Fluoride

1) I heard fluoride is a poison. Is this true?

Yes. Fluoride is an acute toxin with a rating higher than that of lead. According to "Clinical Toxicology of Commercial products," 5th Edition, 1984, lead is given a toxicity rating of 3 to 4, and Fluoride is rated at 4 (3 = moderately toxic, 4 = very toxic). On December 7, 1992, the new EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for lead was set at 0.015 ppm, with a goal of 0.0ppm. The MCL for fluoride is currently set for 4.0 ppm - that's over 250 times the permissible level of lead.

Fluoride used in water fluoridation is also a toxic waste product -- which means it contains other heavy metals. It is the most bone seeking element known to mankind. The US Public Health Service has stated that fluoride makes the bones more brittle and dental enamel more porous.

2) How much fluoride am I taking in?

Current total intake is now estimated to be between 5 and 7 mg/day in "optimally fluoridated" areas. Current fluoride intake is equally divided between drinking water (in fluoridated areas), food, other beverages, and dental products, meaning that even if you don't live in a fluoridated area, fluoride is endangering your health.

Average fluoride content in juices is 0.02 to 2.80 parts per million, in part because of variations in fluoride concentrations of water used in production. Children's ingestion of fluoride from juices and juice-flavored beverages can be substantial and a crucial factor in developing fluorosis. Grape juice has been found to contain up to 6.8 mg/L of fluoride, a can of chicken soup up to 4 mg of fluoride.

Fluoride can be found in water, toothpaste, mouthwash, Dentist's treatment, fluoride pills, juice, soft drinks, canned food, commercial fruit and vegetables, Teflon and Tefal coated items (such as frying pans), etc. (Note: No "optimal" fluoride intake has ever been scientifically documented.)

3) How much is too much?

As little as 0.04 mg/kg of body weight per day has been proven to cause adverse health effects. Retention of 2 mg a day will produce crippling skeletal fluorosis in one's lifetime.

4) Does fluoride accumulate in the body?

Yes. Approximately half of each day's fluoride intake will be retained. This is what makes it so dangerous. "The dose makes the poison." All sides agree to the fact that healthy kidneys can eliminate only about 50% of daily fluoride intake. The rest gets stored in calcified tissues, like bones and teeth.

The National Academy Of Sciences (NAS) stated in 1977 that, for the average individual, a retention of 2 mg/day would result in crippling skeletal fluorosis after 40 years. Considering the above mentioned intake level, it is likely that skeletal fluorosis already affects many millions of people in the United States.

Children, the elderly and any person with impaired kidney function (which includes many AIDS patients), are in the high risk group for fluoride poisoning and must be warned to monitor their fluoride intake. Also at high risk are people with immuno-deficiencies, diabetes and heart ailments, as well as anyone with calcium, magnesium and Vitamin C deficiencies.

5) How does fluoride get into the water?

Most often as a byproduct from the fertilizer, aluminum and other industries, who manage to sell this toxic waste to municipalities nationwide for human consumption -- incredible, but a fact.

6) What about my toothpaste?

Studies show that adults can absorb up to 0.5 mg per brushing. Small children, even if pea-size amount is used, will still absorb the same, more if the child is younger and has less swallowing control skills. Half a tube of toothpaste can kill a child.

Current content of sodium fluoride in toothpaste in Canada and the US is up to 0.4% = 4000 ppm (parts per million). Bubblegum-flavored dentifrice obviously is especially inviting for children. Since April 1997 all toothpaste in the US must carry a warning label, advising parents what to do if their child swallows more than the pea-size brushing amount. Wholesale containers carry the poison symbol of skull and crossbones.

7) What about the fluoride treatment at the dental office?

Fluoride treatments can contain between 10,000 to 20,000 ppm. There is no regulated dose requirement. There are cases known of children dying in the dentist's chair. (New York Times, Jan.20, 1979: "$750,000 Given in Child's Death in Fluoride Case" about a three year old child killed by fluoride treatment in the Dentist's office.)

8) How can my dentist say that it's good for my teeth?

