State-mandated diagnosis of autism by a clinician for
consideration in special education is linked with a near 99
percent decrease in the rate of incidence for autism and ID.
Mounting research indicates that brain disorders are the
result of excessive exposure to toxins from multiple
sources, including the mother, while in utero
One recent study found that for every one percent increase
in genital malformations in newborn males within a
particular county, there was an associated 283 percent
increase in autism
The correlation between genital malformation and autism
offer strong support for the notion that autism is the
result of parental overexposure to environmental toxins
Fluoride alone, which is still being added to many public
water supplies around the US, can contribute to a
seven-point drop in a child’s IQ score, on average
When the US National Toxicology Program was enacted in 1978,
some 62,000 chemicals that were already in use were simply
grandfathered in, even though they’d never been tested for
toxicity
By Dr. Mercola
Three decades ago, when I was still in medical school, autism
affected one in 10,000 children.1,
2 What changed between then and now to cause one in 50
children3
to become autistic?
Mounting research—not to mention plain logic—indicates that
brain disorders are the result of excessive exposure to toxins
from multiple sources—including the mother, while in utero. One
2005 study4
by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that blood
samples from newborns contained an average of 287 toxins.
Of these, 180 are known to cause cancer in humans or animals;
217 are toxic to your brain and nervous system; and 208 have
been found to cause birth defects or abnormal development in
animal tests. Clearly, nothing good can come from exposure to so
many toxic compounds.
Genital Malformations and Autism—The Result of Overexposure to
Toxins
A more recent study, published in the journal PLOS
Computational Biology,5,
6,
7,
8 last month, found that every one percent increase in
genital malformations in newborn males within a particular
county was associated with a 283 percent increased rate in
autism.
According to the researchers, genital malformations such as
micropenis, undescended testicles, and hypospadias (when the
urethra forms on the underside of the penis) are signs of
exposure to harmful toxins. And the correlation between genital
malformation and autism in turn offer strong support for the
notion that autism is the result of parental overexposure to
environmental toxins.
In all, 100 million American medical records were analyzed,
and rates of genital malformations and autism were assessed by
county. Deviations from the nationwide baseline were interpreted
as being the result of local environmental factors. According to
one of the authors, Andrey Rzhetsky, Ph.D., professor of genetic
medicine and human genetics at the University of Chicago:
"Autism appears to be strongly correlated with rate
of congenital malformations of the genitals in males across
the country. This gives an indicator of environmental load
and the effect is surprisingly strong... We interpret the
results of this study as a strong environmental signal."
Interestingly, every additional $1,000 in income above the
county average was also associated with a three percent
increased rate in autism. Could this mean that those with higher
incomes buy more household, personal care, and beauty products
that turn out to be toxic?
State Mandated Diagnosis of Autism
A primary factor in diagnosis was dependent on whether the
child's school provided services for children with autism, thus
requiring additional expense. State-mandated diagnosis of autism
by clinicians for special education services was linked with a
near 99 percent decrease in the rate of incidence for autism. If
the school was required to pay for special needs, the likelihood
of diagnosis dropped significantly.
"We interpret the results of this study as a strong
environmental signal," Rzhetsky said. "For future
genetic studies we may have to take into account where data
were collected, because it's possible that you can get two
identical kids in two different counties and one would have
autism and the other would not."9
11 Brain-Harming Culprits Identified
Last month, researchers at the Harvard School of Public
Health and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published
a report identifying one dozen common chemicals (listed below)
known to disrupt brain development and cause brain damage,
neurological abnormalities, reduced IQ, and aggressiveness in
children.10,
11 The authors call for the implementation of urgent
preventive strategies to quell the trend of brain damage,
stating:
"We postulate that even more neurotoxicants remain
undiscovered. To control the pandemic of
developmental neurotoxicity, we propose a global prevention
strategy.
Untested chemicals should not be presumed to
be safe to brain development, and chemicals in existing use
and all new chemicals must therefore be tested for
developmental neurotoxicity.
To coordinate these efforts and to accelerate
translation of science into prevention, we propose the
urgent formation of a new international clearinghouse."
What many don't realize is that there are literally tens of
thousands of chemicals in use that have never been tested for
safety. When the US National Toxicology Program was enacted in
1978, some 62,000 chemicals that were already in use were simply
grandfathered in, even though they'd never been tested for
toxicity.
The ramifications of this action is now becoming increasingly
evident, and with regular intervals we realize that yet another
prevalent chemical is causing harm that no one ever suspected.
Bisphenol-A (BPA), used in plastic products, is just one of the
most recent examples.
