A friend with a five month old baby asked me what type of water you should mix in formula and so I tried to find the best choice for mothers who are formula feeding.
There is a growing body of scientific evidence that the health benefits of fluoridated water are based on outdated research. Adding fluoride to the water began in 1940’s when research suggested that fluoridated water might help reduce tooth decay. The new research suggests that the benefits for tooth development have been exaggerated and that fluoride consumption can also adversely affect bone development leading to weakened bones and in some young boys is correlated with increased risk of a rare type of bone cancer.1
While this research hasn’t reached a mainstream audience, the sources of the new research are from credible scientific institutions. Scientific American published an article in January 2008 titled “Second Thoughts about Fluoride” and a controversy at Harvard developed when a PhD student “found a “robust” five to seven fold increase in a rates of a rare form of bone cancer in young boys exposed to fluoridated water.”2
Health experts do all agree that fluoridated water should not be added to baby formula. The American Dental Association recognizing the need to minimize the risks for infants says:
“If liquid concentrate or powdered infant formula is the primary
source of nutrition, it can be mixed with water that is fluoride free
or contains low levels of fluoride to reduce the risk of fluorosis.
Examples are water that is labeled purified, demineralized, deionized,
distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water.”3
WHAT TO FEED YOUR KIDS:
Infant formula should be mixed with water that is free of all chemicals and drugs. PLEASE don’t go out of your way to get fluoride in infants under one. If your pediatrician recommends fluoride supplementation, please print out the statement from the ADA and bring it to them.
Fluoride is a chemical and should not be swallowed in toothpaste form by anyone and we don’t need any more research to confirm this. Any child who might swallow toothpaste should use a fluoride free brand like Tom’s of Maine or vanilla ice cream flavored Baby Bling (which we use) to prevent fluorinosis.
1.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8570930/
2.http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514580
3.http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/positions/statements/fluoride_infants.asp
nyscof - In a statement first released August 9, 2007, over 1,500 professionals urge Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. (http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html)
Signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology, two officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, the President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide.
Signer Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine, says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It’s really obsolete.”
An Online Action Petition to Congress in support of the Professionals’ Statement is available on FAN’s web site, http://www.fluorideaction.org/congress .
“The NRC report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride’s health risks,” says Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network. “Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report,” he added.
The Professionals’ Statement also references:
— The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water.
— The CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic.
— CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children.
— Major research indicating little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
— A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.
— The silicofluoride chemicals used for fluoridation are contaminated industrial waste and have never been FDA- approved for human ingestion.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC watchdog, revealed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for three years. EWG President Ken Cook states, “It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it’s as easy to end as turning off a valve at the water plant.”
Further, researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007 British Medical Journal indicate that fluoridation, touted as a safe cavity preventive, never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical. (1)
In New York State, Cobeskill stopped 54 years of fluoridation in 2007, the Central Bridge Water District stopped fluoridation in 2006, Homer in 2005, Canton in 2003. Oneida rejected fluoridation in 2002. Ithaca rejected fluoridation in 2002. Johnstown rejected it in 1999. Before that several towns in Nassau County stopped fluoridation. Suffolk County rejected fluoridation in the 1990’s.
On October 2, 2007 Juneau Alaska voters rejected fluoridation despite the American Dental Association’s $150,000 political campaign to return fluoride into the water supply after the legislative body voted it out.
Many communities rejected or stopped fluoridation over the years. See: http://www.fluoridealert.org/communities.htm
SOURCE: Fluoride Action Network http://www.FluorideAction.Net
References:
(1) “Adding fluoride to water supplies,” British Medical Journal, KK Cheng, Iain Chalmers, Trevor A. Sheldon, October 6, 2007
Lauren - Interesting post. My sister in law grew up in Idaho – a town close to hers had water with too much fluorine and many of the children ended up with brown teeth….. and who knows what else will develop as they get older.