My laziness forced me to buy some natural toothpaste a few days ago. I was on my way home from work and needed a few things including toothpaste which I’d completely run out of. I couldn’t be bothered making a trip to a ‘normal’ food market so I just picked up some natural stuff from the health food store.
When I think about it, really, you put this stuff into your mouth and swish it around twice a day. During this process the paste is absorbed by your teeth, gums and mucous membranes of the mouth. I’m sure we all accidentally swallow a bit too. Go get your toothpaste tube now and try and read the ingredients. Have you any idea what those things are? You’re putting it directly into your body so you might want to find out and make a decision whether or not those things are safe to ingest. Actually, I’ve decided they’re not. There’s a reason why we have to spit toothpaste out, obviously it’s really bad for you!!
I bought a toothpaste called ‘Silicea’ which is made in Germany. The first night I used the paste it was horrible. The taste is really salty and it doesn’t foam up so it sort of started dribbling out of my mouth (so gross). I was a bit unsure whether my teeth were clean enough too, so I brushed twice then considered chewing some xylitol gum. The next morning I put about four times more paste on my brush than the night before and it was a little better.
It’s now three days later and I’m getting used to it. This morning my teeth felt clean and the salty taste didn’t bother me as much. A friend of mine recommended the brand Weleda (also a German brand) so I bought a Weleda paste today (they have three toothpastes in different flavours I think). At $8.50 it was a little more expensive than the $4.50 Silicea but the tube is bigger to start with. It also had a more peppermint flavour and although it didn’t foam up, the gel was slightly thicker so it didn’t dribble out of my mouth as much. I brushed an hour ago with the Weleda and my mouth still feels really fresh!
What’s so different about ‘natural’ toothpaste?
Natural toothpastes are free from fluoride, detergents, synthetic fragrances, colours and preservatives. The kind of stuff that you don’t want to be putting directly into your body. Out of the five toothpastes in Weleda’s range, I bought the ‘Plant Gel Toothpaste’ which is to protect delicate gums. To be honest, I had no idea what the difference was between them when I was at the shop, the information is hard to find on the box. I just bought the green one because it looked like it would have a peppermint flavour which is what I’m used to when it comes to toothpaste.
So, until I find something better Weleda is my brand of toothpaste (by the way, the also have my favourite lip balm). It puzzles me why I didn’t think of all this before. That’s 27 years of putting toothpaste chemicals into my body twice a day, that’s not good!
Frances Kerr
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
8 responses ↓
Don’t they say that the mouth absorps more than any other part of your body? I worry about mouthwash for that reason.
I reckon that in 100 years people will look back at the things we use and go “how could people not realise that putting chemicals on themselves every day was bad??”
Yeah, I’ve always been hesitant to use mouthwash too, and I think the label really warns you about swallowing it. If they REALLY don’t want you to swallow it, then it must be really bad for you.
You’re totally right, in 100 years everyone will become a hippy and we’ll all be natural and healthy and go back to how things should be, that would be fantastic!
Hey Fran!
I just heard in an email from Yaro Starak that you’re on the Blog Mastermind team AND a fellow health blogger! That’s awesome! I’ll definitely be reading up… check out my site if you have any interest in Chinese medicine. I’m so excited to see a new proliferation of natural health blogs…
Eric
Hi Fran,
I’m suprised to find Weleda not in CCF’s preferred products list. It might just be that they haven’t been given the chance to fill out their questionnaire. The following toothpastes are listed as cruelty free: Apollo Neem, Aromababy, Bioforce (dentaforce), KuuSh, Mukti Botanicals, Neways, Radiance, Thursday Plantation and Tinderbox.
Since I haven’t any fillings (so far), what are your thoughts about the necessity of fluoride in toothpastes?
Thanks Gill for the extra info, it’s very much appreciated
I use a lot of Young Living Products, toothpaste included. Do you ever use their stuff? I love it. Mouthwash as well.
[...] received an email from my sister after my last post on the importance of using natural toothpastes, Toothpaste is poison! This is what she [...]
Can’t you just use some baking soda on your brush with some water? I know it’ll taste like crap but its abrasive enough to get stuff clean but isn’t toxic and is an antibacterial as well!
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