GUEST OPINION:
Magical thinking about fluoridation in Sonoma County
By Lauren Ayers, Press Democrat, January 16, 2013
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple— and wrong."
~ H.L. Mencken
In an Aug. 7, 2012, Press Democrat story about Sonoma County's new public health officer,
Dr. Lynn Silver-Chalfin, we read that in her capacity as assistant health commissioner for New
York City, she helped the city ban trans fats. This resulted in an 83 percent reduction in trans fat
in restaurant food. Another innovation required fast food calorie labeling. Good for Silver-Chalfin.
In contrast to those forward-moving laws, however, Silver-Chalfin seems determined to bring
fluoridation to Sonoma County, an idea that has fallen into such disrepute that most European
cities which had it have given it up. She leads the public health department in waving that tired
old banner that fluoride in the water will “decrease the rate of tooth decay, which is very high
in our children, particularly low-income children.”
This is especially strange from a person who has worked for human rights since she was young.
Internationally, access to clean water is now considered a human right. Clean water is what the
American Dental Association and the CDC mean when they tell parents not to use fluoridated
water for mixing dry formula, and what doctors advise diabetics to drink. The county's fluoridation
proposal is basically Medication by Faucet, which takes away people’s right to clean water.
It used to be that only fringe groups opposed fluoridation. Finally, the tide is turning. Hundreds
of studies show the downside. For instance, as a teacher I was shocked to read the Harvard analysis
showing that fluoridated water lowers IQ. http://www.globalresearch.ca/harvard-study-fluoride-lowers-childrens-intelligence-by-7-iq-points/5368216
Recently, statistical analysis showed that decades of low school success and higher crime resulted
from lead in gasoline. Can't we learn from that mistake and not add fluoride?
Often in life the right solution to a problem is more complicated, more time-consuming and
initially more expensive than the wrong solution. Some of the magical quick fixes we tried in
the past: DDT, MBTE, BPA. All ended up causing far more harm than good and cost a lot more
to clean up.
Everyone agrees that the decay rate in Sonoma County children is too high. But the real cause
is too much junk food and not enough real food. The real question should be, ‘How can
families find good food for the same price as processed empty calories?'
The Board of Supervisors is about to spend $8.5 million dollars to fluoridate county water (critics
say it will cost a lot more), plus $1 million each year to continue. It would be far wiser to spend
those tax dollars on nutrition education for families. Parents will listen because they know that
'Knowledge is power.'
Our county has the laudable goal that our children will be the healthiest in California by 2020.
Fluoridation won't get us there. But good nutrition can. Silver-Chalfin has a great track record
of getting public support for dietary improvements. We need that here.
If county supervisors really want to drop dental decay, they should politely ask our 40 school
districts to get all (or most) of the added sugar out of the breakfasts, snacks and
lunches served in our cafeterias. While they're at it, how about totally removing the trans
fat? (Half a gram per serving is still allowed.) If Berkeley and Novato school districts can make
these changes, we can too.
Most important for teeth, why not inform parents that even in sunny Sonoma County, 70% of
our kids have sub-optimal levels of vitamin D?
The halls of our high schools were once full of soda vending machines. We changed that. The
next step is to get rid of the “sports drinks” and flavored milk drinks, which have the same amount
of sugar as a soda. Merchandisers know that sugar is addictive and therefore profitable.
The Fortune 500 list contains a lot of huge food processing corporations because even in a bad
economy they magically make a good return for investors.
Magic is the art of misdirection; the audience follows the wrong hand and misses what is
happening elsewhere. Fluoridation is a magic trick. Even the smartest people fall for it, at first.
But eventually the truth will out. Admitting mistakes isn't easy. But our supervisors need to
re-open their minds and look at the big picture instead of that hand pointing to fluoride.
Sonoma County has innovative iGrow and iWalk programs that are models for other counties.
Let's have an iEatRealFood program and we'll see the decay rate drop to pre-1900 rates.
One more thing. California Environmental Quality Act was written with one exception to clean
water standards: fluoride in water is allowed-- even though 99 percent of the added fluoride
passes through sewage treatment into the environment! The level of added fluoride would be
0.7, but a mere 0.2 harms salmon eggs. http://fluoridationfreeottawa.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/79/ I can get a reverse
osmosis water filter (the only kind that removes fluoride), but the herons and frogs cannot.
