Fluorine
FLUORINE is derived from the Latin fluo, meaning 'to flow' because, until 1500 AD, it was used as a flux in metallurgy. It was first isolated in 1886 by a French scientist who obtained it by using the electrolysis of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride containing dissolved potassium fluoride.
Fluorine is better known as the substance that is added to drinking water and toothpaste to prevent cavities, but the mechanism by which fluorine increases dental cavity resistance is not fully understood. It appears that crystals of fluoroapatite can replace some of the calcium phosphate crystals of hydroxyapatite that are normally deposited during tooth formation and that it may replace some of the carbonate normally found in teeth. Apparently, these fluorine substances are more resistant to mouth acids and may also inactivate oral bacterial enzymes which create acids from carbohydrates. However, too much of this type of fluorine can cause dramatic changes in the tooth enamel in the form of luster loss and a chalky mottled appearance. This is becoming more apparent in the second generation of users.
Fluoride is not only added to drinking water and toothpaste but is painted on children's teeth under much propaganda, but, over time, people have seen the accumulated adverse effects because of its widespread use. How this toxic mineral was transformed from an industrial waste product into a renowned cavity fighter was accomplished through carefully selected studies guided through ingenious public relations firms which the public is only now beginning to understand. Sodium fluoride is a by-product of aluminum manufacturing and its transformation came about as a result of promotions from the Mellon Institute, the chief research facility of ALCOA Aluminum Company, North America's largest fluoride producer. (A'O and Mindell).
Sodium fluoride (hydrofluosilicic acid) is rated as more toxic than lead in chemistry indexes and only slightly less toxic than arsenic. Like chlorine, it is a halogen (an element that forms similar salt-like compounds when combined with sodium) that destroys enzyme function. Sodium fluoride is not the same as the natural "calcium fluoride" that the body requires in minute amounts.
Fluorosis is a condition that results from ingesting too much fluoride, affecting not only the teeth but also causing bone abnormalities which become thick and soft breaking more easily. Many diagnoses wrongly attribute these conditions to a calcium loss rather than a fluoride toxicity. Increased risks of cancer and skeletal flurosis far outweighs any possible benefit fluoride could possibly have on teeth.
Fluorine and fluorides are cellular poisons that inhibit the breakdown of glucose reacting with calcium to form insoluble compounds that actually decrease calcium. An intake of 20 mg. or more can be toxic. In addition, other studies have shown that those who use fluoridated water in aluminum cookware release up to 1000 times more aluminum in their food.
Fluorine can be both mutagenic and carinogenic and can produce pathological changes in the kidneys. Dr, John Yiamouyiannis, a former biochemical editor of Chemical Abstracts Service (the world's largest chemical information center) and Dr. Dean Burk, the retired head of cytochemistry at the National Cancer Institute, undertook an intensive study lasting a period of twenty years in ten cities using fluoridated water, as well as ten cities that did not use fluorine in their drinking water. During that time, they saw the mortality rate from cancer rise significantly in the cities using fluridated water and said so. Dr. Yiamouyiannis was later removed from his position since federal funding was jeopardized because of his outspokenness against the use of fluorine. Newsweek (Feb. 5, 1990) uncovered critical health information regarding fluorine having no effect on tooth decay that was purposefully withheld from the public and of studies that were intentionally buried. (A'O)
Names include: fluorin, F, F-, Fl, and element 9.
Toxicity symptoms include: (can be detoxified by Vitamin C), mottling of teeth, pitting of permanent teeth, late dentition, projecting bone growth of spine, arthritis, abnormal white blood cells, muscle pain, tendon strain, deterioration of heart muscle, weak pulse, varicose veins, lesions in GI tract, nausea, abdominal cramps, convulsions, nervous system lesions, lesions of the eyes, carbuncles, cracked skin.
Inhibitors include: aluminum salts of fluoride.
There are no known helpers.
