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RATHER DIE ON MY FEET THAN LIVE ON MY KNEES-WOLVES SOURCE 
By James Donahue I was a child when fluoride, a by-produce from the manufacture of atomic bombs, was first introduced to the American people. Nobody told us where fluoride came from. All we knew is that it was a newly discovered chemical that would make our teeth extra hard and ward off cavities. When a free fluoride clinic was set up one summer in our school, all the kids in town lined up to have the bitter tasting stuff rubbed on their teeth.
We were pretty gullible in those days. The period immediately following World War II was a time of scientific advancement. After the inventions of nylon, rayon, plastic and other marvelous products that replaced fabrics, rubber and steel during the war years, people were lulled into the belief that those balding men in white laboratory jackets could solve all of the problems of the world. The belief was so strong that we blindly accepted whatever a "scientist" told us. Nobody dreamed that we might be victims of fraud.
My father was part of the magic. He worked as a chemical engineer for a factory that made a variety of products out of wheat and corn starch (including the brain-killing excitotoxin monosodium glutamate). He provided well and I consequently made regular visits to a dentist every summer. I knew well the agony of the dentist drill. It was nothing like the advanced water-cooled high-speed equipment used by modern dentists. Repairing a cavity doomed us to what seemed like hours of white-knuckle torture under the glaring lights of the dental chair, while a man with plastic rimmed glasses and bad breath bored his way through teeth (and bone?). Once the drilling was done, the dentist filled the hole he made with a hot metallic material that burned when it went in, and left a bad taste in your mouth.
We had a mom-and-pop grocery store in our neighborhood where kids could buy penny candy and a package of gum for a nickel. I made a lot of visits to that candy store.
Even though my mother made sure that I brushed my teeth daily, somehow I don't remember linking the candy I was eating to all of the cavities. When fluoride was introduced, it seemed like a child's dream come true.
I was disappointed, of course. I had just as many cavities in my teeth the following year.
When they started dumping fluoride in the local water supply, and adding it to the ingredients in our toothpaste, I thought that would surely solve my problem. It seemed reasonable to think that I didn't get a heavy enough dose of fluoride when I attended the free clinic. After all, if a little bit of fluoride was good for my teeth, it made sense that a lot more fluoride would be even better.
But alas, after years of drinking, scrubbing and consuming fluoride-laced products, we now learn that we've been scammed. This chemical is found to be totally ineffective in preventing tooth decay. Not only that, it seems to be directly linked to a variety of medical problems ranging from discolored teeth to bone disease and cancer.
In short, fluoride is a poison.
This is not news to the medical world. The Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have both reported greater incidence of hip fractures in fluoridated areas. The National Institute of Environmental and Health Services has linked fluoridation with cancer.
A book by Dr. John Yiamouyiannis, titled "Fluoride, The Aging Factor," shows that the drug causes a premature aging process. He notes that in areas where fluoride is consumed in the drinking water, there are higher rates of bone disorders (skeletal fluorosis, osteoporosis and arthritic pain) and people suffer from brown decaying teeth.
"Fluoride is a poison!" Yiamouyiannis warns." The 1984 issue of Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products lists fluoride as more poisonous than lead and just slightly less poisonous than arsenic. It has been used as a pesticide for mice, rats and other small pests. A 10-pound infant could be killed by 1/100 of an ounce and a 100-pound adult could be killed by 1/10 of an ounce of fluoride. The Akron Regional Poison Center indicates that a 7-ounce tube of toothpaste contains 199 mg. of fluoride, more than enough to kill a 25-pound child."
Yiamouyiannis writes that the acceleration of the aging process by fluoride occurs at the bio-chemical level by causing enzyme inhibition, collagen breakdown, genetic damage and disruption of the immune system.
"Fluoride interacts with the bonds which maintain the normal shape of proteins," he continues. "With distorted protein, the immune system attacks it's own protein, the body's own tissue." The visual and physical effects from prolonged exposure to fluoride include nausea, bloody vomit, faintness, stomach cramps, tremors, constipation, aching bones, stiffness, skin rash, weight loss and brown or black discoloration of the teeth.
The horror in this story is that fluoride was known as a deadly poison from the start. But if this was true, why would the U. S. government promote the sale of it to its own people, and later people all over the world? Would you believe the answer to this question is money?
