There is so little known about the immune system and how it works. We have a general idea - a really good general idea - as to how it recognizes foreign invaders, tags them for destruction, and heals the point of insult. For years we have been cleaning and sanitizing and placing ourselves into protective bubbles to prevent us from getting sick. Slowly this idea is starting to shift away from this hyper-cleanliness. Scientists are coming to realize that we do need to eat dirt once in a while.
So why do I write about this? I do so because I believe that we are on the edge of a cliff. There is a growing number of bacteria that are becoming resistant to our current antibiotics. Not just one antibiotic, but multiple! We have the heaviest vaccine schedule of any developed country, and yet we are also the sickest. Heck, the bacterium responsible for pertussis (B. pertussis) has mutated to "survive" against the TDaP/DTaP vaccine! There is also an alarming increase of chronic diseases over the last 20 years. Megan, the author of LivingWhole.org, wrote a rather fantastic post about some of these trends. You can read the post HERE. To save time, here is the list of chronic diseases we are dealing with today:
1 in 6 kids has neurodevelopment disabilities,
1 in 68 has autism (1 in 42 boys), 1 in 10 has ADD or ADHD, 1 in 10 has asthma, 1 in 450 has diabetes,
20% of children have eczema 1 in 5 has allergies 1 in 3 children are obese. Almost 2,000 children die from cancer (the leading cause of death by disease in children) each year, and childhood disabilities have jumped 16% since the year 2001. Coincidence?
Each link is for a government website, so these numbers are recognized by our government. I'll say it again, modern medicine has done wonders to improve the health of the human race. But how far is too far? How much chemical processing can our bodies handle before we step off that cliff from health to chronic disease?
Modern medicine isn't the only piece of the puzzle. We have to look at our air quality, our soil quality, our food quality. We are the only industrialized nation that does not require GMO labeling. We are also one of the few industrialized nations that allow for certain chemicals in our food products when there are banned in European countries. Same manufacturer, two different products, because in one country it's banned while in the US, it's A-OK. Oh, but we couldn't ban those chemicals or require labeling. It would cost too much. I ask you this, if they're already doing it for Europe, where is the extra cost to make the same label in the US?
A large portion of our crops are Roundup Ready. This allows for farmers to spray this chemical that is laced with hormone disruptors all over the food that we eat. That in and of itself isn't too alarming, but the problem is that the weeds are becoming resistant. That leads to more herbicides being sprayed on our food. I wish I had taken a picture, but this weekend I was making apple sauce from some Sweet Tango apples that I bought from the grocery store a few days earlier. Like with all my produce, I soak them in a sink full of lukewarm water with ~1 cup of vinegar for roughly 15 minutes (less for berries) to help remove any lingering pesticides and herbicides. Much to my surprise, this film developed on the skin of the apples. The only thing that I could do to get rid of this film was scrape my nail over the skin. I'm not sure whether this was pesticide/herbicide residue or some funky wax to make the apples "look more appealing," the bottom line was that there was crap on the outside of my apples that shouldn't be there. We are eating this junk and it's effecting our health.
How our animals are treated is a whole other matter. They eat these crops that are genetically modified and fed medicines that increase their mass faster than conventional farming. The GMO crops have negative effects on these animals that aren't widely mentioned in main stream media. It would be "detrimental to the industry" to change their practice in order to produce healthier animals for healthier byproducts. There are more studies that the one I linked, but it gives you an idea.
Then we get to the grocery store, only buy fresh produce and meat thinking we're doing good to ourselves and our bodies, and we still see these obesity levels among other chronic health ailments. CNN posted yet another opinion article on how childhood obesity should have us concerned. Thankfully the author mentions the endocrine disruptors in our food stuffs and environment that play a role.
The health of our soil determines the nutritional component of our plants, which then determines the nutritional and overall health of ourselves and the animals and animal by-products that we also eat. Add to that the chemicals used on our plants, the medicines used in our livestock and for ourselves, the materials we use to process and store our food stuff, and the air and water quality - we have a LOT of factors that go into the deteriorating health of our families.
So what can we do about it?
- Write to your representatives: local, state, and national.
- Buy local and organic whenever possible - I know money is a huge factor.
- Try making your own heath care products. There are lots of recipes out there for toothpaste, shampoo, face wash, hand soap, etc.
- Use as little plastic as you can.
- Try using traditional home remedies before reaching for that antibiotic or pain medication.
- Walk or ride your bike instead of driving as often as you can.
- Support local community gardens and conservation organizations
- Research, research, and research some more to figure out how to do better for you, your family, and your community.
To your health and mine. Enjoy this first day of fall :)
