• Exercise regularly: Regular exercise can help prevent many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. You don’t need an expensive gym membership to exercise. There are plenty of free or low-cost ways to get moving, such as walking, running, or doing home workouts.
• Cook your own meals: Cooking your meals at home can save you money on dining out, and it allows you to control the quality and ingredients of your food. You can experiment with healthy and affordable ingredients like whole grains, legumes, and vegetables.
• Buy generic medications: Generic medications are often cheaper than brand-name ones and can be just as effective. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before switching to a generic medication.
• Invest in preventative care: Preventative care, such as regular checkups and screenings, can catch health problems early and save you money on expensive treatments later on.
• Use home remedies: Simple home remedies can often help relieve minor health problems, such as headaches or colds. Look up natural remedies online or ask your doctor for recommendations.
• Quit smoking: Smoking is not only bad for your health, but it’s also expensive. By quitting smoking, you’ll save money on cigarettes and reduce your risk of developing smoking-related illnesses.
• Drink water: Drinking water is essential for good health and is much cheaper than sugary drinks or sodas. Carry a refillable water bottle with you to save money and reduce plastic waste.
• Walk or bike instead of driving: Walking or biking instead of driving can save you money on gas, parking fees, and car maintenance costs. It’s also good exercise and better for the environment.
• Take advantage of free health resources: Many communities offer free or low-cost health resources, such as health clinics, support groups, and wellness programs. Check with your local community center or health department to see what’s available in your area.
• Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep is essential for good health and is free. Aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night to improve your mood, concentration, and overall well-being.

Is my toothpaste causing my arthritis? (Lowering my IQ and making me fat?)

This sounds ridiculous but when I began researching, I found out that fluoride, present in toothpaste and many medications such as Prozac and Ciprobay, is associated with arthritis and lower IQ. Plus, as a halogen, it displaces Iodine and low Iodine is associated with low thyroid function and weight issues.

Thank goodness in South Africa, Rand Water does not put fluoride in the water.  Believe me, this is a good thing because fluoride is a poison and should be avoided where possible. 

While on the face of it, water fluoridation seems to be a positive step towards oral hygiene, on a cellular level this is not the case.  In addition, the fact that in South Africa water is recycled, this would result in a slow accumulation of fluoride to dangerous levels.

The following are some points that address the dangers of fluoride.

1. Associated with Arthritis Symptoms

A study in The Lancet found that daily doses of only 6-9 mg per day were sufficient to cause arthritis in an avid tea drinker- (fluoridealert.org/studies/cook-1971/)
In China, a study confirmed this and found that doses of just 6.2 to 6.6 mg/day consistently showed x-ray evidence of skeletal fluorosis.

2. Associated with lower IQ. (Grateful thanks to the following sites): http://fluoridealert.org/studies/brain01

As of June 2018, a total of 60 studies have investigated the relationship between fluoride and human intelligence, and over 40 studies have investigated the relationship fluoride and learning/memory in animals. Of these investigations, 53 studies have found that elevated fluoride exposure is associated with reduced IQ in humans, while 45 animal studies have found that fluoride exposure impairs the learning and/or memory capacity of animals. The human studies, which are based on IQ examinations of over 15,000 children, provide compelling evidence that fluoride exposure during the early years of life can damage a child’s developing brain.

After reviewing 27 of the human IQ studies, a team of Harvard scientists concluded that fluoride’s effect on the young brain should now be a “high research priority.” (Choi, et al 2012). Other reviewers have reached similar conclusions, including the prestigious National Research Council (NRC), and scientists in the Neurotoxicology Division of the Environmental Protection Agency (Mundy, et al). In the table below, we summarize the results from the 51 studies that have found associations between fluoride and reduced IQ and provide links to full-text copies of the studies. For a discussion of the 7 studies that did not find an association between fluoride and IQ, click here.


The following is an interesting site to investigate:
https://fluoridealert.org/issues/health/arthritis/

Sources of Fluoride.

How much fluoride am I ingesting?

