I've been reading into these theories about Illuminati and other conspiracist theories, and one thing that caught my eye was the addition of fluorides in our drinking water. Now a quick search brought me to the fact that not only is it added to our drinking water, but it's contained in both sea water, and ocean waters at higher amounts than we will ever consume. So not to debunk or contest anything, but why isn't this mentioned if it also occurs naturally? Wiki says: "Fluoride is usually found naturally in low concentration in drinking water and foods. The concentration in seawater averages 1.3 parts per million (ppm). Fresh water supplies generally contain between 0.01–0.3 ppm, whereas the ocean contains between 1.2 and 1.5 ppm.[7] In some locations, the fresh water contains dangerously high levels of fluoride, leading to serious health problems."
Because some people are beginning to think that the 0.01-0.3 ppm are too high as it is, coupled with the theory that it builds up on your pineal gland and/or affects your brain in such a way the government wants. I personally stay away from toothpaste with it in it cause my teeth seem to hurt when I use it for long periods. So now I use Tom's fluoride free toothpaste and my teeth don't hurt like they did. Could of just be a coincidence, but I don't care to find out. But you're right, it's naturally occurring and almost impossible to not consume it in some form, unless you reverse osmosis your drinking water, grow your own food, and water said food with reverse osmosised water. Conspiracy theorists will find anything to latch onto.
Yep, the only places in the world where fluoride poisoning actually occur are in villages and backwards places that are supplied by non-treated water... However that story isn't quite as saucy as the Illuminati one.
Nor are the actual symptoms of mild fluorosis quite as saucy as the conspiracy theories would have us believe.
Check this out if you want a good synopsis of the issue [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r0c_kfdwQU]Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - Fluoridation - YouTube[/ame] The fluoride used in our public water is derived from industrial waste! aluminum factories, fertilizer manufacturing and bomb making! It is NOT the same pharmaceutical fluoride you see in toothpaste. The idea the conspiracy theorists have stems from its use by the NAZIs on their population. Here is what one chemist says about it just some info, do what ya want with it
A world on the brink of revolution disagrees. I definatly don't see a population bending over and taking it because a magical mind controlled drug in our water. I mean it sounds credible. Buuut when you look at real people none of those claims hold up.
Don't get caught up in conspiracy theories. You will have to forfeit all of your critical thinking skills in order to accept one. Checkout this podcast. In episodes 16, 17 and 18 this guy gives an overview of how to think about conspiracy theories. It's very interesting. The Critical Thinker Podcast | The Critical Thinker Academy It's easy enough to contrast the claims in your video with what academia has to say, but I doubt that's the issue if you're a conspiracy theorist. Conspiracy theorists have the luxury of being able to dismiss any evidence that might contradict their position, encapsulating them; conspiracy theories are near incapable of honest objective criticism. So, this video claims that **The real reason behind water fluoridation is not to benefit children`s teeth. If this were the real reason there are many ways in which it could be done that are much easier, cheaper, and far more effective** Yet, academia tells us "There is overwhelming scientific support for the Regulations that oblige the Water supplier to adjust fluoride levels to 1 ppm in every town or municipality with more then 5,000 inhabitants."[1] "Today more then 300 million people in some 60 countries enjoy the defending effect of fluoride in drinking water. This is the most effective method for decreasing incidence of caries, as well as being cost effective. Over the years there were many attempts to 'blame' fluoridation with negative side effects to human health. Till today, none of the allegations passed scientific scrutiny."[1] "However, none of the many independent professional committees reviewing the negative aspects of fluoridation have found any scientific evidence associating fluoridation with any ill-effects or health problems"[2] [1] [Fluoridation of drinking water, w... [Refuat Hapeh Vehashinayim. 2004] - PubMed - NCBI [2] [Water fluoridation and public health]. [Harefuah. 2003] - PubMed - NCBI And these two references are not exhaustive of the relevant literature. Keep in mind that this claim comes from, ostensibly, a chemist. Now, although a chemist may well be in a position to understand fluoride and how it works (not necessarily its effects on the human body though), it may still be the case that he is ill-informed, mistaken, simply uninformed, about the chemicals effects on teeth and human health, and this could certainly be the case with his opinion on the most economical way to distribute fluoride to the community. He is surely not an expert, and he is just one person offering an opinion. On the other hand, we have a body of scientific research and many thousands of academics that are in the best position to examine these concerns and answer questions. Why take the least reliable and obscure opinions over established scientific knowledge? Why trust YouTube but not detailed academic research and multiple expert opinions? ...Ah! But wait! The Illuminate have been controlling academia for centuries! If you pull this line, score! Now your theory is inoculated against rational criticism. Any form of counter evidence that might be offered can be dismissed under the accusation "you're one of them!"; "you've been indoctrinated into the scientific worldview". The Illuminate mantra is certainly more exciting than boring old data, but if you want to be intellectually honest you don't take opinions posted on YouTube as more preponderant than empirical research. If you would claim that academia has been corrupted by mind controlling forces of evil then you'd better have a good reason for thinking so. We could go through each claim in that video and contrast it with other kinds of evidence, but if you're not willing to accept an academic standard of evidence there isn't going to be any productive conversation.
