Photo by Ken Hammond (USDA)

Researchers are studying the relationship between the gene paraoxonase 1 (PON1) and the effect of pesticides on the body.  They have already established that a increased level of organophosphate (OP) pesticides in the body are related to poorer mental development in two year olds whose mothers were exposed to the chemical. This study, published in Environmental Health Perspectives is aimed at determining whether scientists can use PON1 as a marker to measure whether child development has been hindered by pesticide exposure.  Additional research is necessary to determine whether this gene is related to the way that pesticides affect pregnant mothers and whether babies are affected in utero.

Pesticides are known to have an especially strong impact on children.  According to the Children’s Environmental Health Centers (part of the EPA): “Research has shown that children are not ‘little adults’  – they have different exposures, different susceptibilities and sensitivities, and different outcomes when exposed to substances in the environment.  Because children are still developing, the timing of an exposure to chemicals such as pesticides in terms of life stage can be critical in determining the effects.  Children also are exposed differently than adults – they are closer to the ground, young children are crawlers and toddlers and tend to pick things up and put them in their mouths.  In addition, children also have a higher surface to volume ratio than adults, so any exposure may affect them proportionately more.

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Bromide is a common food additive and pesticide that is known to be an endocrine disruptor (exogenous substances that act like hormones in the endocrine system and disrupt the physiologic function of endogenous hormones).  It is also a halide, meaning that it competes for the same receptors that the thyroid gland uses to capture the iodine that is essential for the production of vital thyroid hormones. Bromide is most commonly found in the form of methyl bromide, a common pesticide used on strawberries; as brominated vegetable oil which is often added to citrus drinks and asthma inhalers; as a fire retardant in fabrics and mattresses; and as potassium bromate, a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours.

Source: http://www.naturalthyroidchoices.com/Bromide.html

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Scientists have found an association between fungicide use and retinal degeneration in the wives of farmers who are pesticide applicators. Researchers had already found an association with retinal degeneration among the farmers themselves in the Agricultural Health Study, a large study of farm families from Iowa and North Carolina.

Researchers reviewed data from questionnaires given to 31,173 women from 1993 to 1997 to determine whether wives of these farmer pesticide applicators were at increased risk of retinal degeneration. This information was evaluation to determine associations of specific pesticides and groups of pesticides based on function (fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and fumigants) or chemical structure (organophosphates, organochlorines, and carbamates) with eye disorders.

Their findings suggest that exposure to some fungicides and other pesticides may increase the risk of retinal degeneration; specific fungicides that appeared to drive this association were maneb or mancozeb and ziram.

Study authors noted that although these findings for retinal degeneration are based solely on self-reported disease, they are consistent with those reported for farmer pesticide applicators.

Learn more about macular degeneration at the Natural Eye Care website

SOURCE: Retinal Degeneration and Other Eye Disorders in Wives of Farmer Pesticide Applicators Enrolled in the Agricultural Health Study, Kirrane, et al, American Journal of Epidemiology 2005 161(11):1020-1029; doi:10.1093/aje/kwi140

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Individuals can lower their pesticide exposure by almost 80% by avoiding the top twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables and eating the least contaminated instead.

Consumption of the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables will expose a person to about 10 pesticides per day, on average, compared with less than 2 pesticides per day in the least contaminated.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit organization, has published The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides, which ranks pesticide contamination for 47 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of 87,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted from 2000 to 2007 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

The twelve most contaminated, starting with the highest pesticide load:
1. peaches
2. apple
3. sweet bell pepper
4. celery
5. nectarine
6. strawberries
7. cherries
8. kale
9. lettuce
10. grapes – imported
11. carrot
12. pear

The twelve least contaminated, starting with the lowest pesticide load:
1. onion
2. avocado
3. sweet corn – frozen
4. pineapple
5. mango
6. asparagus
7. sweet pea – frozen
8. kiwi
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. papaya
12. watermelon

The EWG used six measures of contamination, and crops were ranked based on a composite score from all categories. These measures were:

• Percent of the samples tested with detectable pesticides
• Percent of the samples with two or more pesticides
• Average number of pesticides found on a sample
• Average amount (level in parts per million) of all pesticides found
• Maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample
• Number of pesticides found on the commodity in total

Pesticides have adverse effects on the nervous system and hormones. They have been shown to have carcinogenic effects, and to cause skin, eye and lung irritation. The Guide does not present a complex assessment of pesticide risks, but instead simply reflects the overall load of pesticides found on commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

How can you avoid consumption of pesticides? Choose to purchase produce low in pesticides and buy organically-raised fruits and vegetables as frequently as possible.

SOURCE: Environmental Working Group, Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides,
http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php

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