Prominent Researcher Apologizes for Pushing Fluoride

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http://www.mercola.com/2000/sep/3/fluoride_forbes.htm

 

Prominent Researcher Apologizes for Pushing Fluoride

by Barry Forbes

The Tribune, Mesa, AZ/Thompson Newspapers. Reprinted with Permission.

Sunday, December 5, 1999

 

" Why'd you do it, Doc? Why'd you toss the fluoride folks overboard? "

 

I had just tracked down Dr. Hardy Limeback, B.Sc., Ph.D in Biochemistry, D.D.S.,

head of the Department of Preventive Dentistry for the University of Toronto,

and president of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. (Whew.)

 

Dr. Limeback is Canada's leading fluoride authority and, until recently, the

country's primary promoter of the controversial additive.

 

In a surprising newsmaker interview this past April, Dr. Limeback announced a

dramatic change of heart. " Children under three should never use fluoridated

toothpaste, " he counseled. " Or drink fluoridated water. And baby formula must

never be made up using Toronto tap water. Never. "

 

Why, I wondered? What could have caused such a powerful paradigm shift?

 

" It's been building up for a couple of years, " Limeback told me during a recent

telephone interview. " But certainly the crowning blow was the realization that

we have been dumping contaminated fluoride into water reservoirs for half a

century. The vast majority of all fluoride additives come from Tampa Bay,

Florida smokestack scrubbers. The additives are a toxic byproduct of the

super-phosphate fertilizer industry. "

 

" Tragically, " he continued, " that means we're not just dumping toxic fluoride

into our drinking water. We're also exposing innocent, unsuspecting people to

deadly elements of lead, arsenic and radium, all of them carcinogenic. Because

of the cumulative properties of toxins, the detrimental effects on human health

are catastrophic. "

 

A recent study at the University of Toronto confirmed Dr. Limeback's worst

fears. " Residents of cities that fluoridate have double the fluoride in their

hip bones vis-a-vis the balance of the population. Worse, we discovered that

fluoride is actually altering the basic architecture of human bones. "

 

Skeletal fluorosis is a debilitating condition that occurs when fluoride

accumulates in bones, making them extremely weak and brittle. The earliest

symptoms?

 

" Mottled and brittle teeth, " Dr. Limeback told me. " In Canada we are now

spending more money treating dental fluorosis than we do treating cavities. That

includes my own practice. "

 

One of the most obvious living experiments today, Dr. Limeback believes, is a

proof-positive comparison between any two Canadian cities. " Here in Toronto

we've been fluoridating for 36 years. Yet Vancouver - which has never

fluoridated -has a cavity rate lower than Toronto's. "

 

And, he pointed out, cavity rates are low all across the industrialized world -

including Europe, which is 98% fluoride

free. Low because of improved standards of living, less refined sugar, regular

dental checkups, flossing and frequent brushing. Now less than 2 cavities per

child Canada-wide, he said.

 

" I don't get it, Doc. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ran a

puff piece all across America saying the stuff was better than sliced bread.

What's the story? "

 

" Unfortunately, " he replied, " the CDC is basing its position on data that is 50

years old, and questionable at best. Absolutely no one has done research on

fluorosilicates, which is the junk they're dumping into the drinking water. "

 

" On the other hand, " he added, " the evidence against systemic fluoride in-take

continues to pour in. "

 

" But Doc, the dentists… "

 

" … have absolutely no training in toxicity, " he stated firmly. " Your

well-intentioned dentist is simply following 50 years of misinformation from

public health and the dental association. Me, too. Unfortunately, we were

wrong. "

 

Last week, Dr. Hardy Limeback addressed his faculty and students at the

University of Toronto, Department of Dentistry. In a poignant, memorable

meeting, he apologized to those gathered before him.

 

" Speaking as the head of preventive dentistry, I told them that I had

unintentionally mislead my colleagues and my students. For the past 15 years, I

had refused to study the toxicology information that is readily available to

anyone. Poisoning our children was the furthest thing from my mind. "

 

" The truth, " he confessed to me, " was a bitter pill to swallow. But swallow it I

did. "

 

South of the border, the paradigm shift has yet to dawn. After half a century of

delusion, the CDC, American Dental Association and Public Health stubbornly and

skillfully continue to manipulate public opinion in favor of fluoridation.

 

Meantime, study after study is delivering the death knell of thedeadly toxin.

Sure, fluoridation will be around for a long time yet, but ultimately its

supporters need to ready the life rafts. The poisonous waters of doubt and

confusion are bound to get choppier.

 

" Are lawsuits inevitable? " I asked the good doctor. " Remember tobacco, " was his

short, succinct reply.

 

Welcome, Dr. Hardy Limeback, to the far side of the fluoride equation. It's

lonely over here, but in our society loneliness and truth frequently travel hand

in hand.

 

Thank you for the undeniable courage of your convictions.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

 

Canadian Dental Association Advises AGAINST Fluoride Supplements in Young

Children

 

Links for Fluoride Information

 

Fluoridation Increases Lead Absorption In Children

 

The Fluoride Controversy

 

Toothpaste and Other Fluoride Sources Can Damage Preschoolers' Teeth

 

 

 

 

 

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