Fluorine in tea could weaken bones, say researchers

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whitepocky at 08:24 PM JST - 5th September

It is estimated that to avoid tooth decay, no more than 1 milligram per liter of fluorine a day should be consumed. A volume of 2 milligrams per liter per day could lead to dental fluorosis, or mottled teeth.

Is that so. Then why is it tap water here in Japan holds little if no fluoride, the populations teeth are in quite a poor state. According to some, fluoride is not added to the water here because it adds a 'funny' taste to the natives green tea!!
BrightEyes at 09:34 PM JST - 5th September

There is no problem with soft drink beverages made from natural materials such as tea leaves because they include natural ingredients.

Hemlock and digitalis are natural ingredients too. I doubt the Soft Drink Association folks are going to be drinking those anytime soon.
PepinGalarga at 03:08 AM JST - 6th September

arsenic and lead are also natural ingredients.

i looked into sourcing tea from China, but the levels of heavy metals and other toxins were off the charts.

they are also adulterated to artifially give nutritional content, like with melamine.

Japan should put flouride in the water.
Apsara at 08:56 AM JST - 6th September

That would explain some of the unusually supple bodies of both men and women in some East Asian countries.

No it wouldn't. Suppleness and flexibility have everything to do with length of muscles and mobility of ligaments/tendons/connective fascia, and nothing to do with hardness of bones. The very flexible Chinese acrobats and martial artists you see are that way because they have trained since childhood. I teach stretching exercise, and I see phenomenally inflexible Japanese people and very flexible people and everything in between. There can be a genetic component, i.e. some people inherit flexibility, but in most cases your flexibility is decided by how often you move your muscles and joints outside of a "normal" range of motion, not how much tea you drink. Hope that clears that issue up.
Bizarro at 10:31 AM JST - 6th September

Some problems here...

and for mineral water it is under 2 milligrams per liter.

If this is not a typo (0.2 mg/liter?), then all the tested teas had far less fluorine than the standard for mineral water. So why aren't they warning us about mineral water, rather than tea?

A volume of 2 milligrams per liter per day could lead to dental fluorosis, or mottled teeth.

First of all, "2 mg/liter per day" is not a "volume". Nor does this make much sense. What should matter is the total amount of fluorine per day which would depend on the amount of beverage consumed per day.

Finally, as others have pointed out, some fluorine is good for teeth. And given the overall state of dental health in Japan, I would be careful where I take such advice.

Cheers,
jessssicaaa at 03:23 PM JST - 6th September

lolol.. through generations and generations of tea drinkers, they all were fine? lived happy and healthy lives.. but now it can decay the bones? lol whats next apples give you heart attacks? if you eat to many carrots your eyes fall out? haha
brighton at 04:53 PM JST - 6th September

Some people seem to have problems confusing fluorine and fluoride. They are two very different substances with different effects. Fluorine is much, much more toxic than fluoride, and does not benefit the teeth.
Triumvere at 08:28 PM JST - 6th September

Fluorine is a toxic yellow GAS.

Hello! This one, translator guys.
homealone at 10:46 PM JST - 6th September

This nonsense AGAIN I can thank the presence of fluoride in the tap water here (US) for my good dental health.

Shall we also discuss 'differences' in intestinal lenght too? (sarc)
XXXXX at 02:45 AM JST - 8th September

got to love the last paragraph
smithinjapan at 01:19 PM JST - 8th September

homealone: It's FLOURINE, not flouride. Big difference.

‘‘There is no problem with soft drink beverages made from natural materials such as tea leaves because they include natural ingredients. They are the same as general foodstuffs.’’

Hahahaha.... So this explains why I can keep a bottle of Suntory green tea unrefrigerated for several months while tea brewed from completely natural products wouldn't last a couple of days before developing a skin and/or mold. What a joke!
memyselfI at 08:28 PM JST - 8th September

No doubt !!! I hate tea !!!! Green tea tastes really like chemicals.
Plus it has 3x as more caffine than coffee. I think rusty water or tokyo bay water is more oshii than Green Tea.
UnagiDon at 09:33 PM JST - 8th September

tea brewed from completely natural products wouldn't last a couple of days before developing a skin and/or mold.

The "and/or" in this sentence is what really scares me - smithinjapan should maybe invest in a refrigerator.
Cicada at 09:51 PM JST - 8th September

Interesting subject but horrible article.

What are we talking about --fluoride or fluroine? The contents of the article seems to be referring to fluoride, which causes bone problems. This is the same chemical crap that is dumped into the tap water all over the USA to supposedly help teeth. But as the article states:

It is estimated that to avoid tooth decay, no more than 1 milligram per liter of fluorine a day should be consumed.

(Not that that statement makes much sense, either, since a milligrams per day figure is not given. People drink varying amounts of water.)

Still, the main question is how much of this substance should be allowed in tea, tap water, etc?

for raw water and tap water it is under 0.8 milligrams per liter and for mineral water it is under 2 milligrams per liter.

Anyone know how this compares to mandatory fluoridation in the USA or other places?
Noripinhead at 07:01 PM JST - 9th September

Duh! Just put some milk in your cuppa. That should counteract the calcium depleting effects.