Fluoride And IQ? What Is The Link, What This Study Says

Bruce Y. Lee

Senior Contributor

Health

I am a writer, journalist, professor, systems modeler, computational and digital health expert, avocado-eater, and entrepreneur, not always in that order 

.....................What then should you do with these latest findings? If you are not pregnant, this study alone shouldn't dissuade you from drinking fluoridated tap water. The Austin Powers look is not a good one, and you need your teeth to eat many things. If you are pregnant and want to be extra cautious, you could try drinking bottled water, although bottled water is not necessarily safer than tap water. For example, recently testing commissioned by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found: "high levels of the toxic metal arsenic in Starkey Water, owned by Whole Foods, and Penafiel, owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, bottled in Mexico and sold at Target." So, you may want to scrutinize what the bottled water sellers are really offering. And for Pete's (or whatever you are going to name your child) sake, don't drink raw water, for the reasons I described previously in Forbes. Of course, not drinking water at all is not an option, because you need water to pee and survive, not necessarily in that order. 

The bottom line is that more studies are needed to shed more light on these recent findings. In the meantime, don't panic. Feel free to keep drinking (tap water, that is, assuming that your community is regularly checking the water for pollutants), especially if you are not pregnant. As I've frequently said, panic is only useful at the disco.