There is compelling evidence that the program of water fluoridation began as a massive effort to cover up bad publicity from one of the most toxic materials to emerge from the government's secret nuclear weapons program. The idea was that if fluoride could be presented to the country as beneficial, then no one could sue the government for being harmed by it.
An article by Dr. Jackie Alan Giuliano in "Healing Our World" noted that reporters Joel Griffiths and Chris Bryson discovered the truth about fluoride while researching hundreds of declassified documents about the Manhattan Project, America's secret atomic bomb development program.
They found that fluoride as a key chemical in atomic bomb production. Millions of tons were used during the Cold War period to manufacture high-grade uranium and plutonium.
"Fluoride was the top chemical hazard of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, not only for workers, but for those living in nearby communities as well," Giuliano wrote.
"The documents show that the first U.S. lawsuits levied against the atomic weapons program were over fluoride poisoning, not radiation damage. The documents reveal that the U.S. government secretly ordered atomic bomb scientists to create "evidence useful in litigation" against defense contractors who were being accused of injuring citizens with fluoride."
This secret work to head-off government lawsuits lead to a multi-billion dollar industry that has been poisoning our water supplies, our toothpaste, and our bodies ever since. Believe this or not, fluoride tablets are even available for children.
To escape the harmful effects of fluoride, Yiamouyiannis suggests that you seek non-fluoride toothpaste (but you may have to go to health stores to find it), and drink bottled water. Even using tap water to cook may expose you to fluoride.
Now that the truth about fluoride is out, why haven't towns and toothpaste companies stopped dumping this terrible poison in our water and toothpaste supplies? Don't expect that to happen. Remember, I said this is a multi-billion dollar industry. Nobody shuts down a money machine like that without a fight.
(Visit the author's web site at www.perdurabo10.tripod.com/themindofjamesdonahue.
Important Update: Harvard Links Fluoride To Cancer!
By Jessica Fargen
Thursday, April 6, 2006
Young boys who drink fluoridated tap water are at greater risk for a rare bone cancer, Harvard researchers reported yesterday.
The study, published online yesterday in a Harvard-affiliated journal, could intensify debate over fluoridation and mean more scrutiny for Harvard's Dr. Chester Douglass, accused of fudging the findings to downplay a cancer link.
"It's the best piece of work ever linking fluoride in tap water and bone cancer. It's pretty damning for (Douglass)," said Richard Wiles of the Environmental Working Group, which filed a complaint with the National Institutes of Health against Douglass.
Douglass, an epidemiology professor at Harvard's School of Dental Medicine, is paid as editor of the Colgate Oral Care Report, a newsletter supported by the toothpaste maker.
Harvard and the NIH are investigating whether Douglass misrepresented research findings last year when he said there was no link, despite extensive research to the contrary by one of his doctoral students. The NIH gave Douglass at least $1 million for the research.
That student, Dr. Elise Bassin, wrote in yesterday's Cancer Causes and Control that boys who drink water with levels of fluoride considered safe by federal guidlines are five times more likely to develop osteosarcoma than boys who drink unfluoridated water. About 250 U.S. boys each year are diagnosed with osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer and the sixth most common cancer in children. Bassin notes that more research is needed to "confirm or refute this observation."
Douglass, in a letter to the editor published in the same issue, said Bassin¹s study was a ³partial view of this ongoing study,² and urged readers to be ³especially cautious² when interpreting the findings.
You may also want to read SV-40: The Deadly Cure.
Fluoride: The dumbing-down of a generationNew studies from China show that an excessive intake of fluoride can accumulate in the brain, permanently reducing a child’s intelligence.
Two suburban villages in Shanxi Province in China are very much alike - except for the level of calcium fluoride in their water supply.
Xinghua’s water contains 0.91 parts per million (ppm; equal to mg/L) of fluoride, and 14 per cent of the population have dental fluorosis - mottling, softening, and increased porosity and brittleness of tooth enamel - but no cases of bone fluorosis. In contrast, Sima has fluoride levels four times higher than its neighbour, or 4.12 ppm. In this town, 86 per cent show clear evidence of dental fluorosis, and 9 per cent have clinically diagnosed skeletal fluorosis (Fluoride, 1996; 29: 190-2).
In each village, 160 randomly selected children (excluding those with congenital or acquired diseases not related to fluoride) took a standard IQ test lasting 40 minutes. Each child’s mother had lived in the study village during pregnancy.
The two studies came to extra-ordinary and identical conclusions: exposure to high fluoride lowers intelligence, as measured by IQ test scores (Chin J Control Endem Dis Suppl, 1991).
