Toxins cause IQ loss in Children

Lead had the most severe calculated impact, with an estimated drop in IQ of 23 million points in the population. In contrast, the predicted loss due to preterm birth was 13 million points. Any drop in IQ is considered detrimental to people’s success and society’s needs.

In one of the first studies of its kind, the author analyzed published data from 25.5 million children and compared estimates of population-wide IQ loss from exposures to those of several well-known childhood medical conditions. This new approach to categorizing population risk could help researchers identify the most harmful exposures and evaluate the success of intervention programs.

Context

Exposure to chemicals in the environment can significantly affect a child’s developing brain and nervous system. The exposures can lower IQ, alter behavior and influence social relationships.

Lead, organophosphates and methylmercury are three contaminants known to harm a growing child’s nervous system. Lead exposure occurs mainly through paint in older buidlings and lead-contaminated soil and dust. Organophosphate pesticides are used on crops and in homes, so children can eat or breathe the chemicals. In the United States, methylmercury exposure is mostly from eating fish.

All three chemical types can be passed from pregnant women to the fetus and nursing children. Exposures can be prevented or minimized in communities through education, clean ups and other programs.

Prior studies mostly examine one chemical at a time and often only in a few hundred children. Therefore, the larger public health impact from exposure to a collection of environmental chemicals is not known in the general population.

Medical conditions can also affect thinking and learning abilities. For instance, major health problems, including birth defects, preterm birth, ADHD, autism and brain injuries also affect cognitive and social challenges in school, family and life.

Although environmental exposures and medical conditions can both harm children’s intelligence, no studies have quantified the public health impact on children’s IQ at a populational level or compared the potential harm from the environment versus medical conditions.

Comparing the potential impact on children’s intelligence from these sources would help determine if preventing exposures would reduce cognitive deficits in U.S. children.

What did they do?

To quantify the impact on children’s IQ at a societal – not an individual – level, the researcher analyzed and compared published data from studies that evaluated the impact of environmental exposures and medical conditions on children’s intelligence. He generated loss estimates based on 25.5 million children under age 5 in the United States.

He examined birth defects, preterm birth, ADHD, autism, brain injuries, and other common children’s health problems. On the environment side, he investigated lead, organophosphates and methylmercury. All have sufficient data to produce a reliable population-based estimate on effect size. The effect size is a measure of how the children’s IQ will change with increases in environmental exposure or by having a medical condition.

He limited the analysis to IQ because it can be reliably measured even before school age and is commonly measured and reported in published studies.

He estimated the IQ loss in children based on the concentrations of environmental exposures in the general population and on the prevalence of medical conditions in the population. He compared the magnitude of IQ loss by each exposure or condition.

What did they find?

Lead exposure in U.S. children could be related to about a 23 million IQ point loss in the population, making it the most harmful environmental exposure among the three examined.

Organophosphate pesticides would affect the children by reducing IQ by about 17 million points at the population level.
Methylmercury itself could explain about 0.3 million IQ points lost in U.S. children.
Together, the three environmental exposures would decrease population-wide children’s IQ by 40 million points. This could be equivalent to a loss of 1.6 IQ point in each of 25.5 million children. The average IQ in a society is 100.

In comparison, the estimate for preterm birth – which affects 12 percent of U.S. newborns – was 34 million IQ points. The contribution to societal IQ loss in children by other common problems and disorders, include about 17 million IQ points for ADHD, 7 million points for autism, about 7 million IQ points lost to traumatic brain injuries and 0.1 million IQ points due to birth defects of the heart.

What does it mean?

The potential public health impacts of environmental exposures on children’s nervous systems is significant, according to this study that compares the estimated drops in IQ related to exposures with those related to medical conditions. According to the study, lead and organophosphates together would have more impact than preterm birth or ADHD, two disorders that have considerable societal burden.

The results are important because they are the first to estimate in a population the extent of cognitive losses from environmental exposures. Previous studies have evaluated IQ losses in individuals, which can vary widely in children. Examining IQ effects in populations gives a better indication of impacts on society.

Environmental exposures can be prevented and efforts to reduce toxic chemicals have been made. But the study’s findings suggest they don’t go far enough. Further reductions would help avoid even more public health effects associated with a downward shift of IQ.

