Waiting Room
Flouride
Fluoride-free and healthy
Julie Chaplin CHHP
lthough many people regularly dismiss concerns about the safety of fluoride in public drinking water and in toothpaste, there are many issues that deserve a much closer look.
To fluoridate drinking water, cities add chemicals such as sodium fluoride, fluorosilic acid, and sodium silicofluoride—toxic by-products of the aluminum and fertilizer industries—to their water supplies. This definitely concerns me. During WWI, high doses of fluoride were used to poison rats.
Did you know that fluoride water treatment in Sweden, Denmark, and Holland is illegal? Germany and Belgium stopped conducting fluoride experiments on humans because of research results, and France and Norway “have never found sufficient evidence to warrant water fluoridation,” according to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods.
Water fluoridation is unethical because individuals are not consenting to being medicated with fluoride. This is one of the reasons why 97% of Western Europe is fluoride-free. 162 communities in Canada, US, UK and New Zealand have rejected water fluoridation since 1990; among them are the BC municipalities of Burns Lake, Campbell River, Courteny/Comox, Golden, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kitimat, Squamish, and Whitehorse in the Yukon.
Tests with fluoride have been inconsistent, some indicating improved teeth, and some a worsening effect. The Dental Association tells us our children need fluoride from toothpaste and drinking water to prevent cavities and strengthen tooth enamel. However, fluoridated water is no longer recommended for babies due to a high risk of developing dental fluorosis; other body tissues as well as developing brains may also be affected. (According to the Centers for Disease Control, dental fluorosis now impacts 32% of American children.)
Fluoride is the reduced form of fluorine, explains Paul Pitchford. Fluorine is found naturally in food and has important nutritional functions, but is completely different from the chemical fluoride. Fluorine, combined with organic calcium, creates a hard surface on teeth and in bones and helps protect against germs and viruses. If there is a high calcium level in the water to form calcium fluoride, the water may be beneficial. When there is tooth decay, fluorine shortage is assumed.
Goat’s milk is the most concentrated source of fluorine. Others include seaweed, rice, rye, parsley, avocadoes, cabbage, black-eyed peas, juniper berries, licorice herb, lemongrass, bancha tea twigs and other tea plants.
Dr. Elson M. Haas, author of Staying Healthy with the Seasons, recommends drinking spring, purified, or distilled water. If not possible, boil tap water for 15 minutes to remove fluoride, or solarize it by setting a clear glass jug of water in sunlight for one to two days.
Sodium fluoride is extremely toxic. 200 mg of fluoride ion can kill a young child and 3-5 grams (a teaspoon) is enough to kill an adult. It accumulates in our bones, pineal gland and other tissues. Do not swallow toothpaste; spit excess out and rinse. Since young children are unable to spit toothpaste out, use non-fluoride toothpaste at this age, and use no more than a pea-sized amount per brushing. Non-fluoride toothpastes can be found at your local health food store. I choose to use fluoride-free toothpaste for my family because I believe it is risk-free and non-detrimental to our health.
The benefits of fluoride have been exaggerated, and are mainly topical, not systemic. There is minimal benefit when ingested, but many risks. So why is it contaminating our water supply?
Other recommended resources:
• Fluoride: The Aging Factor
by J. Yiamouyiannis, 1986.
• The Fluoride Deception
by Christopher Bryson,
investigative journalist, 2004.
Fluoride: an ongoing debate
Tracy Morton MD
Fluoride is a compound that has been extensively proven to prevent tooth decay. Most toothpastes contain an amount (0.243 percent), which, when applied through toothbrushing, significantly reduces the risk of cavities. Fluoride can protect the teeth through topical application in brushing and varnishing, but also through ingestion of fluoride-fortified drinking water.
Fluoride was first added to drinking water in the 1940s, and has a long record of safe use. The best evidence indicates that children who ingest fluoride have a 35% lower risk of cavities compared to those who don’t. The Province of BC recommends municipalities supplement drinking water with 0.8 to 1mg fluoride per litre of water.
Fluoride protects in many ways. First, it directly inhibits the metabolism of decay-causing bacteria, reducing the amount of acids they produce. Second, it becomes incorporated into the hard outer enamel of teeth forming a compound called fluoroapatite. This is harder and more resistant than our natural enamel to decay-causing acids produced by the bacteria in our mouths. Finally, fluoride, once absorbed into the enamel, attracts other minerals leading to enhanced remineralization of teeth that have already experienced some decay. Research has shown that if kids receive fluoride, these beneficial effects occur with both topical application and ingestion of fluoridated water.
However, like most of the topics Julie and I have covered in Northword, there is widespread disagreement on the pros and cons of adding fluoride to our water supply. Critics of fluoridation point to studies showing harmful effects of toxic exposure to fluoride. Like practically all substances we ingest, even ones necessary for life (like oxygen and water), too much can harm. Indeed, over-supplementation of fluoride can lead to fluorosis, a condition where the bones and teeth become brittle. This can occur with chronic consumption of more than 4mg fluoride per litre of water, a level at least four times higher than found in drinking water. There is no convincing evidence of any toxic effects from levels found in drinking water. As for toothpastes, children are recommended to use fluoride-containing toothpastes, but no more than a “pea-sized” amount, and are encouraged to spit, not swallow the toothpaste.
The BC Ministry of Health Services “supports fluoridation of community water supplies as a proven method of reducing tooth decay.” Several organizations support water fluoridation, including the Canadian Dental Association, the Canadian Medical Association, World Health Organization and the Canadian Pediatric Society. The US Center for Disease Control called water fluoridation “one of the top 10 public-health interventions of the 20th century.”
It is a municipal decision to add fluoride to water. I grew up in a community that added fluoride to the water supply, and I now live in a community that doesn’t. Across the country, there are thousands of municipalities supplementing their water with fluoride, supplying 10 million Canadians. In recent years, there has been a drop in the number of communities fluoridating, not only due to safety concerns (which I believe are unsubstantiated), but also because of the threat of litigation and public complaints.
For those concerned about this issue, I would encourage doing independent research. As a father of two and a physician, I am convinced that the balance of evidence favours adding fluoride to water and using fluoride-containing toothpastes, especially for children.
For more information, see:
• www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile28.stm explains BC Ministry of Health’s position on fluoridation
• www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/ a comprehensive US site with historical information on fluoride supplementation and extensive scientific references on the pros and cons of its practice
• www.fluoridealert.org a site devoted to broadening public awareness of fluoride’s toxicity and calling for an end to fluoridation
• www.fluoride.kamloops.com/ a site showing one person’s campaign to have fluoride taken out of Kamloops’ water supply.
By: aaron
19 May 2009
By: william bliss
29 October 2011