"How come there's fluoride in tea?"

"Kelley Herring's article 'Brewing Up a Pot of Fluoride' came as a nasty surprise. I'm aware that there's fluoride in tap water, but it never occurred to me that this toxin exists in tea as well. How come?"

A.Y.

Hello A.Y.,

What may come as an even more "nasty surprise" is that the fluoride level in one cup of black tea rivals that of nearly 8 liters of water fluoridated at 1 ppm.

Why? Because the Camellia sinensis plant from which we obtain tea has a unique propensity to absorb fluoride. In fact, it is known to accumulate more fluoride (from pollution in both soil and air) than any other edible plant. What's more, the fluoride in tea is much higher than the maximum contaminant level (MCL) set for fluoride in drinking water.

As I mentioned in my "Brewing Up a Pot of Fluoride" article, you can stay fluoride-free with green tea extract that has been cleared of fluoride. And here's another option: Try herbal "teas" like Yogi Detox Tea. Boasting antioxidant-rich cloves, cinnamon, and ginger (with ORAC scores of 314,446, 267,536, and 14,840, respectively), this delicious beverage trumps green tea's trivial ORAC score of 1,200, without any fluoride contamination.

- Kelley Herring

It's Fun to Know: Christmas Tree Facts

• Christmas tree lots have sprouted up around the holidays since 1850 (though not, until recently, in front of local shopping plazas).

• The most popular Christmas trees include the Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, Balsam fir, and white pine.

• There are Christmas tree farms in all 50 states - and 98 percent of the Christmas trees available for sale are grown on those farms.

(Source: University of Illinois Extension)

Word to the Wise: Acuity

"Acuity" (uh-KYOO-uh-tee) - from the Latin for "to sharpen" - is sharpness of perception or vision.

Example (as used by Stephen Budiansky in If a Lion Could Talk): "Horses tend to shy a lot because the construction of their eyes is optimized for a near 360-degree field of view, useful for spotting danger, but the price the horse pays for that is relatively poor acuity and some out-of-focus spots that can cause objects within the field of view to suddenly sail into sharp focus."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2545, 12-22-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.