Lauren Ayers, a retired teacher, is the Sonoma chapter Leader, for the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit,
tax-exempt nutrition education foundation. She lives in Sonoma Valley.
Fake Help for Real Kids
Davis Vanguard, Sept. 2013
It’s true that Yolo County kids suffer too much dental decay. Many agree that local government
has a role to play in bringing that down. However, the Davis plan will not only fail in lowering
dental decay but will harm children, adults, and the environment.
Instead of slapping fluorosilicic acid on the problem like a bandaid, we should get to the source
of the problem – the tidal wave of sugar that inundates children every day. UCSF pediatric
endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, explains in “The Bitter Truth” -- four million hits on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
In the USDA breakfast and lunch program, 50 to 65% of the calories are from carbohydrates.
Sugar is added to everything from applesauce to taco sauce because sugar hits the opiate receptors
in the brain, making children addicts. Posters of veggies can’t make kids “Just Say No” to the
sugar-added foods. It’s up to adults to get rid of sugary non-foods.
Lobbyists Rule In The Case Against Fluoride, Paul Connett, PhD, explains how the American
Dental Association, one of the wealthiest lobbies in DC, influences political campaigns and public
agencies with millions they receive from the huge chemical corporations that need to find a use
for fluorosilicic acid, a byproduct from both aluminum smelting (Alcoa) and manufacturing
phosphate fertilizer (Cargill).
Sugar companies also donate to the ADA and similar groups. In 1949 the Sugar Research
Foundation proclaimed their mission: “to find out how tooth decay may be controlled effectively
without restriction of sugar intake.” Coincidentally, a year later the U.S. Public Health Service
endorsed fluoridation.
‘Our Way or the Highway’ From the ADA’s own website: "We met with the four commissioners
individually…. After four months of intense scientific efforts, they each told us that they would not
change their votes. So we moved into the political arena to help bring fluoridation back to Pinellas
County." In the election, two Democratic candidates beat Republican incumbents, thanks to the
ADA. Remind you of the NRA’s tactics? (http://www.ADA.org/news/8002.aspx)
Babies & Fish If fluoridation is so safe, why does the CDC and the ADA warn parents not to mix
powdered baby formula in fluoridated water for children under six months? How can fluorosilicic
acid be safe if it is more toxic than lead and almost as toxic as arsenic? (www.fluoridedebate.com/question02.html)
After sewage treatment, 99% of faucet water returns to the environment. Even fluoride at 0.2 mg/L
can harm salmon (http://fluoridationfreeottawa.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/79/); if fluoridation passes, Davis water would
have 0.7 mg/L, three times as much!
The Hippocratic Oath & Liability Would any doctor say, “Here’s your prescription-- take as much--
or as little -- as you want.” That would be malpractice! Which is another reason fluoridation could
result in class action suits, as happened to Big Tobacco. Government agencies would be especially
good targets because their safety standards should be the strictest. Police misconduct suits with just
one or two victims have impoverished local governments; imagine the cost of guilty verdicts for
harming all the county’s children!
Effective & Safe? Research shows that fluoride reduces cavities when applied topically, but not
when ingested. Until recently, the state of California paid for any child’s topical fluoride treatment.
Let’s get back to that option!
Proponents claim decay rates go down in fluoridated areas. But all around the world decay is
dropping at the same rate in unfluoridated areas. Two towns side by side, one fluoridated and one
not, have similar declines in decay. Ditto for European nations compared to American states. Why
spend hundreds of thousands for something that is already happening?
In fact, while improving school food would take years, and free topical fluoride varnish might not
come back soon, daily xylitol mints for every student could provide more protection from decay,
at a far lower cost, than fluoridation.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12693818, http://www.kansas.com/2012/10/14/2530169/letters-to-the-editor-on-neighborhood.html)
Grassroots efforts got rid of leaded gasoline, asbestos, trans fat, and DDT. Now let’s stop fluoridation,
and, instead, make school food healthier.
Lauren Ayers is a former resident of Davis. A retired teacher, she is chapter leader of the Sonoma County Chapter
of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
P.S.
Watch this pediatrician's 4-minute video on why she can't support fluoridation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iu9HzaVbWQ
Magical thinking about fluoridation in Sonoma County
By Lauren Ayers, Press Democrat, January 16, 2013
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple— and wrong."