Fluoride Toothpastes (1,000 to 1,500 ppm)

• Over 95% of toothpastes now contain fluoride.
• A single strip of toothpaste covering the length of a child’s brush contains between 0.75 to 1.5 mg of fluoride. This exceeds the amount of fluoride in most prescription fluoride supplements (0.25 to 1.0 mg).
• Many young children swallow over 50% of the paste added to their brush, particularly if they use candy-flavored varieties and if they are not supervised during brushing to ensure they spit and fully rinse. Research has shown that some children swallow more fluoride from toothpaste alone than is recommended from all sources combined.
• Although dentists now recommend that children only use “a pea-sized amount” of toothpaste, many children use more than this, particularly when the toothpaste has bubble gum and watermelon flavors.
• Ingesting toothpaste during childhood is a major risk factor for dental fluorosis, and can also cause symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity (e.g., stomach pain, etc).
• The FDA now requires a poison warning on all fluoride toothpastes sold in the U.S.

Fluoride Mouthrinses (230 ppm)

• Some mouth rinses now contain fluoride.
• A single mL of fluoride mouthrinse contains roughly 0.25 mg of fluoride.
• Between 5 to 15 mL are generally used per rinse, which equates to 1.25 to 3.75 mg of fluoride.
• Little data is available to show how much of the rinse is ingested.

Fluoride Gels (Self-Applied) (5,000 ppm)

• Dentists prescribe self-applied gels to those at high-risk of tooth decay.
• Each mL of gel contains 5 mg of fluoride.
• Without taking extraordinary precaution to limit the amount of gel that is applied and reduce the amount of gel that is ingested, self-application can result in dangerously high fluoride exposures.

Fluoride Gels (Professionally Applied) (12,300 ppm)

• A single mL of gel contains 12.3 mg of fluoride.
• Dentists are now recommended to apply no more than 4 mL when treating children (=49 mg of fluoride), and no more than 8 mL when treating adults (=98 mg of fluoride).
• The highly acidic nature of the gel greatly increases saliva flow, which makes it largely impossible to avoid swallowing large amounts of it. While few measures were used in the past to limit the amount of fluoride ingested, dentists are now advised to use suction devices and to encourage the child to fully rinse and spit at the end of the treatment.
• Even when precautionary measures are taken, children swallow an average of 7.7 mg per treatment
• Adults swallow an average of 10.3 mg per treatment.
• Symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity (e.g., nausea and vomiting) are common in children receiving fluoride gels.
• Although dental researchers only recommend topical fluoride gels for patients with high risk for cavities, surveys have shown that dentists routinely apply gels to most of their patients.

Fluoride Varnishes (22,600 ppm)

• A single mL contains 22.6 mg of fluoride. Dentists apply 0.5 to 1 mL per treatment.
• Since the varnish eventually wears off the teeth, all of the fluoride that is applied (=11.3 to 22.6 mg) is ingested.
• Dentists apply varnishes up to 4 times a year in children with high risk for cavities.

Fluoride Supplements 

• Supplements contain between 0.25 to 1 mg of fluoride per drop, tablet, or lozenge. The amount depends on the age of the child.
• Supplements are available by prescription only. Unlike dietary supplements, fluoride supplements cannot be purchased over the counter.
• Despite being prescribed for over 50 years, the FDA has never approved fluoride supplements as safe or effective.
• The ADA no longer recommends for infants under 6 months of age.
• Supplements were designed to only be used in non-fluoridated areas as a substitute for fluoridated water. Surveys have repeatedly found, however, that some dentists prescribe supplements to children living in fluoridated areas as well.
• Current supplement use greatly increases a child’s risk of developing dental fluorosis, while doing little to prevent tooth decay.

Tea

Tea plants readily absorb fluoride from soil. As a result, tea drinks invariably contain high levels of fluoride. In the United States, brewed black tea averages about 3 to 4 parts ppm fluoride, while commercial iced tea drinks contain between 1 and 4 ppm. (Izuora 2011; Whyte 2006; USDA 2005). Excessive consumption of tea beverages thus creates a risk for fluoride toxicity.

