Here's what we know: Fluoride is a toxin — a poison, really — that accumulates in your body over time. Use of fluoride has been linked to osteoporosis, birth defects, and disruption to your endocrine system, especially in the thyroid.
In 1977, Dr. Dean Burk, former chief of cytochemistry at the National Cancer Institute for 30 years, showed that studies on rats who drank fluoridated water resulted in an increase in tumors and cancers in oral squamous cells along with a higher likelihood of osteosarcoma and thyroid tumors.
Then in 2008, toxicologist Dr. John Doull, chair of the National Sciences Academy review on fluoridation, concluded that the safety of fluoridation remains poorly studied and largely unknown. In his review, he wrote that "... many of these questions are unsettled and we have much less information than we should, considering how long [fluoridation] has been going on."
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Doull and his committee published a 500-page review on fluoride's toxicity, concluding that fluoride is an endocrine disruptor, wreaking havoc on your bones, brain, thyroid, pineal gland, and blood sugar levels.
It's the effect on your endocrine system that chiefly concerns me. Disruptions to this key bodily system lead to multiple kinds of cancers (see
Issue #275 to learn more about the disastrous effects of messing with your endocrine system). Some evidence even points to a link between fluoride and bone cancer.
In July of 2012, researchers out of Harvard linked fluoride toxicity with neurological development problems. High fluoride exposure correlated with lower IQ. And lab tests on animals show exposure increases the risk of bone fracture. Especially at risk are diabetics and the elderly.
And yet the debate goes on. . .
You might think all this evidence would settle the matter, but so far it hasn't made an impression on our rulers. They always know better, as you may have noticed. Outside of a small circle of "cranks" and "conspiracy theorists" most Americans consider fluoride a wonderful thing.
It's hard to believe, but people have been debating whether fluoride is safe for more thansixty years — my whole life. I can remember seeing articles about it when I was a child. Yet this unethical, ineffective practice remains part of our way of life. And it may be slowly poisoning your body.
How fluoridation got started. . .
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) hails the fluoridation of drinking water as one of its top public health achievements. They tell a pretty little story about a dentist in Colorado who, back in the early 1900s, noticed that patients with brown stains on their teeth were less likely to suffer tooth decay.
A dentist in Arkansas noticed the same brown stains on his younger patients after a new well was dug in his town. Tests conducted in 1930 showed the well water had high levels of fluoride.
The Dental Hygiene Unit at the National Institutes of Health reviewed the claims and concluded that water laced with fluoride was an easy way to prevent tooth decay. That led to widespread "dosing" of community freshwater systems with fluoride.
The U.S. Public Health Service endorsed water fluoridation in the 1950s, though it hadn't been proven safe for consumption (and still hasn't, for that matter). The general goal is to raise the concentration of fluoride ions to 1 ppm (parts per million).
Yet, some communities already have higher levels of fluoride in their water systems, even without government-mandated fluoridation. You see, the stuff occurs naturally in some communities.
Thanks to naturally-occurring fluoride deposits and government-mandated water fluoridation, some communities have levels as high as 4 ppm. Of note: 23 studies show that levels as low as 1.9 ppm are statistically associated with lower IQs.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that small amounts of fluoride do promote healthier teeth. Even so, there's no effective way to regulate groundwater sources. Fluoride is an ion that derives from the basic element, fluorine. It occurs naturally in rocks and minerals and readily dissolves in water. Once dissolved, fluoride has no taste or odor.
But it's not as if officials take time to check pre-existing fluoride levels before dosing communities with more of the toxin.
Even the FDA hasn't approved of fluoridation
I'm not a fan of the FDA in general. But it's ironic to me that not even the FDA approves fluoride for widespread ingestion. It has not okayed the chemical for mass use and officially classifies it as an "unapproved drug." Fluoride pills are available by prescription only, and the FDA requires fluoridated toothpastes to carry a toxicity warning.
Yes, there's a warning on your toothpaste tube that the contents are dangerous to swallow.
Although lacking FDA approval, the organizations that support fluoridation echo the endorsements of other associations and agencies in a widespread "me-too" consensus. But endorsements by big-name organizations are not the same thing as scientific inquiry with supporting data.
