Hypothyroidism And Fluoride

[elye]

I know that many of us celiacs have a cluster of autoimmune disorders, underactive thyroid being one of them. I've been doing quite a bit of research on it as I have been newly diagnosed as hypothyroid. Have any of you heard of a connection between low thyroid function and excess fluoride? I've come to trust anything Dr. Josephh Mercola writes about, and here is his take:

www.mercola.com./2000/sep/10/green_tea_fluoride_thyroid.htm

I suspect that I have a LOT of fluoride coursing through my body, as I consume about eighty ounces of water (two or three of those in cups of decaf green tea) a day, and I've wondered if this is in any way particularly unhealthy....well, maybe that's why my thyroid gland has suddenly tanked! Anyone else have a take on this?

[Guest Doll]

I know that many of us celiacs have a cluster of autoimmune disorders, underactive thyroid being one of them. I've been doing quite a bit of research on it as I have been newly diagnosed as hypothyroid. Have any of you heard of a connection between low thyroid function and excess fluoride? I've come to trust anything Dr. Josephh Mercola writes about, and here is his take:

www.mercola.com./2000/sep/10/green_tea_fluoride_thyroid.htm

I suspect that I have a LOT of fluoride coursing through my body, as I consume about eighty ounces of water (two or three of those in cups of decaf green tea) a day, and I've wondered if this is in any way particularly unhealthy....well, maybe that's why my thyroid gland has suddenly tanked! Anyone else have a take on this?

Sorry to break it to you, but "Dr.Mercola" seems to be a lot more hype than help. He seems to be a bit of a quack. You see, you don't exactly have low thyroid function, you have complete autoimmune destruction of your thyroid gland. I guess it's possible that ANYTHING can be the trigger in those with the genetics for autoimmune thyroid disease, but I'd be skeptical. I don't know of any scientific evidence linking fluoride to Hashimoto's or autoimmune thyroid disease.

I will see what I can dig up...

[Ursa Major]

Actually, Doll, you're quite wrong this time. Dr. Mercola does a lot of research, his stories have links to all kinds of different places where he gets his info. He HAS gone off his rocker with some spiritual stuff he's into lately, unfortunately. But healthwise, he's right on most of the time.

My hobby is medical research (that's how I finally figured out I have celiac disease). I have done a ton of research on fluoride over the years, and Dr. Mercola's site was only one of the many places I gathered my information from.

There is no doubt whatsoever that he is right on when it comes to fluoride. It is a very potent nerve toxin, and it is true that thyroid disease is a lot more prevalent in areas with fluoridated water. And there is NO EVIDENCE whatsoever that fluoride protects against cavities, it's a big lie and a huge money making scam, that is destroying people's health, rather than helping it.

[elye]

Wow...I read your posts frequently, Ursula, and I know you know what you're talking about. Mercola has just been too bang-on about too many things in the past for me to be poo-pooing his fluoride-thyroid connection. It's truly a scary revelation to me. It's also unfortunate that a voice like Joseph Mercola's is so easily dismissed by many (I've had it happen before, for sure) for his unconventionality, his stances that often shake the old, solid tree of western medicine. And I must say that I, too, was rolling my eyes somewhat when he began to recommend EFT--an accupressure technique that has a spiritual component--for many kinds of ailments. I am a big sceptic...but I gotta tell ya...something incredible has happened to me and both of my parents under this technique.

On with the thread...it would make sense to get a filter for my drinking water, I suppose. But I drink several glasses at the gym. Bottled water? I just cannot bring myself to spend good money on water in a bottle.

[eKatherine]

Wow...I read your posts frequently, Ursula, and I know you know what you're talking about. Mercola has just been too bang-on about too many things in the past for me to be poo-pooing his fluoride-thyroid connection. It's truly a scary revelation to me. It's also unfortunate that a voice like Joseph Mercola's is so easily dismissed by many (I've had it happen before, for sure) for his unconventionality, his stances that often shake the old, solid tree of western medicine. And I must say that I, too, was rolling my eyes somewhat when he began to recommend EFT--an accupressure technique that has a spiritual component--for many kinds of ailments. I am a big sceptic...but I gotta tell ya...something incredible has happened to me and both of my parents under this technique.

On with the thread...it would make sense to get a filter for my drinking water, I suppose. But I drink several glasses at the gym. Bottled water? I just cannot bring myself to spend good money on water in a bottle.

