Fluoride: Good for Your Teeth, Bad for Thyroid?
Fluoride is currently sold as helpful for dental health. It is included in toothpastes and added to public water supply all in order to improve oral hygiene in the populace.
Fluoride is believed to help prevent dental caries, and public water fluoridation was described by the US Center for Disease Control as one of the 10 greatest public health intervention of the last century.
There is still a wide acceptance of the need for fluoridating the population but there is a growing concern now among experts that fluoride not only provides insignificant benefits for oral hygiene but is also the cause of a rising number of medical conditions.
After many years of forcing fluoride on ourselves, the results of long-term studies are in and they do not look pretty.
The study results show that years of taking in fluoride from different sources contributed significantly to the rising number of people who develop hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia and other autoimmune and degenerative diseases.
Fluoride and Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism, the most pronounced result of indiscriminate fluoridation, causes such medical conditions as lethargy, depression, heart disease, mental retardation and cretinism.
Once, fluoride was used as a solution for thyroid problems.
Experts used to believe that the amounts of fluoride obtained from fluoridated water, toothpastes and other sources are not enough to fully impair thyroid functioning. Research findings now prove them wrong.
In fact, scientists at the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) believe that there was no need for fluoridation in the first place. They have proven that fluorides harm us so much that any benefit to the teeth is inconsequential.
Other Harmful Effects of Fluoride
Thyroid dysfunction is, however, not the worst legacy of years of accumulated fluoride toxicity. That title belongs to fibromyalgia. In fact, 90% of patients who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia also have hypothyroidism.
Because fluoride is so toxic that it disrupts normal thyroid functioning, it also slows metabolism, and is believed to be a big contributor to the rising incidence of obesity in the population.
The thyroid is, however, not the only organ in the body affected by fluoride poisoning. It also affects every organ and its harmful effect can be seen in every organ-system from the simple digestive system to the complex immune system.
Sources of Fluoride
Yet, fluoridated water and toothpastes are not the biggest sources of fluoride poisoning.
Antibiotics are the worst offenders. While they do not contain a lot of fluorides, they do have it in even more harmful forms.
It should be noted though that not all antibiotics contain fluorides but those which do should be avoided where possible.
Other sources of fluorides to avoid include infant formula prepared with fluoridated tap water, fluoride pesticides, fluoridated salt and green tea. Green tea (and even black tea) is implicated because its leaves accumulate dangerous leaves of fluoride.
Those who drink water from wells are not totally protected either since fluoride is present in ground water too.
To be rid of fluoride in your drinking water, you need to switch to distilled water or at least filter your own water source. Reverse osmosis water filters are effective for removing fluoride.
To reverse the damage caused by years of taking fluorides, you should start on these minerals and vitamin supplements: Vitamin B complex and D, magnesium and iodine. Vitamin C and other antioxidants are also recommended because fluoride is known to produce a lot of harmful free radicals.
