Up
until now, the supposed efficacy and safety of fluoride for dental purposes
has been relatively unquestioned and considered as American as baseball
and apple pie. In fact, a former Surgeon General of the Public Health
Service has said that "...fluoridation, along with the pasteurization
of milk, the purification of water, and immunization against disease,
is one of the four horsemen of public health".
However,
it now appears there will be a lot of explaining to do.
As
reported in Newsweek(Feb. 5, 1990) and other media to date, critical,
health-related information on fluoride in drinking water(tap and bottled
varieties) has been intentionally withheld from the public(including
many dental professionals) with the result that the public may be heading
for environmental and physiological disasters.
That
conclusion may well extend to mouthwashes and topical applications of
fluoride in dental offices and even toothpaste-where the legal standard
is over 1000 times higher than for fluoridated drinking water!
FLUORIDE
FOUND INEFFECTIVE
AGAINST
TOOTH DECAY
For
45 years, Americans have been trading the supposed tooth decay preventiveness
of fluoride for the possible genetic, mutagenic and carcinogenic possibilities
for their children.
The
issue of fluoridation of public drinking water supplies has been a volatile
issue for at least three decades. On one side, tremendous pressure is
being applied to the Public Health Service by the American Dental and
Medical Associations to continue fluoridation. Add to this the intense
lobbying of industries who benefit financially from selling their fluoride
waste products to municipal water systems.
On
the other side, a wide range of studies, both domestic and foreign,
have cast serious doubts as to the safety of fluoridation. As recently
as 1990, the American Dental Association was sued by 40 of it's members
who claimed that the ADA was misleading the public about the safety
of fluoridation. On several occasions, even the EPA has pointed out
the potential dangers and requested industrial studies to sort the problem
out once and for all.
As
this whole issue came to a head, the National Institute of Dental Research(NIDR)
of the U.S. Public Health Service(USPHS) conducted a massive, two year,
multi-million dollar, taxpayer funded study. The results of this study,
reported in the May 1989, American Laboratory Magazine, indicates that
fluoride has no effect on reducing tooth decay.
This
massive nationwide study of nearly 40,000 children in all areas of the
country, and conducted by the peers of the dental profession, now stands
between your local family dentist(if he promotes topical fluoridation)
and his credibility in the community.
Understandably,
health officials and dentists alike are anxious to preserve their credibility
and therefore are reluctant to acknowledge that fluoride doesn't reduce
cavities or create adverse health effects as is now being reported in
respected medical and scientific journals.
But
it is hard to see how a truthful dental professional can possibly justify
continuing to tell the public and their patients that fluoridation "is
the single most effective way to prevent dental decay" when their
own data, published in a respected scientific journal, reveals that
there is no measurable benefit.
As
a result of the availability of this new and revealing information,
which had to be pulled into public view through the Freedom of Information
Act, cities across the country(Phoenix, for example) are now calling
for the elimination of fluoride from their drinking water-at least until
firm, openly available information proves that it can be beneficial
without causing permanent physiological damage.
FLUORIDE
FOUND TO CAUSE CANCER
Alar,
Red Dye #3, Cyclamates and other proven carcinogens have been banned
after extensive testing through special toxicology tests on animals.
Strong cause/effect relationships, shown by these controlled tests,
led the bans.
In
1977, Congress mandated the National Toxicology Program(NTP) study of
the Carcinogenity of Fluoride. After 12 years of extensive research
and testing, on January 22, 1990, the NTP reported that fluoridated
animals(rats) developed bone cancers(osteosarcoma) which fluoride-free
rats did not contract.
The
NTP-validated fluoride/cancer link is greater than that which resulted
in the banning of Alar, Red Dye #3 and Cyclamates.
The
dosage of fluoride which revealed this carcinogenic hazard was consistent
with the Federal Register's Guidelines(Principle 3, page 45508) which
are a necessary and valid method of discovering possible carcinogenic
hazards IN HUMANS.
In
short, the study was done correctly-using procedures and test scenarios
which have been used routinely in numerous other "carcinogen seeking"
situations which have drawn the widespread support of the medical community.
