Top 10 Chemicals Most Likely to Cause Autism and Other Learning Disorders

Last month, the CDC reported that autism now affects 1 of every 88 American children, which is an unusually high increase from previous years. Now, we may have some more clues as to what is causing the dramatic increases. The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center (CEHC) has just released an informative list of the top ten toxic chemicals suspected to cause autism and learning disabilities. The toxic list, recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives was compiled by Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, director of the CEHC, Dr. Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Dr. Luca Lambertini, also of the CEHC. Discover the top ten chemicals thought to be associated with both autism and learning disorders in children after the jump.

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Green Glowing Fish Illuminate Health Impacts of BPA and Other Hormone Disrupting Chemicals

A new breed of green-glowing zebrafish makes it easy to see how everyday environmental chemicals act and how they affect the body and health. Researchers from the University of Exeter and University College London (UCL) creating a new type of transgenic zebrafish, which when exposed to environmental oestrogens, or hormone disrupting chemicals, is able to show where these chemicals invade the body through the production of green fluorescent signals. The fascinating results were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. The team of scientists placed a genetic system into their zebrafish that’s able to amplify the response to oestrogens, which in turn produces a visible fluorescent green signal. Researchers exposed the fish to various chemicals known to affect oestrogen hormone signaling including Bisphenol A (BPA), ethinyloestradiol, used in the contraceptive pill and hormone replacement therapy treatments, and nonylphenol, used in paints and industrial detergents. Once exposed, the glowing fluorescent green signals can show us which parts of a fish body are responding to the hormone disrupting chemicals.

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At the Farmers’ Market with Kids: Recipes and Projects for Little Hands

At the Farmers' Market with Kids by Leslie Jonath & Ethel Brennan allows parents and kids to discover the diversity and deliciousness of farmers’ markets. Filled to the brim with beautiful photographs by Sheri Giblin, this book celebrates the best that farmers' markets have to offer, in a kid-friendly manner. Read on to learn more about this wonderful new book.

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Alligator and Little Bird Peg Rack from Maple Shade Kids is a Cute Way to Organize

We’re already a huge fan of Maple Shade Kids’ wonderfully useful (and adorable) handcrafted peg racks, and to be honest, we were perfectly content with these peg racks in darling owl form. Still, all owls, all the time, while cute as cute can be, isn’t for every kid. If your child is a little more …

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School Lunches Go Local and Fresh with Improved Farm to School Program

In the past year alone we’ve seen some terrible news about school lunches. From insane pink slime, to bizarre food regulations to lackluster food changes way too long in the making, it sometimes seems like there’s no good school lunch news to be had. Until now that is. The USDA will be improving their farm to school lunch programs nationwide, which means it’s much more likely that your kids will be getting tastier and more nutritious school lunches. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced this week that USDA will be investing more funds in farm to school programs across the country in order to help improve the health and wellbeing of their students, as well as support connections with local agricultural producers. The Farm to School Grant Program is one of the USDA’s most innovative food programs and part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Through grants and technical assistance, this program helps to implement farm to school food programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. The brand new investments will help schools find and purchase food from local producers, and some farm to school initiatives will also include agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms and cooking classes.

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Cases of Measles Hit All-time High in 2011 – Are Unvaccinated Kids to Blame?

In 2000 measles was considered eradicated from the U.S. In fact, from 2001 to 2010 there were just 60 U.S. measles cases a year on average. However, last year, cases of measles reached an all-time high in the United States with a total of 222 reported cases. This is the most measles cases ever since 1996, according to the CDC. Among the 222 cases, reported across 31 states, there were 17 official measles outbreaks. An outbreak is when there are at least three cases linked by time and place. The average outbreak size last year included six cases per outbreak, but in one instance, a single person with measles infected 21 other people. This week, Anne Schuchat, director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, reported that most of these cases (90%) came into the country via citizens who had traveled outside the U.S., with many of the 2011 cases originating in Europe.  That said, the CDC is placing new emphasis on the importance of the MMR vaccination, especially if you plan on traveling abroad. Schuchat says, “Unvaccinated people put themselves and others at risk for measles. There is a relationship between the decisions families make and disease rates.”

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Research Links Phthalates to Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetic is doing a glucose – Image from Shutterstock

Phthalates are one of the common chemicals your government isn’t protecting your family from. Bad news for you, because phthalates have been linked to countless negative health issues. Now, new research shows that phthalate metabolites may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The research, published in Diabetes Care has linked phthalate metabolites to diabetes prevalence and shows that this chemical results in distinct markers of insulin secretion and resistance. These findings support past research that focuses on how common chemicals may influence major factors that are regulating glucose metabolism in humans. During the study, researchers tested 1,016 elderly subjects, and a total of 114 subjects were shown to have diabetes. After making adjustment for gender, BMI, serum cholesterol and triglycerides, educational level, and smoking and exercise habits, the researchers looked at phthalate levels. High levels of the phthalate metabolites monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoisobutyl phthalate (MiBP), and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) were all associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. Mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalates were not associated with diabetes in this study. Overall, MiBP was most usually related to poor insulin secretion, while MEP and MMP were linked to insulin resistance. So where are these phthalates lurking?

