Minimize Exposure to Environmental Toxins
Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.
An article in a forthcoming issue of a peer-reviewed medical journal, Current Opinion in Pediatrics, just posted online, cites “historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally.” It adds that the “likelihood is high” that many chemicals “have potential to cause injury to the developing brain and to produce neurodevelopmental disorders.”
The author is not a granola-munching crank but Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, professor of pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and chairman of the school’s department of preventive medicine. While his article is full of cautionary language, Dr. Landrigan told me that he is increasingly confident that autism and other ailments are, in part, the result of the impact of environmental chemicals on the brain as it is being formed.
“The crux of this is brain development,” he said. “If babies are exposed in the womb or shortly after birth to chemicals that interfere with brain development, the consequences last a lifetime.”
– “Do Toxins Cause Autism?“ by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF; published February 24, 2010
“I also advise against dyeing your hair during pregnancy”
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; page 109
“The avoidance of exposure to chemicals and potential allergens is important during this sensitive stage. Food additives, pesticides, household cleaners, insecticides, and antibiotics should all be scrupulously avoided, as there is an increased sensitivity to their damaging influences in the first year of life.
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; page 109
[Regarding Pesticides in animal protein:] Prenatal exposure has caused altered sexual behavior, like demasculinization and feminization; behavioral problems; learning disabilities; hyperactivity; under-activity; memory problems; growth retardation; delayed reflexes; reduced intelligence; limb deformities; heart defects; penis deformities; undescended testicles; reduced size of penis and testicles; eye inflammation; and hyperpigmentation. Infants and children are also at a much higher risk than adults because their organs are still growing and developing, and they eat and drink more than adults in relation to their body weights (so their exposure to toxins can be higher, relatively speaking). Destruction, disruptions, and alterations during these delicate developmental periods can cause permanent and irreversible damage, especially because their metabolic pathways and immune systems are immature. There is an increased risk for childhood cancers and for neurological diseases later in life, like dementia and Parkinson’s.
– Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven (2005) by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin; pages 99 – 101
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The information contained throughout this blog / website should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician / physician.