Some controversial claims – for example that the world is flat or that apricot kernels can cure cancer – are really easy to refute. But what happens when a claim seems to have been backed up by solid research – no less by scientists from the prestigious American Harvard University? This is the case with fluoride in drinking water, a practice that has been practiced for decades and which has consistently reduced tooth decay in children and adults.
But some people believe fluoridation is dangerous – and try to stop it by spreading scare tactics.
A very small group think it’s downright evil, claiming it was invented by Nazis or the American government or lizards from space as a form of mind control to turn us all into zombies. This is very easy to debunk. When was the last time you saw a zombie with beautiful teeth?
Recently, it has been claimed that there is scientific evidence that fluoride in water lowers children’s IQs, and this has been “proven” by scientists at Harvard.
So does fluoride in drinking water make you stupid, and did Harvard scientists say that? No and no.
The study, usually cited by anti-fluoride activists, is from 2012. It was actually written by Harvard scientists – a team led by Anna Choi of the university’s Department of Environmental Health – and it actually says, that “the results support the possibility of an undesirable effect”. Effect of high fluoride exposure on the neurological development of children ”.
That much is true, but to say that your drinking water can make you stupid is wrong. The anti-fluoride folks make two assumptions: that you won’t actually read the scientists’ paper; and if you do you won’t understand.
The key to the paper’s conclusion is the term “high fluoride exposure”. Choi’s team looked at previous studies that looked at whether large amounts of fluoride were dangerous. Some of the studies involved samples that were too small to be useful; Most other studies, however, found that large amounts of fluoride in the water were toxic.
But that wasn’t really a surprise to anyone. Many substances that are good in small doses are really dangerous with a sack: nutmeg, for example, salt or even water.
The studies examined by Choi and her team involved parts of the world – mostly Iran and China – where the natural fluoride levels in the water were extremely high, sometimes up to 10 or 11 milligrams per liter.
The fluoride content in normal drinking water is around 1 milligram per liter in Australia and between 0.7 and 2 milligrams per liter in the USA. These levels are well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s safe maximum of 4 milligrams per liter.
Study after study has shown that 1 to 2 milligrams of fluoride per liter in water is not only safe but also good for you – provided you want to avoid fillings and extractions as much as possible.
So the next time you hear that the fluoride in your tap water is rotting your brain and was likely brought there by alien lizards, you can safely ignore it.
Except for the lizard bit. Lizards from space would be a real problem.
Comments are closed.