The following 10 tips will allow you to significantly reduce your daily exposure to fluoride.
1) Stop Drinking Fluoridated Water:
Tap water consumption is, on average, the largest daily source of
fluoride exposure for people who live in areas that add fluoride to the
water. Avoiding consumption of fluoridated water is especially critical
for
infants. If you live in area which fluoridates its water, you can avoid drinking the fluoride in one of three ways:
- Water Filters: One way of avoiding the fluoride
from tap water is to purchase a water filter. Not all water filters,
however, remove fluoride. The three types of filters that can remove
fluoride are reverse osmosis, deionizers (which use ion-exchange
resins), and activated alumina. Each of these filters should be able to
remove about 90% of the fluoride. By contrast, “activated carbon”
filters (e.g., Brita & Pur) do not remove fluoride. For more
information on water filters, click here.
- Spring Water: Another way to avoid fluoride from
tap water is to purchase spring water. Most brands of spring water
contain very low levels of fluoride. Some brands, however, do contain
high levels (e.g., Trinity Springs). Before consuming any bottled water
on a consistent basis, therefore, you should verify that the fluoride
content is less than 0.2 ppm, and ideally less than 0.1 ppm. You can
find out the level of fluoride level in some of the popular brands here. You
can also find out the fluoride level by calling the number on the water
label. (Most companies have this information readily available.)
- Water Distillation: A third way to avoid fluoride
from the tap is to purchase a distillation unit. Water distillation will
remove most, if not all, of the fluoride. The price for a distillation
units varies widely depending on the size. Small counter-top units cost
as little as $200, while large units can exceed $1,000.
If you don’t know if your area is fluoridated, you can find out by
contacting your local water department. If you live in the U.S., you can
also find out by going to FAN’s
State Fluoride Database.
2) Don’t Let Your Child Swallow Fluoride Toothpaste
Fluoride toothpaste is often the largest single source of fluoride intake for young children, and is a major risk factor for disfiguring
dental fluorosis. This is because children swallow a large amount of the paste that they put in their mouth. In fact,
research
has shown that it is not uncommon for young children to swallow more
fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended as an entire day’s
ingestion from all sources.
If you have a young child, therefore, we recommend that you use a
non-fluoride toothpaste. If, however, you do use fluoride toothpaste,
it’s very important that you supervise your children while they brush to
make sure they use no more than a “pea-sized amount” of paste, and that
they fully rinse and spit after they finish. And, lastly, do
not
purchase candy flavored toothpaste (e.g., bubble-gum and watermelon) as
these toothpastes (which still contain adult-strength concentrations of
fluoride) increase the
risk that your children will swallow it (and actually
want to swallow it).
3) Do NOT Get Fluoride Gel Treatments at the Dentist
Although dental researchers have stated on numerous occasions that
fluoride gel treatment should ONLY be used for patients at highest risk
of cavities, many dentists continue to apply
fluoride gels irrespective
of the patient’s cavity risk. The fluoride gel procedure requires the
patient to clamp down on a tray for 4 minutes and uses an extremely
concentrated, acidic fluoride gel (12,300 ppm). Because of the fluoride
gel’s high acidity, the saliva glands produce a large amount of saliva
during the treatment, which makes it extremely difficult (both for
children and adults) to avoid swallowing the gel.
Even when dentists use precautionary measures such as suction
devices, children and adults still ingest significant quantities of the
paste, which can cause incredibly high spikes of fluoride in the blood
(for up to 15 hours). These fluoride levels place patients, particularly
children, at risk for stomach pain, nausea and vomiting, and places a
person at risk for short-term kidney damage, harm to the reproductive
system, and impairment to glucose metabolism. The next time your dentist
asks you whether you want a fluoride gel treatment, say NO.
4) Eat More Fresh Food, Less Processed Food
When water is fluoridated, it is not just the water that is
fluoridated, but all beverages and foods that are made with the water.
As a general rule, therefore, the more
processed a food is, the more fluoride it has. The good news is that the
naturally occurring levels
of fluoride in most fresh water (e.g., spring water) and most fresh
food (e.g., fruits, vegetables, grain, eggs, milk) is very low. Use this
fact to your advantage by trying to shift as much as you can from
processed foods to fresh. Also, since processed beverages (e.g., sodas,
reconstituted juices, sports drinks) contribute far more to fluoride
intake than processed foods, it is most important to focus on reducing
your consumption of processed beverages. For more detailed information
on how you can cut down on your fluoride intake from processed foods,
see
“FAN’s Grocery Store Guide: 7 Ways to Avoid Fluoride in Beverages and Food.”
5) Buy Organic Grape Juice and Wine