The mean IQ in high-fluoride Sima was 97.7 whereas, in lower-fluoride Xinghua, it was 105.2 - 7.5 points or 7.7 per cent higher, a statistically significant difference (Fluoride, 1996; 29: 190-2).
Indeed, the entire range of IQs was lower in high-fluoride Sima, giving that village’s bell-shaped IQ curve a distinctly flattened shape (Alive Can J Health Nutr, 1998; 191: 67-8).
Among the 160 children selected for the study, the number of children from Sima with IQs of 69 or below was six times that of those in lower-fluoride Xinghua, and 26 per cent fewer children in Sima had IQ scores of 120 or above (Chung Hua Liu Hsing Ping Hsueh Tsa Chih, 1994; 5: 296-8).
A separate Chinese study looked at the IQs of 907 children aged 8-13 years from four areas of Guizhou Province (Chung Hua Liu Hsing Ping Hsueh Tsa Chih, 1994; 5: 296-8). This study compared the degree of fluorosis in the population, rather than the fluoride content of the water. In some areas, fluorosis was worsened by inhalation of fluoride-containing soot from China’s low-quality coal.
The maximum IQ among the low-fluorosis students was 140, a good score. However, in students with moderate-to-severe fluorosis, the maximum IQ scores were only 110.
The very large difference in mean IQ scores between the high- and low-fluorosis areas appears to be caused in part by exposure to lead as well as fluoride. Another study in a coal-burning area found that excessive fluoride lowered mental work capacity and zinc content of the blood (Hua His I Ko Ta Hsueh Hsueh Pao, 1994; 25: 188-91).
How fluoride harms IQ How does high fluoride reduce a child’s intelligence? Sadly, many of our early clues are from animal studies, which may not apply to humans. Those laboratory studies that we do have strongly suggest that fluoride causes motor dysfunction, IQ deficits and/or learning disabilities, and a generalised pattern of disruptive behaviour. Phyllis Mullenix, PhD, then head of toxicology at Forsyth Dental Center, Boston, carried out major studies in the early 1990s (Neurotoxicol Teratol, 1995; 17: 169-77).
In her tests on rats, the results indicated that fluoride is a powerful central nervous system toxin (Pharmacol Biochem Behav, 1987; 27: 559-64).
[WDDTY is opposed to animal studies, but we cite these here because of the tendency of pro-fluoridationists to quote studies using rats. This is because of their supposed far higher resistance to toxins than other species. Rats also lack a vomit reflex (Section 2, Health effects: Comparative toxicokinetics, Abstracts from USPHS [Public Health Service] Toxicological Profile on Fluorides, p 16). In other words, rat studies are used to show that fluoride is harmless.]
Before Mullenix, no one had ever considered - much less studied - the subtle effects of fluoride exposure on the developing brain. At the time, she was unaware of the ongoing tests in China.
Although rats are supposed to resist fluoride (which ironically started life as a rat poison), Mullenix’s tests showed that exposure prenatally, as weanlings or adults caused subtle, but real, sex- and dose-specific behavioural deficits with a common pattern. The fluoride accumulating in important regions of the rat brain, especially the hippocampus, increased the more fluoridated water they drank.
The hippocampus is considered to be the central processor which integrates input from the environment, memory and motivational stimuli to produce behavioural decisions and modify memory.
It appears that fluoride accumulates in brain tissue, and younger animals and people are more vulnerable than older ones (Neurotoxicol Teratol, 1995; 17: 169-77). We also know that children excrete fluoride less efficiently than adults and so retain more of it (Aust Trad Med Soc Newslett, 1993/94; Summer). In these studies, researchers discovered that fluoride caused behavioural problems not unlike hyperactivity as well as learning deficits (Neurotoxicol Teratol, 1995; 17: 169-77). What was also surprising is how little exposure was needed before subtle brain damage was seen. Also, the brain effects were measurable at a lower level of exposure than that required to damage bones.
The researchers also discovered subtle differences between the sexes in the timing of exposure required to cause damage. Males were most sensitive to prenatal exposure while females were more likely to be damaged if exposed as weaned babies or as adults.
The behavioural problems were also different, depending on time of exposure. Rats exposed prenatally tended to be hyperactive whereas those exposed as young rats or adults tended to have cognitive (mental-processing) deficits.
