The Dangers of Drinking Unfiltered Fluoride Water
Mother Nature gives us one of the necessities of life, water, but what happens between a body of water and your kitchen faucet? A whole lot of contamination, that’s what. One pollutant that ends up in your drinking water is fluoride because city water systems add it due to its noted benefits for our oral health.
However, while we know that a little bit of fluoride is good for our teeth, we don’t yet know its impact on the rest of the human body, nor do we know what amount of fluoride is “safe” when it comes to our overall health.
What is Fluoride?
Fluoride is a mineral that can be found naturally in certain foods as well as bodies of water. Science has found that it helps prevent tooth decay, reverses early decay, and remineralizes the tooth enamel, better protecting your chompers.
This is why you’ll often find brands of toothpaste with added fluoride.
The Recent Federal Court Ruling
While there is a consensus that fluoride can support oral health, as we said, there are still many other question marks. There’s so much uncertainty around the impact of fluoride, in fact, that recently, a federal court in California ruled against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), demanding that officials take action regarding concerns about any possible health risks linked to the currently recommended levels of fluoride in America’s drinking water.
While this ruling is new, the fight is not. For almost a decade, environmental nonprofits and anti-fluoride groups have been in court because the EPA had denied their petition in opposition to local water utilities that add fluoride to the water.
So, there is still much debate around fluoride, whether its benefits outweigh its risks, and how much is too much.
Fluoride and IQ
What are the possible risks of consuming too much fluoride — a definite possibility considering we get it from not just our water and toothpaste but other sources, as well?
Starting in 2016, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) ran a systematic review of scientific literature looking at the relationship between fluoride exposure and neurodevelopment and cognition, specifically. They ultimately found that increased levels of exposure to fluoride (including water with more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter) are linked to lower IQ in children. The research couldn’t yet determine if lower levels of fluoride — such as the 0.7 milligrams per liter that’s the current recommendation for our country’s public supplies — also have a negative effect on the IQ of children.
But Wait, Isn’t My Water Already Treated to Ensure its Safety?
If you get your water from a public system, then yes, it should already be treated and purified. However, there are two problems here.
First, how can you guarantee that the amount of fluoride your city is adding to your drinking water is a safe amount? In truth, you can’t.
Second, there could be many other contaminants polluting the water coming out of your tap. These include chlorine, pesticides, fertilizers, estrogen and other hormones, lead, arsenic, and microplastics. There are several reasons this can happen. For instance, water can become contaminated as it travels through dirty plumbing. Additionally, it might never have been properly treated in the first place.
If you have well water, you have more control over the quality of what you drink. However, this is a double-edged sword for the same reason: You alone are entirely responsible for testing and treating your water.
You can buy water testing kits online to check the purity yourself. But if your supply is coming from the city, and you do end up discovering that your water is polluted, you’re going to have to purify it yourself after the fact. How?
The Ultimate in Water Purification Technology
Maybe you went online and skimmed through a few different Brita water filters. Or perhaps you’ve got one built into your refrigerator water dispenser. These should get the job done, right?
Well, not quite.
The problem with most run-of-the-mill water purification systems is that they rely on weak and outdated filtration processes to clean your water. What this means is that all sorts of contaminants are still able to easily sneak through the filter and into your drinking water.
The strongest and most precise type of water filtration on the market today is reverse osmosis (RO). Reverse osmosis filters are so efficient that they stop everything in its tracks… except for water molecules.
So, if you don’t want to consume more fluoride in your water, you have the choice not to. You can also rest assured that the other contaminants we mentioned, and so many more, don’t make it into your water glass.
Sans: Changing the Game of Water Purification
The Sans water purifier has raised the bar in the field of water purification. We utilize a four-layer system of water purification, including reverse osmosis, carbon, VOC, and UV-C that destroys pathogens like bacteria and viruses.
The removable glass pitcher auto-refills, it instantly dispenses hot water, and the countertop design requires zero installation. The water quality monitor gives you real-time updates to offer peace of mind.
Need something to take with you on the go? Our self-cleaning water bottle uses UV-C light purification to eliminate 99.9% of bio-contaminents, including E. coli and staphylococcus, in a three-minute cycle. The double-wall vacuum insulation keeps your water hot for 12 hours and cold for 24 hours.
Never again second-guess what’s in your water. With Sans water purification, you can rest assured that the water you’re consuming is always safe and crystal clear.
Learn more about how Sans compares to its competitors.