The richest foods in fluoride are chocolate powder, shrimps, and chamomile tea. Other common foods with decent amounts of fluoride are collard greens, pumpkin seeds, coffee, and turkey. Fluoridated water and toothpastes are the best sources of fluoride for most people, though.
What’s the recommended daily intake of fluoride?
Fluoride is a mineral naturally present in many foods as well as water.
Actually, fluoride is crucial for strong teeth and bones. It’s one of the most important minerals for healthy teeth. It can inhibit and even reverse tooth decay. Also, fluoride stimulates new bone formation! In fact, bones and teeth store about 99% of fluoride in the body.[1]
The recommended daily intake of fluoride is 4 mg for men and 3 mg for women. Teenagers need only 3 mg of fluoride per day. Children have even lower daily needs.
The main sources of fluoride are fluoridated water and toothpastes containing fluoride, but we can get high doses from food as well.
Foods high in fluoride
Fluoride is widely found in nature. It’s present in soil and water. Every region has different concentrations, though. Hence, foods and beverages may have completely different amounts of fluoride, depending on the region, agriculture methods, and even packaging materials![2]
Powder chocolate, collard greens, and pumpkin seeds are the richest plant-based sources of fluoride.
On the contrary, besides shrimps, foods from animal sources are poor in fluoride. Cow’s milk and eggs contain negligible amounts.
Chamomile tea is the richest beverages in fluoride. It’s the easiest way to naturally boost your daily intake of fluoride. Thus, drinking tea regularly may protect your teeth and bones!
| animal products | mg | plant-based foods | mg | beverages | mg |
| shrimps | 0.18 | chocolate powder | 0.52 | chamomile tea | 0.37 |
| turkey | 0.041 | collard greens | 0.193 | coffee | 0.091 |
| pork ribs | 0.038 | pumpkin seeds | 0.164 | beer | 0.044 |
| cheese | 0.034 | corn flour | 0.059 | ||
| tuna | 0.031 | rye flour | 0.051 | ||
| beef | 0.022 | barley flour | 0.051 | ||
| chicken | 0.015 | carrots | 0.047 | ||
| yogurt | 0.012 | potato | 0.044 | ||
| egg | 0.005 | rice | 0.041 | ||
| milk | 0.003 | bread, white | 0.039 | ||
| bread, whole wheat | 0.039 | ||||
| spinach | 0.038 | ||||
| peanuts | 0.028 | ||||
| lentils | 0.025 | ||||
| chickpeas | 0.022 |
Furthermore, oysters, raisins, oatmeal, tomato, asparagus, banana, grapefruit, and apple have small amounts of fluoride. Most fruits contain only traces of fluoride, though.
Also, salt can be a good natural source of fluoride. In fact, salt fluoridation is the cheapest method for preventing tooth decay.[3]
Last, but not least, beverages containing fluoridated water can significantly increase your daily fluoride intake.
Can I get enough fluoride from food?
Actually, most people in the United States consume adequate amounts of fluoride through food and fluoridated tap water.
Should I use toothpaste with fluoride to meet my needs?
Most toothpastes contain fluoride. Fluoride during brushing is well absorbed. Fluoride from toothpaste is more effective for preventing cavities, as compared to fluoride from drinking enriched water.
It’s vital to avoid drinking water or even using mouthwash after brushing. You want to leave toothpaste’s fluoride as long as possible on your teeth.
Adults ingest about 0.1 mg of fluoride from toothpaste per brushing. Children may ingest up to 0.3 mg, though, as they can’t control their swallowing.
Thus, brushing your teeth twice a day with a toothpaste containing fluoride provides about 0.2 mg of fluoride.
Can I get too much fluoride from food, water, or toothpaste?
The maximum safe daily dose of fluoride is 10 mg. But, fluoride toxicity is almost impossible to achieve from water or toothpaste containing standard levels of added fluoride. For instance, a person weighting 165 lbs (75 kg) should consume about 375 mg of fluoride to experience severe side effects.
Certainly, we can’t consume too much fluoride from food.
Fluoride toxicity may occur from accidents, such as ingesting medical products containing high amounts of fluoride. Common side effects of fluoride toxicity are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea.