Fluoridated municipal water is an outdated public health measure
Current information seems to indicate that, due to the presence of fluoride compounds in a great many products, we are regularly exceeding dosage that some consider healthy. Toothpaste as well as processed foods and beverages all contribute to the overall dose, which was not an issue several decades ago. This fact contributes in two ways. First, it means that we now have more fluoride coming into our bodies than was the case a few decades ago... so much more so that even the old research would indicate that we are poisoning ourselves. Secondly, all these non-tap-water sources are making tap-water fluoridation redundant... as is being shown by the steadily decreasing difference in dental decay between populations having vs not having fluoride-treated municipal water. At the very least, the argument for usefulness of treated water is much less today than it was two generations ago, and the more likely reality is that it is no longer a realistic benefit at all, especially when considering the rather significant body of data on the risks inherent.
Fluoride is a highly toxic and noxious poison as well as a powerful carcinogen... it literally has no place in water meant for human consumption There are too many issues being attributed to fluoridation for it to be left alone: scientists, doctors, and entire advocacy groups are sounding the alarm regarding myriad health issues related to fluoridated water. One of the most compelling (and one I suggest you spend some time at if this issue is one you wish to learn more about) is the Fluoride Action Network , which has an extensive website dedicated to the matter. [6]
Dr. Hardy Limeback, BSc, PhD, DDS, Associate Professor and Head, Preventive Dentistry, University of Toronto, offers some authoritative words on this matter:
A lifetime of excessive fluoride ingestion will undoubtedly have detrimental effects on a number of biological systems in the body and it is illogical to assume that tooth enamel is the only tissue affected by low daily doses of fluoride ingestion. Fluoride activates G-protein and a number of cascade reactions in the cell. At high concentrations it is both mitogenic and genotoxic. Some published studies point to fluoride's interference with the reproductive system, the pineal gland and thyroid function. Fluoride is a proven carcinogen in humans exposed to high industrial levels. No study has yet been conducted to determine the level of fluoride that bone cells are exposed to when fluoride-rich bone is turned over. Thus, the issue of fluoride causing bone cancer cannot be dismissed as being a non-issue since carefully conducted animal and human cancer studies using the exact same chemicals added to our drinking water have not been carried out.The issue of mass medication of an unapproved drug without the expressed informed consent of each individual must also be addressed. The dose of fluoride cannot be controlled. Fluoride as a drug has contaminated most processed foods and beverages throughout North America. Individuals who are susceptible to fluoride's harmful effects cannot avoid ingesting this drug. This presents a medico-legal and ethical dilemma and sets water fluoridation apart from vaccination as a public health measure where doses and distribution can be controlled. The rights of individuals to enjoy the freedom from involuntary fluoride medication certainly outweigh the right of society to enforce this public health measure, especially when the evidence of benefit is marginal at best.
Based on the points outlined briefly above, the evidence has convinced me that the benefits of water fluoridation no longer outweigh the risks. The money saved from halting water fluoridation programs can be more wisely spent on concentrated public health efforts to reduce dental decay in the populations that are still at risk and this will, at the same time, lower the incidence of the harmful side effects that a large segment of the general population is currently experiencing because of this outdated public health measure. [7]
If this article appears to ask more questions than it answers... I think that is a fair assesment of the situation currently in place as regards the value and validity of fluoridation.
This article hasn't touched on the environmental impact of adding 1-2 ppm fluoride to the ecosystem via the municipal water treatment plants. Over the course of the last 60 years, that could add up to a very significant amount that has been pumped through our sewers into our lakes and rivers , and eventually the oceans.
We haven't talked at all about the ethical issue of medicating entire populations without consent or particular knowledge, or of the ethics of blind trust in questionable science bought by business/ political interests, both precursive and current... both ethical questions of Orwellian proportions, if one were inclined to think in those terms.
Finally: if you want to be certain you are giving your body the best you can, if you want to at least give yourself a fighting chance, if you want to be certain that your water is just that… water and nothing else: drink properly reverse-osmosis purified drinking water... without a trace of fluoride in it! [8]
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