Tag: chronic-illness

  • Unsuspecting Families Are Feeding Their Children Contaminated Finger Foods

    My pediatrician told me that my when my infant was about 9 months old (maybe a bit older) he was ready for solid foods like original Cheerios. So I followed the doctor’s advice, I kept a ready supply of this handy finger food in my diaper bag. My children ate boxes and boxes of Cheerios. In fact, I served it almost daily. Like you, I thought I was feeding my family a nutritious source of ‘whole grain part of a balanced diet’. Unwittingly, I was filling their body with high levels of toxic glyphosate and the 10,000 food additive chemicals, all of which are allowed to be added (directly or indirectly) to their food.  

    75% of US foods are contaminated with Roundup with glyphosate. 

    Now, my children are suffering from ADD, anxiety, depression, chronic constipation and a myriad of other ailments that are linked to imbalance known as a “leaky gut”. People who have leaky gut are more likely to have a number of other health problems including “gastrointestinal issues such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic diarrhea, colitis and Crohn’s disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer, cachexia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and ALS, among others.”

    Our gut is the key to our health and wellness. its responsible for 75% of our immune response. <Learn More about Leaky Gut>

    Glyphosate responsible for gut imbalance? 

    Glyphosate is the key ingredient of the herbicide Roundup, more than one billion pounds sprayed in the US alone. It’s applied to our food as little as three days before harvest. It is absorbed into the plant and can’t be washed away. It is catastrophic to the beneficial gut bacteria that is responsible for our immune system response.

    Monsanto has steadfastly claimed that Roundup is harmless to animals and humans because the mechanism of action it uses (which allows it to kill weeds), called the shikimate pathway, is absent in all animals. However, the shikimate pathway IS present in bacteria, and that’s the key to understanding how it causes such widespread systemic harm in both humans and animals.

    The bacteria in your body outnumber your cells by 10 to one. For every cell in your body, you have 10 microbes of various kinds, and all of them have the shikimate pathway, so they will all respond to the presence of glyphosate!

    Glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the microbe’s function and lifecycle. What’s worse, glyphosate preferentially affects beneficial bacteria, allowing pathogens to overgrow and take over, including the highly toxic Clostridium botulinum. 

    In the interview above, Dr. Seneff reviews a variety of chronic diseases, explaining how glyphosate contributes to each condition. So to learn more, I urge you to listen to it in its entirety. It’s quite eye-opening. According to Dr. Seneff, glyphosate is possibly “the most important factor in the development of multiple chronic diseases and conditions that have become prevalent in Westernized societies.”

    It’s disconcerting to say the least. I did what my doctor said, and fed my children Cheerios and other foods recommended by the government via the food pyramid. Now my children are part of the statistic of that is 54% of children suffering from chronic illness and disease. 

    Not giving up the possibility of healing my kids

    My mission, to see if I can undo the damage, support their body’s healing processes and help them to make better food choices. Its never to late to start making a change and to heal from the damage done. This is what we are doing to help detox the glyphosate, build our guts and provide nutrient-dense foods to support healing.

  • What Are Toxins Doing To Our Kids?

    We cannot assume that just because chemicals are in common trade and usage that they have been evaluated for safety by our government or any other scientific board, nor that they have been approved. Most are not and have not. We’re strong parents who can face the truth and do something strong and positive and powerful with it to protect our kids, our neighbor’s kids, and kids in other countries who are still getting exposed to those same chemicals that have been banned for use in our country.

    62,000 Toxic Chemicals & Failed Legislation

    The Toxic Substance Control Act (TCSA), passed in 1976, is the US federal law that regulates industrial and consumer chemicals – the thousands of synthetic chemicals in use that are not intended to be used in medication, cosmetics, foods, or pesticides. At the time this law was passed, the Environmental Protection Agency was charged with creating an inventory of all existing chemicals, which were then to the biomarker for safety. At that time there were already about 62,000 existing chemicals. Rather than being tested, however, they were “presumed safe” and were “grandfathered in.”

