That water you’re drinking may not be as safe as you think
It’s in food. It’s in beverages. It’s in baby formula. It’s in the toothpastes, mouthwashes and other oral care products you use on a daily basis.
And chances are it’s in your drinking water, too.
Fluoride, or what scientists are calling “an emerging neurotoxin,” is present in the drinking water of over 204 million Americans… whether they’re aware of it, or not.
Just this month, the city council in Portland, Oregon infuriated many members of the public as they unanimously voted to start fluoridating public drinking water for nearly a million residents despite numerous pleas against it.
There are some benefits to fluoridating water… but do they outweigh the consequences? And shouldn’t you have the choice to decide for yourself if you want to take the risk rather than accepting forced medication?
With all the ongoing uproar, let’s take a look at the purported fluoride benefits and fluoride dangers we currently know about…
The Top 2 Benefits of Putting Fluoride in Water:
1. It helps prevent tooth decay
Beginning in the 1930s, dentists discovered that tooth decay is significantly reduced when the mouth and teeth are continuously exposed to fluoride. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fluoride can also become concentrated in plaque and saliva through constant exposure, which helps “prevent the breakdown of enamel minerals.”
The easiest and most common way to ensure consistent exposure was through fluoridating water.
2. It’s a cost-effective form of preventative dental care
When compared with fluoridated oral care products, dental care and fluoride daily supplements, fluoridated drinking water is by far the most cost-effective. It costs about $.50 per person to fluoridate water.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it also saves approximately $38 in dental costs per person. “An individual can have a lifetime of fluoridated water for less than the cost of one dental filling,” explains the American Dental Association (ADA).
In a community, this is considered beneficial because not everyone may have dental insurance or open access to dental care.
… And that’s about it.
Proponents of putting fluoride in water are probably applauding these two benefits. But here’s the problem – when you add fluoride to the entire public drinking water supply everyone gets medicated whether they want to or not.
And just like virtually any other time man tries to mess with nature, there are serious dangers and consequences to putting fluoride in water.
The Top 4 Fluoride Dangers:
1. Impact on cognitive development in children
Over 23 human studies and 100 animal studies have concluded that fluoride is linked to brain damage.
One specific study cited in the Portland struggle was released from Harvard’s School of Public Health just this summer. The study showed that Chinese children who were exposed to fluoride naturally in their drinking water had significantly lower IQ scores than other children where fluoride concentrations were lower.
The study concluded that extensive fluoride exposure could be toxic to the brain, especially in developing children.
Want to know the worst part? Your dentist has known that fluoride is dangerous for children since 2006! (But did your dentist tell you?)
2. Dental fluorosis
Drinking water isn’t the only place where people come into contact with fluoride. Many other foods, beverages and even infant formulas also contain fluoride. Not to mention the toothpaste, mouthwash and other oral care products we use on a daily basis.
Excessive exposure to fluoride actually damages the teeth, discolors them and causes them to rot from the inside out.
3. Bone cancer
A 14-year-old study from Harvard University showed that the highest rates of osteosarcoma occurred in populations drinking fluoridated water.
The most likely reason? Fluoride tends to accumulate in bone cells, especially during growth spurts. Fluoride is a known mutagen, which can cause genetic damage that leads to cancer.
Dr. Dean Burk, co-founder of the US National Cancer Institute, calls water fluoridation “public murder.”
4. Hypothyroidism
Did you know that up until the 1970s doctors actually prescribed fluoride to suppress the thyroid? The National Research Council (NRC) has reported that not only does fluoride inhibit thyroid function, but it also negatively impacts the entire endocrine system.
There are numerous other risks including kidney disease, dementia, hyperactivity, lethargy, muscle disorders and infertility.
If you decide that flouride’s benefits are not enough to outweigh the consequences, you’re either stuck drinking bottled water forever, purchasing an expensive filter or starting a petition to get fluoride removed from the water in your city.
If none of these sound like your cup of tea, then at least regularly detoxify your body from the build-up of fluoride in your system. And if you’ve been drinking fluoridated water for some time, you need to detox now.
How to Get Rid of Toxic Fluoride Build-Up in Your System
Despite some fluoride water benefits, no excessive buildup of minerals or toxins – regardless how natural – is ever healthy.
Your body has natural defenses to protect it from toxic buildup, but our environment is becoming more and more toxic on a daily basis. And that’s NOT an exaggeration.
There are approximately 6,000 new chemicals listed in the Chemical Society’s Chemical Abstracts every single week. That’s over 300,000 new chemicals added to our environment every single year!
It’s more than enough to keep your body in a constant state of toxic shock.
You can see that helping your body detox is just as important as staying hydrated and getting enough sleep. But how can you manage it?
It’s not as difficult as you may think. In fact, it can be done in just three days.
Take the 3-Day Detox Challenge
Discover the Natural Way to Boost Your Body’s
Natural Defenses Against Built Up Toxins!
References
Anderson, J. Easy 3 Day Detox: Body Cleansing Secrets for Amazing Energy, Radiant Health, and the Body You’ve Always Wanted!
Choi, A. Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2012 July.
Dubois, S. Portland, Ore., approves adding fluoride to water. Associated Press. 2012 Sep 12.
Fluoride & Fluoridation. American Dental Association. 2012.
Fluoridation Basics. Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Oral Health. 2012 Apr 27.
Huff, E. ADA study confirms danger of fluoridated water, especially for babies. Natural News. 2010 Oct. 21.
Levy, S. Associations between fluorosis of permanent incisors and fluoride intake during early childhood. The Journal of American Dental Association. 2010 Oct;141(10):1190-1201.
Mercola, J. Harvard Study Confirms Fluoride Reduces Children’s IQ. 2012.
I’ve been hearing for many years now that fluoride in the water supply does nothing to prevent tooth decay. There are two reasons: (1) fluoride is effective only in children, not in adults, and (2) to be effective, fluoride needs to be painted on the surface of teeth. Drinking it in water doesn’t even help children.
So there are NO good reasons for putting fluoride in the water supply, and many reasons not to, some of which you mention. Another thing to note is that when you put fluoride in the water you’re delivering a completely uncontrolled dose. Some people don’t drink tap water at all, others drink a lot of it.
So is there any effective way to remove fluoride from water? How about boiling it? I tend to get flavered water but is that ok? There is almost nothing out there that does not have additives so what can I do?
What I’ve never understood is what on earth is so important about our teeth that they think needs compulsory medication.Surely we have far more important health concerns they could choose to try to prevent.The governments are only concerned with dumbing us down.
I believe a reverse-osmosis water system or a distiller will take out fluoride. Kerry, the health of teeth and gums is greatly correlated w/heart health. I like Dr. Douglass’ dentrifice: a teeny bit (like 1/16 tsp) baking soda with 1 or 2 drops hydrogen peroxide–you’ll never need toothpaste again. This not only cleans better than any toothpaste, but the baking soda helps alkalize the mouth, at least for the time being, and the H2O2 not only will fizz into crevices to kill germs but also help whiten teeth.
Fluoride linked to kidney disease, but what they DON’T tell you is that it causes kidney stones!!! Believe me, I’ve gone through hell with stones since last year until I started drinking bottled water. I used to have flareups every couple of weeks while drinking about 2l of tap water daily. Once I stopped, the flareups stopped. I haven’t had one in months. I have to be careful though, I need to cook with bottled water now. These flareups are extremely painful.
Thank you Inger .I will try that.