Can Adding Fluoride to Milk Help Improve Children’s Dental Health?
October 08, 2013
Story at-a-glance
A town in the UK is considering adding fluoride to milk served
in its primary schools in order to promote better dental health;
10 other areas of the UK have already introduced fluoridated
milk to its students
Fluoride is a toxic substance that is biologically active in the
human body where it accumulates in sensitive tissues over time,
wreaks havoc with enzymes and produces a number of serious
adverse health effects.
25 human studies have linked fluoride with lowered IQ in
children, including recent research from Harvard, and 100 animal
studies linking it to brain damage
Soda and other sweet beverages, including 100 percent fruit
juices, have long been known to increase your risk of cavities.
Many of these types of beverages supply a double-whammy because
they also cause dental erosion
I believe it’s virtually impossible to have wholly undamaged
teeth without an optimal diet, no matter what other questionably
preventive methods you chose to use
By Dr. Mercola
People in the UK may want to pay special attention to the
following issue. The Blackpool Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board
recently proposed adding fluoride
to milk in its primary schools.
This so-called “dental milk” would ostensibly be introduced to
promote dental health in school age children, since the town does
not fluoridate its municipal water
supplies. The proposal was supported by “an overwhelming majority.”
The dental health in Blackpool children is said to be among the
worst in the country, with 43 percent of 12-year olds having at
least one unhealthy tooth,1
compared to 33.4 percent nationally.
Ten other areas of the UK have already introduced fluoridated
milk to its students: St Helens, Knowsley, Wirral, West Cheshire,
Manchester, Trafford, Leeds, Sheffield, Barnsley and Doncaster.
Councilor Tony Williams said parents should be given both sides
of the argument before agreeing to let their children have
fluoridated milk.
“I believe that just adding fluoride to school milk
falls far short of the need to tackle the problem,” he told
the British Gazette.2“Better school dental programs should also be introduced
with an increase in school visits from NHS dentists and oral
hygiene specialists.
“Most school children in Blackpool are now eating two
breakfasts a day with the school serving including starch and
syrup. Children should be allowed and encouraged to brush their
teeth in school after every meal.”
In response, cabinet member for health, Ivan Taylor, said that
the council has not yet made any decision on the matter, but that
they will be “testing the opinion of schools and anyone else that’s
interested.” He also noted that parents would have the
right to choose if they want their children to receive fluoridated
milk or not.
Why Is Poisoning of Children Considered a Valuable Public Health
Policy?
The debate over the dangers of fluoride has been ongoing for more
than six decades, despite the fact that study after study has
confirmed that fluoride is a dangerous, toxic poison that
bio-accumulates in your body while being ineffective at preventing
dental decay.
Fluoride can also
create a calcium deficiency situation by precipitating calcium
out of solution. This causes low blood calcium, as well as the
buildup of calcium stones and crystals in joints and organs. This
could potentially turn out to be a concern with regard to adding
fluoride to calcium-rich milk...
Worse yet, when you consider the fact that there are
25 studies showing that fluoride reduces IQ in children, the
idea of giving fluoridated milk to school children is a shockingly
bad idea, even if they don’t also drink fluoridated water.
Approximately 100 animal studies have also linked fluoride to brain
damage. This includes such effects as:3
Reduction in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
Damage to the hippocampus
Formation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain
abnormality in Alzheimer's disease)
Reduction in lipid content
Damage to the purkinje cells
Exacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency
Impaired antioxidant defense systems
Increased uptake of aluminum
Accumulation of fluoride in the pineal gland
One particularly striking animal study4
published in 1995 showed that fluoride ingestion had a profound
influence on the animals' brains and altered behavior. Pregnant rats
given fluoride produced hyperactive offspring. And animals given
fluoride after birth became apathetic, lethargic "couch potatoes."
Other research has linked fluoride toxicity with the wide-ranging
problems listed below.
