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The effects of fluoride on humans
Ponce DeLeon was hunting for the elusive fountain of eternal youth (and of course, that ever popular element at atomic number 79 — GOLD when he happened to end up in Florida around about where the oldest city in America is now located — Saint Augustine.
He was perhaps a little off track in his exploring by that point…
I guess one of those "GPS" gadgets might have been kinda handy! The legendary well he was seeking — based on directions given to him by Native Indians is fairly well documented to be in a place they called BeeMeeNee (sound a little like Bimini?). Whether Ponce ever actually got to Bimini is still a point of contention amongst the historians.
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Most natural spring water, and even bottled water does contain fluoride. The amount can vary significantly — depending on rock and soil conditions around the source.
There's a gathering body of evidence that under certain conditions fluoride can actually reduce the effects of aging — prolonging youth.
Before you rush out and begin looking to chow down a cup of two of good old fluorine you might want to check out some of the other properties of this possible elixir of longer life:
- Fluoride has been used throughout history as rat poison — and rats are not easy to kill.
- In both laboratory and epidemiological studies fluoride has been found to reduce intelligence! Some studies have found that even small dosages can drop IQ by ten to fifteen points. While Forest Gump did pretty good with that sort of edge, recall that was in the movies!
- The osteoblast / osteocast cycle might become abnormal and you may not enjoy that youthful glow if you can't get your fused and crippled bones out of bed.
- Slow release dosages of fluoride (or various bisphosphonates and possibly gallium nitrate) can fight osteoporosis.
- Perhaps there's a downside here I'm just not seeing...after all fluoride is really good at enhancing the deposition of calcium from saliva onto the enamel of teeth and thus preventing tooth decay!
You ask... how might this affect me?
Well, a lot of products have fluoride in them — many more than just spring or bottled water! Most cities add tiny amounts of fluoride to their water.
Many prescription drugs especially psychoactive agents such as anti-depressants use fluoride. Other drugs use fluorine compounds to enhance effectiveness and reduce the quantites of other, more expensive active agents required.
Toothpaste, some mouthwash and various over-the-counter medications also contain fluoride. Check the pharmacological name and see if it has fluo-anything inside it.
It is very possible that if you're taking one or more of these or many other types of drugs, you're getting a fairly significant dosage of various fluoride compounds. A positive for teeth -- but perhaps a little rough on the bones and nervous system?
One of the most interesting things about fluoride is that the difference between a "positive dosage and a harmful one can be razor-thin. Just a few parts per million too many and really nasty things can start to happen. That's why you have to be careful to assess all the sources of fluoride in your diet!
FLUORINE.HISTORYGeorguis Agricola described the use of fluorspar as a flux in 1529. As early as 1670 Schwandhard found that glass was etched when exposed fluorspar treated with acid. Scheele and many later investigators, including Davy, Gay-Lussac, Lavoisier, and Thenard, experimented with hydrofluoric acid — some experiments ended in tragedy. The gas was first prepared in 1886 by French chemist Henri Moisson (1852-1907) who electrolyzed fused potassium hydrogen fluoride, KHF2, in a special apparatus using a platinum-iridium alloy for the electrodes — after nearly 74 years of CONTINUOUS effort. OCCURRENCE AND PREPARATION OF FLUORINEFluorine is a member of the halogen family and is the most active of all elements. Because of its very great chemical activity, fluorine is very hard to prepare and very hard to store. Modern commercial production methods are essentially variations on the procedures first used by Moisson. PROPERTIES OF FLUORINE.Fluorine is about one and one-third times, as heavy as air. Fluorine is the most electronegative and reactive of all elements. With the exception of some of the inert gases, fluorine reacts violently with metals and forms compounds with all elements including organic and inorganic substances. A stream of hydrogen ignites instantly when in contact with fluorine forming hydrogen fluoride. Fluorine reacts vigorously with water liberating oxygen as ozone and forming hydrogen fluoride. Finely divided metals, glass, ceramics, carbon, and water burn in fluorine with a bright flame. CLASSIFICATION OF ELEMENTS.FLUORIDESFluorine is a Group 17 element.USESFluorine and its compounds are used in producing uranium (from the hexafluoride) and more than 100 commercial fluorochemicals, including many well-known high-temperature plastics. Fluorine is used in the manufacture of fluorochloro hydrocarbons (freons) for refrigerators and air conditioning. In much of this century it was also used in aerosol propellants. It was used in insecticides such as the now banned DDT. Fluorine is also used to make special lubricating oils which remain fluid at very low temperatures.(ie: PCBs) Sodium Fluoride is used as a prophylaxis against dental caries based on the observation that in sections of the country where drinking water contains small amounts of naturally occuring fluoride, children develop fewer cavities. (0.7 p.p.m F- ion) Elemental fluorine is being studied as a rocket propellant as it has an exceptionally high specific impulse value. Compounds of fluorine with rare gases have now been confirmed. Fluorides of xenon, radon, and krypton are among those reported. The free element has a characteristic pungent odor, detectable in concentrations as low as 20 parts per billion, which is below the safe working level. The recommended maximum allowable concentration for a daily 8-hr. exposure is 0.1 ppm. HYDROGEN FLUORIDEHydrogen Fluoride is made from a reaction of sulfuric acid and calcium fluoride. A test for fluoride is based on its ability to etch glass. For this reason hydrofluoric acid must be stored only in polyethylene containers. Great care must be taken in using the acid since it destroys all living matter and is very poisonous. |
| Atomic Number |
9 |
| Symbol | F |
| Color | pale yellow |
| Structure | cubic |
| Classification | gas |
| Abundance in earth`s crust |
0.027 % |
| Density (g cm-3) |
1.51(l) |
| Melting Point | -219.62°C |
| Boiling Point | -188.14°C |
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