The level of exposure required to cause damage, and the apparent differences between male and female tolerances to exposure corresponded to those found in other studies of hippocampal brain damage.
Although animal studies don’t necessarily apply to humans, they provide important clues concerning the damage wreaked by fluoride in the Chinese towns. Fluoride blood levels in this rat model (0.059-0.640 ppm) were similar to those reported in children one hour after receiving topical fluoride treatment of their teeth.
A few mechanisms have been suggested as to how fluoride affects brain function. These include influencing calcium currents, altering enzyme structure, inhibiting brain hormone activity and increasing phosphoinositide (needed for cell and calcium activation) breakdown (Fluoride, 1996; 29: 187). In guinea pigs, which like primates, including humans, cannot synthesise their own vitamin C, intracellular fluoride alters calcium currents from hippocampal neurons (J Neurosci, 1986; 6: 2915).
The fluoride ion also affects amide binding such as occur in proteins. This may explain how fluoride is able to disrupt key sites in biological systems (J Am Chem Soc, 1981; 103: 24-8; Int Clin Psychopharmacol, 1994; 9: 79-82).
Another study found that fluoride binding induced significant disorders in the structure of the cytochrome-c peroxidase enzyme (Chem Eng News, 1988; Aug 1: 26-42). Indeed, over 100 enzymes are affected by fluoride binding to enzyme cofactors such as magnesium, manganese and phosphate, thus preventing the appropriate coenzyme from activating its enzyme (Lee L, The Enzyme Cure, Tiburon, CA: Future Medicine Publishing, 1998; p 211).
Fluoride from any type of exposure destroys 66 out of 83 known enzymes (Judd GF, Good Teeth Birth to Death, Glendale, AR: Research Publications, 1997; pp 19, 53). Fluoride attacks enzymes at their weakest links - hydrogen bonds surrounding the active site. For every enzyme inhibited or destroyed, a major metabolic function is stopped, as they are required in every bodily process.
Prenatal exposure The human nervous system develops throughout gestation and in the early postnatal period; higher cognitive functions develop toward the end of gestation, when brain nerve cells become differentiated and brain development is particularly rapid, and soon after delivery. Slowly and with some difficulty, fluoride penetrates the fetal blood-brain barrier (Fluoride, 1986; 19: 108-12; Chin J Epidemiol, 1993; 2: 97-8) to accumulate in the brain tissue (Chin J Control Epidem Dis, 1989; 4: 136-7).
The draconian Chinese one-child-per-family rule has given us more evidence of the deadly effects of fluoride on the developing fetal brain. China has persisted with abortions in families who already have one child. In those areas with elevated fluoride and fluorosis due to coal-burning, fluoride has been found in brain tissue obtained from aborted embryos. Stereological and ultramicroscopy studies of this developing brain tissue show poor differentiation of brain nerve cells and delayed brain development (J Fluoros Res Commun, 1991; 138 [in Chinese]).
One of the dangers of fluoride is that this damage to a developing fetus occurs with levels far lower that those considered dangerous to adults. Fluoride effects on intelligence in utero occur at levels not toxic to the mother. In one study, fluoride concentration was higher in a typical mother’s placenta than in her blood (Gedalia et al., 1961; Abstracts from USPHS Toxicological Profile on Fluorides). Umbilical cord levels do not accurately reflect fetal fluoride status, suggesting that the placenta somehow isolates the fluoride as an innate protective measure (J Perinat Med, 1995; 23: 279-82). Eventually, however, enough fluoride crosses the placenta and reduces the available fluoride-binding sites in the newborn (Pediatrics, 1975; 55: 517-22).
The US Public Health Service reported in 1991 that millions of women in 'optimally' fluoridated cities ingest from all sources - and expose their embryos and fetuses to - as much as 6.6 mg of fluoride per day (US PHS, Review of Fluoride Benefits and Risks, 1991). While the women themselves may not have symptoms or problems, such levels could be deadly to the brain of their developing babies.
Damage as adults Do IQs drop still lower if high exposure to fluoride continues? Studies do not answer this directly, but there is some evidence that continued exposure does worsen mental problems.
High fluoride exposure appears to weaken mental function in a dose-related manner in adults as well as in children. Declassified 1944 documents show that one year before USPHS epidemiological ‘testing’ of fluoridation was to start in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Newburgh, New York, the military/industrial complex had already acquired evidence that fluorides affect memory and cognitive skills.