Even small reductions in a person’s IQ can increase the need for extra help in school or at work. At a societal level, declining IQ scores results in overall lower intellectual ability, competitiveness, career achievement and increased costs in school and health care.

Even though the analysis focuses on chemical exposures, the approach could apply to non-chemical impacts – such as radition or noise – that may also impact children’s intelligence. Prevention of both chemical and non-chemical threats to child development should be considered when trying to reduce the effects on cognitive function.

This study gathered information on IQ. Other effects – including social adaptation, behavior and executive functions (memory, reasoning, attention) – from environmental exposures are also possible. Preventing children’s exposure to the toxic chemicals identified here may also address these effects as well.

The study suggests parents – and even pre-pregnant women – should be aware of common environmental exposures and how to prevent or reduce them. The author recommends that researchers work to identify historical, existing and new toxic chemicals that could be hazardous to a child’s developing nervous system

Related information:

Axelrad, DA, DC Bellinger, LM Ryan and TJ Woodruff. 2007. Dose-response relationship of prenatal mercury exposure and IQ: an integrative analysis of epidemiologic data. Environmental Health Perspectives 115: 609-615.
Bellinger, DC. 2004. Lead. Pediatrics 113:1016-1022.
Bouchard, MF, J Chevrier, KG Harley, K Kogut, M Vedar, N Calderon, C Trujillo, C Johnson, A Bradman, DB Barr and B Eskenazi. 2011. Prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides and IQ in 7-year-old children. Environmental Health Perspectives 119:1189-1195.
Lanphear, BP, R Hornung, J Khoury, K Yolton, P Baghurst, DC Bellinger, RL Canfield, KN Dietrich, R Bornschein, T Greene, SJ Rothenberg, HL Needleman, L Schnaas, G Wasserman, J Graziano and R Roberts. 2005. Low-level environmental lead exposure and children’s intellectual function: an international pooled analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives 113:894-899.
Saigal, S and LW Doyle. 2008. An overview of mortality and sequelae of preterm birth from infancy to adulthood. Lancet 371:261-269.
Source: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/2012/01/2012-0223-chemicals-iq-loss-similar-to-disease/

About The Author

Hi there. Welcome to Harmony Zeolite Detox. I have been an acupuncturist and complementary therapist for over 30 years. During this time I have had the opportunity to see how ready the body is to heal itself given the right circumstances.

Finding a good quality activated liquid zeolite helped me find the missing link to getting people back to good health. I have seen it work for thousands of people and it sure worked for me. Contact me if you are ready to turn your health around with purified liquid zeolite.

PART 1

33% of People Wanting to Have Children Have Problems With Fertility

Baby Boomers and older, will remember that trying NOT to get pregnant was the usual concern. Not so today. Now many couples wanting to have a baby are having a problem getting pregnant – 33% to put a figure on it. Quite astounding – 33% of Australians wanting to have children are finding it difficult. That’s probably a conservative estimate, because these statistics have been harvested from people seeking help from IVF clinics.

In my acupuncture clinic, I am seeing more and more young people coming in for help.

Male as well as female fertility is a huge problem these days. Some of the couples who seek help from IVF clinics will eventually conceive, but unfortunately, many of the boys born from this will inherit their father’s problem and this next generation will not be able to produce fertile sperm even with the help of an IVF clinic.

Did any of you see the film “Children of Men” where no children were being born. It seemed like science fiction but in fact this situation may not be far away at all. Why are couples having so much trouble? Toxins in the environment. When I explain this to them, they seem surprised and don’t know how this could have occurred.

Our Toxic World

287 Carcinogenic and Neurotoxic Industrial Chemicals Found in New Born Babies Blood

A study in 2004 identified 287 industrial chemicals in babies’ umbilical-cord blood, including 180 known to cause cancer and 217 that are toxic to the brain and nervous system. The three most familiar heavy metals that are noted to be slowly but surely poisoning us are mercury, aluminum and lead. These are only 3 of hundreds that are in all human beings.

