I recently received an impassioned chainletter originally writting by one “Dr. Joseph Mercola”, a naturopath/author with a large e-following. He warns us against the many dangers of Fluoride, full article available here .
He writes:
*Using fluoride as a treatment for diseases like osteoporosis has always been a particularly dumb idea, because of side effects known beforehand:
* general arthritis
* stomach pain
* nausea
* vomiting
* bone spurs
* bone inflammation
* kidney fibrosis
* dental fluorosis *
So is fluoride safe? Are statements like “What would you do if you suddenly found out that fluoride was not safe at all, but was actually a carcinogenic industrial waste?” worth thinking about? Is this guy crazy? (he does have an unrelated current NYTimes Bestseller about H5N1 being a giant hoax).
No kidding. The last time I endured sustained exposure to a DHMO-saturated and -pressurized environment, I had to wear protective clothing and life-support equipment, and had to scrub down after each session. The conditions were so hazardous that we generally observed an exposure duty cycle of 20% (typically 30 minutes of exposure followed by 2 hours of rest). I don’t know how that exposure duty cycle compares to other hazardous environments.
He is crazy as a loon and considering the “Bird Flue is a Hoax” book, a rather dangerous crazy at that.
Well okay, he is guilty of perpetuated bad science and bad myth and bad conclusions. Of course, fluoride is dangerous, but not in the concentrations that is normally used in fluoridating water or dihydrogen monoxide. Iron is extremely poisonous to humans in large doses and yet extremely beneficial at the correct intake. We could list dozens if not hundreds of compounds and elements that are dangerous in the wrong does and beneficial or at least neutral in a proper dose.
This is right up there with vaccinations causing autism. There are times when I wish it would kill all of us, because some of this stuff is too ridiculous for words and I have no desire to live in a world full of psychotic, knee-jerk alarmists.
The main realistic concern about fluoride (as opposed to the tin hat variety) is the difficulty in dosing properly for all ages. When fluoride is added to drinking water (we’ll pretend, for a moment, that it’s chemically identical to naturally occurring fluoride), it’s very hard to make sure babies and very little kids aren’t getting too much. Too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis - pitting and staining of the permanent teeth caused by too much fluoride.
The ADA recognized recently that infant formula prepared with fluoridated tap water might be giving infants too much fluoride. They, until more research is complete, are recommending that infant formula be prepared with non-fluoridated water. They intimate, although don’t outright say, that toddlers should also limit their consumption of fluoride. link to policy statement.
Do I think that the communists are contaminating our precious bodily fluids? No. But I do think it’s something we should keep paying attention to, especially as our habits change. Most of my friends growing up drank nothing but juice, milk and pop - nowadays because of obesity watchdogs, we’re training kids to drink water as the default, and watering down juice for a treat. This means obvious changes in the amount of fluoride consumed daily from beverages.
He fails to list the real danger of fluoridation: Communism. Do you know when fluoridation first began? Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, xiix. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It’s incredibly obvious, isn’t it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That’s the way your hard-core Commie works. Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous Communist plot we have ever had to face.
Well, that and the wrath of the Coca-Cola company.
The difference is you raised rational and realistic concerns that are backed up by real science and consensus opinion. The “Dr. Joseph Mercola” crap is just tin-hatted fear mongering. His crap is more dangerous than fluoride is likely to be.
Thanks for noticing. I just wanted to answer (one of) the OP’s questions: “So is fluoride safe?” To point out, as it were, that we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the fluoridated bathwater. Sure, Mercola’s claims are so dubious that many of them are laughable and possibly dangerous in and of themselves. But that doesn’t mean that fluoride is safe, period, end of story.
You know when you’re a moderate and all the radicals get the attention and then no one will listen to your moderate position because they all think you’re just another kook? That’s what happens a lot in fluoride (and mandatory vaccination, and alternative medicine, and herbal) debates. Makes me weary, it does. I spent years studying with the radicals, and didn’t lose my head entirely. But I know how they think, and I know they’re not entirely off track all the time, they’re just…radical.
I just wanted to answer (one of) the OP’s questions: “So is fluoride safe?” To point out, as it were, that we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the fluoridated bathwater. Sure, Mercola’s claims are so dubious that many of them are laughable and possibly dangerous in and of themselves. But that doesn’t mean that fluoride is safe, period, end of story.