The Vulnerability of Children
· "We are conducting a vast toxicologic experiment in our society, in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subjects," stated
pediatrician Herbert L. Needleman.
Little information on possible toxic potential is available for the 80,000 chemicals registered today with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Of the 3,000 chemicals produced or imported at over 1 million pounds a year, only 43% have received even minimal toxicologic assessment, and a mere 23% have been tested to determine whether they have the potential to cause developmental damage.
Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Weiss, B. (2000). Environmental Health Perspectives Supplements, v107
supplement 3, June.
· Children are highly vulnerable to chemical toxicants. Pound for pound of body weight children drink more water, eat more food and breathe more air than adults.
The implication of this is that children will have substantially heavier exposures than adults to any toxicants that are present in water, food or air.
Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
· Why are children a sensitive subpopulation?
Children’s metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth, are immature. Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many chemicals differs from adults.
Source: Landrigan, P.J., et al, (1998). Children's Health and the Environment: A New Agenda for Prevention Research, Environmental Health Perspectives 106, Supplement 3, June.
· Carcinogenic and toxic exposures sustained early in life including prenatal exposures appear more likely to lead to disease than similar exposures encountered later.
Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on
children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
· Faster metabolisms in children speed up their absorption of contaminants.
“Children absorb a greater proportion of many substances from the intestinal tract or lung,” says pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan.
“For example, children take up approximately half of the lead that they swallow while adults absorb only about one-tenth.”
Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
· Children spend a considerable amount of time putting things in their mouths.
In 1998, scientists at Rutgers University discovered that pesticides sprayed in a home evaporate from floors and carpets, and then re-condense on plastic and foam objects such as pillows and plush toys.
By observing how frequently a group of pre-schoolers put clean toys in their mouths, the researchers calculated that contaminated toys are likely to give young children much higher doses of poison than adults would get in the same environment.
Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
· Children have more time to develop chronic diseases triggered by early exposures.
Many diseases that are caused by toxicants in the environment require decades to develop.
Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on
children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
· Babies don't excrete contaminants or store them away in fat in the same ways that adults do, making the poisons more available to affect rapidly growing bodies.
Furthermore, because a baby’s immune system is not fully functional, a baby’s body cannot counteract toxic effects as well as an adult can.
In an adult, a blood-brain barrier insulates the brain from many of the potentially harmful chemicals circulating through the body. But in a human child, that barrier isn't fully developed until six months after birth.
Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
· Many contaminants such as dioxins and PCBs have an affinity for fatty tissue.
During pregnancy, women mobilize their amassed stores of body fat to provide nourishment for their growing babies; the contaminants in the fat are then passed to their children.
Nursing mothers also transfer a good portion of their lifetime accumulation of chemicals to their babies.
Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
· Children exposed in the womb are at greatest risk of all.
Because cellular structures change so rapidly during embryonic and fetal growth, a toxic exposure at the wrong moment can permanently alter further development.
According to Dr. Landrigan, the central nervous system is especially vulnerable. To function properly, the developing brain must lay down an intricate web of interconnecting neurons.
Small doses of neurotoxins during critical periods of brain development can alter those crucial neural pathways – one mistake early on, and the brain may be forever changed in subtle or serious ways.
Government and university scientists are currently investigating the possibility of a connection between fetal exposures to toxics and developmental disabilities such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Source: PBS.org, Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report (2001).
· Children’s metabolic pathways, especially in the first months after birth, are immature.
Their ability to metabolize, detoxify and excrete many chemicals differs from adults.
Source: Landrigan, P.J. & Garg, A. (2002). Chronic effects of toxic environmental exposures on
children’s health. Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology, 40(4), 449-456.
These statistics and quotes are quite scary. The chemicals in our home, under our sinks and being used everyday can pose such a danger to our children in ways we never imagined.
We all want a clean, safe home for our families, but if what we are using is causing more harm than good, how do we achieve a clean home without hurting our families in the process?
By using safe, proven and effective cleaners designed by nature and perfected by science.
I hope you found this information helpful and that you reconsider the toxins being used in your homes today.
Julie
For more information on how toxic cleaners can cause serious health problems and some safe solutions available, you can read this article: Health Hazards Associated With Household Cleaners
Or you can view this short video here > Healthy Home Video and choose “Healthy Home” (near the bottom of list)
For more information visit our website at: http://tobehealthy.myshaklee.com
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