Water Fluoridation

Name the substance, used willingly by millions of people, that has been linked with an increased risk of Down's Syndrome, bone and oral cancer, fluorosis, and ADHD among a host of other diseases. If you're thinking the answer is tobacco or alcohol guess again. The substance I'm talking about today is fluoride. I've done research all semester about the dangerous effects of fluoride on the body. Today, I'm going to explain how the business of water fluoridation started, the dangers associated with fluoridation, and give some practical advice on how you can lower your ingestion of this poison.

Now I know what many of you are thinking. Fluoride? Isn't that the stuff the Government adds to our water? Isn't it good for you? The answer to that is yes and most definitely NO! Fluoride is added to public water in most US communities under the guise of being a harmless benefit that will prevent dental cavities in children. Many people naively believe fluoride to be an element. In actuality, it is the gas fluorine that an element. There is a naturally occurring type of fluoride that is sometimes found in rocks. However, according to the Fluoride Action Network, the type of fluoride that is being added to our nations water today supply is known as hydrofluorosilicic acid and is an unrefined by-product of the fertilizer and aluminum industries.

Water fluoridation in our country has a very secretive beginning. The Fluoride Action Network explains that in 1997 Chris Bryson and Joel Griffiths spent a year researching water fluoridation. After examining hundreds of recently declassified World War Two and Cold War papers, including the famous Manhattan Project papers, Bryson and Griffiths discovered fluoride played a huge part in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. “Massive quantities of fluoride-- millions of tons-- were essential for the manufacture of bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons”, including the atomic bomb. Fluoride is one of the most toxic chemicals known, and soon the farms in nearby Gloucester and Salem counties started to suffer from blight and animal death. The farmers waited until the end of World War Two, and then sued for fluoride damage. Afraid that if the farmers won there would be more lawsuits, the military hit upon the idea of convincing people all across the US that fluoride was proven to strengthen the teeth. The truth is that no real studies were ever conducted by the US Department of Agriculture concerning fluoride. Instead, the studies were done by the “U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service”. Code named agent-f, the studies had nothing to do with children's teeth, and had everything to do with twisting the truth so that the nuclear weapons program could continue. In 1945, a ten year project was conducted in which the water of Newburgh NY was fluoridated, and blood and placenta samples were studied by NY's State Health Dept. and the leaders of Project F. This means that the very people who wanted to continue the widespread use of fluoride were instrumental in reading the results of the project. Needless to say, fluoride was declared not only safe, but beneficial and soon other communities in the US began adding it to their water as well. This turned out to be great news for the fertilizer and aluminum industries. As a by-product of the two industries fluoride has only one usage, and that is as a rat and cockroach poison. Now the industries had another way to dispose of their excess waste in an acceptable manner. In fact, an article on http://www.saveourwater.org. Says that these industries honestly thought they were providing a benefit to the American people. They were as misinformed as everyone else.

People have always questioned the long term health effects of water fluoridation. Saveourwater.org explains that when we ingest fluoride, 50 percent of it is eliminated via the kidneys, and the rest stays in the bones. Therefore, fluoride is a cumulative poison, meaning that the ill-effects associated with it happen over a length of time. The first sign of fluoride poisoning is dental fluorosis, which are discolorations of the tooth enamel. **Show picture of teeth!** According to Paul Connett, Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University in New York, “The teeth are windows to what's happening in the bones," in other words, if you can see fluorosis marks on your teeth, it's affecting your bones as well. There is also evidence that the more fluoride a woman ingests over her lifetime, the higher the likelihood of her giving birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome. A study was done in 1956 by Ionel Rappaport which supported this theory, and he also conducted a second study in 1959 which reinforced his earlier findings. I also mentioned that fluoride, a known carcinogen, causes bone and oral cancer. A newspaper article by William Carmichael, which can be found at personalhealthfacts.com, explains that this was first discovered by Dr. John Yiamouyiannis (YEE-Ah-Mowy-Annis) and Dr. Dean Burke in 1977. Their study also showed that fluoride is linked to over 10,000 cancer deaths yearly. Congress was interested in their studies, and so the National Toxicology Program went to work conducting their own tests. Thirteen years later in 1990, the NTP finally proved Yiamouyiannis and Burke right. Other studies done by Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory , and United States National Cancer Institute show that fluoride not only causes some types of cancer, it also “promotes and enhances the carcinogenicity of other cancer-causing chemicals in the food and environment.” according to an article on curezone.com. Fluoride has also been linked to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD in children. Natural Parenting.com explains that it does this by bonding to lead in the body. As we all know, lead is a very poisonous substance, and the combination of the two can lead to a number of symptoms. Okay, now that I've given you a few good reasons why you should reduce the amount of fluoride you eat or drink, here are some practical tips on how to go about doing just that. One of the easiest ideas is to brush your teeth with a non-fluoridated toothpaste. Another option, though a bit pricier, is to buy a fluoridation filter. These can range from around a hundred to over 2000 dollars, depending on how big a filter you need, and whether you'd like to filter your entire house or just your kitchen sink. Another idea is to simply refuse the fluoride treatments your dentist will offer. Interestingly enough, drinking soft drinks and bottled juices will not lower your intake of fluoride because these products are made with fluoridated water, and often contain more fluoride than your tap water. So, even though it's not your best option, plain tap water is still preferable to soda. In conclusion, I hope you will take what I've said to heart, and that you can use some of the tips in the future. Just keep in mind that, as Ben Franklin once said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Let's all give some serious thought to this controversial issue. And hope that one day in the near future, all of our water will be as clean and pure as though it had just trickled from a fresh mountain stream.

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