The Manhattan Uranium Project concluded: 'Clinical evidence suggests . .. . mental confusion, drowsiness and lassitude as the conspicuous features. It seems most likely that the fluoride component is the causative factor' (US Medical Corps document, 4/29/44). Much of the evidence of adverse fluoride effects was censored out of the document, and later, related documents are ‘missing’ or have been made to disappear by the US government (Griffiths J, Bryson C, Fluoride, teeth and the atomic bomb, Waste Not, 1997; Sept: 1-8).
Researcher Dr Bruce Spittle has cited examples of fluoride affecting adult mental function (Int Clin Psychopharmacol J, 1994; 9: 79-82). As he concluded: 'The late George L. Waldbott, MD, in 1979 studied 23 persons living within three miles of an enamel factory that emitted hydrogen fluoride into the air. Symptoms included a distinct decline in mental acuity, poorer memory, inability to coordinate thoughts and reduced ability to write. Those living further away from the factory were less affected and had lower urinary fluoride' (Vet Hum Toxicol, 1979; 21: 4-8).
In 1981 after a fluoride overfeed to the water of Annapolis, Maryland, Waldbott wrote: 'Six [out of 112 who suffered ill effects] reported deterioration of their mental acuity, lethargy, loss of memory . . .' (Clin Toxicol, 1981; 18: 537-49).
In another study of 60 aluminium smelter workers, 97 per cent had skeletal fluorosis and 22 per cent had psychiatric disturbances, including depression, mental sluggishness and forgetfulness (Fluoride, 1977; 10: 12-6).
In other studies by Waldbott and colleagues, psychiatric symptoms such as lethargy, memory impairment, and difficulties with concentration and thinking, began after fluoride exposure. This usually occurred with fluoridated drinking water, though three cases involved industrial exposure.
Dr Spittle concludes, 'There is suggestive rather than definitive evidence that chronic toxicity affecting cerebral functioning can follow exposure to fluoride' (Int Clin Psychopharmacol, 1994; 9: 79-82).
In light of the findings in China, however, the conclusions are moving toward certainty, and fluoride damage to intelligence may be worse in the UK and US than in China. Millions of embryos and infants receive daily fluoride at doses known to cause crippling skeletal fluorosis in adults (US PHS, Review of Fluoride Benefits and Risks, 1991).
Furthermore, fluoride intake may increase two- to fourfold or more during hard physical work in a hot climate - and even more if the water used in cooking and in beverages is also fluoridated. About 3 per cent of the US population drinks at least four litres of water a day, and more where the climate is hotter.
Boiling water evaporates chlorine while concentrating fluoride. If the water contains 4 ppm of fluoride, a person may ingest 16 mg of fluoride a day or more, in addition to the fluoride from other sources like toothpaste, food and air - enough to produce crippling skeletal fluorosis within a few years.
China is sensibly protecting the intelligence of its unborn children by defluoridating its water supply (J Orthomolec Med, 1993; 8: 149-53). We can all learn from their example.
This was adapted from material for an article that first appeared in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.
FLUORIDE DAMNING NEW EVIDENCEResearcher Doris Jones has unearthed startling new evidence demonstrating that fluoride interferes with enzyme systems, damaging many organ systems of the body.
The fluoride issue, a perennial hot potato, is heating up once again. In Britain, the government has recently announced its intention to fluoridate the water of deprived inner city areas, supposedly to improve the dental health of children living there. Later, water fluoridation may be introduced nationwide. A White Paper outlining the government's plans is scheduled for this spring.
The government and the dental profession have convinced the public that fluoridated water offers nothing but benefits that there is overwhelming evidence that it prevents tooth decay and contributes to the strength of bones. There is tacit admission in the pro fluoride camp that fluoride can also cause harm, but only at high levels: more than 2 ppm in water may cause mottled teeth and over 8 ppm may lead to bone disorders and degenerative changes in the vital organs.
A few lone voices have countered the prevailing view, with published evidence that fluoride can have devastating effects, causing mottled teeth and osteoporosis at very low levels. While much has been written about the effects of too much fluoride on teeth and bones, little is known about the effects of fluoride on the rest of the body.
But new evidence has emerged demonstrating that it can have devastating effects on just about every organ in the body, and may even be partly responsible for behavioural problems like hyperactivity and many puzzling illnesses like ME.
