Before we are born we are exposed to a constellation of chemicals in our mother’s body. I’m not talking about essential building blocks for life: I’m talking about synthetic man-made chemical compounds that have no biological necessity, skirted around safety testing, and have exploded in our environment to our own detriment in the last century.

The 21st century has really become the age of the chemical. We have saturated our world in a multitude of synthetic chemicals designed to sanitize, sterilize, preserve, flavor, color, or even kill everything we touch. Our attempts to make something safer or last longer is backfiring.

From fluoride to parabens to flame retardants, we are slowly poisoning the very home we live in, the very body we inhabit, even our own children. A monster of our own design, these chemicals are slowly killing us.

Untested Chemicals

There are more than 80,000 chemicals registered for use today, most of which have never been studied for safety by any government agency. More than 60,000 commercial chemicals were “grandfathered in” to the market in the 1960s without safety testing. Every year thereafter, 2,000 new chemicals are added to the market.

Looking back, we have so many examples of drugs, chemicals, pesticides, medical procedures, being banned after years (sometimes decades) in use, because they were found to be harmful and deadly. But we didn’t know it at the time, and we fatefully put our trust in them.

Thalidomide, DDT, lobotomies–may (sort of) be things of the past, but we have contemporary versions hiding in plain sight–fluoride? Amalgam fillings? Vaccines? Pesticides?

Persistent organic pollutants like DDT (used in pesticides) and PCBs (used as a flame retardant) banned by the EPA 20 years ago are finally decreasing in Arctic fish and wildlife like polar bears thousands of miles away. That means these chemicals are still coursing through our bodies, 20 years later, too.

In 2015, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics acknowledges that “exposure to toxic environmental chemicals during pregnancy and breastfeeding is ubiquitous and is a threat to healthy human reproduction.”

The Endocrine Society confirmed there are “hundreds or more of exogenous chemicals, or mixtures of chemicals, that interfere with any aspect of hormone action.”

Harvard School of Public Health asserts that “chemical exposure has been linked to rising rates in breast cancer, asthma, autism, reproductive problems, and other health issues… Many chemicals in personal care products have never been tested for safety, and may also accumulate and interact in potentially harmful ways.”

Yet so much is unknown about non-infectious disease

• According to the National Cancer Institute: “The causes of most childhood cancers are not known.“
• According to the National Institute of Health, “Scientists don’t know exactly what causes autism spectrum disorder (ASD).”
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said “Health care providers and researchers don’t know the exact causes of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).”
• The Epilepsy Foundation has said: “What’s true for every age is that the cause is unknown for about half of everyone with epilepsy.”

 

There are thousands of chemicals I could cover, but this one…fluoride…is added to our water without our consent. It’s in EVERYTHING. And it’s the perfect trojan horse.

Fluoride

Whether it’s in a glass of water or sitting on the tip of your toothbrush, fluoride is a neurotoxin. There are several types of fluoride in our environment:

Calcium Fluoride

Calcium Fluoride (‎CaF₂) is generally considered the least toxic of the fluorides. Calcium fluoride is a naturally occurring inorganic compound naturally present in some waters, like ocean water and some spring waters. This type of fluoride is NOT what’s in our toothpaste or *added* to our drinking water.

Calcium fluoride is insoluble and less bioavailable than other forms of synthetic fluoride.  Interestingly, calcium is the antidote for fluoride poisoning, so fluoride naturally occurring with calcium was no mistake of nature. Calcium decreases the bioavailability of fluoride.

However, excessive doses of this naturally occurring calcium fluoride poses some noteworthy health risks: ranging from mild to severe dental fluorosis (staining or pitting of the teeth) to skeletal fluorosis (the accumulation of fluoride in the bone) as the level and period of exposure increases. The early symptoms of skeletal fluorosis, include stiffness and pain in the joints. In severe cases, the bone structure may change and ligaments may calcify, with resulting impairment of muscles and pain.

High concentrations of fluoride in groundwater associated with certain types of rock (granites and gneisses) have been reported from India, Pakistan, West Africa, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, and Southern Africa.

Sodium Fluoride

Sodium Fluoride (NaF) is an inorganic compound and is soluble in water. It is bioavailable and therefore used in the production of pharmaceuticals and is used in toothpastes and mouthwashes.

Before its discovery for use in preventing dental cavities, Sodium Fluoride was used as a rat pesticide. In its purest form sodium fluoride can eat through concrete.

