Park Ridge
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Park Ridge
Cardiology
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-A deficient diet, not a fluoride deficiency, is the cause of most dental decay. By Royce K Bailey, MD MPH, FAAC, MAAC
After rigorous inquiry and with sound scientific, legalistic, and ethical reasons, I find fluoride to be ........., Now you decide!
Fluoride’s Benefits
Fluoride is known as the champion cavity fighter. Fluoride products help strengthen children’s teeth at ages 9 to 12, but the American Dental Association in 2007 issued a warning that fluoridated water should not be used in infant formulas or foods. 66% of US cities and towns have fluoridated water, and most US dentists agree that fluoride prevents tooth decay. In 1999, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) named the fluoridation of community water one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century. Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel, and it allows teeth damaged by acid to repair, or remineralize, themselves.
Mass Medication
Fluoridation of our water in the US started January 12, 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Back then asbestos lined our pipes, lead was in our gasoline, PCBs filled our transformers and DDT was deemed so "safe and effective" that officials felt no qualms spraying kids in school classrooms and seated at picnic tables. One by one all these chemicals have been banned except fluoridation! Did you know that western Europe allows individuals the right to choose, or refuse, fluoride. While water fluoridation is often credited with causing the reduction in tooth decay that has occurred in the US over the past 50 years, the same reductions in tooth decay have occurred in all western countries, most of which have never added fluoride to their water. Comprehensive data from the World Health Organization shows that tooth decay rates are just as low as rates in the US.
Too Much Fluoride?
In 2006, a panel of dentists, toxicologists, and epidemiologists assembled by the National Research Council (NRC) determined that the level of fluoride allowed in community drinking water in this country is too high. More is better–right? The State of California Department of Public Health has stated: "Increases in fluoride concentration in excess of 1 part per million (ppm) do not further decrease the occurrence of dental caries but do increase the risk of objectionable fluorosis (mottling of the teeth)." It is usually accepted by medical authorities that children should have no more than 1 mg/day, and adults, 1.5 to 2 mg/day. However according to Dr. Albert Burgstahler, University of Kansas, the average adult daily intake today is 2 to 3 mg. Two liters of water alone used in drinking and cooking will contain your total "safe" dose for the day. Why does the toothpaste label state, “Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If more than is used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”? Because fluoride can be a neurotoxin and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed. 50% of the fluoride we swallow each day accumulates in our bones.
Fluoride Toxicity?
Did you know that in addition to the fluoride ingested in water, fluoride is also contained in plastics, pharmaceuticals/anesthetics (medicines), cigarettes, and many foods; such as fruit juices, soda, black and green teas, beer, some wines, mechanically deboned chicken, meat, fish/sea food, gelatin (stored in animal fat), some processed foods/cereals, insecticides on fruits and vegetables, and fluoridated toothpaste (200 mg. in a 50 g. tube). Tea drinking by itself can cause low level fluoride poisoning and possibly arthritis if done to excess! Fluoride compounds are highly persistent, fat soluble and accumulate in the planet’s food chains and our body fat to toxic levels over the years. It is suggested that up to 66% of fluoride taken into our bodies comes from bathing and clothes washed in fluoridated water.
The Chemistry Of Fluoride
Fluoride is a halogen, like chlorine, bromide and iodine. It is the smallest and most reactive element in the halogen family (elements with 7 electrons in their outer shell). Fluorine exists as a gas, but in nature it is attached to other elements as the negatively charged ion fluoride, most notably to hydrogen, calcium, sodium, aluminum, sulfur, and silicon. Sodium fluoride, a by-product of aluminum smelting, initially was used to fluoridate water. Silicofluorides (fluoride combined with silicon), wastes of phosphate fertilizer production, are now used almost exclusively for fluoridation. Fluorine is also present in compounds called organofluorines, where fluorine atoms (not fluoride anions) are tightly bound to carbon. Teflon (poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene)-safe to 500o, Gore-Tex, and many drugs, Prozac (fluoxetine) and Cipro (ciprofloxacin).
