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‘Staggering’ number of people believe unproven claims about vaccines, raw milk and more (www.nature.com)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/science@lemmy.world
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The result “blows the lid off of this idea” that such beliefs are held by only a fringe population of individuals who are uninformed or ideologically driven, says David Bersoff, head of research at the Edelman Trust Institute. “This is not like a small problematic group.”

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[–] 13 points 6 months ago (4 children)

I never doubted science, but I just learned how Fluoride affects your teeth, and it’s incredible. I get that it can be harmful in large quantities, but I think if people understood what it actually does they might be less scared of it.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    One of the little known historical gems about peoples meeting each other was when the early European settlers got to the Southwestern US, many were astonished by the fact that among the native tribes - even the oldest member had beautiful teeth. Fluoride is naturally occurring in the water in many parts of the southwest.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Yes! Apparently some communities have to remove it from the water first because the naturally occurring levels are too high in modern times now that people brush with it.

    I actually have Fluorosis stains on my front teeth. I had no idea what caused that before. I’ve had it for a very long time. It’s just a cosmetic symptom so I’m not worried about it. Something like 25% of the population have staining on teeth from Fluorosis and it’s how the communities can tell when Fluoride levels need to be adjusted in water.

    Fluoride levels in water used to be much higher but as society got better at brushing their teeth, it wasn’t needed as much.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    I actually have Fluorosis stains on my front teeth.

    I used to have that as well! It does fade with time and in my case, those are the teeth I have with the least wear on them now. (am in my 60's) Still needing a few crowns in the next couple of years, but that's expected after such a long time..

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    So many people in this thread aren't getting how we got here.

    It's not about understanding. Flouride conspiracy, raw milk, et al all have a a tinge of truth to them but they also have a larger cognitive bias and that is that it allows people to buck government regulations.

    This is "rules for thee but not for me" wrapped up in pseudoscience. These people benefited from flouride, pasteurized milk, regulated beef, etc. but believe that the over reaching government is holding back their freedom. This is about conservatives wanting to push their policies at the detriment to the population because conservatism is that they must be the group that pushes the rules and never have to be bound by them.

    This is ultimately about oppression.

    No amount of education will fix the empathy they lack.

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