Most U.S. Cities (66%) have been fluoridating their drinking water for over fifty years, and has been cited by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as “one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.” Why then, all of a sudden are citizens of the U.S. and other countries taking a second look at the mineral that has helped to prevent tooth decay and banned it? Some even say the use of fluoride in your drinking water can lower your IQ!
Dr. Paul Connett, a recognized worldwide leader in the movement to ban fluoride, travels the world giving lectures on the negative aspects of adding fluoride to the drinking water.
According to Dr. Connett, with the science we now have on fluoride, the current water fluoridation mandates simply do not make any sense with the scientific knowledge we have today on the mineral. He says fluoride is a drug, if you want to ingest it you have to get a prescription. “We don’t use the public water supply to deliver medicine because it’s a stupid thing to do. You can’t control the dose. You can’t control who gets it. [There’s] no individual supervision. Of course it violates the individual’s right to informed consent to medicine,†Corbett says.
He went on to add, “Why would we lower a kid’s IQ by even a small few number of IQ points? Why would we run the risk of making our bone more brittle when we get old? Why would we run the risk of arthritis? Why would we run the risk of lowering thyroid function?â€
Countries like New Zealand are actually listening to Connett and his followers, who have been working for the past 11 years to educate communities about the perils of fluoridated drinking water, and have managed to persuade 31 communities in Canada, New Zealand and the U.S. (19), who have voted to stop the addition of fluoride in their water systems. One of the biggest arguments they give is that they have 25 studies that show fluoride is associated with IQ reduction, even in levels that are lower than most American communities who add fluoride to their water.Â
According to the American Dental Hygienist Association, “Community water fluoridation is an effective, safe, and inexpensive way to prevent tooth decay. Fluoridation benefits Americans of all ages and socioeconomic status.â€
A scientific experiment on children in China found that those who drank well water high in fluoride levels scored poorly on intelligence testing compared to those with lower exposures. According to the Chinese researchers, “Lower overall IQ scores, a greater number of lower scores and fewer higher scores were found in the group of children drinking high fluoride well water when compared with children who drank well water with lower amounts of fluoride. The observed differences in testing could affect a child’s ability to perform in school.â€
Their findings were that “Exposure to high levels of fluoride may also alter brain development, according to recent studies of Chinese populations. Studies from rural China, albeit done with inappropriate controls, suggest fluoride may harm the developing brain (Grandjean and Landrigan 2006). Young children are the most vulnerable to the neuro-developmental effects from too much fluoride (Xiang 2003).
These levels however, were more extremely higher than the levels used in the United States for fluoridated water. The Chinese wells contained up to 8.3 milligrams per liter, while most U.S. cities use 1.0 parts per million.
According to WebMD.com, a popular website for scientific information and updates, “Fluoride is safe for most people in the amounts added to public water supplies and used in toothpastes and mouthwashes, and applied by dentists. Low doses (up to 20 mg per day of elemental fluoride) of supplemental fluoride taken by mouth appear to be safe for most people. Higher doses are UNSAFE and can weaken bones and ligaments, and cause muscle weakness and nervous system problems. High doses of fluoride in children before their permanent teeth come through the gums can cause tooth discoloration.â€
This is Ron White, two-time USA Memory Champion. There are valid points to both sides of the question, but there definitely needs to be more research. There are quite a few studies that indicated high levels of fluoride exposure could cause problems in brain development, but there is no definitive indication that the lower levels in the American water supply are causing any memory or mental development problems, at this time.
Sources:
Mercola.com – 25 Stories Proves This Reduces Your IQ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/12/03/paul-connett-fluoride.aspx?e_cid=20111203_DNL_art_1
Wikipedia – Fluoride: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoride
American Dental Hygienist Association – Fluoride Facts: http://www.adha.org/oralhealth/fluoride_facts.htm
Environmental Health News – Arsenic and Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/newscience/2007/2007-0705wangetal.html