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Chicken Nuggets May Contain Fluoride

Natural Cures Not Medicine!

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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