Get That Fluoride Out of Your Tea!

February 09, 2005 | 64,094 views

It is important to be reminded every so often that all things must come in moderation. That is certainly a lesson one woman learned after discovering drinking one to two gallons of super-strength tea a day resulted in harmful levels of fluoride in her body, causing her bone pain. Specifically, the woman was suffering from spine pain attributed to hyper-dense bones. When tested for the cause of her symptoms, the results showed high levels of fluoride in her urine.
This case motivated scientists to test several brands of instant tea available at grocery stores to determine the fluoride content in each. The study analyzed 10 different brands of tea at regular-strength levels in fluoride-free water. Each contained fluoride levels ranging from 1.0 to 6.5 parts per million (ppm):

Product	Preparation	Fluoride (ppm or mg/L)
Product	Preparation	Laboratory 1	Laboratory 2	Mean
Lipton
	Instant (1999)	2.7	2.6	2.6
	Instant (2003)	7.7	5.4	6.5
	Instant decaffeinated	3.1	2.4	2.7
	Instant diet iced tea mix (decaffeinated lemon)	1.1	1.0	1.0
	Naturally decaffeinated flow-through bags	1.9	2.0	2.0
Nestea
	Instant	2.4	2.1	2.3
	Instant decaffeinated	2.4	2.2	2.3
Schnucks
	Instant	1.5	1.0	1.3
AriZona
	Lemon iced tea mix	2.5	1.9	2.2
Luzianne
	Specially blended for iced tea (bags)	3.9	3.1	3.5

While consuming high levels of fluoride has been known to boost bone density, it also results in bone brittleness and can lead to skeletal fluorosis, resulting in:

Bone pain
Calcified ligaments
Bone spurs
Fused vertebrae
Difficulty moving joints

Further, scientists believe fluoride is absorbed naturally into tea plants from soil and rainwater, and varies by the year, harvest and location all over the world. Aside from instant tea, Americans can be exposed to fluoride through drinking water, fluoridated toothpastes and dental preparations, coated cookware, chewing tobacco, some wines and certain sparkling mineral waters.
Washington University January 25, 2005
The American Journal of Medicine January 2005; 118(1): 78-82

Join the Fight to Get Fluoride Out of Drinking Water

There's no doubt about it: fluoride should not be ingested. Even scientists from the EPA's National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory have classified fluoride as a "chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity.” Furthermore, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 41 percent of American adolescents now have dental fluorosis—unattractive discoloration and mottling of the teeth that indicate overexposure to fluoride. Clearly, children are being overexposed, and their health and development put in jeopardy. Why?
At least when it comes to topical application, you have a choice. You can easily buy fluoride-free toothpaste and mouthwash. But you're stuck with whatever your community puts in the water, and it's very difficult to filter out of your water once it's added. Many do not have the resources or the knowledge to do so.
The only real solution is to stop the archaic practice of water fluoridation in the first place. Fortunately, the Fluoride Action Network has a game plan to END water fluoridation, both in the United States and Canada. Clean pure water is a prerequisite to optimal health. Industrial chemicals, drugs and other toxic additives really have no place in our water supplies. So, please, support the anti-fluoride movement by making a donation to the Fluoride Action Network today.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Fluoride is a toxic substance that can have profoundly negative effects on your body. If you consume large amounts of green tea for health benefits you might want to invest time in researching a brand that indeed is quite low in fluoride. We aren't just whistling Dixie here folks. This is a real threat and you simply need to avoid brands that can dump loads of this toxic heavy metal into your skeleton.
This study has made it quite clear that tea can be a source of fluoride. In fact, studies have shown, and experts have come forth to testify, that the risk of consuming fluoride far outweighs any possible benefit.
Whether you are drinking tea for its taste or its antioxidant health benefits, you can feel free to drink up with these extracts. However, if you choose to drink tea that has not had its fluoride content tested, you should be aware of these fluoride facts.
Fluoride Facts

Fluoride is more toxic than lead and is used as a pesticide for mice, rats, and other small pests.
The fluoride used in tap water is not closely monitored and often contains high levels of carcinogens like arsenic.
The fluoride we ingest from the water supply and from a number of other sources is associated with a number of negative health effects such as cancer, weakened bones and osteoporosis.

If you are still not convinced of the need to avoid fluoride I would suggest reviewing the fluoride links page, as there are literally thousands of pages documenting the problems with fluoride and the reasons you want to eliminate it for you and your family.
Also, The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson is an important book that will make you question the effects of not only fluoride but also of other "safe" chemicals used openly in our environment today. This book chronicles very real people and events, and the end result is a masterpiece of documented abuse, pollution and poisoning that can no longer be ignored.
Related Articles:

Tooth Decay Is Back - And Fluoride's No Help
Green Tea, Fluoride, and the Thyroid
Fluoride in the Water Increases Hip and Bone Fractures
Is Fluoride Really As Safe As You Are Told?