Can Fluoride Affect Male Fertility?
Every now and then fluoride rears its ugly head again. It’s a contentious issue. Die-hard fans, like the Australian Dental Association (ADA), claim there is no convincing or credible scientific evidence that, when supplied at the optimum level (one part per million or ppm) in drinking water, it can cause any adverse health effects.
However, many health experts believe that dental fluorosis is the first visible sign of poisoning as a result of water fluoridation. After studying all the evidence (and there is plenty), scientists from the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that the public water supply should not be used “as a vehicle for disseminating this toxic and prophylactically useless “substance.” (Those are their words, not mine).
Hard to swallow
The first waste material used for fluoridation was sodium fluoride, which is the ‘pharmaceutical grade’ compound used in toxicology studies and other research into the potential health dangers of fluoride. However, these days it is rarely used for water fluoridation.
The other two types of fluoride, sodium silicofluoride and hydrofluorosilicic acid, are the compounds actually used for water fluoridation. Sodium silicofluoride and hydrofluorosilicic acid are waste products from the fertilizer industry and are actually classified as hazardous wastes.
However, all three types are equally toxic and something nobody would want (or should have) in their drinking water… even if it is in a miniscule dosage.
In fact, a new study once again highlights the dangers of water fluoridation. The study, published in the journal Archives of Toxicology, found that sodium fluoride may damage sperm chemotaxis – the process by which sperm are attracted toward an egg, which plays a critical role in allowing fertilization to occur.
Other animal studies have already shown how fluoride can have potentially disastrous effects on the male reproductive system. Based on the results of sixty different animal studies, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) recently reported on the damaging effects of fluoride exposure on the male reproductive system. Their findings included:
- Decreases in testosterone levels
- Reduced sperm motility
- Altered sperm morphology
- Reduced sperm quantity
- Increased oxidative stress
- Reduced capacity to breed
Though these studies involved only animals, if their findings apply to humans it could put men at serious risk of becoming infertile.
In fact, in their report FAN added that along with the animal research, studies of human populations have reported significant links between fluoride exposure and damage to the male reproductive system. Back in 1994, a researcher at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that US males who had more than 3ppm fluoride in their water had lower ‘total fertility rates’ than men in areas where the fluoride levels were lower.
In China and India, studies have found that exposure to high quantities of this toxic waste product is associated with reduced male fertility. In addition, five studies from China, India, Mexico, and Russia have found that high-fluoride exposure is associated with reduced male testosterone levels.
Even scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have classified fluoride as a “chemical having substantial evidence of developmental neurotoxicity.” So really, if you ask me, there is more than enough evidence piling up against water fluoridation and in my mind there is no doubt: Fluoride should not be in our drinking water.
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Sources:
In vivo influence of sodium fluoride on sperm chemotaxis in male mice, Arch Toxicol. 2013 Jul 24. [Epub ahead of print]
Fluoridealert.org, Brain Effects, published online, fluoridealert.org
Neurotoxicity of sodium fluoride in rats, published online sciencedirect.com
‘Fluoride water ’causes cancer’ by BOB Woffinden, published online 12/06/05, guardian.co.uk
