Think Your Child Won’t Be Affected by The Epidemics of Autism, ADHD, Diabetes, and Asthma? Think Again.
Think Your Child Won’t Be Affected by The Epidemics of Autism, ADHD, Diabetes, and Asthma? Think Again.
By Beth Lambert
We all feel some pangs of sympathy for parents of children on the autism spectrum, because we know that it must be difficult to raise children with such a condition. Yet at the same time, we all think to ourselves, it could never happen to me; It’s not in my genes. Well, it is time to think again. It can happen to you.
I was at a child’s birthday party a while ago when I met a stylish-looking blonde woman named Elisabeth. She had just had a baby. She seemed very ‘with it,’ happy, smiling and put together. I asked her how her baby was doing (which, Mom-to-Mom really means, how is he sleeping at night?) and her happy expression seemed to evaporate. “Not good,” she replied.
Apparently, Elisabeth’s son was suffering from severe gastroesophageal reflux, a phenomenon all too common in babies today. Her tiny baby, not yet four weeks old, was already taking high doses of Prevacid and Prilosec—two adult heartburn medications now being used widely in children and babies. What Elisabeth does not know is that her son is giving her early warning signs that he may be at risk for developing autism or another chronic illness. Whether or not he develops autism or another chronic illness depends on his particular environmental exposures over the next few years of his life, but he is not well, and neither are many of his peers.
Another woman at the birthday party chimed in, “Oh, my sons were put on those medications too. Have you thought about the foods you are eating? Reflux is a response to food allergens in your breast milk.” The two women proceeded to talk about food allergies, special diets and methods for alleviating the tiny baby’s reflux symptoms. A third woman piped up to add the story of her daughter’s struggle with food allergies. As I joined in the conversation, Elisabeth looked at me with tears in her eyes and asked, “Why is this happening? What is happening to our children?”
This conversation is one that I hear nearly everyday, although it is not always about an infant’s reflux. Sometimes it is about a child’s chronic diarrhea or chronic constipation. Other times it is about a child’s intolerance to wheat, dairy or eggs. Sometimes, it is about a recent diagnosis of autism, ADHD, food allergies, diabetes, or asthma. These diagnoses and early signs and symptoms are giant red flags alerting us to the massive epidemic of chronic illness that is consuming our children.
The symptoms and the diagnoses vary from child to child, but they are all part of the same epidemic. Our country is facing one of the most insidious and wide reaching epidemics in its history, and it is striking the most vulnerable among us first. Don’t believe me? Drop in on a child’s birthday party, or a baby playgroup. Ask a few parents about their children’s health. Swing by your local school nurse’s office. Ask her how healthy the kids are. It seems as if every child is affected.
While it may be common knowledge that there are epidemics of autism, ADHD, asthma, and food allergies among children in this country, fewer people are aware of the skyrocketing rates of other childhood diseases and disorders like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, infant reflux, sensory processing disorder, depression, biopolar disorder, and many others.
Why are so many children being diagnosed with chronic health conditions? Epidemiological studies now confirm that it is no longer a matter of improved diagnostics or better patient capture. There are simply more sick children.
What is making our children so sick? While mainstream medicine is slow in recognizing this epidemic, there is a movement among integrative physicians, medical researchers and parents treating children on the autism spectrum who have the answers. These dedicated individuals have uncovered the environmental factors that cause autism. Shockingly, these environmental factors are also responsible for the epidemics of ADHD, juvenile diabetes, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, and many other chronic illnesses.
Although the specific pathophysiology of each individual child’s illness varies, they all have the same basic underlying causes. These children are suffering from immune dysregulation and gut dysbiosis, two complex biological dysfunctions caused by very specific changes that we have made to our lives over the last few decades. Immune dysregulation refers to an immune system that acts aberrantly and becomes hypersensitive or attacks the host’s own tissues and cells, for instance. Gut dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in the microorganisms that inhabit our guts. These children no longer have the right balance of germs in their intestines–germs that are necessary for a myriad of biological functions including digestion, detoxification, mood regulation, and immune function.
It is a “perfect storm” of environmental factors that cause immune dysregulation and gut dysbiosis, including decades of pharmaceutical over-usage (especially antibiotics), toxic or nutritionally anemic diets, excessive exposure to environmental toxins, specific American habits and lifestyles, and excessive or improperly administered vaccines. This is no longer a matter of speculation. The science is in. We are making ourselves sick, and our children are the canaries in the coalmine.
The good news is that by altering certain environmental influences and by stepping outside of the traditional western medical paradigm, these illnesses, including autism, can be prevented and reversed. Thousands of children have recovered from their chronic illnesses, and yours can too.
For more information about the epidemic or to find a healthcare provider who understands this epidemic, please visit Epidemic Answers, a web project sponsored by Parents Ending America’s Childhood Epidemic (PEACE), a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Beth Lambert is the author of A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children (Sentient Publications, 2010). Lambert is a former healthcare consultant and teacher who attended Oxford University, Williams College and holds a Masters degree in American Studies from Fairfield University. She is the Executive Director of PEACE: Parents Ending America’s Childhood Epidemic, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about the epidemic of chronic illness affecting our youth, and helping parents connect with other parents and appropriate healthcare providers (www.epidemicanswers.org). Lambert is also the mother of three children and lives in Connecticut.
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Thank- you so much for addressing this issue! I am a Nutritional Consultant as well as a Certified Holistic Health Counselor for children and families. (90% of my clients have kids who are suffering form one of these epidemics . I am also a mother of three and a child with asthma and allergies. We MUST educate people on what is happening to our food supply and how the environment is affecting our kids’ health as well as our own. There are so many sick kids out there.
I have had several TV appearances recently here in Houston trying to get the message out there that what we are doing is making our kids sick but there ARE things we can do to change.
I would love to list you as a recommended business resource on my site. Please take a look at http://www.welchwellness.com and let me know if that would interest you. I want to support your efforts!
Thanks so much,
Gabrielle
I’m with you Gabrielle! Let’s see if we can put our heads together to do a better job of getting the message out! And please do list me as a resource on your site! Thanks for your comments and I will be in touch!!
Beth
Have you all joined forces with the Canary Party–www.canaryparty.org?
You are absolutely right.
Those who deny this epidemic of chronic disease simply have their heads in the sand.
We must make changes NOW!
Yes. Totally behind the canary party! I agree, we must take charge now!