This is the fifth recent study finding neurotoxic harm from early life exposure to fluoride, from two research groups funded with $4 million from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
Research
Ireland has the lowest rate of breastfeeding in the world and therefore the highest rate of bottle fed babies per capita. A study published this week found a large decrease in the IQ of children who had been fed infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated tap water, compared to formula-fed children living in unfluoridated areas. The study by a research team based at York University, Toronto, followed a large cohort of Canadian mother-child pairs through age 3-4 years and found an average drop of over 4 IQ points for children in fluoridated areas
The authors of the newest paper note that fluoride’s dental benefits come almost exclusively from topical contact (toothpaste) once teeth have erupted into the mouth. They conclude: “In the absence of any benefit from fluoride consumption in the first six months, it is prudent to limit fluoride exposure by using non-fluoridated water or water with lower fluoride content as a formula diluent.”Based on the large number, quality, and consistency of the studies, it concluded fluoride was a “presumed” neurotoxin. The draft review is equivocal about effects at low exposures, but these newest high-quality mother-child studies support a conclusion that artificially fluoridated water causes substantial IQ reductions. The size of the effect has been likened to that from lead by experts in the field.
97% of EU countries do not fluoride their water any more, Ireland still does. Should we not be outraged?