When you hear the word fluoride, dental hygiene usually comes to mind. However, fluoride is also in our water sources and can be dangerous long term. Fluoride toxicity can sneak up on you and have many harmful effects on your body. Typically, fluoride toxicity occurs from ingesting water, not toothpaste. However, there is a compounding effect of our exposure to all fluoride sources. Here is a list of nine shocking dangers of fluoride toxicity. I highly recommend investigating if your drinking water source contains fluoride. Many municipalities actually add fluoride to public drinking water.
1. Skeletal Degeneration
Skeletal fluorosis is a bone disease caused by excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones. In advanced cases, skeletal fluorosis causes severe pain and damage to bones and joints (source). Most of the time this occurs from the long-term effects of drinking fluoridated water in excess beyond what is considered “safe.” Unfortunately, it is hard to say where the threshold of being “safe” lies.
2. Arthritis
Fluoride can cause calcification of cartilage, and, of course, cartilage is essential for joint health (source). Additionally, studies have liked skeletal fluorosis to degenerative osteoarthritis and knee conditions.
3. Inhibits Thyroid Function
The thyroid gland easily absorbs fluoride. Regrettably, the absorbed fluoride then takes the place of the thyroid’s much needed iodine. Iodine is essential to thyroid hormone production. Once absorbed, the fluoride inhibits thyroid function and causes cell death (source).
Also, doctors historically used fluoride to treat hyperthyroidism. Currently, the “safe” levels of fluoride allowed into our water systems actually match the amount used to reduce thyroid function (source). Essentially, if your municipalities provide you with fluoridated drinking water, you are being treated for hyperthyroidism!
4. Disrupts Sleep Cycle
The pineal glad regulates our sleep cycles. It produces the hormone melatonin, which helps maintain the circadian rhythm. It is now been proven that fluoride will accumulate in the pineal glad and cause calcification. This results in reduced melatonin production (source).
5. Affects Reproductive Hormones
Another function of the pineal glad is to regulate reproductive hormones. As a result of the calcification that occurs with fluoride ingestion, hormone reproductive functions are also disrupted.
6. Inhibits Fertility
A nationwide study shows a direct correlation between decreased fertility and increased fluoride levels in drinking water. Another study demonstrated reproductive hormone reduction in females after being exposed to fluoride. A third study links decreased testosterone concentrations in men drinking fluoridated water.
7. Harmful to Kidneys
Chronic kidney disease has been linked to areas with high levels of fluoride in their water systems (source, source). Additionally, researchers have found that it only takes fluoride levels in excess of 2mg/L to cause kidney damage in children (source). Typical water fluoridation is lower than this. However, children often ingest fluoride from toothpaste and other additional sources, likely causing their fluoride levels to rise past the 2mg/L mark.
8. Cardiac Inflammation
Research shows that fluoride toxicity can cause cardiovascular inflammation, as well as a build-up of plaque in the arteries (source).
9. Slowed Neurodevelopment
Two note-worthy studies analyzed the impact of fluoride on children’s neurodevelopment. One study concluded that children living in highly-fluoridated areas have five times higher odds of developing lower IQ than those who live in a nonfluorosis area (source). Another study showed children in high-fluoride areas had significantly lower IQ scores than those who lived in low-fluoride areas (source).
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