Former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), Linda Birnbaum, has co-written an op-ed calling for increased efforts to protect children’s brains from fluoride by ending water fluoridation.
She was joined by Christine Till, author of several fluoride studies, and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, who is a clinical scientist and professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
The trio’s commentary follows the NTP’s review of all published studies evaluating the potential neurotoxicity of fluoride, which concluded that "fluoride is presumed to be a cognitive developmental hazard to humans."
“The NTP's conclusion was strengthened by a synthesis of high-quality studies showing that children who were exposed to higher amounts of fluoride during early brain development scored about 3 to 7 points lower on their IQ tests,” the op-ed says. “Fluoride offers no benefits to the fetus and infant and new evidence suggests that fluoride is toxic to the developing brain at levels routinely found in the general population.”
About 75% of American water systems have fluoride in them, and we know enough to recommend that pregnant women and infants reduce fluoride intake now, the writers say, as “safe alternatives are available and that there is no benefit of fluoride to babies' teeth before they erupt or appear.”
SOURCE: Environmental Health News October 7, 2020