In case you were wondering why there’s such a surge in attention deficit problems among kids, you might want to consider another possible cause: pesticides. A recent Harvard study found that even small, legal amounts of organophosphates (some of the commonest pesticides in the US) can show up in children’s bodies. 94% of children had residues of organophosphates in their urine and of those, kids with the highest levels were almost twice as likely to have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Susan Kegley of the Pesticide Action Network (panna.org) says, “When it comes to pesticides, children are among the most vulnerable – pound for pound, they drink 2.5 times more water, eat 3-4 times more food, and breathe twice as much air as adults. They also face exposure in the womb and via breast milk. Add to this the fact that children are unable to detoxify some chemicals and you begin to understand just how vulnerable early childhood development is.”

CNN recently did a special with Sanjay Gupta, M.D. on “Toxic America.” (Click here for the main articles). In the article Toxic chemicals finding their way into the womb, Guta informs us that , “A growing number of studies are finding hundreds of toxic chemicals in mothers’ and, subsequently, their babies’ bodies when they are born.” The studies are alarming, “The Environmental Work Group study found an average of 232 chemicals in the cord blood of 10 babies born late last year.”

“For 80 percent of the common chemicals in everyday use in this country we know almost nothing about whether or not they can damage the brains of children, the immune system, the reproductive system, and the other developing organs,” said Dr. Phil Landrigan, a pediatrician and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Although it is more comforting to not be informed of our everyday goods effect on our lives, it will matter when we find out the reasons we have certain health problems. We would have wished we had known better. Some small steps you can take now are to keep your house dust free since “many toxic chemicals are conveyed in dust,” purchase more organic food (especially the fruits and veggies I listed last week), and only buy green cleaning products (beware of greenwashing goods though!). Sanjay Gupta also did a special on the 5 Toxins that are everywhere that you need to steer away from when buying your everyday household goods.