High levels of fluoride found in some brands of teabags; UK study but some brands sold elsewhere too

[Bluebell]

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this topic.

I expect a fair number of PhoenixRising members, esp. in the UK, do drink tea, so I thought I'd post this.

I drink about 4 cups a day, and I used to drink several of the brands that came up worst in this study.

Unfortunately, the newspaper articles I could find on this today do not spell out all of the study's results (all brands and levels of fluoride), and only the abstract is free at the Food Research International website.

"Could cheap tea bags make you ill? Study reveals they contain high fluoride levels that could damage teeth, bones, and muscles"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...uoride-levels-damage-teeth-bones-muscles.html

 

[taniaaust1]

thanks greatly for making me aware of this thou I dont livee in the UK.

I have severe fluorosis from childhood which badly pitted with holes and badly discoloured (big brown ugly patches with also white patches) of my second teeth so i had to have caps to cover and protect the damage from fluoride..(I'd regularly snuck into my momma's medicine cabinet and only took a couple of fluoride pills every day, so she wouldnt notice them missing.. as they tasted like lollies!!, she had a big container of them). I assume seeing my teeth were damaged so very badly by that, I probably would have evidence of it on my bones too.

...........

To much of fluroide can give IBS, gastro issues, lowers IQ, suppresses the thyriod, affects the kidneys, joint pain (may be misdiagnosed as arthritis (RA) and weakens the bones, (it isnt known how it affects the endocrine system)

 

[Bluebell]

Glad that it was informative, Taniaaust1!

Also interesting is that the decaffeinated versions of the green tea that they studied had a lot more fluoride in them than the same brands' caffeinated versions (I'm not sure if the same held true with the decaffeinated and caffeinated black tea).

If anyone sees a published table/listing of the fluoride results for the various brands, please mention that here. (The journal article costs over $40 to look at online.)

 

[Little Bluestem]

Also interesting is that the decaffeinated versions of the green tea that they studied had a lot more fluoride in them than the same brands' caffeinated versions

Could they be using fluoride in the decaffeination process?

 

[Sea]

Could they be using fluoride in the decaffeination process?

Probably using flouridated water in the decaffeination process. Most manufacturers who claim a natural, water filtration process probably use filtered town water which may or may not contain flouride depending on where you live. Special filters are necessary to remove flouride.

 

[Bluebell]

Regarding the decaffeinated info -- I took another look at the Daily Mail article and they don't mention the decaffeinated info there. I must have read it in a different article yesterday - I looked at several.

I checked the Daily Telegraph article and it's not there either. I did see it in an article yesterday, somewhere.

So I looked further -- here is a study on Pubmed:

Fluoride content in caffeinated, decaffeinated and herbal teas
Caries Res. 1996;30(1):88-92.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8850589
Abstract

The fluoride contents of infusions prepared from 44 different brands and types of teas were measured.
Fluoride concentrations ranged from 0.34 to 3.71 ppm (mean = 1.50 ppm) in caffeinated tea infusions, 0.02-0.14 ppm (mean = 0.05 ppm) in herbal tea infusions, and 1.01-5.20 ppm (mean = 3.19) in decaffeinated tea infusions.
This is the first report of the fluoride content of decaffeinated teas.
The mean fluoride content of decaffeinated tea infusions is significantly (p < 0.01) higher than the corresponding caffeinated tea.
The use of mineral water containing a naturally high fluoride level during the process of decaffeination is the most likely explanation of the above observation.


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The NHS has published an article in response to this journal article (in Food Research International) and subsequent newspaper articles yesterday, telling people not to worry if they buy budget brand / store brand tea bags, and to just limit their consumption of it: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/07July/Pages/do-fluoride-levels-in-cheap-tea-pose-a-health-risk.aspx

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from the Daily Mail article I referenced in the original post:
"It is suggested that an adult consume no more than three mg of fluoride a day.

The new study showed that on average, four cups of cheap supermarket tea provided six mg of the substance.​

Excessive intake of fluoride can cause a variety of health problems including joint pain, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, brittle teeth, kidney problems and has even been linked to cancer." ​

 

[Valentijn]

The NHS has published an article in response to this journal article (in Food Research International) and subsequent newspaper articles yesterday, telling people not to worry if they buy budget brand / store brand tea bags, and to just limit their consumption of it: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/07July/Pages/do-fluoride-levels-in-cheap-tea-pose-a-health-risk.aspx

Ah, good to know that plastic is safe so long as I don't eat too much of it!