Just because it's a short week doesn't mean we don't have time for a Health News round-up.
- This is from last week, but it fits with this week's blog topic. Many cities are questioning the value of putting fluoride in the water, including Grand Rapids, the city that started it all 63 years ago. Some of the articles I looked at while researching my post listed fluoride among the dangerous chemicals found in water. Ultimately, the issue still needs to be decided.
- This week, New York finally put into effect a ban on trans-fats. Trans fats (monunsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) have been linked to a host of health woes. The ban is not without it's detractors.
- We all know that too much sun is bad for our health, but CNN reports a different hidden danger of summer. Sunscreen, even popular brands, may not deliver the protection they promise. In fact, they can actually contain harmful chemicals. You may want to break out your hat and parasol after reading this.
- Many of us just aren't as fit as we'd like to be. A little extra flab around the midsection is a problem for me, as it is for a lot of people. This article gives a good guide to losing belly fat, including diet and exercise.
2 comments:
Over 1,750 professionals signed a statement urging Congress to stop water fluoridation until Congressional hearings are conducted. They cite new scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. See statement: http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html
Fluoridation is the addition of fluoride chemicals (usually phosphate fertilizer industry's impure waste, silicofluorides) into drinking water ostensibly to prevent cavities in tap water drinkers..
Signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the prestigious 2006 National Research Council (NRC) panel that reported on fluoride’s toxicology, three officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, the President of the International Society of Doctors for the Environment, and hundreds of medical, dental, academic, scientific and environmental professionals, worldwide.
Signer Dr. Arvid Carlsson, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine, says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It's really obsolete.”
An Online Action Petition to Congress in support of the Professionals' Statement is available on FAN's web site, http://congress.fluorideaction.net and over 11,600 individuals have signed so far. Please join them.
“The NRC report dramatically changed scientific understanding of fluoride's health risks," says Paul Connett, PhD, Executive Director, Fluoride Action Network. "Government officials who continue to promote fluoridation must testify under oath as to why they are ignoring the powerful evidence of harm in the NRC report,” he added.
The Professionals’ Statement also references:
-- The new American Dental Association policy recommending infant formula NOT be prepared with fluoridated water.
-- The CDC’s concession that the predominant benefit of fluoride is topical not systemic.
-- CDC data showing that dental fluorosis, caused by fluoride over-exposure, now impacts one third of American children.
-- Major research indicating little difference in decay rates between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities.
-- A Harvard study indicating a possible link between fluoridation and bone cancer.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a DC watchdog, revealed that a Harvard professor concealed the fluoridation/bone cancer connection for three years. EWG President Ken Cook states, “It is time for the US to recognize that fluoridation has serious risks that far outweigh any minor benefits, and unlike many other environmental issues, it's as easy to end as turning off a valve at the water plant.”
Further, researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007 British Medical Journal indicate that fluoridation, touted as a safe cavity preventive, never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical. (1)
References:
(1) "Adding fluoride to water supplies," British Medical Journal, KK Cheng, Iain Chalmers, Trevor A. Sheldon, October 6, 2007
Fluoride Action Network
http://www.FluorideAction.Net
It seems counter-intuitive that we would add toxic substances to our drinking water, but we also add chlorine (which is a carcinogen) as well as fluoride. As times change, our awareness of what substances are dangerous expands.
Thanks for the link and the information - it's very interesting.
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