Thursday, June 12, 2008

Kidney foundation withdraws support of water fluoridation

The National Kidney Foundation withdrew its support of water fluoridation citing the 2006 National Research Council (NRC) report indicating that kidney patients are more susceptible to fluoride's bone and teeth-damaging effects.

The kidney-impaired retained more fluoride and risk skeletal fluorosis (an arthritic-type bone disease), fractures and severe enamel fluorosis, which may increase the risk of dental decay, reports the NRC.

Fluoride is added to U.S. water supplies ostensibly to reduce tooth decay. Fluoride is also in foods, beverages, drugs and dental products.

The National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) former fluoridation position statement also carried surprising cautions. The NKF advised monitoring children's fluoride intake along with patients with chronic kidney impairment, those with excessive fluoride intake, and those with prolonged disease.

NKF now admits, "Exposure from food and beverages is difficult to monitor, since FDA food labels do not quantify fluoride content."

The NKF's April 15, 2008 statement goes further: "Individuals with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure. More than 20 million Americans have CKD, and most don't even know it. More than 20 million others are at increased risk for developing CKD."

"There is consistent evidence that impairment of kidney function results in changes to the way in which fluoride is metabolized and eliminated from the body, resulting in an increased burden of fluoride," concludes Kidney Health Australia.

NKF's fluoridation support was dropped when a lawyer, an academic dentist and public health professional, Daniel Stockin, alerted it to NRC's findings.

"An easy way to reduce the uncontrolled flow of fluoride into our bodies is to stop water fluoridation," said attorney Paul Beeber, President, New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation. "But it takes political will to reject fluoridation."

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