This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Alvin Danenberg – a South Carolina-based periodontist, lovingly called Dr. D by his patients. Dr. Danenberg’s name might be familiar to some of you – he’s a passionate advocate of evolutionary nutrition and a whole foods diet. You may even have read his book ¹. Despite his current advocacy, he wasn’t always a member of the Paleo and Primal movement. It took a serious health crisis and active curiosity to bring him to the ancestral table.

“It’s amazing that most healthcare professionals do not understand the critical relationship between ancestral nutrition and what our bodies need to be healthy. This is not a fad diet unless you consider a duration of 2.5 million years a fad.”  Dr. Danenberg

In 2006, after decades of actively seeking a healthy lifestyle and eating what he thought was a healthy diet, Dr. Danenberg had a stroke. That stroke was a sign of larger health problems, and provided him with the motivation to delve deeper into the study of nutrition. Thinking he had all the answers already, he attended a class for medical professionals on nutritional best practices. The week-long continuing education course rocked the foundation of his beliefs and left him in awe. Everything he thought he knew was wrong.

It was time for a new approach.

But Dr. Danenberg had another battle to fight. Apart from his own need to change his diet; he had to change his wife’s mind. She hadn’t attended the seminar, but agreed to 30 days of clean, primal eating. A trial period.

Within 30 days, Dr. Danenberg lost ten pounds, he had more energy, and they decided to pursue the Paleo/Primal lifestyle together. Today, he has benefited enormously from improved health, weight loss, increased energy, and a new outlook on life. And that made Dr. Danenberg realize something…

See, he’d learned about the importance of nutrient-dense food and the gut microbiome in that seminar and many courses that followed. As a medical professional, he realized how important healthy food choices and a healthy gut microbiome are to overall health. He knew he needed to bring that knowledge into his practice. His patients needed this information, too.

Dr. Danenberg searched for information on the effects of specific nutrient-dense foods on gum infection, but his search came up fruitless. This was an area with almost no research on the books. The two studies that did exist were promising, but the dearth of research on specific foods was disappointing.

It was time for a clinical trial.

With numerous patient volunteers, Dr. Danenberg set about introducing potent nutrient-dense food supplements that supported a healthy body and a healthy gut biome into the diets of his patients. The results are in, and are positive. Dr. Danenberg is currently using his knowledge of ancestral eating habits and the physiology of the human body to help individuals worldwide to improve their dental health . You can even schedule a virtual consultation with him.

“The information I received from Dr. Danenberg, which resonated with my personal thoughts, was liberating! It was liberating to hear from a professional dentist the ways in which we as humans can be empowered to take care of our teeth. When I hung up the phone, I felt more empowered than before. It was a fantastic experience! I highly recommend Dr. Danenberg! …. We need more professionals like him!”  Christina K. (testimonial regarding telephone consultation sent 10/9/2014)

The way you eat affects every aspect of your health, from your propensity for gum disease to your brain’s ability to function, and the strength of your immune system. As Dr. Danenberg’s story illustrates, the effects of evolutionary nutrition are in the early stages of formal research. The evidence is mounting in favor of a whole foods diet that is rich in healthy fats, protein, phytonutrients, and fermented foods, however. Consider a healthy lifestyle your gift to yourself this season.

If you’d like to learn more about how your diet affects your dental health, follow Dr. D’s blog ² and sign up for regular updates. To schedule a consultation with Dr. Danenberg, click here. You can also download his ebook on the Wise Choice Market site, free of charge, when you sign up for our newsletter. 

References:

1. http://drdanenberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/You-Can-Stop-Gum-Disease-eBook.pdf

2. http://drdanenberg.com/blog/