New Study: Fluoride Damages the Brain – Avoid Use in Children
NYSCOF
New York – June 21, 2011 -- “The prolonged ingestion of fluoride may cause significant damage to health and particularly to the nervous system,” concludes a review of studies by researchers Valdez-Jimenez, et al. published in Neurologia (June 2011).
The research team reports, “It is important to be aware of this serious problem and avoid the use of toothpaste and items that contain fluoride, particularly in children as they are more susceptible to the toxic effects of fluoride” (1)
“Fluoride can be toxic by ingesting one part per million (ppm), and the effects are not immediate, as they can take 20 years or more to become evident,” they write.
Most fluoridating US public drinking water suppliers add fluoride chemicals to deliver 1 ppm fluoride (equal to about 1 milligram per quart) intending to benefit teeth and not to purify the water.
“Fluoridation clearly jeopardizes our children and must be stopped,” says attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. “We can actually see how fluoride has damaged children’s teeth with dental fluorosis; but we can’t see the harm it’s doing to their brains and other organs. No US researcher is even looking,” says Beeber.
Valdez-Jimenez, et al. describe studies that show fluoride induces changes in the brain’s physical structure and biochemistry which affects the neurological and mental development of individuals including cognitive processes, such as learning and memory.
“Fluoride is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, which may cause biochemical and functional changes in the nervous system during pregnancy, since the fluoride accumulates in brain tissue before birth,” they write.*
Animal studies show fluoride’s toxic brain effects include classic brain abnormalities found in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Valdez-Jimenez’s team reports.
A different research team (Tang
et al.) reported in 2008 that “A
qualitative review of the studies found a consistent and strong association
between the exposure
to fluoride and low IQ." (Biological
Trace Element Research) (2)
In 2006, the US National Research Council’s (NRC)
expert fluoride
panel reviewed fluoride toxicology and concluded, “It’s apparent that fluorides
have the ability to interfere with the functions of the brain.” And, “Fluorides also increase the production of free radicals in the brain
through several different biological pathways. These changes have a bearing on
the possibility that fluorides act to increase the risk of developing
Alzheimer’s disease.” (3)
On April 12, 2010, Time magazine listed fluoride as one of the "Top Ten Common Household Toxins" and described fluoride as both "neurotoxic and potentially tumorigenic if swallowed." (4)
Phyllis Mullenix, PhD, was the first U.S. scientist to find evidence
that fluoride damages the brain. She published her animal study in a
respected peer-reviewed scientific journal in 1995 (5) and then was fired
for doing so.(6)
Vyvyan Howard, MD, PhD a prominent fetal toxicologist and past-President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment said that current brain/fluoride research convinces him that we should stop water fluoridation.
Very many communities have stopped or
rejected fluoridation in the past several years – the most recent is Fairbanks, Alaska. This year,
seven New York City Council Members co-sponsored legislation to stop
fluoridation in NYC.
*Translated from Spanish using Google Translation
References:
1) Neurologia 2011 Jun;26(5):297-300. Epub 2011 Jan 20.Effects of the fluoride on the central nervous system, by Valdez-Jiménez L, Soria Fregozo C, Miranda Beltrán ML, Gutiérrez Coronado O, Pérez Vega MI. http://apps.elsevier.es/watermark/ctl_servlet?_f=10&pident_articulo=90020345&pident_usuario=0&pcontactid=&pident_revista=295&ty=131&accion=L&origen=elsevier&web=www.elsevier.es&lan=es&fichero=295v26n05a90020345pdf001.pdf
2) Biological Trace Elements Research “Fluoride and Children’s Intelligence: A Meta-analysis,” by Qin-qing Tang & Jun Du & Heng-hui Ma & Shao-jun Jiang & Xiao-jun Zhou
3) The National Academies of Science, Committee on Fluoride in
Drinking Water, National Research Council, "Fluoride in Drinking
Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standards," March 2006
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11571.html?onpi_newsdoc03222006
4) Time Magazine, “Top Ten Household Toxins,” Fluoride, by Alice Park
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976895_1976898,00.html
5) Mullenix P, et al. (1995). "Neurotoxicity of
Sodium Fluoride in
Rats," Neurotoxicology and Teratology 17:169-177) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7760776
by Christopher Bryson CHAPTER 1: Through the Looking Glass http://www.fluoridealert.org/fluoride-deception2.htm
SOURCE: New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc.
http://www.fluoridation.webs.com
http://www.FluorideAction.Net