After reviewing the available evidence, the only rational
conclusion you can come to is that fluoride's health dangers far
outweigh the marginal dental benefits it might offer. For
example, the science is very clear about the following:
Fluoride acts as a cumulative poison and is in no way a
"nutrient.” It offers NO benefits at all to the human body.
Fluoride exposure for many can easily reach toxic levels.
For example, poison control should be called if you swallow a
quarter milligram of fluoride from
toothpaste. Meanwhile just ONE glass of fluoridated water
can contain this amount of fluoride.
Fluoride is a cumulative poison that has been proven to
cause wide-ranging, serious health problems, such as damage to
your bones, brain and endocrine system.
Dental caries can be prevented with means other than
fluoridation, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of fluoride.
Recent research reveals that ingesting fluoride in
supplement form does not reduce cavities in primary
teeth, and may in fact cause harm.
When hydrofluorosilicic acid is added to water, over 99%
goes down the drain and into the environment. It never comes in
contact with a human tooth
A 2011 Cochrane Database Review,5
which looked at 11 studies involving more than 7,000 children,
showed that the effect of fluoride supplements (in the form of
tablets, drops, lozenges and chewing gum) on primary teeth could not
be determined, with one study showing no cavity-reducing effect.
Meanwhile, the study revealed that no difference was noted between
fluoride supplements or topical fluoride for preventing cavities.
The researchers noted:
"In the review, no conclusion could be reached about the
effectiveness of fluoride supplements in preventing tooth decay
in young children (less than 6 years of age) with deciduous
teeth. Moreover, insufficient evidence exists to show whether or
not using fluoride supplements in young children (less than 6
years of age) could mottle teeth (fluorosis), an effect of
chronic ingestion of excessive amounts of fluoride."
Aspartame—Another Harmful Ingredient Considered for Addition to
Dairy
Earlier this year, the International Dairy Foods Association
(IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) filed a
petition with the FDA requesting the agency
“amend the standard of identity” for milk and 17 other dairy
products. This was done to provide for the use of any safe and
suitable sweetener as an optional ingredient — including
non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame—without having to
indicate its use on the label.
The IDFA and NMPF claimed the proposed amendments would “promote
more healthful eating practices and reduce childhood obesity by
providing for lower-calorie flavored milk products” since many
children are more inclined to drink flavored milk products than
unflavored milk.
Funny how big business’ ideas of “helping children” keep
revolving around the use of wholly unnatural ingredients that have
clearly been proven toxic! In this case, I’m not sure what’s more
frustrating: the fact that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
insists on using the flawed theory of
calories as a measure of the “healthfulness” of school meals;
their misguided insistence on fat free and low fat products to
combat obesity; or their ignorant stance on artificial sweeteners...
When combined, what you end up with is a nutritional nightmare.
How can anyone believe a fat-free, hormone-laced pasteurized
milk-like product from cows raised on genetically engineered corn,
flavored with artificial flavors, colors and chemical sweeteners
might actually do a growing body good? The nutritional illiteracy
within these agencies is staggering... yet they’re responsible for
making decisions that affect over 30 million school children across
the US on a daily basis.
What Really Causes Cavities and Obesity?
Interestingly, the root cause behind both of these problems that
“dental milk” and “low-calorie” artificially sweetened milk propose
to address is identical, and can be summed up in two words:
sweetened beverages—and when it comes to obesity, this
includes those sweetened with artificial sweeteners!
Soda and other sweet beverages, including all fruit juices, have
long been known to
increase your risk of cavities. Many of these types of beverages
supply a double-whammy because they also cause dental erosion, which
is a condition independent of the microbial action that produces
cavities. Unlike caries,
dental erosion is a process of incremental decalcification,
which, over time, literally dissolves your teeth.
If officials are adamant about pushing fluoride into a
drink, it would appear to be a better choice to dump it into soda
instead of milk or tap water.
Sweetened beverages of ALL kinds are also one of the primary
culprits behind our skyrocketing
obesity rates, which are closely mirrored in both the UK and the
US. As recently reported in the Guardian Express,6kids are 40 percent heavier today compared to just 25 years
ago, and a growing number of studies have linked rising childhood
obesity rates to increased consumption of sugary beverages,
including those sweetened with no- or low-cal sweeteners.
