Is too much of this mineral calcifying your arteries? (Hint: It's not calcium) by Dr. Shallenberger

Is too much of this mineral calcifying your arteries? (Hint: It's not calcium)

Volume 14 | Issue 32 March 13, 2017

You probably have already heard of the dangers of fluoride. Fluoride is one of the most toxic metals in the world. The lethal dose for humans is only as much as 5 grams, a little over a teaspoon. But even in much smaller doses, fluoride is known to weaken bones enough to cause fractures, damage kidneys, impair brain development in children, cause dental fluorosis, damage thyroid function, and cause gastrointestinal disorders.

Now, it looks as if you can add coronary artery disease on to that list. And the really scary thing is that fluoride can calcify coronary arteries even at the doses that are commonly found in drinking water.

Researchers wanted to investigate how damaging fluoride was to people who had chronic kidney disease. So, to do the study, they enlisted a group of rats with chronic kidney disease. They added the same amount of fluoride to their drinking water that is currently recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – 1.5mg/L.

When they examined the rats, they discovered that not only did the fluoride further damage their kidney function, but it also "dramatically increased" the calcification in their aortas. When they added it all up, they had this to say about fluoridated drinking water, "In conclusion, while fluoride prevents calcification in vitro, the WHO's recommended concentrations in drinking water become nephrotoxic [toxic to kidneys] to chronic kidney disease rats, thereby aggravating renal [kidney] disease and making media vascular calcification [calcified arteries] significant."

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According to the authors, one reason why fluoride is so toxic is that it's so highly absorbable. When taken orally, more than 90% of it is absorbed. And once it's absorbed, it's quickly distributed into all the cells in the body where it can build up over years. The researchers also noted that in healthy people, almost without exception, fluoride accumulates in the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Here's how they explain the toxicity of fluoride on arteries.

As most people get older, their arteries form atherosclerotic plaques. These eventually become calcified and the arteries become hard and stiff. Since arteries need to be soft and flexible to function, this eventually leads to coronary artery disease. But, of course the body has a way of removing the calcium from the plaques and preventing this process. The problem with fluoride, even in the amounts that are commonly added to drinking water, is that it reacts with the calcium deposits and makes them much less able to be removed. Thus, in the presence of fluoride, calcium deposits are going to increase at a faster rate. The authors put it like this:

"From a therapeutic point of view, this incorporation [of fluoride into hydroxylapatite as fluorapatite] may involve an additional problem, because these calcifications will be more difficult to eliminate, if at all possible." And that's not all they had to say.

One thing that's very obvious about the study is that patients with compromised kidneys need to be especially careful to avoid fluoride. Once again, to quote the authors, "The main conclusion of our study is that chronic kidney disease is aggravated even by low concentrations of fluoride, which in turn accelerates medial vascular calcification [calcified arteries], thereby confirming and extending previous reports on fluorosis in chronic kidney disease patients exposed to WHO-recommended fluoride concentrations in drinking water."

So, if you've been drinking fluoridated water, stop it now. If you have been exposing your body to fluorinated toothpaste, mouthwash, or supplements, stop them too. The best way to get rid of the fluoride in your water is to install a reverse osmosis water filtering system in your house. Judy and I have had one for over 30 years now. In addition, if you have already loaded up your body with fluoride, start taking 15-30 mg per day of vitamin K2 along with 300-500 mg/day of magnesium. Over time, as the fluoride levels decrease, these nutrients will pull the excess calcium off your arteries.

Yours for better health,

Frank Shallenberger, MD

Sources: Martín-Pardillos A, Sosa C, et al. Effect of water fluoridation on the development of medial vascularcalcification in uremic rats. Toxicology. 2014 Apr 6;318:40-50. http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/fluoride-water-calcify-arteries-study/. .