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Advances in Understanding of Depression Offers New Hope

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By Dr. Mercola

Depression is thought to affect about one in 10 Americans.1 In 2010, antidepressants were the second most commonly prescribed type of medication in the US,2 hinting at the severity of the problem.

Contrary to popular belief, depression is not likely caused by unbalanced brain chemicals; however there are a number of other biological factors that appear to be highly significant. Chronic inflammation is one. As noted in the featured article:3

“George Slavich, a clinical psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles, has spent years studying depression, and has come to the conclusion that it has as much to do with the body as the mind.

‘I don’t even talk about it as a psychiatric condition anymore,’ he says. ‘It does involve psychology, but it also involves equal parts of biology and physical health.’

The basis of this new view is blindingly obvious once it is pointed out: everyone feels miserable when they are ill. That feeling of being too tired, bored and fed up to move off the sofa and get on with life is known among psychologists as sickness behaviour.

It happens for a good reason, helping us avoid doing more damage or spreading an infection any further. It also looks a lot like depression.”

One researcher even goes so far as to suggest depression should be rebranded as an infectious but non-contagious disease,4 while the author of the featured article playfully compares depression with an allergic reaction—in this case “an allergy to modern life”—considering the many environmental factors that are known to cause inflammation, from diet to toxic exposures and stress.

Scientists have also found that your mental health can be adversely impacted by factors such as vitamin D deficiency and/or unbalanced gut flora—both of which, incidentally, play a role in keeping inflammation in check, which is really what the remedy to depression is all about.

Inflammation and Depression

As discussed in an article by Dr. Kelly Brogan, depressive symptoms can be viewed as downstream manifestations of inflammation.

“The source itself may be singularly or multiply-focused as stress, dietary and toxic exposures, and infection… [I]nflammation appears to be a highly relevant determinant of depressive symptoms such as flat mood, slowed thinking, avoidance, alterations in perception, and metabolic changes,5” she writes.

Certain biomarkers, such as cytokines in your blood and inflammatory messengers like CRP, IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-alpha, show promise as potential new diagnostic tools, as they’re “predictive6 and linearly7 correlative” with depression.

For example, researchers have found8 that melancholic depression, bipolar disorder, and postpartum depression, are associated with elevated levels of cytokines in combination with decreased cortisol sensitivity (cortisol is both a stress hormone and a buffer against inflammation). As explained by Dr. Brogan:

“Once triggered in the body, these inflammatory agents transfer information to the nervous system, typically through stimulation of major nerves such as the vagus, which connects9 the gut and brain. Specialized cells called microglia in the brain represent the brain’s immune hubs and are activated in inflammatory states.

In activated microglia, an enzyme called IDO (indoleamine 2 3-dioxygenase) has been shown10 to direct tryptophan away from the production of serotonin and melatonin and towards the production of an NMDA agonist called quinolinic acid that may be responsible for symptoms of anxiety and agitation.

These are just some of the changes that may conspire to let your brain in on what your body may know is wrong.”

Using Brain Scans to Help Choose Treatment Type

Speaking of biomarkers, research11 by Dr. Helen Mayberg, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University, may also pave the way toward a more refined and customized treatment plan. Her research is discussed in the video above.

Dr. Mayberg has identified a biomarker in the brain that can be used to predict whether a depressed patient is a good candidate for medication, or might be better off with psychotherapy. As noted by the New York Times:12

“Patients who had low activity in a brain region called the anterior insula measured before treatment responded quite well to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT} but poorly to Lexapro; conversely, those with high activity in this region had an excellent response to Lexapro, but did poorly with CBT….

[T]he insula is centrally involved in the capacity for emotional self-awareness, cognitive control and decision making, all of which are impaired by depression. Perhaps cognitive behavior therapy has a more powerful effect than an antidepressant in patients with an underactive insula because it teaches patients to control their emotionally disturbing thoughts in a way that an antidepressant cannot.”

The Links Between Gut and Mental Health

A number of studies have confirmed that gastrointestinal inflammation specifically can play a critical role in the development of depression, suggesting that beneficial bacteria (probiotics) may be an important part of treatment. For example, a Hungarian scientific review13 published in 2011 made the following observations:

    1. Depression is often found alongside gastrointestinal inflammations and autoimmune diseases as well as with cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, type 2 diabetes and also cancer, in which chronic low-grade inflammation is a significant contributing factor.Thus researchers suggested “depression may be a neuropsychiatric manifestation of a chronic inflammatory syndrome.”
    2. An increasing number of clinical studies have shown that treating gastrointestinal inflammation with probiotics, vitamin B, vitamin D, may also improve depression symptoms and quality of life by attenuating pro-inflammatory stimuli to your brain.
    3. Research suggests the primary cause of inflammation may be dysfunction of the “gut-brain axis.”