Finally,
an extensive study by Dr. Burke and Dr. Yiamouiannis at the National
Cancer Institute produced the following chart which illustrated a dramatic
increase in cancer(dark dots) in cities which fluoridated their drinking
water versus cancer rates in cities which did not fluoridate their drinking
water. The two parts of the graph started diverging about 10-12 years
following the onset of fluoridation in selected, large US cities.
Ignoring
of such dramatic statistical information by public health officials
as well as dentists borders on professional negligence. Is your dentist
or health professional aware of such information?
INESCAPABLE CONCLUSIONS?
The
initial NTP results are obviously not the final word on the carcinogenity
of sodium fluoride in water, toothpaste, fluoride drops(pediatricians),
bottled water, etc. There is too much at stake monetarily for those
who have been peddling this toxic waste product of phosphate fertilizer
production and aluminum manufacturing to our families.
However,
now that the door has finally been fully opened on the issue, it is
important that we carefully watch those professionals and civil servants
who are tasked with sorting these issues out.
Among
environmental controversies, fluoridation is rather unique in that one
side has consistently denied that questions of risk or benefit even
exist. The American Dental Association has gone on record saying that
"...anti-fluoridation groups attempt to create the illusion of
a scientific controversy(which is) merely a ploy to create doubt about
a well-researched, well-demonstrated preventative measure".
Well,
we now know from the reports discussed earlier that that ADA statement
represents pure cannon fodder.
Interestingly
enough, even well-researched articles, using information drawn from
the ADA and other dental agencies draw fire if they question the validity
of fluoridation claims.
The
August 1988 issue of Chemical & Engineering News presented a balanced
report on fluoridation. But it set off a veritable fire storm of name
calling and badmouthing by the medical community-ironically the same
organizations which helped assemble and edit the report!
When
a professional group or individual has lost their technical edge, we
naturally steer clear from them. But when that same group or individual
loses their scientific objectivity in the face of debate or controversy,
we do indeed have a more serious problem which begs the question of
motive.
WHAT
YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF FLUORIDE
If
you are feeling apprehensive about this whole issue of fluoride, and
want to do something while the scientists scrap over the importance
of three mice which died of bone cancer from fluoride or the dosage
which is "optimum" for drinking water, consider the following.
Rather
than relying on fluoride to clean up your children's tooth decay problems,
insist in keeping teeth clean; limit sweets, brush regularly and floss
daily.
If
your municipal water is fluoridated, use a fluoride-free toothpaste.
Studies have shown shown that kids swallow about as much toothpaste
as they spit out. With toothpaste carrying thousands of times the dosage
of fluoridated drinking water, you might consider a trip to the health
food store to find a fluoride-free toothpaste.
Pump
up with calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. When you're low in these
three essential minerals, your body will use fluoride as building elements
instead.
Finally,
be aware that simple carbon and reverse osmosis systems will not remove
fluoride completely. Only steam distillation will completely remove
all water contaminants, including fluoride.
Scientific
Facts on the Biological Effects of Fluorides
1.
Fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the
breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs,
kidney and trachea.
A.K. Susheela and Mohan Jha, " Effects of Fluoride on Cortical
and Cancellous Bone Composition," IRCS Medical Sciences:
Library Compendium, Vol. 9, No.11, pp. 1021-1022 (1981);
Y.
D. Sharma, " Effect of Sodium Fluoride on Collagen Cross-Link
Precursors," Toxicological Letters, Vol. 10, pp. 97-100
(1982);
A.
K. Susheela and D. Mukerjee, " Fluoride poisoning and the
Effect of Collagen Biosynthesis of Osseous and Nonosseous Tissue,"
Toxicological European Research, Vol. 3, No.2, pp. 99-104 (1981);
Y.D.
