I'm on my food soapbox again.
Today I ran across a NY Times article titled When Food Kills. Pretty morbid name for an article, huh? Well, it's true. Food does kill. The article points out that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 5,000 food related deaths each year in the U.S. 5,000! The latest victim was a 2 year old girl who died after eating E. Coli laden food. That could have been my 2 year old, or your 2 year old.
After reading that article (and about a million others I'd gladly share if you are still not convinced of the dangers in our food), why is it that we are okay with our food? Why are we giving our children hormone filled milk? Why is it okay to eat chicken and beef full of antibiotics? What good is coming from artificial dye? I want someone to answer these questions for me! Moms, are you even aware of what we are eating and feeding our kids?! I know I wasn't until very recently.
The more I learn about our food supply in the US, the more I understand how it relates to the ailments in my family. The excema, the tummy aches, the fatigue, and most importantly the Autism. As we have begun to weed out the processed foods, we have seen those things go away.
It's not just our food supply though.
Recently we found out that Cameron requires surgery because he has Cryptorchidism (ectopic and retractile testicles). When looking at the possible causes, I found that there is a possible link between Cryptorchidism and endocrine disruptors. I know, you are wondering what the heck an endocrine disruptor is. According to Wikipedia, an endocrine disruptor is a chemical that interferes with the hormone system. Chemicals like BPA's which have been found to cause reproductive and neurological issues. These chemicals enter our body mostly through ingestion. So if a pregnant or breastfeeding mom is ingesting this stuff, guess who else is getting a dose of the endocrine disruptor? The baby.Chances are, the mom never knew she was harming her child.
I'm not saying that unknowingly ingesting chemicals is what caused Cameron's Autism or his Cryptorchidism. There are other environmental factors that are probable causes such as gestational diabetes and consuming more than 2 caffeinated beverages during pregnancy (oops!). There is also a study linking taking analgesics during pregnancy to the disorder. I did all of the above. I also have about a ton of theories on how Cameron got autism (all related in a roundabout way). I also have a theory that sometimes God just makes these things happen without a reason we can understand and that has to be good enough answer. I really need to accept that theory.
No matter what the cause, I'm still going to keep plugging along with our new diet and hopefully give my kids a healthy future.
On a little different note:
Do you want to change your child's diet? I would love to create some sort of network of bloggers who are making the change so we can all support each other. Please contact me if interested! In the meantime, here is another mom making a change for the better. Go visit Celiac Baby to learn about why they started their journey into the world of gluten free.
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