Your gut is literally your second brain — created from the identical tissue as your brain during gestation — and contains higher levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with mood control.

It’s important to understand that your gut bacteria are an active and integrated part of serotonin regulation and actually produce more serotonin than your brain. Optimizing your gut flora is a key part of the equation to optimize your levels. If you consume loads of processed foods and sugars, your gut bacteria will be severely compromised because processed foods tend to decimate healthy microflora. This leaves a void that is filled by disease-causing bacteria and yeast and fungi that will promote inflammation and decrease the health of your second brain.

Low-Sugar Diet Is an Important Anti-Depressant Tool

Besides distorting your microflora, sugar also triggers a cascade of other chemical reactions in your body known to promote both chronic inflammation and depression. For starters, excessive sugar consumption leads to elevated insulin levels. That can have a detrimental impact on your mood and mental health by causing higher levels of glutamate to be secreted in your brain, which has been linked to agitation, depression, anger, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Sugar suppresses activity of a key growth hormone called BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which promotes healthy brain neurons. BDNF levels are critically low in both depression and schizophrenia, which animal models suggest might actually be causative.

Cultured and fermented foods, on the other hand, help reseed your gut with a wide variety of healthy bacteria that promote mental and physical health as long as your keep your sugar and processed food intake low. For instance, one 2011 study14found that the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus has a marked effect on GABA levels in certain brain regions and lowers the stress-induced hormone corticosterone, resulting in reduced anxiety- and depression-related behavior.  So the three-prong dietary answer for treating depression is to:

  1. Severely limit sugars, especially fructose, as well as grains, as all forms of sugar feed pathogenic bacteria in your gut. The easiest way to do this is to avoid processed foods, and start cooking from scratch using whole ingredients. As a standard recommendation, I suggest limiting your daily fructose consumption from all sources to 25 grams per day or less.
  2. Avoid foods with genetically engineered ingredients, as they too have been implicated in the destruction of gut flora, along with promoting chronic inflammation. Keep in mind that conventionally-grown foods may also be contaminated with glyphosate, which has been found to selectively destroy beneficial, health-promoting gut bacteria, so ideally, you’ll want to make sure as much of your food as possible is organically grown to avoid pesticide exposure.
  3. Introduce fermented foods into your diet to rebalance your gut flora.

Beware that your gut bacteria are also very sensitive to and can be harmed by the following, all of which should be avoided:

Antibiotics, unless absolutely necessary (and when you do, make sure to reseed your gut with fermented foods and/or a probiotic supplement) Conventionally-raised meats and other animal products, as CAFO animals are routinely fed low-dose antibiotics, plus genetically engineered grains
Chlorinated and/or fluoridated water Antibacterial soap

Vitamin D Deficiency Predisposes You to Depression

Vitamin D deficiency is another important biological factor that can play a significant role in mental health. In one 2006 study,15 seniors with vitamin D levels below 20 ng/ml were found to be 11 times more prone to be depressed than those with higher levels. It’s worth noting that the mean vitamin D level was just under 19 ng/ml, which is a severe deficiency state. In fact, 58 percent of the participants had levels below 20 ng/ml. A 2007 study16 suggested that vitamin D deficiency is responsible for symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with fibromyalgia. Vitamin D deficiency is also a well-recognized cause in Seasonal Affective Disorder17 (SAD). A double-blind randomized trial18 published in 2008 also concluded that:

“It appears to be a relation between serum levels of 25(OH)D and symptoms of depression. Supplementation with high doses of vitamin D seems to ameliorate these symptoms indicating a possible causal relationship.”

More recently, researchers19 found that seniors with depression had vitamin D levels that were 14 percent lower than those who were not depressed. Here, those with vitamin D levels below 20 ng/ml had an 85 percent increased risk of depression, compared to those with levels above 30 ng/ml. Yet another paper20 published in 2011 noted that:

“Effective detection and treatment of inadequate vitamin D levels in persons with depression and other mental disorders may be an easy and cost-effective therapy which could improve patients’ long-term health outcomes as well as their quality of life.”

