Medical News Today provides some insight on fluoride, http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154164.php. If you read it carefully, see the text under “Is Fluoride Safe”, it reads, “If used properly fluoride can be a safe and effective tool against tooth decay” I hope the water districts use it safely. Heck I do not know what “used properly means”. Anyone?
The article goes on to say that just like anything else, including water, “high levels of fluoride for extended periods of time may result in harm”. Two examples of symptoms that might occur from overexposure are dental fluorosis (a condition typically occurring while teeth are developing in children birth through 8 years of age) and bone and joint pain, stiffness and weakness. So, fluoride has the potential to both be beneficial for teeth but it can also be harmful to teeth and bones.
What I find interesting is that a tube of toothpaste contains enough fluoride to be considered an overdose for a young child. If you have kids, hurry, do not forget to put a lock on the bathroom door :).
Speaking of toothpaste, Colgate, http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/OC/Information/OralHealthBasics/CheckupsDentProc/Fluoride/WhatIsFluoride.cvsp, explains that a “safe amount to consume is 1 part/million”.
My Points:
1. If large amounts of fluoride used over a lifetime may be considered an extended period of time and there are small amounts added to the water, what happens when we do what health care experts tell us to do and drink more water?
2. How can putting fluoride into the entire water supply be “appropriate amounts” for the entire population, big, small, young, and old…?
3. Can responsible parties differentiate the differences between natural fluoride and synthetic fluoride on health?
It seems that there are simple, more natural, less costly ways to get a healthy amount of fluoride.
- Consume fish, eggs, meat, or tea leaves and other fluoride containing foods
- Control sugars and carbohydrates
- Avoid dry mouth and ensure there is adequate amounts of saliva in your mouth
- Eating dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, seaweed or kale and other foods that are high in calcium and help keep Ph in balance lessening the acid load in blood and saliva, you can see my blog last week, “Strong Bones:Moving Beyond Calcium and Vitamin D”, for more details.
So, I’ll ask again, why is fluoride the “Chosen one” as an additive to our supply of drinking water?
Actually the human body has no “need” for fluoride. Fluoride is neither a nutrient nor essential for healthy teeth. The only scientifically valid proven cause of rotten teeth is rotten diets.
Fluoride does harden the outer enamel of teeth when applied topically; but it may “hide” rather than prevent tooth decay as decay seeps below the surface to create cavities that can’t be seen with the naked eye and and are too small to see in an x-ray. However, the new electronic diagnodents are revealing decay that studies purporting to show fluoride as an effective decay preventive, didn’t see and wasn’t recorded.
Fluoride is simply a drug that some people may want to use; but there’s no science which shows that ingesting fluoride has any benefits. On the contrary, science shows that ingesting fluoride has many adverse effects, even at the low levels added to the water supply see http://www.FluorideAction.Net/health
In fact, the American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control now advise that infant formula NOT be made with fluoridated water.
Because of water fluoridation, our food supply has become fluoride contaminated. The USDA has a fluoride in foods database that gives you an idea of how much fluoride is in the foods you eat. Tea is high in natural fluoride and several people have had adverse effects just from drinking copious amounts of tea. One man’s arthritic condition cleared up after his incessant toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste ceased.
There’s no dispute between those for and against fluoridation that too much fluoride is a bad thing. Unfortunately, our US trained physicians are not taught to diagnose fluoride toxicity so many arthritic and irritable bowel patients may be experiencing fluoride toxicity and not be informed of that