In The Fluoride Papers the symptoms experienced by the main character, Cooper Hayes, from fluoride poisoning are the same as my own symptoms, which began when I was a teenager. My symptoms gradually worsened over the years. They included staining and erosion of the enamel of my teeth, torn muscles and tendons, joint pain, brain fog, and hemorrhoids. In 2004 I was listening to a medical talk show on which the guest proposed that these and other symptoms might be due to an excess of fluoride in the diet. At first I doubted that this could be the case, as most medical professionals maintain that fluoride serves a beneficial role in the human body, primarily in the prevention of cavities. However, I realized that I could put the issue to a test, becoming in essence my own laboratory rat. So I eliminated fluoride from my diet, eating organic fruits and vegetables and throwing out my fluoride toothpaste. Within a few months my symptoms began to go away, demonstrating that fluoride was, indeed, the culprit.