Fluoride In Water: Fighting Back Against Fluoride

It's fluoride time again.

The fluoridation of public water is a controversy I return to every few weeks, just to keep it on the burner, so to speak. This is an important health issue that affects virtually everyone as campaigns to fluoridate the UK's entire water supply continue to gather pace.

And it's a subject that always prompts a surprised response from those who haven't yet heard that fluoride contains dangerous toxins. Fortunately there are ways to avoid fluoride intake. And believe it or not, avoiding fluoride just might make your teeth healthier.

But is there a way to remove fluoride build-up from your body? Good question. But difficult to answer.

Binding molecule
I recently received this e-mail from an HSI member named Owen:

'Fluoride is a toxin which accumulates in the bones and glands over a lifetime. It makes bones brittle, and has been linked to the plague of hip-fractures.

'I've been taking good care of myself for decades, but I drank tap water when I was a young man. There's bound to be fluoride in my bones, unless the clean living of the last 26 years has removed it. That's what I want to know: are there foods or supplements which effectively remove fluoride from bones and glands?'

Unfortunately, the answer to Owen's question appears to be, 'No.' So far, anyway.

I asked US HSI Panellist Dr Allan Spreen, about the possibility of chelating fluoride accumulation from the body, and he pointed out that fluoride has an unusually strong binding molecule. This is part of the reason why many water filters are ineffective in extracting fluoride.

Dr. Spreen says, 'It's well known that fluoride is difficult to remove from water with conventional water filters. Much of the chlorine can be removed using a good carbon filter, but fluoride will not come with it.'

I wish I had better news for Owen and all the rest of us who gulped unfiltered tap water for many years. Dr. Spreen told me he'll continue to review his research sources to try and find a natural way to chelate fluoride. In the meantime, this gives us an even greater incentive to avoid further fluoride intake.

Assessing the dangers
Here's a quick rundown of a few of fluoride's potential dangers:

• A number of studies have linked fluoride to as many as 10,000 cancer deaths each year, with a high incidence of bone cancer among men exposed to fluoride
• In animal trials, fluoride has been shown to enhance the brain's absorption of aluminium (the toxin shown to contribute to Alzheimer's disease)
• Several osteoporosis studies have associated hip fractures with fluoride intake

And add to all of this the irony that when too much fluoride is consumed, teeth can become discoloured and crumble. And how can you tell when you're getting too much? You can't! As Dr. Spreen stated in a previous fluoride e-Alert, 'Whether you are pro or con in the fluoride controversy, there is one simple problem that nobody can dispute: You can't control the dose.'

Hampering your right to decide
Usually when the government interferes with our healthcare choices, it's done by forbidding or restricting access. With fluoride it's the opposite; your freedom of choice is compromised when your local government puts a chemical in your water 'for your own good.' So every time you get a drink from your tap, you're being medicated without your consent.

Want to hear some truly radical thinking? Many countries throughout the world have rejected water fluoridation programmes based on the idea that health treatments should be a personal choice, not mandated by the government.

When your local government offers a one-size-fits-all 'medication' for the general public, just say NO.

There are basically two ways to avoid the fluoride that comes out of your tap: You can drink bottled water, or find a reliable water filter that actually removes fluoride. But that's easier said than done.