More Americans Are Saying “No” to Water Fluoridation While Toxic
Fluorinated Pesticides Are Still Allowed
February 25, 2014
By Dr. Mercola
Study after study confirms that fluoride is a dangerous, toxic
poison that bioaccumulates in your body while being ineffective at
preventing dental decay… yet it continues to be added to many
municipal water supplies in the US.
Yet even as we continue on with this more than six decades-old
debate, I have encouraging news from the Fluoride Action Network
(FAN) to share.
More Americans are wising up to the risks of water fluoridation,
and they’re using their votes to keep this fertilizer-industry
byproduct out of their drinking water (the fluoride added
to municipal water supplies is a toxic byproduct from the fertilizer
industry—a rarely discussed fact!).
5 Fluoride-Free Victories to Celebrate Already in 2014
Despite compelling scientific evidence against the
practice, the US still lags far behind other nations in
acknowledging the mistake of water fluoridation and ending this
tragic “public health” measure.
As a result, individual communities around the US have taken up
the fight to end water fluoridation in their own local areas. Around
the world, even more countries are also opting to go fluoride-free.
The latest fluoride-free victories include:1
1. Wellington, Florida: After hours of
debate and testimony from medical experts and residents, council
members voted to end 14 years of fluoridation. A number of
pro-fluoride dentists are unfortunately working to overturn the
council’s vote, but it’s still a victory for now. FAN reported:2
“Ultimately, a majority of councilors agreed that
citizens shouldn’t be forced to ingest an unnecessary
chemical in the public drinking water supply.”
2. Amherst County, Virginia: The Service
Authority Board voted to discontinue fluoridation because of
conflicting opinions on what constitutes “optimal” levels of
fluoride. According to FAN, “Several Board Supervisors felt that
the additive was unnecessary and a waste of resources.”
3. Woodsville, Oregon: The Woodsville City
Council was considering adding fluoride to the city’s drinking
water, but after polling residents found that 100% of
respondents were against it. They have since ended their
fluoridation discussions.
4. Sebastopol, California: City Councilors
voted unanimously against fluoridation in Sonoma County because
of concerns the fluoride could leach into their groundwater from
surrounding communities, putting residents at risk.
5. Bantry, Ireland: Town Councilors voted
unanimously for an immediate end to fluoridation throughout
Ireland.
So far in 2014, it looks like the trend against water
fluoridation that started in recent years is gaining speed. In 2013,
fluoridation was rejected by voters in Wichita, Kansas and Portland,
Oregon. Israel also announced it will end its mandatory fluoridation
program, and Ireland even proposed legislation that would make water
fluoridation a criminal offense!
Canada has also seen a 25 percent drop in fluoridation programs
over the past five years as a result of increasing public awareness
about the associated dangers, and it seems such awareness is only on
the rise.
Why Are So Many People Now Against Water Fluoridation?
If you’re new to this issue, you may be wondering why so many
municipalities are striking down water-fluoridation efforts.
Available research clearly shows that:
- Water fluoridation does not work to prevent cavities
- Fluoride works when topically applied only (and even then
not dramatically so)
- There are unacceptable risks involved in the practice of
water fluoridation
If you live in an area that fluoridates water, and you drink from
the municipal water supply, you’re being exposed to a highly toxic
drug-like substance every time you take a sip.
This is reckless, as you cannot control the dose ingested, or who
receives it, and there’s no medical supervision. Water fluoridation
clearly violates your right to informed consent as far as medical
decisions go, and it may also be making future generations less
intelligent across the board -- there are at least 25 studies
showing that
fluoride reduces IQ in children!
There is not a single process in your body that requires
fluoride, but swallowing this toxin has been found to damage your
soft tissues (brain, kidneys, and endocrine system), as well as
teeth (dental fluorosis) and bones (skeletal fluorosis). It’s also
known that over time, fluoride accumulates in many areas of your
body, including areas of your brain that control and alter behavior,
particularly your
pineal gland, hippocampus, and other limbic areas.
One particularly striking animal study showed that fluoride
ingestion had a profound influence on the animals' brains and
altered behavior.3
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.