~ H.L. Mencken
In an Aug. 7, 2012, Press Democrat story about Sonoma County's new public health officer,
Dr. Lynn Silver-Chalfin, we read that in her capacity as assistant health commissioner for New
York City, she helped the city ban trans fats. This resulted in an 83 percent reduction in trans fat
in restaurant food. Another innovation required fast food calorie labeling. Good for Silver-Chalfin.
In contrast to those forward-moving laws, however, Silver-Chalfin seems determined to bring
fluoridation to Sonoma County, an idea that has fallen into such disrepute that most European
cities which had it have given it up. She leads the public health department in waving that tired
old banner that fluoride in the water will “decrease the rate of tooth decay, which is very high
in our children, particularly low-income children.”
This is especially strange from a person who has worked for human rights since she was young.
Internationally, access to clean water is now considered a human right. Clean water is what the
American Dental Association and the CDC mean when they tell parents not to use fluoridated
water for mixing dry formula, and what doctors advise diabetics to drink. The county's fluoridation
proposal is basically Medication by Faucet, which takes away people’s right to clean water.
It used to be that only fringe groups opposed fluoridation. Finally, the tide is turning. Hundreds
of studies show the downside. For instance, as a teacher I was shocked to read the Harvard analysis
showing that fluoridated water lowers IQ. http://www.globalresearch.ca/harvard-study-fluoride-lowers-childrens-intelligence-by-7-iq-points/5368216
Recently, statistical analysis showed that decades of low school success and higher crime resulted
from lead in gasoline. Can't we learn from that mistake and not add fluoride?
Often in life the right solution to a problem is more complicated, more time-consuming and
initially more expensive than the wrong solution. Some of the magical quick fixes we tried in
the past: DDT, MBTE, BPA. All ended up causing far more harm than good and cost a lot more
to clean up.
Everyone agrees that the decay rate in Sonoma County children is too high. But the real cause
is too much junk food and not enough real food. The real question should be, ‘How can
families find good food for the same price as processed empty calories?'
The Board of Supervisors is about to spend $8.5 million dollars to fluoridate county water (critics
say it will cost a lot more), plus $1 million each year to continue. It would be far wiser to spend
those tax dollars on nutrition education for families. Parents will listen because they know that
'Knowledge is power.'
Our county has the laudable goal that our children will be the healthiest in California by 2020.
Fluoridation won't get us there. But good nutrition can. Silver-Chalfin has a great track record
of getting public support for dietary improvements. We need that here.
If county supervisors really want to drop dental decay, they should politely ask our 40 school
districts to get all (or most) of the added sugar out of the breakfasts, snacks and
lunches served in our cafeterias. While they're at it, how about totally removing the trans
fat? (Half a gram per serving is still allowed.) If Berkeley and Novato school districts can make
these changes, we can too.
Most important for teeth, why not inform parents that even in sunny Sonoma County, 70% of
our kids have sub-optimal levels of vitamin D?
The halls of our high schools were once full of soda vending machines. We changed that. The
next step is to get rid of the “sports drinks” and flavored milk drinks, which have the same amount
of sugar as a soda. Merchandisers know that sugar is addictive and therefore profitable.
The Fortune 500 list contains a lot of huge food processing corporations because even in a bad
economy they magically make a good return for investors.
Magic is the art of misdirection; the audience follows the wrong hand and misses what is
happening elsewhere. Fluoridation is a magic trick. Even the smartest people fall for it, at first.
But eventually the truth will out. Admitting mistakes isn't easy. But our supervisors need to
re-open their minds and look at the big picture instead of that hand pointing to fluoride.
Sonoma County has innovative iGrow and iWalk programs that are models for other counties.
Let's have an iEatRealFood program and we'll see the decay rate drop to pre-1900 rates.
One more thing. California Environmental Quality Act was written with one exception to clean
water standards: fluoride in water is allowed-- even though 99 percent of the added fluoride
passes through sewage treatment into the environment! The level of added fluoride would be
0.7, but a mere 0.2 harms salmon eggs. http://fluoridationfreeottawa.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/79/ I can get a reverse
osmosis water filter (the only kind that removes fluoride), but the herons and frogs cannot.
