

Dr. Steven Lin
The Dental Diet: The Surprising Link Between Your Teeth, Real Food, and Life-changing Natural Health by Dr. Steven Lin
A Life Less Stressed: The 5 pillars of Health and Wellness by Dr. Ron Ehrlich
Weston A. Price
Podcast episodes on breathing - Patrick McKeown and Rosalba Courtney
Chris Masterjohn - The Ultimate Vitamin K Resource

Download the PDF transcription
Dr. Ron Ehrlich:                   Hello and welcome to Unstress. I'm Dr. Ron Ehrlich. Here we are. We've got quite a few episodes under our belt. Over 25 I think it is and, if you've just joined us and cast your eye all the way down to Episode 1, The Mission Statement, which actually explains it all, you will see we have covered a fairly broad range of topics.

Now, for those who don't know, I am a holistic dentist. So it's appropriate to cover things to do with oral health. This episode will be of interest to anyone with a mouth, who is interested in their health and hasn't fully connected the two.

If you're not taking oral health seriously, you should, because your body already does. Now, we're not going to be talking about brushing and flossing, although it does behoove me to say, and I would be irresponsible as a dentist if I didn't, it's important. So there it is. I've said it.

My guest today is dentist Dr. Steven Lin. Steven has written a fabulous book and the title says so much. It's called, The Dental Diet: The Surprising Link Between Your Teeth, Real Food, and Life-changing Natural Health. This is about so much. Your digestive system, your respiratory system, your ability to breathe and sleep well, your posture, it's about ancient wisdom and, as you will hear, it is not just about how and what to do, but why.

I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with Dr. Steven Lin.
Download the PDF transcription
Welcome to the show Steven.
Dr. Steven Lin:                      Hi Ron, it's a pleasure. Thanks so much for having me.

Dr. Ron Ehrlich:                   Steven, you and I are both dentists so the health of the mouth doesn't come as a huge surprise to us, but, to a huge majority of people, it does. There's a certain truth in our teeth. Why does the mouth matter so much?

Dr. Steven Lin:                      I think you're right Ron. We've really witnessed this, in our practice and our profession, broadly in society, is that we really placate the mouth as being an area that we go and get fixed up if there is a problem. So I really think that people have this misunderstanding that there is actually very powerful messages in their teeth and their gums, the way their jaws develop even. We can actually be understanding simply by viewing the mouth, not as something we go to fix at the dentist, but we understand as a part of the body and as a physiological messenger. Really, I think that the food has the power to control these messages and understand how the oral-systemic connection is far more powerful than we ever really even imagined.

Dr. Ron Ehrlich:                   Well music to my ears, Steven,