Industrial Chemicals Contaminate the Bodies of American Children

Bravo to CNN for shedding some light on the devastation that chemicals are causing. It is wonderful to see the mainstream media tackling the issue of chemicals and kids. For those of you who aren't aware of the Body Burden study, I have included an excerpt from "Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family", which cites the study several times. If you are a parent or know someone who is, please tell them to check this out. Avoiding toxic chemicals and minimizing their impact on the body is truly one of the most important component of health in today's world.

Excerpt from "Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family":

"There is nothing on this earth equal to, no nation has any resource greater than, the potential of just one child."
-Richard Pelzer, Author of A Child Called It

We are bombarded with chemicals whose toxicity and potential dangers are often unknown. Although we may all suffer the effects of toxins, it is our children who are at greatest risk. Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins. Their rapid metabolism and growth and development expose them to more toxins by requiring increased consumption of food, water, and air for their body weight than adults. Children also behave differently than adults. They put everything in their mouth. Products may be considered to have "safe" amounts of toxins because they were not intended to be placed in the mouth. Crawling and spending more time on the ground places children in closer proximity to the toxins that settle in the earth and household dust. Toxins are also more likely to make a child ill because the systems required to detoxify or excrete these poisons are still maturing. Moreover, acceptable exposure limits are typically determined by risk assessment calculations in adults, not more vulnerable infants and children. ¹ We now know that children are contaminated before they even take their first breath of air. ² This is especially concerning because the blood brain barrier is not fully formed until months after birth allowing these toxins to enter the brain causing irreversible brain damage in the unborn child.

Medical Stuff: The blood brain barrier shields the delicate brain from potentially harmful substances that may be circulating in the bloodstream.

Of the 287 industrial chemicals and pollutants found in umbilical cord blood from newborns tested in a 2004 study known as the Body Burden study, 180 are known to cause cancer, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or developmental abnormalities.² How did we manage to contaminate our children with all of these toxic chemicals before they have even taken a breath of air let alone smoked a cigarette? When we look at the information on toxic releases into our air and water, the answer is obvious. In 2004, U.S. industries released over 70 million pounds of known carcinogens, 96 million pounds of known developmental toxins, nearly 38 million pounds of reproductive toxins, more than 826 million pounds of suspected neurological toxicants and nearly 1.5 billion pounds of suspected respiratory toxicants into the air and water.³

Yet these releases are not our greatest toxic threat. For every pound of neurotoxins, carcinogens, reproductive or developmental toxins that industries reported releasing to the environment in New Jersey and Massachusetts, an average of 42 pounds of the same chemicals are used in products intended for use in or around the home.⁴ And so our greatest toxic threat comes from our own purchasing decisions. This means we have the power to change the state of our health by simply choosing to purchase safer products.

Unfortunately this is no easy task. Chemicals known or suspected of causing health problems are frequently not labeled so consumers have no idea how toxic their homes have become or how to choose safer products. "Holler for Your Health: Be the Key to a Healthy Family" provides the information needed to avoid toxins or minimize their impact on health. It is sill in the process of publication, but the audiobook is available now at Lulu.com or www.holler4health.com.