Dosing us with drugs through our food and water: Water Fluoridation
In November Waterloo residents will be asked: “Should the Region of Waterloo fluoridate your municipal water? Yes or No?”
This highly politicized debate has already polarized Waterlooians who believe the addition of hydrofluorosilicic acid to our drinking water may cause harm against public health groups who insist water fluoridation is a safe effective means of reducing cavities across the population that is ‘particularly beneficial to underprivileged people …. and the hardest to reach poor.’ (4)
Those thinking scientific studies will guide their response to the referendum question will be disappointed.
While Ontario’s 2009 Chief Medical Officer of Health asserts ‘the studies are clear and unequivocal and the benefits of fluoridation are well documented (4), Trevor A Sheldon, chair of England’s National Health Services Centre for Reviews and Dissemination fluoridation review advisory panel, concludes ‘evidence on the potential benefits and harms of adding fluoride to water is relatively poor… we know of no subsequent evidence that reduces the uncertainty. (6) Both England’s pro-fluoridation Chief Dental Officer and Chief Medical Officer acknowledge ‘the evidence base on the effects of fluoridation on health needs strengthening. (5)
How do we vote ‘Yes or No’ when scientific evidence ranges from poor to contradictory for total exposure to fluoride, its effectiveness at reducing cavities, its safety, its potential harms and our supposedly trustworthy public health officials so blatantly whitewash this conflicting evidence in favour of fluoridation?
Waterloo Region Record Columnist Luisa D’Amato cites thalidomide deformed babies to remind us of a history ‘full of episodes where the authorities told us a medicine or a chemical was safe, only to find out later that they were horribly, tragically, wrong’ Thalidomide’s use today as a cancer treatment demonstrates drugs can both harm and benefit. With thalidomide the patient can freely choose to use the drug or not.
A parallel public health initiative provides clearer data on how the wholesale dosing a population benefits some while harming others.
A daily folic acid tablet given to women around the time of conception has been shown to effectively reduce neural tube defects in newborns. Claiming folic acid tablets weren’t reaching poor, disadvantaged women, those who threaten our freedom in both the U.S. and Canada mandated folic acid be added to everyone’s diet by adding it to flour and grain products.
One evaluation of U.S. folic acid supplementation found mean folate blood concentrations more than doubled in the overall population with ‘bread, rolls and crackers’ becoming the largest dietary contributor. Less than 10% women of childbearing age – the targeted group – reached the folate levels needed to prevent neural tube defects. (1)
Mounting evidence points to significant adverse impacts of dosing the entire population with folic acid. Folic acid is a synthetic chemical that differs from naturally occurring dietary folates. In countries with mandatory food fortification unmetabolized folic acid is found in most individuals – including newborns - where it competes with natural folates in normal metabolic processes. (2) Increased folic acid intake also decreases natural killer cell cytotoxicity and reduces the effectiveness of drugs used to treat arthritis, psoriasis, and cancer. High blood levels of folate are also linked with cognitive impairment, anemia, an increased risk of insulin resistance and obesity in children and increased rates of breast and colorectal cancers. (3)
We know each one of us is a unique individual. Our distinctive genetic makeup ensures some of us are resistant to certain diseases while others are not. From moment to moment we encounter differing physical, emotional and nutritional environmental factors that are immeasurable. Each one of these varying factors turns on and off different genes to adapt our metabolism to this ever-changing environment. Dosing such a diverse human population of individuals, as if it were one, is certain to benefit some while doing irreparable harm to others.
Hopefully Waterlooians will consider the effective, readily available alternatives to widespread fluoride dosing, the inconclusive science, the less-than-frank advice from our public health establishment and, most importantly, our unique individual response to drugs when deciding whether to support – or not - fluoridation of its public drinking water.
References
1 - The effect of folate fortification of cereal-grain products on blood folate status, dietary folate intake, and dietary folate sources among adult non-supplement users in the United States. Dietrich M, Brown CJ, Block G. J Am Coll Nutr. 2005 Aug;24(4):266-74. http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/24/4/266
2 - Evidence of unmetabolised folic acid in cord blood of newborn and serum of 4-day-old infants. Sweeney MR, McPartlin J, Weir DG, et al. Br J Nutr 2005;94:727–30. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=924440
3 - Is folic acid good for everyone? A David Smith, Young-In Kim, and Helga Refsum Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:517–33. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/87/3/517
4 – Value of Water Fluoridation. May 26, 2009 Memorandum to Medical Officers of Health. http://region.waterloo.on.ca/web/health.nsf/4f4813c75e78d71385256e5a0057f5e1/802C4278C3E2C63885256B14006407A4/$file/Water%20Fluoridation_Value.pdf?openelement
5 – Rapid Responses to: Adding fluoride to water supplies K K Cheng, Iain Chalmers, and Trevor A Sheldon. BMJ 2007; 335: 699-702 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7622/699#177639
6 - Adding fluoride to water supplies. K K Cheng, Iain Chalmers and Trevor A Sheldon. BMJ 2007;335;699-702 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2001050/?tool=pubmed