A Risk of Fluoride Toxicity

In recent years, there have been a number of reports documenting skeletal fluorosis in the United States among heavy tea drinkers. Dr. Michael Whyte, who has authored several of these studies, cautions that “many” tea drinkers are currently receiving fluoride doses that put them at risk for skeletal fluorosis. (Whyte 2008). In Whyte’s studies, the tea drinkers who developed skeletal fluorosis had been misdiagnosed for years as suffering from arthritis and/or fibromylagia. In Whyte’s most recent study, a Georgia woman had crippling skeletal fluorosis for up to 18 years before being correctly diagnosed. (Whyte 2011). As some authors have noted, “it is certain that some heavy-tea drinkers suffering from fluorosis from tea-drinking might not be diagnosed.” (Yi & Cao 2008).

Minimizing Your Risk

To minimize your risk of fluoride toxicity from tea, therefore, it is best to drink tea drinks such as “white tea” that are made from young leaves. Since white tea provides more anti-oxidant protection and less fluoride than older teas it will reduce the risk (albeit not eliminate it) of developing fluoride toxicity. While this does not necessarily foreclose the risk of fluoride toxicity, it will reduce it vis-a-vis the fluoride risk from older, lower quality teas.

Another way of reducing fluoride intake from tea is to switch to yerba matte, a South American tea drink that has been found to contain minimal levels of fluoride.

Pharmaceuticals

Kind thanks to the following link:
https://slweb.org/ftrcfluoroquinolone.html

Many modern pharmaceuticals (e.g. Prozac, Paxil) contain “organofluorines.” An organofluorine is a chemical compound that contains both carbon and fluorine. The fact, however, that a pharmaceutical is made with an organofluorine does not mean that it will increase your exposure to fluoride. This is because the fluorine in the drug forms a very strong bond with the carbon and this bond resists metabolizing into fluoride ion. It is generally believed, therefore, that most organofluorine drugs do not contribute to daily fluoride exposure.


There are some organofluorine drugs, however, that do metabolize into fluoride. This is evident by studies finding elevated levels of fluoride showing up in the urine or blood following use of the drug. Because organofluorine drugs contain high quantities of fluorine, any drug that metabolizes into fluoride will likely be a very large source of daily exposure. Drugs that are known to break down into fluoride ion include: fluorinated anesthetics, Cipro, Niflumic acid, Flecainide, and Voriconazole.  It is possible, and indeed likely, that other drugs do so as well, but have not yet been discovered.

Inorganic fluoride has been found in the following.

• Anesthetics (Isoflurane, Sevoflurane)
• Cipro:
• Flecainide:
• Niflumic Acid:
• Voriconazole

Avoiding Fluoride:

1. Change your toothpaste to a fluoride free brand
2. Limit tea or drink white tea from young tea leaves. Apparently 200ml of rooibos tea contains 1.57mg of fluoride and black tea. 7.8mg a cup.
3. Speak to your doctor about changing your script if you are on a pharmaceutical with a fluoride base.
4. Eat organic where possible.
5. Do not have fluoride treatment when you visit your dentist.
6. Be careful of anti -biotic choices.Be informed when you visit your doctor.

  Avoid the following antibiotics:  Speak to your doctor about alternatives.

One class of fluorinated drugs that has been increasingly widely prescribed is that of the fluoroquinolone antibiotics. The generic names of all of these drugs end with the suffix “floxacin”. Some common names of these drugs still on the market are: Cipro, Levaquin, Avelox, Factive, Noroxin, and Floxin. Several earlier versions of fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been removed from the market for causing lethal and other dangerous side effects.

In 2008, the FDA required manufacturers of fluoroquinolones, to carry black box warnings on their labels for the possibility of tendonitis and tendon rupture and, in 2013, for permanent peripheral neuropathy. It has been discovered that fluoroquinolones also cause damage to the DNA of mitochondria, which are “organelles” found in all cells of the human body, and are necessary for energy production and other ongoing cell functions that are vital to life.
https://slweb.org/ftrcfluoroquinolone.html

• Another great site to visit:

https://slweb.org/ftrc.html




In health and vitality

Jules