Tea & Fluorosis + Potentially harmful fluoride levels found in some instant teas

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Tea & Fluorosis - Global Perspective

_http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/tea.html_

(http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/tea.html)

 

Latest News:

NEW RESEARCH: _Scientists call for governmental and international agencies

to adopt safe standards of fluoride content in tea commodities._

(http://bruha.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=22)

(February 2006)

Tibet:

_Tea-induced dental fluorosis not just “cosmeticâ€_

(http://health.pfpcnews/message/327)

(Feb. 23, 2005)

USA:

_Fluoride in Instant Teas_

(http://health.pfpcnews/message/298)

(Jan. 25, 2005)

(More pages are in the PFPC Members _Science _

(http://bruha.com/science/html/tea.html) section)

_Fluoride in Tea: USA_ (http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/tea_usa.html)

_Fluoride in Tea: UK_ (http://poisonfluoride.com/pfpc/html/uk_tea.html)

 

Public release date: 25-Jan-2005

 

Contact: Gwen Ericson

_ericsong_ (ericsong)

314-286-0141

_Washington University School of Medicine_ (http://www.medicine.wustl.edu/)

 

Potentially harmful fluoride levels found in some instant teas

_http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/wuso-phf012505.php_

(http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/wuso-phf012505.php)

 

St. Louis, Jan. 25, 2005 -- Instant tea, one of the most popular drinks in

the United States, may be a source of harmful levels of fluoride, researchers

at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. The

researchers found that some regular strength preparations contain as much as

6.5

parts per million (ppm) of fluoride, well over the 4 ppm maximum allowed in

drinking water by the Environmental Protection Agency and 2.4 ppm permitted in

bottled water and beverages by the Food and Drug Administration.

 

The discovery stemmed from the diagnostic investigation of a middle-aged

woman suffering from spine pain attributed to hyper-dense bones. Testing for

the

cause of her symptoms revealed the patient had high levels of fluoride in

her urine. She then disclosed a high consumption of iced tea--claiming to drink

one to two gallons of double-strength instant tea throughout the day--which

led the researchers to test for fluoride content in several brands of instant

tea available on grocery store shelves.

Each of the teas was tested as a regular-strength preparation in

fluoride-free water, and each contained fluoride, with amounts ranging from 1.0

to 6.5

parts per million. The study is reported in the January issue of The American

Journal of Medicine.

" The tea plant is known to accumulate fluoride from the soil and water. Our

study points to the need for further investigation of the fluoride content of

teas, " says Michael Whyte, M.D., professor of medicine, pediatrics and

genetics. " We don't know how much variation there is from brand to brand and

year

to year. "

In many communities in the United States, fluoride is added to drinking

water to help prevent tooth decay. However, the Public Health Service indicates

that the fluoride concentration should not exceed 1.2 ppm.

Physicians have been aware that ingestion of high levels of fluoride cause

bone-forming cells to lay down extra skeletal tissue, increasing bone density

but also bone brittleness. The resulting disease, called skeletal fluorosis,

can manifest in bone pain, calcification of ligaments, bone spurs, fused

vertebrae and difficulty in moving joints.

" When fluoride gets into your bones, it stays there for years, and there is

no established treatment for skeletal fluorosis, " Whyte says. " No one knows

if you can fully recover from it. "

Americans are exposed to fluoride not only through fluoridated water but

increasingly through fluoridated toothpastes and other dental preparations.

Pesticides, Teflon®-coated cookware, chewing tobacco, some wines and certain

sparkling mineral waters are more unusual sources of excess exposure. Until

now,

instant tea had not been recognized as a significant source of fluoride.

According to Whyte, the findings could aid in the diagnosis and treatment of

patients who have achiness in their bones. In the future, doctors should ask

such patients about their tea consumption.

###

Whyte MP, Essmyer KE, Gannon FH, Reinus WR. Skeletal fluorosis and instant

tea. American Journal of Medicine 2005 Jan;118(1):78-82.

Funding from the Clark and Mildred Cox Inherited Metabolic Bone Disease

Research Fund supported this research.

Washington University School of Medicine's full-time and volunteer faculty

physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis

Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical

research,

teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked second

in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with

Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is

linked to BJC HealthCare.