HOW TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO FLUORIDE

We at HPDI strive to educate our readers about ways they can avoid or prevent toxicity, as well as detoxify their bodies. Many of our recommendations are included in our Rejuvenation Program.

Fluoride is one of the substances that can, along with other halogens (like chlorine) block uptake of iodine (which is necessary for proper metabolism and thyroid function). This is just one example of how it harms health.

Other harmful manifestations with respect to health include dental and skeletal fluorosis, endocrine disruption, gastrointestinal effects, brain and behavioral effects (including ADHD), and acute toxicity.

There are many things you can do to avoid or reduce intake of fluoride and thereby avoid toxicity. One relatively simple method is to use a high-quality water filtration system, especially a whole-house filter system.

Avoid fluoride toothpaste. Avoid using pans with non-stick coatings. Avoid exposure to foods sprayed or fumigated with the pesticides cryolite (usually sprayed on grapes and other fruits) and sulfuryl fluoride (often used in food processing facilities for nuts, beans, dried fruits, and cocoa powder).

An effective means to avoid fluoride uptake by the thyroid gland is consuming iodine (e.g., in the form of iodine-rich foods or ingestible products like Nascent Iodine). Iodine naturally blocks or reduces uptake of fluorine by the thyroid by providing the body with a non-toxic halogen (i.e., iodine) it actually needs for health.

There are other ways to avoid fluoride exposure or reduce its adverse effects in the body.

The Orthomolecular Medicine News Service (OMNS) recently published an article titled “How to Reduce Exposure to Fluoride” by Stuart Cooper of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN).

In his article, Mr. Cooper discusses the many ways that fluoride enters the body through fluoridated water, diet, pharmaceuticals, and other means. He then presents several guides and resources that can help consumers reduce their exposure.

Here we republish “How to Reduce Exposure to Fluoride” so you (and your health) can benefit from the information and resources it provides. ~

HOW TO REDUCE EXPOSURE TO FLUORIDE

by Stuart Cooper, Fluoride Action Network

(OMNS Dec 12, 2014) When fluoride was first added to water in the 1940s, in an experiment to prevent tooth decay, not a single dental product contained fluoride: no fluoride toothpastes, no fluoride mouth rinses, no fluoride varnishes, and no fluoride gels. In the past 60 years, as more communities began fluoridation and one fluoride product after another entered the market, exposure to fluoride increased considerably, particularly among children.

Exposure from other sources has increased as well, such as infant formula, processed foods, soups, and beer made with fluoridated water, food grown with fluoride-containing pesticides and fumigants [1] (buy organic!), bottled teas, raisins, fruit juices, wine, mechanically deboned chicken, and pharmaceuticals that leave a fluoride metabolite, to name a few. Taken together, the glut of fluoride sources in the modern diet has created a toxic cocktail, one that has caused a dramatic increase in dental fluorosis [2] (a tooth defect caused by excess fluoride intake) over the past 60 years. The problem with fluoride, therefore, is not that we are receiving too little, but that we are receiving too much.

Here are several guides to help you reduce your exposure to fluoride. Please share them with friends and family:

• Top 10 Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure
  (http://fluoridealert.org/content/top_ten/)
• Grocery Store Guide: 7 Ways to Avoid Fluoride in Beverages and Food
  (http://fluoridealert.org/content/grocery_guide/)
• Top 5 Ways to Reduce Fluoride Exposure From Infant Formula
  (http://fluoridealert.org/content/formula/)
• Considerations When Buying a Water Filter
  (http://fluoridealert.org/content/water_filters/)

Fluoride Content in:

• Common Beverages
  • Tea (http://fluoridealert.org/studies/tea02/)
  • Bottled Water (http://fluoridealert.org/content/bottled-water/)
  • Processed Beverages (http://fluoridealert.org/content/processed-drinks/)
  • Fruit Juice (http://fluoridealert.org/studies/stannard-1991/)
  • Beer (http://ffbeers.com/)
• Mechanically Deboned Chicken (http://fluoridealert.org/content/chicken/)
• Fresh Food (http://fluoridealert.org/content/fresh_foods/)
• Dental Products (http://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/f-toothpaste/)

Other Sources of Exposure:

• Industrial Workplace (http://fluoridealert.org/studies/respiratory/)
• Non-stick Pans (http://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/teflon-pans/)
• Pharmaceuticals (http://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/pharmaceuticals/)
• Pesticides on Food (http://fluoridealert.org/issues/sources/f-pesticides/)

Of course, the very best way to avoid fluoride is to work with your friends and neighbors to get it out of your water – or keep it out of the water.

(The Fluoride Action Network educates citizens around the world about the risks associated with fluoride in an effort to ultimately reduce exposure. For more information on what you can do: http://fluoridealert.org/take-action/ )

References:

1. http://www.fluoridealert.org/wp-content/pesticides/mrl.sulfuryl.fluoride.htm

2. http://fluoridealert.org/issues/fluorosis/

Nutritional Medicine is Orthomolecular Medicine

Orthomolecular medicine uses safe, effective nutritional therapy to fight illness. For more information: http://www.orthomolecular.org

The peer-reviewed Orthomolecular Medicine News Service is a non-profit and non-commercial informational resource.

Editorial Review Board:

Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)

Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D. (USA), Editor and contact person. Email: omns@orthomolecular.org This is a comments-only address; OMNS is unable to respond to individual reader emails. However, readers are encouraged to write in with their viewpoints. Reader comments become the property of OMNS and may or may not be used for publication.

Subscribe to Orthomolecular News Service email list (free): http://www.orthomolecular.org/subscribe.html

OMNS archive: http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml

Read the article on the OMNS website: http://www.orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v10n20.shtml