4 ms·

It's not just sugar - any carbohydrate which a bacterium can easily metabolize to sugar (i.e. most of them) is a hazard. Grains, tubers, etc. are all dangerous

by wyager 5y ago

It's not just sugar - any carbohydrate which a bacterium can easily metabolize to sugar (i.e. most of them) is a hazard. Grains, tubers, etc. are all dangerous from a dental perspective and have only been consumed in calorically significant quantities after the advent of agriculture.

AlotOfReading 5y ago
You're correct that any carbs can help form plaque, but humans have been getting significant numbers of calories from them since before we were H. sapiens.
- wyager 5y ago
  This is only plausible for humans in tropical areas. It does not stand to reason for humans north of (conservatively), say, 40º. Even in humans in areas with calorically significant quantities of carbohydrates available, fossil records suggest they probably preferentially ate ruminants, same as anyone else.
  - AlotOfReading 5y ago
    Most of human evolution occurred below 40N, so even if that point were correct, it would at best be limited to the adaptive behaviors of a very small group of human ancestors. However, there's plenty of evidence suggesting that there wasn't any such regionally adaptive behavior. The original find that suggested starchy plant consumption in H. erectus was analysis of the Dmanisi fossils at ~41N. Later work tying these sorts of results to typical European Neanderthal diets has been done for North Sea sites (~50N). Of course, Neanderthals never went much farther north than that due to the climate. As for AMHs, I've seen papers of sites near Smolensk (~55N) indicating moderate to heavy starchy plant use. That's not far from the glaciation line. Moreover, there are fairly convincing arguments that a nearly pure-meat diet doesn't work in winter due to the general lack of fat (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.016 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.016 ). There are caveats and workarounds here, but this whole idea that high-latitude hominins had limited, homogeneous diets is on increasingly shaky ground.
asdff 5y ago
They are only dangerous if you don't brush or floss. With respect to ancient cultures a little twig is a damn effective dental cleaner and about as good as a modern toothbrush.
- jkepler 5y ago
  Growing up, my dad often said that raw carrots are "nature's toothbrush" and he would encourage us to end any picnic lunch with carrot sticks, not with a sugary dessert. Can carrot sticks function like a little twig in terms of knocking undesirable food gunk off teeth?
  - hypertele-Xii 5y ago
    Can't confirm but this feels right. Chewing on carrot breaks loose any food that sticks to my teeth.
- wyager 5y ago
  People today who brush regularly still have way more rotted-out teeth than people who didn't eat significant quantities of carbohydrates. They are dangerous even if you brush.

by wyager 5y ago

AlotOfReading 5y ago

You're correct that any carbs can help form plaque, but humans have been getting significant numbers of calories from them since before we were H. sapiens.

wyager 5y ago
This is only plausible for humans in tropical areas. It does not stand to reason for humans north of (conservatively), say, 40º. Even in humans in areas with calorically significant quantities of carbohydrates available, fossil records suggest they probably preferentially ate ruminants, same as anyone else.
- AlotOfReading 5y ago
  Most of human evolution occurred below 40N, so even if that point were correct, it would at best be limited to the adaptive behaviors of a very small group of human ancestors. However, there's plenty of evidence suggesting that there wasn't any such regionally adaptive behavior. The original find that suggested starchy plant consumption in H. erectus was analysis of the Dmanisi fossils at ~41N. Later work tying these sorts of results to typical European Neanderthal diets has been done for North Sea sites (~50N). Of course, Neanderthals never went much farther north than that due to the climate. As for AMHs, I've seen papers of sites near Smolensk (~55N) indicating moderate to heavy starchy plant use. That's not far from the glaciation line. Moreover, there are fairly convincing arguments that a nearly pure-meat diet doesn't work in winter due to the general lack of fat (e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.016 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.11.016 ). There are caveats and workarounds here, but this whole idea that high-latitude hominins had limited, homogeneous diets is on increasingly shaky ground.

asdff 5y ago

They are only dangerous if you don't brush or floss. With respect to ancient cultures a little twig is a damn effective dental cleaner and about as good as a modern toothbrush.

jkepler 5y ago
Growing up, my dad often said that raw carrots are "nature's toothbrush" and he would encourage us to end any picnic lunch with carrot sticks, not with a sugary dessert. Can carrot sticks function like a little twig in terms of knocking undesirable food gunk off teeth?
- hypertele-Xii 5y ago
  Can't confirm but this feels right. Chewing on carrot breaks loose any food that sticks to my teeth.
wyager 5y ago
People today who brush regularly still have way more rotted-out teeth than people who didn't eat significant quantities of carbohydrates. They are dangerous even if you brush.