Things in Your Body Which Love Acidity

First, let's go over things that can cause acidity in your body. I listed some common things which all of us know whether we are health practitioners or not.

• Saturated/Trans fats:
• red meat, overcooked vegetable oils, dairy products
• Sugar:
• table sugar, other unhealthy "white" carbs like white bread, white rice, white pasta, we all know sweets are not good for teeth!
• Drinks:
• fully pasteurized juices, sodas, high dose of caffeine, Gatorade type drinks, alcohol
• Lack of Oxygen:
• improper breathing, lack of exercise, lack of fresh air
• Lack of Water Consumption: 
• water helps with balance, promotes circulation, and just washing/dumping out impurities from within, promotes healthy amount of salivary flow 
• Lack of Sunlight
• the body needs its vitamin D - D for Depression ;), sunlight is also bactericidal
• Unnecessary Stress:
• an unhealthy amount of stress inhibits proper bodily functions
• Lack of Rest
• the body cannot regenerate or repair damaged cells without proper rest/sleep 
• Lack of Application
• so you have all this knowledge, will you do something about it? :)

Now, we can talk about things which love and flourish in this acidic environment that you've created in your body and oral cavity.

• Harmful Bacteria
• Tumor/Cancer Cells

I would say that the above two things are enough reasons to strive for a healthy life style which include healthy eating habits, proper exercise, fresh air, adequate amount of water intake, rest, temperance, and good oral hygiene.

Let's always remember, your mouth is a part of your body! Having a healthy lifestyle will also promote a healthy mouth; a healthy mouth can contribute to a healthy rest of the body. It's become more common knowledge that oral diseases are contributing to systemic diseases like Diabetes, Heart Diseases, Alzheimers, Low birth weight babies, etc. A Neutral-Alkaline pH-environment is highly encouraged!

Post 1: Frequent Snacking and Oral pH

Did you know that your mouth goes through a change in pH or acidity throughout the day and night?

Not only does an acidic pH create a friendly environment for bacteria to grow and expand in number, it also softens the outer surface of your tooth called enamel.

When you eat something, the pH in your mouth drops from neutral to an acidic pH. This is normal and natural. The saliva in our mouth contains factors, called bicarbonate, which can bring this pH back to neutral, but it takes up to a few hours. So eating often keeps the mouth an acidic environment without giving it a chance to come back to neutral. Therefore, your Dentist will recommend you to limit the frequency of snacking to help prevent dental diseases like cavities and gum disease.

Now this brings us to a very important fact about brushing your teeth.

Post 2 : Toothbrush + Softened Teeth = Teeth Exfoliation

When you have just eaten, or just drank an acidic drink like soda, juice, or Gatorade, you have just contributed to softening the outer surface of your teeth/enamel. Many people brush directly after this. But when doing so, you are essentially exfoliating a very thin layer of your teeth off, or possibly roughening up the surface.

My advice to my patients is to brush a while after the natural factors, bicarbonate in your saliva, in your mouth has taken its course to bring the acidic environment back to neutral and has given your teeth time to un-soften. Chewing Xylitol gum is a great way to promote salivary flow especially after a meal or snack. Chewing gum can be contraindicated for people with TMJ issues. You can consult your Dentist on whether you have TMJ problems or not.

Now that we covered eating, then what about at night?

Post 3: Night-time and Bad Breath

At night, generally, we have our mouths clamped shut. This reduces saliva flow up to 10 times than during the day. Since saliva carries factors which balances the pH in your mouth, a significant lack of this will allow more bacteria to grow and also create a more acidic environment than during the day.

Now you know why you have bad breath in the morning.

Brushing and flossing thoroughly at night before going to bed significantly helps reduce bacterial growth over night which can improve bad breath and help prevent dental diseases. And don't forget to brush your tongue in the morning!