Sharma, " Variations in the Metabolism and Maturation of
Collagen after Fluoride Ingestion," Biochemica et Biophysica
Acta, Vol. 715, pp. 137-141 (1982);
Marian
Drozdz et al., " Studies on the Influence of Fluoride Compounds
upon Connective Tissue Metabolism in Growing Rats" and
"Effect of Sodium Fluoride With and Without Simultaneous
Exposure to Hydrogen Fluoride on Collagen Metabolism,"
Journal of Toxicological Medicine, Vol. 4, pp. 151-157 (1984).
2. Fluoride stimulates granule formation and oxygen
consumption in white blood cells, but inhibits these processes when
the white blood cell is challenged by a foreign agent in the blood.
Robert A. Clark, " Neutrophil Iodintion Reaction Induced
by Fluoride: Implications for Degranulation and Metabolic Activation,"
Blood, Vol. 57, pp. 913-921 (1981).
3. Fluoride depletes the energy reserves and the
ability of white blood cells to properly destroy foreign agents by the
process of phagocytosis. As little as 0.2 ppm fluoride stimulates superoxide
production in resting white blood cells, virtually abolishing phagocytosis.
Even micro-molar amounts of fluoride, below 1 ppm, may seriously depress
the ability of white blood cells to destroy pathogenic agents.
John Curnette, et al, " Fluoride-mediated Activation of
the Respiratory Burst in Human Neutrophils," Journal of
Clinical Investigation, Vol. 63, pp. 637-647 (1979);
W.
L. Gabler and P. A. Leong, ., " Fluoride Inhibition of Polymorphonumclear
Leukocytes," Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 48, No.
9, pp. 1933-1939 (1979);
W. L. Gabler, et al., " Effect of Fluoride on the Kinetics
of Superoxide Generation by Fluoride," Journal of Dental
Research, Vol. 64, p. 281 (1985);
A.
S. Kozlyuk, et al., " Immune Status of Children in Chemically
Contaminated Environments," Zdravookhranenie, Issue 3,
pp. 6-9 (1987)
4. Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes
it to attack the body's own tissues, and increases the tumor growth
rate in cancer prone individuals.
Alfred Taylor and Nell C. Taylor, " Effect of Sodium Fluoride
on Tumor Growth," Proceedings of the Society for Experimental
Biology and Medicine, Vol. 119, p. 252 (1965);
Shiela
Gibson, " Effects of Fluoride on Immune System Function,"
Complementary Medical Research, Vol. 6, pp. 111-113 (1992);
Peter
Wilkinson, " Inhibition of the Immune System With Low Levels
of Fluorides," Testimony before the Scottish High Court
in Edinburgh in the Case of McColl vs. Strathclyde Regional Council,
pp. 17723-18150, 19328-19492, and Exhibit 636, (1982);
D.
W. Allman and M. Benac, " Effect of Inorganic Fluoride Salts
on Urine and Cyclic AMP Concentration in Vivo," Journal
of Dental Research, Vol. 55 (Supplement B), p. 523 (1976);
S.
Jaouni and D. W. Allman, " Effect of Sodium Fluoride and
Aluminum on Adenylate Cyclase and Phosphodiesterase Activity,"
Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 64, p. 201 (1985)
5. Fluoride inhibits antibody formation in the
blood.
S. K. Jain and A. K. Susheela, " Effect of Sodium Fluoride
on Antibody Formation in Rabbits," Environmental Research,
Vol. 44, pp. 117-125 (1987)
6. Fluoride depresses thyroid activity.
Viktor Gorlitzer Von Mundy, " Influence of Fluorine and
Iodine on the Metabolism, Particularly on the Thyroid Gland,"
Muenchener Medicische Wochenschrift, Vol. 105, pp. 182-186 (1963);
A. Benagiano, "The Effect of Sodium Fluoride on Thyroid
Enzymes and Basal Metabolism in the Rat," Annali Di Stomatologia,
Vol. 14, pp. 601-619 (1965);
Donald Hillman, et al., " Hypothyroidism and Anemia Related
to Fluoride in Dairy Cattle," Journal of Dairy Science,
Vol. 62, No.3, pp. .416-423 (1979);
V.
Stole and J. Podoba, " Effect of Fluoride on the Biogenesis
of Thyroid Hormones," Nature, Vol. 188, No. 4753, pp.
