A Visionary Who Challenged Fluoridation and Championed Natural Health

By Michael Dorausch, D.C.

While re-reading a book by Dr. Fred Barge recently, I was reminded that his father (a 1923 Palmer Graduate) was an early and outspoken voice in opposition to fluoridation. Although I have not found much public information regarding Dr. Barge’s father and his Wisconsin practice, I wanted to share that chiropractors, dentists, and other natural health practitioners have questioned practices like water fluoridation since their beginnings. History is an amazing thing; here is one man’s story.

In the early 20th century, as public health officials heralded water fluoridation as a dental miracle, a lone voice in Wisconsin dared to question the narrative. Dr. Royal Lee, a dentist, nutritionist, and founder of the Vitamin Products Company (now Standard Process Inc.), stood at the forefront of the natural health movement, warning against the risks of fluoride and advocating for holistic wellness. Many decades later, as skepticism about fluoridation grows and natural remedies have gone mainstream, one question looms: Was Dr. Royal Lee correct all along?

A Pioneer in Natural Health

Born in 1895, Dr. Royal Lee was a man ahead of his time. Trained as a dentist at Marquette University, he saw beyond the drill and fillings, recognizing that true health stemmed from nutrition and the body’s innate ability to heal. In 1929, he founded the Vitamin Products Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a mission to produce whole-food nutritional supplements derived from organic, minimally processed ingredients. Unlike synthetic vitamins flooding the market, Lee’s products (made from nutrient-dense sources like alfalfa, peas, and organ meats) aimed to support the body holistically.

Renamed Standard Process Inc. in the 1960s, the company remains a leader in nutritional supplements today, still headquartered in Wisconsin and guided by Lee’s philosophy. Its enduring success reflects the growing demand for natural health solutions, a testament to Lee’s foresight in an era dominated by chemical interventions.

Lee’s philosophy was simple yet radical for the time: health begins with whole foods, clean water, and minimal interference from synthetic substances. He decried the rise of processed foods as a public health crisis. His lectures and newsletters, circulated through his company, reached health-conscious Americans, from chiropractors to homemakers, urging them to prioritize nutrition over pharmaceuticals. This worldview set the stage for his fierce opposition to water fluoridation, a battle that would define his legacy.

The Fluoridation Fight: A Voice Against the Tide

In the 1930s and 1940s, as researchers linked fluoride to reduced tooth decay, public health officials proposed adding it to municipal water supplies. The 1945 Grand Rapids, Michigan, experiment marked the start of widespread fluoridation, hailed as a triumph of modern science. But Dr. Lee saw a darker side. He argued that fluoride, a byproduct of industrial processes like aluminum production, was a toxin with a narrow safety margin. Citing animal studies showing toxicity at high doses, he warned that even low levels in water could accumulate in the body, potentially harming bones, kidneys, or developing brains.

Lee’s critiques, published in his newsletters and shared at health conferences, were multifaceted:

• Toxicity Risks: He highlighted fluoride’s use in pesticides and its link to dental fluorosis, a condition signaling overexposure. He questioned whether “optimal” levels (1.0 ppm) were safe for all, especially children or those with health conditions.
• Ethical Concerns: Fluoridation, Lee argued, was “mass medication” without consent, violating individual autonomy. He saw it as a dangerous precedent for government overreach.
• Corporate Motives: Lee suggested that industries like ALCOA, which produced fluoride waste, had financial incentives to reframe it as a public health boon, a claim later echoed by many activists.

His opposition was not solitary. Lee collaborated with early critics like Dr. George Waldbott, who documented fluoride sensitivities, and inspired natural health advocates who shared his distrust of chemical additives. In Wisconsin, where fluoridation debates flared in cities like Stevens Point, Lee’s ideas resonated with communities skeptical of top-down mandates.

Battles with the Establishment

Lee’s outspokenness came at a cost. The American Medical Association (AMA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), guardians of mainstream medicine, viewed him as a threat. His claims about nutrition’s role in preventing disease and his critiques of processed foods challenged the medical status quo. The AMA labeled him a “quack,” and the FDA targeted his Vitamin Products Company, seizing products and charging Lee with misbranding in the 1940s and 1950s. These legal battles, often over labeling technicalities, aimed to discredit his work and limit his influence.

Despite the pressure, Lee persevered. His company adapted, and his followers (chiropractors, naturopaths, and health food enthusiasts) rallied around his message. The attacks only reinforced his belief that the medical establishment prioritized profit over truth, a sentiment that fueled his fluoridation critiques.

A Turning Tide: Natural Health’s Resurgence

Today the landscape has shifted. Fluoridation, once marketed as a public health cornerstone, faces rapidly growing scrutiny. Studies suggesting links between fluoride and neurodevelopmental issues, coupled with a 2024 federal court ruling questioning the EPA’s oversight of fluoride levels, have reignited debate. Communities from Juneau, Alaska, to parts of Oregon have rejected fluoridation, echoing Lee’s warnings about safety and consent. Meanwhile, the captured CDC still champions fluoridation.

Concurrently, the natural health movement Lee helped pioneer is thriving. Organic food sales soar, holistic practitioners flourish, and consumers increasingly seek remedies rooted in nature, not laboratories. Standard Process Inc., now nearly a century old, continues to produce supplements based on Lee’s whole-food principles, serving a global market hungry for alternatives to synthetic solutions. The rise of wellness influencers, functional medicine, and distrust in centralized health mandates reflects the mainstreaming of Lee’s once-fringe ideas.

Was Dr. Royal Lee Correct All Along?

Dr. Royal Lee’s battle against fluoridation was not just about fluoride, it was a stand for individual choice, natural health, and skepticism of unchecked authority. His warnings about fluoride’s risks, dismissed as alarmist in the 1940s, now find support in modern research questioning its safety at population-wide levels. His broader vision (that nutrition, not chemicals, is the foundation of health) resonates in an era where processed foods are linked to chronic diseases and natural remedies are celebrated.

History may yet vindicate Lee. As more Americans question fluoridation and embrace holistic wellness, his legacy endures through Standard Process and the countless practitioners inspired by his work. In a world turning toward nature for answers, Dr. Royal Lee’s voice, once drowned out by the establishment, rings truer than ever.