Neurotoxins and ADHD — Connecting the Dots
My friend Sally used to corral her three teenage children to clean their house every Saturday morning. I was envious of her chutzpa to demand this of her kids, but the part of the story that was always tragic to me was that every Saturday afternoon without fail, Sally’s son Sam was sent to his room for hyperactive, “out of control” behavior.
Looking at the cause and effect of the son’s behavior through my lens of awareness of how neurotoxic many cleaning chemicals are, I could see it would make sense that the son’s central nervous system and brain could be reacting to these chemicals. Symptoms of neurotoxicity include lack of concentration, personality changes, depression, hyperactivity and the mimicking of psychiatric disorders.
Not being particularly “green,” the cleaning products Sally would buy for her kids to use were the standard store-bought fare readily available in supermarkets. Examples of neurotoxins found in such products include VOCs (furniture polish can contain VOCs), neurotoxic disinfectants, petroleum distillates, fragrances (scented products are notoriously neurotoxic,) and waxes (VOCs again in the solvents), to name a few.
Annie’s daughter Lily tells about the flu from her generation’s perspective, and what she has learned from her mom about how to kill germs in the home, dorm, or office using methods and products that are government-approved, but that won’t harm your health…or the environment.
I’ve been on a quest for a healthy breakfast that will also help with weight-loss for a long time. I love my toast with almond butter, but I am such with carbs that I will gain weight on that (or certainly not lose it). I lose weight on Atkins, but my cholesterol goes sky high and, well, it hardly feels healthy.
According to Breast Cancer Options, recent studies reveal that there is a 60 percent increased incidence of breast cancer among night shift workers, and researchers have classified night shift work as a possible carcinogen.
