“The Great Culling: Our Water” DVD

by Charles Feng, DC

I watched the “The Great Culling: Our Water” with my kids (ages 5 -7)and we were astonished to learn that fluoride is added to our water source for reasons that we were not aware of.

It is commonly believed that fluoride is beneficial for our teeth and  thus added to water to increase oral hygiene. However, the film lends to the idea that fluoride is added to water because factories needed a cheaper way to dispose of their industrial waste. According to the documentary, fluoridation began when the founder of Alcoa Aluminum persuaded the government that an industrial byproduct of creating aluminum should be added to America’s water supply. Later, fluoride was the byproduct from creating phosphorus based fertilizer.

When that practice was abolished, the the Chinese exported their”fluoride” to the U.S. Modern fluoride is made of molecules, including heavy metals. Its reprehensible to learn that many European countries forbid the addition of fluoride, but here in the U.S., it is a common practice. Rather, 75% of the nation has their water source mixed with fluoride. Unfortunately, commercial drinking water in addition to water targeted to infants have contaminated with fluoride.

Since adding fluoride to water is such a prevalent practice, it is difficult to prevent fluoridated water from entering our bodies since we drink, cook, and bathe in it. When shopping for drinking water, I have made an effort to look for mineral, mountain or spring water. A reverse osmosis machine may aid in reducing the amount of fluoride that we ultimately ingest, but as with distilled water, such practice also takes out the trace minerals. For those that want to steer clear of fluoridated water, a simple internet search will provide you with a list of bottled water with significant levels  of   fluoride as well as those with minute or undetectable fluoride levels.

There are choices when choosing toothpastes as there are a number of non-fluoridated versions on the market. Many advertise that they are fluoride-free. As long as the consumer is educated on the harmful effects of this  element, the manufacturers of toothpastes will respond to public demand.