The possible negative effects of fluoride have not been lost on me since I have thyroid disease, and as most do, I have tried to educate myself on what makes the condition worse or what started it.

Well like every other topic of the day, be it global warming, or whether a quake caused a mine collapse or the mine collapse caused the quake, no set of "experts" seem to agree on the topic of fluoride either.

So for years now, I had read in thyroid articles about fluoride dangers, hunted high and low for non-fluoride toothpaste, and finally it makes the mainstream news at the same time I finally found non flouride toothpaste for purchase.

On Washington D.C.’s channel seven last night:

Bob Carton, Former EPA scientist: "It was a foolish thing to do years ago. They didn’t have enough information. It hadn’t really been tested."

In fact, a 2005 Centers for Disease Control study found too much fluoride has caused irreversibly discolored teeth in one out of three children. And a major report by the National Academy of Sciences says toxic levels can lead to severe, permanent pitting of the enamel in children. Fluoride can also build up in the bones to cause pain, stiff joints, and skeletal abnormalities when they get older.

"It’s an accumulative poison,"said Carton. "It just gradually builds up and it gradually causes harm."

Here in the U.S. while we still add fluoride to our water supply, I read that in Europe more and more countries are rejecting the idea of adding it to theirs .

Fluoride compounds which are put in water (fluoridation), toothpaste and supplement tablets (including some vitamins) were never tested for safety before approval. Recent independent research by scientists not associated with dental trade organizations has shown the following:

