Water is essential for good health is quite an understatement. Water is life is what actually we should get into our mind. But the very thing that is essential for our life is now contaminated with many poisonous chemicals out of which the most dangerous and controversial is Fluoride. It is poured in huge quantities into our drinking water supply by the government itself since the 1940s with the reason that it is beneficial for our dental health.
What is Fluoridation?
Fluoridation is the practice of adding fluoride to our drinking water. It has been common practice since as far back as the 1940s and is one of the greatest controversies in our country today. Proponents of fluoridation claim that adding the chemical to the water source is effective at reducing cavities while critics bring up evidence that point to the danger of fluoride.
But the controversy is that even though if it is good for our teeth and enamel color, it still is the reason behind many severe disorders and diseases. We use water not only for drinking but also in almost every food that we consume. The contamination of fluoride in water contaminates almost everything we ingest.
Effects of Fluoride
Fluoride shows effects in our body in certain ways which make it quite dangerous to consume even in small quantities over the long term. These are a couple of arguments going on why fluoride should be removed from our water immediately:
No dosage control
Fluoride is put into the water by the government for us to stay clear of dental illness. But only a micro amount of it helps in doing so. But the amount that we find our supply water is 100s of times more than the actual recommended amount. There is no control of dosage in Fluoride intake through the water. So, if you drink a healthy amount of 8 to 10 cups of water every day, you also ingest 8 to 10 cups of Fluoride contamination along with it which equally degrades your health.
Brain & Nervous System Damage
The chemical is proven to reduce the IQ level in children and degrade the level of attention and focus in adults. It causes serious nerve damage in the brain and damages the vertebral column and spinal cord strength.
Other Health Issues
Other health issues like thyroid disorders and gland abnormalities increase in people who are exposed to too much fluoride. The layer of Fluoride causes rigidity in bones and increases the chance of brittleness of bones making them prone to fractures. The controversy is that this happens only when someone is exposed to large amounts of Fluoride but there is no explanation on what is more for any individual.
How To Remove Fluoride From Water
You should know that if you are relying on the government or local water supply for your household needs, then you are for sure getting more quantities of Fluoride than you asked for. So, it is best to start looking for all possible removal methods of fluoride from water and choose what suits you:
Change The Source
The very easy yet rare option anyone can find is to change the source of the water itself. It is rare because finding your private source of water is not possible especially in urban areas without a water body nearby or a chance of reaching the underground water stream through drilling. So, if this is not possible for you then you might consider the next option.
Switch The Water itself
Even though you cannot get your own water source as it might not be possible in your area or simply too expensive, then another option which is cheaper than this is to switch your drinking water to a private water provider. There are many local companies that provide drinking water with doorstep delivery every day in large quantities at marginal costs. But that does not solve the issue of your exposure to fluoride by other means like bathing, cooking, or washing clothes.
Get A Fluoride Removal Water Filter
Water filters are available in all shapes and sizes and are quite easy to purchase too. But the issue is to find the right filter for your individual needs. But one thing is common that is, removing fluoride from all types of water requirements or at least reducing it to the minimum level of ingestion. The commercially available fluoride removal water filters remove up to 95% of Fluoride and keep the actual amount necessary for our dental and oral health without causing any other harm to our health.
Types of Water Filters To Remove Fluoride
There are many options from which you can choose the right one based on your requirements but these water filters are the best ones in terms of effectively removing fluoride from water:
Reverse Osmosis Filters
Reverse Osmosis filters use the reverse pressure filtration process to eliminate contaminants from water and are successful in removing up to 95% of them. But the complete RO systems are both not available for personal use and are also quite expensive. However, the commercially available ones still perform up to 90% and are quite cheap too.
Activated Alumina Filters
There are many filters that come with activated charcoal cartridges to work in a different way than Reverse Osmosis. The activated alumina granules of the filters absorb all the contaminants and provide up to 97% clean drinking water. The backlog of these filters is that you need to have a particular pH value (lower than 8.5) for them to work efficiently.
De-Ionization Filters
Deionization is a process that is quite similar to distillation and is equally slow in processing time. It essentially removes all the ionic particles and completely eliminates fluoride from water. But these filters are expensive and require frequent cartridge change and high maintenance too. The non-ionic water contaminants are still left in the water untreated.
Whole House Filters
The whole house filtration systems are designed to provide healthy drinking water especially from well water which is high in metal and organic matter. Fluoride also falls in the same ppm scale and whole house filters effectively remove it from the water making it safe for consumption for us. Whole house filters also work faster and can bear larger loads with their features of up to 8 cartridge modes.
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