Breast Feeding and Toxins

Breast feeding is still the best option for a new born but toxins are mobilised in breast milk and these babies get an even larger dose of this toxic cocktail. They sleep on mattresses and wear clothes that are soaked in flame retardant, they drink from plastic bottles containing even more toxins. Childhood vaccines have had the mercury removed, but still contain aluminium and formaldehyde. Add all of these to an already loaded immune system and it is the final straw. Someone once joked, that the quickest way to detox yourself is to get pregnant. This very unfunny joke is true. The foetus will absorb all your toxins and has no way to filter them out. Mercury from the mother’s fillings, lead stored in her bones, will now migrate to the developing baby. Is it any wonder that ADD, ADHD, Autism and many other problems are rampant.

Results From The University Of Cincinnati

An ongoing study by the University of Cincinnati followed children for 25 years. They measured lead in the mother’s bones while she was pregnant. They found that elevated lead levels in the mother’s bone, led to children also being contaminated with lead. Where did this lead come from in the first place? Water pipes, paint, car exhaust being some of the sources. We all drink water. We all breathe air.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this, is that there are no safe levels of lead in a human. The results from this 25 year study showed that most of the children with lead had ADD, ADHD and criminal records. Lead has been implicated in violent behaviour.

What Can You Do?

When people come to me with fertility problems, the first thing I ask them to do, is to detox. I ask them to try and eliminate any further contamination as much as they can through filtering their water, removing as many chemicals as they can from their homes, no fragrances, safe washing powder, no non-stick frying pans, safe shampoo and conditioner, chemical free makeup, clean, organic fruit and vegetables. I then ask them to make sure their bowels are working well and that they drink enough water. Only water soluble toxins can be removed in this fashion. Exercise and far infrared saunas are also useful. They also need to remove the non-water soluble heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides. This can be done through the use of activated liquid zeolite. This will remove all circulating toxins from the blood and allow heavy metals stored in the bones and fat to be released and then locked into the zeolite and removed safely through the urine and bowel. All would be parents should do a complete detox before trying to get pregnant, not just those with fertility problems. All children deserve the best start in life. If you want to have a baby, take activated liquid zeolite and remove these toxins safely and quickly.

Here is some information from Dr Mercola’s site on the gender bending effects of common household chemicals and personal care products.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/06/04/Common-Chemicals-Threaten-Male-Fertility.aspx

Common Chemicals Threaten Male Fertility

“A leading scientist has warned that chemicals found in many food, cosmetic and cleaning products pose a real threat to male fertility. Professor Richard Sharpe, of the Medical Research Council, says that these hormone-disrupting chemicals are “feminizing” boys in the womb, leading to rising rates of birth defects, testicular cancer, and low sperm counts.

It is thought that all these conditions, collectively called Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS), are linked to disruption of the male sex hormone testosterone. Professor Sharpe concluded that exposure to a cocktail of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the environment is likely to be at least partly to blame by blocking the action of testosterone in the womb.

His latest report highlights animal studies showing that testosterone-disrupting chemicals can cause TDS-like disorders.

Sources:

BBC News May 13, 2009

Chem Trust Report: Men Under Threat

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

In recent years, more and more evidence has emerged, showing that certain chemicals are causing damage to the endocrine system of both wildlife and humans. Male infertility, in particular, is on the rise, and about 250,000 fewer boys have been born in the last 30 years in the U.S. and Japan.

Scientists are linking these phenomena to an accumulation of gender bending toxins called endocrine disruptors.

Based on the initial evidence, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996, which required the EPA to initiate the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) to screen pesticide chemicals and environmental contaminants for their potential to affect the endocrine systems of both animals and humans.

However, despite the fact that more than a decade has passed since the beginning of the program, the market is literally flooded with chemicals that have the potential to wreak havoc with your health. Especially when you’re exposed to them in a myriad of untested combinations.

Says CHEM Trust director, Elizabeth Salter Green:

“Chemicals that have been shown to act together to affect male reproductive health should have their risks assessed together. Currently that is not the case, and unfortunately chemicals are looked at on an individual basis.

Therefore, government assurances that exposures are too low to have any effect just do not hold water because regulators do not take into account the additive actions of hormone disrupting chemicals.”

Why You Need to Protect Your Endocrine System

Your endocrine system is a complex network of glands, hormones and receptors, which works in tandem with your nervous system to control all your bodily functions and processes.

