Top 10 Toxins Suspected of Causing Autism

By Molly Rauch, MCAF

We know that autism is on the rise, and as parents, we are frustrated. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 88 children in the US has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. This is an increase of 78 percent since 2002.

What is driving this? Genes evolve far too slowly to account for the drastic rise in this disorder. A prime suspect: ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES.

Yesterday, environmental health experts Philip Landrigan and Luca Lambertini, both of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, published a list of ten widely distributed chemicals already suspected of causing neurodevelopmental disorders, or brain problems, in children.

These are the TOP SUSPECTS, according to the experts:

Lead. This used to be added to paint and gasoline, and still can be found in soil, water, old paint, toys, and other consumer products.

Methylmercury. Mercury comes out of the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants under lax regulation. This mercury precipitates out over oceans and lakes, and is transformed into methylmercury as it gets into the food web. We are exposed to toxic methylmercury primarily from eating fish.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). A family of chemicals used widely in electrical equipment until their ban in 1979, PCBs persist in the environment and can contaminate fish and other food. They accumulate in animal fats, so are prevalent in farmed salmon (which is fattier than wild salmon), beef, eggs, chicken, cheese, and butter.

Organophosphate pesticides. These include such common insecticides as malathion, parathion, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos.

Organochlorine pesticides. These include lindane, a common lice treatment, and endosulfan. DDT (now banned) is an organochlorine pesticide that Rachel Carson made infamous as a bird-killer.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Monica D.

4:57AM PDT on Sep 20, 2012

Eric L. said: "FYI
MMR causes autism, proven in Italian court case"

Well, then, Eric. If that is the case, explain how I became autistic (Asperger Syndrome), when the MMR vaccine wasn´t being administered to children in my country when I was born?

There is no doubt in my mind that some environmental factor is involved. But the MMR vaccine can not be the only thing responsible, or people wouldn´t have become autistic before it was developed.

September 20
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Rose N.

10:34PM PDT on Jul 12, 2012

Thanks

July 12
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Vikki L.

10:11PM PDT on Jul 12, 2012

The same foods and cleansers and chemicals have been around for decades..so why now is there such an increase in autism?

Patricia A.

10:36AM PDT on Jul 2, 2012

Since there is some evidence that autism begins in utero with problems in brain development of the fetus, I'm surprised that you did not include Aspartame or Splenda - perhaps in products eaten/drunk by pregnant moms trying to keep calories down.

July 2
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Eric L.

9:55AM PDT on Jun 26, 2012

FYI
MMR causes autism, proven in Italian court case
http://www.naturalnews.com/036255_MMR_autism_court_case.html#ixzz1ydSgTJe9

June 26
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Toni B.

2:49PM PDT on May 12, 2012

Why the intentional finger at just methyl mercury?
Ethyl mercury is a known neurotoxin and has been reduced (not omitted) from many of the pediatric vaccines in developed nations. and, in almost all veterinary vaccines.
this study along with many others speak to the elephant in the room:
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/content/103/2/414.full
Modeling Neurodevelopment Outcomes and Ethylmercury Exposure from Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines
José G. Dórea*,1 and Rejane C. Marques†

May 12
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Mit W.

6:44PM PDT on May 7, 2012

I'd be surprised if lead and mercury are culprits to any large degree as the US's output of both has sharply gone down (even with CFL's) over the past couple of decades. As for the others, they only suspect and the studies are only going to start with those.

Which brings up a point. Is concentrating on only manmade substances blinding us to a possible natural cause of autism that has increased recently? Nature makes chemicals too and, much more than mankind, new pathogens. I.e. it has only been recently discovered that a large number of kidney failures in cats are not due to simply bad heredity and age, but a specific virus.