USA - Letter: Time to remove fluoride from drinking water

I read with interest the letter to the editor by Paul Connett (”No Need to dose children with fluoride,” Sept. 10) and thought I could expand on some of the real issues Dr. Connett raises that have impacted me.

I was seeing a naturopathic doctor in 2011 and in August of that year, she recommended I be tested for heavy metals toxicity because I had a mouthful of amalgam (silver) fillings. We were both surprised when my test came back that I was extremely toxic in both lead and mercury. This information prompted me to begin a several-year process -- which I have yet to complete -- to try to help my body eliminate both the lead and mercury. My first step was to have all my amalgam fillings removed and replaced with non-metal fillings. After this was completed, my mercury levels plummeted in the subsequent testing I had about three months after all my amalgams were removed, but my levels are still considered toxic.

How does this story relate to fluoride? Fluoride, like mercury, is considered a neurotoxin and crosses the blood brain barrier. In fact, the fluoride added to drinking water can also contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, all of which can contribute to heavy metals toxicity. Why would we want to add this toxic chemical mix to our drinking water when it goes against everything we are learning regarding trying to live in a healthy, chemical-free environment?

Dr. Connett talks about protecting vulnerable populations often referred to as “sensitive receptors,” which include the very young, the elderly and the infirm. However, there are others who fall into the sensitive receptor population --“ people like me who are already struggling with an overload of toxic heavy metals in their system. The more chemicals you have in your system, the more your system becomes overloaded and the harder it is to detoxify these chemicals. Many seemingly healthy people, myself included, have genetic variants that make it more difficult for their bodies to detoxify the chemicals introduced to our bodies through amalgam fillings, exhaust from vehicles, fluoride in our drinking water, etc.

We removed the lead from our fuel, helping both the environment and humans reduce the lead they ingest. Many municipalities replaced old lead water pipes with pipes that don’t contain lead. The time has come to remove fluoride from our drinking water to protect sensitive receptors, our most vulnerable population, from the real damage caused by ingesting this toxic chemical concoction.

Patty Hecht

Gloucester