855-856 (1960);
Pierre
Galleti and Gustave Joyet, " Effect of Fluorine on Thyroid
Iodine Metabolism and Hyperthyroidism," Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 18, pp. 1102-1110 (1958)
7. Fluorides have a disruptive effect on various
tissues in the body.
T. Takamorim " The Heart Changes in Growing Albino Rats
Fed on Varied Contents of Fluorine," The Toxicology of
Fluorine Symposium, Bern, Switzerland, Oct 1962, pp. 125-129;
Vilber
A. O. Bello and Hillel J. Gitelman, " High Fluoride Exposure
in Hemodialysis Patients," American Journal of Kidney
Diseases, Vol. 15, pp. 320-324 (1990);
Y.
Yoshisa, " Experimental Studies on Chronic Fluorine Poisoning,"
Japanese Journal of Industrial Health, Vol. 1, pp. 683-690
(1959)
8. Fluoride promotes development of bone cancer.
J.K. Mauer, et al., " Two-Year Cacinogenicity Study Of Sodium
Fluoride In Rats," Journal of the National Cancer Institute,
Vol. 82, pp. 1118-1126 (1990);
Proctor and Gamble " Carcinogenicity Studies with Sodium
Fluoride in Rats" National Institute of Environmenrtal
Health Sciences Presentation, July 27, 1985;
S.
E. Hrudley et al., " Drinking Water Fluoridation and Osteosarcoma,"
Canadian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 81, pp. 415-416 (1990);
P.
D. Cohn, " A Brief Report on the Association of Drinking
Water Fluoridation and Incidence of Osteosarcoma in Young Males,"
New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, New Jersey, Nov. 1992;
M.
C. Mahoney et al., " Bone Cancer Incidence Rates in New
York," American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 81, pp.
81, 475 (1991);
Irwin
Herskowitz and Isabel Norton, " Increased Incidence of Melanotic
Tumors Following Treatment with Sodium Fluoride," Genetics
Vol. 48, pp. 307-310 (1963);
J.
A. Disney, et al., " A Case Study in Testing the Conventional
Wisdom: School Based Fluoride Mouth Rinse Programs in the USA,"
Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, Vol. 18, pp. 46-56 (1990);
D.
J. Newell, " Fluoridation of Water Supplies and Cancer -
An Association?," Applied Statistics, Vol. 26, No. 2,
pp. 125-135 (1977)
9. Fluorides cause premature aging of the human
body.
Nicholas Leone, et al., " Medical Aspects of Excessive Fluoride
in a Water Supply," Public Health Reports, Vol. 69, pp. 925-936
(1954);
J.
David Erikson, " Mortality of Selected Cities with Fluoridated
and Non-Fluoridated Water Supplies," New England Journal
of Medicine, Vol. 298, pp. 1112-1116 (1978);
"
The Village Where People Are Old Before Their Time," Stern
Magazine, Vol. 30, pp. 107-108, 111-112 (1978)
10. Fluoride ingestion from mouth rinses and dentifrices
in children is extremely hazardous to biological development, life span
and general health.
Yngve Ericsson and Britta Forsman, " Fluoride Retained From Mouth
Rinses and Dentifrices In Preschool Children," Caries Research,
Vol. 3, pp. 290-299 (1969);
W.
L. Augenstein, et al., " Fluoride Ingestion In Children:
A Review Of 87 Cases," Pediatrics, Vol. 88, pp. 907-912,
(1991);
Charles
Wax, " Field Investigation Report," State
of Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, March 19, 1980,
67 pages;
George
Waldbott, " Mass Intoxication from Over-Fluoridation in
Drinking Water," Clinical Toxicology, Vol. 18, No.5, pp.
531-541 (1981)
Other
Facts
The
contents of a family size tube of fluoridated toothpaste is enough to
kill a 25 pound child.
In 1991, the Akron (Ohio) Regional Poison Center reported that "death
has been reported following ingestion of 16mg/kg of fluoride. Only 1/10
of an ounce of fluoride could kill a 100 pound adult. According to the
Center, "fluoride toothpaste contains
up to 1mg/gram of fluoride."