Lead (processed chocolate, gasoline, paint,
toys, batteries, pipes, pottery, roofing materials, and
cosmetics)
Fluoride (fluoridated tap water, dental
products, some antibiotics and medicines, tea, processed
foods, and drinks)
Chlorpyrifos (an organophosphate
insecticide used in pest bait containers)
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
(a pesticide banned in 1972 that still persists in the
environment, including in the food chain)
Tetrachloroethylene (PERC)12
(dry-cleaning fabrics and metal degreasing operations)
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)
(flame-retardant chemicals found in upholstery,
mattresses, clothing, television, and computer housings)
Ethanol
Organic Diet Is Part and Parcel of a Less Toxic Life
A recent article in The Atlantic,13
which is well worth reading in its entirety, discusses this
Harvard report and offers a number of excellent quotes from the
researchers with regards to how we can protect ourselves while
regulatory wheels keep turning at a snail's pace. James Hamblin
writes:
"'So you recommend that pregnant women eat organic
produce?' I asked Grandjean, a Danish-born researcher who
travels around the world studying delayed effects of
chemical exposure on children. 'That's what I advise people
who ask me, yes.
It's the best way of preventing exposure to pesticides.'
Grandjean estimates that there are about 45 organophosphate
pesticides on the market, and 'most have the potential to
damage a developing nervous system.'
Landrigan had issued that same warning, unprompted,
when I spoke to him the week before. 'I advise pregnant
women to try to eat organic because it reduces their
exposure by 80 or 90 percent,' he told me. 'These are the
chemicals I really worry about in terms of American kids,
the organophosphate pesticides like chlorpyrifos.'"
Fluoride and Glyphosate—Two Toxins That Need to Be Urgently
Addressed
When you consider how pervasive those 12 toxins are (not to
mention the thousands of others, which we still know little
about), it's no wonder so many children are born with severe
health problems and disabilities. Fluoride alone, which is still
being added to many public water supplies around the US, can
contribute to a seven-point drop in a child's IQ score, on
average!14,
15
Why in the world are we still adding fluoride to water
supplies? Even if ingesting fluoride had a benefit on
teeth (which it clearly doesn't), is it really worth
sacrificing intelligence for fewer cavities? Fluoride isn't the
sole culprit, of course. According to a 2012 paper16
published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Americans
have collectively "forfeited" a whopping 41 million IQ points as
a result of lead, mercury, and pesticide exposure.
All of these brain-harming toxins also take a massive toll on
aging Americans. According to recent research,17
the annual death toll from Alzheimer's disease (a severe form of
dementia) is now estimated to be 503,000, making it the third
most lethal disease in the US. Approximately 200,000 of these
deaths occur in those under the age of 65, who develop early
onset of Alzheimer's.
Recent research18
has also linked exposure to the pesticide
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) with an increased risk of
Alzheimer's. The use of DDT began during the second half of
World War II, when it was liberally sprayed to control diseases
such as malaria and typhus. Once the war was over, it began
being used as an agricultural pesticide. (Monsanto was one of
more than a dozen companies that manufactured the chemical.) It
was eventually banned in 1972, when the health risks revealed in
the book Silent Spring led to public outcry.
The suggestion that DDT exposure may contribute to
Alzheimer's, decades after exposure, hint at what the
ramifications of glyphosate are likely to be in the
years to come. According to
Dr. Don Huber, an expert in an area of science that relates
to the toxicity of genetically engineered (GE) foods, the
harmful effects of glyphosate actually surpass
those of DDT! It's quite clear that the toxicity of this weed
killer has been grossly underestimated.
Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) was approved in
1974 in the US,19
and has been aggressively used since then. An estimated ONE
BILLION pounds of it is used on crop fields each and every year.
As with DDT, we're now seeing research linking glyphosate
exposure to dramatic jumps in disease rates, including autism.
The primary difference is that the effects are showing far
sooner, and appear more evidently linked than in the case
of DDT.
Soy Formula Associated with Seizures in Autistic Children
In related news, a researcher at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison has found a possible link between infant soy
formula and increased rates of seizures in autistic children.
According to Medical News Today:20
"The study found excess seizures among girls and in
the total sample of 1,949 children. The soy-seizure link
reached borderline significance among boys, who comprised 87
percent of the children described in the database under
study. Seizures – caused by uncontrolled electrical currents
in the brain – occur in many neurological disorders
including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, and
autism...
[C]hildren with autism who were fed soy formula had
2.6 times as many febrile seizures as the children fed
non-soy formula in the database... [T]hat increase is
worrying, [Cara] Westmark says. 'The prevalence of autism is
increasing and currently affects one American child in 88.
Soy is a widespread ingredient in many food products and 25
percent of infant formulas are soy based, so this is
something that needs to be studied. If the child is lactose
intolerant, there are alternatives that a pediatrician can
recommend.'"
