New
Service for TodaysSeniorsNetwork.com
readers...roll mouse over, click on
highlighted links in stories to review items
from Amazon
Now, keep up to date
with daily feeds of newly posted stories
about America's Seniors...click on the box
to the left
Kidney Foundation drops Fluoridation
support…Fluoride
may damage bones of kidney patients
NEW YORK, June 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
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 retain 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 US 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.
But 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," NKF reports.
"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 in a paper
NKF recommends reading.
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," says attorney Paul
Beeber, President, New York State Coalition
Opposed to Fluoridation. "But it takes
political will to reject fluoridation."
The American and Louisiana Dental
Associations erroneously claim the National
Kidney Foundation supports fluoridation.
However, even the ADA reports that
"decreased fluoride removal may occur among
persons with
severely impaired kidney function who may
not be on kidney dialysis."
Chronic kidney disease is a growing health
problem in the United States occurring more
often in African-American populations, says
the Centers for Disease Control.
...
...
...