Don't bother getting a filter for your water. Fluoride can't be filtered out, it is dissolved. The only way to remove it yourself is with a distiller.

Even if the standard recommendation of 1 mg is correct, most people get a lot more than that, when you consider that most beverages are made from fluoridated water, too. And it's definitely been shown that consuming several times the recommended level can cause health issues.

[elye]

This is all truly alarming...I was speaking with a chemist friend of mine this morning who tells me that boiling water will actually CONDENSE the fluoride within it. So our tea and coffee are in fact worse than our water. A reverse osmosis system is exceedingly expensive, as are the other couple of home flourine-eliminating systems I checked out. We remain powerless...

I wonder if the big pharmacuetical giant that manufactures synthroid is giving periodic cuts to the water processing plants?....

[Ursa Major]

My oldest daughter and her family live in Ottawa. Ottawa has, like most large cities in Canada, fluoridated water. My daughter didn't know about that for years, until I started doing my research on fluorides, and checked all the places my kids lived at the time (two in college or university, and my oldest in Ottawa permanently).

Ottawa and London, Ont. (where one daughter was studying photography) had fluoride, and Waterloo (another daughter) did not (I guess all the Amish and Mennonite people there have enough clout to prevent it).

Now, even though my daughter and her husband certainly don't have spare money, but five children (who they don't want to poison), they use ONLY bottled water for drinking and cooking (from springs, which obviously don't have added fluoride, only possibly a trace of the natural kind, which is fine). We also paid for a water filter and water delivery for our other daughter while she remained in London.

We got our oldest hooked on buying water when she was pregnant with her twins (second pregnancy). At the time they truly couldn't afford to buy water, but we were concerned for the babies especially, and gave her enough money to pay for several months of drinking water. After that, they wouldn't go back to drinking the tap water. Because, even though they used a Brita filter to get rid of the chlorine (not knowing about the fluoride), which made the water taste okay, it obviously won't filter out fluoride.

You need to look at buying water as an investment in your health, like buying medicine. You will ensure that your health will continue to deteriorate if you keep drinking fluoridated water (unless you move somewhere without fluoridation, of course).

By the way, I was never sure about the EFT, and that is not what I was talking about. Rather I think that his newest association with that crazy woman who prays to angels, and claims we can get anything we want if we pray for it the right way (as in demanding to have it, she calls it empowerment I think). I don't believe she is praying to God and angels at all, but rather, demons. And Dr. Mercola has fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.

[eKatherine]

I buy drinking and cooking water in gallon jugs. Just for myself I pay about $3 a week, which I think is affordable even when I've been unemployed. You don't have to pay boutique prices for drinking water.

[Ursa Major]

I buy drinking and cooking water in gallon jugs. Just for myself I pay about $3 a week, which I think is affordable even when I've been unemployed. You don't have to pay boutique prices for drinking water.

I agree, that's what my daughter does, too. The small bottles are expensive, the big jugs are affordable (especially if you don't buy the expensive brand names).

[jerseyangel]

I use only spring water, and the brand I buy is always on sale one place or another. I agree, it's a relitively small price to pay for the benefits it offers.

I feel so much better since I stopped using the filtered water--I assumed it was the coconut hulls in the filters themselves--probably the absence of flouride has an effect, too.

At some point, we will probably have a reverse-osmosis system installed.

[elye]

Of course, you're all absolutely right...even moderately priced bottled (or jugged) water is well worth the investment we are making in our long-term health. But doesn't it just rankle you when you really think about the fact that you are having to spend money on drinking water? What has the world come to, when we actually have to pay money for healthy water? It doesn't just rankle me, it infuriates me. How could it have become this way?

Okay, rant is over...off to price water jugs...

[Guest Doll]

Actually, Doll, you're quite wrong this time. Dr. Mercola does a lot of research, his stories have links to all kinds of different places where he gets his info. He HAS gone off his rocker with some spiritual stuff he's into lately, unfortunately. But healthwise, he's right on most of the time.

My hobby is medical research (that's how I finally figured out I have celiac disease). I have done a ton of research on fluoride over the years, and Dr. Mercola's site was only one of the many places I gathered my information from.

