New research out of the U.K. says indicates that fluoride can cause underactive thyroid. The higher rates of underactive thyroid occurred in areas where fluoride showed up in drinking water at a concentration greater than 0.3 mg per liter. Fluoride is added to drinking water in order to improve dental health though some liken it to medicating the public without consent.
The study was extensive and examined 98 percent of England’s GP practices. Areas with the greatest amounts of fluoride were added to the water were 30 percent more likely to see high rates of hypothyroidism. The lead author of the study which was published in the BMJ‘s Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, expressed concerns:
“I think it is concerning for people living in those areas … Underactive thyroid is a particularly nasty thing to have and it can lead to other long term health problems. I do think councils need to think again about putting fluoride in the water. There are far safer ways to improve dental health.”
Surprised? Not really…
This is not the first time that fluoride has been implicated in health problems.
- Last year, a study published in Toxicology found a link between adding fluoride to water at the concentrations of one and a half milligrams per liter suggested by the World Health Organization might aggravate renal disease and contribute to chronic kidney disease.
- A couple of years ago, Harvard School of Health published an article suggesting that fluoride intake might be impairing children’s cognitive abilities.
- In the past, we’ve looked at research indicating that fluoride intake from our drinking water could significantly increase risks of weakened bones when the New England Journal of Medicine published an article saying that although fluoride consumption may thicken bones, the bones become more brittle.
- We’ve talked about how infants and young people exposed to too much fluoride from tap water mixed with reconstituted formula and tooth pastes often experience dental fluorosis.
- And, we’ve touched on how statistically around one percent of the population have a hypersensitivity to fluoride causing them allergic reactions like eczema.
- The biggest shocker though was when a couple of years ago, an article published in Nuclear Medicine Communications linked sodium fluoride to cardiovascular disease, which is of course, the leading cause of death worldwide.
The possible effect of fluoride on thyroid functioning doesn’t come as a surprise to very many people, especially not in the crunchy community, though many governments assert the practice of adding fluoride to drinking water is perfectly safe.
Documentation nearly a half century old demonstrates that doctors prescribed sodium fluoride to slow down thyroid activity in people who suffered from overactive thyroids, though effects were seen only at daily doses that would be higher than what would be obtained from drinking water.
What does this mean to the Everything Birth community?
Hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid, can cause aching in the muscles, exhaustion, weight gain and even depression, according to The Telegraph. Realistically, how it impacts women, who are especially prone to hypothyroid disease, is extensive.
Hypothyroidism can cause all sorts of complications for women, according to an article in Hypothyroid Mom that cited the American Thyroid Association.
- miscarriage
- still birth
- infertility
- anemia
- pre-eclampsia
- placental abruption
- postpartum hemorrhage
- premature delivery
If you can’t avoid fluoride in drinking water, the researchers did suggest that the thyroid effect has to do with how fluoride seems to prevent iodine production. Ask your doctor or midwife if taking an iodine supplement like sea kelp might counter the effects.