Sadly, nowadays we all live in a very chemically polluted environment, some might say in a “chemical soup”! Toxic chemicals are all around us – in our air, our earth, our water, and the products we use every day.
At this stage we are aware of more than 80,000 chemicals that have been released on the market, many of them have known or suspected negative health effects. Exposure to these industrial chemicals and pollutants is contributing to a wide spectrum of health problems. However, we not only inhale and absorb toxins through our skin, we also consume lots of chemicals via our food and beverages! In fact, we blindly but voluntary eat and drink chemically poisoned products and give them to our children!
Scientists have become increasingly worried that even extremely low levels of some environmental contaminants may have significant damaging effects on our bodies. In tiny doses chemicals can affect human health by disrupting cell communication that controls growth, development and normal body function; they can contribute to obesity, endometriosis, diabetes, autism, allergies, cancer and other diseases. The timing and the dosage of such exposure are very critical to how our health is affected. In utero or early childhood exposure is especially critical since the young are developing much more rapidly and their organs are more sensitive.
Just think about the following alarming figures:
- about 200 industrial chemicals have been monitored in the umbilical cord blood of infants born in the US in 2005
- 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2013
- 500,000 children aged under 15 were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes worldwide in 2013
- 1 in 285 children is diagnosed with cancer before age 20
- the average age of the onset of puberty in 2010 was 10.5 years for girls – six years younger than in 1860
- over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviours such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives
- 90 % of those who have eating disorders are girls between the ages of 12 and 25
- Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents
The bottom line is that this unnecessary toxicity leads to likewise unnecessary diseases, disabilities and deaths which can be PREVENTED and should be PREVENTED! As parents and as responsible adults we need to help our children to learn how to eat clean, how to choose real food rather then junk food and how to love an active life style. We need to remind ourselves and our families that food is much more then just the way to kill hunger. It is a part of healthy living, of enjoying life and happiness, a way to relax and connect with nature. We need to slow down and restore these lost relationships between us and real food! If our children were to know where the food they eat comes from and how it is made, they would make the right choice. Let’s teach them! Take them to a supermarket, or a market, prepare meals together, explain why certain ingredients are better to use then others!
I would like to help you on this fascinating journey! However, your feedback is absolutely essential! Ask me a question, live me a comment! We can work together for the bright and healthy future of our children!
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