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Some 'murican cities are unironically trying to get rid of fluoride from water. You know, the thing that also goes in toothpaste and is overall good for keeping teeth healthy
RFK Jr, who is likely to be our new head of health and human services, wants to ban it nationally.
You're not swallowing toothpaste. I don't know enough about the effects of fluoride to agree or disagree with the removal. Being a guy with healthy teeth, a ...few years under his belt and living on well water for damn near all of them, I'm pretty comfortable saying leave it in the toothpaste where it'll have fewer unintended consequences
It has been proven in repeated studies that fluoride in the water helps prevent tooth issues for children in low income families.
There is much less fluoride in water than in toothpaste, so the swallowing comparison is a little bit extra.
Then why even comment on it? You realize that there are people who do know a lot about this stuff. Like they've dedicated their lives to studying it. And I imagine you could even find their published research online. You know, like actual science? Do you remember how the scientific method works?
But nah, instead you'll just make an unwarrantedly confident comment about something you know nothing about based on "vibes"
Just like American voters.
Unfortunately RFK isn't all wrong on this one. Recent evidence is showing it is indeed linked to neurological issues... Furthermore the effects are kind of negated by fluoride in the toothpaste.
https://keck.usc.edu/news/fluoride-exposure-during-pregnancy-linked-to-increased-risk-of-childhood-neurobehavioral-problems-study-finds/
https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-water-brain-neurology-iq-0a671d2de3b386947e2bd5a661f437a5
These margins are razor thin.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/still-need-fluoride-drinking-water-benefits-may-waning-study-suggests-rcna173790
Respectfully, I'm going to be immediately suspicious of any study that uses IQ as the measuring standard. IQ is not an objective measure of intelligence or cognitive ability. The same person taking the test will probably have a different score every time they take it. I'm not saying fluoride does or does not have an effect on cognitive ability or intelligence. But IQ is hardly going to be the way to figure that out.
Edit: I also don't know how you'd conclude it's fluoride and not literally anything else they're consuming.
Respectfully, maybe read the two linked studies then.
You only linked one? The other is referenced in an article. The way these studies were conducted and the populations used does not immediately translate to fluoride being the issue since that wasn't the only variable. It's worth exploring, but it's really not enough to change decades of dental hygiene improvements.
The ap article links another.