Do your Chicken Nuggets Contain Fluoride?
Maybe you’re not concerned about the little
bit of fluoride you might ingest from brushing your pearly whites each day.
You’re probably more concerned about the fluoride coming out of your tap,
right? But, these aren’t the only sources of fluoride that you may be exposed
to each day. In fact, you could be serving up a dose of fluoride for breakfast,
lunch and dinner. The good news is that you can easily navigate the sea of
processed products and reduce your risk of health effects from long-term
exposure.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring element
found in air and water – not just your fluoridated tap water, but in all water
to some degree. If you live in a large city in the U.S., chances are good that
your tap water has had fluoride added to it since 43 of the 50 largest cities
engage in community water fluoridation. This makes you are a member of the club
representing 62% of the population, or roughly 144 million people that have
fluoridated tap water. (1) However, some of the highest concentrations of
fluoride in drinking water don’t always come from the public water supply but
from deep wells. And here’s another unpleasant surprise: fluoride has also
found its way into many ordinary foods and beverages.
One Lump or Two?
A national survey of oral health in the
U.S. conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that dental
fluorosis occurs in 32% of American children between the ages of 6 and 19, an
increase of 9% from two decades ago. The survey also revealed that African
American children experienced a greater rate of incidence than all other ethic
groups, although the reason is not clear. (2) What is evident is that the
increased exposure to fluoride is not related to accidentally swallowing toothpaste.
According to the Medical College of
Georgia, fluoride may be your cup of tea – literally. The tea plant, which is
brewed into the world’s most consumed beverage, absorbs fluoride from the soil
to the tune of 3 to 4 parts per million (ppm). A few cups a day doesn’t present
a significant risk, but some studies indicate that people who drink large
amounts of black tea are at higher risk for a bone disease called skeletal
fluorosis. (3) Fluoride is also found in prepared iced tea mixes, but in smaller
amounts, generally between 1 and 4 ppm.
Process This
Many processed foods and beverages contain
fluoride for one simple reason: they’re processed with fluoridated water from
the public supply. This includes soft drinks, fruit juices, infant formula, cereal,
canned soup, dried fruits, wine and beer. Scientists at Oregon State University
have found that chicken nuggets and other processed chicken products that
undergo mechanical deboning significantly contribute to fluoride overload, with
nuggets and sticks containing an average of 3.6 ppm and pureed chicken meals
for infants up to 5.6 ppm. (4)
Hard Facts to Swallow
Fluoride is not an essential nutrient,
which means your body doesn’t need it to function and there’s no such thing as
fluoride deficiency. This element is, however, more toxic than lead and only
slightly less toxic than arsenic. The current argument in the scientific
community doesn’t appear to be related to toxicity of fluoride in general but
its degree of chronic toxicity, meaning the long-term effects of ingesting
sustained levels of fluoride over time. Ironically, the Institute of Medicine
maintains that the “safe” daily intake of fluoride over the course of a
lifetime is 10 milligrams per day – the same amount the agency admits can cause
skeletal fluorosis within 10 to 20 years. (5) The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) acknowledges the toxicity of fluoride because of its use
in pesticides and rodenticides, yet it’s in your child’s toothpaste. If you
didn’t immediately run to check for yourself just now, we’ll fill you in: the
FDA requires fluoride toothpaste to include a poison warning that directs
consumers to the poison control center in the event more than the amount of
paste needed for brushing goes down the hatch.
Numerous studies indicate that a wide
variety of health risks are associated with prolonged, elevated intake of
fluoride, specifically arthritis, kidney disease, cancer, thyroid disease,
cardiovascular disease, glucose intolerance and infertility. (6)
Tips to Reduce Fluoride
The Fluoride Action Network (FAN) provides
some great information on how to significantly reduce the amount of fluoride in
your life (See References). But first, be assured that the fluoride that
naturally occurs in whole foods, including dairy, grains, meat, fruit and
vegetables, is very low and not likely to cause health problems. The exception
to this is tea and seafood, as well as water from deep wells. That said,
consider drinking green and white teas, which come from the same plant but are made
using young leaves with lower fluoride levels and undergo minimum processing.
Enjoy seafood, but in moderation. And if you have well water, have it analyzed
and/or install water filters either at the well house or the tap. Installing
tap filters or a water filtration system for the entire house is also a good
idea if you have municipal water that is treated with fluoride.
At the store, keep in mind that the more
processed the food or drink is the more fluoride it likely contains. Choose
100% fruit juice over fruit “drinks” and beverages made from concentrate.
Whenever possible, buy organic foods and beverages since they are free of
pesticides that contain fluoride (not to mention other toxic chemicals). Of
particular importance is to opt for organic nuts, beans, dried beans, dried
fruit (including raisins), grapes and wine. When it comes to convenience, buy a
roasted organic chicken to help you prepare busy weeknight meals instead of
deli sliced chicken breast or frozen nuggets. At home, try to prepare foods
using filtered water as much as possible.
References
The American Dental Hygienists'
Association: Fluoride Facts
Centers for Disease Control (CDC):
Surveillance for Dental Caries, Dental Sealants, Tooth Retention, Edentulism,
and Enamel Fluorosis --- United States, 1988--1994 and 1999—2002
Science Daily: Tea May Contain More
Fluoride Than Once Thought, Research Shows
Fluoride Action Network: Fluoride Levels in
Mechanically Deboned Chicken
Fluoride Action Network: Health Effects
Fluoride Action Network: FAQ
FAN’s Grocery Store Guide: 7 Ways to Avoid
Fluoride in Beverages and Food
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