By receiving limited training on the subject and being misinformed on purpose by the American Dental Association. Figures in ADA pamphlets contain an incredible amount of untruths, and outright fraudulent claims. If you check the references cited and numbers listed in your local libraries, you will undoubtedly come to the same conclusion. Some fluoridation endorsements are listed which prove fraudulent when checked.

Most dentists never bother to take the time to study both sides of the fluoride issue. Consider this statement by the ADA in 1979: "Individual dentists must be convinced that they need not be familiar with scientific reports and field investigations on fluoridation to be effective participants and that non-participation is overt neglect of personal responsibility."

There are NO reliable studies, conducted under ethical research guidelines, which prove the benefits of fluoride supplementation. The FDA admits this! There are more than 500 peer-reviewed studies documenting the adverse effects.

Furthermore, dentists make higher profits in fluoridated areas and through fluoride use. As a result of mottled enamel, many more restorative measures are necessary, such as braces, bridges, etc. For the American and Canadian Dental Associations, this condition is a real money-maker, because cosmetic dentistry is far more lucrative than cavity repair.

In addition, there is an abundance of evidence in the scientific literature indicating that fluoride causes a delay in the normal shedding of the "baby" teeth, and their replacement by permanent teeth. This delay has been shown to increase the number of children with malpositioned teeth. Again, braces are far more expensive than fillings.

(Note: In a 1972 report by the American Dental Association, it is stated that dentists make 17% more profit in fluoridated areas as opposed to non-fluoridated areas.) In 1993 the National Academy of Sciences warned, "dental fluorosis...might be more than a cosmetic defect if enough fluorotic enamel is fractured and lost to cause pain, adversely affect food choices, compromise chewing efficiency, and require complex dental treatment."

The International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology has classified fluoride as an unapproved dental medicament due to its high toxicity.

The FDA considers fluoride an unapproved new drug for which there is no proof of safety or effectiveness. The FDA does not consider fluoride an essential nutrient.

Four major studies involving 480,000 children (US, 39,000; Japan, 22,000; India, 400,000; Tucson, 29,000) comparing fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas showed no significant difference in decay rates. Proven is that a higher intake of fluoride will actually cause MORE cavities, especially for children with low dietary calcium intake.

9) Is it true that fluoride can cause cancer?

Yes. In 1990 fluoride was found to be an equivocal carcinogen by the National Cancer Institute Toxicology Program. (Maurer, et. al.,"Fluoride an equivocal carcinogen. J.National Cancer Institute 82, 1118-26, 1990) In 1992 further studies by the New Jersey Department of Health confirmed a 6.9 fold increase in bone cancer in young males. In 1997 there were more than 80 references available, linking fluoride to cancer.

A 1955 study produced some extremely puzzling results scientists have yet to explain. Young girls drinking fluoridated water were reaching menstruation five months earlier on average than the girls who drank un-fluoridated water. Premature menstruation has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer and obesity.

10) Is it true that fluoride can increase hip fractures?

Yes. According to Dr. J. William Hirzy (vice-president of the NFFE LOCAL 2050, the union representing all scientists at the EPA, Washington, D.C.) there have been 5 epidemiological studies done since 1990, in three different countries, all showing a higher increase in hip fractures in fluoridated communities.

Some studies have indicated an 87% higher risk of hip fractures to the elderly in areas where water fluoridation was below 1.5 ppm.

11) Can fluoride cause Osteoporosis and Arthritis?

Yes, most definitely. On July 9, 1998 the Manchester Guardian reported news of fluoride poisoned water in Central India, from untested wells drilled in the 1980s, causing severe arthritic damage to tens of millions of people -- a national disaster. Fluoride is the most bone seeking element known to mankind. The US Public Health Service has stated that fluoride makes the bones more brittle and dental enamel more porous.

12) Does it cause brain damage?

