SPEEDING UP THE AGING PROCESS - FLUORIDE: THE AGING FACTOR
They called it "Das Dorf der jungen Greise", the
village where people age before their time. In 1978, the German magazine
"Stern" reported on this village of Kizilcaoern, Turkey, describing it
as a place where even the young looked and felt old. At the age of 30 they
would look like old men, their facial skin was wrinkled, muscle tone weakened
with walking difficulties.
There were numerous premature births, with babies stillborn after four or five
months of gestation.
Dr. Yusef C. Ozkan and his colleagues at the Medical faculty of the University
of Eskisehir suspect that the cause of all this suffering is to be sought in the
high content of fluorides. The medical people say that the fluoride content of
the water is 5.4 parts per million. Similar symptoms have been reported
elsewhere. Dr. Frada and co-workers from the University of Palmero
reported that the people in the Sicilian village of Acquaviva Platani
experienced a premature hardening of the arteries and premature senility, as
well as an increase in mortality which Dr. Frada attributed to the 5 parts per
million fluoride found in their drinking water. Similar findings have been found
in certain areas of India where fluoride levels are high.
FLUORIDE AND PREMATURE SKIN WRINKLING
Fluoride at levels as low as 1 part per million in the drinking water give rise
to an irregular formation of collagen in the body. Collagen, which makes up
about a third of our bodies, is a major component of skin, ligaments, tendons,
muscles, cartilage, bones and teeth.
The disruption of this collagen is what results in wrinkling of the skin,
weakening of the ligaments, tendons and muscles. When fluoride induces the
breakdown or irregular formation of collage in cartilage, irreversible arthritis
and stiffness of the joints is observed. Moreover, fluoride interferes with the
production of collagen in cells responsible for laying down tooth enamel and
bone. This results in deformed teeth and bones which is characteristic of high
fluoride intake.
Today, two-thirds of US public drinking water is fluoridated. Many
municipalities still resist the practice, disbelieving the government's
assurances of safety. Since the days of World War II when the US prevailed by
building the world's first atomic bomb, the nation's public health leaders have
maintained that low doses of fluoride are safe for people and good for
children's teeth. That safety verdict should now be re-examined in the light of
new research that is emerging.
The impact can be seen literally in the smiles of our children. Large numbers
(up to 80 per cent in some cities) of young Americans now have dental fluorosis,
the first visible sign of excessive fluoride exposure according to the US
National Research Council. (The signs are whitish flecks or spots, particularly
on the front teeth, or dark spots or stripes in more severe
cases.) Less known to the public is that fluoride also accumulates in bones.
"The teeth are windows to what's happening in the bones," explained
Paul Connett, Professor of Chemistry at St Lawrence University, New York, to
these reporters. In recent years, paediatric bone specialists have expressed
alarm about an increase in stress fractures among young people in the US.
Connett and other scientists are concerned that fluoride-linked to bone damage
in studies since the 1930s-may be a contributing factor.
SYMPTOMS OF FLUORIDE POISONING IN THE WESTERN WORLD
The United States Pharmacopoeia lists some of the side-effects that can result
from the daily ingestion of the amount of fluoride found in 1 to 2 pints of
artificially fluoridated water. The side-effects are as follows: black tar-like
stools, bloody vomit, faintness, nausea, shallow breathing, stomach cramps or
pain, tremors, unusual excitement, unusual increase in saliva, watery eyes,
weakness, constipation, loss of appetite, pain and aching bones, skin rash,
sores in the mouth and on the lips, stiffness,
weight loss, white, brown, and black discoloration of teeth.
FLUORIDE AND CNS EFFECTS
Animal studies which Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, former head of toxicology at Forsyth
Dental Center in Boston and now a critic of fluoridation and co-workers
conducted at Forsyth in the early 1990s indicated that fluoride was a powerful
central nervous system (CNS) toxin and might adversely affect human brain
functioning even at low doses. (New epidemiological evidence from China adds
support, showing a correlation between low-dose fluoride exposure and diminished
IQ in children.) Mullenix's results were published in 1995 in a reputable
peer-reviewed scientific journal ("Neurotoxicity of Sodium Fluoride in
Rats", Neurotoxicology and Teratology, vol. 17, no. 2, 1995, pp. 169-177).
