Fluoride - A Harmful Mineral Element

H Trendley Dean’s early studies pre-empting fluoridation were funded by an aluminium industry seeking a profitable outlet for fluoride by- products and also to smoke-screen fluoride air-pollution1. Their aim was to ascertain at what fluoride concentration dental fluorosis would raise objections. 1 ppm caused mild mottling in about 10% of the population, considered acceptable. The decision was all about teeth. No animal studies were conducted to determine the effect of fluoride on other body structures. In 1945, Grand Rapids became the first town to be fluoridated. Biochemistry was in its infancy.

In a book on animal nutrition2, published around 1949, fluorine is classified as a ‘Harmful Mineral Element’ and ‘a cumulative poison’. Farmers understood that it damaged cattle, but knowledge of the true nature of fluoride was soon lost in the hype to use the substance as a prophylactic against tooth decay and to promote the widespread adoption of fluoridation.

The late Dr John Yiamouyannis, biochemist, explained some of the effects of fluoride on cellular metabolism.3 The highly electro-negative fluoride ion disrupts the hydrogen bonds so essential to the structure of proteins. Enzymes are inhibited, and metabolic pathways compromised. Could fluoride and other environmental pollutants be behind the increase in allergies and chronic fatigue we are currently experiencing?

In their BMJ article, Cheng, Chalmers and Sheldon state:- “It (fluoride) affects plaque by altering the ecology of the dental plaque and reducing acid production”.

This may be interpreted as “Fluoride is a very effective anti- bacterial agent against the bacteria which normally produce acid from carbohydrate residues in the mouth.” The concentration of fluoride necessary to achieve this effect is not specified but we can surmise that the level in typical toothpastes (1400 ppm) will be somewhat more effective than the 1ppm used in fluoridation schemes. UK toothpaste packages warn to use only a pea-sized piece and to supervise children to make sure they do not swallow. In the US, all fluoride toothpastes are obliged to carry a distinct poison warning.

So can we regard 1ppm as toxicologically insignificant? Hardly. In the 1950s and early 1960s, thalidomide was heavily promoted as safe and effective. Even at high doses thalidomide was declared to be “so atoxic that it may be administered to even newborn and infants” The claim was mainly based on the fact that it had been practically impossible to kill experimental animals by injecting any amount of the drug in a single dose. This lack of acute toxicity was considered advantageous because it avoided suicides and accidental poisonings. “However, it has long been recognised by pharmacologists that a low acute toxicity does not guarantee that a drug will be harmless when taken in repeated low doses over a prolonged period of time.”3

In contrast to Rod Griffith’s anecdotal piece, Paul Connett’s 50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation (accessible from www.fluoridealert.org ) is a serious piece of academic work, fully referenced and drawing on research from all over the world. It is difficult to see how Cheng, Chalmers and Sheldon can state categorically that it overstates the harm from fluoridation while they admit that “evidence on the potential benefits and harms of adding fluoride to water is relatively poor”.

Fluoridation has become a dangerous orthodoxy and it is essential that people with scientific understanding study all aspects of the issue and come to their own logical conclusions. For too long, doctors and politicians have been propagandised by the British Fluoridation Society and open debate has been stifled. In my considered opinion, fluoride from all sources is best avoided. To add it to the water supply of millions is about as rational a health intervention in the twenty-first century as was the bleeding of King George the Third in the nineteenth.
Elizabeth A McDonagh,
Chairman, National Pure Water Association

References

1 Bryson, The Fluoride Deception Seven Stories Press, NewYork (2004)

2 Lowe, L.T., The Student’s Handbook to Animal Nutrition Littlebury & Company Ltd, The Worcester Press, Worcester. (undated 1949?)

3 Henning Sjostrom and Robert Nilsson Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies Penguin (1972) Page 43

4 Yiammouyannis, J, Fluoride the Aging Factor Health Action Press 3rd edn (1993)

Elizabeth A McDonagh BSc(Hons), Cert. Ed. Chairman National Pure Water Association

Competing interests: Chairman (unpaid) National Pure Water Association

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