Let’s talk teeth

Our teeth are trying to tell us something. Our teeth tell us that humans are both omnivores and herbivores. We have teeth that can chew plants as well as meat. Raccoons, opossums, and bears are omnivores.

However, humans are not carnivores. Carnivores have long sharp teeth. Lions have four long canine teeth they use to sever their prey’s spinal cord. Human teeth are not strong enough to do that. I don’t know why scientists refer to teeth in a feline as “canine,” but they do. While humans cannot use their teeth to catch prey and sever its spinal cord, humans do use their omnivore teeth to gnaw on bones, preferably rib bones that have been smoked and barbecued over a wood fire.

Human teeth are different from animal teeth. Humans have 32 teeth. Most animals have more than that. A horse has 44 teeth. A dolphin has more than 100 teeth that lasts their lifetime. A great white shark has about 300 teeth, but their teeth are not attached to their gums like ours. Shark’s teeth are constantly falling out, but other teeth are waiting to replace them. I hope some scientist is working to find the DNA in a shark that does “tooth replacement,” because if we could grow our own teeth, no one would need dentures.

Omnivores have different kinds of teeth in different parts of their mouths and each tooth handles a different type of food. Humans use incisors and canines for ripping and cutting and molars for grinding. Carnivores have teeth that help them catch their food, while omnivores have teeth that help humans process or chew their food.

Carnivores have short intestinal tracts that allow meat to pass quickly through their digestive system. Humans have longer intestinal tracts, like those of a plant eater, that gives the body more time to break down fiber and absorb the nutrients from plant-based foods. The human intestinal tract agrees with the herbivore teeth, that humans should eat plant-based food.

Herbivores graze on plants, grasses, tree bark and shrubby growth. Large herbivores are horses, elk, and buffalo. Medium herbivores are sheep and goats. Small herbivores include rabbits, squirrels, and mice. This might be a good place to note that carnivores eat both herbivores and omnivores.

Cows are herbivores that primarily eat hay and grasses — and yet humans eat cows for their meat — with our omnivore teeth. I admit I do not understand how cows are able to eat hay and grass that somehow turns into a steak on their bodies. It may have something to do with how they digest all that fiber and maybe that is why they have two stomachs.

An herbivore that we don’t eat, is the gorilla. Gorillas share 98 percent of our DNA. Gorillas eat herbs, shrubs, vines, and fruit with their herbivore teeth. Male gorillas can weigh more than 400 lbs. and live to be 40 to 50 years old. Gorillas could eat anything they want, however, they prefer to eat leaves and grass. Gorillas in the wild do not suffer from high cholesterol, heart disease, or diabetes, although they do seem to develop a lot of gas.

Lynda discovered that, no matter what the health issue, the recommended diet is always the same, eat less red meat and more fruits and vegetables. Her herbivore teeth and her plant-based intestinal tract tell her the same thing. Lynda thinks the way to keep her intestinal tract happy is to eat a well-balanced lunch that consists of a salad and a big slice of pepperoni pizza.