WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
By Dr. Mercola
Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation, a 15-minute preview of which is offered above, exposes the ongoing dangers of fluoridation in a concise and hard-hitting format.
As they outline the science behind fluoridation and the effects it has had on entire generations, a select panel of experts show conclusively why there is no logical or rational reason to continue fluoridating our water supply.
With an easy-to-understand synopsis of the latest findings and research on the dangers of fluoridation, you'll be able to learn first-hand about how you are being affected right now. You'll finally be able to make the informed decisions you need for your health and the wellbeing of your loved ones. This DVD cuts through all the hyperbole and pseudo-science of fluoridation proponents and gets right to the points that really matter to you.
I encourage you to make the small investment in this DVD to benefit your health and the well-being of your loved ones and our global community. The Fluoride Action Network has given its permission for citizens to make unlimited copies of this DVD, so that it can be shared with colleagues and decision makers.
On February 14, Dr. Paul Connett, Director of The Fluoride Action Network, visited the South Australia Parliament House in Adelaide, and along with Dr. Andrew Harms, former President of the South Australian Dental Association, presented the facts about water fluoridation. The event was hosted by Independent Member of Parliament Ann Bressington, who has taken up the fight against fluoridation.
Mathaba reports:
"China, and also some Australian industries, are getting rid of poisons including arsenic, lead and other industrial waste products, by placing it directly into the water supply in many parts of Australia. Saving money for big business, by slowly poisoning Australians, being told it is "fluoride"
… [O]nly a small handful of South Australia's non-representative politicians showed up to hear evidence about the deliberate poisoning of much of Australia's public water supply as a means of dispersing industrial waste while saving untold amounts of money that would be required for safe disposal into the environment.
The public will be shocked to realize that what they have been told about fluoride in the water is far from the truth, and that the "fluoride", unlike that found in high grade toothpastes, is not pharmaceutical in nature but actually industrial chemical and toxic waste product, much of it from China. It is being dispersed into the water supply, where freedom of information requests obtained by Bressington show the high levels of toxicity and the presence of many poisons and even uranium, in Adelaide's water supply."
Dr. Connett will also present the case against fluoride at the Arcade Library and the Arden Whole Foods store in Sacramento, California, on February 23 and 24, the Sacramento News & Reviews reports.
I urge you to view the video "Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation," in which 15 scientists explain why water fluoridation should be ended. After watching this preview, I urge you to order a hard copy for yourself. I have ordered several hundred copies of this important DVD and am making them available at a 50 percent discount ($10 plus shipping). The Fluoride Action Network has given its permission for you to then make unlimited copies of this DVD, so you can share it freely with colleagues and decision makers. So please, order a copy and share it widely so you can support Dr. Connett's important work.
Science is now questioning the long-held belief that water fluoridation prevents cavities, but it is clear that it can cause significant health problems over time. Water fluoridation is in fact a harmful medical practice imposed on you without your consent, that has well-documented health effects. Dental fluorosis, which was recently discussed on Fox News, is just the beginning. Other adverse effects include bone fractures and skeletal effects, and the potential exists for lowered IQ, damage to the brain and kidney, and increased rates of cancer.
First it is Ridiculed, then Violently Opposed, Then...
More than once I've been asked, "Why are you so controversial?" My explanation is always that I operate in a different model than conventional medicine, and then I usually share the 200-year old observation by German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer on the shifting of human views on truth:
- First, it is ridiculed.
- Second, it is violently opposed.
- Finally, it is accepted as self-evident
When it comes to water fluoridation, I believe we're finally entering the final stage of this shift, and it's just a matter of time before the dangers of this practice—the forceful drugging of citizens with a neurotoxic agent—will become "self-evident."
Meanwhile, the truth has always been that fluoride is a toxic agent that is biologically active in the human body where it accumulates in sensitive tissues over time; wreaks havoc with enzymes and produces a number of dysfunctions—including neurological dysfunction.
How can anyone justify the current stance on water fluoridation when faced with more than 100 published studies illustrating fluoride's harm to the brain, plus 24 published studies directly linking fluoride exposure to reduced IQ in children?
It's incomprehensible. Yet there is light on the horizon.
The Beginning Rumblings of Change
A number of swift-moving changes in opinion have recently swept across America:
- On April 12, 2010, Time Magazine included fluoride in its "Top Ten Common Household Toxins" and described fluoride as "neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed".
- On January 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced plans to reduce the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water from 0.7-1.2 mg/L to 0.7 mg/L.
- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is initiating a review of the maximum amount of fluoride to be added to water. Depending on their findings, the maximum contaminant level of fluoride allowed may also be revised.
- The EPA also decided to phase out the use of sulfuryl fluoride, based on the position of three environmental groups that "children's aggregate exposure to fluoride is unsafe, and that additional exposure through pesticide residues is unlawful." The Fluoride Action Network has battled the use of this fluoride-containing food fumigant for nine years. However, Dow AgroSciences, the maker of sulfuryl fluoride, will fight the EPA's decision, claiming that continued use is "critical to agriculture."
- A bi-partisan group of Tennessee State Representatives, including the Speaker, now want the Tennessee health department to stop promoting water fluoridation.
- On January 18, New York City councilor Peter Vallone, Jr. introduced legislation "prohibiting the addition of fluoride to the water supply." A victory there could signal the beginning of the end of fluoridation in the U.S.
Canada is also making strides to end water fluoridation:
- On November 29, 2010, the residents of Waterloo, Ontario in Canada voted to end water fluoridation after 33 years of the practice.
- On February 8, 2011, the Calgary (Alberta, Canada) city council voted to stop 20 years of water fluoridation by a 10-3 vote.