During her investigation, Mullenix was astonished to discover there had been
virtually no previous US studies of fluoride's effects on the human brain. Then,
the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) turned down her application for a
grant to continue her CNS research, when an NIH panel flatly told her
"fluoride does not have central nervous system effects".
Even Procter and Gamble, the makers of Crest toothpaste, admit that
"theoretically, at least, a tube of toothpaste contains enough fluorine to
kill a child". When the toothbrushing habits of 12-24 month old children
was examined, it was found that 20% of children ingested more than 0.25mg of
fluoride a day by toothbrushing alone. It was found that a 4-6 year old child
will consume 25 - 33% of the toothpaste on their brush. Swedish scientists, who
have now banned the use of fluorine in the water, warn that children should not
brush their teeth more than once a day if they live in a fluoridated area.
Sodium fluoride, the type used in toothpaste, is one of the most frequent causes
of acute poisoning in young children.
PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM DISASTER!
On November 11, 1979, up to 50 parts per million fluoride was dumped into the
Annapolis, Maryland public water system. This resulted in the poisoning of
50,000 people. After conducting an epidemiological study, Dr. Yiamouyiannis
found that approximately 10,000 people exhibited acute symptoms of fluoride
poisoning. Of those that had suffered fluoride poisoning, 62% complained of
musculoskeletal symptoms, 65% of neurological symptoms, 81% gastrointestinal
symptoms, 59% urological symptoms, and 13% dermatological symptoms.
DENTISTRY AND FLUORIDE TREATMENT
There are also many cases of children dying of fluoride treatment by a dentist
or dental hygienist. Surveys showed that over 6% of the children receiving
fluoride treatments at the dental office complained of side effects, including
nausea and vomiting, either immediately or within one hour following treatment.
Unfortunately, there are cases of children dying after a routine cleaning of
teeth at the dentist, as in the tragic case of a 3-year old Brooklyn boy in 1974
whose parents were awarded $750,000 after a lethal dose of fluoride at a dental
clinic. There are many other such tragic deaths of children for fluoride
poisoning.
Physicians have observed that acne-like eruptions can be caused by fluoridated
toothpaste with areas around the mouth.
Some teachers are currently administering fluoride mouth-rinse programs to
children. This is illegal, as fluoride is classified both as a drug and a
poison.
THE DESTRUCTIVE MECHANISMS OF FLUORIDE
For those that have an inquisitive mind, I will briefly list some of the major
destructive mechanisms of fluoride:
IMMUNE SYSTEM DAMAGE
a) Fluoride decreases the migration rate of lymphocytes (leukotaxis)
- as little as 0.2 parts per million fluorides (the amount found in the blood of
people living in fluoridated areas) is enough to inhibit the movement of while
blood cells.
b) Researchers have found that fluoride can increase the
urinary levels of cyclic AMP (adenosine monophosphate). Cyclic AMP inhibits the
migration rate of lymphocytes, as well as the ability of white blood cells to
destroy foreign agents such as bacteria, viruses, etc. (phagocytosis). These
phagocytic cells secrete a chemical called superoxide, which aids the ultimate
destruction of the foreign agents - fluoride inhibits the synthesis of
superoxide, therefore depleting the ability of the white blood cells to properly
destroy these foreign agents.
COLLAGEN BREAKDOWN
a) There are 5 different cells that produce collagen and other
collagen-like substances in the body. These are fibroblasts (ligaments and
muscles), chondroblasts (cartilage), osteoblasts (bone), ameloblasts (tooth
enamel) and odontoblasts (tooth dentine). Collagen protein contains two
additional amino acids, hydroxyproline and hypdroxylysine, not found in other
proteins.
Fluoride breaks these amino acids down, where they are found to increase in the
blood and the urine. Again, as little as 1 ppm of fluoride is enough to
interfere with collagen metabolism, leading to its breakdown. Abnormal bone and
cartilage growth occurs as the collagen-producing cells try to compensate by
producing larger quantities of imperfect collagen.