Fluorosilicic Acid

Fluorosilicic Acid (H₂SiF₆ ) is a by product of the phosphate fertilizer industry, but it was once a byproduct of the aluminum industry as well.

Phosphate rock deposits are converted into soluble phosphates which are more bioavailable to plants. Acid treatment of rock phosphates releases hydrogen fluoride and silicon fluoride.

The process releases toxic gaseous compounds by treatment with sulfuric (or phosphoric acid), and calcining method:

In 1934, the International Labour Office (5) published the following statements concerning health and environmental problems observed in the superphosphate industry:

Fluoride’s Use for Teeth First Discovered From Aluminum Byproduct

Bauxite, Arkansas was once considered the “Aluminum Capital of the World”. Founded in 1888, the town was known for an aluminum mine owned by ALCOA (Aluminum Company of America), and eventually became known for a health defect: Bauxite Teeth. Smelting bauxite into aluminum releases fluorides as a waste byproduct, which wound up in the town’s water supply, causing everyone to be poisoned just enough to mottle and stain their teeth.

The aluminum industry is the reason we have fluoride in our water today.

Health Concerns of Fluoride

The chronic toxic effects of fluoride often include dental and skeletal fluorosis, but the biggest concern may be its effects on the brain. The association between excessive ingestion of fluoride and dental mottling (fluorosis) was initially discovered over a century ago by Frederick Sumner McKay a practicing dentist in Colorado Springs area and G. V. Black.

Fluoride can cross the blood brain barrier prior to birth and has been reported to affect mental development, learning disorders, and decrease intelligence and hyperactivity in children. In fetal brain, the levels of the neurotransmitters and the number of receptors are also reported to decrease in endemic fluoride areas.

The fetal brain is also susceptible to fluoride poisoning. Fluoride effects the fetal brain tissues and results in remark-able neurological damage, neuronal degeneration, and reduced secretion of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine. In addition, fluoride disrupts the secretion of certain neurotransmitters and nerve cell receptors and results in neural dysplasia.

Countries that have synthetic fluoridation added to their water supply, have on average, higher child mortality rates. Infants and children have a higher water to food intake, with liquids comprising all of an infants diet before the age of one.

A 2019 study found that maternal exposure to higher amounts of fluoride during pregnancy is associated with lower IQ scores in their children aged 3 to 4 years.

A 2019 review found “The recent epidemiological results support the notion that elevated fluoride intake during early development can result in IQ deficits that may be considerable.”

A 2018 review discusses “aspects of fluoride are related to toxicity of the developing brain and how it may possibly result in the decrease of intelligence quotient (IQ), autism, and calcification of the pineal gland. In addition, it has been reported to have possible effects on bone and thyroid glands.” 

Autism rates are higher in countries with synthetic fluoridation, and tend to cluster in geographical regions with synthetic fluoridation. Beverly Hills, California was the only area fluoridated in Los Angeles County in the 1990s. The rest of LA added fluoridation by 1999. Water fluoridation is one possible explanation for this spacial cluster of autism.

Specific Sources of Fluoride

Dental Products:

• toothpaste
• mouth wash
• fluoride varnish
• fluoride tablets and drops

 

Processed Food and Beverages:

Processed foods made with fluoridated water, or plants grown in fluoridated areas have been shown to have high levels of fluoride, such as:

• kombucha
• wine
• juice
• soda
• beer
• sports drinks
• chicken nuggets
• processed baby food

 

Because fluoride is stored in bones, food processed from animal bones or made with bones would also contain higher amounts of fluoride.

Another danger for infants in some countries are fluoride drops. In many places around the world, infants are prescribed fluoride drops or tablets, as has been the case for decades.

Only recently was the age lifted to 6 months old in the United States, but many countries still recommend fluoride from birth.

Pesticides:

Sulphuryl Fluoride is a common pesticide and fumigant used in the home as a fumigant and can cause serious harm to children. It’s also used on and near food products:

• raisins
• dried fruits
• nuts
• dried beans
• cocoa beans
• coffee beans
• grains
• walnuts

 

Fluoride Containing Medications:

• Prozac
• Paxil
• the class of antibiotic Fluoroquinolones that go by the names Cipro and Levaquin, and Lexapro, to name a few

 

In 2008, the FDA required seven fluoroquinolone antibiotics to add a black-box warning because they pose a risk of tendinitis and increase the risk of a tendon rupture by three to four times.

