Tuesday Top of the Scroll: Scientists sound alarm over drinking tap water when pregnant
Scientists have urged expectant mothers to avoid drinking unfiltered tap water after finding a link between fluoride exposure and disruptions to fetal brain development [according to a new study by the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine]. Since 1962, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) has recommended that public water supplies contain fluoride to help prevent tooth decay. Today, roughly 3 in 4 Americans receive fluoride-fortified water, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says have reduced dental carries in children and adults by roughly 25 percent. Both the CDC and USPHS say that fluoride consumption at the levels set by the U.S. government—2.0 mg per liter of water—is safe. However, others have raised concerns about the potential health impacts of this fluoride exposure, even at low levels, especially for a developing fetus.
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