WARNING: Do NOT Swallow Fluoride… So Why Are We Drinking It?
Chapters5
The chapter warns against swallowing toothpaste, noting the label and poison-control implications, and hints at concerns about daily exposure to substances in oral hygiene products.
Dr. Berg questions fluoridated water’s safety, argues about uncontrolled dosing and potential IQ risks, and urges filtration or distillation.
Summary
Dr. Eric Berg challenges the conventional rationale for adding fluoride to public water. He highlights the lack of dose control in fluoridated water, noting that infants, athletes, and people with kidney issues can end up with different exposures. Berg explains dental fluorosis as a developmental enamel defect seen in about 40% of kids at “optimum” fluoride levels, with roughly one in eight parents unhappy with their children’s teeth appearance. He argues fluoride is absorbed systemically not only via toothpaste but also through drinking water, potentially affecting organs, bones, the pineal gland, and even thyroid receptors. He cites the U.S. National Toxicology Program’s stance that higher fluoride exposure is linked to lower IQ in children, stressing this isn’t speculation but government-backed data. Berg points out that fluoride comes from sources beyond toothpaste and drinking water, including coffee, tea, sodas, and juice made with fluoridated water, with infants receiving more per pound of body weight. He also claims that the fluoride used in water is often a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production, not pharmaceutical or food-grade fluoride, and touches on related industry practices like using sewage sludge (bio solids) in agriculture. For a practical takeaway, he recommends filtering water with devices certified to reduce fluoride (or using reverse osmosis or distillation) and even installing shower filters to limit inhalation of fluoride gas. The video ends by teasing more content on the broader water topic, inviting viewers to explore Berg’s other findings.
Key Takeaways
- Fluorosis affects about 40% of kids at the so‑called optimum fluoride level in water, with roughly one in eight bothered by the appearance of their teeth.
- Fluoride is ingested systemically from toothpaste and fluoridated water and can accumulate in organs, bones, the pineal gland, and even influence thyroid receptors.
- The U.S. National Toxicology Program has concluded that higher fluoride exposure is consistently associated with lower IQ in children.
- Everyday fluoridated exposure comes from coffee, tea, sodas, and juices made with fluoridated water, meaning dose varies widely by source and individual.
- Fluoride used in water is often a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production, not pharmaceutical-grade fluoride, raising questions about safety and source.
- Effective filtration options include reverse osmosis, distillation, or certified fluoride-reduction filters for both faucets and showers.
Who Is This For?
Essential viewing for parents, health-conscious readers, and policy skeptics curious about fluoride safety and dosing. It explains why one might consider home filtration and challenges the assumption that fluoridation is universally beneficial.
Notable Quotes
""Higher fluoride exposure is consistently associated with lower IQ in children.""
—Cites the government-backed data linking fluoride exposure to cognitive effects.
""You can't control the dose.""
—Critiques the inability to regulate fluoride intake from water.
""It goes into your bones. It goes into your kidneys.""
—Describes systemic distribution of fluoride beyond the mouth.
""The pineal gland is where you make melatonin.""
—Claims fluoride affects a key brain-related gland.
Questions This Video Answers
- How does fluoride exposure affect a child’s IQ and what does the latest government data say?
- What are the best ways to remove fluoride from drinking water at home?
- Why is fluoride added to water, and are there safer alternatives?
- What foods and beverages contribute the most fluoride exposure in a typical diet?
- Are there legitimate concerns about fluoride from toothpaste and drinking water combined?
FluorideWater fluoridationDental fluorosisIQ and fluoridePhosphate fertilizer byproductsBio solidsWater filtrationDr. Eric Berg
Full Transcript
Warning. Do not swallow your toothpaste. If you were to go in your bathroom right now and look on the label of your toothpaste, it would say, "Do not swallow." If swallowed, called poison control. Wait a second. Why are they allowing us to put something in our mouth if it's poisonous? But I have a much bigger question. Why are we not allowed to swallow toothpaste, but we are allowed to drink fluoridated water every single day of our lives? When we're talking about fluoride in our water supply, you can't control the dose. You can't opt out of it.
If you have city water, it's going to come in in your shower. It's going to be in your drinking water. This is water that goes into our children, our babies, athletes who drink more water, and sick people as well. I mean, you almost have to step back and go, what the heck is going on with this? So, let's first talk about what fluoride can actually do to someone. You can actually get something called dental fluorosis. This is a developmental defect of tooth enamel that happens when kids are exposed to too much fluoride. And it happens when the teeth are developing.