    Only 5 chemicals have been banned under the TSCA in over 35 years. Yes, 5! Do you find that as shocking as I do?

    The EPA has otherwise been entirely unable to require testing on, regulate, or remove any of the remaining chemicals from the marketplace. Only a few states in the US – California, New York, and Massachusetts among them – have state laws relevant to children’s environmental health. California put legislation in place so that by 2012, 1200 chemicals identified by the EPA were to be regulated; NY, MA, and CA require commercial pesticide applicators and farmers to report pesticide application to the state, and CT has banned BPA use in carbonless receipts from banks and retail stores due to its risk of absorption and potential harm to offspring when childbearing women who handle these regularly at work are exposed.

    Of the over 80,000 chemicals now in use in the US, it is clear that many are harmful to human physical and neurological development. Exposure at various vulnerable times during pregnancy, infancy, early childhood, and even though the teenage years when the lungs, endocrine, and nervous systems are still developing, can result in the same health problems increasing amongst our children including those I mentioned earlier. Because of their surface area-to-body weight ratio and immature detoxification abilities, most toxins impact children’s health harder than they do us grown-ups.

    https://hfi.designbyparrish.com/our-kids-are-so-very-sick

    What You Can Do to Protect Your Children from Environmental Toxins

    1. Optimize nutrition

    Great nutrition has two key benefits – eating natural foods with as little packaging and as few additives, colorings, pesticides, and herbicides as possible reduces chemical exposures for our kids (even after just 5 days of switching to mostly organic produce, kids’ blood levels of toxic agricultural chemicals go way down). Also, good nutrition boosts our natural ability to detoxify environmental toxins. I recommend that kids get at least two brightly colored fruits or vegetables at each meal (think carrots, blueberries, squash, for example). Healthy All Year has an entire section of lessons dedicated to teaching you how to use nutrition to boost your child’s immunity and support natural detoxification. You’ll also learn which supplements you can use to enhance detoxification naturally and safely, without breaking the bank!
    Teach your children about real foods Food Renegade has a new lesson book a great resource to learn together.

    2. Get Educated & Reduce Exposures

    Knowing which industrial, household and personal products (i.e., shampoos, lotions, sunscreens) are most toxic is key to protecting your child’s health. You also need to know which are the healthier alternatives. The Environmental Working Group, which has recently merged with Healthy Child, Healthy World, another of my favorite environmental advocacy groups. Other advocacy groups, Robyn O’Brien’s Allergy Kids, and Beth Lambert’s Epidemic Answers. Support the body’s ability to naturally detox. 

    3. Don’t be Afraid to be Called “Mean Mommy” and Other Names

    It’s our job to be parents and that means keeping our kids out of harm’s way when we can, even if it makes us temporarily unpopular. While we want our kids to live comfortably in the world, and not make life feel too restrictive, how comfortable is obesity or a hormone problem, really? 

    Yes, my kids called me “mean mommy” because I refused to let them wear the cool pajamas their friends were wearing – the ones treated with flame retardant chemicals. Now, 25 or so years later, the data is unequivocal. Flame retardants are seriously hazardous to our health, and more so to young children whose exposures far outweigh our own, and in whom exposures at critical times may have a detrimental impact on immunity, hormones (including those that impact obesity), and neurological health. 

    4. Join Together and Speak Up!

    It’s amazing what powerful mothers, fathers, grandparents, and citizens have accomplished in making policy changes in their children’s environments from toxic paints and toxic foods in schools to environmental dumping, fracking, and chemical waste plant leaks. Health Freedom Idaho is a coalition of moms (dads, grandparents, concerned citizens) who are speaking up. It is no small task, but clearly, the government isn’t going to clean this problem up for us, so we’ve got to be activists for our children’s health! 

    Will you join us!

    Impact of Toxins on Children’s Health:

    Aviva Romm https://avivaromm.com/government-failing-to-regulate-toxins-harming-kids/

    toxins and children

    ToxicFreeTribe: 16 ways to reduce toxic exposure

    Generation In Jeopardy: https://www.psr-la.org/PesticidesReport

  • Nightshades: Friend or Foe?

