Positive Health Online

One of the current hot topics when it comes to our public water supply is the Government’s intention to fluoridate all the UK water supply. Currently about 15% of the water supply has fluoride added, primarily in West Midlands and North East England.  The fluoride debate has ebbed and flowed over the last 4 or 5 decades since fluoride was first added to the public water supply in the UK.

The primary reason that the Government’s medical officers promote to justify adding fluoride to the water supply is to improve dental health.  However the science to justify its benefits for improved dental health is questionable. No mention was made of the role that diet and in particular excess sugar consumption was contributing to poor dental health.  You would have thought a campaign encouraging lowered sugar consumption would have been preferable. After all, it would not just improve dental health it would also have marked benefits in improving many other areas of health, particularly blood sugar imbalances leading to diabetes.

Image originally published in  The Hazards of Water Fluoridation by Dr Graeme Munro-Hall and Dr Lilian Munro-Hall originally published in Issue 93 - October 2003.

Is the Science Conclusive?  Safe and Effective?

Currently the Health and Care Bill is being debated in Parliament. This has a policy paper that sets “Water fluoridation is an effective and safe public health intervention recommended by the World Health Organization that would benefit adults and children, reduce oral health inequalities and offer a significant return on investment”  However many scientists have concluded that it is neither safe nor effective. 

If this Bill which is going through Parliament is passed it gives ministers power to roll out fluoridation throughout the country.  Of course the programme is championed by dentists who may have limited expertise in determining the impact of anything that is ingested.  An open and honest debate needs to be carried out and the views of those in both sides of  scientific community and the general public must be considered. Mass medication through the water supply is a very serious infringement on the liberty of the public.  It is also a one-size-fits-all approach with serious potential negative effects.

Interestingly, the World Health Organization has stated that long term exposure to drinking water with more than 1.5parts per million (ppm) can lead to health problems. UK companies with fluoridation schemes already in place dose the water supply at 1ppm. The US does fluoridate much of its public water supply. However it reduced its safe levels to 0.7ppm in 2015.

Fluoride is found naturally in soil and water. It is not an essential mineral for the body. However the fluoride that is found naturally is very different to what is dosed into water treatment works. Much of that is derived from a toxic by-product of the aluminium smelting industry.

Possible Negative Effects of Fluoride

Over the years there have been concerns raised as to the detrimental effects that fluoride can have on general health. Although the primary benefit is understood to be on improved dental health, the research is not so conclusive as its proponents would like us to believe.  Continual ingestion of fluoride can result in it building up in the body; you never get rid of it.

The primary areas of concern are its negative effects on the thyroid, the brain and the skeletal system. We believe that the research in these areas should be taken into account before a mass medication of the whole population is commenced. However rather than mass medication, a programme to educate people on health and the need of taking personal responsibility would be a far better approach.

The International Academy of Oral and Toxic medicine which has campaigned against fluoridation in the US has given a list of disease problems where there is a proven scientific connection to the ingestion of fluoride. Their detail sheet with the supporting scientific references can be accessed at https://files.iaomt.org/wp-content/uploads/IAOMT-Fact-Sheet-on-Fluoride-and-Human-Health.pdf

Where a lot of the guidelines for a maximum level of fluoride is concerned have their limitations is that the volumes of water that people drink can be vastly different with many people drinking less than 1 litre of water per day and others consuming 3 or more litres per day. This greatly affects the amount of fluoride ingested, and more so if at the same time they are using a fluoride toothpaste.

Need to Change our Perspective on Water

If we are to be a healthy nation there needs to be a completely different view of the role of water in health. Sadly it is increasingly viewed as a transportation mechanism for compounds that have little place in the human body. Without healthy water being freely available, it is not going to be possible for people to enjoy optimum health.

Over the last few decades there have been significant advances in the understanding of the important role that water can play in human health. Most decisions are made from a purely chemistry or engineering perspective, missing very important considerations of other properties of water, which are often disregarded as being mythical.

The late Professor of Material Science at Arizona University, Rustum Roy who held a total of 5 professorships published a very important article on the structure of water which if accepted would greatly change the perception of water and the decision making as to how water is treated, transported and used. It would I am sure greatly contribute to the health of the nation. His published scientific paper can be accessed here.

https://wateringwhole.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Rustum-Roy-study.pdf

There are Personal Solutions If Needed to Avoid Drinking Fluoridated Water

Should water fluoridation proceed throughout the country then people will have to take steps individually to install domestic point of use filters to remove it. Fluoride is much more difficult to remove than chlorine and many commonly used filters are not able to remove it. However specialist filters can achieve its removal.

The accepted logic is to use systems such as remove reverse osmosis filters or distillation to do so. They are effective; however they do have a downside in that they remove everything from the water, good and bad. For water to have health benefits it requires minerals so as to promote better structure and consequently better absorption. Water without alkaline minerals tends to acidity and is not health promoting. Fortunately there are newer solutions that can not only give you clean water including fluoride removal at the same time as providing you with water that is going to enhance wellbeing.

One of the foremost researchers and thinkers in the field of water science, Professor Gerald Pollack has concluded that the structure of the water that surrounds our cells has a huge impact on the health and integrity of the cell.  He has written several books on the subject including The Fourth Phase of Water, which is a very good source of the cutting edge research that Dr Pollack has undertaken.

In conclusion, we consider that adding fluoride to the public health supply is a negative step in terms of enhancing human health. It is important that people become aware of the potential dangers and proactively take steps to limit any negative effects by removing it, should the proposed roll out actually happen. Proper hydration is vitally important for human health. We need to understand the life giving properties of this unique compound, and treat it respectfully.

Further Information

This article was contributed by Roddy MacDonald founder of Water for Health Ltd who are specialists in supplying innovative products to enhance hydration and nutrition. www.water-for-health.co.uk