Fluoride Toxicity No Longer a ''Conspiracy Theory'' !

It amazes me how many people still view the dangers posed to health from fluoride in the water supply as nothing more than a ''conspiracy theory'' - dismissed as a notion unsupported by any solid evidence. They say it's pseudoscience. It probably doesn't help matters that Wikipedia - that hugely flawed yet oft cited source of information on the internet peddles misinformation which clearly creates a misconception as to fluoride's adverse effects. Its page discussing fluoride toxicity states that ''the only generally accepted adverse effect of fluoride levels used for water fluoridation is dental fluorosis (see photo right) which can mottle children's teeth; this is mostly mild and usually of an aesthetic concern.'' Sure, as long it's not your child.

With a sizable number of people satisfied with this unfounded reassurance, little further research is conducted, reflecting the lazy manner in which some people are willing to take things at face value, regardless of the high stakes. After all, if they were to take the issue seriously enough to thoroughly check the evidence themselves they would find themselves dragged licking and screaming from their comfort zones, forced to question the veracity of widely held ''truths'' built on lies and deceptions.

Of course, mainstream studies outlining the deleterious effects (worse than fluorosis) of fluoride are commonplace - in 2006 the National Research Council released a 500 page review, which took 12 scientists over three years to produce and described in great detail why the U.S.'s EPA''s purportedly ''safe'' drinking water standard (4 ppm) needed to be reduced in order to protect human health. The report documents myriad potential hazards from fluoride exposure, including damage to the bones, brain, and various glands of the endocrine system. According to Dr Bob Carlton PhD a former risk-assessment scientist at EPA and President of the Union of Government Scientists, this report ''should be the center piece of every discussion on fluoridation, it changes everything.' Fluoridation will not prevent tooth decay.'' 

More recently a Harvard study funded by the National Institutes of Health confirmed the fluoride lowers the IQ of children. The adverse effects of high concentrations of fluoride in the water supply were summarized by the report from Environmental Health Perspectives:  ''We specifically targeted areas in rural China that have not been tested before, thus complementing the studies that have included in previous review and reports. Findings from our meta-analyses of 27 studies published over 22 years suggest that fluoride may be a developmental neurotoxin that effects a child's brain development at exposures much below those that cause toxicity in adults.''

Given the wealth of other studies which have drawn similar conclusions, its perhaps remarkable that this hasn't been fully accepted in the scientific community, particularly dentists. and by the general population at large. Additional studies have found other negative effects of fluoride on the human brain including: 
1)  Formation of beta-amyloid plaques (the classic brain abnormality in Alzheimer''s Disease).
2)  Damage to your Hippocampus (associated with memory and spatial navigation)
3)  Impairs antioxidant defence systems
4) Accumulation of fluoride in your Pineal Gland (which produces melatonin which controls sleep/wake cycle, also known as ''the third eye'')'
5)  Damages Purkinje Cells (located in the cerebellum and controls motor coordination)
6)  Exacerbation of lesions induced by iodine deficiency

In March of this year, the journal  Lancet Neurology (see panel on left) compared fluoride to lead, arsenic, methyl mercury and other chemical toxins, and reclassified it as a developmental neurotoxin. Adding to the above list of detrimental effects of fluoride, the report explained how neurotoxins can cause widespread brain disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, and other cognitive impairments. It would be criminal for this revelation to be further ignored!

The Way I See It....there appears to be only a ''fringe'' section of the populous against fluoride (and clearly the lack of mainstream media coverage has a great deal to do with this misconception), but a sizable scientific community exists fighting to have it removed. An increasingly informed number of communities are also fighting to have it removed from their drinking water.

Perhaps, with the release of the Lancet report, the ''conspiracy theory'' response to those pointing out the dangers of water fluoridation can finally be dropped and a concerted movement to end the poisoning of our water supplies by the dental profession in their ludicrous assumption that drinking this poison will allow it, after it washes over every delicate organ, gland and tissue, to end up fighting cavities in our mouth. To me that is not only criminal but the height of scientific gullibility.