Des Moines resident leads charge to remove fluoride from Iowa capital

Tuesday, December 17, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: fluoride, drinking water, Des Moines

(NaturalNews) It has been in the public water supply of Iowa's capital for more than 50 years. But fluoride could very soon become a thing of the past in Des Moines, thanks to the valiant efforts of one dedicated resident who is busy educating city and water utility officials about its many dangers, which include recent evidence pointing to lowered IQ and brain damage as among the many adverse effects of fluoride exposure.

Des Moines artist and activist Bill Hamilton says, when he first brought his concerns about fluoride, the chemicals of which are derived from the radioactive waste of phosphate fertilizer mining, to then-Des Moines Water Works CEO Randy Beavers several years ago, he was met with "defensive ignorance." According to CityView's Amber Williams, who recently covered the issue, Beavers insisted at the time that the fluoride was safe because it was "food-grade," an erroneous designation.

"When I first approached Beavers, he was defensive off the bat," stated Hamilton. "He said it was food-grade fluoride. I thought, 'What? Food-grade fluoride? There's no such thing as food-grade fluoride.' So I went to the manufacturers with this, and the manufacturers laughed, said no such thing existed. When I went back to Beavers to tell him he didn't know what he was talking about, he just clammed up. He didn't say a word after that."

Several years later, Beavers was replaced by Bill Stowe, who Hamilton says was more receptive to hearing about fluoride. Stowe instructed Hamilton to submit his concerns about fluoride via email, upon which he proceeded to forward studies linking low-level fluoride exposure to things like bone loss, brain damage and even cancer. Despite continued reassurances by federal agencies that fluoride is safe, Hamilton explained to Stowe that the latest scientific evidence says otherwise.

"The level of fluoride used in Des Moines water (0.7 ppm) is dangerous," wrote Hamilton in one of his emails. "Numerous peer-reviewed studies show a 1 ppm fluoride level is unhealthy and dangerous. Also, it's nearly impossible to monitor the dosage of fluoride since different people drink varying amounts of it and may have specific physical conditions that react differently to fluoride."

According to data gathered by Hamilton, exposure to fluoride at levels up to and below 1 ppm can:

1) Damage key receptors involved in proper neuron function
2) Impair lipid metabolism
3) Disrupt the body's antioxidant defense systems
4) Damage the brain's hippocampus
5) Harm Purkinje cells in the brain's cerebellum
6) Contribute to the formation of beta-amyloid plaques, which are linked to Alzheimer's disease and dementia
7) Damage the proper function of the pineal gland, which under normal conditions produces hormones that regulate wake and sleep patterns.

Fluoride damages thyroid, pineal glands, leading to damaged brain function and decreased IQ

Perhaps most concerning is fluoride's effect on the thyroid gland. A 2006 National Research Council report found that even minute levels of fluoride exposure between 0.01-0.03 mg/kg/day are damaging to thyroid function, particularly when iodine intake levels are inadequate.

"That means, for someone my weight (170 pounds), that is 0.7 mg/day, which is less than the amount in one quart of Des Moines fluoridated water," added Hamilton. "Thus, typical water fluoridation exposure is medically likely to diminish thyroid function in hundreds or thousands of people."

Other key studies, including a recent meta analysis out of Harvard University, have found that exposure to fluoride at levels commonly added to city water impair proper mental development in children and lower IQ. The overall intelligence of a fluoridated population, in other words, is likely to be far lower than that of an unfluoridated population.

"Is it worth sacrificing our brain for our teeth?" asked Hamilton. "Are Des Moines residents viewed as a pair of teeth with legs, like those little wind-up toys? What about our brains, specifically the brains of our precious children? What about our thyroid glands, our kidneys? To me, it's not even up for debate. When in doubt, leave it out."

You can read Williams' full report on Hamilton's campaign to end water fluoridation in Des Moines by visiting the Fluoride Action Network:
http://fluoridealert.org.

Sources for this article include:

http://fluoridealert.org

http://fluoridealert.org

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http://science.naturalnews.com