Yes. Fluorides lower the intelligence capacity of humans, with children, again, especially susceptible to early fluoride toxicity. IQ levels were significantly lower than children not exposed to fluorides in all age groups listed. (According to Dr. Hirzy, 5 to 19 points lower!) (Li, X.S., Zhi, J.L., Gao, R.O., "Effects of Fluoride Exposure on the Intelligence of Children", Fluoride;28:182-189, 1995)

Further studies proving the neurotoxicity of fluoride in rats have also been conducted by Dr. Phyllis Mullinex and her co-workers. (Note: this also explains a recent University of South Florida study relating fluoride intake during pregnancy to the yearly 1% increase in learning disabilities found in children...)

Studies proving that fluorides transfer through the placenta are well known. (Meanwhile, Dr.Weil, Internet's Health Guru, advocates fluoride supplements for pregnant women in his book "8 Weeks To Optimum Health"...)

It effects the pineal gland. A small structure located in the brain, which produces melatonin--the hormone that controls, your circadian rhythm, (wake and sleep cycles) the onset of puberty and the health of your immune system.

(Note: Alzheimer's Disease, first diagnosed by Dr. Alois Alzheimer in 1907, is now the #4 killer for every person over 60 in the US. Every 2nd person over 70 will develop Alzheimer's.) Environmental fluoride is implicated in this.

13) How widespread is this problem?

The US Public Health Service estimates that 1 in 5 children have dental fluorosis. (By the way, all native reservations in the US have mandatory fluoridation, resulting in very high incidents of dental fluorosis in those areas.) Realistic figures are as high as 80% in some areas in the US and as high as 69% in Canada. Studies have been conducted directly linking bone tissue damage to children with dental fluorosis. Fluorosis is the first visible sign that destructive effects of fluoride are also occurring in bone, connective tissue, immune and enzyme functions.

14) If all this is true, how can fluoridation possibly be sanctioned by government?

Fluoride was heralded as the way to save a generation's teeth from tooth decay, and studies found that naturally occurring fluoride in water seemed to lower the incident of tooth decay of the population drinking it.

Armed with that knowledge government set about adding fluoride to drinking water to protect children's teeth. Ever noticed the warning on toothpaste containers about never swallowing the toothpaste? -- That is because FLUORIDE IS TOXIC.

15) How about the effects on the environment?

Many studies have been conducted examining the adverse effects of fluoride on the eco-system. In 1995, the Canadian EPA identified the now closed Brunswick Mining and Smelting Fertilizer Plant in Belledune, New Brunswick as having the largest discharge of fluoride to the aquatic environment in Canada. Toxicity to marine bacteria and impaired reproduction effects were demonstrated... Agriculture Canada (1976) found that 25 out of 36 cattle located on several Cornwall Island farms in the Saint Regis Quebec region displayed real or potential symptoms of chronic fluorosis.

A subsequent study of livestock in this region reported stiffness and inflamed leg joints, dental fluorosis, osteosclerosis, osteonecrosis and bone deformations. Many serious toxic and detrimental effects to plants and animal species have been documented, salmon populations in particluar being in the high risk category.

IT'S A TOXIC WASTE! Think about it - day after day, unprecedented quantities of fluoride are deliberately released into the environment, especially in fluoridated areas. Showers, toilet flushes, lawn sprinkling ... As a result of the original Manhattan Project logic, industries, now mainly the fertilzer and aluminum industries, have a perfect way to get rid of their hazardous waste material.

It would cost up to $8,000 per truckload to dispose of this hazardous waste. At a rate of emissions into the air of 155,000 tons/year, in addition to an estimated 500,000 tons of emissions into lakes, ocean, rivers (not counting fluoridation) - this adds up to savings of $6 Billion dollars/year to industry!

16) What do I need to do? How can I protect myself?

If you live in an area with fluoridated water, get yourself a water purification system. Also, eliminate any Teflon of Tefal coated cookingware, for scratches in the surface will release PTFT, another toxic fluoride compound.

Avoid fruit juices canned or bottled in fluoridated areas. All non-organic grape products are especially high in fluoride content due to the number of fertilizer and pesticide applications. Wine can contain up to 3 ppm fluoride.

Avoid using any toothpaste or mouthrinse containing fluoride. There are many alternatives on the market. A recent store survey in Vancouver showed over 20 different brands.