Why are we drinking this?

ANNA / Empowered Citizens Blog

Fluoride is an active ingredient in and rat poison (it's registered with the EPA as such), sarin nerve gas, some pesticides, anesthetics, tranquilizers, toothpaste and mind-altering drugs such as Prozac. It's also in the water supply of almost every community in the U.S. (Click here to find out if the water in your area is fluoridated)

So what is fluoride? For years, fluoride was classified as a toxic waste, its only approved uses being as an insecticide and rat poison. The fluoride used in our water supply is a toxic byproduct of the aluminum industry. This waste is not pure sodium fluoride. It contains additional toxic impurities such as lead and arsenic.

But don't get your tinfoil hats out just yet. The dangers of fluoride are not merely the fantasy of conspiracy theorists. They are, in fact, well documented.

Studies* have been conducted on fluoride, and it has been found to be linked to bone decay, cancer, alzheimer's, thyroid disfunction, weakened immune system.

The American Dental Association is now advising parents (as of 2006) not to give their infants fluoridated tap water because among other things, it can cause--wait for it--brain damage. This is according to a review published in the medical journal The Lancet.**

Fluoride has been pushed as an excellent way to prevent tooth decay, even though five studies*** published since the year 2000 have reported no increase in tooth decay in once fluoridated communities that have since ceased the practice. Tooth decay is caused by our poor diet and malnutrition, not by a lack of fluoride.

Many countries have banned water fluoridation, including China, Sweden, Norway and Japan. Others nations that once fluoridated their water have since stopped the practice. Those countries include Germany, Finland and Hungary. 

Here are some video clips on the matter:

And for good humor:

______________________________________________________

* Some such studies:
- National Research Council. (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. p. 173-188.
- Varner JA, et al. (1998). Chronic Administration of Aluminum-Fluoride and Sodium-Fluoride to Rats in Drinking Water: Alterations in Neuronal and Cerebrovascular Integrity.Brain Research. 784: 284-298.
- Lin Fa-Fu, et al. (1991). The relationship of a low-iodine and high-fluoride environment to subclinical cretinism in Xinjiang. Iodine Deficiency Disorder Newsletter. Vol. 7. No. 3.
- Xiang Q, et al. (2003a). Effect of fluoride in drinking water on children's intelligence. Fluoride 36: 84-94; 198-199.
- NRC (2006). p. 189-224.
- NRC (2006). p. 107-148.
- National Toxicology Program. (1990). Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Sodium Fluoride in F344/N Rats and B6C3f1 Mice. Technical report Series No. 393. NIH Publ. No 91-2848. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, N.C.
- Hoover RN, et al. (1991). Time trends for bone and joint cancers and osteosarcomas in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. National Cancer Institute In: Review of Fluoride: Benefits and Risks. US Public Health Service. Appendix E & F.
- Cohn PD. (1992). A Brief Report On The Association Of Drinking Water Fluoridation And The Incidence of Osteosarcoma Among Young Males. New Jersey Department of Health Environ. Health Service: 1- 17.
- Bassin EB, Wypij D, Davis RB, Mittleman MA. (2006). Age-specific Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water and Osteosarcoma (United States). Cancer Causes and Control 17: 421-8.
- Johnson W, et al. (1979). Fluoridation and bone disease in renal patients. In: E Johansen, DR Taves, TO Olsen, Eds. Continuing Evaluation of the Use of Fluorides. AAAS Selected Symposium. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. pp. 275-293.
- Ittel TH, et al. (1992). Effect of fluoride on aluminum-induced bone disease in rats with renal failure. Kidney International 41: 1340-1348.
- Ayoob S, Gupta AK. (2006). Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Review on the Status and Stress Effects. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 36:433–487
** The review was called "Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals" and was published Nov. 8, 2006.
*** The five studies are:
- Kunzel W, Fischer T. (2000). Caries prevalence after cessation of water fluoridation in La Salud, Cuba. Caries Research 34: 20-5.
- Kunzel W, Fischer T, Lorenz R, Bruhmann S. (2000). Decline of caries prevalence after the cessation of water fluoridation in the former East Germany. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 28: 382-9.
- Seppa L, Karkkainen S, Hausen H. (2000). Caries Trends 1992-1998 in Two Low-Fluoride Finnish Towns Formerly with and without Fluoridation. Caries Research 34: 462-468.

- Burt BA, et al. (2000). The effects of a break in water fluoridation on the development of dental caries and fluorosis. J Dent Res. 79(2):761-9.

-Maupome G, Clark DC, Levy SM, Berkowitz J. (2001). Patterns of dental caries following the cessation of water fluoridation. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology 29: 37-47.