Like mercury, fluoride isn't exactly an obvious choice for dental health as it is a poison more poisonous than lead and only slightly less poisonous than arsenic (Clin Toxicol Commerc Prod, 1984; 11: 4, 112, 129, 138). It's been used as a pesticide, and it's a component in fungicides, rodenticides, anaesthetics and many drugs. The fluoride used in toothpaste, mouth rinses and dental gels is usually sodium fluoride, a waste product from the aluminium industry. Fluoride added to our water supply is hydrofluorosilic acid or sometimes silicofluoride waste products of fertiliser and glass industries.
The late US fluoride critic George L Waldbott discovered that, besides teeth and bones, fluoride can damage soft tissue. According to his research, the small fluorine ion with a high charge density can penetrate every cell of the body and combine with other ions (GL Waldbott et al, Fluoride: The Great Dilemma, Lawrence, Kansas: Corenado Press, 1978: 148-74). It interferes with the metabolism of calcium and phosphorus and the function of the parathyroid glands.
It has a strong affinity to calcium, but will also readily combine with magnesium and manganese ions and so can interfere with many enzyme systems that require these minerals. The interruption of these enzyme systems, in turn, may disturb carbohydrate metabolism, bone formation and muscle function. Indeed, every vital function in the body depends on enzymes; because fluoride easily reaches every organ, many diverse toxic symptoms can result.
Fluoride and enzymes
Enzyme systems react to fluoride in different ways; some are activated, others are inhibited. Lipase (essential for the digestion of fat) and phosphatases (needed to breakdown phosphates) are very sensitive to fluoride. In patients with skeletal fluorosis, succinate dehydrogenase activity is inhibited. In chronic fluoride poisoning, this diminished enzyme activity accounts for muscular weakness and even muscle wasting. Human salivary acid phosphatase is diminished by half when exposed to 3.8 ppm of fluoride. The blood enzyme cholinesterase is inhibited by 61 per cent on exposure to 0.95 ppm fluoride an amount within recommended levels adversely affecting functions of the nervous system (PA Smith, ed, Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1970: 48-97).
Alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme involved in bone growth and liver function, may also be affected by low level fluoride intake.
According to scientists from the University of California at San Diego, fluoride switches off the enzyme cytochrome C oxidase, an oxygen carrying respiratory enzyme; deficiencies of this vital enzyme have been linked to cancer, severe diseases and even cot death (J Biol Chem, 1984; 259: 12984-88).
It's also been shown by research at Kings College in London that fluoride forms very strong hydrogen bonds with amides, which are formed when amino acids join together to form a protein (J Am Chem Soc, 1981; 103: 24-8). This can cause chromosomal damage. If the protein is distorted, the body's immune system no longer recognises it, treats it as a foreign protein and will try to destroy it, which in turn triggers allergic skin or gastrointestinal reactions (J Yiamou-yannis, Fluoride: The Aging Factor, Delaware, Ohio: Health Action Press, 1993: 94-9).
Stomach and bowel disorders are the main features of fluoride intolerance. Even small amounts of fluoride can form hydrofluoric acid in the stomach to produce gastric pains, nausea and vomiting. Young children are particularly at risk. Fluoride tablets can even cause gastric haemorrhages; in one instance, a 9 year old boy sustained such damage that large parts of his stomach had to be removed (Fluoride, 1977; 10: 149-51).
Links with thyroid disease
The most readily identifiable feature of soft tissue fluorosis is extraordinary general fatigue, which is frequently linked to thyroid deficiency. The thyroid gland requires iodine to produce the hormone thyroxine, which controls the rate of metabolism in the body. But when fluorine is present, iodine is displaced, which will cause a thyroid gland to stop working properly (K Roholm, Handbuch Experi-menteller Pharma-kologie, Ergaenzung-swerk, Vol 7, Berlin: Springer, 1938: 20).
The parathyroid gland, which regulates the distribution of calcium and phosphorus in the body, is extremely sensitive to excessive amounts of fluoride. Over 50 years ago, Indian doctors found a close relationship between skeletal fluorosis and hyperparathyroidism (J Hyg 1942; 42: 500-4).
Fluoride has even been shown to affect the pituitary gland, which controls growth rate by regulating the production of thyroid hormones (Seances Soc Biol Fil, 1930; 103: 981-2). In animals, less than normal amounts of thyroid hormones are produced when animals are given water containing a fluoride content equivalent to that of water fluoridation (Bull Schweiz Akad Med Wiss, 1954; 10: 211-20).
