By Dr. Marianna Pochelli
Advocates of fluoride say its use in
municipal water systems poses no adverse health concerns, however
results from investigations clearly state the opposite. There has been
considerable research done on fluoride regarding cancer, birth defects,
and risks to the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary systems,
however, very little has been done on its neurological effects.
There are now serious facts about
the health risks regarding fluoridation which can no longer be
ignored, and as a result, the practice itself is being questioned by
most of the world.
1. Fluoride Is A Carcinogen
Fluoride was found to be an equivocal carcinogen by the National Cancer Institute Toxicological Program.[1]
Further studies by the New Jersey Department of Health have now confirmed a 6.9 fold increase in bone cancer in young males.[2]
Earlier studies had found a 5% increase in all types of cancers in fluoridated communities.[3]
“In point of fact, fluoride causes more
human cancer death, and causes it faster than any other chemical,”
stated Dr. Dean Burk PhD who spent over three decades with the national
cancer institute.
2. Most Developed Countries Do Not Fluoridate Their Water
Most
developed nations do not fluoridate their water. In western Europe, for example,
only 3%
of the population consumes fluoridated water. Only 11 countries in the
world have more than 50% of their population drinking fluoridated water:
Australia (80%), Brunei (95%); Chile (70%), Guyana (62%), Hong Kong
(100%), the Irish Republic (73%), Israel (70%), Malaysia (75%), New
Zealand (62%), Singapore (100%), and the United States (64%). In total,
377,655,000 million people worldwide drink artificially fluoridated
water. This represents 5% of the world’s population.
3. Fluoride Increases Hip Fractures
Drinking fluoridated water will double the number of hip fractures for both older men and women.[4, 5]
Extremely low levels of water
fluoridation 0.1 ppm still produced statistically significant increased
hip fractures. (Bordeaux Study JAMA 1994)
4. Fluoridated Countries Do Not Have Less Tooth Decay Than Non-Fluoridated Countries
According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), there is no discernible difference in tooth decay
between developed countries that fluoridate their water and those that
do not. The decline in tooth decay the US has experienced over the last
60 years, which is often attributed to fluoridated water, has likewise
occurred in all developed countries (most of which do not fluoridate their water). What the CDC always fails to mention is that tooth decay rates have “precipitously declined” in all western
countries, irrespective of whether the country ever fluoridated its
water. Indeed, most western countries do not fluoridate their water and
yet their tooth decay rates have declined at the same rate as the U.S.
and other fluoridated countries.
No correlation was found between the
level of fluoride in water and dental caries.[7, 8, 9, 10, 11] There
also appears to be a genetically related increase in tooth decay for
Hispanics, Indians, Native Americans and Asians. Decay is largely
related to the educational and economic level of the parents. [12]
“
Fluoridation is no longer effective,”
contends Hardy Limeback, head of the preventive dentistry program at
the University of Toronto, who says adding the chemical to water is
“more harmful than beneficial.”
5. Fluoridated Water Affects IQ and Neurobehavioral Development in Children
Although fluoride has been proven to
cause neurotoxicity in animal models, very little published research has
elaborated on acute fluoride poisoning and neurotoxicity in adults and
children.
A report
in a peer-reviewed open access journal published by the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences performed a systematic review
and meta-analysis of published studies to investigate the effects of
increased fluoride exposure and delayed neurobehavioral development.
A
study published in Neurologia
showed “the prolonged ingestion of fluoride may cause significant
damage to health and particularly to the nervous system.” That was the
conclusion by a review of studies by researchers Valdez-Jimenez, et al.
Researchers Anna L. Choi, Guifan Sun,
Ying Zhang and Philippe Grandjean researched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, Water
Resources Abstracts, and TOXNET databases through 2011 for eligible
studies.
The standardized weighted mean
difference in IQ score between exposed and reference populations showed
that populations in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ
scores than those who lived in low fluoride areas.
6. Fluoride Increases Infertility
Infertility in women was found to
increase with water fluoridation. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
scientists reported a close correlation between decreasing total
fertility rates in women between ages of 10 and 49, and increasing
fluoride levels.
