THIS TOWN IS FLUORIDATING THE MILK AT CHILDREN’S SCHOOL
It is 2016, correct? I only ask because it seems impossible to believe that a city council in the UK has decided to introduce fluoride to their school aged children, via the milk in their free breakfast program. A simple Google search about fluoride’s safety and efficacy in the reduction of dental cavities will yield sufficient evidence to the contrary. In fact, a study published in the British Medical Journal, showed that cavities and tooth decay could potentially be reversed with diet. And yet, it’s true.
From the Enlightened Consciousness article:
“Coun Graham Cain, cabinet secretary for Blackpool Council, said: “Unfortunately the state of Blackpool’s dental health is very poor.
However,where some parts of the country can benefit from fluoride naturally appearing in their daily drinking water, in Blackpool we cannot.
What we do have is a method through the free breakfast programme that allows us to reach all primary school children as they are growing up and make the fluoride milk available to them there.”
While it is true that nearly half of Blackpool’s 12 year olds have at least one decayed, filled or missing tooth- this seems so defeatist. Yes, parents will be able to opt their children out and their children will then have access to fluoride free milk but what would happen, perhaps, if parents and children were taught about food consumption and oral health?
The plan was only confirmed on January 18th, as the council had been on hold since 2013 so studies could be done. But now, after finding that Blackpool children had lower than normal levels of fluoride, the process will begin. No word yet on exactly when.
The fluorinated milk won’t allegedly cost the taxpayers any extra money because it’s being administered via the free breakfast program. The council, “estimate that 8,400 students currently receive milk on a daily basis and many of them will now be drinking fluoridated milk. The plan would add .8 mg Fluoride per 189 ml of milk, or 4.2 parts per million. In April 2015 the U.S. government lowered the recommended levels of fluroide to 0.7 parts per million”, reports Enlightened Consciousness. They believe the EU and WHO have proved that milk with fluoride has been proven to be effective but critics argue that benefits from fluoride come only when its applied directly to the teeth; this makes the program seem wasteful, not to mention potential side effects from the additional consumption of fluoride.
More from Enlightened Consciousness:
“Trevor Sheldon, dean of the Hull York Medical School in the United Kingdom, conducted a review of water fluoridation in 2000. Sheldon concluded that the process is not effective. ‘I had assumed because of everything I’d heard that water fluoridation reduces cavities but I was completely amazed by the lack of evidence,’ he told Newsweek. ‘My prior view was completely reversed.'”
In fact, it appears that some studies show the opposite; when water fluoridation stops, cavities go down a small percent. And, most studies showing the effectiveness of fluoride were completed before the widespread use of products like mouthwash and toothpaste. At a minimum, more studies should be done and people should be better educated.
We hope the parents of these school aged children do their research and then make the best decision they can for their families.
Source: Enlightened Consciousness, BBC and NCBI
