ISBN: 9781603582872 Year Added to Catalog: 2010 Book Format: Paperback Book Art: Tables, charts, graphs Dimensions: 6 x 9 Number of Pages: 384 Book Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Release Date: October 1, 2010 Web Product ID: 535
Also in Food & Health
The Case Against Fluoride
How Hazardous Waste Ended Up in Our Drinking Water and the Bad Science and Powerful Politics That Keep It There
The routine fluoridation of crops and water supplies and misinformation about the health benefits of fluoride pose a major issue for Paul Connett, the Director of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). Publicly considered an important aid in preventing tooth decay, many dentists now believe that it does little beyond protecting the surface of teeth (not including the pits, or indentations). Other medical and scientific research has begun to yield alarming data about fluoride. For example, the pinecone-shaped gland we know as the pineal gland (or the “third eye”) produces melatonin, a hormone that plays an important role in the sleep/wake cycle. Essential but not well understood, it has been discovered that its hard tissues accumulate more fluoride than any other hard tissue in the human body. According to a National Research Council article on the FAN website,
The single animal study of pineal function indicates that fluoride exposure results in altered melatonin production and altered timing of sexual maturity. Whether fluoride affects pineal function in humans remains to be demonstrated. The two studies of menarcheal age in humans show the possibility of earlier menarche in some individuals exposed to fluoride, but no definitive statement can be made. Recent information on the role of the pineal organ in humans suggests that any agent that affects pineal function could affect human health in a variety of ways, including effects on sexual maturation, calcium metabolism, parathyroid function, postmenopausal osteoporosis, cancer, and psychiatric disease.
Tune in as Paul Connett offers a clear look into the way fluoride affects our health, development, and environment. Fair warning: you may regard your toothpaste and your food and water supply more warily after listening!
4BC Mornings announcer Greg Cary joins Professor Paul Connett, Founder of the Fluoride Action Network talking about the high levels of Fluoride in Queensland water and the dangers of adding it to our water supply.
Dr. Paul Connett of the Fluoride Action Network at fluoridealert.org and co-author of The Case Against Fluoride joins us to discuss the latest exciting news that the EPA is lowering the maximum allowable levels of fluoride in American drinking water and withdrawing tolerances of sulfuryl fluoride pesticides on foods. We also discuss the growing movement to end water fluoridation in cities like New York and the successes already achieved in cities like Waterloo and Calgary. Finally, we tell people how they can get involved with these campaigns.
Genesis Communications Network - 'Power Hour' Rings the Alarm on Fluoride
November 9, 2010
Loyal GCN listeners to Joyce Riley’s information-packed Power Hour know she isn’t afraid to tread into controversial waters. When it comes to important issues like public health, Riley’s power lies in wrangling up the best guests to appear on her show, and setting the airwaves afire with engaging, no-holds-barred conversation.
In this book, Dr. Connett, as part of this team of brilliant scientists, clearly shows that water fluoridation is a harmful public policy. Connett is advocating for an immediate end to this practice by detailing the most important arguments against the practice of water fluoridation.
Why water shouldn’t be fluoridated
By Martin Mittelstaedt
Fluoridation has been with us for nearly 50 years, but the debate over the wisdom of adding trace amounts of a chemical to municipal water supplies to prevent dental cavities never seems to stop.
Paul Connett, a U.S. academic and public-health advocate, is the leading international spokesman for the movement to stop fluoridation. Along with co-writers James Beck and H.S. Micklem, he has just penned a book, The Case Against Fluoride, decrying the practice.
In Canada, British Columbia, Quebec and Newfoundland have almost no fluoridation. But residents of other provinces served by municipal systems are probably drinking fluoridated water. While fluoridation is common in Canada, the United States, and Australia, it’s practically not-existent in Europe and the rest of the world. Health Canada is a strong promoter of fluoridation, as are most dental associations, which say it’s a safe, low-cost way to prevent tooth decay, particularly among cavity-prone children.
But Dr. Connett, executive director of the Fluoride Action Network and professor emeritus of chemistry at St. Lawrence University in New York, disagrees. For his reasons, read on.
Before you became involved in this issue, you were skeptical that fluoride was harmful and thought critics of the practice were misguided. What changed your mind?
There were two things. The first was that fluoride interfered with hydrogen bonds, which are common in proteins and other important molecules in our bodies. That sent alarm bells ringing through my head. The second was that the level in mothers’ milk was incredibly low. When you see what nature’s take on it is, which is don’t give the baby much fluoride, then I felt this doesn’t make any sense to add it to water.
In the case of fluoridation, the water supply is being used as a drug-delivery mechanism to treat a medical condition. Why is this wrong, in your view?
It violates people’s right to informed consent, which has always been the strongest argument against fluoridation. We’ve never done it with other drugs. Since fluoridation began in 1945, not one other substance has been added to the water to address a health concern. You shouldn’t use the water supply to deliver medication, for obvious reasons. You can’t control the dose. You can’t control who will get it. There is no individual supervision. The whole practice doesn’t make sense from a medical point of view.
Tooth-decay rates have fallen at similar rates in advanced countries around the world, irrespective of whether the jurisdiction fluoridates. What is driving the trend?
One factor is the increasing standard of living. There is a much stronger relationship between falling tooth-decay rates and rising income levels than you’ll ever find with anything else. With higher incomes, you get better diets, you have parents with time to control their children’s diet and to look after their dental hygiene. Although I’m not promoting fluoridated toothpaste, it’s another possibility. Research has found that the benefits from fluoride are from topical applications, and not from ingesting it by swallowing it. Other factors might be the use of more antibiotics or preservatives in food. These might be altering or controlling the bacteria in our mouths that cause decay. But I don’t think anybody is absolutely convinced they know the reason.
Do you brush with a fluoridated toothpaste?
I haven’t brushed with a fluoridated toothpaste for 14 years. My teeth are fine.
The first U.S. fluoridation trial began in the mid-1940s. Would fluoridation pass a modern, drug-style clinical trial or risk assessment?
There is no way on planet Earth that you could get fluoridation through today. It’s only because it’s been an inherited practice and so much credibility is at stake for the medical community that keeps it going.
What are the health dangers from fluoridation?
I think we’re going to pay a huge price. I’m convinced, based on animal studies, clinical trials and epidemiological studies, that drinking fluoridated water for a whole lifetime will increase your risk of arthritis and also increase your risk of hip fractures, which is very serious in the elderly. The reason for these problems is that half the fluoride people ingest is stored in the bone. We may also have a problem with it lowering the IQ of children. There are 23 studies from four countries that have found a possible association between drinking naturally fluoridated water and lower IQ in children.
Alex talks with Paul Connett, PhD, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence University. Mr. Connett has voiced his concern over the dangers posed by fluoride and the very poor science underpinning its supposed efficacy in protecting children's teeth. Alex also covers the latest news and takes your calls.
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