Fluoride Damages Thyroid Gland, Studies Show

Fluoride impairs thyroid hormones at lower water concentrations than dentists claim is safe, according to “Impact of Drinking Water Fluoride on Human Thyroid Hormones: A Case Control Study,” published in Scientific Reports (Feb 2018)

Left untreated an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can cause several health problems, such as obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease. (Mayo Clinic)

Researchers, Kheradpisheh et al., compared people with hypothyroidism to those without thyroid disease and found that fluoride in drinking water impairs thyroid hormones even at 0.5 milligrams per Liter (mg/L) – less than the US government and organized dentistry’s recommendation of 0.7 mg/L to ostensibly reduce tooth decay.

Many municipalities still artificially fluoridate up to 1.2 mg/L – the old guidelines – which contributes to the growing dental fluorosis epidemic (discolored teeth).

In fact, “Some studies have discovered the relation between dental fluorosis and thyroid disease,” write Kheradpisheh’s team.

They write “The major finding of this study is that TSH values [thyroid stimulating hormones] are higher with a higher fluoride concentration in the drinking water, even for generally low fluoride concentrations. This is seen both in cases of untreated hypothyroidism and in controls.” High TSH levels are a hypothyroid biomarker.

They detail many previous fluoride/thyroid damaging studies.

In 2006, the National Research Council published the first review of fluoride/thyroid literature and revealed substantial evidence that fluoride exposure can impact thyroid function in some individuals. Chair of the NRC fluoride panel, toxicologist John Doull, said the “The thyroid changes do worry me,” according to a Scientific American article.

Kheradpisheh concludes his findings are “consistent with the Peckham study in England,”

Peckham found hypothyroidism prevalence was at least 30% more likely in practices located in areas with fluoride levels in excess of 0.3 mg/L.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (2015)

Peckham writes, “The clear [and significant] association found in our analyses between fluoride levels in drinking water and variations in hypothyroidism prevalence appears to confirm findings in earlier studies that ingestion of fluoride affects thyroid function…The findings of the study raise particular concerns about the validity of community fluoridation as a safe public health measure.”

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