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Seeds for Change Wellness
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Fluoride's Effect on Bone Tissue
Fluoride's Effect on Bone Tissue
Author: Gary Null, Ph.D. Source
At one time, fluoride therapy was recommended for building denser bones and preventing fractures
associated with osteoporosis. Now several articles in peer-reviewed journals suggest that fluoride
actually causes more harm than good, as it is associated with bone breakage. Three studies
reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed links between hip fractures and
fluoride. Findings here were, for instance, that there is "a small but significant increase in the risk of
hip fractures in both men and women exposed to artificial fluoridation at 1 ppm." In addition, the New
England Journal of Medicine reports that people given fluoride to cure their osteoporosis actually
wound up with an increased nonvertebral fracture rate. Austrian researchers have also found that
fluoride tablets make bones more susceptible to fractures. The U.S. National Research Council states
that the U.S. hip fracture rate is now the highest in the world.
A 2000 article in the journal Fluoride describes the bone effects of fluoride in detail. Fluoride may
increase bone quantity (osteofluorosis,osteosclerosis) but also decrease bone quality and bone
strength. It is well known that pharmacological doses of fluoride increase the risk of torsion-type
fractures (such as hip fractures) despite the appearance of greater bone density. Conventional
medicine interprets the observed fluoride-induced increase of serum alkaline phosphate
concentration as a sign of osteo blast activity. Actually, it is a reflection of increased mortality of
osteocytes within bone. Osteocytes are rich in alkaline phosphatase, which is released when the cells
are killed by fluoride. It is unlikely, therefore, that a window of fluoride-induced bone benefit exists.
Louis V. Avioli, professor at the Washington University School of Medicine, says in a 1987 review of
the subject: "Sodium fluoride therapy is accompanied by so many medical complications and side
effects that it is hardly worth exploring in depth as a therapeutic mode for postmenopausal
osteoporosis, since it fails to decrease the propensity for hip fractures and increases the incidence of
stress fractures in the extremities."
Fluoride's deleterious effect on bone is well documented. Early experiments using large doses of
fluoride as a treatment for osteoporosis had disastrous results. Dr. C. Rich warned that rather than
strengthening bones, fluoride could cause osteoarthritis, as well as gastric pain, calcification of the
arteries, and visual disturbances.
Dr. Paul Connett cites two epidemiological studies suggesting a possible association with
osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in young men living in fluoridated areas. One is the report of the U.S.
National Toxicology Program mentioned earlier, which first uncovered the epidemiological evidence of
increased osteosarcoma in boys and young men living in fluoridated areas. The second is a study
conducted by the New Jersey Department of Health. Dr. Perry Cohn studied the incidence of the rare
bone cancer in seven New Jersey counties relative to water fluoridation. In fluoridated areas
incidence of osteosarcoma in boys under the age of ten was 4.6times higher than in unfluoridated
areas, 3.5 times higher in the 10 to 19 age group, and over twice as high in the 20 to 49 age group.
Scientists at Yale University discovered that doses as low as 1 ppm of fluoride decrease bone
strength and elasticity, making fracture more likely. Another group of researchers found that fluoride
accelerated the development of osteoporosis. A 1992 study of elderly patients found 'a small but
significant increase in the risk of hip fracture in both men and women exposed to artificial fluoridation
at 1 part per million'. As with the bone cancer, the adverse effects of fluoride accumulation on bone
strength were greater with men.
Fluoride has the potential to increase skeletal mass to a greater extent than any other
pharmacological agent, yet it has proven difficult to translate this into therapeutic benefit for patients
with low bone mass in diseases such as osteoporosis, according to a 1996 study by Michigan's
Center for Osteoporosis Research. This apparent paradox can be explained in part by toxic actions
of the ion on skeletal mineralization, impairment of the normal processes of bone resorption, and
fluoride-induced decreases in strength per unit of bone (mass or volume).
