Decades ago, dental experts thought adding fluoride to your water would put an end to cavities.
It didn’t. Adding fluoride to our drinking water actually increases cavities.
In fact, for each part-per million (ppm) of added fluoride in water, tooth decay goes up 27%.1
But there’s another dirty little secret about water fluoridation…
The sad truth is that fluoride is a neurotoxin. I put it in the same category as arsenic, lead and mercury. And I’ve counted 24 human studies and more than 100 animal studies proving fluoride’s damage to the brain.
Fluoride used to be a key ingredient in poisons and pesticides. It is waste left over from making chemical fertilizers. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry lists fluoride as one of the top substances posing the most significant potential threat to human health.
Recently, Mexican researchers reviewed all the studies. They found that prolonged use of fluoride may cause significant damage to health and particularly to the nervous system.2
Fluoride is even more dangerous because symptoms don’t surface right away. People keep using it because they can’t see the harm. Toxins can build up over 20 years before you start seeing effects.
And the effects are devastating…
You see, fluoride crosses the blood brain barrier. It can lead to changes in the brain’s physical structure and biochemistry.
Animal studies show fluoride leads to the same brain changes found in Alzheimer’s patients. In children, those changes affect mental development including learning and memory.
Fluoride also lowers intelligence. Harvard researchers found children in high-fluoride areas had much lower IQ scores than those who lived in low-fluoride areas. They suggested that high fluoride levels in drinking water may have an adverse effect on how children’s brains develop.3
The first step in protecting yourself against the brain damaging effects of fluoride is to avoid it altogether. But that’s not easy.
Fluoride is found in antibiotics, prescription drugs like Prozac, non-stick pots and pans, and toothpaste. You’ll get it in iced tea, infant formula, wine, and beer made with municipal water. It’s in produce like lettuce and bakery products.
But there is good news…
A recent animal study finds that a common kitchen spice can counter brain damage from fluoride.
I’m talking about curcumin…
Researchers in India gave mice fluoride for 30 days. Half of the mice also got curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric. They found that the curcumin significantly decreased the oxidation and neurodegeneration compared to the mice that did not get the curcumin.4
My friends in Bali inspired me to plant turmeric in my own backyard.
Curcumin is a powerful antioxidant. It works by battling the oxidative damage of fluoride in the brain. Studies show it also prevents DNA damage from fluoride in human white blood cells.5
That’s why I advise all my patients to fight fluoride with curcumin.
Curcumin is the active property of the turmeric plant. And I use so much that I now grow it in my own backyard.
I like to use my homegrown turmeric root in the kitchen. It looks like an ugly carrot in a brownish wrapper. When you cut it open, the flesh is a bright orange. You can grate it like ginger. Add it to soups, stews, rice or lentil dishes. Or add dried ground turmeric to curry sauces, deviled eggs or salad dressings. I use it in stir-fries, scrambled eggs and marinades.
Fight Fluoride Poisoning with Curcumin
In this country we don’t use enough turmeric to get the full brain benefits of curcumin. That’s why I recommend supplements to my patients.
But don’t waste your money on a product that won’t work…
- Look for a supplement with at least 90% or greater “curcuminoids.” And be sure your supplement contains piperine (an extract from black pepper). Piperine increases the bioavailability of curcumin by 2,000%.
Take 1,000 mg every day.
- To get even more out of your curcumin supplement, I recommend taking what I like to call a curcumin “kickstart.”
It’s a Balinese root called galangal. This rare root has been used in Far Eastern medicine for thousands of years. But only recently have researchers started studying it in the West. One researcher even calls it “the gold mine of future therapeutics.”
You can find fresh galangal at Asian markets and specialty stores, but I recommend the dried root. It keeps longer. I like making a cup of galangal tea. But it’s also easy to cook with.
Or you can take it as a supplement. I recommend taking 100 mg twice a day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Choi AL., et al. “Developmental Fluoride Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Environ Health Perspect. October 2012.
2 Sharma C, Suhalka P, Sukhwal P, Jaiswal N, Bhatnagar M. “Curcumin attenuates neurotoxicity induced by fluoride: An in vivo evidence.” Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2014 Jan-Mar.
3 Hemlata T., et al. “Curcumin supplementation protects from genotoxic effects of arsenic and fluoride.” Food Chem Toxicol. 2010 May.
4 Sharma C, Suhalka P, Sukhwal P, Jaiswal N, Bhatnagar M. “Curcumin attenuates neurotoxicity induced by fluoride: An in vivo evidence.” Pharmacognosy Magazine. 2014 Jan-Mar.
5 Hemlata T., et al. “Curcumin supplementation protects from genotoxic effects of arsenic and fluoride.” Food Chem Toxicol. 2010 May.