A recent study suggests a potential link between fluoride in drinking water and lower IQ in children. However, the research has significant flaws, and no connection is found at the standard fluoride levels used in U.S. water systems. Public health… Read More »Fluoride in water and lower IQ in children — unconvincing research
RFK Jr. may challenge water fluoridation, which is widely endorsed for its dental health benefits. Despite his claims linking fluoride to various health issues, scientific consensus supports its safety. Notably, studies showing potential risks often involve fluoride levels exceeding U.S.… Read More »Scientific facts about fluoride — RFK Jr is wrong again
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to oversee health agencies in a potential Trump administration, promoting anti-vaccine rhetoric and distrust in scientific consensus. His vision contradicts public health evidence, raising fears about potential impacts on immunization rates and overall public health,… Read More »RFK Jr wants to Make America Healthy Again — I don’t think so
A systematic study examines the benefits and risks of adding fluoride to water. It appears that the benefits outweigh the risks
The National Toxicology Program’s report suggests a potential link between high fluoride levels in drinking water and lower IQ in children. However, it lacks evidence for the fluoride levels typically found in US water systems and faces criticism for its… Read More »Fluoride in drinking water — is there a reason to panic?
Recently, I wrote an article about the published study that seemed to show that fluoride lowers IQ in children. I predicted that the anti-vaccine religion would jump all over it as an indication that public health authorities are useless – it took like an hour before the anti-vaxxers employed all of their useless pseudoscience and conspiracy theories to jump all over that.
I was somewhat ambivalent about the research, but I thought it might be an indicator that there could be an issue with water fluoridation. However, upon further review, I’ve come to the realization that this was pretty much worthless.
So do we know if fluoride lowers IQ? Based on research published in JAMA Pediatrics, no we don’t. In fact, I’m willing to state that we should be confident that fluoridated water is still safe while preventing cavities.
Let’s take a look at what I’ve noticed.Read More »Fluoride lowers IQ – hey vaccine deniers, this study is almost useless
A new article was just published that concludes that fluoridated water lowers IQ of children. Of course, this will become dogma not only for those who hate fluoridated water but also for the vaccine deniers who think that modern science is the scourge of the planet.
However, what you see in the all-too-frequent exaggerated articles from many science journalists is almost always not what the actual study says. I guess clickbait headlines matter more than scientific accuracy.
Well, it’s time to do what the old dinosaur always does – check out this new article that claims that fluoridated water lowers IQ. Read More »Fluoridated water lowers IQ – maybe, but watch vaccine deniers embrace it
I thought I’ve heard it all about food fads. GMO-free salt! Gluten-free cauliflower crust pizza. MSG-free honey. Raw milk diets. I suppose what we need next is an expensive gluten-free, GMO-free, MSG-free, pure organic raw water.
And guess what? Yes, now you can buy that ludicrously expensive pure, untreated, unfiltered, unsterilized raw water. And put your life and your health at risk for absolutely no benefit but following another inane fad.
I used to think that homeopathy was absurdly expensive, but ultimately useless water. It still is. But raw water comes close to homeopathy in being both ridiculous and ridiculously expensive.
Let’s look at the dumbest pseudoscientific food fad of 2018 – and it’s only day 3.Read More »Raw water – another dangerous fad borne out of ignorance
When I was a kid (probably 6 or 7), there was a big controversy in our community whether the water would be fluoridated or not. Now, I was just becoming fascinated by science, medicine, health, and sports at that time, so I tried to figure out what was happening.
To my ears and adolescent brain, the argument boiled down to no fluoridation (which meant cavities and visits to the dentist) vs. fluoridation (which was a communist conspiracy). Scary choices. Though Nazi dentists were also plenty scary.
But I grew up, and fluoridation became more common, as communities accepted the evidence that fluoridate water was safe, and improved the health of the community’s teeth. Water systems are mostly fluoridated (unless you drink bottled water).
And fluoride is in toothpaste and various mouthwashes. I thought the fluoridation controversy had passed into history with rotary phones, the Soviet Union, and the slide rule. My younger readers probably have never seen any of those three in their native states.
Now it’s time to look at those water fluoridation myths that can be found in many corners of the internet.Read More »Water fluoridation myths – just another blog article
This is an update of an article from 30 January 2013 to include recent studies about the efficacy of fluoridation.
Water fluoridation is a controversy that just doesn’t seem to go away, despite the overwhelming evidence of successfully reducing the rate of cavities in children (and adults), while also having little or weak evidence that there are any risks. When I was a kid, I remember controversies about fluoridating water. But I just hated dentists, so to my young, immature scientific mind, if fluoridation kept me from the dentist, that was a good thing!
Today, fluoridated water has become ubiquitous in the USA and many other countries. Unless you drink bottled or filtered water, or avoid fluoride toothpastes (or mouthwashes), most children and adults get an adequate level of fluoride to maintain good dental health. I actually thought that the fluoridation controversy had passed into history with rotary phones, the Soviet Union, and the slide rule.
Yes, there are groups that still fight against water fluoridation, and there are many people who think that fluoridation is bad.
The John Birch Society, a right wing conspiracy group that I thought had passed into history, still considers water fluoridation to be mass medicine and once thought of it as a communist plot to poison Americans (see Schneider & Lilienfeld, 2011). Ironically, on the opposed side of the political spectrum, leftists, like the UK’s Green Party, are opposed to fluoridation because of the mass medicine idea, a concern occasionally expressed by antivaccine proponents. So it’s really not a right or left political issue. It seems to be, like many medical issues (for example, vaccinations), a matter of good science versus bad science (or even no science).Read More »Water fluoridation-an update