Compiled by Michael F. Dolan, PhD
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Johns Hopkins Researcher Says “We Should Be Open to Reversing” Fluoridation
The surgeon and public health researcher who gained notoriety several years ago for reporting that medical error was the third leading cause of death in hospitals has concluded that the evidence in support of fluoridation is “flimsier than people realize,” and that “if the data go against decades-long dogma supporting fluoridated water, fluoride may be doing more harm than good.”
In his book Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What it Means for Our Health, Prof. Marty Makary of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine highlighted ingested fluoride’s harm to the gut microbiota and to neurodevelopment, concluding, “It may be affecting our intelligence.”
Makary’s book examines several cases of error in medical practices. It includes discussions on why doctors resist new ideas and on what he calls the “Culture of Obedience.”
In his book Makary reports that he asked physicians he interviewed if they knew of medical recommendations that are unproven or have been proven wrong yet are still pushed today.
“I thought there’d be a slim chance they’d be able to think of something in their specialty. Boy, was I wrong. As soon as I asked the question, the floodgates opened. The doctors would unload, sharing example after example of medical groupthink today gone awry.”
He concludes, “Even as the CDC calls the fluoridation of drinking water to prevent cavities ‘one of the ten great public health achievements of the twentieth century,’ we should be open to reversing this practice.”
Florida Surgeon General Calls Fluoridation “Public Health Malpractice”
In an historic statement, the Surgeon General of Florida has become the first state health official to call for the end of water fluoridation.
Calling water fluoridation “public health malpractice,” Florida Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo, MD, PhD held a press conference on November 22 to advise the cities and towns of that state to end the failed public health practice.
Confessing that he had endorsed water fluoridation in the past, having been told to do so in medical school, Ladapo said he had read the recent National Toxicology Program monograph on fluoride’s neurotoxicity and the original research reports on which it was based, and said he was “appalled.”
Speaking in a well-informed, articulate, yet extemporaneous manner, Ladapo expressed concerns, “about potential neuropsychiatric risks associated with fluoride exposure, citing links to lower IQ, behavioral issues and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,” according to a report on WESH, the NBC affiliate in Orlando.
At the press conference Ladapo was supported by Prof. Ashley Malin of the University of Florida, the epidemiologist and clinical psychologist who published original research that found water fluoridation is neurotoxic to the developing brains of children.
In her statement Malin said, “In the last seven years there have been numerous, high quality, rigorously conducted prospective pregnancy and birth cohort studies in North America showing that chronic, relatively low prenatal fluoride exposure levels are associated with poor neurodevelopmental outcomes including reduced IQ, more symptoms of ADHD and declines in executive function.”
Source: https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-water-fluoridation/62997617
Full press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYrbDy7TltM
FAN bulletin: https://fluoridealert.org/content/florida-surgeon-general-advises-florida-communities-to-stop-fluoridation/
The State of Florida Alters Water Fluoridation Guidelines, Recommending Against It
The State of Florida has become the first state in the USA to establish dental health guidelines recommending against community water fluoridation.
In response to Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo’s public statement supporting the end of water fluoridation, the Florida Department of Health has posted a three-page document on its website that reads, “Due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure, particularly in pregnant women and children, and the wide availability of alternative sources of fluoride for dental health, the State Surgeon General recommends against community water fluoridation.”
The statement is in marked contrast to those found on every other state’s public health website where water fluoridation is endorsed in a routine and unquestioning manner.
In this remarkable text, the state reviews the most important recent original, peer-reviewed research that uncovered water fluoridation’s neurotoxicity, the finding of the National Toxicology Program that reviewed these results, and the recent US District Court verdict that 0.7 milligrams per liter fluoride in drinking water, the amount deliberately added to community water systems, presents an unreasonable risk of reduced intelligence in children.
The statement also takes note of the rarely reported context for fluoridation – that the practice has been deliberately rejected by almost all the countries of Europe, reading, “Historically, community water fluoridation was considered to be a method to systemically, through ingestion, deliver fluoride to all community members. However, currently many municipalities across the U.S. and several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Sweden, have eliminated water fluoridation.”
British Researcher Questions Need For New Fluoridation Schemes There
An author of the recent Cochrane review that found water fluoridation provides little if any benefit since the introduction of fluoridated toothpaste has called for a reconsideration of plans to expand fluoridation in the UK.
“The evidence suggests that water fluoridation may slightly reduce tooth decay in children,” says co-author Dr. Lucy O’Malley, senior lecturer in health services research at the University of Manchester.
“Given that the benefit has reduced over time, before introducing a new fluoridation scheme, careful thought needs to be given to costs, acceptability, feasibility and ongoing monitoring.”
According to the Telegraph, “The Government is under pressure to halt the plan after a Californian court ruled last week that fluoridation poses “an unreasonable risk” to the health of children.
Concerns about fluoride have been growing in recent years, with several studies suggesting the mineral can harm the developing brains of children and pregnant women. In Britain, the Government wants to raise the fluoridation level to 1mg/L, but judges in the US set a safe level of fluoride at 0.4 mg/L, less than half that of planned levels.”
In light of the recent historic developments in the dispute over fluoridation, including the National Toxicology Program report, the federal court ruling that water fluoridation poses an “unreasonable risk” to the health of children, and the recent Cochrane review that concluded there is little benefit to the schemes, some British newspapers have taken a more critical look at fluoridation as compared to the news media in the USA.
In its October 4th issue, the Telegraph of London reported in a matter-of-fact manner, “The [Cochrane] team found no studies that showed fluoridation benefited adults and even in children it only caused slightly less tooth decay, with recent schemes possibly having no benefit at all.”
In contrast, most papers in the USA continue to allow advocates of fluoridation to claim fluoridation benefits everyone.
The Guardian’s October 4th headline, “End of fluoridation of US water could be in sight after federal court ruling,” appears to be one of the first times a major daily newspaper has acknowledged in a headline that fluoridation could be considered illegitimate.
Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/10/04/fluoride-toothpaste-not-need-it-in-drinking-water/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/fluoridation-water-epa-risk-assessement
Fluoride Ingestion Found to Block Mineral Absorption in the Gut
Ingested fluoride forms macromolecular complexes with essential minerals in the gut, blocking their absorption into the blood stream, according to a new report.
Reporting in Trace Element Research, scientists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi found that in rats, given fluoride in water at the human equivalence of 5 or 10 parts per million, “blood concentrations of essential minerals were significantly lower in the fluoride-exposed groups compared to the control, while excretion of essential elements in stool was significantly higher in the fluoride-administered groups.”
“This study was done with the hypothesis, that chronic fluoride ingestion alters the chemical environment in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to the formation of unusual macromolecular complexes that chelate essential minerals and trace elements, thereby reducing their bioavailability and absorption, which contributes to mineral deficiencies and associated health conditions,” wrote the authors.
The researchers found consistent reduction of iron, copper, magnesium and zinc in the blood or increased excretion of the minerals in a dose-dependent manner.
They also report increased excretion of calcium from the fluoride-treated animals, noting “analysis of fecal material showed formation of three different chemical compounds and each compound containing both calcium and fluoride. The fluoride-calcium-containing compounds were formed in the 50-ppm fluoride-treated group. The number and types of compounds having both fluoride and calcium increased to eight in the 100-ppm fluoride-treated group, while not a single fecal compound containing both fluoride and calcium was identified in control group.”
Source: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-024-04403-1
•• Michael Dolan can be contacted at <mdolan.ecsn@outlook.com>