Vitamins for Wellness

Bette Dowdell asked:


Bette Dowdell

Enough with the fluoride already! Communities began adding fluoride to our drinking water based on “scientific” studies–which turned out to be bogus–claiming fluoride would protect our teeth from cavities. Based on the same “science,” companies put the stuff in toothpaste.

Fact is, fluoride doesn’t reduce cavities. Communities with fluoride in their drinking water have the same incidence of cavities as communities without. European countries woke up, smelled the coffee and got rid of the stuff–with no increase of dental caries.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, fluoride creates all kinds of health havoc.

•  Fluoride beats up on the endocrine system big-time. It has a significant impact on the thyroid,  the pancreas, the pineal gland, the testes and the ovaries. And those are just the ones with studies to back up the anecdotal data..

•  Fluoride interferes with iodine intake. Added to the negative impact on thyroid, which is related, the damage can be substantial. 40% of us have thyroid problems now, double the historic levels.

•  Fluoride lowers IQ levels.

•  Fluoride weakens bones.

•  Fluoride causes fluorosis, a weakening and mottling of tooth enamel.

•  Fluoride increases the incidence of cancer.

•  Fluoride speeds up aging.

• Fluoride impacts fertility

Well, I could go on, but gloryosky! Isn’t that enough to make you start a campaign? Especially if you have children who are doubly impacted by fluoride’s negative effects?

First off, ditch any toothpaste containing fluoride–which is most of them. Jason’s Natural Products and Kiss My Face Corporation have excellent, fluoride-free toothpastes available at health food stores and on-line.

Stay alert, though. The growing popularity of natural products has large companies moving in. They buy small, natural product companies, then, in some cases, quietly make the products unnatural. Always read labels.

In terms of fluoride in the water system, I tell you true, if you’re waiting for somebody else to take care of you, you’re waiting in vain. Going against “science,” even bogus science, asks a lot of elected officials. Only the pressure of public noise can motivate change.

Overwhelm your city government with mail, e-mail and phone calls. Get some good research reports off the internet and send them along–with highlighting to increase the impact. Make your presence known at meetings.

The old saying tells us the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Translate that in this case to the pest gets results. Doing nothing takes no effort by city officials. Behind-the-scenes financial interests may need flushing out. Whatever the case, few good things happen by themselves.

In the meantime, reverse osmosis sustems get rid of fluoride, and they fit under the sink. Unfortunately, they make water acidic–a whole lot better than fluoride, but still needing attention. Most of us already flirt with ill health because of acidity, but we can handle that. What we can’t handle is fluoride..

First order of the day: Get rid of fluoride.

Dan DeBaun :


I sometimes wonder what percentage of the population is aware of the ongoing fluoride debate. There’s absolutely a growing voice of dissent over water fluoridation, but how familiar is the average Joe with this subject. I know that most of my friends and family are not aware of it. I’ve never heard it brought up on any popular news television programs. It seems the majority of information is coming from radio programming, local news stations, activist groups, and scientific community organizations. Does that mean there’s not much to this debate, or are we on the precipice of this issue entering into the national spotlight?

Fluoridation has occurred in the public water systems for more than 60 years. Given this basic historical fact, the immediate question that comes to many peoples mind when they are confronted with the debate is; “If fluoridation is so bad for us, wouldn’t we have figured it out already? Wouldn’t there be mountains of evidence to illustrate the toxic effects?” Opponents claim that this evidence does exist, and that more in depth and well funded studies need to be executed to better demonstrate this truth. Proponents retort that the evidence for fluoride is already there with US general population tooth decay reductions in the order of 50-60% since WWII. This statistic is one of the most controversial as these same reductions, over the same time periods, are shown in countries that have never engaged in water fluoridation.

Sodium fluoride, used for fluoridation, is a hazardous-waste by-product from the manufacture of aluminum, and is a common ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, anesthetics, hypnotics, psychiatric drugs, and military nerve gas. Fluoride is more toxic than aluminum and studies have shown that fluoride consumption increases the absorption rate of aluminum by 600%. There are, however, controls set in place to manage this risk. The EPA has maximum water fluoridation levels set at 1 ppm (part per million) and the back of fluoride toothpaste reads “Keep toothpaste out of the reach of children under 6. If swallowed get medical help or contact poison control center right away.”

What is not up for debate is that fluoride harms bones, causes stiff joints, encourages skeletal abnormalities, raises the risk of cancer, results in genetic damage, and hampers nervous system function in humans. Opponents of fluoridation are concerned that since fluoride acts as a cumulative poison gradually affecting the body over time, potential toxicity depends on how much water is consumed on a daily basis, the individual’s body weight, and the body’s ability to filter and eliminate the chemical. These are wide margin variables that may allow a relatively large percentage of the population to fall into a toxic range over time.

Recently, there has been government studies that attest to fluoridation dangers. In 2005, a CDC study showed irreversible enamel fluorosis in 1 out of 3 children. Then in 2007, the ADA warned parents not to mix baby formula with tap water in the first 12 months of development so as to avoid fluoride intake. Just recently in June of 2008, the National Kidney Foundation stated the kidney disease patients should be notified of the potential risks of exposure to fluoride.

Each year our scientists are getting better at understanding the toxic implications of fluoride, and one point is glaringly obvious. With water fluoridation, you cannot control the dose ingested, both children and adults are treated with similar doses, and unless the public filters their water, they do not have a choice in the matter. At a bare minimum, larger and more comprehensive studies should be performed to properly address dosage variables and ensure the benefits definitively outweigh the risks. This is where the debate needs to go.

In the meantime, for those who are concerned, there are fluoride water filters on the market.  Berkey Filters makes a highly regarded and very popular PF-2 fluoride water filter that works in any Berkey Water Filters System.