“What I would like to see is a huge public outcry demanding clean air, clean water, clean food. For people to say, NO! Pollution is intolerable and we won’t allow it anymore.” Dr. Wally Burnstein
It’s all over the Internet by now. Research carried out by the University of California reveals that of 268 expectant mothers each of them showed levels of toxic chemicals. The study, recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, concluded, “Certain PCBs, organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phenols, PBDEs, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and perchlorate were detected in 99 to 100% of pregnant women.” Read the report HERE.
This research follows the Environmental Working Groups stunning announcement, over 5 years ago, that 287 toxic chemicals were found in the umbilical cord blood of pregnant women, including mercury, fire retardants, pesticides and PFOA, a chemical used in the production of Teflon. Not too long ago medical science believed that these same chemicals could not, for some reason, manage to cross the umbilical cord and into the fetus.
As autism levels skyrocketed, along with attention deficit disorders and child cancers, the finger rarely pointed back to the womb and to what the mother was eating, breathing or drinking. I’m not talking about alcohol, tobacco or drug abuse, I am referring to pesticides and mercury in food, fluoride in water, dioxin and cadmium in the air, and PCP’s in bottled drinking water for starters. Did we really presume that we could flood the earth with over 70,000 toxic chemicals and escape with our health intact? Who suffers the most, but the generations of children whose very DNA is affected by heavy metal contamination.
Lately I have been receiving the most interesting emails, especially from people calling themselves food scientists. They criticize me for suggesting that aspartame is a dangerous chemical that turns to formaldehyde in the body and they take me to task for writing that non-organic coffee has pesticide residue when, according to them, by roasting coffee beans the pesticides, Whoosh, vanish into thin air. I have also been reprimanded for guiding individuals to change their processed and refined food diet to one consisting of whole organic foods; but, until now, I have been quiet about the effects of toxic chemicals in the umbilical cord, because mothers will feel they must take the blame and suffer the guilt that is, in reality, the responsibility of the chemical and food industries.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to get involved and really work to help clean up the environment. You can do this by making changes in your lifestyle and guiding friends and family to do so as well; but you will also need to leave time for environmental activism at the local, state or national level. Every community in the world is now dealing with some type of environmental issue, a garbage incinerator, toxic waste dump, pesticide spraying or GMO crops growing next door to your organic garden. The list is endless and growing with each day. If everyone reading this blog started working on one or more of these issues, the impact would be tremendous. Pass the word and look for specific ways to make an impact in my next blog.
Delia Quigley is the Director of StillPoint Schoolhouse, where she teaches a holistic lifestyle based on her 28 years of study, experience and practice. She is the creator of the Body Rejuvenation Cleanse, Cooking the Basics, and Broken Bodies Yoga. Delia's credentials include author, holistic health counselor, natural foods chef, yoga instructor, energy therapist and public speaker. Follow Delia's blogs: brcleanse.blogspot.com and brokenbodiesyoga.wordpress.com. To view her website go to www.deliaquigley.com
