An Apple A Day

The widely disseminated comments of many organizations and authorities would lead one to believe that any possible linkage between vaccination and autism has been entirely disproven.  That is not so.  The theory that there might be a connection is biologically plausible.  One of the most consistent biological abnormalities among children with autism is their limited ability to detoxify heavy metals. It would be a real possibility then that repeated doses of a heavy metal like the mercury preservative, which had been used in nearly all vaccines, would lead to autism in some individuals.  However, a theoretical possibility means just a hair more than nothing.  A newly published study supports the view that there may well be a connection between vaccinations and autism.

The authors of this study analyzed nationwide data to investigate the connection between total vaccination exposure, autism and speech or language impairment (SLI).  Other studies have typically looked for associations between autism and some specific immunization.  When the intent of an investigation is to test the theory that some component, present in many vaccines, might be an autism-causing factor, the design of this study, utilizing the sum of vaccination exposure, makes much more sense.

These researchers took into account the potential confusion created by the timing of vaccine and diagnosis of autism or SLI.  Autism begins before age 2 but is typically diagnosed years later. If vaccinations were causative, those first two years are when the child would have received them.  So, these researchers used total vaccination exposures up to two years of age.  Accounting for the delay in diagnosis, they used the rates of autism and SLI at age 8 for their analysis.  Because the effect would become evident in individuals 6 years after their exposure, researchers compared rates of vaccinations in 1999 with autism/SLI rates 6 years later (2005). They then analyzed these data, controlling for known and suspected autism risk factors.  They also performed statistical tests for potentially confounding health conditions and access to medical care (which might lead to higher rates of diagnosis), finding that these factors did not influence the rates of autism and SLI.

These researchers identified what we call a linear dose-response.  For every 1% increase in vaccination rates there was a 1.7% increase in the number of children having either autism or speech/language impairment.  This study does not prove that childhood vaccinations cause autism.  It does prove that the issue is unresolved and that caution about all vaccinations is warranted.

Thimerosol, the standard mercury preservative formerly used in childhood immunizations, is the preservative in flu shots.  As the institutional authorities of conventional medicine push childhood vaccination for flu, despite little research support of effectiveness, these findings suggest that we might be perpetuating a problem.  Dropping thimerosol from vaccines was an excellent idea.  Why would it be okay to give it to our children in a different shot?

The rate of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is rapidly rising and estimated to be 12% nationwide by US Census Bureau data.  According to community estimates, ADHD rates are as high as 20% in some areas.  Nationwide the percentage of children receiving prescription medication for ADHD is approaching 5% (and well over that in some areas).  As the number of children diagnosed with ADHD soars in the US, parents, educators, health care providers and scientists are asking, “why”?

The list of answers and possible explanations is quite long.  With no blood test to diagnose ADHD, and many reasons why overworked teachers, stressed parents and hurried doctors would want easy fixes, stamping a child with the ADHD label and starting that child on medication is an appealingly quick shovel-it-under-the-carpet response.  Anyone with the most superficial experience of the challenges posed by these children will be sympathetic.

One reasons for over-diagnosis is uncertainty about what really is normal.  Kids who are creative and unusually smart, need challenges or they will often create them for those around them.  Kids who learn well but need a lot of physical activity also draw negative attention.  Sadly, a child who sits quietly underachieving is often neglected.  We live in a culture where driving a two ton metal projectile hurtling down the road, inches away from dozens or even hundreds of other vehicles, is boring.  So we crank it up by talking on the phone, messing with CDs, running videos in the car and TEXTING!  Driving has become our most popular extreme sport.  Our culture is ADHD.  We create children in our own image.

Cultural elements have a huge impact.  So does diet.  As I’ve discussed before, many in the medical community have decades-long experience of the ADHD-reducing effects of a diet limited in additives, preservatives and sugar.  Even the British government is on board with this idea, after they funded a study expecting to discredit the theory.  Prenatal care is vital, as is getting enough of the right nutrients, physical activity, positive parenting and teaching.  Besides avoiding food additives, more and more research is linking unwanted “environmental additives” (ie, toxins) to ADHD.

The latest is a newly released Harvard study of nearly 250 pregnant women.  Researchers tested their urine for BPA, finding it in over 97% of the women, and compared those BPA levels to mothers’ reports of ADHD behaviors in their children at age 3.  With each 10 fold rise in BPA levels, there was a significant rise in mothers’ reports of their daughters’ emotional instability, anxiety and depression.  Although ADHD is much more common in boys, there was no correlation between BPA levels and the behaviors of boys in this sample.

For decades now, we have known that the poisons we dump into our world poison our brains, causing ADHD and other problems.  In the early 1970’s Harvard researcher Herbert Needleman discovered a very close correlation between blood lead levels and IQ.  Since then the list of bad actors grows year by year.  Organophosphates, developed for chemical warfare and present now in herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals, cause severe neurologic damage, as originally intended.  Studies by UC Berkeley on the young children of agricultural workers in California’s Central Valley, by Harvard on preteen and early teens and by Columbia have all found links between even barely detectable levels of organophosphates and ADHD. In 2008, 20-30% of US samples of foods such as celery, strawberries and blueberries found contamination with one or more organophosphates.  Korean studies have discovered strong links between phthalates and ADHD in school-aged children.  Government research shows that nearly every American man, woman and child now has detectable levels of phthalates in our bodies.

What to do?  Follow the essential health habits.  Drink enough water.  Exercise.  Eat a healthy diet.  Take a moderate amount of vitamin and mineral supplementation. Develop and maintain a positive attitude and social interactions. Avoid the stuff that makes us sick.  That covers a broad range.  Avoid food additives, including preservatives and flavoring agents.  Select foods least likely to expose you to unwanted chemicals (review the list below and favor organic and local).  Make your water as clean as possible. Create a stable, calm and pleasant environment.  Use music and physical activity to help your child move in the rhythm that suits him or her.

Most contaminated

Fruits – peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, imported grapes, pears

Vegetables – bell peppers, celery, kale, lettuce, carrots

Least contaminated

Fruit – pineapples, mangoes, kiwis, papayas, watermelons

Vegetables – onions, avocados, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet peas, cabbages, eggplants, broccoli, tomatoes, sweet potatoes

The testing results used on the fish oil lawsuit I mentioned are posted on fishoilsaety.com. Interestingly, the oils they tested are not the usual fish oils. One problematic oil was, as I anticipated, a salmon oil. Shark liver oil was a problem and several cod liver oils were also a problem.

My apologies to those of you who love cod liver oil but, adding to the concerns about adverse effects from the vitamin A in cod liver oil, now we have this.