They also reported that a review of all
of the animal studies done to date shows that fluoride adversely affects
fertility in most animal species.[6]
7. Fluoridation is Not a “Natural” Process and Fluoride is NOT A NUTRIENT
Fluoride is naturally occurring in some
areas, leading to high levels in certain water supplies “naturally.”
Fluoridation advocates often use this to support its safety, however
naturally occurring substances are not automatically safe (think of
arsenic, for instance).
Further, the fluoride added to most
water supplies is not the naturally occurring variety but rather
fluorosilicic acid, which is captured in air pollution control devices
of the phosphate fertilizer industry. As FAN reported:
This
captured fluoride acid is the most contaminated chemical added to public
water supplies, and may impose additional risks to those presented by
natural fluorides. These risks include a possible cancer hazard from the
acid’s elevated arsenic content, and a possible neurotoxic hazard from
the acid’s ability–under some conditions–to increase the erosion of lead
from old pipes.
The term “fluoride supplement” is a
misnomer as it implies that the product is a dietary supplement, like
calcium and other nutrients. Fluoride, however, is
not a nutrient. A nutrient is something the body has a physiological demand for–they’re not optional; we
need them.
The term “fluoride supplement” is also a
misnomer because most dietary supplements can be purchased over the
counter (i.e., without a prescription). Fluoride supplements, however,
cannot be purchased over the counter; they are only available by
prescription from either a licensed dentist or doctor.
8. Fluoride Increases Fluorosis
Fluorosis is a defect of tooth enamel
caused by too much fluoride intake during the first 8 years of life.
Opaque white spots and brown ugly teeth are caused by fluoride.
Fluorosis currently affects one out of five or more children in this
nation although it is rarely seen in California.
California is the least fluoridated state with less than 16% of the population drinking artificially fluoridated water.
Common causes of fluorosis include:
fluoridated drinking water (particularly during infancy), ingestion of
fluoride toothpaste, use of fluoride tablets, and consumption of
processed foods made with fluoridated water.
9. Fluoride Calcifies The Pineal Gland
A British researcher found that the cells in the
pineal gland
(a gland that contains calcified deposits that accumulate fluoride)
were just as susceptible to fluoride-induced toxicity as the
tooth-forming cells. Unlike the teeth, however, the pineal gland cannot
be seen by the naked eye. As noted by the researcher, “The safety of the
use of fluorides ultimately rests on the assumption that the developing
enamel organ is most sensitive to the toxic effects of fluoride. The
results from this study suggest that-the pinealocytes may be as
susceptible to fluoride as the developing enamel organ.” The pineal
controls your inner clock, provides good sleep, works with your adrenal
glands to handle stress, keeps the thymus gland fed and cared for, and
communicates 24/7 with the rest of the endocrine system about how things
are going.
10. Fluoride Is NOT APPROVED By The FDA
As the FDA has long recognized, fluoride
is not necessary to human health or development. When used to prevent
disease, therefore, the FDA considers fluoride to be a drug.
- FDA has never approved a fluoride supplement as safe and effective.
- FDA has rejected two fluoride supplements (Enziflur & prenatal fluoride)
- FDA gave false information to Congress in 2000 by stating FDA “never rejected” a fluoride supplement.
11. Fluoride Is Highly Toxic, Yet It is The Drug Added To Public Water
Fluoride is added to drinking water to
prevent a disease (tooth decay), and as such becomes a medicine by FDA
definition. While proponents claim this is no different than adding
vitamin D to milk, fluoride is not an essential nutrient. Many European
nations have rejected fluoride for the very reason that delivering
medication via the water supply would be inappropriate. Water
fluoridation is a form of mass medication that denies you the right to
informed consent.
The International Academy of Oral
Medicine and Toxicology has classified Fluoride as an unapproved dental
medicament due to its high toxicity.
12. Most people are overexposed to
fluoride due to the pesticide cryolite found in consumption of grape
products, particularly white grapes, grown in the U.S
Many juice drinks that are not labeled
as “grape juice” use grape juice as a filler ingredient. The use of
cryolite thus contaminates
many juices with fluoride.
