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A systematic review by Harvard researchers of eligible studies examining the adverse effects of exposure to fluoride reveals the potential for lower IQ and delayed neurobehavioral development in children.
Are you still drinking fluoridated water, using fluoride toothpaste, or permitting the dentist to administer fluoride treatments on your children?
Even worse, are you using fluoride tablets thinking this will somehow help prevent cavities?
If so, you may need to consider using a boron supplement to detoxify fluoride.
Parents: It’s time to wake up about this neurotoxic substance and its effects on growing children.
The strong evidence that fluoride negatively impacts neurological development even to the point of lowering IQ just keeps growing.
One of the strongest nails in the coffin for fluoride comes from the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
A thorough and systematic review of eligible studies published by Harvard researchers found adverse effects of exposure to fluoride and the potential of delayed neurobehavioral development in children.
Fluoride and IQ
The findings of the Harvard researchers are nothing short of disturbing.
… children in high fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low fluoride areas. (1)
As a result of their analysis, the researchers concluded the following about fluoride exposure:
The results support the possibility of an adverse effect of high fluoride exposure on children’s neurodevelopment. Future research should include detailed individual-level information on prenatal exposure, neurobehavioral performance, and covariates for adjustment. (1)
EPA Classifies Fluoride as Neurotoxic
This research dovetails with what the EPA already knows having classified fluoride as a chemical for which there is substantial evidence of toxicity to neurodevelopment. (2)
Some communities around North America are taking action by voting to have fluoride removed from the drinking water, something that most other countries have already done. (3)
While important, having your children drink pure, clean water not treated with fluoride is only the first step in protecting them from the devastating neurological impact of fluoride exposure.
10 Ways to Limit Fluoride Exposure
These ten tips are recommended by the Fluoride Action Network as the best ways to protect from the neurological ravages of excessive fluoride exposure. (4)
- Stop drinking fluoridated water immediately. These water filters remove fluoride (most do not!).
- Be sure to use only non-fluoride toothpaste brands. Even if a child doesn’t swallow any fluoride toothpaste while brushing, this tiny mineral easily gets into the bloodstream via ultra-thin gum tissue. Consider making an easy DIY remineralizing toothpaste.
- Do not allow fluoride gel treatments at the dentist for any reason. Find a holistic or biological dentist who will let you opt out without any hassle!
- Eat more fresh food and less processed food as the more processed a food is, the more fluoride it will actually have.
- Buy organic grape juice and wine.
- Use organic tea or reduce tea consumption. Another option is to use white tea made from younger tea leaves. Beware: bottled teas are the worst possibly including commercially made kombucha. Be sure to avoid fluoride in homemade kombucha with the simple tips listed in the linked article.
- Avoid cooking in Teflon pans.
- Don’t take Cipro if you can possibly avoid it and be aware of the fluoride content of many pharmaceuticals.
- Avoid mechanically deboned chicken as fluoride concentrates most heavily in the bone and bone fragments end up in machine processed meat.
- Avoid fluoridated salt. Opt for natural, unprocessed sea salts instead (this is my favorite, tested to be free of contaminants).
(1) Developmental fluoride neurotoxicity: a systematic review and meta-analysis
(2) EPA Toxicity Forecasting (snapshot from internet archive as original PDF censored from EPA website)
(3) Countries that do not fluoridate water
(4) Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure
Thank you for sharing this! I was not aware that some pesticides are flouride-based, and that they are used extensively on grapes!
More Studies Link Fluoride to Brain Damage
Legislators Are Mislead About Gravity and Extent of Fluoride Brain Risk
New York — September 13 — Newly discovered and translated published studies reveal fluoride is linked to lower IQ, even at levels added to US water supplies, reports the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Further, fluoridation promoters misrepresented newly published Harvard fluoride/IQ research.
Thirty-seven studies now link fluoride to reduced IQ in humans. Dozens of other studies correlate fluoride to impaired learning and memory, altered neurobehavioral function, fetal brain damage, and altered thyroid hormone levels. Full studies available at FAN’s website http://www.fluoridealert.org/articles/iq-facts/
Harvard researchers recently concluded, after reviewing 27 fluoride/IQ studies, that fluoride’s effect on children’s developing brains should be a “high research priority” especially in the US which has never investigated brain/fluoride effects.
Fluoridation advocates, however, misinterpreted this research and mislead legislators in Phoenix, Portland, Wichita and elsewhere by stating the Harvard research isn’t relevant to Americans. Advocates claimed the Harvard study found only a ½ point difference in IQ, and that the fluoride levels were much higher than Americans experience.
That’s wrong. The Harvard team found that fluoride exposure was associated with a statistically significant reduction of 7 IQ points, not the ½ point claimed by advocate, Dr. Myron Allukian. The Pew Children’s Dental Campaign and other fluoridation advocates, including Allukian and Portland Mayor Sam Adams, have stated the Harvard study focused on fluoride levels of 11.5 mg/l. Only one of the studies, however, was at 11.5 mg/l.
The majority of water studies examined by the Harvard team investigated fluoride levels which the US EPA says is safe — less than 4 mg/l.
· One study, sponsored by UNICEF, found reduced IQ at just 0.88 mg/l — a level within the “optimal” fluoride range added to the drinking water of over 200 million Americans.
Seven found reduced IQs among children drinking water with fluoride levels between 2.1 and 4 mg/l – levels that 1.4 million Americans drink everyday.
Four found effects at levels between 1.8 and 2.0 mg/l – levels that over 200,000 Americans drink everyday.
EPA’s conventional approach to risk assessment limits chemical exposure to levels ten times less than those known to cause adverse effects. With fluoride and IQ, the levels of fluoride in water and urine are – at most – just two or three times more than the amount experienced by tens of millions of American children
Children with iodine deficiencies are particularly harmed by fluoride. And iodine deficiency has increased significantly, now affecting up to 12% of the US population.
I am disturbed (as I’m sure would be the authors of the study you quote) at your sweeping pronouncements about fluoride. It is well documented that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and prevents untold dental decay and pain and suffering. As many other above have pointed out, the Harvard study is a meta-analysis about overexposure to naturally occurring fluoride, many in rural Chinese populations. One of the populations had a whopping 1361.7 mg/kg (1L=1kg) because they burn fluoride-polluted coal. Here is a link to a chart of the studies included: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491930/table/t1/. Note that most of the control groups had fluoride levels in the range of the recommended fluoridation level of 0.7 mg/L. Please note that this miniscule therapeutic dose of fluoride is almost 6 times less than the EPA’s maximum allowed in US water supplies (4 mg/L). What the authors are highlighting is the need for additional research about what that maximum levels should be.
The whole fluoridation controversy is so overblown, and I’m constantly amazed that otherwise rational folks can get misled into believing bizarre conspiracy theories.
For a more balanced approach, I suggest your readers look at the EcoDentistry’s blog;http://ecodentistryblog.com/2012/01/19/eda-co-founder-dr-fred-pockrass-talks-fluoride/
Dentist are now admitting the fluoride hardens enamel so much that the teeth become brittle and now do not protest when I refuse fluoride in my or my son’s cleanings. If you want thicker enamel I recommend looking into remineralization toothpaste. Good stuff.
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