In fact, artificial sweeteners have been shown to cause
greater weight gain than calorie-laden sugars, and recent
research has also found that diet soda drinkers suffer the same
exact health problems as those who opt for regular soda, such as
excessive weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
stroke.7,
8 In short, cutting out sweetened beverages is one of the
quickest ways to simultaneously address your child’s dental health
and weight.
The Best Way to Ensure Healthy Teeth
Anyone who has ever read Dr. Weston Price’s book
Nutrition and Physical Degeneration will soon recognize
that diet
is a major factor in dental health. Dr. Price wrote this book in
1920 and it is full of pictures of cultures with excellent dental
health that rapidly deteriorated once processed Western food
was introduced. When Dr. Price studied these native diets, he
noticed some similarities in the foods that kept them so healthy.
Among them:
The foods were natural, unprocessed, and organic (and
contained no sugar except for the occasional bit of honey or
maple syrup).
The people ate foods that grew in their native environment.
In other words, they ate locally grown, seasonal foods.
Many of the cultures ate unpasteurized dairy products, and
all of them ate fermented foods.
The people ate a significant portion of their food raw.
All of the cultures ate animal products, including animal
fat and, often, full-fat butter and organ meats.
I believe that if you have an optimal diet, without processed
foods and sugars from infancy, you can be virtually assured of
cavity-free teeth. All of the brushing and flossing in the world
will not give you the healthy teeth that following the eating
patterns described above will, so if you value your pearly whites,
get
started eating a healthier diet today.
Improve Your Health by Ditching Sweetened Drinks
Sweetened beverages, whether sweetened with sugar, corn syrup,
naturally-occurring fructose, or artificial sweeteners like
aspartame, are among the
worst culprits in the fight against obesity and related health
problems, including diabetes and heart disease. Sweetened drinks are
also a primary cause of cavities. Ditching ALL of these types of
beverages can go a long way toward reducing your and your child’s
risk for cavities and weight gain—not to mention a long list of
other chronic health problems.
Your best and most cost-effective beverage choice is to drink
filtered tap water. Nothing beats pure water when it comes to
serving your body’s needs. If you really feel the urge for a
carbonated beverage, try sparkling mineral water with a squirt of
lime or lemon juice.
Since we’re on the topic of milk, I would also like to add my
latest recommendations. As always of course, the only acceptable
dairy products would be raw, unpasteurized organic varieties. Raw is
more important than organic so don’t be fooled. Although raw milk is
only available commercially in a few states in the US, nearly
everyone can get it by going to
RealMilk.com. For those of you who live in the UK or Ireland,
The Natural Food Finder9
is one resource.
I recommend drinking whole milk only; the lower the fat content
the more processed and less wholesome it is.
Join the Fight to Get Fluoride Out of Drinking Water
There's no doubt about it: Fluoride should not be ingested.
Even scientists from the EPA's National Health and Environmental
Effects Research Laboratory have classified fluoride as a "chemical
having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity.”
Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), 41 percent of American adolescents now have dental
fluorosis—unattractive discoloration and mottling of the teeth that
indicate overexposure to fluoride.
Clearly, children are being overexposed, and their health and
development put in jeopardy. Why?
At least when it comes to topical application, you have a choice.
You can easily buy fluoride-free toothpaste and mouthwash. But
you're stuck with whatever your community puts in the water, and
it's very difficult to filter out of your water once it's added.
Many do not have the resources or the knowledge to do so.
The only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water
fluoridation in the first place. Fortunately, the Fluoride Action
Network has a game plan to END water fluoridation, both in the
United States and Canada.
Clean pure water is a prerequisite to optimal health. Industrial
chemicals, drugs and other toxic additives really have no place in
our water supplies. So, please, support the anti-fluoride movement
by making a donation to the Fluoride Action Network today.