Even Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Crest, acknowledge that
a family-sized tube "theoretically contains
enough fluoride to kill a small child."
Fluorides have been used to modify behavior and mood of human beings.
It is a little known fact that fluoride compounds were added to the
drinking water of prisoners to keep them docile and inhibit questioning
of authority, both in Nazi prison camps in World War II and in the Soviet
gulags in Siberia.
Fluorides are medically categorized as protoplasmic poisons, which is
why they are used to kill rodents.
The September 18, 1943 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association, states, "fluorides are general protoplasmic poisons,
changing the permeability of the cell membrane by inhibiting certain
enzymes. The exact mechanisms of such actions are obscure."
Fluoride consumption by human beings increases the general cancer death
rate.
In 1975 Dr. John Yiamouyiannis published a preliminary survey which
showed that people in fluoridated areas have a higher cancer death rate
than those in non-fluoridated areas. The National Cancer Institute attempted
to refute the studies. Later in 1975 Yiamouyiannis joined with Dr. Dean
Burk, chief chemist of the National Cancer Institute (1939-1974) in
performing other studies which were then included in the Congressional
Record by Congressman Delaney, who was the original author of the Delaney
Amendment, which prohibited the addition of cancer-causing substances
to food used for human consumption. Both reports confirmed the existence
of a link between fluoridation and cancer. (Note: Obviously Dr. Burk
felt free to agree with scientific truth only after his tenure at National
Cancer Institute ended, since his job depended on towing the party line).
Fluorides have little or no effect on decay prevention in humans.
In 1990 Dr. John Colquhoun was forced into early retirement in New Zealand
after he conducted a study on 60,000 school children and found no difference
in tooth decay between fluoridated and unfluoridated areas. He additionally
found that a substantial number of children in fluoridated areas suffered
from dental fluorosis. He made the study public.
There is no scientific data that shows that fluoride mouth rinses and
tablets are safe for human use.
In 1989 a study by Hildebolt, et al. on 6,000 school children contradicted
any alleged benefit from the use of sodium fluorides. A 1990 study by
Dr. John Yiamouyiannis on 39,000 school children contradicted any alleged
benefits from the use of sodium fluorides. In 1992 Michael Perrone,
a legislative assistant in New Jersey, contacted the FDA requesting
all information regarding the safety and effectiveness of fluoride tablets
and drops. After 6 months of stalling, the FDA admitted they had no
data to show that fluoride tablets or drops were either safe or effective.
They informed Perrone that they will "probably have to pull the
tablets and drops off the market."
The fact that fluoride toothpastes and school based mouth rinses are
packaged in aluminum accentuates the effect on the body.
In 1976, Dr. D. Allman and coworkers from Indiana University School
of Medicine fed animals 1 part-per-million (ppm) fluoride and found
that in the presence of aluminum, in a concentration as small as 20
parts per billion, fluoride is able to cause an even larger increase
in cyclic AMP levels. Cyclic AMP inhibits the migration rate of white
blood cells, as well as the ability of the white blood cell to destroy
pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms. Reference: Journal of Dental
Research, Vol. 55, Sup B, p. 523, 1976, " Effect of Inorganic Fluoride
Salts on Urine and Tissue Cyclic AMP Concentration in Vivo". (Note:
It is no small accident that toothpaste tubes containing fluoride are
often made of aluminum)
"Fluoridation is the greatest case of scientific fraud of this
century"
Robert Carlton, Ph. D., former U. S. EPA scientist on " Marketplace"
Canadian Broadcast Company, Nov. 24, 1992
"Regarding fluoridation, the EPA should act immediately to
protect the public, not just on the cancer data, but on the evidence
of bone fractures, arthritis, mutagenicity and other effects"
William Marcus, Ph. D., senior EPA toxicologist, Covert Action, Fall
1992, p. 66
INTERESTED IN REMOVING
FLUORIDE FROM YOUR FAMILY'S DRINKING WATER?
STEAM DISTILLATION
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