Based on the evaluation of healthy populations that get plenty of natural sun exposure, the optimal range for general physical and mental health appears to be somewhere between 50 and 70 ng/ml. So, if you’re depressed, you’d be well advised to get your vitamin D level checked, and to address any insufficiency or deficiency. The D*Action Project by GrassrootsHealth is one cost effective testing solution. As for optimizing your levels, sensible sun exposure is the ideal way. Alternatively, use a tanning bed with an electronic ballast, and/or an oral vitamin D3 supplement.  GrassrootsHealth has a helpful chart showing the average adult dose required to reach healthy vitamin D levels based upon your measured starting point. Keep in mind that if you opt for a vitamin D supplement, you also need to take vitamin K2 and magnesium, as these nutrients work in tandem.

vitamin d levels

There Are Many Alternatives to Drug Treatment

Antidepressant drugs come with a long laundry list of risks, and are therefore best left as a last resort, if all else fails. Medical journalist and Pulitzer Prize nominee Robert Whitaker has detailed the many drawbacks and benefits of various treatments in his two books: Mad in America, and Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, noting that physical exercise actually comes out on top in most studies—even when compared against antidepressant drugs.

Exercise primarily works by helping to normalize your insulin levels while simultaneously boosting “feel good” hormones in your brain. But researchers have also discovered that exercise allows your body to eliminate kynurenine, a harmful protein associated with depression.21 And, again showing the link between inflammation and depression, your body metabolizes kynurenine in the first place via a process that is activated by stress and inflammatory factors… While I addressed several dietary factors to restore health to your gut, I also recommend supplementing your diet with a high quality animal-based omega-3 fat, such as krill oil. This may be the single most important nutrient for optimal brain function, thereby easing symptoms of depression. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also contribute to depression, and affects one in four people.

Last but not least, make sure you get enough sleep. The link between depression and lack of sleep is well established. Of the approximately 18 million Americans with depression, more than half of them struggle with insomnia. While it was long thought that insomnia was a symptom of depression, it now seems that insomnia may precede depression in some cases.22 Recent research also found that sleep therapyresulted in remarkable improvements in depressed patients. The take-home message here is that one or more lifestyle factors may be at the heart of your depression, so you’d be well advised to address the factors discussed in this article before resorting to drug treatment—which science has shown is no more effective than placebo, while being fraught with potentially dangerous side effects.

Neuroplasticity Studies Reveal Your Brain’s Amazing Malleability

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By Dr. Mercola

As time goes by, science provides more and more evidence that your brain is malleable and continually changing in response to your lifestyle, physiology, and environment.

This concept is called neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity—meaning, you are literally reforming your brain with each passing day. It used to be thought that your brain was static, except during some critical developmental periods, but today, we know this isn’t true.

Your brain possesses the remarkable ability to reorganize pathways, create new connections and, in some cases, even create new neurons throughout your entire lifetime.

Our views of the nature of the brain have changed in a similar way as our views of DNA. It used to be thought that DNA did not change—in other words, you’re stuck with what you’re born with.

This, too, has been disproven by researchers like Bruce Lipton, who have introduced an entirely new branch of biological science called epigenetics. Your DNA changes continuously based on your experiences, emotions, and environment.

The point is, you have much more control over your body, mind, and brain than you might think. If you can mold and shape your brain, you are not entirely at the mercy of your genetics or the neural pathways you brought into this world or formed as a child—and this is great news!

New Study Shows How Quickly Your Brain Can Rewire Itself

A recent study1 discussed in Scientific American2 illuminates your brain’s remarkable ability to rewire itself in response to experience. Mice with amblyopia or “lazy eye” (partial blindness caused by visual deprivation early in life) improved faster if they were exposed to visual stimuli while running on a treadmill.

Amblyopia can happen to someone born with a droopy eyelid, cataract, or other defect not corrected early in life. If the eye is opened in adulthood, recovery is usually slow and incomplete.

In this experiment, researchers induced amblyopia in mice by suturing one eye shut for several months. After the sutures were removed, the mice were shown a “noisy” visual pattern while running on a treadmill for four hours a day for three weeks.

The pattern was chosen to activate nearly all the cells in the animals’ primary visual cortex. After two weeks, the animals’ responses were comparable to those of normal mice that had never been visually deprived. Neither running nor visual stimulation alone had this effect.