Water Fluoridation
The chemicals that have been most commonly used for artificial water fluoridation include:
1. Sodium fluoride (NaF) - widespread use is in toothpaste and other dental
treatments. This compound in high levels is a highly toxic protoplasmic poison which accumulates in the body.
2. Hydrofluorosilicic acid (H2SiF6) - a liquid compound that has been used for artificial water fluoridation in Canada for over 60 years. This chemical was chosen because of its low cost and widespread availability (as a waste product from chemical processing of phosphate rock: especially for separation of uranium from other ores, aluminum, steel, ceramics and phosphate fertilizers).
3. Sodium silicofluoride (Na2SiF6) - a solid compound related to hydrofluorosilicic acid. This form of fluoride is used in high concentrations to kill rats and crop-eating insects. Silicofluorides ((H2SiF6) & Na2SiF6)) are classified as Hazardous Waste according to the Basel Convention, Environment Canada and United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA). Sodium vs Calcium Fluoride
Municipal employees who add fluoridation chemicals to public water systems must wear protective clothing and respirators. Industrial workers regularly exposed to fluorine, the gas form of fluoride, have suffered skin, lung, and gastrointestinal problems; it has even been fatal for some. Fluoride is usually added to soft water from our cities, but fluorides occurring in nature, usually in the form of calcium fluoride, are found in hard water containing high levels of calcium and magnesium. Physiologically, the body copes better with the effects of fluoride if calcium and magnesium are present, and in cases of chronic and acute fluoride poisoning, the antidote is calcium. Sodium fluoride is highly soluble in water, whereas calcium fluoride is only slightly soluble. Calcium fluoride is 85 times less toxic than sodium fluoride. Sodium fluoride is more toxic than lead and slightly less toxic than arsenic. Fluoride Is For Children
97% of western Europe (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland) do not have water fluoridation, but has been as equally successful as the US, if not more so, in tackling tooth decay. If fluoride was necessary for strong teeth, you would expect to find it in breast milk, but the level there is 0.01 ppm , which is 100 times LESS than in fluoridated tap water (IOM, 1997). Children in non-fluoridated communities are already getting the so-called "optimal" doses from other sources (Heller et al, 1997), with most already being over-exposed to fluoride. Doses of fluoride at 0.4 to 0.8 ppm can cause mottling of the teeth in children by damaging the enamel (dental fluorosis) of a high percentage of children. Between 30 and 50% of children have dental fluorosis on at least two teeth in optimally fluoridated communities (Heller et al, 1997 and McDonagh et al, 2000). Major dental researchers also concede that fluoride is ineffective at preventing pit and fissure tooth decay, which is the cause of 85% of the tooth decay experienced by children (JADA 1984; Gray 1987; White 1993; Pinkham 1999). The largest survey conducted in the US showed only a minute difference in tooth decay between children who had lived all their lives in fluoridated compared to non-fluoridated communities. The difference was not clinically significant nor shown to be statistically significant (Brunelle & Carlos, 1990). The worst tooth decay in the United States occurs in the poor neighborhoods of our largest cities, the vast majority of which have been fluoridated for decades. When fluoridation has been halted in communities in Finland, former East Germany, Cuba and Canada, tooth decay did not go up but continued to go down (Maupome et al, 2001; Kunzel and Fischer, 1997, 2000; Kunzel et al, 2000 and Seppa et al, 2000). Dementia, IQ And Fluoride
The National Research Council (NRC) states that fluoride can damage the brain. Animal studies conducted in the 1990s by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists found dementia-like effects at the same concentration (1 ppm) used to fluoridate water, while human studies have found adverse effects on IQ at levels as low as 0.9 ppm among children with nutrient deficiencies, and levels of 1.8 ppm among children with adequate nutrient intake. In 1942, Nazi Germany became the world’s largest producer of aluminum (and Sodium Fluoride). Fluoride was used in the concentration camps to render the prisoners docile and inhibit their questioning of authority. Russia added fluoride to the water in its concentration camps as well during this time. In 2005, Chinese children drinking well water with very high levels of fluoride scored poorly on intelligence testing compared to those with lower exposures.