Fluoroquinolone (FQ) antibiotics were associated with an increased odds of serious arrhythmic event (SAE) from 7 up to 90 days after taking them.

Teflon Cookware:

Cooking food, or boiling water, in teflon pans may increase the fluoride content of foods. In one study, it was found that boiling water in a teflon pan for just 15 minutes added an additional 2 ppm of fluoride to the water, thus bringing the final concentration to 3 ppm. (Source)

The Teflon chemical PFOA and its poisoning of an entire region of the Ohio Valley is what inspired the film Dark Waters.

Fresh Foods & Water:

In the United States, 74% of the population receives artificially fluoridated water, which works out to about 318 million people. This water is also used to irrigate our agriculture and farmland. The plants and animals we eat are consuming fluoridated water which increases its ppm in a body.

The typical amount of fluoride in water is set around 1 ppm (0.7 to 1.2 ppm). The Environmental Protection Agency has set the current enforceable drinking water standard for fluoride at 4.0 mg/L, or 4 ppm.

Each community varies, you can look at how much fluoride is in your water by accessing your water company’s water quality report.

Fluoride in drinking water has been shown to increase a child’s risk for bone cancer by 5 times.

What Countries Fluoridate?

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• Chile
• Hong Kong
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• United States
• United Kingdom

What Countries Reject Fluoridation?

• Austria
• Belgium
• Finland
• France
• Greece
• Germany
• Hungary
• Netherlands
• Northern Ireland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Iceland
• Italy
• Japan
• China

What About the Cavities?

Studies have shown in countries where water fluoridation was discontinued, cavities did not increase, but actually continued to decrease. A community in Canada had fewer cavities after cessation of water fluoridation. Same thing happened in Finland. And Germany. And Cuba too.

Rather than naturally occurring calcium fluoride, which is not nearly as toxic as synthetic fluoride, our water is filled with synthetic fluoride. Hydrofluorosilicic Acid is added to the water in the United States, and is a phosphate fertilizer waste byproduct. It is not naturally occurring. This industrial chemical (lacking the calcium ion which is the antidote for fluoride poisoning) is highly corrosive, contains significant amounts of arsenic and aluminum, and has been shown to dissolve concrete, and leach lead and other metals from water delivery plumbing.

Fluoride can induce oxidative stress, regulate intracellular redox homeostasis, and lead to mitochondrial damage, endoplasmic reticulum stress and alter gene expression.

The neurotransmitter glutamate and its receptor declined during Sodium Fluoride exposure.

Why Is Fluoride Added To Water?

In 1901, a young dentist named Frederick McKay moved to Colorado Spring, Colorado to open a dental practice. Soon, he discovered that many locals had brown, mottled teeth, which today we know as severe dental fluorosis. Amazingly, he noticed these people’s teeth were mottled and brown, but they did not have any cavities. He was not able to diagnose the cause of the brown mottling until 1923, when he heard of another community riddled with brown, mottled teeth: Bauxite, Arkansas. The town was owned by The Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), who has a large aluminum plant in the city.

Water fluoridation with sodium fluoride first began in city of Grand Rapids, Michigan in January 25, 1945. After that, many communities began water fluoridation but all communities currently use hydrofluorosilicic acid.

Fluoride ingestion has devastating effects to a developing brain, and has been shown to lower IQ. Fluoride ingestion enhances the uptake of aluminum, and forms fluoride aluminum complexes which is a more neurotoxic compound. Aluminum accumulation in the brain is observed in Alzheimer’s and Autism.

Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea have 100 percent of their water fluoridated and have the world’s lowest fertility rates, and one of the highest rates of Autism.

Many of the infants who died suddenly after Infanrix Hexa were concurrently being medicated with a fluoride product. In the body, fluoride can bind with aluminum to form an aluminum fluoride complex, which can pass through the Blood Brain Barrier. The excess of both fluoride and aluminum may cause excitotoxicity through microglial activation and induce neurotoxicity.

Rats given both low and high doses of fluoride, aluminum, and a combination of both with the control group receiving distilled water for 30 days resulted in:

SIDS may be caused by these aluminum-fluoride complexes, which inhibit AChE (acetylcholinesterase also called cholinesterase) activities, and leads to death, similar to an organophosphate poisoning.