The researchers believe the impressive response has something to do with built in mechanisms that allow animals to keep track of environmental stimuli from a distance:

“It makes sense to put the visual system in a high-gain state when you’re moving through the environment, because vision tells you about far away things, whereas touch only tells you about things that are close.”

The scientists do not know whether or not their findings apply to humans but are planning further studies. The current thinking is that “activity stimulates plasticity”—and this applies to your brain as well as other parts of your body. Plasticity is what allows tissues to heal.3

Neurons That Fire Together, Wire Together—And Neurons That Fire Apart, Wire Apart

Neuroplasticity is, in simple terms, the ability of your brain to change and adapt in response to experience.4 You can think of those neurological changes as your brain’s way of tuning itself to meet your needs.

There are two types of brain plasticity—functional plasticity (your brain’s ability to move functions from a damaged area to undamaged areas) and structural plasticity (its ability to actually change its physical structure as a result of learning).5

Think about what happens when you’re learning a new skill. The more you focus and practice something, the better you become, and this is a result of new neural pathways that form in response to your learning efforts. At the same time, your brain is undergoing “synaptic pruning”—elimination of the pathways you no longer need.

Until recently, it was believed that the human brain, which consists of approximately 100 billion neural cells, could not generate new ones. The old model assumed that you were born with a finite number of brain cells, and when a cell died, no new cell grew in its place.

This old model is no longer relevant, as it’s been proven that certain areas of your brain can generate new cells (neurogenesis), as well as creating new neural pathways.

Environment plays an essential role in the process, but genetics can also have an influence. These neural processes have been well documented in people recovering from stroke-related brain damage.

This phenomenon even applies to emotional states. For example, if you have a history of anxiety, your neural pathways become wired for anxiety. If you develop tools to feel calm and peaceful more of the time, those anxiety pathways are pruned away from lack of activity—“use it it or lose it” really applies here.

According to “What is Neuroplasticity:”6

“It was once believed that the human brain had a relatively small window to develop new pathways in our life span, then after that the pathways became immutable.

This old theory thought our ability to generate new pathways dropped off sharply around the age of 20, and then became permanently fixed around the age of 40.

New studies have shown through the use PET, and MRI brain scanning technology, that new neural cells are generated throughout life as well as new neural pathways. Even the elderly are capable of creating measurable changes in brain organization. These changes are not always easy but can happen through concerted focus on a defect area.”

How the Science of Neuroplasticity Changes the Game

Your brain’s plasticity is also controlled by your diet and lifestyle choices, including exercise. Despite what the media tells you, your brain is not “programmed” to shrink and fail as you age. The foods you eat, exercise, emotional states, sleep patterns, and your level of stress—all of these factors influence your brain from one moment to the next.

Any given gene is not in a static “on” or “off” position. You may be a carrier of a gene that never gets expressed, simply because you never supply the required environment to turn it on. As neurologist David Perlmutter explains:

“We interact with our genome every moment of our lives, and we can do so very, very positively. Keeping your blood sugar low is very positive in terms of allowing the genes to express reduced inflammation, which increase the production of life-giving antioxidants. So that’s rule number one: You can change your genetic destiny. Rule number two: you can change your genetic destiny to grow new brain cells, specifically in the hippocampus… 

Your brain’s memory center regenerates. You are constantly growing new brain cells into your 50s, 60s, 80s, and 90s – throughout your lifetime – through a process called neurogenesis. That said, these two ideas come together because you can turn on your genes through lifestyle choices that enhance neurogenesis and that enhance regrowth of cells and expansion of your brain’s memory center. This was proven by researchers recently. They demonstrated that there are factors under our control that can make that happen.”

For Brain Health, You Need Physical AND Mental Exercise

The blind mice study is just one more piece of evidence for how important exercise is for your brain. Recent science has shown that physical exercise is as important as mental exercise when it comes to keeping your mind fit.7, 8 A number of studies show that exercise can promote growth of new brain cells, enlarge your memory center, improve IQ scores, and help prevent brain deterioration as you age.

One study found that one 20-minute weight training session improved memory. In a year-long study, individuals who exercised were actually growing and expanding their brain’s memory center one to two percent per year, whereas typically that center would have continued to decline in size. Strength training, especially high-intensity interval training (HIIT), is especially beneficial for boosting long-term memory and reducing your risk for dementia.

Exercise prompts nerve cells to release one growth factor in particular, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF triggers numerous other chemicals that promote neural health and directly benefit cognitive functions, including learning. Fasting also triggers BDNF, andexercising while fasting can go a long way toward keeping your brain and muscles biologically young.

