At the 1998 US Conference of the International Society for Fluoride Research in Bellingham, Washington, Dr Jennifer Luke from the University of Surrey, UK, presented evidence of the effects of fluoride on the pineal gland in gerbils. In both gerbils and humans this gland helps control the aging process and the production of melatonin, which regulates the sleep/wake cycle. Gerbils exposed to a high level of fluoride experienced a significant decrease in the production of melatonin and earlier genital maturation. While animal studies may not always be applicable to humans, Dr Luke theorised that mass fluoridation may be behind the general decline in the age of puberty in the West (Fluoride, 1998; 31: 175).
In areas where water is fluoridated, evidence shows that dangerously high fluoride concentrations accumulate in many soft tissues and organs of the population, including the heart, kidney and bladder. The highest level ever recorded 8400 ppm was found in the aortas of people living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where fluoride was first introduced in America.
The heart and blood vessels are affected by fluoride. Cardiac irregularities and low blood pressure have been noted in experimental poisoning using large doses (Publ Health Report, 1956; 71: 459-67). In 1950, five years after experimental introduction of fluoride into drinking water in Grand Rapids, the number of deaths from heart disease nearly doubled. Death rates due to cancer, diabetes and arteriosclerosis were all markedly increased compared to death rates for the rest of the state (The Grand Rapid Herald, July 28, 1955).
By recording the heart's activity, Japanese researcher Taka Mori showed a direct link between damage to the heart and dental fluorisis in children who drank water with a fluoride content of 0.5 to 6.2 ppm (R Ziegelbecker et al, Emu Verlags Gmbh, Austria: Lahnstein, 1995: 43).
Fluoride affects the brain and entire central nervous system. Neurological problems like headaches, vertigo, spasticity in extremities, visual disturbances and impaired mental acuity can all result. Tissue damage to anterior horn cells (cells in the forward facing section of the spinal cord) has been found (Fluoride, 1975; 8: 61-85).
Official annual statistics revealed that among malnourished children in the Chilean town of Curico, fluoridated since 1953, death rates were 104 per cent higher than in comparable, non fluoridated towns. The general mortality was higher in Curico by 113 per cent, compared with the average for the rest of the country (Emu Verlags: 47-8).
Fluoride and ME
Although few researchers have looked at the role of fluoride in the development of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), there are conspicuous similarities between key features of ME/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and those seen in the very early stages of fluoride poisoning (Fluoride, 1998; 31: 13-20; see box, p 1).
Dr John McLaren Howard of Biolab in London offers a few important clues as to why this may be. He discovered that ME patients experience reduced movement of white blood cells when exposed to quite low levels of fluoride (InterAction 14, Autumn, 1994: 53-4). This effect on white blood cells might render patients less able to fight infections efficiently, or lead to an exacerbation of their health problems.
Fluoride also interferes with phagocytosis, as well as causing the release of superoxide free radicals in resting white blood cells. This means that fluoride slows down and weakens the very cells which serve as the body's defence system. Bacteria, viruses, chemicals and the body's own damaged or cancerous cells are then allowed to wreak havoc. Minor infections take longer to clear and can cause more serious illness (J Yiamouian-nis, The Aging Factor, Health Action Press, 1993: 32). This is precisely what appears to be happening in many cases of ME.