Lead Toxicity Increased From Fluoride Exposure
In human studies, the fluoridating agents most commonly used in the US not only increased the uptake of lead into children’s blood (Masters and Coplan, 1999, 2000), but were also associated with an increase in violent behavior. Lead interferes with the neurotransmitter dopamine, which controls impulsive and violent behavior; and studies show that lead pollution is linked to higher rates of violent crime. The average violent crime rate in US counties that have lead pollution is 56 percent higher when their drinking water is fluoridated. (Fluoride 2005;38:1-5, 11-22).
Mood And Sleep Disorders
Fluoride accumulates in our pineal gland more than any other body organ, possibly lowering the production of melatonin and serotonin, very important regulatory hormones (Luke, 1997, 2001). Therefore, fluoride could cause sleep and mood disorders. Did you know that day time exercise and meditation/prayer increases melatonin production. Also noted in these studies is an acceleration of puberty in females.
Thyroid Dysfunction And Obesity
The NRC states that fluoride is an endocrine disrupter and has warned that doses of fluoride (0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day) achievable by drinking fluoridated water, may reduce the function of the thyroid among individuals with low-iodine intake. Up until the 1970s, European doctors used fluoride as a thyroid-suppressing medication for patients with HYPER-thyroidism (over-active thyroid). Fluoride was utilized because it was found to be effective at reducing the activity of the thyroid gland - even at doses as low as 2 mg/day. Fluoride contributes to hypothyroidism by binding to the thyroid receptors instead of iodine. Low thyroid levels can lead to loss of mental acuity (brain fog), being cold all the time, depression, dry skin and weight gain/obesity.
Aluminum And Fluoride
In animal studies, fluoride at 1 ppm in drinking water increases the uptake of aluminum into the brain (Varner et al, 1998). Cooking in aluminum cookware with water containing fluorides increases the aluminum concentration by up to a thousand times more than cooking in fluorine-free water. This could increase the possibility of aluminum induced Alzheimer disease.
Infertility
Counties with 3 ppm or more of fluoride in their water have lower fertility rates in both males and females (Freni, 1994). The margin of safety between the so-called therapeutic benefit of reducing dental decay and causing harm is either nonexistent or precariously low.
Cancer
Fluoride at 1 ppm shows increased tumor growth rate in the lab and impairment of DNA to repair itself. Fluoride disrupts hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are the velcro strips that hold the enzyme in our bodies in a certain shape. Increased cancer death rates are seen by fluoride destroying over 100 body enzymes, interfering with mineral and vitamin functions in your body system. Enzymes trigger specific reactions in the body and are long-chain proteins held in certain shapes. They act like a key in a lock. Fluoride changes the shape of the enzymes so that they no longer fit. Since enzymes are proteins, once they’ve been changed, they’re now foreign-looking. The body now treats them as invaders, even though they’re part of your body. This is known as an autoimmune situation - the body attacks itself. Fluoride comes along and hydrolyzes the enzyme: cuts the velcro strips away. The shape collapses. No more enzyme; now just a foreign protein that your body attacks. With constant inflammation attacking the body cells, they mutate and can become cancer cells.
Fluoride In Bones
Fluoride at 1 ppm interferes with collagen metabolism and bone formation. Fluoride accumulates in our bones and makes them more brittle over time. Scientists at EPA report drinking fluorinated water has been directly linked in adults to bone de-mineralization, carpal-tunnel syndrome, and arthritis by interfering with calcium deposits. July 9, 1998, the Manchester Guardian reported news of fluoride poisoned water in Central India, from untested wells drilled in the 1980s, causing severe arthritic damage to tens of millions of people. A lifetime exposure to fluoride contributes to higher rates of hip fracture in the elderly with levels as low 1.5 ppm daily. There are serious, but yet unproven, concerns about a connection between fluoridation and osteosarcoma in young men (Cohn, 1992). Up to half of adolescents who develop osteosarcoma die within a few years of their diagnosis. Mutations in the p53 gene are the most commonly observed genetic alterations in human cancer. The NRC concludes that fluoride probably causes mutations in p53 which cause osteosarcomas.