There is no doubt whatsoever that he is right on when it comes to fluoride. It is a very potent nerve toxin, and it is true that thyroid disease is a lot more prevalent in areas with fluoridated water. And there is NO EVIDENCE whatsoever that fluoride protects against cavities, it's a big lie and a huge money making scam, that is destroying people's health, rather than helping it.

But we are talking about AUTOIMMUNE thyroid disease here. That means the body has mistakenly attacked the thyroid gland and that's why it is destroyed. There was/is nothing actually wrong with the thyroid gland ITSELF except for the fact that the person's own immune system destroyed it. If the autoimmune attack were stopped, in theory the thyroid could regenerate and function just fine.

I agree that Dr. Mercola is getting people to think, but some of his stuff is a little off. For example, there is no evidence to suggest that those who live in areas with H2O that is not fluorinated don't get autoimmune thyroid disease. They do.

I have seen naturopathic docs list a lack of iodine as a cause of autoimmune thyroid disease. They are confused. You do need iodine for proper thyroid hormone production and uptake, but that is an entirely different correctable problem and not autoimmune thyroid disease.

The reason why I question this is because autoimmune thyroid disease did not just suddenly appear since we began to add fluoride to water. Plus, most people drink H2O with fluoride for years with no thyroid autoimmunity. Other people develop it as a baby (although rare) who have only consumed breastmilk and/or formula.

I'm not saying fluoride is GOOD or necessary for you, but I am willing to bet money that even if you stop drinking fluorinated water, your autoimmune thyroid disease will not go away. The problem is initially with your immune system and NOT your actual thyroid function.

[Ursa Major]

Doll, any poison will suppress your immune system. You overload your body with poison, and it it will react and get sick. Fluoride is poison, no doubt about it. It is a byproduct of the fertilizer industry, which they used to have to dispose of as toxic waste, which costs money. Then somebody (don't remember his name right now) decided that fluoride was supposed to help strengthen your teeth and prevent cavities. No evidence has ever come forth that this is true (and the reports to the contrary are lies), but despite this lack of evidence, the government decided to now BUY the fluoride, instead of making the fertilizer industry dispose of it safely, and to dump it into the nation's drinking water! Not only that, but they don't even clean it, meaning, that all kinds of other junk (including lead) goes into that drinking water, too.

Studies have shown that in fluoridated areas the average intelligence of the citizens is lower than in non-fluoridated areas. I wonder why, is it brain damage from ongoing poisoning, even from before birth?

I am aware of the fact that thyroid disease is still a problem in non-fluoridated areas. The issue here is degree. There are an awful lot MORE cases of thyroid disease in areas where they put fluoride into the water.

In Europe more and more places refuse to put fluoride into the water, and most never did. Goverments over here go to great lengths to get people to accept this unproven hypothesis. They've done a great job in brainwashing dentists to do their dirty work, too.

I remember a few years ago an article by our 'public health doctor' (appointed by the government) in our local paper. He was saying that our area had one of the lowest rates of cavities in Ontario, despite the fact that we don't have fluoridated water. He said that to keep it that way, people should remember to give their kids fluoride supplements.

His conclusion should have been, to keep doing what people are doing, which is to stay away from fluoride, to make sure that their kid's teeth would keep healthy. And to make sure not to give those kids pop, juice, candy and cookies on a regular basis, as those are the culprits in cavities, not the absence of fluoride.

[Guest Doll]

Doll, any poison will suppress your immune system. You overload your body with poison, and it it will react and get sick. Fluoride is poison, no doubt about it. It is a byproduct of the fertilizer industry, which they used to have to dispose of as toxic waste, which costs money. Then somebody (don't remember his name right now) decided that fluoride was supposed to help strengthen your teeth and prevent cavities. No evidence has ever come forth that this is true (and the reports to the contrary are lies), but despite this lack of evidence, the government decided to now BUY the fluoride, instead of making the fertilizer industry dispose of it safely, and to dump it into the nation's drinking water! Not only that, but they don't even clean it, meaning, that all kinds of other junk (including lead) goes into that drinking water, too.

Studies have shown that in fluoridated areas the average intelligence of the citizens is lower than in non-fluoridated areas. I wonder why, is it brain damage from ongoing poisoning, even from before birth?

I am aware of the fact that thyroid disease is still a problem in non-fluoridated areas. The issue here is degree. There are an awful lot MORE cases of thyroid disease in areas where they put fluoride into the water.