According to Calgarian James Beck, MD, PhD and co-author of The Case Against Fluoride,
"This is important for the health of 1.1 million people right here. But also it will help us stop fluoridation throughout the Province of Alberta. With the generally no-fluoridation situations in British Columbia and Quebec and the ongoing developments in Ontario we are approaching a fluoride-free Canada. And with the ongoing progress in the United States we are approaching a fluoride-free world."
Additionally, Australia is also starting to question the "unethical, criminal activity which masquerades as "health" policy," Mathaba reports. The fight against water fluoridation has been taken up by Independent Member of Parliament Ann Bressington, who, on February 14, hosted a special presentation on the subject by Dr. Connett and Dr. Andrew Harms, former President of the Australian Dental Association, at the South Australia Parliament House in Adelaide. (You can listen to her personal statements about and position on water fluoridation in the third video above.)
At the end of this article I will again list the contact information for the Canadian and American grassroots campaigns to END water fluoridation.
I urge you to get involved to keep this momentum going!
Fluoride Linked to Neurological Damage and Reduced IQ
Over time, fluoride accumulates in many areas of your body, including areas of your brain that control and alters behavior, particularly your hippocampus and other limbic areas. More than 124 studies linking fluoride to brain damage in animals and reduced IQ in children have been published.
One particularly striking animal study published in 1995 showed that fluoride ingestion had a profound influence on the animals' brains and altered behavior. Pregnant rats given fluoride produced hyperactive offspring. And animals given fluoride after birth became apathetic, lethargic "couch potatoes." This study was particularly powerful because the effects were measured using objective computerized evaluations of behavior, to rule out subjective bias by the researchers observing the animals.
For the past 60 years, pregnant women have ingested fluoridated water and used fluoridated water to reconstitute infant formula for their babies. If these effects were true for humans as well, we'd expect to see a striking change in human behavior at this point as well. And we most definitely do.
Today, an estimated one in 10 children has ADD/ADHD...
Hyperactivity, lethargy, fatigue, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and reduced thyroid function—all of these ailments have risen dramatically over the past several decades, and there is very suggestive scientific evidence that each may be linked to excessive fluoride exposure. The shocking fact is that no health agency in any fluoridating country (including the USA) is making any effort to investigate a possible connection to water fluoridation.
Aside from the evidence showing that fluoride directly damages your brain, mild reduction of thyroid function in pregnant women has been shown to produce significant neurological problems in their offspring as well.
Other Health Problems Linked to Fluoridation
Other health problems linked to excessive fluoride exposure include:
So, why are we still fluoridating water? What will it take for YOU to say,
"That's it—enough already! Stop poisoning my water!"
How You Can Help End Water Fluoridation in Canada and the United States
We've seen some recent victories in the fight against fluoridation, but we still have our work cut out for us. While lowering the recommended level of fluoride is a start, the DHHS is still ignoring the adverse effects aside from dental fluorosis, including the fact that fluoride damages animal brains and is associated with lowered IQ in children.
I've joined forces with Dr. Paul Connett to publicize his game plan to END water fluoridation in Canada and the United States.
Trained as a chemist specializing in environmental chemistry, Dr. Connett is known throughout the world as a leader in the movement opposing water fluoridation because of his knowledge base. His organization, the Fluoride Action Network, contains a wealth of information on this topic.
I particularly urge you to view the DVD on this site entitled "Professional Perspectives on Water Fluoridation," in which 15 scientists, including: one Nobel Prize winner; three authors of the landmark National Research Council review: "Fluoride in Drinking Water" published in 2006; two former scientists at the US EPA; two dentists who had previously been pro-fluoridation; the former President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment," and Dr. Connett himself.
In simple and plain language, these scientists epxlain why this practice should be ended. After watching this DVD online, I urge you to order a hard copy for yourself. I'm making this important DVD available at a 50 percent discount ($10 plus shipping). The Fluoride Action Network has given its permission for citizens to make unlimited copies of this DVD, so that it can be shared with colleagues and decision makers.
I also highly recommend your picking up a copy of the book The Case Against Fluoride.
Our fluoride initiative will primarily focus on Canada, because 60 percent of Canada is already non-fluoridated. If we can get the rest of Canada to stop fluoridating their water, we believe the U.S. will be forced to follow. I urge you to get involved!
Contact Information for Canadian Communities:
- If you live in Ontario, Canada, please join the ongoing effort by contacting Diane Sprules at [email protected].
- The point-of-contact for Toronto, Canada is Aliss Terpstra. You may email her at [email protected].
Contact Information for American Communities:
We're also going to address four US communities: New York City, Austin, San Diego and Sacramento:
- New York City, NY: With the recent victory in Calgary, New York City is the next big emphasis. The anti-fluoridation movement has a great champion in New York City councilor Peter Vallone, Jr. who introduced legislation on January 18 "prohibiting the addition of fluoride to the water supply."
A victory there could signal the beginning of the end of fluoridation in the U.S.
If you live in the New York area I beg you to participate in this effort as your contribution could have a MAJOR difference.
The point person for this area is Carol Kopf, at the New York Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation (NYSCOF). Email her at [email protected] . Please contact her if you're interested in helping with this effort.
- Austin, Texas: Join the effort by contacting Rae Nadler-Olenick at either: [email protected] or [email protected], or by regular mail or telephone:
POB 7486
Austin, Texas 78713
Phone: (512) 371-3786
- San Diego, California: Contact Patty Ducey-Brooks, publisher of the Presidio Sentinel at [email protected] .
- Sacramento, California: Contact Jeanette Bajorek at [email protected]. Like NYC, if fluoridation can be stopped in Sacramento, it could send shock waves around California.