Does Brita Filter Fluoride?

Does My Brita Remove Fluoride?

Brita water filter pitchers use Granular Activated Carbon filters to reduce impurities from water, such as chlorine, taste and odor. These filters are inexpensive to manufacture and not specifically designed to remove fluoride or other water contaminants like microplastics. Some independent studies have shown that Brita filters can reduce fluoride levels in water to some extent, but they are not guaranteed to do so and are not considered an effective method for fluoride removal.

If you are concerned about fluoride levels in your water, you may want to consider a different filtration system specifically designed to remove fluoride. According to the FDA, drinking fluoridated water is not generally considered to be bad for you when consumed at the levels typically found in municipal water supplies.

The addition of fluoride to drinking water in the United States has a long and complex history. The idea of adding fluoride to water as a means of preventing tooth decay was first proposed in the early 20th century by a dentist named Frederick McKay. McKay observed that residents of a small Colorado town had unusually low rates of tooth decay, but also had high levels of fluoride in their drinking water. He hypothesized that the fluoride was somehow protecting their teeth from decay.

In the 1930s and 1940s, several studies were conducted to test this hypothesis, and the results were promising. Researchers found that communities with fluoridated water had significantly lower rates of tooth decay than those without. As a result, in 1945, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) began promoting the fluoridation of public water supplies as a safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay.

However, the practice of fluoridating public water supplies was not universally accepted. Some people and groups opposed the idea on the grounds that it was a form of mass medication, and that the long-term effects of consuming fluoride were not fully understood and still are not understood to this day. Despite this opposition, the number of communities with fluoridated water grew steadily throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Still, there has never been a large scale randomized trial on the long term health effects of fluoride in drinking water. There is however a growing number of studies on the negative side effects of fluoride. Recently 14 recent cross-sectional studies from endemic areas with naturally high fluoride concentrations in groundwater supported the previous findings of cognitive deficits in children with elevated fluoride exposures. 3 recent prospective studies from Mexico and Canada with individual exposure data showed that early-life exposures were negatively associated with children’s performance on cognitive tests.

Currently there are more people drinking fluoridated water in the United States than the rest of the world combined when there is no difference in tooth decay between western nations that fluoridate their water and those that do not put fluoride in drinking water according to World Health Organization data (see chart below). Currently 97% of Western European countries have looked at the data and decided not to put fluoride in drinking water. Today, about two-thirds of the U.S. population receives fluoridated water through their public water supply, many without their consent or knowledge of the potential side effects.

There are several types of water filters that can effectively remove fluoride from drinking water, including: Reverse Osmosis Filters: These filters use a membrane to remove particles, including microplastics, from water. These filters can be expensive to change, and require a plumber to put under your sink. These filters also will unfortunately will take up most of your space under your counter.

Carbon Block Filters: These filters use thousands of layers of compressed activated carbon to adsorb chemicals, including fluoride, from water if they are formulated to target fluoride. These filters are generally more expensive to manufacture and filter more slowly than a granular activated carbon filter like Brita but with this added time, you get a lot more contaminant removal (like removing microplastics) from your tap water. It's important to note that not all water filters are created equal, and not all water filters that can remove fluoride are available on the market yet. It's best to check with the manufacturer to see if a filter is specifically designed to remove fluoride. In addition, you can reduce the amount of fluoride and other contaminants like microplastics in your drinking water by using a filtered water bottle and avoiding products that contain microbeads such as bottled water. At Epic Water Filters, we love working with American made solid carbon block and carbon fiber block filters specially formulated for high levels of contaminant removal and have tested all of our gravity filters for the removal of fluoride. See our full line of fluoride testing here.

Filtering Drinking Water

It is important to filter tap water in the United States for several reasons: Contamination: Tap water can become contaminated with various pollutants and chemicals, such as pesticides, microplastics, lead, and bacteria. Filtering the water can remove these contaminants and make it safe to drink. Taste and odor: Tap water can have an unpleasant taste or odor due to the presence of chlorine and other chemicals used in the treatment process. Filtering the water can remove these chemicals and improve the taste and odor of the water.

Health concerns: Drinking contaminated water can lead to various health issues, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, developmental issues in children, and cancer. Filtering the water can reduce the risk of these health concerns. Fluoride: Fluoride is not considered an essential nutrient for human health. Unlike other minerals, such as calcium and iron, fluoride does not play a role in any known biological processes.

Fluoride is added to water and toothpaste to prevent tooth decay. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that fluoride is not an essential element for human growth or metabolism, and there is no known physiological process that requires fluoride to be present in the body. The US Public Health Service has set a recommended level for fluoride in drinking water of 0.7 mg/L to 1.2 mg/L. This level is considered safe and effective for preventing tooth decay based on clinical trials from the 1950's and 60's. However, the safety of fluoride has been widely debated and it is important to note that excessive fluoride intake can lead to health problems such as dental and skeletal fluorosis.

While the water provided by US municipalities is highly regulated and "considered" safe to drink, it is always good to take extra precautions to ensure the water we drink is clean and safe. It’s important to note that only a handful of contaminants are required to be included in annual Water Quality Reports and that there are hundreds of potentially harmful unregulated contaminants that aren’t accounted for by the EPA.

Fluoride In Cooking Water

It is important to filter your cooking water as chemicals, microplastics, heavy metals and pesticides can be infused into your food that you are preparing for you and your family. Cooking water may contain fluoride, filtering can help remove this chemical. Boiling water will not remove fluoride from the water. Additionally, using filtered water for cooking can also help prevent scaling and mineral buildup in appliances such as coffee makers and kettles, which can prolong their lifespan.

Are you ready to change the water you drink? Epic Water Filters has a wide range of American made water filtration products to fit your needs. Select the product that fits best for you and start reaping the health benefits of filtered water. (Note: Not all of Epic's products remove fluoride from water, fluoride is very difficult to remove from water without specially formulated filters and long contact time between the water and the filter.)