Fluoride Ingestion
The benefits of fluoride are clearly topical, not systemic (CDC, 1999, 2001), so fluoridated toothpaste, which is universally available, is a more rational approach to delivering fluoride to the target organ (teeth) while minimizing exposure to the rest of us.
So What Can I Do?
Pray without ceasing. Do not drink bottled water/sports drinks, soda or fruit/vegetable juices (usually made from fluoridated water), you may drink you own juiced fruits or vegetables. Adults, do not use fluoridated toothpaste or mouthwashes. Do not use teas. Increase your plant based calcium/magnesium in your diet. Make sure you are getting enough vitamin D (essential for calcium adsorption). Avoid animal products, because fluoride collects in their fat. Check your water filter for its ability to remove fluoride. The fluoride anion diameter size is 0.64 nm which is smaller than the usual filter pore size. Boiling or carbon filters will eliminate all traces of chlorine from city water, but will not eliminate fluoride, which is only eliminated by distilling your water or using a reverse osmosis filter. Distilled water tends to be acidic with a pH of 5.5 and lacks trace minerals. Distilling your water is not suggested for long term use (years).
-1000 mg. per day of magnesium, preferably in a highly absorbable form, such as magnesium lactate, malate or gluconate and/or 6 almonds a day. Avoid magnesium aspartate as aspartic acid is an excitatory amino acid.
-2000 mg. of calcium citrate daily. Avoid calcium from living creatures, such as animal bone, coral or oyster shells. They may contain toxic lead, cadmium and arsenic. -Take 2000 IU of vitamin D daily. Experiments show protection for embryos of pregnant animals exposed to fluoride.
-Take 2000mg (minimum) of vitamin C daily.
-Iodine supplementation has been clinically demonstrated to increase the urine excretion of sodium fluoride from the body as calcium fluoride. I use ‘Iodoral’ brand, 50mg a day for one month, then 12.5 a day thereafter.
-Lecithin two tablespoons of granules a day is recommended as an adjunct to using iodine for excreting fluorides.
-Boron 3mg a day has been studied around the world with pronounced success for fluoride detoxification.
-Dry Saunas combined with exercise releases sodium fluoride stored in fatty tissues. It can be intense enough to cause side effects or an occasional healing crisis. So keep the pure water intake high and drink some chickweed tea to protect the kidneys while using a highly absorbable cal/mag supplement.
-Cilantro pesto with chlorella (algae) chelates heavy metals, including fluoride salts (sodium fluoride). 400 mg of cilantro a day can markedly improve your heavy metals load in your body in just 2 weeks.
References:
Featherstone JDB. (2000). The Science and Practice of Caries Prevention. Journal of the American Dental Association. 131: 887-899. (Additional references available at: www.fluoridealert.org/health/teeth/caries/topical-systemic.html)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2001). Recommendations for Using Fluoride to Prevent and Control Dental Caries in the United States. Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Review. (MMWR). August 17. 50(RR14):1-42.
Grandjean P, Landrigan P. (2006). Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals. The Lancet, November 8.
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.
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
http://www.consumerhealth.org/articles/display.cfm?ID=19990817225011
http://www.prevention.com/health/health/healthy-living/the-danger-in-your-water/article/319972e50d803110VgnVCM10000013281eac____
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/kidney/
http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/biblio.html
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http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976895_1976898,00.html#ixzz0qfpy4VdX
Wang SX, ZH Wang, XT Cheng, J Li, ZP Sang, XD Zhang, LL Han, SY Qiao, ZM Wu and ZQ Wang. 2007. Arsenic and fluoride exposure in drinking water: children’s IQ and growth in Shanyin County, Shanxi province, China. Environmental Health Perspectives 115(4):643-7
Luke J. (2001). Fluoride deposition in the aged human pineal gland. Caries Research 35:125-128
National Research Council. (2006), Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards. National Academies Press, Washington D.C. p 223
Mt. Pleasant, MI will reduce fluoride levels in water to 0.7 ppm commissioners voted June 15, 2010.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026605_fluoride_fluorides_detox.html
http://www.organic-vida.com/community/environmental-news/cilantro-helps-detox-heavy-metals.html Nov. 9, 2009
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