Here's where it gets really awful. Even though fluoride is a naturally-occurring compound, that's not actually what authorities are adding to your drinking water. They use a corrosive acid called fluorosilicic acid, and their source for this substance is the air pollution control devices of the phosphate industry. Why? You'll cringe at the answer. Fluoride gases are hazardous pollutants when in the air. They wreak environmental harm.
Yes, the stuff that's added to your water is the toxic waste product of a manufacturing process. If they weren't putting it in your water they'd have to handle is as a "hazmat" — a hazardous material.
Authorities dilute these waste products and put them in our tap water. But along with that, they unknowingly add other chemicals found in the plant pollution. What it means is this: You're being medicated without consent, for the convenience of big industry. And the dosage of the medication can't be controlled.
But at least it prevents tooth
decay, right? Uh, not quite. . .
Remember, there's no clear, conclusive proof that fluoride in the water prevents tooth decay. It appears to be a spurious correlation that got the dental authorities excited, not to mention everyone else involved with water fluoridation. What they failed to consider was the effect of fluoride on the rest of the body.
Regardless, health officials continue to promote fluoridation of our water system as the best way to prevent tooth decay. Yet most developed countries around the world don't share this view, and they refuse to fluoridate their water — including 97 percent of Western Europe.
And here's an interesting fact: Tooth decay levels are not lower in countries with water fluoridation than in countries without. While it's true that the U.S. saw tooth decay decline as water fluoride levels rose, the same decline in tooth decay was also seen in non-fluoridated countries.
The World Health Organization — a branch of the UN -- reports there's no discernible difference between countries with fluoridated water and countries without.
For what it's worth, I stopped drinking fluoridated water and using fluoride toothpate many, many years ago. My dentist doesn't apply it during my twice-yearly visits. Yet I have no more cavities than before (in fact, I get no cavities at all, even though I had a great many when I was a child.)
Because of all this evidence, several communities across North America are fighting the unauthorized fluoridation of their water. The number of people in Canada who are subject to fluoridated water has dropped by 25 percent in the past five years, thanks to public outcry.
Warning: You're being experimented on
without your informed consent
It's clear that water fluoridation compromises medical ethics. No doctor is allowed to prescribe medication without an individual's informed consent. But dosing the water supply does exactly that, and in a reckless manner since there's no control or oversight regarding the dose of fluoride each person gets.
Leading authorities, based on new research, acknowledge that any potential benefits of fluoride to your teeth can be achieved by applying it topically, e.g. by toothpaste. That further underscores how ridiculous and appalling it is to force people to swallow this chemical and allow it into blood, bone and tissue.
If you'd like to know more, I recommend the documentary Fluoridegate — An American Tragedy by Dr. David Kennedy.
The quickest way to protect yourself is to buy filtered water, but make sure you verify that it's fluoride-free. You can also install a reverse osmosis water filter in your home, which is supposed to remove fluoride ions from your water. Specialized filters are also available — look for something called an activated alumina defluoridation filter. You have to replace them often, and they run about $30 a filter.
Keep in mind that fluoride isn't just coming from your water. Of course, you know that most mainstream brands of toothpaste contain fluoride. So do many "natural" brands found in health food stores. You have to read the labels.
I'm not impressed with the evidence that fluoride prevents cavities, and I recommend avoiding it in any form. Children have a tendency to swallow a bit of toothpaste when they brush, so I absolutely would not allow them to use a fluoridated brand.
Processed foods and beverages made in fluoridated countries also tend to carry high amounts of fluoride. You're even at risk for extra fluoride consumption when you consume specific pharmaceuticals, cook with Teflon pans, or drink certain black or red teas.
When it comes to tea, instant tea appears to be the most likely to contain high fluoride levels. After that, infusions of black tea brewed for more than five minutes appear to increase fluoride content in your beverage more than other teas. Now, there are many different types of black tea and I don't know how much science is behind this allegation, and whether the alleged fluoride content is related to the species of tea, to the type of soil it's grown in, or to over-processing.
Tea lovers recommend brewing a quality black tea for four minutes, certainly no more than five. If you follow the recommendation any fluoride problem should be minimal.
