Drinking tap water treated with fluoride causes poor IQ development in the youth.
According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “66% of the United States population receives fluoridated water through the taps in their homes.” This is supposedly done to help prevent tooth erosion of pre-teen and teenagers. The question is: does fluoride in our drinking water do more harm than good?
The Good
The diets of our children are filled with soda, juice and sugary snacks. These products promote tooth decay. Fluoride, commonly used in dental offices, fights tooth decay by making tooth enamel stronger. Fluoride also promotes tooth regeneration. So fluoride, when used in moderation, is helpful for teeth.
The Bad
Too much fluoride leads to skeletal fluorosis, which is fluoride toxicity. Skeletal fluorosis is characterized by weak tooth enamel. It can also lead to insufficient mineral levels in the bones.
The Ugly
A Chinese study has found that too much fluoride in tap water inhibited brain development in children. In this study, the Chinese tested children 8 to 12 years old. The children came from nearby villages with similar socioeconomic and cultural conditions. One village drank water from a well with high fluoride concentrations. The control group drank water from a well that was low in fluoride.
The study found that the high-fluoride group’s IQ was 4 points lower than the control group. This difference is significant.
Furthermore, other studies have found more than 700 chemicals in our drinking water. The USA Today, CNN and the Associated Press quoted studies that found prescription drugs in our drinking water, such as anti-depressants and sexual aids.
With all these chemicals in our drinking water, and all the sugar and trans fats in our diets, is it any wonder that ADD, cancer and athersclerosis are on the rise?
The Solution
- Drink filtered or bottled water
- Filter all water in your house, so these chemicals cannot be ingested during showers and baths.
- Breastfeed babies as much as possible. The human body and brain are designed to grow by drinking breast milk.
- Cut all sodas, fruit drinks and sugary foods out of your children’s diets. A treat is okay once in a while, but if this sugar were cut from the diet, there would be no need to add IQ lowering fluoride to drinking water.
References:
1. Wang SX, ZH Wang, XT Cheng, J Li, ZP Sang, XD Zhang, LL Han, SY Quio, ZM Wu and ZQ Wang. 2007. Arsenic and fluoride exposure in drinking water: children’s IQ and growth in Shanyin County, Shanxi province, China. Environmental Health Perspectives 115(4): 643-7.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water Fluoridation
3. Painter, Kim, “Tooth erosion grinds away at the young.” USA Today, April 7, 2008
