Fluoride

Many people have come to expect fluoride in their water. This mineral compound has become a routine additive to drinking water under the premise that its consumption is necessary for healthy teeth. While it’s widely used by dentists as a cavity prevention treatment, recent research has led many to reevaluate the effects of regular fluoride consumption.

What is Fluoride in Water?
What are the potential risks caused by Fluoride in Water?
What are methods of Water filtration and protection from Fluoride?

What are the potential risks caused by Fluoride – Inorganic Chemicals in Water Supply?

Fluoride is a naturally occurring salt compound that forms when the gas fluorine bonds with the natural minerals in the rocks and soil. Fluoride’s practical uses are exclusively medical, in the prevention of tooth decay as well as bone loss. But what many people don’t know is that in excess, this medically purposed substance is extremely harmful. In fact, high doses of fluoride can be lethal. Reexaminations of fluoride’s health effects have caused the substance to be reclassified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a recognized water contaminant. Less-than-lethal doses are now linked to an array of serious and long lasting condition, such as:

• Thyroid disorders
• Dementia
• Diabetes
• Cardiovascular disease
• Decreased male fertility
• And ironically, bone weakness and bone deformities

In recent years, scientific research concerning the contaminating effects on the brain have become priority. Fluoride consumption is known to lead to deficient intelligence, negatively impacting memory as well as learning abilities. While more research is necessary, scientists believe that fluoride is particularly harmful to the developing brains of children. Other studies have concluded that the water contaminant’s highest concentration in the body is in the pineal gland, located between the brain’s right and left hemispheres. This gland serves many important functions including regulation of the body’s sleep-wake cycles and cell defense against damaging free radicals. Though fluoride’s effects on this vital gland are not yet understood, fluoride contamination could possibly be linked to these issues as well.

Beyond identifying adverse health effects, modern research has concluded that fluoride ingestion is ineffective at producing the water contaminant’s main positive effect. Cavity prevention results only from the topical application of fluoride to the teeth, not from consumption. Another issue with supplementing drinking water with fluoride is that no specific, controlled dosage can be assigned person to person, according to age and body size. Although the EPA has set a maximum contamination level of 4 milligrams per liter (mg/L), fluoride concentrations affects children and adults differently according to age and weight. With no real need for fluoride ingestion, water filtration for water contaminant removal can reduce bodily harm by exposure. (Follow the EPA’s website for more information of fluoride regulations)

Methods of Water filtration and protection from Fluoride – Inorganic Chemicals

Distillation water filtration is an approved method for fluoride water decontamination. This system first heats water to a vapor, leaving water contaminants like fluoride behind. The purified vapor is then collected and cooled back to a liquid state and is safe for drinking. Another option for fluoride removal is reverse-osmosis filtration. This system uses a semi-permeable membrane which water contaminants like fluoride are unable to pass through. When water flows through this membrane, fluoride becomes trapped on the other side, resulting in decontaminated water.

Even if your community’s water supply is not purposely supplemented with fluoride, your water could still be contaminated with the substance. Fluoride occurs as a by-product of fertilizers, pesticides, and aluminum products. Runoff from these products into the environment causes additional contamination to surface and groundwater resources. Even if you live in a city that does not fluoridate its drinking water, you might be affected by fluoride contamination and could benefit from investing in one of the water filtration options mentioned above. Visit the Fluoride Action Network’s website for more details about fluoride’s health effects: http://fluoridealert.org/

In order to safeguard yourself from serious waterborne problems or risks to health, consider using water filters at home or at institutions. Water filtration for all uses can easily provide protection from water contaminants. It is highly recommended to adopt a convenient and affordable water filtration method to fight potentially harmful elements found in Water supply caused due to Water pollution.