Fluoride

FLUORIDE

97% of the worlds drinking water is NOT fluoridated! Most countries have removed it from their drinking water due to concerns of medical ethics (mass medication) and neurotoxicity. 89% of Australians have access to fluoridated tap water.

Once water is fluoridated, it is difficult to control excessive fluoride intake, as people drink different amounts of water. Children are receiving the same does as adults. (They can drink up to four times the amount of an adult per body mass.) The acceptable fluoride concentration range for Melbourne is between 0.7 and 1.2 mg/L, with the optimum concentration being 0.9 mg/L.

Studies show Fluoride accumulates in the Body. The kidneys of a child or infant can absorb up to 80% of the fluoride they ingest into their bones.

Concerns have been raised about fluoride and the developing brain. Not only can it hinder a developing brain, but it can impact and alter behavior.

Fluoride can impair visual spatial organisation and the pineal gland. As it effects the development of the brain, it also reduces the production of melatonin in children. When all of this happens, children typically experience the onset of puberty earlier than average. Scientists believe that fluoride is playing its own part in the decline of the average age for children experiencing the onset of puberty.

In the 1990s, a British scientist, Jennifer Luke, discovered that fluoride accumulates to strikingly high levels in the pineal gland. (Luke 2001).

Fluorosis is one of the most alarming dangers of fluoride, since it has long lasting impacts. It occurs when you’ve ingested too much fluoride during 0-8years and it’s characterised by white spots or streaks on the teeth, brown/black staining, and even pitting and crumbling of the enamel.

Many dentists still associate fluoride with the ability to protect against cavities and decay, but it could be the source of the problem all along. Children with severe mouth issues tend to have naturally higher concentrations of fluoride in their bodies.

In fluoridated communities, children are twice as likely to experience bone defects. This same correlation can be made between fluoride and the frequency of bone fractions (for both children and adults)

A correlation has been made between elderly people, hip fractures, and high concentrations of fluoride. Those with high levels of fluoride in their system are more likely to suffer from hip fractures, osteoporosis, and brittle bones. Scientists even suggest that as our younger generations grow, they will experience an even higher rate of bone complications in an elderly age, because of the rate we ingest fluoride.

There is a reason the FDA requires toothpastes to carry poison warning labels. If you swallow too much toothpaste or fluoride, you could suffer from acute poisoning and even death. You may think that this would require a lot of fluoride, but one tube of toothpaste contains enough fluoride to kill a small child. Though this severe type of poisoning is rare, lower doses can also cause symptoms of poisoning like nausea, vomiting, headaches, and gastric pain. Just 1 gram of fluoride toothpaste (a full strip of paste on a regular-sized brush) is sufficient to cause acute fluoride toxicity in two-year old children.

Fluoride affects the skin. Some people can experience the onset or worsening of dermatitis when using fluoride toothpaste. It usually occurs around the mouth but can be seen anywhere on the body. Those who start experiencing new skin problems that are otherwise unexplained, see an improvement in their symptoms within a few weeks of switching to a non fluoridated toothpaste.

This could be considered one of the most overlooked dangers of fluoride. Studies have shown that fluoride can adversely affect your blood glucose and insulin levels. Evidence shows that those with higher levels of fluoride in their body had higher glucose levels in the blood and also diminished levels of insulin. Because of this, many in the scientific community see a correlation between fluoride and diabetes, especially in children. Many doctors will suggest that a diabetic child use a toothpaste with little to no fluoride.

Use of fluoride toothpaste during childhood is a major risk factor for dental fluorosis, particularly for children who brush before the age of three and who live in areas with fluoridated water. (Every state in Australia)

Fluoride has been used in pesticides and rodenticides (to kill rats, insects, etc). It is also why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now requires that all fluoride toothpaste sold in the U.S. carry a poison warning that instructs users to contact the poison control center if they swallow more than used for brushing.

Emerging evidence of exposure to fluoride has correlated with adverse health effects such as dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, arthritis, thyroid disease, diabetes, neurodevelopment disorders. Water fluoridation at current Australian levels is associated with dental fluorosis. In Australia, however, most dental fluorosis is very mild or mild, does not affect the function of teeth and is not of aesthetic concern to those who have it.(NHMRC 2010)

In 2006 the American dental associates warned parents not to prepare infant formula with fluoridated tap water because of dental fluorosis. Fluoride can impact the thyroid, melatonin and accumulate in high levels in the pineal gland. Bottle fed babies are more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water as they drink up to four times more water by body weight then most adults.

Three studies of highly fluoride-exposed populations in China and India have found that high fluoride exposure is associated with reduced male fertility. (Chen 1997; Liu 1988; Neelam 1987). In addition, five studies from China, India, Mexico, and Russia have found that high-fluoride exposure is associated with reduced male testosterone levels. Studies have given scientists evidence that high doses of fluoride can destroy the male reproductive system in animals. In test subjects, the sperm was damaged by the fluoride and rate of infertility increased.