Healthy Chocolate toothpaste? can there really be such a thing? I do not know about you, however if true, this makes my day!!!

When visiting the small remote villages in Ghana Africa, among many of the things I noticed is how white and gorgeous their teeth are! Keep in mind, they do not have toothbrushes, they do not floss yet their teeth are some of the healthiest I have ever seen.

The HO village and the people taught me a lot about how, in many cases, simple is better. In the case of toothpaste, I fully agree! Keep in mind as I lay this out, that the people, my friends, in the HO village, especially Chief Ben Honyenuga, taught me why their teeth are so white and cavity free. They eat a diet that is almost 100% chicken, goat, corn and fruit from the jungle, and they do something that I found so interesting! Especially since I LOVE chocolate! Most people are unaware that Ghana is one of the largest growers in the world of Cocoa Beans! Why is this important? I will get to that in a minute!

Since my friends do not floss or brush their teeth, I was very interested how they kept their teeth so healthy. As it turns out, Ben Shared with me that raw cocoa beans are used during the day, as energy, so they stick one in their cheek and suck on it. ( I bet most of you did not know that cocoa beans are WHITE! and only turn to the brown color we see when dried in the sun)

Chocolate has an ingredient called theobromine, and studies have shown that its very effective in re-mineralizing your teeth, and much safer than Flouride, that we KNOW is toxic! HERE is a great article that goes into the studies. So as the cocoa beans are sucked on, mixed with saliva, they are coating the teeth and allowing the Theobromine to do what it does best! RE-MINERALIZE the teeth!

I am so very excited that I can now use some wonderful ingredients INCLUDING chocolate, to keep my teeth healthy! This DIY homemade toothpaste not only includes chocolate, but also Coconut oil, that has anti fungal and anti bacterial properties. I am excited to share this, and please feel free to give me your feedback! Feel free to play around with this recipe and let me know your results!!

• Here is the basic Chocolate toothpaste recipe ingredients:
• 5T of food grade DE (diatomaceous earth) info below on this
• 3T baking soda
• 1/4t of stevia (more or less to taste)
• 10-25 drops of peppermint (or other) quality essential oils
• 2 to 4 teaspoons of organic cocoa powder unsweetened
• DIRECTIONS: Combine the DE, baking soda, stevia and cocoa powder and mix well. Next add the essential oil (peppermint or whatever flavor you choose) and the coconut oil, soften the coconut oil, but DO NOT MELT. Stir all ingredients together until mixed well. you may need to add or leave out some coconut oil until you have the consistency you want.
• Now you can pour or spoon into a container of your choice. I find that a small mason jar with a lid (keep the lid on it as baking soda tends to pick up and absorb surrounding smells). Since coconut oil will harden in cooler weather and melt in hot weather, try to store in a cool place so it holds consistency. In the winter if it gets too hard, simply set the jar in warm water for a few moments then use to brush teeth.
• *****NOTE***** since coconut oil can harden, you may wish to spit in the garbage and not down your sink.

Now lets close by talking about all the ingredients and what they can help accomplish! We already talked about the benefits of cocoa powder (chocolate) how it re-mineralizes your teeth, and is much healthier that it’s toxic counterpart flouride.

DE, or Diatomaceous earth Make sure you purchase FOOD GRADE. I LOVE this product! its a mild abrasive and I use it for A LOT of things! (check out my other blog post on uses of DE!) Next is Baking Soda and most people already know its also has many uses! Stevia is an all natural sweetener, I grow it, that does not affect blood sugar and has not been shown to have any ill effects on the body like some of the others including saccharin. The last one is essential oils make sure to purchase only high quality essential oils that are ok for ingestion.

The bottom line. Flouride has KNOWN toxic effects, I am not a doctor but have done my research. It is up to you to decide for yourself if you wish to research and use other ingredients that can help keep your teeth as gorgeous as all my friends in Ghana! Remember, staying away from processed foods and sugar will also help keep your teeth healthy!