Belgian arthritis researchers reviewed thirty years clinical research on fluoride in the treatment of
osteoporosis. They point out that fluoride has a dual effect on osteoblasts (the cells from which
bones are made). On the one hand, it increases the birthrate of osteoblasts, while on the other hand
it has a toxic effect on the individual cell with mineralization impairment and reduced apposition rate
resembling osteomalacia. Fluoride has a positive effect on axial bone density, they say, but the axial
bone gain is not matched by similar changes in cortical bone. (The cortical bone is the hard outer
part of bone where a bone's main strength lies.)
Among the studies cited, two show an increased rate of hip fracture among patients treated with high
doses of fluoride (50-75 mg per day).
In an experiment on cow bone, fluoride treatment reduced the mechanical strength of bone tissue by
converting small amounts of bone mineral to mostly calcium fluoride. This action reduces the
structurally effective bone mineral content and also possibly effects the interface bonding between
the bone mineral and the organic matrix of the bone tissue. A Polish study published in 1999 found
that treatment with fluoridated water decreases the bending strength of the femoral neck and shaft in
laboratory rats.
A New Zealand review of recent scientific literature reveals a consistent pattern of evidence--hip
fractures, skeletal fluorosis, the effect of fluoride on bone structure, fluoride levels in bones and
osteosarcomas--pointing to the existence of causal mechanisms by which fluoride damages bones.
Public health authorities in Australia and New Zealand have appeared reluctant to consider openly
and frankly the implications of this and earlier scientific evidence unfavorable to the continuation of
the fluoridation of drinking water supplies.
Dr. Connett reports that, of eighteen studies conducted since 1990, ten have found an association
between water fluoridation and hip fractures in the elderly. "One study found a dose-related increase
in hip fracture as the concentration of fluoride rose from 1 ppm to 8 ppm (Li etal, 1999, to be
published). Hip fracture is a very serious issue for the elderly, as a quarter of those who have a hip
fracture die within a year of the operation, while 50 percent never regain an independent existence."
Author: Gary Null, Ph.D. Source
At one time, fluoride therapy was recommended for building denser bones and preventing fractures
associated with osteoporosis. Now several articles in peer-reviewed journals suggest that fluoride
actually causes more harm than good, as it is associated with bone breakage. Three studies
reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed links between hip fractures and
fluoride. Findings here were, for instance, that there is "a small but significant increase in the risk of
hip fractures in both men and women exposed to artificial fluoridation at 1 ppm." In addition, the New
England Journal of Medicine reports that people given fluoride to cure their osteoporosis actually
wound up with an increased nonvertebral fracture rate. Austrian researchers have also found that
fluoride tablets make bones more susceptible to fractures. The U.S. National Research Council states
that the U.S. hip fracture rate is now the highest in the world.
A 2000 article in the journal Fluoride describes the bone effects of fluoride in detail. Fluoride may
increase bone quantity (osteofluorosis,osteosclerosis) but also decrease bone quality and bone
strength. It is well known that pharmacological doses of fluoride increase the risk of torsion-type
fractures (such as hip fractures) despite the appearance of greater bone density. Conventional
medicine interprets the observed fluoride-induced increase of serum alkaline phosphate
concentration as a sign of osteo blast activity. Actually, it is a reflection of increased mortality of
osteocytes within bone. Osteocytes are rich in alkaline phosphatase, which is released when the cells
are killed by fluoride. It is unlikely, therefore, that a window of fluoride-induced bone benefit exists.
Louis V. Avioli, professor at the Washington University School of Medicine, says in a 1987 review of
the subject: "Sodium fluoride therapy is accompanied by so many medical complications and side
effects that it is hardly worth exploring in depth as a therapeutic mode for postmenopausal
osteoporosis, since it fails to decrease the propensity for hip fractures and increases the incidence of
stress fractures in the extremities."