According to brain plasticity expert Dr. Michael Merzenich (interviewed in the video above), engaging in challenging new activities throughout your life, staying socially active, and practicing “mindfulness” are other ways to boost your brain function. He also stresses the importance of having a genuine interest in your chosen activities. Just going through the motions is not enough to build these neural pathways—you have to really care about what you’re learning.

Protect Your Brain with Wise Lifestyle Choices

Lifestyle strategies proven to promote neurogenesis and target BDNF include the following:

  • Exercise, especially high-intensity interval training
  • Reducing overall calorie consumption
  • Reducing carbohydrate consumption (especially grains and sugars)
  • Enough healthy fat consumption to eliminate insulin resistance
  • Enough high-quality omega-3 fats and eliminating damaged omega-6 fats (processed vegetable oils) will improve your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. I prefer krill oil to fish oil, as krill oil also contains astaxanthin, which is particularly beneficial for your brain. Astaxanthin is a carotenoid that’s very good for reducing free radical-mediated damage to fat—and your brain is 60 or 70 percent fat

There are three other important considerations for brain health:

  1. Vitamin D: This vitamin/hormone plays a fundamental role in brain health, inflammation, and immune function. Vitamin D influences the expression of 2000-3000 genes. Researchers have located metabolic pathways for vitamin D in the brain’s hippocampus and cerebellum, areas that are involved in planning, information processing, and memory formation. In older adults, research has shown that low vitamin D levels are associated with poorer brain function. Appropriate sun exposure is all it takes to keep your levels where they need to be. If this is not an option, a tanning bed that uses electronic ballasts is the next best alternative, followed by a vitamin D3 supplement.
  2. Gut Health: Your gut is your “second brain;” gut bacteria transmit information from your GI tract to your brain via your vagus nerve. Just as you have neurons in your brain, you also have neurons in your gut—including neurons that produce neurotransmitters like serotonin, which is linked to mood. Abnormal gut flora has been associated with abnormal brain development. In addition to avoiding sugar, one of the best ways to support gut health is to consume beneficial bacteria. You can take a probiotic supplement, but I’m particularly fond of using fermented vegetables, as they can deliver extraordinarily high levels of beneficial bacteria for minimal cost.
  3. Choline: Choline reduces inflammation, plays a roll in nerve communications, and prevents the buildup of homocysteine in your blood (elevated homocysteine is linked to heart disease). Eggs and meat are two of the best dietary sources of choline. If you do not consume animal foods, you may be at risk of a deficiency and want to consider supplementation. If you’re pregnant, make sure your diet includes plenty of choline-rich foods, as research shows higher choline intake leads to changes in epigenetic markers in the fetus.

Stress Hormones Will Shrink Your Brain—So Shrink Your Stress Instead

Research shows that how you respond to stress may be a key factor in how your brain ages. An animal study9 showed how elevated stress hormones may speed up short-term memory loss in older adults. Previous research has also linked chronic stress with working memory impairment.10Chronic stress can actually trigger a genetic switch that results in loss of brain volume, and this in turn contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment.11 Given this, it makes sense why a recent study12 showed that your daily stress responses have long-term implications for your mental health.

Researchers found that people with increased stress have increased risk for mental disorders a decade later, especially anxiety and depression. The message is clear: managing daily stress is a key factor in keeping your brain healthy as you age, and this has implications for everything from depression to dementia. My favorite tool for stress management is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), an energy psychology tool that can help reprogram your body’s reactions to everyday stress.

Recent research has shown that EFT (or “tapping”) significantly increases positive emotions, such as hope and enjoyment, and decreases negative emotional states, such as anger and shame. EFT has been shown to lower cortisol levels13 (one of your major stress hormones) and is actually an epigenetic intervention that can alter gene expression.14 EFT is a powerful tool for transforming your stress reactions into more adaptive ones, and replacing old dysfunctional patterns with new. For more information, I invite you to visit my EFT page.

You CAN Take Control of Your Brain Function…

Again, the good news is that you’re not at the mercy of your genes or the dysfunctional neural pathways you might have developed in childhood. Your brain can literally be rewired, and you are doing so already—every day of your life! Old neural patterns are continuously being overwritten by new ones. Diet, exercise, sleep, stress, and other lifestyle choices all impact your brain’s structure and function, and how “gracefully” it ages. You are in the driver’s seat, so pay attention to the choices you make today, as they are forming the brain you’ll have tomorrow.

