Too Much Fluoride?

I am interested in this topic because of my son's personal health journey.  We were drinking well water from before he was born through his third year.  His pediatrician prescribed fluoride drops, and the ground water in our area was also naturally high in both fluoride and copper.  At 18 months, he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  A few years later, he was diagnosed with Hashimotos' thyroiditis.  His adrenals were also malfunctioning, resulting in a hyper-sensitive flight or fight reaction.  At age 11 he had a major nervous breakdown and was prescribed a series of psychotropic medications.  By age 19 he had confined himself to his bedroom, too anxious to leave.  

When we finally found a health-care provider that would think "out of the box" of allopathic medicine, we discovered that my son's Copper/Zinc ratio was 3 fold too high.  Thus began the healing.   Now at 22, his life is not perfect, but we have come a long, long. way towards health.

One of the most ironic parts of this story is that I worked in medical research for many years, and my husband is a research scientist specializing in environmental issues.  We had been searching for answers to our son's medical needs all those years!  Never did we suspect that it may have had to do with our water supply.  In fact, we had the water tested for lead, organic chemicals and of course, microbial contamination.  

The following is an article I originally posted on my personal website, http://robinthomas.biz  Much of the information came from a recently published book, The Healthy Home, written by Dr. Myron Wentz and his son, Dave Wentz. 

Too Much Fluoride?

Fluoridation of our drinking water has been touted as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th Century. Dentists and Public Health Officials around the country cite many statistics that show reductions in dental caries over the past 50 years.  

Other health advocates are forming coalitions to stop artificial fluoridation of drinking water.  They cite numerous health effects from ingestion of fluoride early in life and over many years.

The debate continues passionately, both sides declaring misinformation and at worst, scare tactics, to convince others of their own opinion.

Fluoride Facts

• Fluorine gas is one of the most reactive of all the elements.  It binds tenaciously to other elements and compounds, preventing them from entering other chemical reactions.  Fluoride is a mineral salt that is less reactive.  That being said, Fluoride still has the ability to disrupt even the strongest of the body's enzyme systems.
• Fluoride, like mercury, antimony, and arsenic, inhibits the Krebs cycle that produces the ATP energy required for all cellular functions.
• About half of the fluoride ingested leaves the body as urine within 24 hours.  The other half is incorporated into bone and teeth.
• Bone cells constantly renew both as we grow and through our lives.  When fluoride ions are incorporated into the collagen matrix instead of calcium and phosphorous, the resulting bone appears dense, but is in fact brittle weak, and more susceptible to fracture.
• Studies show that the effect of fluoride on bones is biphasic.  That is, a small amount can make bones stronger, but over a certain threshold the effects become negative.
• Moderate to high fluoride exposure in children results in dental fluorosis, small white striations across teeth that can lead to pitted teeth subject to fracture.
• Other health concerns are due to fluoride displacement of critical biological pathways:
  • Fluoride disrupts the normal neurotransmission of acetylcholine in the brain, leading to possible memory disorders and learning disabilities
  • Fluoride can replace normal iodine in the thyroid, causing hypothyroidism
  • Fluoride attached to seratonin inactivates it, causing depression
  • Melatonin derived from fluoride containing seratonin disrupts the normal melatonin circadian rhythm, leaving an ongoing feeling of drowsiness.

 Is Fluoride a Deadly Poison?

If you ingest a high enough dose for a long enough period of time, I'm sure it is.  But I keep coming back to the biphasic property of fluoride.   A small amount shows benefits, a larger amount disruptive.  We saw this same effect for Copper in my son.  Copper is important for many systems within the body, including immunity and protection against free radical damage.  High levels of copper also damages vital organs, including the liver and the brain.  We have spent years detoxing my son from long-term accumulation of copper.

Many individuals are hyper-sensitive to fluoride, as my son is to copper.  AND we are exposed to many more forms of fluoride in the environment.  In particular, perfluorinated chemicals are found in Teflon, Gor-Tex, stain-resistant carpets  furniture, and clothing, house dust, and even microwave popcorn bags.  I believe that it is this pervasive existence of toxins in our everyday lives that has caused the tipping point towards chronic illness for many.  The fluoridation of water is only one small addition of fluoride, but it just may be significant for enough individuals to call a halt to blindly adding fluoride to tap water.

In the meantime, especially if you believe you are adversely affected by fluoride, learn steps to reduce your exposure.  Avoid bringing perfluorinated chemicals into your home, eat organic foods as much as possible, drink purified water, and use a non-fluoride toothpaste.  You may also want to support your body's natural detoxification process by supporting your liver function.

Be Well!

Robin

Articles of Interest:

NC Department of Health and Human Services: Oral Health

Fluorides, Hydrogen fluoride and fluorine: a Public Health Statement from the CDC

Perfluorooctanoic acid

Copper: its role in health

 

Mardy's note: I am happy to report mid-summer 2012 that this was another step toward what has resulted in the group of four of us locally which named our group "SWIG: Safe Water is Great", we have prepared a logo, mission statement and story of the group, and we have set out navigating our way to educate people 'out there' -- locally and beyond.  The three medical providers in SWIG from Grand Junction, Colorado created education on Lumigrate, and then I reached out to include Robin as one of two medical/science experts from Lumigrate who live "beyond Colorado" too (she from North Carolina and another from Dallas, TX, Wm. Marcus Spurlock, MD, and environmental medicine specialist).

Dr McCloskey then took the key concepts from ALL our educational pieces here at Lumigrate, after we had thoroughly discussed things over our FUN and challenging dinner conversations, and prepared a 'organization/business-level statement letter' to be used as needed in the future. I volunteered to work that into a multi-purpose "statement and story" about SWIG to post here at Lumigrate for all who come to find it.  

Therefore, please follow this link to that 'key document' from our group efforts:

 www.lumigrate.com/forum/swig-safe-water-great-our-official-statement

...(and I am putting a similar note in each topic we have at Lumigrate about this fluoride and water safety issue -- we have a growing number of topics, please look around if you're wanting to learn more details about fluoride and the history, topically/in toothpaste, or how we went about each step!) ~~ Mardy