How else can you keep FLUORIDE out of your home?

Ten Ways that help.

  1. If you’re using a fluoridated toothpaste, consider switching to a non-fluoridated alternative (available at most health food stores). Young children, who don’t have well developed swallowing-reflexes, often swallow a lot of toothpaste when brushing, which can cause disfiguring dental fluorosis and contribute greatly to total systemic intake. Also, even when the toothpaste is not swallowed, the fluoride may cross the gum membrane and enter the bloodstream.
  2. If your child is using infant formula, it is imperative to avoid making the formula with fluoridated tap water. Infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water delivers a very high dose of fluoride to a young baby. For instance, infant formula produced with fluoridated water contains 100 to 200 times more fluoride (1,000 ppb) than is found naturally in breast milk (5-10 ppb). In fact, while breast-fed infants receive the LOWEST body burden (mg/kg/day) in the population, they receive the HIGHEST body burden if they receive fluoridated formula.
  3. Minimize consumption of processed beverages (e.g. soda and reconstituted juice). Soda and juice made from concentrate are often manufactured with fluoridated tap water, and hence, have fluoride levels similar to fluoridated water.
  4.  If you regularly drink non-organic wine or grape juice consider buying only organic varieties. Many commercially-grown grapes in the US are sprayed with a fluoride pesticide called Cryolite. The residues of this pesticide can result in high levels of fluoride in wine or grape juice. In the case of wine, if you don’t want to spend the extra money buying organic, consider purchasing a European brand instead of a Californian brand, as Europe uses much less cryolite on its vineyards.
  5. Be careful of drinking too much green or black tea. Tea almost always has elevated levels of fluoride and can contribute a substantial amount to one’s total fluoride intake.
  6. Minimize consumption of mechanically-deboned chicken. Mechanically deboned chicken (e.g. “Chicken McNuggets”) has been found to contain elevated levels of fluoride due to the incorporation of ground bone particles (which are high in fluoride) into the meat.
  7.  If you live in a country which allows fluoridated salt to be sold, make sure that the salt you buy is unfluoridated. Consumption of fluoridated salt can greatly increase a person’s fluoride exposure.
  8.  Check to see if any prescription medicines you are taking contain fluorine. If so, ask your doctor if there are any appropriate alternatives – as some fluorine-containing pharmaceuticals (e.g. Cipro) can metabolize into fluoride ion within the body, thereby increasing the body’s exposure to fluoride.
  9.  If you are going to have surgery, ask your doctors if they can use a non-fluorinated anesthetic. Fluorinated anesthetics such as Enflurane, Isoflurane and Sevoflurane will produce high peak levels of fluoride in blood for up to 24 hours.
  10.  Avoid the use of teflon-coated pans. Teflon-coated pans may increase the fluoride content of food.And of course, have some form of AlkaWay water filter.. either the jug, the AlkaStream or the water ionizer with fluoride prefilter for all of your drinking water!

Fluoride in Drinking Water shown to cause cancer

I am SO glad I’m drinking fluoride free water!

Taking The Pledge

Fluoride: A Primer

Fluoride: All about it

I’m posting this from the Water Quality Association’s website as a reminder of what fluoride is and is not. This week we had a lady call in and tell us that her friend, the chemical engineer had insisted that the only way to reduce fluoride in drinking water was through reverse osmosis. Not so. We use AA Media very successfully in our alkaStream water filter.
I chose the very conservative US EPA as source.

What it is:

Fluoride compounds are salts that form when fluorine combines with water and minerals in soil or rocks.
Fluoride is added to public drinking water supplies at about 1 milligram per liter (mg/L) for the purpose of reducing tooth decay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends 0.7 mg/L.
Fluoridation of municipal water is achieved by injecting or feeding a solution of hydrofluosilicic acid, sodium silicofluoride or sodium fluoride into the treated water stream.
Occurrence:

Fluorine is not found in nature due to its high reactivity. It is an irritating and toxic halogen gas that is one of the most powerful oxidizing agents known. It therefore occurs naturally only in the reduced (fluoride, Fl-) form in combination with other minerals.
Some fluoride compounds, such as sodium fluoride and fluorosilicates, dissolve easily into groundwater as it moves through gaps and pore spaces between rocks.
Most water supplies contain some naturally occurring fluoride.
Fluoride releases occur from aluminum plants which utilize hydrofluoric acid (HF) in the refining process.

Health effects:

Children under nine years of age exposed to levels of fluoride greater than about 2 mg/L may develop a condition known as mottling or discoloration of the permanent teeth. In certain cases the teeth become chalky white in appearance. Mild fluorosis is barely noticeable.
The MCL for fluoride is 4 mg/L to protect against skeletal fluorosis, which is a serious bone disorder characterized by extreme density, hardness and abnormal fragility of the bones.
Fluoride has been used in treatment of osteoporosis.
Regulation:

Some small water systems with naturally occurring fluoride must treat their water supply to remove the excess fluoride to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act limits. However, the cost is substantial and alternatives are employed where possible.
The maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) established by the federal government for fluoride in drinking water is 4.0 mg/L.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also set a secondary maximum contaminant level (SMCL) limit of 2.0 mg/L for aesthetic dental fluorosis.
Water treatment:

Activated alumina is probably the most common fluoride removal technology used in municipal systems. Activated alumina requires a two-step, caustic (NaOH) regeneration followed by acid (H2SO4) neutralization regeneration process. Iron modified alumina, and iron oxides and hydroxides are very effective.
Other effective fluoride removal technologies include: Reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, deionization and distillation.
Sources: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Quality Association (WQA).