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Dirt and Germs Equal Happy and Healthy Kids

Next time your kids drags some dirt or mud into the house, don’t freak out. Instead give yourself a hearty pat on the back for raising such a happy, well-adjusted kiddo. According to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation, “The Dirt on Dirt: How Getting Dirty Outdoors Benefits Kids,” getting messy provides countless benefits for little ones. We live in a germ obsessed society, so much in fact, that those fears may expose us to harmful chemicals, such as those found in antibacterial products. This new NWF report may help drown some of those fears though and keep your kids healthier. The report points to a growing body of research that suggests dirt and germs may actually help build physical health and resilience to diseases. This is connected to the Hygiene Hypothesis, which you may have heard of, that says that when kids are too clean and their exposure to parasites, bacteria, and viruses is limited, they may face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma and other autoimmune diseases. Plus, as we’ve pointed out time and time again, being outside, getting down in the dirt and out into nature is extremely healthy for a child’s emotional and physical well-being. When kids spend more time playing outside than they do attached to indoor, high-tech gadgets, they’re less vulnerable to obesity, stress, ADHD, vitamin D deficiency and depression.

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New Research Suggests Flame Retardants May Create Deadlier Fires

You may have already heard that flame retardants are toxic, yet companies continue to add them to baby car seats, kids clothing, baby mattresses and even our food. Now in an ironic twist, researchers have found that brominated and chlorinated flame retardants which are routinely added to upholstered furniture and other household items to stop the spread of flames, actually increase emissions of two poisonous gases. Basically by making a product flame retardant via chemicals, companies may actually be making fire even more deadly. Study co-author Anna Stec, a fire specialist at the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom, said in a statement, “We found that flame retardants have the undesirable effect of increasing the amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide released during combustion.” Also important to note is that carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide are by far the biggest killer in fires – they’re responsible for 60 to 80% of all fire deaths, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

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5 Ways the U.S. Government is Failing Your Family and the Planet

Although maybe they mean well, the U.S. government doesn't always have the best interest of the people or the planet in mind. Other countries aren't perfect either. Still, consider that we're one of the few countries hanging on to BPA and GMOs. Plus, when our government does decide to swing towards change, it takes a remarkably long time for them to get their act together. For example, it took 15 years for the government to institute healthier school lunches. From lackluster chemical reform to sneaky hazards in the food supply to gigantic super germs - keep reading to see which massive U.S. government fails may be putting your family at risk. Also, learn about how you can start to initiate positive change when the government clearly won't.

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New Test May Help Fight Common Parasite Toxoplasma Linked to Severe Illness in Newborns

It’s common knowledge that various strains of Toxoplasma gondii parasite, the cause of toxoplasmosis, are associated with health problems for pregnant women and babies, and this is why expectant moms are warned not to change kitty litter. However, until now, researchers haven’t been able to figure out which strains may cause the most damage to developing babies. Recently though, researchers have used a new blood test developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, to pinpoint which T. gondii strains children are most likely to acquire from their infected mothers while in the womb. Researchers have also been able to link these common strains to which are most strongly associated with premature births and severe birth defects in the United States. Currently a simple blood tests can determine whether a person is infected with any strain of Toxoplasma parasite. This new experimental test developed at NIAID is much better though, because it detect the presence of strain-specific antibodies, meaning more effective treatments may be planned.

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Common Pesticides Linked to Low Birth Weight and Premature Births

A new study reinforces news we’ve heard before. First of all pesticides cause problems for pregnant women and their babies. Secondly, pregnant women are carrying pesticides in abundance in their bodies. Lead researcher Bruce Lanphear MD, MPH, and his colleagues tracked a group of more than 300 expectant mothers from the Cincinnati area. The group of women was intentionally designed to be ethnically and economically diverse. The plan was to compare prenatal insecticide exposure to gestational age and birth weight. The researchers got some interesting results. Overall, babies born to women with the highest levels of organophosphates (pesticides, such as those found in weed killer and food) in their urine samples, were born about half a week earlier and weighed one-third of a pound less than those of women with the lowest pesticide exposures. Oddly, the effects varied by race, ethnicity and paroxanase (PON1) genotypes – paraoxonases are enzymes involved in the hydrolysis of organophosphates.

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7 Earth Day Inspired Goodies from Etsy

Etsy is one of our favorite places ever because this online marketplace really shines when it comes to unique earth-friendly goods that rock the house for Earth Day or any day of the year. For example, the adorable Children Earth Day Eco Friendly Children Wooden Toy Blocks shown above, made by Tiny Giraffe Shop with 100% recycled paper and featuring eco-friendly images and messages that will inspire your youngest child to reduce, reuse and recycle. Keep reading to see more lovely and fun Etsy Earth Day minded goodies.

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Disneynature’s Chimpanzee Swings Into Theaters for Earth Day 2012

Each Earth Day for the past three years, Disneynature has brought families around the globe a little closer to nature with enchanting movies such as Earth, Oceans and African Cats. This Earth Day is no different as Disneynature’s newest adventure brings the world of chimpanzees to life. Disneynature Chimpanzee introduces us to the adorable little Oscar, a young chimpanzee whose playful curiosity and zest for discovery light up the African forest until a poor twist of fate leaves Oscar all alone to fend for himself in the wild. Directed by Alastair Fothergill (“African Cats” and “Earth”) and Mark Linfield (“Earth”), and narrated by Tim Allen (ABC’s “Last Man Standing”) this new Disneynature film is sure to engage, inspire, and educate audiences everywhere. Keep reading to see a trailer and learn more about the movie and how you can help save chimps and their habitat.

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