Health & Wellness: Dangers of Fluoride

    Although many people are choosing the natural route when it comes to their diet and lifestyle choices, there are still those who remain oblivious of the fact that fluoride is highly toxic. Inconveniently, fluoride is almost unavoidable in our daily lives. This is due to the presence of fluoride in most brand name toothpastes and in our water supplies (this includes bottled water sold in stores and our tap water). It is important to note that before it was used to fight cavities, it was used as rat poison and insecticide.

    Before I get into the harmful effects of fluoride, let me first answer, "what is fluoride?" Fluoride is a by-product of copper, iron, and aluminum manufacturing. In short, it is a pollutant. In the 1930s, an issue was raised concerning how to legally dispose of fluoride. That issue was quickly solved when one of the largest aluminum companies in the United States funded a study that concluded fluoride prevented tooth decay. Shortly after, this pollutant was even added to our water supplies.

    There is an alarmingly increasing rate of dental fluorosis (health condition caused by a child receiving too much fluoride during tooth development) in fluoridated communities. Many scientists agree that dental fluorosis is one of the first signs of fluoride poisoning.  

   

            

      List of adverse effects of fluoride:

• "Fluoride is associated with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia. Fluoride enters the brain and enables aluminum to cross the blood-brain barrier, resulting in increased risk for these diseases. Fluoride has also been associated with low IQ and mental retardation in children (Hileman, 1988)."

• "Fluoride can cause a crippling bone disease called skeletal fluorosis. In more mild forms, symptoms of this disease include chronic joint pain, similar to the symptoms of arthritis. Arthritis has now reached near epidemic levels in the United States, and the connection to fluoridated water should be considered."

• "Fluoride depresses the activity of the human thyroid gland and has been commonly used as an effective treatment for patients with overactive thyroids. Fluoride may depress the activity of the healthy thyroid, as well, resulting in an underactive thyroid, a common cause of obesity. More than 20 million people in the United States receive treatment for thyroid problems."

• "Fluoride disrupts the activity of normally functioning hormones. Fluoride can reduce levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone, in the body, causing chronic insomnia (Hileman, 1988)."

   Presently, the majority of European countries have rejected the process of water fluoridation. Interestingly enough, their children’s teeth have not suffered from this rejection. The cost to benefit ratio of fluoridated water no longer sanction the presence of fluoride in drinking water.

   Some simple steps you can take to prevent over consumption of fluoride are:  

1. Start using natural toothpastes that contain absolutely no fluoride. You can purchase these toothpastes at any local health food store. I personally use Forever Bright® Toothgel from Forever Living Products containing aloe vera gel and bee propolis. Unlike some other non-fluoride toothpastes I've used, this toothgel has a pleasant minty taste. Feel free to message me for details if you would like to purchase one. 
2. When buying bottled water, check the label to see how much fluoride it contains. 
3. Reverse Osmosis Filtration
   This is used to purify several types of bottled water (not all), so some bottled waters are unfluoridated.
4. Activated Alumina Defluoridation Filter
   These filters are used in locales where fluorosis is prevalent. They require frequent replacement, but do offer an option for home water filtration.
5. Distillation Filtration
   There are commercially available distillation filters that can be purchased to remove fluoride from water. 

I am in no way an "expert", I am simply sharing my knowledge gained from personal research.  I highly suggest everyone to do their own research in determining what is safe and what is not for their own health.

Some informative links to check out for further info:

http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=3fk5wkcd_Ik&feature=related

http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=WjLnPJVf1E4&feature=related

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/where-the-yellow-went.html

https://www.foreverliving.com/marketing/Product.do?code=028