Pesticides and ADHD

How could I not post about this medical headline; Pesticides in food linked to ADHD in kids.

I really enjoy seeing articles such as this coming from the medical community. It takes much longer (if ever at all) for MD's to come to terms with what ND's as well as others following a more natural path have been preaching for some time now... There are no benefits to spraying our food with pesticides that outweigh the negative risks!

The article starts off by pointing out the correlation between the levels of pesticides in our food with the significant increase in children's risk of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Quoting Phil Landrigan, MD who is a professor and chair of the department of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine; "It's mainly exposure through food. Diet is the driver."

One interesting point made towards the end of the article that is worth mentioning is the dangerous levels of pesticides in processed foods. Most people think about produce when the word pesticide is mentioned, but not usually processed foods even though processed foods probably make up more than 75% of the average American's diet. The point that the article makes is that due to GMO's (genetically modified organisms) in processed foods, primarily Soy and Corn, which have been engineered to by pesticide resistant, are highly sprayed crops contributing to pesticide exposure at dangerous levels.

And to further drive home this point, it's not just processed foods that you should be concerned about; don't forget if you're eating beef or pork or chicken or fish or eggs or any dairy products that come from animals that are not free ranged or grass fed, then you are essentially eating GMO corn and soy because that's exactly what they are being fed.

The only way you can be sure that you are doing all you can do to avoid pesticides in your food as well as making sure you are eating as healthy a diet as possible is to support your local organic sustainable farmers. This is why I continually post on the importance of organic locally and sustainably grown foods as the core of any healthy diet. Organic is important, but local organic sustainable farming takes "knowing where your food comes from" to a much more intimate level.

Remember this; you are what your food eats. If you know exactly what the cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens that eventually make it to your table are eating and how they were raised, and if you know exactly how the vegetables that are hopefully making it to your table were grown, then and only then can you be sure you are eating healthy.