    There are many debates about which foods should be avoided in the diet. Among items like sugar, dairy, processed foods, gluten, grains, and soy, you may come across the idea that nightshades should be eliminated, especially if you have arthritis or an autoimmune disease. Is there any evidence that these vegetables, which often have healthy nutrients and phytochemicals, should be blacklisted?

    Quick Read:

    • Nightshades are a family of plants with more than 3,000 species. Some, such as belladonna, are known poisons. Others are familiar foods like eggplants, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes.
    • Some argue that nightshades can be harmful because they provide alkaloids, glycoalkaloids, and lectins and may increase inflammation and may cause allergic reactions.
    • On the other hand, there is other evidence that alkaloids and glycoalkaloids may be beneficial for numerous health concerns, including obesity, cancer, and more.
    • Research against nightshades is limited, but it may be beneficial for some individuals with specific conditions (such as autoimmune disorders, arthritis, or IBD) to remove nightshades at least temporarily to see if they enjoy health improvements.
    • Remember to speak with your healthcare practitioner to see if removing nightshades may be beneficial for you.

    What Are Nightshades?

    Nightshade is the term given to a family of plants whose scientific name is Solanaceae. Some of the more than 3,000 species in this family are known poisons, such as belladonna. Others are familiar foods found in diets around the world. The most commonly eaten varieties include:

    • Ashwagandha
    • Cape gooseberry
    • Eggplant
    • Ground cherry
    • Peppers (except peppercorn)
    • Potatoes (not yams or sweet potatoes)
    • Tomatillo
    • Tomatoes

    In addition, there are some plants that also contain solanine that some may recommend you avoid if you display a sensitivity, including blueberries, artichokes, and huckleberries.

    Why Remove Nightshades?

    Those in the anti-nightshades camp generally argue that these plants can be harmful for the following reasons:

    • Alkaloids and glycoalkaloids
    • Lectins
    • Food allergies and histamine

    Let’s start by looking at the alkaloids and glycoalkaloids in the plants. These are natural pesticides and include solanine, capsaicin, and nicotine. The hypothesis is that since they act as a protection to the plant, they may be toxic to those who consume it. Some studies have found adverse reactions to some of these alkaloids and glycoalkaloids.

    People can have a food allergy to plants in the nightshade family. A food allergy to potatoes is possible, with those with atopic dermatitis and other food allergies the most at risk. People also report food allergies to tomatoes and eggplants (aubergines), although the allergy to eggplant may be from the histamine content rather than to the eggplant-specific proteins. As discussed in a previous blog, when you do present with a food allergy, it is beneficial to remove those foods from your diet.

    If you struggle with a chronic illness, have removed the more common triggers from your diet, and consume a lot of nightshades, then you may benefit from a trial to see if eliminating them works. Talk with your nutritionist, dietician, doctor, or other healthcare professional to see if removing nightshades may be beneficial for you.

    <read more here>

    This article originally appeared at: http://deannaminich.com/nightshades-friend-or-foe/.

  • Our Kids Are So Very Sick

    Our Children are bombarded with toxins, overwhelmed with chronic illness and neurological disabilities. Join other families we come together as ONE VOICE on behalf of our children’s health and future. 

    Children’s March for Humanity will be hosted in cities nationwide. Communities coming together with the same concerns about our children’s health.
    JOIN US IN BOISE At Julia Davis Park    BECOME A SPONSOR of this event.

    1 in 6 have learning disabilities

    1 in 12 have asthma

    1 in 10 have ADHD

    1 in 13 have food allergies

    1 in 20 have seizures

    1 in 68 have autism

    1 in 42 boys have autism

    HALF of our children have a chronic illness or are overweight.

