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Can Pesticides on Food Lead to ADHD?
| May 20, 2010 | |
| Jo Wehage : Head Operations Ego |
Just when I thought I’d shift my focus from organic and conventional produce a new study in the Journal Pediatrics associates exposure to pesticides and cases of ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) in the U.S. and Canada. Once again my friends, my tried and true blueberry may be an accomplice in horrendous acts.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the diagnosis of ADHD has risen 3% each year since 1997. More and more research is suggesting ongoing chemical influence and environmental elements (like video games and flashing images on the TV) may be factors in the rise of attention problems.
For the most recent study University of Montreal and Harvard University researchers examined the level of pesticide residue in over a thousand children from ages 8 to 15. Those with the highest levels of dialkyl phosphates (broken down byproducts of organophosphate pesticides) had a 35% increased chance of developing ADHD with every tenfold increase in urinary concentration.
A striking effect was also seen at lower levels: kids who had any detectable, above-average level of the most common pesticide metabolite in their urine were twice as likely as those with undetectable levels to record ADHD symptoms.
The study, led by Maryse Bourchard, is the first to focus on organophosphate pesticides as a contributor to ADHD. Organophosphates are known to cause damage to the nerve connections in the brain, which is exactly how they kill agricultural pests.
While researches acknowledge it is easier to uncover an association between pesticides and ADHD than a direct causal link the results clearly call for immediate further study.
Sadly for me, according to the U.S. Pesticide Residue Program report, organophosphates were detected in 28% of frozen blueberries and in 19% of celery samples tested. How dangerous are those levels to you and your kids? Do you want to wait to find out?
As the search for more answers and data continues Bourchard suggests that parents avoid using bug sprays in the house and feeding kids organically grown fruits and vegetables.
I suggest you print out the Environmental Working Group’s wallet guide mentioned in our 12 Most Toxic Fruits & Veggies post for everyone you know. Sources there claim that you can avoid 80% of pesticides by knowing the 12 most toxic produce items and either buying organic or choosing another option.
If you’re in Cincinnati or surrounding areas you may want to take a look at our Produce Price Comparison by Store for updated data from our post, Where to Buy Your Produce.
In the meantime I’m working on more applications for avocados, pineapples and mangos, some of the least contaminated produce options.
[5 Comments] [5 Comments]
You would already know from the headlines that it was some lunitic from Harvard involved in this research. Listen to them and dont eat fruit or vegtables and you’ll be just fine or take it as just a rubbish story and you’ll be much better.
Larry, drink some pesticide and let us know how things work out.
I don’t doubt this at all. I grew up on a farm and my father started getting more aggressive with pesticides in the early 1970′s. Of course it didn’t happen right away but the incidence of birth defects and life expectancy in our animals is substantial and for the first time asthma and cancer is a reality in our family.
Why is it so hard to believe with the multitude of chemicals we spray on our food (as well as countless other items) and poisons we release in our environment that it wouldn’t ultimately have an impact on our health?
This isn’t an attack on fruits and vegetables – it’s an evaluation of the possible effects of man coating a healthy item with poisonous garbage. We can take a stand, make better choices, or rant then stick our head in the sand.
This is a re-post of a scare article from CNN. If you’d done some background research on the matter (all of which existed before this post was published), then you’d know this. This makes you look like you’re trying to scare people. The truth of the matter is that there’s no direct causal link between pesticides and ADHD that can be proven right now. You only spend, by my count, one sentence on this fact, when it might be worth noting the significant scientific difference between “association” and “causal link.”