The letter from Jim Forleo (Herald, Nov. 27) claiming that a new study came out proving that fluoride is poisoning our children demonstrates, once again, Forleo’s ignorance of science, research and application to the real world.
The study’s authors would cringe, like myself, at his attempt to take their ideas out of context, call them facts, generalize the study to the United States and then apply it to his conspiratorial world view.
I read the research article titled “Prenatal Fluoride Exposure and Cognitive Outcomes in Children at 4 and 6-8 Years of Age in Mexico.” It is a well-done study that looked at fluoride levels in a urine sample from 299 low- to middle-income pregnant women from three hospitals in Mexico City, and matched the fluoride levels in this sample to IQ tests in their offspring at 4 and 6 years of age.
The authors concluded that there seems to be an association between high levels of prenatal fluoride ingestion and subsequent IQ in children, but not a cause and effect relationship because of too many unknown factors. Some of those factors included lack of knowledge regarding the amount of consumed fluoridated salt, lack of data regarding amount of fluoride in the water system (which is not tracked in Mexico City), unknown diet and potential unknown levels of other neurotoxins in these children.
The next time Jim Forleo cites research to support the dangers of fluoride in Durango, take it with a grain of salt.
Sherrod Beall, RN, MS, PNP
Durango
