| Fluoride
The fluoridation of
our water supplies can be a very emotive subject. It doesn't
take a lot of looking to find plenty of information on this
subject, and not all of it is good! If it wasn't so serious,
it would almost be funny. There's even someone "out
there" who says the fluoridation of our water supplies
is a means of mind control. Whatever the truth is, it's up
to you to form your own opinions. Read why some people are
so opposed to it.
Remove it with: Reverse Osmosis
Fluoride increases free
radical production. Fluoride damages the antioxidant network
that protects the cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Free radical damage eventually leads to degenerative diseases
such as cancer. Numerous scientific papers have been published
in the last few years about the free radical damage that fluoride
causes. Some of these papers are in recent issues of Fluoride,
the scientific journal of the International
Society for Fluoride Research. EMFs can cause free
radical damage.
The scientific evidence
has well established the fact that fluoridation causes bone
cancer, but the U.S. Public Health Service blatantly operates
a disinformation campaign that has deceived even many of the
scientists. It has been proved in court three times already
that fluoride causes bone cancer. When faced with the incontrovertible
scientific facts, the U.S. Public Health Service simply manufactured
some false evidence to support their denials. The details
are explained at length in a recent law review by Graham and
Pierre-Morin. ("Highlights in North American Litigation
During the Twentieth Century on Artificial Fluoridation of
Public Water Supplies," 14 Journal of Land Use and Environmental
Law, 195-248, 1999).
Fluoridation is UNETHICAL because:
1) It violates the individual's
right to informed consent to medication.
2) The municipality cannot control the dose of the patient.
3) The municipality cannot track each individual's response.
4) It ignores the fact that some people are more vulnerable
to fluoride's toxic effects than others. Some people will
suffer while others may benefit.
5) It violates the Nuremberg code for human experimentation.
As stated by the recent
recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine (2000), Dr.
Arvid Carlsson:
"I am quite
convinced that water fluoridation, in a not-too-distant
future, will be consigned to medical history...Water fluoridation
goes against leading principles of pharmacotherapy, which
is progressing from a stereotyped medication - of the type
1 tablet 3 times a day - to a much more individualized therapy
as regards both dosage and selection of drugs. The addition
of drugs to the drinking water means exactly the opposite
of an individualized therapy."
As stated by Dr. Peter
Mansfield, a physician from the UK and advisory board member
of the recent government review of fluoridation (McDonagh
et al 2000):
"No physician
in his right senses would prescribe for a person he has
never met, whose medical history he does not know, a substance
which is intended to create bodily change, with the advice:
'Take as much as you like, but you will take it for the
rest of your life because some children suffer from tooth
decay. ' It is a preposterous notion."
Fluoridation is UNSAFE because:
1) It accumulates
in our bones
and makes them more brittle and prone to fracture. The weight
of evidence from animal studies, clinical studies and epidemiological
studies on this is overwhelming. Lifetime exposure to fluoride
will contribute to higher rates of hip fracture in the elderly.
(See
studies)
2) It accumulates in our pineal
gland, possibly lowering the production of melatonin a
very important regulatory hormone (Luke, 1997, 2001).
3) It damages the enamel (dental fluorosis) of a high
percentage of children. Between 30 and 50% of children have
dental fluorosis on at least two teeth in optimally fluoridated
communities (Heller et al, 1997 and McDonagh et al, 2000).
4) There are serious, but yet unproven, concerns about
a connection between fluoridation and osteosarcoma
in young men (Cohn, 1992), as well as fluoridation and the
current epidemics of both arthritis
and hypothyroidism.
5) In animal studies fluoride at 1 ppm in drinking
water increases the uptake of aluminum
into the brain (Varner et al, 1998).
6) Counties with 3 ppm or more of fluoride in their water
have lower fertility rates (Freni, 1994).
7) In human studies the fluoridating agents most commonly
used in the US not only increase the uptake of lead
into children's blood (Masters and Coplan, 1999, 2000) but
are also associated with an increase in violent behavior.
8) The margin of safety between the so-called therapeutic
benefit of reducing dental decay and many of these end points
is either nonexistent or precariously low.
