Fluoride use was consequence of flawed nutritional guidelines, researcher says

Leading organizations such as the World Health Organization and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have dismissed low-carbohydrate diets that prevent tooth decay in favor of high-carbohydrate diets that rely on fluoride and fortification of foods to mitigate dental damage and nutritional deficiencies, a university said. of Washington says a researcher.

In a recent article published in MDPI’s nutrients daily, Dr. Philippe Hujoel of the UW School of Dentistry says that not only these organizations, but also other major health and professional associations reversed earlier positions and began recommending high-carbohydrate diets over decades in the last century . Specifically, he cites the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Dental Association (ADA).

These groups, he says, ignored scientific evidence weakening his claim that the only adverse health effect of a high-carbohydrate diet was dental cavities. Organizations such as the World Health Organization and the USDA later recommended increased use of fluoride to combat the risk of tooth decay.

In the meantime, says Dr. Hujoel, some scientists have provided compelling evidence that low carb diets they were at least as beneficial to health as high-carbohydrate diets. Low-carb diets help prevent cavities and make fluoride, which has no tangible health benefits other than preventing cavities, largely unnecessary, he says.

Dr. Hujoel’s study traces this development back to carbohydrate-rich fluoride supplementation dietary guidelines Flash back to the mid-20th century, when leaders like Emory W. Morris, a dentist and chairman of the Kellogg Foundation, a branch of a major cereal manufacturer, became the first chairman of the ADA Council on Dental Health in 1942.

Morris suggested that the problem of dental caries be solved with fluoride instead of sticking to the existing recommendation of a low-carbohydrate diet. He had a conflict of interest in this decision, since cereals are carbohydrates and increase the risk of cavities.

Furthermore, in making its recommendations, the ADA council had to reverse its position on several key points, says Dr. Hujoel:

• The Safety of Topically Applied Fluoride
• The role of deficiencies in nutrients for bone health in causing dental caries, went from an “established fact” to an explicit dismissal
• The need to teach dental patients “that a reduction in carbohydrate intake is necessary”, shifting to a recommendation of a “well-balanced” diet, which was increasingly associated with high-carbohydrate nutritional guidelines

Dr. Hujoel’s study also explores the private interests involved when the ADA took the first significant steps to support the current fluoride-Supplemented carbohydrate-rich nutritional guidelines, most of which have been maintained for decades.

High-carbohydrate diets undermine dental health because residue from these foods in the mouth breaks down into sugars, which feed the Streptococcus mutans bacteria that are also present. In turn, the bacteria produce lactic acid, which attacks tooth enamel, causing cavities. Fluoride strengthens enamel.