By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the investigation conducted by the Associate Press that revealed an incredible variety of pharmaceuticals––including everything from antidepressants and sex hormones, to anti-seizure medications and ibuprofen––was found in the drinking supply of 41 million Americans.
How are these materials ending up in the water in the first place? Well, it’s not because of illegal dumping by pharmaceutical companies––it’s because we’re an overmedicated society.
The simple truth is that Americans take a lot of drugs, and not all of those drugs are absorbed into your body. Those that aren’t absorbed are expelled through urine and feces. The fact is, water purification systems have no way of specifically screening out these elements from the water, so they remain a presence––a trace presence to be sure––but they’re there.
I don’t care that the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are so miniscule that they can be
measured in parts per billion and even parts per trillion. The point is not that one gulp of this tainted brew will have a negative effect. The real issue is chronic, low-level exposure to these drugs.
Think about getting a low, consistent dose of a chemotherapy drug (which is incredibly toxic), or hormones, or psychotropic drugs for depression or epilepsy, or antibiotics…the list goes on. In fact, some experts believe these pharmaceuticals may pose even more of a threat than waterborne contaminates like pesticides, PCBs, and lead that environmental watchdog groups traditionally screen for.
Zoologist John Sumpter of Brunel University in London, who has studied trace hormones, heart medicine, and other drugs, said, “These are chemicals that are designed to have very specific effects at very low concentrations. That’s what pharmaceuticals do. So when they get out into the environment, it should not be a shock to people that they have effects.” I agree with Dr. Sumpter. What about the possible side effects inherent in the drugs? Or how these drugs interact with the drugs you may already be taking and that are in your system? The Age of Overmedication began about 20 years ago, so it’s tough to say when the potential longterm
effects will materialize.
Unfortunately, pharmaceuticals aren’t the only toxins ending up in your drinking water. The
difference is, the others are put there on purpose.
Millions are risking their lives for healthy teeth. Most people don’t think twice about having fluoride in their drinking water. Back in the 40s, when fluoride was first added to the water supply, most dentists believed that you had to swallow the stuff in order for it to work. It hadn’t been proven, mind you. But that didn’t stop the government from including it in the chemical cocktail that’s routinely added to your tap water. A lot has changed since then, though. Now, more than 50 years of research has proven, beyond a doubt, that fluoride is NOT suitable for human consumption. Period. You may also be surprised to learn fluoride is AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED POISON!!
That’s right. For years fluoride was classified as a toxic waste in this country. In fact, not too
long ago its only approved uses were as an insecticide and a RAT POISON! Most nations have
wisely abandoned fluoridation, realizing that it was a horrible mistake and was responsible for bad health and death in millions of innocent people. Most nations, except, of course, for the good ol’ U.S. of A. Here’s the real irony, though: Fluoride may not even be good for your teeth!
In one of the biggest studies ever undertaken on the subject (using data from 39,000 school children in 84 metropolitan areas around the U.S.), there was no statistically significant difference in rates of tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated water supplies. That’s right: fluoride doesn’t prevent cavities.
Now, those people who have been exposed to a lifetime of poisoning… er, I mean fluoridation…
are suffering the consequences. Fluoride poisoning plays a role, in my opinion, in practically
every disease that we see. Why? Because fluoride is an enzyme inhibitor, and that means not one single cell in your body escapes its toxic effects.
Millions of people in America are being forced to ingest a toxin that’s been linked to a whole host of diseases. Let’s take a look at just a few:
• Immune system alteration—Fluoride causes the immune system to fail to distinguish
between the body’s own proteins and disease, which can lead to autoimmune conditions, like asthma and Graves’ disease.
• Musculoskeletal harm—Fluoride-caused enzyme toxicity damages the collagens and
other substances that make up muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and even tooth enamel.
Rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis and osteoporosis are aggravated as a result.
• Genetic damage—Fluoride’s enzyme poisoning effects penetrate the body’s chromosomes,
causing permanent genetic changes that can lead to damage to the genitalia, and has even been linked to an increased incidence of birth defects like Down Syndrome.
• Cancer—Because fluoride is a mutagen, it can cause the uncontrolled spread of certain types
of cells—including cancer. One report from San Francisco in 1950 showed a 400% increase in one type of cancer during the period in which their water supply was initially fluoridated.
• Thyroid dysfunction—Fluoride causes damage to the thyroid gland in multiple ways, which can play havoc on your body’s hormonal balance and ultimately lead to hypothyroidism, an increasingly common condition in most all civilized nations.
As if these things aren’t bad enough, because your body can only eliminate about half the fluoride you ingest, this toxin builds up in your system over time. So the older you get, the more likely you are to suffer from fluoride’s toxic effects.
Chlorine: A good idea gone bad Chlorine is another perfect example of a “health initiative” that could end up killing you. Chances are, if you had lived in the 19th century, you would have been as gung-ho about adding chlorine to the water supply as everyone else was. People were so scared, you could have told them you were adding arsenic to the water and they would have gulped it up. That’s because everyone lived in fear of contracting a waterborne disease such as typhoid fever, cholera, or dysentery.
And it’s no wonder: People who contracted cholera, for example, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea so severe that they could be dead less than twenty-four hours after coming down with it. But acting out of fear never did anyone much good—not in the long run, anyway. In this case,
the harmful effects of a lifetime of drinking and bathing in chlorinated water are much more
silent—but just as deadly—as the diseases it was meant to save you from. Chlorine has been proven to harden arteries, destroy proteins in the body, irritate the skin and sinuses, and aggravate asthma, allergies, and respiratory problems. But chlorine also has a number of byproducts, each of which carries its own list of side effects. Chloroform speeds the aging process and causes cholesterol to oxidize, and DCA (Dichloro acidic acid) has been shown to cause liver cancer in lab animals.
In fact, a U.S. Council of Environmental Quality study states that “cancer risk among people
drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine.”
Is that a clear message, or what?
How to protect yourself from contaminated water So what should you do in the face of this unrelenting chemical warfare against you and your family? The best thing to do is to invest in a good filtration system for the main pipe coming into your house (known as a point-of-entry system) or in a system for under the sink that provides your main source of drinking water.
Be careful when buying water filters, because there’s a lot of junk out there. Look fo water filters that have been certified by one of the main independent testing laboratories, such as NSF
(www.nsf.org), Underwriters Laboratories (www.ul.com), and the Water Quality Association
(www.wqa.org). All three of these Web sites have search functions for consumers where you can
research all products that have been certified to remove just about any contaminant you can think of. Many of the products you’ll find on these Web sites can be purchased at your local retail outlet, such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target or Sears. Others can be bought online through a variety of retailers.
ByWilliam Campbell Douglass II,M.D.
Visit us at www.DouglassReport.com Learn more aboutWilliam Campbell Douglass II,M.D.
©Copyright 2008 Institute for The Douglass Report 702 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201. All rights reserved. No part of this report may be reproduced by any means or for any reason without the consent of the publisher. This information is provided as information only and may not be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken based solely on the contents of this publication. Readers should consult appropriate health professionals on any matter relating to their health and well-being. The information and opinions provided in this publication are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgment available to the authors, but readers who fail to consult appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions.
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