PCBs, PFOA, PFOS, Mercury

We live in a world where the blood of pregnant women and the cord blood of their newborns contained concentrations of 59 harmful chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), mercury and lead, among other chemicals.

“Perfluorinated chemicals rank among the worst in an expanding multitude of unregulated contaminants that federal scientists are detecting in city water supplies, including hormones, pesticides, antibiotics and anti-depressants.”

PFOA (a fluorinated compound) was shown to increase the risk of pre-eclampsia, but for some reason that was not a concern of the author’s. Seeing’s how pre-eclampsia is one of the causes of maternal mortality, and the United States’ maternal mortality rate is increasing, we SHOULD BE concerned.

Teflon pans, the most common non-stick pots and pans on the market, is made from a chemical mixture of perfluorochemicals (chemicals with lots of fluoride atoms). Teflon is also used as an additive to paints, fabrics, carpets, and clothing.

The Intercept wrote a great piece on how 3M, the makers of PFOS and PFOA, knew that their chemical compounds have been accumulating in people’s blood since the 1950s, even in distant parts of the world that had no access to their products.

In 1951, DuPont started purchasing PFOA from then-Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company 3M for use in the manufacturing of teflon.

SIDS cases are suddenly, unexpectedly on the rise in El Paso County, Colorado. In the same region, during the same time, extremely high levels of PFOA and PFOS are found in the drinking water.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) may not make sense, but it’s definitely connected to the environment. It’s connected to fluoride. It’s connected to aluminum. There’s no way around it.

Chlorpyrifos

One of the most widely used insecticides in the United States, Chlorpyrifos, is an organosphophate pesticide whose mechanism of action is by attacking the insect or worm’s nervous system, by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase.

Introduced by Dow Chemical in 1965, it is widely used on crops, including corn, cotton, soybeans, almonds, broccoli, apples, cilantro, bell peppers, nectarines, peaches, snap peas. It is also used on golf courses. It was one of the most common residential pesticides before it was banned for home use in 2001.

Even in the face of scientific evidence that the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos’  residue on food causes neurodevelopmental damage to children, and can damage a developing brain and impair cognitive and behavioral function through multiple mechanisms–there is so much drama in the government that an appeals court had to step in to try to get the poison banned. Isn’t it common sense that kids and babies and pregnant women shouldn’t be eating and exposed to toxic pesticides?

Chlorpyrifos is still being used today. The EPA won’t ban it, because the EPA and our government don’t put people over profits.

Vaccines and Mutagenicity, Carcinogenicity, and Impairment of Fertility

The vaccines given to newborns on the first day of life, and again at 2, 4 and 6 months are not evaluated for Mutagenicity, Carcinogenicity or Impairment of Fertility. Section 13.1 of every vaccine package insert.

Since 1975, childhood cancer has, without explanation, increased 27% in children under 19 years of age. The rise is driven, in large part, by an increase in leukemia, which is up almost 35% since 1975.

Females have been reporting premature ovarian insufficiency following quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

The incidence of HPV related cancers are actually increasing despite very high rates of vaccination in Sweden.

Fluoride in drinking water has been shown to increase a child’s risk for bone cancer by 5 times. Aluminum Salts in anti-perspirants have long been suspected in the etiology of breast cancers.

Glyphosate was just recently proven in court to cause cancer, with Monsanto forced to pay $289 million to the plaintiff. Traces of this herbicide are found in Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and other popular children’s breakfast cereals, as well as vaccines, according to Moms Across America.

Women exposed to formaldehyde, which is an ingredient in vaccines, was found to cause “menstrual abnormalities, infertility, spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, congenital malformations, premature birth, and birth weight.”

STUDIES

“Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”–Read the study here.

“A new perspective on metals and other contaminants in fluoridation chemicals“–Read the study here.

“Comparison of hydrofluorosilicic acid and pharmaceutical sodium fluoride as fluoridating agents—A cost–benefit analysis”—Read the study here.

“Environmental Chemicals in an Urban Population of Pregnant Women and Their Newborns from San Francisco”—Read the study here.

“Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants in maternal and cord blood from the maternal-infant research on environmental chemicals (MIREC) cohort study”–Read the study here.

“Adolescent Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Following Human Papillomavirus Vaccination”–Read the study here.

“HPV vaccine safety: Cochrane launches urgent investigation into review after criticisms“–Read the study here.

“Screening of Human Proteins for Fluoride and Aluminum Binding”–Read the study here.