A few years ago I used to always whiten my teeth with those stripes. Thankfully I had stopped (my teeth are still as white if not whiter) mainly because those stripes left my teeth feeling sensitive and irritated, and I wasn't the only one. Almost all of those around me felt the same way. However, I don't know why we continued using them. I guess it's because of the culture we live in and our lifestyle got us to always seek perfection and immediate gratification. We want the whitest teeth and we want them now!   Now I realized that you can have white teeth just by brushing your teeth regularly (around three times a day) and eating healthy and drinking a lot of water. Here are some tips and food that will whiten your teeth naturally.

1. Raw Crunchy Fruits and Veggies: Apples are high in malic acid (it’s used in most toothpaste products) they also increase saliva, and that leads to cleansing your teeth and removing stains. Other fruits and veggies that whiten your teeth include but not limited to; pineapple, broccoli, and carrots.

2. Nuts: raw nuts are crunchy and don’t stain your teeth. That’s why they rub against your teeth and remove food residue and stains. They make the perfect snack mid morning at work or school.

3. Drink Coffee & Tea from a Tumbler: This way there will be less direct contact between the beverage and your teeth. Or just give them up. Trust me it's possible.

4. Give Up Soda and Sports Drinks: They contain so much refined sugar, artificial flavors, and food coloring. Having whiter teeth is the last reason you should give them up, specifically soda, it has zero nutritional value and most of the time it is loaded with caffeine

5. Don't Brush Your Teeth Immediately After Eating: This causes your enamel to weaken, especially after eating acidic food. If you must brush your teeth, I suggest that you rinse your teeth a few times before you brush.

6. DO Rinse Your Mouth with Water After Eating: As I mentioned in the above bullet, and you’ve probably heard it before, a lot of people have been focusing on NOT brushing their teeth after eating that we forgot how important it is to rinse after eating, it won’t hurt, but it will help remove some of the staining that could happen after eating certain foods.

7. Drink More Water: Like you needed another reason to do so..

8. Drink Juices from a Straw: Most juices contain a large amount of sugar and the cause discoloration to our teeth (even if they’re good for us) simply enjoy your drinks with a straw, preferably a reusable, because the environment.