All this anti-fluoridation talk is put out by shills for the dental industry to increase the incidence of cavities so Big Dental can make more money. Nah, really, I'm tired of all these god damn conspiracy theories. Listen to seculardave and see a psychiatrist.
Also, the first large scale studies on fluoride were published between 1942 and around 1960, the most notable was headed by Dr H. Trendley Dean. The quote from the chemist was from 1954. It's not at all surprising that there would have been resistance to a new and revolutionary scientific discovery; there's always resistance to ground breaking science. During in and around 1954 there would have been at least some genuine scientific debate on this topic, but that isn't the case nowadays. As it turns out, Charles Perkins was a known sceptic and proponent of woo woo. He's a favourite of David Icke (and the like), there's articles on Whale.to. He seemed to associate with anti science, and modern day woo heads seem to enjoy using him as an authority. It's a shame that there's so much recent and more reliable data to draw conclusions from. I don't see why we ought to take as truth without question the opinions of a man known to support anti science, and who's beliefs were in stark contrast with most of the science of the time and are still in stark contrast with the science of today. I don't want to jump to conclusions here but I would not be surprised to find similar information about all of the authorities used in any documentary promoting a fluoride conspiracy. And I would bet money that most all of the information used to support the theories come back to people like David Icke and friends. And there is just SO much reliable information about fluoride out there, to dismiss such detailed and transparent information without even seriously considering it is simply ludicrous. Even within the last few years more studies have been published on the efficacy of fluoride and drinking water for preventing caries. That's like 60+ years of independently acquired empirical data. http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/oralhealth/topics/fluoride/thestoryoffluoridation.htm http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2031043/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17176650 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17680164 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2024166/
Good information! I'll have to read the other half later tonight after my classes. I still think forced decisions for everyone in a country is a little sketch. I don't like people telling me how to live or what to decide and so forth. One thing with mentioning though (this is just my case) is that I've received a fair share of dental issues (at least 8 cavities, one total failed tooth, and a few minor issues). Since highschool I became very self aware of my image and was a frequent brusher- twice a day you better believe it, and every night prior to "going out". I am still currently brushing twice daily with a few nights here and there when i'm too drunk to bother. But where's all this anti cavity crap supposed to fill in
I've heard the lifesaver water bottle can remove it. But getting the bottle just for flouride removal is a pretty surefire way to know that one is paranoid. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXepkIWPhFQ]Michael Pritchard: How to make filthy water drinkable - YouTube[/ame]
**I still think forced decisions for everyone in a country is a little sketch. I don't like people telling me how to live or what to decide and so forth.** You should realize that your issue is very much a first world problem. It's a luxury for us to have running water and the fact that we can reduce caries and lessen cost to public health by dosing our drinking water seems something of a moral obligation on the governments part, given all of the supporting research. We should be thankful that our countries have the means and the volition to do such a thing. The fact that you've developed cavities does not mean that dosing drinking water with fluoride isn't doing its job. Your cavities could be down to genetics or the kind of foods you eat, or some other confounding factor. All we need to do is look at the data for your country/state to see if it's benefiting people. It's fine to be sceptical to begin with, and if you don't know a great deal about the research then it really isn't surprising that you would be wary. Just be very careful of the kind of information you decide to base your beliefs and decisions on, and be aware that there are good reasons to take the research seriously.
I only mentioned forced dosages being an issue because there are plenty of other examples that can be mentioned that strip US citizens of their rights by making decisions for us. Sure, in this case some things can be considered a luxury but there are a lot of these forced actions that aren't. A lot of people that benefit from these decisions are Big businesses and companies whose main objective is the $$$. I can imagine since this chemical is a by-product, that it is rather cheap. When you mention lowering the cost of public health i hope you mean individually. I sit here with cavities and a missing tooth for the past few months because I can't afford dental insurance and the programs out there that offer assistance still call for a large sum of money ($300-600 for a cap). I guess in my case, this forced addition of flouride in our water never really helped me. For those that it does, well awesome. I also do not want to neglect research as I'm a large fan of it. However, I can go as far to say that by the goverment getting away with putting additions into the water supply, they've seen first hand the limitations that they can achieve. I don't need to start rumors, but seeing how open we are to the idea that additives can be put into the water supply, they see how easy it is. They (anyone) can literally do anything and have a large chance at getting away with it.