Mike Adams, the self-styled Health Ranger is way out of step with reality. He campaigns against ADHD and ADD, claiming such conditions don’t exist and are an “invented” diagnosis.
That’s an insult to troubled parents. But it is also a serious slander against doctors like me who, for the past three or four decades, have been rescuing and helping kids with this wretched stage of toxic brain excitation and getting them well, or partially well.
Mike has a very large following (millions), which means when he screws up, an awful lot of people are left confused and off-track. That’s what happens when you put politicizing and lobbying before clinical experience and scientifically-based knowledge (something Adams hates when mainstream doctors do it—but he seems to share the same hubris).
ADD and ADHD were NOT “invented” by Big Pharma solely to prescribe Ritalin and such drugs, as Mike Adams claims; these conditions were recognized and described by a pioneer band of skilled holistic doctors who had the acumen and knowledge to recognize what we were seeing.
The principle cause was, and always will be, neurotoxic foods—what we called “brain allergies”.
But a considerable number of kids react strongly to ambient chemicals.
I have had young patients who would be fazed by teacher’s perfume, classroom paints, school cleaning liquids and detergents, aerosol sprays (air “fresheners”, as they are laughably called) and even felt-tip pens. The latter contain a lot of toluene and xylene, which are extreme brain toxicants (toluene or xylene are the weird smell of felt tip pens).
Fortunately, these two obnoxious chemicals are less used today—but they are still around and still knocking extra-sensitive kids silly in the head. Unfortunately, even holistic physicians are missing this diagnosis, with grave implications for life.
Now an authoritative study has pinpointed the most common toxins that seem to be implicated (or at least present) in ADHD and related illnesses. You could say that real science has arrived and there is simply no further excuse for ignoring the impact of neurotoxicants on developing brains and minds.
Sometimes the child is lucky and is taken to a practitioner who advocates a change of diet, a chemical clean up, oxygen therapies, removing heavy metals or some other treatment that helps, whether or not the practitioner knows exactly what is present.
Stealth Pathogens
The other big issue often found is what I used to call “smoldering virus” (or fungus, parasites, bacteria, or whatever). These are toxic microbes which get under the body’s immune radar and so escape detection. Many are called “opportunistic”, meaning they wouldn’t normally stand a chance but because the body’s defenses are compromised in some way (an opportunity), they are able to exert an undue pathogenic.
That’s exactly what a Harvard study was able to report: that there was active cytomegalovirus (CMV) in the endothelial vascular tissues in 96% of everyone they tested.
Read this carefully: that means it’s not just kids stuff… hidden pathogens in the lining of the arteries (the endothelium) are how heart attacks and strokes get started. It can take decades to manifest; the trouble is already there. You could be carrying such a time-bomb in your blood vessels. Chlamydia pneumoniae is one of the commonest of these; it can be transmitted through touch or often during sex and is bad news for arteries.
In fact, it reminds me of a coarse old doctor’s joke going back to med school days: that the sins of intemperate youth come home to roost in the middle-aged aorta! It’s about syphilis and the fact that one of the complications is a hideous and deadly aortic swelling, called an aneurysm (see picture of a huge syphilitic aneurysm, pushing through the man’s chest and likely about to kill him when it bursts):
Fortunately, we don’t see the complications of syphilis much any more. But stealth pathogens still abound, as this study of modern children showed.
In fact, autism (for example) is increasing at such a rapid rate you might be forgiven for thinking that it could have an infectious cause. I have commented several times before, over the years, that I have seen siblings of an autistic child develop the same symptoms, even without having been vaccinated.
The appearance is that of one sibling “infecting” the other one, which would be plausible if the rogue measles virus, found in vaccines, was the real cause of the problem.
Dr. Phillipe Grandjean, researcher at Harvard School of Public Health, and Dr. Landrigan, of New York’s Mount Sanai, have pointed out “disorders of neurobehavioural development affect 10–15% of all births.”
