Children’s developing bodies are especially vulnerable to toxins found in our food and environment. Switching to organic food has an immediate effect on the body. Within 36 hours, pesticides may no longer be detected in a child’s urine.
Pesticide Exposure Has Been Shown to:
- cause low birth weight and birth defects;
- interfere with child development and cognitive ability;
- cause neurological problems;
- disrupt hormone function;
- cause a variety of cancers, including leukemia, kidney cancer, brain cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Recent Studies:
- A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition tested 815 2-year olds, and found those with an organic dairy diet experienced less eczema and wheezing than those consuming non-organic dairy.
- An organic plant-based nutrition program may help ADD sufferers.
- Pesticide levels in children raise in the winter when more food is imported.
- Amniotic fluid and breast milk can pass pesticides to the fetus and infant, so the mother should also follow an organic diet.
For more information:
- Organic Diet Cuts Kids’ Food Pesticide Levels — from WebMD.
- Organic A Choice For Our Children — a must-read from Dr. Greene.
- Children’s Exposure to Pesticides and Related Health Outcomes – A very comprehensive article from the EPA.
- Got Milk? How About Local Organic Milk? – A short article from NRDC that tells you everything you need to know about milk.
Thank you to Patricia Wooster for providing a portion of the content in this post.
I am a new mom and big believer in the importance of an organic diet and natural lifestyle. While I have not always been an all-natural eater, the organic lifestyle has slowly become extremely important to me, especially as I exclusively breastfeed my baby and plan to do so until he is one year old. I recently relocated to a small town in the Midwest from southern California. Here the organic food selection is quite small and very expensive. I buy everything that I can find (and afford) organic, but I think that the more media attention organics receive, the more mainstream, available, and affordable these products will become. I am sharing this article with all of my contacts! Thank you, Green Mom!
This is a very informative post. To help parents make informed decisions, I explore the basic science of issues like organics on my blog http://www.savvysciencemom.com. Check it out!
Thank you, baby&sofia, for sharing our post. We appreciate your help in getting the word out on pesticides and kids!
My nephew was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 2,5 years old.
Just watch out what you feed your kids and what cleaning products you use around them.