The glands of your endocrine system and the hormones they release influence almost every cell, organ, and function of your body. It is instrumental in regulating mood, growth and development, tissue function, metabolism, as well as sexual function and reproductive processes.

Endocrine disrupters are substances or mixtures that alter the functions of your endocrine system and consequently cause adverse health effects, either in your body or in your offspring.

Mimicking the biological activity of your hormones by binding to a cellular receptor. This can initiate your cell’s normal response to the naturally occurring hormone at the wrong time or to an excessive extent (agonistic effect).

These types of chemicals can exert their effects by:

• Binding to the receptor but not activating it. Instead the presence of the chemical on the receptor prevents binding of the natural hormone (antagonistic effect).
• Binding to transport proteins in your blood, thus altering the amounts of natural hormones that are present in your blood circulation.
• Interfering with the metabolic processes in your body, affecting the synthesis or breakdown rates of your natural hormones.
• So far, the main areas of scientific study have focused on disruption to the hormones that play a major part in development and reproduction, mainly estrogens and androgens.

These hormones also influence your immune system and general metabolism.

The strongest evidence showing that exposure to environmental chemicals can lead to disruption of endocrine function comes from the bizarre changes seen in a number of wildlife species, such as male fish transforming into females; frogs developing a variety of defects like multiple testes or ovaries; and hermaphrodite bears, just to name a few.

The Dirty Dozen — Potential Endocrine Disrupters to Avoid

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are everywhere these days. You are exposed to them from a variety of sources, including countless common household products, toys, personal care products, and cosmetics.

Here s a list of twelve common agents with hormonal activity, i.e. potential endocrine disrupters:

Phthalates — Exposure to phthalates can lead to incomplete testicular descent in fetuses. Phthalates are found in vinyl flooring, detergents, automotive plastics, soap, shampoo, deodorants, fragrances, hair spray, nail polish, plastic bags, food packaging, garden hoses, inflatable toys, blood-storage bags, and intravenous medical tubing.
Bisphenol A — a common ingredient in many plastics, including those in reusable water bottles and resins lining some food cans and dental sealants, can change the course of fetal development in a way that increases your risk of breast cancer.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — found in grease- and water-resistant coatings like Teflon and Gore-Tex, is a likely carcinogen.
Methoxychlor and Vinclozin– An insecticide and a fungicide respectively, have been found to cause changes to male mice born for as many as four subsequent generations after the initial exposure.
Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) – Known to be potent endocrine disrupters, these chemicals affect gene expression by turning on or off certain genes, and interfere with the way your glandular system works. They mimic the female hormone estrogen, and have been implicated as one reason behind some marine species switching from male to female.
Bovine growth hormones, commonly added to commercial dairy have been implicated as a contributor to premature adolescence.
Soy products, which are loaded with hormone-like substances.
MSG — A food additive that’s been linked to reduced fertility.
Fluoride – This chemical in the U.S. water supply has been linked to lower fertility rates, hormone disruption and low sperm counts.
Synthetically produced pharmaceuticals that are intended to be highly hormonally active, such as contraceptive pills and treatments for hormone-responsive cancers. Your body is not designed to be exposed to these synthetic hormones, and long-term use will invariably increase your risk of developing serious chronic illness.
Other natural chemicals, including toxins produced by components of plants (the so-called phytoestrogens, such as genistein or coumestrol) and certain fungi.
Other man-made chemicals and by-products released into the environment. These include some pesticides (such as pyrethroids, linuron, vinclozolin, fenitrothion, DDT and other chlorinated compounds), and a number of industrial chemicals like polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) and dioxins.

How Do These Chemicals Affect Your Health?

Certain health patterns over recent decades suggest that endocrine disrupting chemicals are quietly at work. These include:

• declining sperm counts
• increased incidences of male children born with genital malformations
• increased incidences of certain hormone-sensitive types of cancer
• impaired neural development, causing memory problems and lower IQ
• impaired sexual behavior
• precocious puberty
• retarded sexual development
• One of the Most Infamous Examples of the Dangers of Endocrine Disrupters

The clearest example of the disastrous, long-term health effects of an endocrine disrupter is diethylstilbestrol (DES), a synthetic estrogen prescribed in the 1950s and 1960s to five million pregnant women for the prevention of spontaneous abortion.