In Europe more and more places refuse to put fluoride into the water, and most never did. Goverments over here go to great lengths to get people to accept this unproven hypothesis. They've done a great job in brainwashing dentists to do their dirty work, too.

I remember a few years ago an article by our 'public health doctor' (appointed by the government) in our local paper. He was saying that our area had one of the lowest rates of cavities in Ontario, despite the fact that we don't have fluoridated water. He said that to keep it that way, people should remember to give their kids fluoride supplements.

His conclusion should have been, to keep doing what people are doing, which is to stay away from fluoride, to make sure that their kid's teeth would keep healthy. And to make sure not to give those kids pop, juice, candy and cookies on a regular basis, as those are the culprits in cavities, not the absence of fluoride.

I totally agree with you that fluoride may very well be unhealthy to say the least. I don't think it's a conspiracy though. I really don't have too strong of an opinion on this either way, at least right now.

I remember seeing people get upset when they discovered Splenda was sugar processed with (gasp!) chlorine, but didn't realize that the harmless salt on their table also contained chlorine (Sodium chloride or NaCl).

Fluoride may in fact be linked to "thyroid disease". What I am trying to say is that we should not link AUTOIMMUNE thyroid disease (the kind related to Celiac, the problem is with the IMMUNE system) with fluoride.

In fact, we have an OVERACTIVE and zealous immune system that obviously does TOO good of a job, since our glands, intestines, etc. get destroyed when we are exposed to the triggers.

I do agree 100% that our water is contaminated with both too many additives AND naturally occurring pollutants.

[elye]

Dr. Mercola does address the dangers that fluorine poses to the immune system. He talks about the research of Dr. Barry Peatfield, a British endocrinologist who is the leading world authority on thyroid disorders. I was pointed to a piece he wrote on fluoride, where he explains how fluorine distorts protein structure, which causes the misfiring of our immune systems. Kind of heavy going, but it sure makes sense to me:

http.//thyroid.about.com/b/a/040397.htm

[Guest Doll]

Dr. Mercola does address the dangers that fluorine poses to the immune system. He talks about the research of Dr. Barry Peatfield, a British endocrinologist who is the leading world authority on thyroid disorders. I was pointed to a piece he wrote on fluoride, where he explains how fluorine distorts protein structure, which causes the misfiring of our immune systems. Kind of heavy going, but it sure makes sense to me:

http.//thyroid.about.com/b/a/040397.htm

I do appreciate the link. Thank-you.

Do you have any other links? The autoimmune thyroid disease link here was kind of basic. None of the 4 major points really had to do with ATD. They also neglected to mention the genetics of who would react to fluoride if it WAS the trigger. Only people with certain HLA types or genetics would be affected. We know this. We know that autoimmune thyroid disease runs in families, as do multiple autoimmune conditions in those with autoimmune thyroid disease.

If fluoride simply confused the immune system, EVERYONE exposed to it would develop autoimmune thyroid disease.

Are there any documented cases of which ATD has gone into remission due to removal of fluoride in the diet? I suppose it is possible that too much fluoride, yeast, etc. can disrupt flora in the gut leading to a leaky gut, but how many other possible triggers are there, and can we even eliminate them all?

I think we may have a better chance at changing defective genes before we pinpoint the triggers. I have always been a fan of genetic engineering to correct the genetic defects in autoimmunity, but that is so far off

Just thinking...and frustrated that the triggers for autoimmune diseases are not more clean-cut and obvious!

I also wanted to add that some think soy is a trigger. It looks to me like we are being exposed to more of everything in general, and we are really grasping at straws for answers.

[Sandie]

Dr. Mercola does address the dangers that fluorine poses to the immune system. He talks about the research of Dr. Barry Peatfield, a British endocrinologist who is the leading world authority on thyroid disorders. I was pointed to a piece he wrote on fluoride, where he explains how fluorine distorts protein structure, which causes the misfiring of our immune systems. Kind of heavy going, but it sure makes sense to me:

http.//thyroid.about.com/b/a/040397.htm

I have a Berkfeld water filter that I like a lot. I bought it from James Filter a few years ago because the water delivery was very expensive. It has a main filter that gets rid of tons of stuff (they claim you can put pond water in the chamber!), and I have an additional filter that removes the flouride.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

-

[elye]

I have been hearing exactly the same thing about distilled water, in particular from my old chemist friend. I wonder why it is so difficult to find? Hey, there's a lucrative business idea...