Fluoride's deleterious effect on bone is well documented. Early experiments using large doses of
fluoride as a treatment for osteoporosis had disastrous results. Dr. C. Rich warned that rather than
strengthening bones, fluoride could cause osteoarthritis, as well as gastric pain, calcification of the
arteries, and visual disturbances.
Dr. Paul Connett cites two epidemiological studies suggesting a possible association with
osteosarcoma, bone cancer, in young men living in fluoridated areas. One is the report of the U.S.
National Toxicology Program mentioned earlier, which first uncovered the epidemiological evidence of
increased osteosarcoma in boys and young men living in fluoridated areas. The second is a study
conducted by the New Jersey Department of Health. Dr. Perry Cohn studied the incidence of the rare
bone cancer in seven New Jersey counties relative to water fluoridation. In fluoridated areas
incidence of osteosarcoma in boys under the age of ten was 4.6times higher than in unfluoridated
areas, 3.5 times higher in the 10 to 19 age group, and over twice as high in the 20 to 49 age group.
Scientists at Yale University discovered that doses as low as 1 ppm of fluoride decrease bone
strength and elasticity, making fracture more likely. Another group of researchers found that fluoride
accelerated the development of osteoporosis. A 1992 study of elderly patients found 'a small but
significant increase in the risk of hip fracture in both men and women exposed to artificial fluoridation
at 1 part per million'. As with the bone cancer, the adverse effects of fluoride accumulation on bone
strength were greater with men.
Fluoride has the potential to increase skeletal mass to a greater extent than any other
pharmacological agent, yet it has proven difficult to translate this into therapeutic benefit for patients
with low bone mass in diseases such as osteoporosis, according to a 1996 study by Michigan's
Center for Osteoporosis Research. This apparent paradox can be explained in part by toxic actions
of the ion on skeletal mineralization, impairment of the normal processes of bone resorption, and
fluoride-induced decreases in strength per unit of bone (mass or volume).
Belgian arthritis researchers reviewed thirty years clinical research on fluoride in the treatment of
osteoporosis. They point out that fluoride has a dual effect on osteoblasts (the cells from which
bones are made). On the one hand, it increases the birthrate of osteoblasts, while on the other hand
it has a toxic effect on the individual cell with mineralization impairment and reduced apposition rate
resembling osteomalacia. Fluoride has a positive effect on axial bone density, they say, but the axial
bone gain is not matched by similar changes in cortical bone. (The cortical bone is the hard outer
part of bone where a bone's main strength lies.)
Among the studies cited, two show an increased rate of hip fracture among patients treated with high
doses of fluoride (50-75 mg per day).
In an experiment on cow bone, fluoride treatment reduced the mechanical strength of bone tissue by
converting small amounts of bone mineral to mostly calcium fluoride. This action reduces the
structurally effective bone mineral content and also possibly effects the interface bonding between
the bone mineral and the organic matrix of the bone tissue. A Polish study published in 1999 found
that treatment with fluoridated water decreases the bending strength of the femoral neck and shaft in
laboratory rats.
A New Zealand review of recent scientific literature reveals a consistent pattern of evidence--hip
fractures, skeletal fluorosis, the effect of fluoride on bone structure, fluoride levels in bones and
osteosarcomas--pointing to the existence of causal mechanisms by which fluoride damages bones.
Public health authorities in Australia and New Zealand have appeared reluctant to consider openly
and frankly the implications of this and earlier scientific evidence unfavorable to the continuation of
the fluoridation of drinking water supplies.
Dr. Connett reports that, of eighteen studies conducted since 1990, ten have found an association
between water fluoridation and hip fractures in the elderly. "One study found a dose-related increase
in hip fracture as the concentration of fluoride rose from 1 ppm to 8 ppm (Li etal, 1999, to be
published). Hip fracture is a very serious issue for the elderly, as a quarter of those who have a hip
fracture die within a year of the operation, while 50 percent never regain an independent existence."