Many of these children ended with physical deformities and developmental abnormalities, and some of the girls developed an unusual form of vaginal cancer when they reached puberty.

Consequently, DES was banned in the 1970s. But the damage still lingers, and in some cases keeps showing up even in second generation babies. And, although DES is no longer on the market, other similar chemicals are, such as Bisphenol-A (BPA), which I’ve written about on numerous occasions.

How to Protect You and Your Children’s Health

If you have children, or are planning a pregnancy, this is clearly an issue you’ll want to pay attention to. Yet, so many more products contain endocrine disruptors of varying types; trying to avoid them all can seem like an impossible task.

It is difficult, yes, but there are still a number of practical strategies you can implement to limit your exposure to endocrine disruptors, and other common toxins.Here is a baker’s dozen of practical measures you can take to protect you and your children from common toxic substances that may wreak havoc with your delicate endocrine system:

• Store your food in glass containers whenever possible, as it is the most inert container you can use.
• Only use natural cleaning products in your home. Most health food stores will have these available or you can search online for them.
• Buy and eat organic produce and free-range, organic foods to reduce your exposure to pesticides and fertilizers. This also applies to milk, which is frequently contaminated with bovine growth hormone.
• Avoid conventional or farm-raised fish, which are often heavily contaminated with PCBs and mercury. Instead, supplement with a high-quality krill oil, or eat fish that is wild-caught and lab tested for purity.
• Avoid processed foods, and artificial food additives of all kinds, including artificial sweeteners and MSG.
• Throw out your Teflon pots and pans.
• 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.
• Avoid using artificial air fresheners, dryer sheets, fabric softeners or other synthetic fragrances.
• Switch to natural brands of toiletries, including shampoo, toothpaste, antiperspirants and cosmetics.
• 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.

Review Our Stolen Future, which is an excellent resource on this topic.”

The best strategy is to avoid these chemicals as best as possible. As you can see, it’s impossible to avoid them all together. Purified liquid zeolite will remove many of these contaminants.

About The Author

Hi there. Welcome to Harmony Zeolite Detox. I have been an acupuncturist and complementary therapist for over 30 years. During this time I have had the opportunity to see how ready the body is to heal itself given the right circumstances.

Finding a good quality activated liquid zeolite helped me find the missing link to getting people back to good health. I have seen it work for thousands of people and it sure worked for me. Contact me if you are ready to turn your health around with purified liquid zeolite.

Many thousands of people are using liquid activated zeolite every day for various reasons including the following:

1. Is has been shown to safely and effectively remove toxic heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead from the human body.These can destroy your health. Many are known to cause cancer

2. Research has shown that zeolites may have an antiviral effect because it tends to trap viral particles within its porous cell structure and remove them from the body before a process known as “viral assembly” can take place.
   

3. Many people take activated zeolite as a safe, natural preventative, to lower their risk of cold and flu infections.
   

4. They have also been shown to help balance pH levels in the body which creates a healthy environment where viruses and bacteria are unlikely to live.
   

5. Activated liquid zeolite has the ability to trap excess protons in the digestive tract, helping to lower the risk of acid reflux .
   

6. Activated zeolites have also been shown to improve nutrient absorption in the digestive tract allowing for better results from other supplements you may be taking.
   

7. Many people use activated zeolite because of their effect on the immune system. They tend to support a healthy immune system by removing toxins and chemicals from the body that block the body from performing correctly.
   

8. Activated zeolite tends to trap allergens from the blood stream and digestive tract before the body can react to them, thus reducing symptoms from various food and environmental allergies.
   

9. Trials have shown that because of its effects in the digestive system, activated zeolite has the tendency to stop diarrhea .but  also relieves constipation.
   

10. It has been found to promote a sense of well being.

About The Author

Hi there. Welcome to Harmony Zeolite Detox. I have been an acupuncturist and complementary therapist for over 30 years. During this time I have had the opportunity to see how ready the body is to heal itself given the right circumstances.

Finding a good quality activated liquid zeolite helped me find the missing link to getting people back to good health. I have seen it work for thousands of people and it sure worked for me. Contact me if you are ready to turn your health around with purified liquid zeolite.