[BRUMI1968]

If fluoride simply confused the immune system, EVERYONE exposed to it would develop autoimmune thyroid disease.

This isn't true. The "germ" theory doesn't get everyone sick who is exposed to flu germ, for example. EVERYONE can not be used in a sentence talking about science or health. The same is true for ecological toxins; fluoride is one; and other toxins.

One thing I would add about fluoride, is that you can be politically active in your community and get your municipality to STOP fluroidating your water. Our community was attacked by a national group aiming to fluoridate all communities that are not and we defeated it, for the THIRD time. People here don't want it. They run a hard campaign full of all sorts of propaganda, but they can be defeated.

Lastly, too, the green tea you mentioned I know can be an issue. I wrote emails to several green tea makers asking them about it, but no one knew anything. I think organic tea would be best since there won't be any added fluroide in the soil that the green tea picks up. But if you don't know the soil qualities of the place your tea comes from, you are a bit in the dark. I drink so much green tea it is ridiculous. But I don't drink fluoridated water at all, so hopefully it evens out. If I go to my parents' house (they live in a fluoridated town) I do not drink the water, and I bring my own to cook with. Sound paranoid? Well, maybe.

I read a book called The Flouride Deception; pretty good compelling stuff.

[elye]

The Fluoride Deception...I'll head to Chapters this afternoon. Thanks.

[peter/southland]

My question is, is fluoride made from gluten or does it have gluten in it " in New Zealand "

as I was told by another person I was talking to that also has celiac that they can not drink

tap water ad has to have bottled water.......

[kareng]

My question is, is fluoride made from gluten or does it have gluten in it " in New Zealand "

as I was told by another person I was talking to that also has celiac that they can not drink

tap water ad has to have bottled water.......

 

 

Just an FYI - this is a 7 year old thread.

 

Fluoride is not made from gluten.  Avoiding fluoride in water is not because of gluten.

[AlwaysLearning]

I totally agree that Dr. Mercola is right on target half of the time, and out in left field the other. But he has often made me research more on my own, which is never a bad thing.

When it comes to fluoride, my personal experience alone is enough to tell me that it is a poison. After having a filling go awry and horrible tooth pain follow, the dentist told me to rinse with fluoride. So I went to the store and got a fluoride mouthwash and used it as directed every night before bed.

 

Around the same time, I started having really bad pains in my hip. It wasn't until a month later when I went away for a few days and didn't bring the mouthwash - and didn't have any pain aside from in my tooth - that I put two and two together that the mouthwash was actually causing my hip pain! 

I did some more trials over the next week and sure enough the hip pain only occurred the day after using the mouthwash. I did some more testing on myself with fluoride vs. non-fluoride toothpastes and you can guess that I switched to fluoride-free toothpaste exclusively as well. 

The research about fluoride quickly followed. And I read a ton of material in addition to what Dr. Mercola had to offer. The only people who seem to be pro fluoride are big corporations, and the ADA. Every independent scientist who actually did an unbiased study seems to be against it. And who knows if the ADA or the corporations can change their tune at this point even if they wanted to because they would just open themselves up to major lawsuits.

The severe hip pain went away though it will still bother me years later if I hike for a few hours.

I can't say that I understand why I might be more sensitive to fluoride than the general public. 

But I've also found that tap water and filtered tap water both disagree with me, though in different ways. There are so many chemicals in my tap water that who knows what is to blame in addition to flouride. You can actually smell the chlorine in it and my county always ranks as an area with the most chemicals added. But adding finite particles of activated charcoal that make their way into the water after using a a regular filter certainly doesn't seem to help and will turn my stomach into a knot almost immediately.

The thought has crossed my mind that having malabsorption problems just doesn't mix well with activated charcoal. I certainly don't need anything else absorbing things from my diet other than me.

And though I'm an avid environmentalist, I can't drink anything but bottled spring water without experiencing some symptom or another. And it kills me just a little every time I bring home one of those big plastic jugs. I'm embarrassed to be seen with them in the store and unloading my car when i get home but I haven't found any better options. 

 

Oh, and the fancy filtering system at the store that sells filtered water to refill your own containers doesn't seem to help. Though it incorporates reverse osmosis, activated charcoal is still in use and it is still the same lousy county water to start.