Why Children Have Food Allergies?

When I was a youngster, I never met someone who was autistic. The rate of autism then was 1 in 10,000 children. Today, 1 in 50 children is autistic! Also, when I was a child, I think I only knew one person with Asthma. Today, if you’re at a soccer game and a child has a breathing attack, you’ll see a half dozen parents offer an inhaler.

Just about everyone now knows a child with hyperactivity or food allergies. Today, parents live in a state of fear if they have a child with peanut allergies. They worry constantly that their child might eat a peanut, be exposed to peanuts inadvertently in their absence and need an epi-pen injection, have to be rushed to the hospital, or even die. We are in the middle of an epidemic of allergies, asthma, autism, and ADHD with diabetes the next major concern.  The CDC predicts that in the next 10 years, 30% of our children will become diabetic.

Today one in three children in America have either asthma, hyperactivity, allergies or autism.  Why?  This explosion of diseases has taken place in the last twenty years. Why are so many children being affected by these diseases?

As a holistic health care provider and parent, I am seriously concerned that so many children have issues, especially as the trend continues to grow.  In my search for answers, I recently read a book entitled, “Unhealthy Truth.”

"Unhealthy Truth" was written by Robyn O’Brien. She is the mother of four children. One day her fourth child, a two year old girl, had a severe allergic reaction at breakfast. After Robyn O’Brien took her child to the ER and found out it was an allergic reaction to eggs, she took all eggs out of her daughter’s diet . She had to be a law enforcer (cop) in order to prevent the other three children from giving her youngest daughter something with egg in it, like cookies.

That took Mrs. O’Brien on a journey to finding out what is really in our food, deciphering labels and investigating food manufacturers.

What Mrs. O’Brien discovered was that in the mid-1990’s many of the common foods we use were altered by genetic manipulation.  Corn and tomatoes have been genetically manipulated to yield larger crops, but haven’t been proven safe!

In Europe, if the source of food comes from genetically manipulated crops, it has to be labeled as such on the product.  Even if it is an American company.  The products are labeled to show the source the food is coming from.  This way consumers can make an informed choice.

Even though I have been in the health field for 25 years and check the Internet daily for medical news and progress - I did not fully understand the controversy centering around genetically modified foods. 

The DNA in corn is manipulated so that the pesticides used to protect the crop do not affect the crop itself. In other words, the DNA in corn is changed so that the pesticides kill insects - but not the corn. That insect repellent is now in, and part of the corn itself!  In scientific studies, GM corn causes tumors in animals. So does GM modified soy.  What do GM foods do to our children's digestive systems and organs, and nervous systems? Science does not know. And that is the point! Science does not know...

What is apparent is that there is an epidemic of childhood diseases -- that started around the same time GMO's hit the marketplace. I want to encourage you to read Robyn O’Brien’s informative book, because she has done the research and it is all documented. It will help you to help your child.

Another excellent source of information is a book written by a medical doctor, Dr. Kenneth Bock.  His book, "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics," gives you medical and scientific information that is very useful. To hear about his experiences with children and their parents will help you realize the seriousness of the child disease crisis in this country. This doctor is not an alarmist, but a dedicated pioneer in healing sick children.

We always look at viruses or bacteria as the source of disease.  We need to look at our diet , our nutritional sources and see if that is causing illness. Another possibility for this dramatic increase in childhood diseases is that we may be over-vaccinating children. Today, an infant or toddler will receive 24 vaccines by the time they are just 2 years old. Is that triggering an abnormal immune response as a side-effect in preventing disease? Too much of a good thing? If you go to the CDC website and see what they list officially as the ingredients and additives in these vaccines - I know you would be horrified. For shelf life purposes, formaldehyde, aluminum, MSG and mercury are in the shots given to infants. You can verify vaccine additives on Wiki which will enable you to intelligently question your pediatrician.

One thing is for sure, we have a historic explosion of suffering in our children, with no end in sight. We need to be more demanding of answers that will put a dent in this escalating crisis. The science community is suggesting that genetics or pesticides or aging parents may cause autism, but that does not explain the sudden and dramatic increase in childhood diseases.

ADHD , Allergies, Asthma, Autism, and Diabetes is not what I want for our children. If you are wondering what is going on and would like to take a step in finding some answers - I suggest you pick up a copy of an “Unhealthy Truth,” at your local library or bookstore. Also read the "Peanut Allergy Epidemic," which gives you the history behind the life-threatening allergy.

We need to know the truth!