10 Facts About Fluoride You Need to Know

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By Dr. Mercola

If you live in the US, where more than two-thirds of Americans receive fluoridated water, you may simply assume that it’s always been that way. But this is not so. Water fluoridation began in 1945, despite the fact that fluoride is not an essential nutrient.

Quite the contrary, the fluoride added to drinking water is a toxic byproduct of the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is a poison to your body. In 1943, even the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that fluorides are general protoplasmic poisons that change the permeability of the cell membrane by certain enzymes.1

Why is a toxic poison being intentionally added to drinking water in the name of good dentistry? Are your teeth really better off? And, more importantly, is the rest of your body?

In the video above, Michael Connett, an attorney with the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), answers these questions and summarizes 10 important facts about fluoride that everyone needs to know.2

10 Facts About Fluoride

1. Most Developed Countries Do Not Fluoridate Their Water

More people drink fluoridated water in the US alone than in the rest of the world combined. In Western Europe, for instance, 97 percent of the population drinks non-fluoridated water.

2. Fluoridated Countries Do Not Have Less Tooth Decay Than Non-Fluoridated Countries

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no discernible difference in tooth decay between developed countries that fluoridate their water and those that do not.3

The decline in tooth decay the US has experienced over the last 60 years, which is often attributed to fluoridated water, has likewise occurred in all developed countries (most of which do not fluoridate their water).

3. Fluoride Affects Many Tissues in Your Body Besides Your Teeth

Many assume that consuming fluoride is only an issue that involves your dental health. But according to a 500-page scientific review, fluoride is an endocrine disruptor that can affect your bones, brain, thyroid gland, pineal gland and even your blood sugar levels.4

There have been over 40 human studies and 100 animal studies linking fluoride to brain damage,5 including lower IQ in children, and studies have shown that fluoride toxicity can lead to a wide variety of health problems, including:

Increased lead absorption Disrupts synthesis of collagen Hyperactivity and/or lethargy Muscle disorders
Thyroid disease Arthritis Dementia Bone fractures
Lowered thyroid function Bone cancer (osteosarcoma) Inactivates 62 enzymes and inhibits more than 100 Inhibited formation of antibodies
Genetic damage and cell death Increased tumor and cancer rate Disrupted immune system Damaged sperm and increased infertility

4. Fluoridation Is Not a “Natural” Process

The fluoride added to most water supplies is not the naturally occurring variety but rather fluorosilicic acid, which is captured in air pollution control devices of the phosphate fertilizer industry. As FAN reported:

“This captured fluoride acid is the most contaminated chemical added to public water supplies, and may impose additional risks to those presented by natural fluorides.

These risks include a possible cancer hazard from the acid’s elevated arsenic content, and a possible neurotoxic hazard from the acid’s ability–under some conditions–to increase the erosion of lead from old pipes.”

5. 40% of American Teenagers Show Visible Signs of Fluoride Over-Exposure

About 40 percent of American teens have dental fluorosis,5 a condition that refers tochanges in the appearance of tooth enamel that are caused by long-term ingestion of fluoride during the time teeth are forming. In some areas, fluorosis rates are as high as 70-80 percent, with some children suffering from advanced forms.

It’s likely this is a sign that children are receiving large amounts of fluoride from multiple sources, including not only drinking water but also fluoride toothpaste, processed beverages/foods, fluoride pesticides, tea, non-stick pans, and some fluorinated drugs.

So not only do we need to address the issue of water fluoridation, but how this exposure is magnified by other sources of fluoride that are now common.

It’s also important to realize that dental fluorosis is NOT “just cosmetic.” It can also be an indication that the rest of your body, such as your bones and internal organs, including your brain, have been overexposed to fluoride as well.

In other words, if fluoride is having a visually detrimental effect on the surface of your teeth, you can be virtually guaranteed that it’s also damaging other parts of your body, such as your bones.

6. For Infants, Fluoridated Water Provides No Benefits, Only Risks

By keeping the levels of fluoride extremely low in mothers’ milk nature protects the newborn baby but fluoridation removes that protection. Infants who consume formula made with fluoridated tap water may consume up to 1,200 micrograms of fluoride, or about 100 times more than the recommended amounts.