Parents Beware: Infant Soy Formula Can Cause Severe Harm
This certainly isn't the first time infant soy formula has
been linked to health risks. It's often touted as an ideal
alternative for colicky babies or those who are unable to
tolerate milk based formulas, but evidence actually suggests
that soy formula may be one of the absolute most dangerous
foods you can give your child, whether he or she is autistic or
not. For starters, it's been estimated that infants who are fed
soy formula take in three to five birth control pills' worth of
estrogen every day, depending upon the particular batch of
formula and whether your baby is a big eater. As a result of
such astronomical amounts of this female sex hormone, infants
who are fed soy formula have an increased risk of:
Infants who are fed soy formula are also at increased risk
for developing behavioral problems due to the
phytates found in soy, which block the absorption of
essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc,
all which are crucial to the proper brain and emotional
development. Phytates also cause poor bone development. Besides
that, soy infant formula also contains another dangerous
element: manganese. While manganese is an essential
nutrient found in soil and ground water, it becomes highly toxic
when consumed in excess, and can adversely affect your child's
intelligence if consumed during the stage of early brain
development. Last but certainly not least, the vast majority of
soy grown in the US is
genetically engineered soy, which has its own health risks
over and above those associated with Roundup.
Other Environmental Factors That Likely Contribute to Autism
Besides overexposure to the environmental toxins already
mentioned, I believe there's a variety of other important
factors that also contribute to the rise in autism spectrum
disorder, including but not limited to the following. The
countless possible combinations of these and other factors could
help explain why there's such a wide spectrum of autistic
behavior:
Gut dysbiosis, especially in combination with
vaccines and their additives like mercury
(thimerosal), aluminum, and others, which are known to
damage your mitochondria—the powerhouses in your body's
cells that produce energy. Your gastrointestinal system is
often referred to as your "second brain," containing some
100 million neurons—more than in either your spinal cord or
your peripheral nervous system. Research by
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride shows that children born
with severely damaged gut flora are at a significantly
increased risk of vaccine damage, which may help explain why
some children develop symptoms of autism after receiving one
or more childhood vaccinations while others do not.
Vitamin D deficiency. The link between
vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women and the proportionate
jump in autism has been highlighted by Dr. John Cannell.
Vitamin D receptors appear in a wide variety of brain tissue
early in the fetal development, and activated vitamin D
receptors increase nerve growth in your brain. I believe
vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is a MAJOR
contributing factor to autism, especially when you consider
that vitamin D also helps in the
detoxification of mercury. Without sufficient amounts of
vitamin D, any subsequent toxic assaults—regardless of the
source—will be further magnified
Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from cell
phones, cell towers, Wi-Fi devices, which can trap heavy
metals inside of nerve cells, accelerate heavy metal
toxicity, and hinder natural detoxification processes
Microbial toxins, such as mold.
Children with autism not only have overwhelmed
detoxification pathways and often heavy metal toxicity, but,
according to
Dr. Klinghardt, their bodies are also frequently beset
by toxic microbes
How to Limit Your Chemical Exposure
There's no doubt that most people are being exposed to too
many toxic chemicals. The results are plain for all to see, as
brain disorders in both the very young and the elderly are
skyrocketing; not to mention that people of all ages are
increasingly ravaged by chronic diseases of all kinds as well.
If you want to protect your own health, and the health of your
family, I believe you simply must become more vigilant
about the chemicals you come into contact with on a daily basis,
and this certainly includes the foods you eat.
Organically-grown, biodynamic whole foods are really the key
to success here, and, as an added bonus, when you eat right,
you're also optimizing your body's natural detoxification
system, which can help eliminate toxins your body encounters
from other sources. Here are a dozen recommendations that will
help limit your family's toxic exposure. Please remember that
all of these become even more important if you're pregnant or
planning a pregnancy, since your toxic load will be
transferred on to your child.
As much as possible, buy and eat organic produce and
free-range, organic foods to reduce your exposure to
agricultural chemicals. Eat mostly raw, fresh foods,
steering clear of processed, prepackaged foods of all kinds.
This way, you automatically avoid artificial food additives,
including dangerous artificial sweeteners, food coloring,
and MSG.
Rather than eating conventional or farm-raised fish,
which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury,
supplement with a high-quality purified krill oil, or eat
fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity.
Store your food and beverages in glass rather than
plastic, and avoid using plastic wrap and canned foods
(which are often lined with BPA-containing liners).
Have your tap water tested and, if contaminants are
found, install an appropriate water filter on all your
faucets (even those in your shower or bath).
Only use natural cleaning products in your home.
Switch over to natural brands of toiletries such as
shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants, and cosmetics. The
Environmental Working Group has a great database21
to help you find personal care products that are free of
phthalates and other potentially dangerous chemicals. I also
offer one of the highest quality organic skin care lines,
shampoo and conditioner, and body butter that are completely
natural and safe.
Avoid using artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets,
fabric softeners, or other synthetic fragrances.
Replace your non-stick pots and pans with ceramic or
glass cookware.
When redoing your home, look for "green," toxin-free
alternatives in lieu of regular paint and vinyl floor
coverings.
Replace your vinyl shower curtain with one made of
fabric, or install a glass shower door. Most all flexible
plastics, like shower curtains, contain dangerous
plasticizers like phthalates.
Limit your use of drugs (prescription and
over-the-counter) as much as possible. Drugs are chemicals
too, and they will leave residues and accumulate in your
body over time.
Avoid spraying pesticides around your home or insect
repellants that contain DEET on your body. There are safe,
effective, and natural alternatives out there.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.