The following was
taken from :
http://www.unicef.org/programme/wes/info/fluor.htm
Fluoride in water: An overview
Throughout many parts
of the world, high concentrations of fluoride occurring naturally
in groundwater and coal have caused widespread fluorosis -
a serious bone disease - among local populations. We purposely
fluoridate a range of everyday products, notably toothpaste
and drinking water, because for decades we have believed that
fluoride in small doses has no adverse effects on health to
offset its proven benefits in preventing dental decay. But
more and more scientists are now seriously questioning the
benefits of fluoride, even in small amounts. This paper gives
a brief introduction to fluoride issues, particularly as they
relate to the quality of drinking water.
Basic facts about fluoride
According to 1984 guidelines
published by the World Health Organization (WHO), fluoride
is an effective agent for preventing dental caries if taken
in 'optimal' amounts. But a single 'optimal' level for daily
intake cannot be agreed because the nutritional status of
individuals, which varies greatly, influences the rate at
which fluoride is absorbed by the body. A diet poor in calcium,
for example, increases the body's retention of fluoride.
Water is a major source
of fluoride intake. The 1984 WHO guidelines suggested that
in areas with a warm climate, the optimal fluoride concentration
in drinking water should remain below 1 mg/litre (1ppm or
part per million), while in cooler climates it could go up
to 1.2 mg/litre. The differentiation derives from the fact
that we perspire more in hot weather and consequently drink
more water. The guideline value (permissible upper limit)
for fluoride in drinking water was set at 1.5 mg/litre, considered
a threshold where the benefit of resistance to tooth decay
did not yet shade into a significant risk of dental fluorosis.
(The WHO guideline value for fluoride in water is not universal:
India, for example, lowered its permissible upper limit from
1.5 ppm to 1.0 ppm in 1998).
In many countries, fluoride
is purposely added to the water supply, toothpaste and sometimes
other products to promote dental Fluoride exists fairly abundantly
in the earth's crust and can enter groundwater by natural
processes; the soil at the foot of mountains is particularly
likely to be high in fluoride from the weathering and leaching
of bedrock with a high fluoride content.health. It should
be noted that fluoride is also found in some foodstuffs and
in the air (mostly from production of phosphate fertilizers
or burning of fluoride-containing fuels), so the amount of
fluoride people actually ingest may be higher than assumed.
It has long been known
that excessive fluoride intake carries serious toxic effects.
But scientists are now debating whether fluoride confers any
benefit at all.
Fluoride: good or bad for health?
Fluoride was first used
to fight dental cavities in the 1940s, its effectiveness defended
on two grounds:
- Fluoride inhibits
enzymes that breed acid-producing oral bacteria whose acid
eats away tooth enamel. This observation is valid,
but some scientists now believe that the harmful impact
of fluoride on other useful enzymes far outweighs the beneficial
effect on caries prevention.
- Fluoride ions
bind with calcium ions, strengthening tooth enamel as it
forms in children. Many researchers now consider
this more of an assumption than fact, because of conflicting
evidence from studies in India and several other countries
over the past 10 to 15 years. Nevertheless, agreement is
universal that excessive fluoride intake leads to loss of
calcium from the tooth matrix, aggravating cavity formation
throughout life rather than remedying it, and so causing
dental fluorosis. Severe, chronic and cumulative overexposure
can cause the incurable crippling of skeletal fluorosis.
Symptoms
of fluorosis
Dental fluorosis, which is characterized by discoloured, blackened,
mottled or chalky-white teeth, is a clear indication of overexposure
to fluoride during childhood when the teeth were developing.
These effects are not apparent if the teeth were already fully
grown prior to the fluoride overexposure; therefore, the fact
that an adult may show no signs of dental fluorosis does not
necessarily mean that his or her fluoride intake is within
the safety limit.
Chronic intake of excessive
fluoride can lead to the severe and permanent bone and joint
deformations of skeletal fluorosis. Early symptoms include
sporadic pain and stiffness of joints: headache, stomach-ache
and muscle weakness can also be warning signs. The next stage
is osteosclerosis (hardening and calcifying of the bones),
and finally the spine, major joints, muscles and nervous system
are damaged.
Whether dental or skeletal,
fluorosis is irreversible and no treatment exists. The only
remedy is prevention, by keeping fluoride intake within safe
limits.
Here are some links
off site with more information:
http://www.slweb.org/fluoride-bone.html
http://www.fluoridealert.org/brunelle-carlos.htm
http://www.redflagsweekly.com/connett/2002_nov28.html
http://www.sonic.net/~kryptox/press/y2k/gwen.htm
http://www.sonic.net/kryptox/AL/AL.htm
http://www.rvi.net/~fluoride/
http://www.fluoridealert.org/
http://www.fluoride-journal.com
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