Such “spikes” of fluoride exposure during infancy provide no known advantage to teeth, but they may be harmful. Babies given fluoridated water in their formula are not only more likely to develop dental fluorosis, but may also have reduced IQ scores.

In fact, a Harvard University meta-analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that children who live in areas with highly fluoridated water have “significantly lower” IQ scores than those who live in low fluoride areas.7 The average lowering in the 27 studies reviewed was 7 IQ points.

A number of prominent dental researchers now advise that parents should not add fluoridated water to baby formula.

7. Fluoride Supplements Have Never Been Approved by the FDA

The fluoride supplements sometimes prescribed to those who are not drinking fluoridated water have not been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the prevention of tooth decay. In fact, the fluoride supplements that the FDA has reviewed have been rejected. “So with fluoridation, we are adding to the water a prescription-strength dose of a drug that has never been approved by the FDA,” FAN noted.

8. Fluoride Is the Only Medicine Added to Public Water

Fluoride is added to drinking water to prevent a disease (tooth decay), and as such becomes a medicine by FDA definition. While proponents claim this is no different than adding vitamin D to milk, fluoride is not an essential nutrient. Many European nations have rejected fluoride for the very reason that delivering medication via the water supply would be inappropriate. Water fluoridation is a form of mass medication that denies you the right to decide which drugs to take.

9. Swallowing Fluoride Provides Little Benefit to Teeth

It is now widely recognized that fluoride’s main benefit comes from topical contact with teeth, which even the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has acknowledged. Adding it to water and pills, which are swallowed, offers little, if any, benefit to your teeth.

10. Disadvantaged Communities Are the Most Disadvantaged by Fluoride

Fluoride toxicity is exacerbated by conditions that occur much more frequently in low-income areas. This includes:

  • Nutrient deficiencies
  • Infant formula consumption
  • Kidney disease
  • Diabetes

African American and Mexican American children have significantly higher rates of dental fluorosis, and many low-income urban communities also have severe oral health crises, despite decades of water fluoridation. FAN continues:

“The simple fact is that poor populations need dental care, not fluoridation chemicals in their water. The millions of dollars spent each year promoting fluoridation would be better spent advocating for policies that provide real dental care: like allowing dental therapists to provide affordable care to populations with little access to dentists. In short, fluoridation provides good PR for dental trade associations, but bad medicine for those it’s supposedly meant to serve.”

It should be added that the last children in the US that need to lose any IQ points are children from low-income families, precisely the children being targeted for fluoridation. They already have so many strikes against them, they don’t need any more.

Millions at Risk of Crippling Fluorosis

If there were any doubt about fluoride’s toxicity, one need only look at what happens when people are exposed to high levels of naturally occurring fluoride in their drinking water. Fluoride is naturally occurring in some areas, leading to high levels in certain water supplies “naturally.” Fluoridation advocates often use this to support its safety, however naturally occurring substances are not automatically safe (think of arsenic, for instance).What levels of such minerals that end up in water is a vagary of “geology” and “location” not an intervention of nature as the word ‘naturally” might imply. In fact, a far better guide as to what “nature’ thinks about fluoride is the level in mothers’ milk, which is extremely low (0.004 ppm).

Data from India’s Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry indicate that nearly 49 million people are living in areas where fluoride levels in water are above the permissible levels. The World Health Organization recommends fluoride levels in drinking water stay between 0.8 and 1.2 milligrams (mg) per liter, and do not exceed 1.5 mg per liter. Exposure to levels above this amount may cause pitting of tooth enamel and fluoride deposits in your bones, while exposure to levels between 2 and 10 mg per liter may cause crippling skeletal fluorosis, as well as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, seizures, and muscle spasms.

It’s not only naturally occurring fluoride that can lead to high levels in your water, however. In oneAustralian town in 2013, a suspected electrical fault allowed fluoride levels to reach nearly double the guideline amount in local drinking water. The levels may have remained elevated around 2.8 mg per liter for several days. If fluoride exposure is high enough, it can cause irreparable damage to your body. Skeletal fluorosis goes through three stages, however, which makes sense since fluoride is a cumulative toxin. The more exposure you get, and the longer you get it, the worse your symptoms are likely to be. According to FAN, symptoms of early stage skeletal fluorosis include:

  • Burning, prickling, and tingling in your limbs
  • Muscle weakness
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Gastrointestinal disorders
  • Reduced appetite and weight loss

The second clinical stage of skeletal fluorosis is characterized by:

  • Stiff joints and/or constant pain in your bones; brittle bones; and osteosclerosis
  • Anemia
  • Calcification of tendons, or ligaments of ribs and pelvis
  • Osteoporosis in the long bones
  • Bony spurs may also appear on your limb bones, especially around your knee, elbow, and on the surface of tibia and ulna

In advanced skeletal fluorosis (called crippling skeletal fluorosis), your extremities become weak and moving your joints difficult, and your vertebrae partially fuse together, effectively crippling you.