1. Neurotoxic and Lowers IQ
   In 1995, neurotoxicologist and former Director of toxicology at Forsyth Dental Center in Boston, Dr. Phyllis Mullenix published research showing that fluoride built up in the brains of animals when exposed to moderate levels. Damage to the brain occured and the behavior patterns of the animals was adversely effected. Offspring of pregnant animals receiving relatively low doses of fluoride showed permanent effects to the brain which were seen as hyperactivity (ADD-like symptoms). Young animals and adult animals given fluoride experienced the opposite effect — hypoactivity or sluggishness. The toxic effects of fluoride on the central nervous system was subsequently confirmed by previously-classified government research. Two new epidemiological studies which tend to confirm fluoride’s neurotoxic effects on the brain have shown that children exposed to higher levels of fluoride had lower IQs.
2. A study published in Brain Research shows that rats drinking only 1 part per million fluoride (NaF) in water had histologic lesions in their brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. In addition, evidence was seen pointing to possible damage to the blood brain barrier from extended fluoride exposure. This study was the third in a series of papers published by Varner et al. Brain Research Vol. 784 No. 12 p 284-298 (1998). Results of this recent study and other studies showing significant dangers from low-level fluoride exposure were presented at a recent scientific symposium.
3. Causes Cancer
   The Department of Health in New Jersey found that bone cancer in male children was between two and seven times greater in areas where water was fluoridated. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) researchers confirmed the bone cancer-causing effects of fluoride at low levels in an animal model. A new study has shown that fluoridation of water is linked to uterine cancer deaths.
4. Changes Bone Structure and Strength
   Fluoride gradually builds up in the bones and causes adverse changes to the bone structure. Quite a few studies have shown that fluoridation leads to increases in hip fractures. The tensile strength of the hip is destroyed over time by fluoride ingestion.
5. Causes Birth Defects and Perinatal Deaths
   A toxicologist in the United Kingdom recently found that perinatal deaths in a fluoridated area was 15% higher than in neighboring non-fluoridated areas. The fluoridated area had a higher socio-economic status and would have been expected to have less perinatal deaths. The fluoridated area also had a 30% higher rate of Down’s Syndrome. Chile banned fluoridation because of research by the world-reknowned researcher, Dr Albert Schatz, which showed a link to infant deaths due to fluoridation.
6. Proven Ineffective
   Fluoride compounds in water and in supplements do not provide any significant cavity-protecting effects. All of the recent large-scale studies of water fluoridation have shown that there are no positive effects. There is scientific evidence that increased fluoride exposure leads to increased levels of caries. That is why countries without fluoridation have shown an equal improvement in dental health as those with fluoridation. Even pro-fluoridation scientists admit that there is not any properly-conducted research showing that fluoride supplements help prevent cavities. (Note: check vitamins carefully to be sure they do not include fluoride.)
7. Impairs Immune System
   Independent research has shown that fluoride impairs the functioning of the immune system. In the United States, where toxic fluoride compounds are regularly added to water and given to children since the 1960s and 1970s, we are beginning to see an overwhelming number of people of that generation who are developing chronic immune system disorders.
8. Causes Acute Adverse Reactions
   Several double-blind studies have shown that fluoridated water can often cause acute adverse reactions (in addition to the chronic poisoning effects discussed below). Some of the effects seen in double-blind studies include: gastrointestinal symptoms, stomatitis, joint pains, polydipsia, headaches, visual disturbances, muscular weakness, and extreme tiredness. An enlightening review of a book by one famous and well-respected researcher from The Netherlands who found adverse reactions in double-blind experiments can be read here.
9. Causes Initial Stages of Skeletal Fluorosis
   Fluoride can cause severe skeletal fluorosis at high levels. Chronic, long-term exposure to levels of fluoride commonly found in water and food in the U.S. can cause the beginning stages of skeletal fluorosis including: pains in bones and joints, sensations of burning, pricking, and tingling in the limbs, muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders, reduced appetite, backache, osteoarthritis, etc. In fact, decades of ingestion of fluoride from water and other common sources can be expected to cause these symptoms in large numbers of people based on calculations of fluoride intake and excretion. (Keep in mind that fluoride is a cumulative poison since it builds up in the body of years.) Very few healthcare practitioners are capable of diagnosing such a condition because healthcare practitioners are not trained to test for or recognize the effects chronic poisoning from fluoride.
10. Increases Lead and Arsenic Exposure
    Fluoride compounds put into water are often contaminated with lead, arsenic and radio nuclides since the fluoride compounds are toxic waste byproducts which largely come from pollution scrubbers of fertilizer plants. A study published in 2000 showed that the dumping of toxic silicofluoride compounds into water ("fluoridation") causes an increase in blood lead levels in children.
11. Fluoride Causes Osteoarthritis
    In a study published in Rhuematology International in 2001, researchers found a link between fluoride exposure and the development of osteoarthritis. The level of exposure that caused osteoarthritis is common in the United States.
12. Contributes to the Development of Repetitive Stress Injury
    A clinical study in New Zealand showed that fluoride ingestion may be a contributing factor in the development of Repetative Stress Injury (RSI) since such ingestion may encourage the development of apatite crystal formation. Elimination of fluoride plus regular supplementation of magnesium appeared to help RSI patients considerably.
13. Causes Permanent Disfigurement of the Teeth in Many Children
    A very large and increasing number of children are experiencing dental fluorosis which is a permanent adverse structural change to the teeth.
14. Inhibits Key Enzymes
    As fluoride builds up in different parts of the body over decades it can disrupt the actions of many key enzymes. This fact has been known for a long time.
15. Supresses Thyroid Function
    Fluoride was given at low levels during the early to mid 20th century as an effective way of supressing thyroid function and treating hyperthyroidism. Articles and research can be found on the Thyroid web page.
16. Causes Large Numbers of Acute Poisonings
    Fluoride is an extremely poisonous substances at exceptionally low doses and has caused a large number of acute poisonings. This is why a poison warning is now required on fluoridated toothpastes sold in the U.S.
17. Independent Experts Oppose Dumping Fluoride Into Water
    Over 1500 professionals at the US EPA, including toxicologists and risk assessment experts voted unanimously to oppose the fluoridation initiative in California because of the health risks involved.
18. Unethical
    Fluoridation amounts to forced medication of the water supply. Such practices demonstrate a complete lack of ethics on the part of its promoters. Studies as early the 1930s showed extreme hazards to man and the environment due to fluoride dumping and exposure. Companies and organizations involved used the promotion of "fluoridation" as a way to avoid lawsuits due to dumping toxic wastes and later for economic gain.

One of the sad things about this whole mess is that here in the U.S. there doesn’t seem to be any EASY way to REMOVE the fluoride from our drinking water.
Where Channel 7’s report was a good start , we are far from understanding this fluoride issue and what to do about it.

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