Increases lead absorption |
Disrupts collagen synthesis |
Increases manganese absorption, which is also linked to
lower IQ in children |
Crippling skeletal fluorosis and
bone fractures |
Genetic damage and cell death |
Increased tumor and cancer growth |
Disrupts immune system |
Inhibits antibody production |
Brain damage and lowered IQ |
Dementia |
Arthritis |
Severe eye problems, including
blindness |
Impaired
thyroid function |
Bone cancer (osteosarcoma) |
Inactivates 62 enzymes |
Muscle disorders |
Farm Bill Reverses the Planned Phase-Out of Toxic Sulfuryl Fluoride
While it’s encouraging that US cities and other countries are
taking action to end this dangerous practice, earlier this month the
Agricultural Act of 2014 (better known as the “Farm Bill”) was
passed. Unfortunately, it includes language that reverses the US
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed phase-out of
sulfuryl fluoride. The reversal was added in the eleventh hour
after intense lobbying by the National Pest Management Association
and Dow AgroSciences. The language states:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall
exclude non-pesticideal sources of fluoride from any aggregate
exposure assessment required under section 408 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 346a) when assessing
tolerances associated with residues from the pesticide.”
The idea of using sulfuryl fluoride, a toxic food fumigant, is
extremely worrying as it not only leaves toxic residues on food, but
can be lethal to humans in its pure gas form—the form in which it is
applied to the food. According to Dr. Paul Connett, PhD, a chemist
and executive director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), people
have died during the application of the fumigant.
When applied to food, it breaks down into free fluoride. Many
American children are already heavily overexposed to
fluoride, so this added
source of exposure can only worsen matters. (Organic foods do not
permit its use.) According to Dr. Connett, there’s every reason to
be concerned about the use of sulfuryl fluoride gas on food, because
some of the fluoride residues allowed by the EPA are “astronomical.”
For example, the EPA was allowing 120 parts per million (ppm) of
fluoride on wheat flour. Wheat flour is consumed in so many foods on
a daily basis by most people that you not only need to be concerned
about chronic effects of low-level fluoride intake, but also with
its acute effects. Dr. Connett goes so far as to say that
you could potentially be in serious trouble simply by eating a pizza
made from a recently fumigated batch of wheat flour.
Send a Letter to Your Local Newspaper to Warn About the Use of
Sulfuryl Fluoride
The EPA’s plan to phase out sulfuryl fluoride was a major victory
but Dow AgroSciences (which makes the fumigant ProFume®, which is
99.8 percent sulfuryl fluoride) has been relentless in trying to
reverse the plan. First, they tried to introduce an amendment to the
Farm Bill that would have allowed them to continue using sulfuryl
fluoride, which meant subverting the EPA for doing its job. Congress
kept that amendment out. But, Dow came back again, this
time using the 2014 House Appropriations Bill to cut back a lot of
EPA’s work, including that relating to sulfuryl fluoride. According
to FAN:
“The U.S. will now remain one of only two countries in
the world that allows this highly toxic fumigant to be sprayed
directly on food, leaving unsafe levels of fluoride residue to
be eaten by consumers and putting infants and children at risk
of exceeding the EPA’s own reference dose for fluoride. Please
take a few moments to use our automated system to send a letter
to the editor of your local newspaper educating your neighbors
about the terrible sulfuryl fluoride provision in the farm bill.
We should at least warn everyone, and use this opportunity to
call for an end to fluoridation.”
You can
send a letter to the editor of your local paper using this link.
Do You Drink Fluoridated Water?
If you drink fluoridated water, it makes sense to try to increase
your intake of lycopene and other dietary antioxidants to
potentially decrease the fluoride’s toxicity. One study found that
fluoride administration induced oxidative stress, but when lycopene,
an antioxidant, was also given, it helped to minimize the toxic
effects of fluoride.4
Lycopene, a carotenoid antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables
like tomatoes and watermelons a pink or red color has long been
suggested to be more powerful than that of other carotenoids, such
as beta-carotene. It’s found in tomatoes (especially cooked
tomatoes), apricots, guavas, watermelons, papayas, and pink
grapefruits.
Another option is to purchase a water filter that removes
fluoride. The three types of filters that can remove fluoride are
reverse osmosis, deionizers (which use ion-exchange resins), and
activated alumina. Each of these filters should be able to remove
about 90% of the fluoride. By contrast, "activated carbon" filters
(e.g., Brita & Pur) do not remove fluoride. You can get more
information from FAN on fluoride and water filters
here.
You can also help to take action to get fluoride out of drinking
water on a larger scale.
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 US 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 US
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.
© Copyright 1997-2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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