More Cities Abandon Water Fluoridation Due to Damaged Infrastructure

In 2014, at least 30 communities in North America and other countries providing water to nearly 10 million people (this included the whole State of Israel) decided to reject or end water fluoridation. Their reasons were many. In Amherst County, Virginia, for instance, The Service Authority Board voted to discontinue fluoridation because of conflicting opinions on what constitutes “optimal” levels of fluoride. The Wood Village City Council in Oregon decided against adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water after polling residents… and finding 100 percent of them were against it. And in Buffalo Missouri, council members voted to end a decade of fluoridation, saying the additive damaged equipment and city trucks, and was not economical.

Also in 2014, councilors in Union, Missouri voted to end fluoridation after the city’s public service committee recommended the city not repair fluoride injection equipment destroyed by the corrosive additive. According to the city engineer, “It’s an acid and it eats the pipes. Employees are handling it and they don’t want to be.”7 This is just one more reason why increasing numbers of communities are opting out of water fluoridation. It’s simply not cost effective for many and when you factor in the health risks, it becomes an easy decision to stop fluoridation.

For instance, in Amherst County, Virginia, FAN noted, “Several board supervisors felt that the additive was unnecessary and a waste of resources.”8 Fairview and Purcell, two cities in Oklahoma, also recently joined the growing number of US communities that have stopped fluoridating their water, in these cases because of damaged infrastructure. As reported by The Oklahoman:9

“Paul Southwick, Fairview city manager, said a few years ago, a tornado damaged the city’s water treatment equipment, leaving them without a way to fluoridate the water. At this point, it would be costly to replace the equipment… Dale Bunn, Purcell city manager and public works authority general manager, said they stopped fluoridating the water after an equipment failure that would be expensive to replace, probably costing tens of thousands of dollars. Plus, no one in the community seemed to be upset about the decision to stop fluoridating, he said.”

Help End the Practice of Fluoridation

There’s no doubt about it: fluoride should not be ingested. Even scientists from the EPA’s National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory have classified fluoride as a “chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity.” Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 41 percent of American adolescents now have dental fluorosis—unattractive discoloration and mottling of the teeth that indicate overexposure to fluoride. Clearly, children are being overexposed, and their health and development put in jeopardy. Why?

The only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water fluoridation in the first place. Fortunately, the Fluoride Action Network has a game plan to END water fluoridation worldwide. Clean pure water is a prerequisite to optimal health. Industrial chemicals, drugs, and other toxic additives really have no place in our water supplies. So please, protect your drinking water and support the fluoride-free movement by making a tax-deductible donation to the Fluoride Action Network today.

Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More

I encourage you to visit the website of the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) and visit the links below:

  • Like FAN on Facebook, follow on Twitter, and sign up for campaign alerts.
  • 10 Facts About Fluoride: As seen above, attorney Michael Connett summarizes 10 basic facts about fluoride that should be considered in any discussion about whether to fluoridate water. Also see 10 Facts Handout (PDF).
  • 50 Reasons to Oppose Fluoridation: Learn why fluoridation is a bad medical practice that is unnecessary and ineffective. Download PDF.
  • If you have a little more time read the book co-authored by Michael’s father, retired chemistry professor Paul Connett, The Case Against Fluoride by Connett, Beck and Micklem (Chelsea Green, 2010)
  • Health Effects Database: FAN’s database sets forth the scientific basis for concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of ingesting fluorides. They also have a Study Tracker with the most up-to-date and comprehensive source for studies on fluoride’s effects on human health.

When you examine these well-documented resources you will appreciate that the constant denigration of opponents of fluoridation is both unwarranted and underlines that the continued promotion of this outdated practice has more to do with politics than science.

Together, Let’s Help FAN Get the Funding They Deserve

In my opinion, there are very few NGOs that are as effective and efficient as FAN. Its small team has led the charge to end fluoridation and will continue to do so with our help! Please make a donation today to help FAN end the absurdity of fluoridation.

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