The 10 Toxic Chemicals
A study published recently in the Lancet Neurology correlates ADHD, ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) ‘Oppositional Defiant Disorder’, ‘Conduct Disorder’, even ‘Dyslexia’ and other developmental pathologies with common chemicals that are found in our homes, our water, food, and air supply.
These toxic chemicals are not just carcinogens that lead to cancer in adult humans; these toxic chemicals also lead to neurological changes in children that drastically change their lives. The researchers say that the neurotoxicants contribute to a “silent pandemic” of neurobehavioral deficits that is eroding intelligence, disrupting behaviors, and damaging societies.
Forbes Magazine has created a list of the “Top 10” toxic chemicals that the study warns us about.
Number 1: Lead – “This is one of the most extensively researched compounds in terms of neurodevelopment, and has been consistently linked to serious deficits, including low IQ. Its effects seem to be permanent, leading to the conclusion that there is no safe level of exposure.”
Beyond low IQ – lead also leads to behavioral problems, attention problems, hearing problems, kidney damage, delayed physical growth, aggressive behavior, difficulty sleeping, headaches, irritability, and loss of acquired developmental skills, low appetite and energy, as well as reduced sensations.
Number 2: Methylmercury – Most of us have heard how mercury gets into our water sources and then further into the fish that we eat which can then lead to mercury poisoning and developmental defects in children. So-called “Minamata disease”, named after the city in Japan where mercury poisoning due to eating contaminated fish first surfaced, is a dire lesson how bad this can be.
Number 3: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB ) – “This family of chemicals has routinely been associated with reduced cognitive function in infancy and childhood. It is often present in foods, particularly fish, and can be passed along in breast milk.”
In 1978 Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) production was banned by Congress because it was shown to cause cancer in humans and in animals. But it hasn’t gone away. Due to improper disposal, like incineration and landfills, the chemical stays within the natural cycle of things, from the ground, to the air, to the water, and back around, creating an infected hydrosphere.
Note: PCBs can be passed through breast milk from mother to child.
Number 4: Arsenic – “When absorbed through drinking water, this chemical has been linked to reduced cognitive function in schoolchildren. Follow-up studies from the Morinaga milk poisoning incident have linked it to neurological disease in adulthood.”
Number 5: Toluene – “Used as a solvent, maternal exposure has been linked to brain development problems and attention deficit in the child, according to the EPA and OSHA.” Well, don’t forget toluene is present in glue, which so many children use for basic crafts!
Number 6: Manganese – In its place, we need manganese. But excess amounts have been linked to lower scores in math, diminished intellectual function, and ADHD.
High levels of manganese are shown to directly effect the brain. For adult males it has shown to damage sperm and in children it has been shown to make learning and memorizing very difficult.
Number 7: Fluoride – Higher levels of this chemical has been connected with an average 7-point decrease in IQ in children.
Number 8: Chlorpyrifos and DDT (pesticides) – “Linked to structural abnormalities of the brain and neurodevelopmental problems that persist up to age 7. These pesticides are banned in many parts of the world (U.S. included), but still used in many lower-income countries. They have recently been linked to Alzheimer’s disease as well.”
Number 9: Tetrachloroethylene – Linked to hyperactivity and aggressive behavior, and increased risk of psychiatric diagnosis. Also known as “dry-cleaning solution” it is widely used to wash clothes and as a spot-cleaner for fibers. Mothers in certain professional roles, like nurse, chemist, cleaner, hairdresser, and beautician had higher levels of exposure.”
Number 10: The polybrominateddiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) –“These flame retardants are banned now, but believed to be neurotoxins. Prenatal exposure has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders in the child.”
It has been shown that mothers can pass high levels of this toxin to children through their breast milk.
Our poisonous world is no “joke,” it’s real! It affects the health and the intelligence of our children, grandchildren, and following generations to come. Please I urge you take these facts seriously, don’t dismiss them and follow half-baked sayings of so-called experts.
Take the time to detox toxic chemicals from your surroundings: examine your home, your foods, and your environment and take action. Clean it up, throw it out, and always find a health practitioner that truly listens and pays attention to your concerns.
References:
1. Lancet, Volume 13, No. 3, p330–338, March 2014