Can too much fluoride lead to breast cancer?
(NaturalHealth365) Over 200 million Americans live in areas where fluoride is added to their water supply. Sadly, this practice of adding fluoride to the water began over seven decades ago, and by 1960, it was common throughout the United States.
In 1999, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that fluoridation of water supplies was among the “ten great public health achievements of the 20th century.” However, the CDC failed to consider the mounting evidence that connects fluoride to neurological impairments, hypothyroidism, and cancer.
The fluoride-hypothyroidism link exposed
A study conducted by the Centre for Health Services Studies and the University of Kent in the UK found higher levels of hypothyroidism in areas where fluoridation of the public water supply was highest. West Midlands, for example, is a wholly fluoridated metropolitan area in western-central England. The study found that incidents of hypothyroidism there were twice as high as in Greater Manchester, another highly-populated area in northwest England where the water is not fluoridated.
“We found that higher levels of fluoride in drinking water provide a useful contribution for predicting prevalence of hypothyroidism,” say the study authors. “The findings of the study raise particular concerns about the validity of community fluoridation as a safe public health measure.”
The study found that in areas with fluoride levels above .3 mg per liter of water, hypothyroidism rates rose 30%.
This should concern those in the United States, where 67% of the population lives in fluoridated municipalities and where the recommended fluoride level in the water is 0.7 mg/L, twice that of England.
Beware: The average American citizen has no idea about the danger
For a healthy 150-pound adult, 3.5 mg of fluoride ingested daily could result in hypothyroidism. According to the latest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data, the average American consumes about 3 mg of fluoride daily, sometimes up to 6 mg. These high amounts come from water and pesticide residue on commercially grown produce (fluoride was originally a pest control chemical, after all), toothpaste, fruit juices, canned foods, and other products most Americans consume daily.
And if a person has an iodine deficiency, that amount where hypothyroidism becomes a threat is reduced to a mere .7 mg. With an estimated 90% of the world’s population iodine deficient and millions worldwide continuing to drink fluoridated water, it is safe to say that a global epidemic of hypothyroidism is upon us.
The shocking reality of hypothyroidism and cancer rates
Hypothyroidism (i.e., low thyroid function) can cause weight gain, fatigue, constipation, dry skin, thinning hair, achiness, cold intolerance, slowed heart rate, impaired memory, and depression. Earlier estimates indicated hypothyroidism (HT) affected 4.6% of the U.S. population.
And yet, the medical community has known for decades what fluoride can do to the endocrine system. It was once used to treat goiter and other symptoms of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid). Fluoride was originally billed on the commercial market as a bug spray. The chemicals used to fluoridate U.S. water supplies today are often purchased from surplus industrial waste from China.
“We would not purposely add arsenic to the water supply. And we would not purposely add lead. But we do add fluoride. The fact is that fluoride is more toxic than lead and just slightly less toxic than arsenic,” says Dr. John Yiamouyiannis.
Fluoride has also been linked directly to cancer. Dr. Dean Burk, formerly of the National Cancer Institute, studied rats who drank fluoridated water. These rats showed an increase in tumors, especially in the thyroid, bones, and liver. Based on his research, Burk estimated that fluoridation had caused more than 10,000 cancer deaths.
In a vicious cycle of increased risk, studies have also shown that women who take medications such as the thyroid hormone replacement Levothyroxine are twice as likely to develop breast cancer.
What can you do to lower your risk of cancer?
Because fluoride is hidden in many foods and products you use daily, avoiding fluoride completely is nearly impossible. However, there are proactive steps you CAN take to severely reduce the harmful effects of this dangerous substance.
The first and most important step is to invest in a top-notch water purification system for your home that filters out fluoride. Be sure to buy organic produce, and educate yourself on which fruits and vegetables will see a rise in fluoride levels when cooked (such as peas).
Finally, detox regularly and include substances in your diet like curcumin, such as neuroprotectors and cancer-fighters.
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