Professor A K Susheela of the Fluoride and Fluorosis Research Foundation of India, a consultant to the Indian government, has published over 100 scientific papers on the hazards of fluoride. Using scanning electron microscope photography, she has proved that when exposed to fluoride, red blood cells are killed prematurely, lowering haemoglobin and causing anaemia. She also showed that calcium levels diminish as fluoride levels in the body rise; the gastrointestinal tract mucosa is damaged, causing irritable bowel syndrome; and blood fluoride levels rise continuously with prolonged use of fluoridated toothpaste.
When people are bombarded with fluoride, in the form of fluoridated water, toothpaste and mouth rinses, muscles and elements of connective tissue, particularly collagen fibre and bone tissue, undergo degenerative changes, says Prof Susheela.
At the 1998 US Conference of the International Society for Fluoride Research in Bellingham, Washington, Dr Jennifer Luke from the University of Surrey, UK, presented evidence of the effects of fluoride on the pineal gland in gerbils. In both gerbils and humans this gland helps control the aging process and the production of melatonin, which regulates the sleep/wake cycle. Gerbils exposed to a high level of fluoride experienced a significant decrease in the production of melatonin and earlier genital maturation. While animal studies may not always be applicable to humans, Dr Luke theorised that mass fluoridation may be behind the general decline in the age of puberty in the West (Fluoride, 1998; 31: 175).
In areas where water is fluoridated, evidence shows that dangerously high fluoride concentrations accumulate in many soft tissues and organs of the population, including the heart, kidney and bladder. The highest level ever recorded 8400 ppm was found in the aortas of people living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where fluoride was first introduced in America.
The heart and blood vessels are affected by fluoride. Cardiac irregularities and low blood pressure have been noted in experimental poisoning using large doses (Publ Health Report, 1956; 71: 459-67). In 1950, five years after experimental introduction of fluoride into drinking water in Grand Rapids, the number of deaths from heart disease nearly doubled. Death rates due to cancer, diabetes and arteriosclerosis were all markedly increased compared to death rates for the rest of the state (The Grand Rapid Herald, July 28, 1955).
By recording the heart's activity, Japanese researcher Taka Mori showed a direct link between damage to the heart and dental fluorisis in children who drank water with a fluoride content of 0.5 to 6.2 ppm (R Ziegelbecker et al, Emu Verlags Gmbh, Austria: Lahnstein, 1995: 43).
Fluoride affects the brain and entire central nervous system. Neurological problems like headaches, vertigo, spasticity in extremities, visual disturbances and impaired mental acuity can all result. Tissue damage to anterior horn cells (cells in the forward facing section of the spinal cord) has been found (Fluoride, 1975; 8: 61-85).
Official annual statistics revealed that among malnourished children in the Chilean town of Curico, fluoridated since 1953, death rates were 104 per cent higher than in comparable, non fluoridated towns. The general mortality was higher in Curico by 113 per cent, compared with the average for the rest of the country (Emu Verlags: 47-8).
Fluoride and ME
Although few researchers have looked at the role of fluoride in the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), there are conspicuous similarities between key features of ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and those seen in the very early stages of fluoride poisoning (Fluoride, 1998; 31: 13-20; see box, p 1).
Dr John McLaren Howard of Biolab in London offers a few important clues as to why this may be. He discovered that ME patients experience reduced movement of white blood cells when exposed to quite low levels of fluoride (InterAction 14, Autumn, 1994: 53-4). This effect on white blood cells might render patients less able to fight infections efficiently, or lead to an exacerbation of their health problems.
Fluoride also interferes with phagocytosis, as well as causing the release of superoxide free radicals in resting white blood cells. This means that fluoride slows down and weakens the very cells which serve as the body's defence system. Bacteria, viruses, chemicals and the body's own damaged or cancerous cells are then allowed to wreak havoc. Minor infections take longer to clear and can cause more serious illness (J Yiamouian-nis, The Aging Factor, Health Action Press, 1993: 32). This is precisely what appears to be happening in many cases of ME.
We do not know how many children or teenagers had topical dental treatment with high concentration fluoride, before succumbing to infections which led to ME/CFS. Tests done by the Japanese researchers at the Nippon Dental College, Tokyo on potential hazards on high doses of fluoride showed that levels as low as 57 ppm could induce genetic damage and irregular synthesis of DNA in mammalian cells. These tests were undertaken to assess the hazards of rub on fluoride products used to prevent tooth decay, at concentrations of 9000 ppm (paper presented at a meeting of The Japanese Society for Cancer Research, August 23, 1982, cited in The Ecologist, 1986; 16: 249-52). Varnishes containing 20,000 ppm fluoride, supposedly to strengthen teeth, may in future be applied.
