AMA #15: Fluoride Benefits/Risks & Vagus Nerve Stimulation

If fluoride concentrations in drinking water are too high or—and this is a very important 'or'—or you're consuming a lot of a particular water that contains even low levels of fluoride, well, then there's the potential... that the fluoride is causing disruptions to thyroid hormone output or, on the receptor end... disruptions to thyroid hormone metabolism and usage in the body.

The Center for Disease Control have set a recommended level of 0.7 mg/L... of fluoride in drinking water as the level, and here I'm paraphrasing, that can help prevent tooth decay and promote good oral health and that they have deemed safe.

There is some evidence that if levels of fluoride in drinking water exceed a certain threshold, it can cause problems with thyroid hormone function and perhaps even certain aspects of brain function...

The degree to which fluoride can harm you or not harm you depends on how much of it happens to be in the water or toothpaste ... There are clear benefits of fluoride for tooth strength and for warding off cavities, but if you get too much fluoride into your system, it is dangerous. It is a poison at certain levels. So, as you've probably heard before, the dose makes the poison.

That's why fluoride is in drinking water—it is to try and create super physiologically strong teeth. And indeed, every single dentist I spoke to... all of them agree that at chemical/mechanical level, fluoride creates stronger teeth.

If you are concerned about fluoride, it does not necessarily mean that you can't drink tap water. The suggestion simply would be to filter that tap water. And during the episode I did on water, I talked about a number of different filtration approaches—many of those filters will filter out fluoride...

I recently purchased a whole house filter for the drinking water taps in my house so that it does remove all the fluoride and remove some other contaminants as well.