Lauren Ayers, a retired teacher, is the Sonoma chapter Leader, for the Weston A. Price Foundation, a nonprofit,
tax-exempt nutrition education foundation. She lives in Sonoma Valley.
Fake Help for Real Kids
Davis Vanguard, Sept. 2013
It’s true that Yolo County kids suffer too much dental decay. Many agree that local government
has a role to play in bringing that down. However, the Davis plan will not only fail in lowering
dental decay but will harm children, adults, and the environment.
Instead of slapping fluorosilicic acid on the problem like a bandaid, we should get to the source
of the problem – the tidal wave of sugar that inundates children every day. UCSF pediatric
endocrinologist Robert Lustig, MD, explains in “The Bitter Truth” -- four million hits on YouTube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
In the USDA breakfast and lunch program, 50 to 65% of the calories are from carbohydrates.
Sugar is added to everything from applesauce to taco sauce because sugar hits the opiate receptors
in the brain, making children addicts. Posters of veggies can’t make kids “Just Say No” to the
sugar-added foods. It’s up to adults to get rid of sugary non-foods.
Lobbyists Rule In The Case Against Fluoride, Paul Connett, PhD, explains how the American
Dental Association, one of the wealthiest lobbies in DC, influences political campaigns and public
agencies with millions they receive from the huge chemical corporations that need to find a use
for fluorosilicic acid, a byproduct from both aluminum smelting (Alcoa) and manufacturing
phosphate fertilizer (Cargill).
Sugar companies also donate to the ADA and similar groups. In 1949 the Sugar Research
Foundation proclaimed their mission: “to find out how tooth decay may be controlled effectively
without restriction of sugar intake.” Coincidentally, a year later the U.S. Public Health Service
endorsed fluoridation.
‘Our Way or the Highway’ From the ADA’s own website: "We met with the four commissioners
individually…. After four months of intense scientific efforts, they each told us that they would not
change their votes. So we moved into the political arena to help bring fluoridation back to Pinellas
County." In the election, two Democratic candidates beat Republican incumbents, thanks to the
ADA. Remind you of the NRA’s tactics? (http://www.ADA.org/news/8002.aspx)
Babies & Fish If fluoridation is so safe, why does the CDC and the ADA warn parents not to mix
powdered baby formula in fluoridated water for children under six months? How can fluorosilicic
acid be safe if it is more toxic than lead and almost as toxic as arsenic? (www.fluoridedebate.com/question02.html)
After sewage treatment, 99% of faucet water returns to the environment. Even fluoride at 0.2 mg/L
can harm salmon (http://fluoridationfreeottawa.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/79/); if fluoridation passes, Davis water would
have 0.7 mg/L, three times as much!
The Hippocratic Oath & Liability Would any doctor say, “Here’s your prescription-- take as much--
or as little -- as you want.” That would be malpractice! Which is another reason fluoridation could
result in class action suits, as happened to Big Tobacco. Government agencies would be especially
good targets because their safety standards should be the strictest. Police misconduct suits with just
one or two victims have impoverished local governments; imagine the cost of guilty verdicts for
harming all the county’s children!
Effective & Safe? Research shows that fluoride reduces cavities when applied topically, but not
when ingested. Until recently, the state of California paid for any child’s topical fluoride treatment.
Let’s get back to that option!
Proponents claim decay rates go down in fluoridated areas. But all around the world decay is
dropping at the same rate in unfluoridated areas. Two towns side by side, one fluoridated and one
not, have similar declines in decay. Ditto for European nations compared to American states. Why
spend hundreds of thousands for something that is already happening?
In fact, while improving school food would take years, and free topical fluoride varnish might not
come back soon, daily xylitol mints for every student could provide more protection from decay,
at a far lower cost, than fluoridation.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12693818, http://www.kansas.com/2012/10/14/2530169/letters-to-the-editor-on-neighborhood.html)
Grassroots efforts got rid of leaded gasoline, asbestos, trans fat, and DDT. Now let’s stop fluoridation,
and, instead, make school food healthier.
Lauren Ayers is a former resident of Davis. A retired teacher, she is chapter leader of the Sonoma County Chapter
of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
P.S.
Watch this pediatrician's 4-minute video on why she can't support fluoridation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iu9HzaVbWQ