In our effort to live healthy, eat well and avoid chemicals in our homes and diet we came across an excellent article on the hazards of flouridated water on smallfamilyfootprint.com. Please read it for the sake of your own and your family's health, you'll be educated and healthier!
"Ever wonder why most kids’ toothpastes have no fluoride? Because kids inevitably will swallow some paste, and fluoride is extremely TOXIC. In fact, eating a tube of toothpaste will kill a child (and seriously harm an adult), so be sure to keep any fluoride paste or mouthwash out of reach of little ones, just like you do with bathroom cleaners and medicines.
This begs the question:
Why are we putting a toxic chemical that everyone agrees should not be swallowed into our food and water supply in the first place?
Most people don’t know that the type of fluoride added to water supplies, toothpastes, and many beverages and foods is typically a waste product of the nuclear, aluminum, and phosphate (fertilizer) industries. The EPA has classified fluoride as a toxin. Fluoride is so toxic that, in addition to being a primary, active ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, pest fumigants and crop pesticides, fluoride is also an active ingredient in anesthetic, hypnotic, and psychiatric drugs, as well as nerve gas used by the military.
Under the U.S. Safe Water Drinking Act, it is illegal to dump fluoride in lakes, streams and oceans, but, for some strange reason, it’s OK to dump fluoride into our food and water supplies and then rub it into our teeth and gums twice a day. Hmmmmm.
Do we really want this stuff in our bodies at all, especially when there are non-toxic alternatives that work just as well?
Fluoride Is Not Effective
You might be worried about how removing fluoride from our drinking water or toothpaste might affect our teeth, but you needn’t be.
While topically-applied fluoride can help prevent tooth decay in people who eat poorly, all of the recent large-scale studies of water fluoridation have shown that there are no proven, positive effects from the practice. None. No proof. But there is plenty of proof of harm, including dental fluorosis, osteoporosis and bone scarring, brain tumors, fluoroderma, and more. In fact, the most recent Harvard study found that fluoride exposure can impair the neurological development of children!
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, the tooth decay rates of countries which do not fluoridate their water supplies are just as low, or even lower, than those countries which do. Furthermore, several studies published since 2000 have reported that there has been no increase in tooth decay rates noted in communities which ended water fluoridation.
Fluoridation is illegal, banned or just not used in an overwhelming number of countries, including most industrialized countries. Despite pressure from the dental industry, 97% of continental western Europe has rejected, banned, or stopped fluoridation due to environmental, health, legal, or ethical concerns. And yet, their children’s teeth are just as healthy as children’s teeth in the U.S! In fact, in many parts of Europe where traditional, whole food diets prevail, they are healthier.
The good news is that the voice of concerned, unbiased science is beginning to overwhelm all the pro-fluoride industry propaganda. For example, in November 2006, the American Dental Association advised parents to avoid giving fluoridated water to babies or using it to make formula.
That’s right: DO NOT GIVE FLUORIDATED TAP WATER TO BABIES OR USE IT TO MAKE FORMULA!
Take the advice, and protect yourself and your children by avoiding the consumption of fluoride.
Here’s more about the dangers of fluoride and how to keep your teeth healthy:
The Case Against Water Fluoridation – The not-so-nice history of fluoridation, health problems caused or worsened by fluoride, and how to reduce your exposure from the many unexpected sources of fluoride in your life.
The Real Cause of Tooth Decay (and How to Stop it Naturally) - What really causes cavities? It’s not what you think! Can you cure a cavity without a filling? Yes!
If you still have doubts, this movie from the Environmental Working Group expertly sums up how and why to avoid fluoride wherever you can."
If you still have doubts, this movie from the Environmental Working Group expertly sums up how and why to avoid fluoride wherever you can."
As stated in the video Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment is the ONLY effective way to remove flouride from your household water and help protect your family from the effects of flouridated water. Purisoft Water Solutions has the lowest price on top quality systems for your home.
According to Health Canada, 45.1% of Canadians drink fluoridated public water, you can see if your water supply is floridated here. 75.9% of Ontario has an artificially fluoridated water-supply.
*sources- smallfootprintfamily.com, holisticmed.com, fluoridation.com, fluoridealert.org, hsph.harvard.edu, theregenesisproject.com, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Homemade No-Fluoride Toothpaste
- 3 Tbsp. baking soda (mild abrasive)
- 1 Tbsp. finely ground sea salt (mild antibacterial, whitener and good for the gums)
- A few drops peppermint, spearmint, anise, clove or cinnamon barkessential oil, according to the taste you want (be sparing, they are very strong)
- 1 tsp. xylitol or a few drops of liquid stevia (optional but highly recommended; xylitol helps prevent tooth decay naturally)
- 1/2 tsp. finely ground dried sage (optional; sage is antimicrobial)
- organic virgin coconut oil, softened but not liquified
- Grind sea salt in a small coffee grinder, if needed, to make as powdery as possible.
- Mix all ingredients except the coconut oil to taste. You can stop at this stage and use this as a tooth powder if you wish.
- Mix in a teaspoon of coconut oil at a time until you find the right consistency for your paste.
- Put into a small, sealable jar or squeezable container and keep in a relatively cool place.
- Brush.
- Don’t forget to floss!
