FROM THE BBC website

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Some Instant Teas May Contain Harmful Levels of Fluoride. 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

causes 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. " January 26,

2005