DENTAL FLUOROSIS
a) With as little as 1 ppm of fluoride, ameloblasts, the
collagen-producing cells of the tooth, begin to secrete an abnormal collagen
matrix. Depending on the degree of this interference, the tooth enamel loses its
translucent appearance.
b) Disruption of the collagen laid down by odontoblasts to form
dentin, which makes up the structural bulk of the tooth, results in part of the
tooth fracturing off, leading to pits and parts of the tooth breaking away.
SKELETAL FLUOROSIS
a) Fluoride has been shown to interfere with collagen formation
in osteoblasts and chondroblasts. There is an increased production of imperfect
collagen or collagen-like protein resulting in mineralization of tissues, which
should not be mineralised, leading to a calcification of ligaments, cartilage
and tendons.
b) Drs. Singh and Jolly, internationally recognised experts on
the clinical effects of fluorosis on bone, point out that the most noticeable
changes are detected in the spine, with calcification of various spinal
ligaments, resulting in pronounced bony outgrowths.
c) Researchers have also found a correlation between the rate
of hip fractures and the degree of fluoridation in the USA. A study in Britain
found that by increasing the concentration of fluorine in the water for 0 to 1
ppm would increase the hip fracture rate by about 40%.
PREMATURE AGING
a) Disruption of collagen metabolism leads to the calcification
of tissues, which should not be calcified, and a reduction of calcification in
tissues, which should be calcified. Examination of tissues of people exposed to
fluoride shows calcified ligaments, tendons, muscles and thyroid cartilage.
b) Fibroblasts in the arterial cells again produce larger
amounts of imperfect collagen, resulting in hardening of the arteries or
arteriosclerosis, one of the leading causes of death.
c) The wrinkling in the skin is probably a result of a
breakdown in collagen structure or to a slight calcification of the skin
collagen (scleroderma), or both.
GENETIC DAMAGE
a) Researchers have reported that 1-ppm fluoride inhibits DNA
repair enzyme activity by 50%. When a cell is damaged, it provides a group of
enzymes called the DNA repair enzyme system which repairs the DNA damage.
Fluoride inhibits these repair mechanisms, leading to an increase in genetic or
chromosomal damage. Most of the damage is in the testes cells, which could lead
to birth defects and other metabolic disorders which can be passed on from
generation to generation.
CANCER
a) Substances like fluoride that cause genetic damage are
called mutogenic substances, which could also be carcinogenic, as supported by
various research studies. Japanese scientists have shown that fluoride does not
only cause genetic damage but was also capable of transforming normal cells into
cancer cells. These researchers found that cells treated with 34 and
45-ppm
fluoride produced cancer (fibrosarcoma) when injected under the skin of
otherwise healthy adult hamsters.
b) Mouse studies have shown that fluoride can cause a rather
rare liver cancer called hepatocholangiocarcinomas.
c) Other researchers have shown a 33% to 50% increase in oral
and pharyngeal cancers in fluoridated areas of the USA.
d) In 1991, the National Cancer Institute found that the
incidence of osteosarcomas (bone cancer) was about 50% higher in men 0-19 years
of age exposed to fluoridated water as compared to those who were not.
e) According to estimates, over 10,000 people in the USA die of
cancer each year due to fluoridation of public drinking water.
There has been a lot of research that has tried to show that fluoride is indeed
an essential nutrient. None of these studies proved this; not one person has
ever been found with a fluoride deficiency. Quite the contrary, fluoride
interferes adversely with the body's normal biochemistry, causing disruption and
damage. This activity is what would be expected from what is
now categorized as "poisons". It should not surprise us then, to
discover that fluoride is frequently used as a rodenticide and insecticide!
For those that want to learn more about the effects of fluoride, I strobgly
recommend one of the books that I have used for researching this article
entitled "Fluoride - The Aging Factor: How To Recognize and
Avoid the Devastating Effects of Fluoride" by Dr. John
Yamouyiannis. You can order direct from: www.amazon.com
Yamouyiannis, J. 1980 's. "Fluoride - The Aging Factor: How To Recognize and Avoid the Devastating Effects of Fluoride". City, State: Publisher.
Yamouyiannis, J. 1980's. "Fluoride - The Aging Factor: How To Recognize and Avoid the Devastating Effects of Fluoride" . City, State: Publisher.