The Fluoride Question

Fluoride can be a controversial topic.  As with so many things with life, many of us will have varying opinions.  I’m great with that.  My goal is to challenge us to ask questions and not simply accept the status quo, so we make informed decisions for our families.

After that digression, back to fluoride.  🙂

In our society, we’re told by a number of dentists and water authorities that fluoride is a helpful and necessary part of our diet.   While it *might* prevent a couple of cavities when used topically, the negative effects of fluoride are so overwhelming that it’s far better to utilize other methods for cavity prevention (see Healing Cavities Naturally). In fact, Dr. Mercola explains that “most of mainland Europe is not fluoridated, and yet, according to World Health Organization data, their teeth are just as good, if not better than Americans’.”

The fluoride that is found in our drinking water isn’t the pharmaceutical grade fluoride that one might expect.  Instead, Dr. Paul Connett, in his book “The Case Against Fluoride“, reports that it is actually “hazardous waste products of the phosphate fertilizer industry; it is illegal to dump these into rivers and lakes or release the parent gases into the atmosphere.”  Great.

My hydro-geologist friend tells me that other heavy metals, like aluminum, often combine with the flouride in drinking water.  Aluminum fluoride is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and is hard for our bodies to excrete.  This buildup of heavy metals can contribute to health issues like autism and Alzheimer’s.

Negative Health Effects
Fluoride not only causes fluorosis in teeth and other issues in bones, but it has a well-documented effect of lowering IQ’s in children.  It also depresses your thyroid function.  Interesting that hypothyroidism is at epidemic proportions in the U.S.

“In a nutshell, fluoride is an enzyme poison.  Its presence in the body even in small amounts competes for the receptor sites on the thyroid gland.  If fluoride occupies these sites instead of thyroid stimulating hormone, less thyroid hormone is manufactured resulting in a slow but steady decline in thyroid function.”

Our thyroid needs iodine to function, and “fluoride also displaces iodine in the body.   Without sufficient iodine, even less thyroid hormone will be produced and even taking iodine supplements may not help much if a constant infusion of fluoride is occurring via the drinking water, toothpaste, dental fluoride treatments etc.”

If you decide to avoid fluoride
1. Choose toothpaste that is fluoride-free, from a brand like Kiss My Face, or make your own.  I’m taking my son to a holistic dentist at the end of January so I should have a lot more to share with you then about fluoride-free ways to strengthen and protect teeth.

2. Skip the fluoride treatment at your dentist.

3. Filter your water.  Unfortunately, fluoride is tricky to remove and you’ll need a specialized filter like a Berkey or a reverse osmosis system.   Zero Water filters are the least expensive option in the short run but they take a long time to filter water.

Different counties in the U.S., like Pinellas County in Florida, are beginning to remove fluoride from their water.  Austin, Tx and San Diego, Ca, are considering following suit.

Join us at Food Renegade, Monday Mania, and Frugally Sustainable!