Fluoride may detrimentally affect the intelligence of children and this risk should not be ignored. This was the authors’ emphatic conclusion of a recent study evaluating the effects of fluoridated water on the developing human brain.
Recently, scientists from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and China Medical University in Shenyang reviewed 27 studies and found compelling indications that fluoride may negatively impact cognitive development in children.
Study finds fluoride lowers IQ and is toxic to the brain.
In the research published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers systematically evaluated studies from China. Based on the results of the comprehensive analysis, lead author, Anna Choi, said the researchers want to ensure that impaired cognitive development is considered a possible effect of fluoride toxicity by the scientific community.
Choi, along with senior author Philippe Grandjean and their team, examined the studies involving over 8,000 children exposed to fluoride from drinking water. After analyzing possible associations with IQ, all but one of the 27 studies indicated high fluoride levels in water can impair cognitive development.
The average loss of IQ was seven points. However, some of the research papers they looked at suggested that even a small amount of fluoride exposure can be toxic to the brain. Furthermore, children who lived in high-fluoride regions had substantially lower intelligence scores than those who lived in low fluoride regions.
Author characterizes fluoride’s brain drain effect as serious.
Grandjean summarizes the implications of the study by asserting that fluoride causes a brain drain effect like that of mercury, lead and other poisons. “The effect of each toxicant may seem small, but the combined damage on a population scale can be serious, especially because the brain power of the next generation is crucial to all of us,” he explains.
Fluoride builds up within the body. Even small doses are harmful to babies and heavy water drinkers, as well as thyroid and kidney patients.
Researchers from earlier studies express grave concerns about fluoride.
Investigators in the current study are not the first to express concerns about fluoride’s harmful effect on the brain. In a study published in the June 23, 2011 issue of Neurologia, researchers Valdez-Jimenez, et al. warn that the prolonged ingestion of fluoride can cause significant harm to health, especially the nervous system. They recommended that the public avoid the use of toothpaste and other fluoridated items, especially children because they are more vulnerable to the toxicity of this chemical. The research team describes how fluoride alters the brain’s physical structure and biochemistry, resulting in impaired learning and cognition.
Valdez-Jimenez, et al. explain that fluoride can be toxic in as little as one part per million (ppm) and the effects are not manifested immediately, as they can take 20 years to develop. It should be noted that the concentration of fluoride in U.S. public drinking water is one ppm.
And there’s more. A different study published in 2008 in Biological Trace Element Research uncovered “a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ.”
So there you have it. Scientists involved in fluoride research have expressed their concerns in no uncertain terms. In response to the recent study, Paul Beeber, president of New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation is calling for a stop to artificial fluoridation. He points out that even if fluoridation prevents cavities, teeth health is not more important than brain health.
Well said, Mr. Beeber.
Sources:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/features/fluoride-childrens-health-grandjean-choi.html
Mary West is a natural health enthusiast, as she believes this area can profoundly enhance wellness. She is the creator of a natural healing website where she focuses on solutions to health problems that work without side effects. You can visit her site and learn more at http://www.alternativemedicinetruth.com. Ms. West is also the author of Fight Cancer Through Powerful Natural Strategies.
