Darth Crater wrote:Darth Crater wrote:CommanderOtto wrote:although, I must add, Drai's video pointed out that fluoride water causes cancer and lowers IQ levels. I wonder if that's true? Maybe there's something Crater could shed some light on.
I'll look at this for you tomorrow. I doubt they're reputable studies about the dosages in tap water, but we'll see.
Alright, I wasted five minutes watching the video. It was as manipulative as I suspected it would be, and didn't directly provide the sources for anything. It also repeated the falsehood about the aluminum industry, which I debunked in the last thread. Still, I found the studies it was talking about.
For cancer, specifically osteosarcoma, there was indeed a study (Bassin, 2006) that suggested that fluoride caused an increased rate of incidence in males. However, the follow-up studies I can find which have taken place since then (including these three from 2011) seem to indicate that there is no correlation. The Australian government agrees. Note that even Bassin's study found the correlation in only one gender and explicitly pointed out that more research was needed before reaching a conclusion.
As for IQ - here's links to an article about it and the paper itself (click "PDF version" at the bottom for the full text). The study was done in areas of China and Iran with naturally high fluoride levels. "High" here isn't explicitly defined, but works out to anywhere between three and ten times the recommended concentration in the US (which is now 0.7 mg/L). Their "reference," or low-fluoride, groups had concentrations more similar to the US. While they didn't rule out factors such as other contaminants, this paper makes a strong case for a correlation between high levels of fluoride and lower IQ. This does not indicate that a connection exists at lower levels such as ours (see that video I posted about dosages).
I looked for the source of Drai's graph, but I haven't found it yet, sorry. Remember, though, that fluoridated toothpaste and general dental care reduce these rates also. Fluoridated water is most effective in areas where these are not available due to poverty or lack of infrastructure (which, sadly, still includes much of the US).Draigun wrote:I believe this is where common sense comes in.
No. No, it really isn't. What you call "common sense" is not a substitute for actual research. It certainly is not superior to actual research. Believe me, I'm not dismissing this out of hand - my "common sense" is giving me the same warnings. I've seriously checked out everything you posted, because if and only if fluoride is actually poisoning us, I want to believe it is and take steps to stop it. Problem is, the evidence and trustworthy sources say it isn't.Draigun wrote:Crater, your opinions are influenced by society heavily, and it simply shows that you cannot think for yourself and what you believe is right; I wouldn't take that as an insult, but rather, as a gift from one who is not bound by such limitations put in place.
You're making an awful lot of assumptions about me here, but that's not why I quoted this. I quoted this because this is where you display your true motivations, whether you think you did or not. You want to be special, to be elite, to be smarter than the sheep around you. This is a common desire, but a dangerous one. Don't favor the "alternative" hypothesis just because the "mainstream" rejects it. Don't forget that the "mainstream" has been looked at and accepted by a large number of people who are smarter than either of us.
ty crater, just read it. yep, the first article you posted in this thread also mentioned those briefly and said the same thing.