My son had fluoride treatment to prevent tooth decay in the autumn of 1979, after which his health dramatically deteriorated, commencing with gastric problems, various minor infections and glandular fever, followed by atypical measles, more infections and eventually resulting in ME in 1980.
In the end, the fluoride treatment didn't work in preventing tooth decay he's needed 15 fillings over nine years.
The American pathologist Majid Ali of Columbia University, New York, explains that chronic fatigue results from an "accelerated oxidative molecular injury". Only a well functioning enzyme system can protect us from such injury and maintain normal energy levels. In ME there is a high frequency of membrane deformities, due to increased oxidative stress on the cell membranes, which is why sufferers lack energy similar to what happens in fluoride poisoning (The Canary and Chronic Fatigue, New Jersey: Life Span Press, 1994).
Experienced researchers who have studied ME for decades maintain that, as with polio, it is brought on by damage to anterior horn cells caused by a gut virus, which explains why polio victims are paralysed or suffer from impaired motor function (B M Hyde et al, The Clinical and Scientific Basis of ME/CFS, Ottawa: Nightingale Research Foundation, 1992: 111-6). But fluoride has also been shown to damage anterior horn cells. Gastrointestinal disturbances, often referred to as IBS, are also known to play a significant part in ME, as they are in the chronic fluoride toxicity syndrome.
Severe sleep disturbances, or reversal of sleep rhythm, are a common feature in ME/CFS (Clin: 285-91). Deposits of large quantities of fluoride in the pineal gland of animals have caused similar problems (J Luke, Bellingham Conference, 1998).
At this point, no one knows just how much these syndromes overlap, or to what extent fluoride facilitates the development of ME by various biological agents. The indications are that fluoride may act as as a "facilitating co-factor" and exacerbate existing problems in such patients. Or it could be, as Dr H C Moolenburgh Dutch author and fluoride critic suggests, that ME is one of the end stages of a general chemical poisoning, with fluoride one of the worse offenders.
!ADoris Jones
http://www.garynull.com/Documents/AreYouTiredLowThyroidPt2.htmThe incidence of hypothyroidism is higher among people who drink fluoridated water without using a filter, according to Dr. Feldman’s patient records. The reason for this connection is not entirely clear, but it may be that the fluoride and thyroid molecules are similar in chemistry. As a result, fluoride poisoning seems to target the thyroid.
People with thyroid problems would do well to avoid fluoride, which actually was used as a medication in the past to slow down an overactive thyroid, according to Richard and Karilee Shames in Thyroid Power.30
The forms of fluoride being added to drinking water today to prevent tooth decay are not the pharmaceutical grade sodium fluoride that was originally researched for this purpose. Waste products derived mainly from the phosphate fertilizer and aluminum industries are the source of fluoride for 90% of fluoridated communities.31
Worse yet, most of the fluoride put into the water supply does not end up on our teeth, but rather in lawns, swimming pools and rivers. We accumulate this fluoride from showering and swimming in it, and we take in an unknown amount from the fluoridated drinking water that may be used in juices, beers, wines and other drinks.32
The five boroughs of New York City all have fluoridated water. To determine if your local water supply contains fluoride, contact the central water information center in your community. (For an in-depth look at the health effects of fluoride, see Parts 1 and 2 of “The Case Against Fluoridation” in this classroom. From the home page of www.garynull.com, go to “Issues,” then “Classroom on the Web.”)
You can protect your thyroid system from fluoride exposure by using a special dedicated fluoride filter or drinking bottled water. Most standard water filters do not remove fluoride efficiently, so you will need a separate fluoride filter to do the job. Gary Null’s water filter is available as a “Combo Unit” that includes a basic ceramic unit and a tandem fluoride filter. The Combo Unit uses a five-stage filtration process and removes parasites, particulates, dirt, rust, sediment and fluoride. This filter is easy to connect to tap water plumbing (for more information, call 646-505-4660 or visit the “Marketplace” on the home page of www.garynull.com).
In addition to using a fluoride filter, people with low thyroid conditions should install a chlorine filter on their showerhead. Chlorine gas is produced as the shower water sprays out, and this toxic substance will be breathed in as you bathe.
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