    Learning Disabilities:

    https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/about.html

    Recent estimates in the United States show that about one in six, or about 15%, of children aged 3 through 17 years have a one or more developmental disabilities.1(https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/about.html#ref) Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas. These conditions begin during the developmental period, may impact day-to-day functioning, and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime.2(https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/about.html#ref)

    In 2013–14, the number of children and youth ages 3–21 receiving special education services was 6.5 million, or about 13 percent of all public school students. Among students receiving special education services, 35 percent had specific learning disabilities. –https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=64https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=64

    Some reports estimate that as many as 15% to 20% of Americans are affected by learning disabilities and disorders. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/learning/conditioninfo/Pages/risk.aspxhttps://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/learning/conditioninfo/Pages/risk.aspx

    Asthma:

    The number of people with asthma continues to grow. One in 12 people (about 25 million, or 8% of the population) had asthma in 2009, compared with 1 in 14 (about 20 million, or 7%) in 2001.
    Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders affecting children.[1] It is estimated that 6.3 million children under the age of 18 have asthma in the United States.[2] Asthma is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under age 15, and in 2008 was associated with an estimated 10.5 million missed school days.[3] The combination of illness-related absence (due to doctors’ visits as well as to illness), and potential asthma emergencies in the classroom, reduces student and teacher productivity,[4] and can negatively affect children’s academic performance.

    https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/asthmadata.htm
    https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/learning/conditioninfo/Pages/risk.aspx


    ADHD

    One in 10 children and teens has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new government report.

    http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/childhood-adhd/news/20150514/cdc-1-in-10-children-diagnosed-with-adhd

    11% of children 4-17 years of age (6.4 million) have ever been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2011
     https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/learning/conditioninfo/Pages/risk.aspx
    The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that 5 percent of American children have ADHD. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) puts the number at more than double the APA’s number. The CDC says that 11 percent of American children, ages 4 to 17, have the attention disorder.

    Food Allergies

    Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies according to cdc.gov

    1. This potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children (under 18 years of age) in the U.S. That’s roughly two in every classroom.
    2. The economic cost of children’s food allergies is nearly $25 billion per year.

      https://www.foodallergy.org/facts-and-stats

      • Every 3 minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency department – that is more than 200,000 emergency department visits per year. 
      • A reaction to food can range from a mild response (such as an itchy mouth) to anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially deadly reaction.
      • The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that food allergies result in more than 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year among children under the age of 18. 
      • Food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis outside the hospital setting.


      SEIZURES
      According to the latest estimates, about 1.8% of adults aged 18 years or older have had a diagnosis of epilepsy or seizure disorder.
      When applied to the 2013 population, this is about 750,000 children aged 0-17 years.2

      When counting both children and adults, about 5.1 million people in the United States have had a diagnosis of epilepsy or a seizure disorder.1-3

      Kobau R, Luo Y, PhD, Zack M, Helmers S, Thurman D. Epilepsy in adults and access to care — United States, 2012. MMWR. 2012;61(45);909-913. Accessed February 2, 2016. [PDF-863KB] . 

      US Census Bureau, Population Division [database online]. Annual estimates of the resident population by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2013. Release Date: June 2014. html. Accessed February 2, 2015.AUTISM

    AUTISM


    CDC https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html reports that 1 in 68 children has been diagnosed with autism. 1 in 6 has learning disabilities.

    Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health contributed to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that finds the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) largely unchanged from two years ago, at one in 68 children (or 1.46 percent). Boys were 4.5 times more likely to be identified with ASD than girls, an established trend. The rate is one in 42 among boys and one in 189 among girls.

    ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by social and communication impairments, limited interest and repetitive behaviors. Early diagnosis and intervention are important to improving learning and skills. Rates have been rising since the 1960s, but researchers do not know how much of this rise is due to more children being diagnosed with ASD or if actual cases are increasing or a combination of both. The CDC’s first prevalance report, which was released in 2007 and was based on 2000 and 2002 data, found that one in 150 children had ASD.

    For this new report, the CDC collected data at 11 regional monitoring sites that are part of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network in the following states: Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Wisconsin. The Maryland monitoring site is based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.