You'll see these little white spots, these lines, kind of a chalky enamel. I had this growing up and this is the shocking part. At the so-called optimum level of fluoride in the water, around 40% of kids show some level of fluorosis. And about one in eight are also bothered by the way their teeth look. So someone decided that a certain amount of fluoride in our water that causes enamel damage is acceptable. Yes, fluoride is intended to help prevent cavities. But of course, they don't even talk about the real cause of cavities, which is sugar and starches, but that's a whole different topic.
But what is the other benefit of fluoride? There is none. It gets absorbed in the mouth systemically from the toothpaste. And not only that, when you're drinking the water, it gets into the body systemically to every single organ and it accumulates. It also sucks up into your pineal gland. The pineal gland is where you make melatonin. It has the ability to affect the receptors of your thyroid. It goes into your bones. It goes into the kidneys. This fluoride doesn't just stay in your mouth and affect your teeth. and the US National Toxicology Program. Governmental scientists have reviewed the data for decades.
And what was their conclusion? Higher fluoride exposure is consistently associated with lower IQ in children. This is not speculation. This is government scientists saying this. A lot of people don't realize that you don't just get fluoride from the toothpaste, from drinking water. It's also in coffee, tea, sodas, juice, all made with fluoridated water. We really can't control the dose. Athletes drink more. Babies on formula get more per pound of body weight. People with kidney issues can't clear it out as effectively. Yet, we treat fluoride like everyone is getting the same dose. And what really gets me is like babies without teeth are getting this fluoride.
What is it doing to their brains? And if they're consuming baby formula, it's even worse because they're getting more concentrated fluoride. And so really we're medicating our entire population for the sake of preventing some cavities in the US because in certain European countries they banned this fluidation in the water supply only in America. So fluoride was added back in the ' 40s back when we didn't really use fluoride in our toothpaste. Okay? It wasn't a universal thing. We didn't actually consume as much processed food. The total exposure was far less than what it is now.
But someone had this bright idea. Hey, let's put fluoride in the water supply. So, you might be thinking, well, okay, the fluoride that they're using is food grade, right? It's safer. Well, most water systems don't use pharmaceutical grade or food grade because I don't even think there is a food grade fluoride. They're using a different form of fluoride. It's a byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production. I could imagine someone just had this bright idea. What are we going to do with all the industrial waste? Oh, I have a good idea. Let's use it to stop cavities.
In fact, let's put it into the water supply and we'll get everyone to agree on it and we'll be able to prevent all these cavities. It'll be a huge great thing for society. And you see this also with other industries with the corn industry. And someone had a really good idea with what we could do with the waste. We can make high fructose corn syrup with it. We can make maltodextrin and use it as a filler in foods. We can even make modified corn starch to help the texture in the mouth feel of certain foods.
It's cheap calories and that way you can use the whole product. I mean this next one will blow you away. Sewage sludge in the industry that deals with sewage treatment. Okay, you have to do something with the sewage, right? Well, someone had a bright idea and they turned it into they call it bioolids and they wanted to come up with the name of how can we position this to make it sound like it's it's not very dangerous and they came up with bioolids and this is what you see when you buy your fertilizer for your plants or even your garden.
What you're getting is you're getting this sewage sludge. Now, what they say is they treat it in a way to make it safe. How you going to process it to take sewage sludge and get rid of the toxicity? I want to know. Also with the petroleum industry, all the different byproducts. You have food dyes, you have medications, drugs, they have all sorts of things. And even the seed oil industry back in the day, they used it for fuel for lamps. And then someone had a great idea. Let's use it for cooking oil. Yeah, we'll put it in the food supply and we can sell it and people will use it and we can even convince people that it's healthy.
Well, guess what? Decades later, we're finally uncovering what seed oil really does for the body and it's not as heart healthy as we've been told. So, in summary, if fluoride works mainly on the surface of the teeth, why are we delivering it as a swallowed drug to the entire body, especially to infants? So, what is the solution? A water filter. But here's the problem. You can't just use a regular carbon filter to pull out fluoride. Okay? You have to have something specially designed for it. In my house, I had to get a special filter to pull fluoride out.
You can use reverse osmosis. You can also distill the water and pull it out, but you have to find a filter that specifically is certified for fluoride reduction. And if it doesn't specifically say it's filtering out fluoride, then find one that does because the general water filters don't do that. At the very least, you can get a countertop filter or even something for your shower that pulls out fluoride because of fluoridated water can even turn into a gas and kind of get into your body that way as well. So, in other words, your shower could be spraying on your skin, affecting the skin, and it does create irritation on your skin, but also get internally through the heat and the gas.
Now, since we're on the topic of water, I have something even more interesting on this topic in this video right here. Check it out.
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