Cryolite is also allowed to be added to
the following products (although it is unclear how many producers
actually do so, and what the resulting fluoride levels are):
Apricot, Broccoli, Brussels Sprout,
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Citrus fruit, Collards, Eggplant, Kale, Kiwifruit,
Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Melon, Nectarine, Peach, Pepper, Plum, Pumpkin,
Squash (summer & winter), Tomato, and a number of Berries
(Blackberry, Blueberry (huckleberry) Boysenberry, Cranberry, Dewberry,
Loganberry, Raspberry, Strawberry, Youngberry).
The key way to avoid exposure to
fluoride from cryolite is to avoid buying non-organic grape products,
particularly beverages made out of white grapes.
13. USDA Organic Has Allowed Fluoride To Contaminate The Organic Label
Fluoride is a persistent and
non-degradable poison that accumulates in soil, plants, wildlife, and
humans. Many organic farmers may be unaware that this highly toxic
substance
has been allowed for use in the National Organic Standards
(NOS) program, because its presence is hidden. However, it is allowed
as Sodium Fluoride tucked away in the US EPA List 4 Inerts (“Inerts
which have sufficient data to substantiate they can be used safely in
pesticide products, according to EPA.”), which are allowed for use in
the NOS. It is also allowed in Bone Meal (which can contain 1000 ppm –
or more- fluoride), also included in US EPA List 4 Inerts (“Inerts
generally regarded as safe, i.e., corn cobs and cookie crumbs,”
according to EPA).
14. Fluoride Is Linked To The Leading Cause of Death
Depending on the country, cardiovascular disease is typically either the number one or two cause of death. A study published in
Nuclear Medicine Communications Journal has concluded that increased uptake of fluoride in arteries may be associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.
15. Most Teas At Grocery Retailers Contain Toxic Levels of Fluoride
Drinking cheaper tea blends found at
major grocery retailers can increase the level of people’s fluoride
intake to toxic levels and put them at increased risk of skeletal and
dental illnesses, a University of Derby found. The study is published in
journal
Food Research International.
Academic Sources:
1. Bucher, et. al., Results and
conclusions of the National Toxicology Program’s rodent carcinogenicity
studies with sodium fluoride, Int J Cancer, 1991 Jul 9;48(5):733-7.
2. Cohn, Perry D. Ph.D. An Epidemiological Report on Drinking Water
Fluoridation and Osteosarcoma in Young Males New Jersey Department of
Health, Environmental Health Service, Trenton NJ November 8, 1992
3 . Yiamouyiannis, J.A. and Dean Burk, “Fluoridation and Cancer: Age
Dependence of Cancer Mortality Related to Artificial Fluoridation,”
Fluoride, Vol. 10 #3 (102-123) 1977
4. Hip Fracture rates related to Fluoridated water Journal of the American Medical Association 264(4):500-502 1990
5. J. C. Robins and J. L. Ambrus, “Studies on Osteoporosis IX. Effect
of Fluoride on Steroid Induced Osteoporosis,” Research Communications
in Chemical Pathology and Pharmacology, Volume 37, No. 3, pp. 453-461
(1982)
6. Freni SC, Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 42:109-121, 1994
7. Diesendorf M. Tooth Decay not related to fluoride intake from water Nature Vol. 322 10 July 1986
8. Colquhoun J. Tooth Decay related to economics of family American Laboratory 17:98-109 1985
9. Colquhoun J. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 13:37-41 1985
10. Dr. John Yiamouyiannis statement both in his book (Fluoride the
Aging Factor” pub Health Action Press 2nd ed. 1986 )and during debates
has not been challenged by the ADA or others.
11. Ziegelbecker D. Fluoride 14; 123-128 1981
12. Steelink and Jones Fluoride in the Municipal Water of Tucson
related to diet and ethnic origin International Academy of Oral Medicine
and Toxicology March 95
13. Colquhoun J. Fluoride Vol. 23 #3 July 90
14. Colquhoun J. Community Health Studies 11:85-90 1987
