Citrus fruits are allowed to be contaminated with 95 ppm of sodium aluminum fluoride. Potatoes may have 22 ppm on the outside and up to 2 ppm on the inside. Raisins can have up to 55 ppm. But of all the foods, grapes are perhaps one of the foremost sources of fluoride exposure.
Bet you would not have guessed that!
Grapes are a major source of fluoride because, first of all, they’re heavily sprayed with cryolite, and second, white grape juice is typically used as the base, or filler juice, in all sorts of juice drinks. So if you drink any kind of juice on a regular basis, you’re probably getting hefty doses of cryolite, i.e. fluoride-based pesticide… Cereals, mechanically deboned meats, and black or green tea are a few other sources that may surprise you.
“Wheaties for example was measured at 10 parts per million,” Green says. “Shredded Wheat: 9.4 parts per million. Why is it so high? One, they use pesticides on the grains. Two, they use [fluoridated] water… So you actually have higher concentrations than you ever found in the water where it was being made.
As for mechanically deboned meats, the source of the fluoride is the animal itself, which is exposed in the same manner as humans—through feed and water—which then comes out during the manufacturing process. Black and green teas are naturally high in fluoride, even if organically-grown without pesticides. This is because the plant readily absorbs fluoride thorough its root system, including naturally-occurring fluoride in the soil. According to Green, there are reports of people who have developed crippling skeletal fluorosis from drinking high amounts of iced tea alone.
Is Bottled Water More Pure than Tap Water?
Besides food, though, drinking water is certainly a primary source of fluoride exposure. Many mistakenly believe that bottled water is the answer, but this is a serious misconception.
As a general rule, I don’t recommend or encourage using bottled water on a regular basis—for a number of reasons. Not only does it contribute to profound amounts of environmental pollution, but a variety of toxins can leach from the plastic, contaminating your water. Not to mention the fact that you’re not guaranteed a more pure product to begin with. An estimated 40 percent of all bottled water is just bottled tap water that may or may not have received additional water treatment. No, buying bottled water certainly is not a guarantee of getting either pure or fluoride-free water!