Fluoridated drinking water has been hailed as one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Now it’s being called out by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
—possibly on track to become head of health initiatives for the incoming presidential administration—as a practice that should be halted. He recently asserted that Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office. Over the weekend, Trump told NBC News he had not discussed the issue with Kennedy, saying, “but it sounds OK to me.
You know it’s possible.” On Wednesday morning, Kennedy spoke with NPR, noting on Morning Edition , “We don’t need fluoride in our water. It’s a very bad way to deliver it into our systems.
” Below, a primer on fluoride in drinking water, its history of controversy, and what the science says. What is fluoride? Fluoride is the chemical ion of the mineral fluorine. It is naturally present in trace amounts, according to the CDC , in soil, water, plants, and some food sources including plants and animals.
It can also be released from volcanic emissions or as a byproduct of aluminum, fertilizer, and iron ore manufacture. Once it’s inside the body, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements , approximately 80% of what’s ingested is absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, with about 50% retained in the body of adults—all but 1% stored in bones an.