Prolonged exposure to fluoride may lower childhood IQ
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2014 23:36 PM

There are many different types of chemicals that are toxic to the human body. Many of these compounds exist in trace amounts in the atmosphere, water supply and soil, and do not acutely affect the human body. However, prolonged exposure to chemicals could result in multiple brain development disorders like dyslexia, autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Some compounds like fluoride can also have dramatic negative effects on childhood IQ scores.

A growing list of dangerous chemicals
According to a review published in The Lancet Neurology, an overhaul of chemical regulations needs to happen to better protect children. The current safeguards don't ensure the protection of fetuses, newborns and toddlers from toxins found in clothes, toys and furniture. In a 2006 study, researchers determined that at least five chemicals used in many industrial manufacturing processes - lead, polychlorinated biphenyls, toluene, methylmercury and arsenic - can do major damage to a developing brain.

Harvard School of Public Health's Dr. Philippe Grandjean and Dr. Philip Landrigan from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine discovered six more chemicals that cause harm, including manganese, fluoride, chloropyrifos, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, tetrachloroethylene and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

The dangers of fluoride
According to Grandjean and Landrigan's research, prolonged exposure to fluoride causes children to lose about seven IQ points. In other cases, children who lived in high-fluoride areas scored significantly lower on IQ tests than those in low-fluoride areas. The scientists studied children up to 14 years of age, but the research shows developmental degradation may have occurred much earlier in their lives. Grandjean and Landrigan proposed that the brain is not capable of offsetting the effects of the toxins during early stages of development.

Controversy over the addition of fluoride on the list of toxic chemicals exists because of its widespread use in water, plants, toothpaste and other dental products. Authorities such as the World Health Organization and members of the Australian government suggest that having low levels of fluoride in drinking water is perfectly safe. They say that the fluoride also helps reduce the number of cavities and other dental issues in children. However, Grandjean, Landrigan and other researchers around the world feel differently.

"Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury, and other poisons that cause chemical brain drain," Grandjean explained in the Harvard School for Public Health report. "The effect of each toxicant may seem small, but the combined damage on a population scale can be serious, especially because the brain power of the next generation is crucial to all of us."