Eating healthy is one of the cornerstones to leading a healthy lifestyle. You are what you eat and making healthy dietary choices gives our bodies the proper fuel it needs to function at its optimum. Staying away from processed foods and eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables is a good start that many people begin with. Often when trying to eat healthy you will also choose to eat organic fruits and vegetables to avoid unnecessary exposure to pesticides and the chemicals used to grow conventional produce. All are smart choices to get on the path of living a healthier lifestyle. But what if simply living near farms that use pesticides on their crops could be affecting your and your future children’s health even if you aren’t eating them?
This study looked to determine if living near farms, and other areas such as golf courses and parks, that used several common pesticides increased the risk of children developing autism. Nearly 1,000 women were included in the study and the location of their home in relation to areas using pesticides was tracked through their pregnancy to determine their possible exposure to these pesticides. The women lived in California, the top agricultural producing state in the US, which requires reporting of how much and what kind of pesticides are used, so this data along with where they lived before and while they were pregnant was able to be determined.
The study goes into detail about types of pesticides used and exposure during the different trimesters of pregnancy and even documents exposure prior to conception. The key points are, about one third of the mothers in the study lived within one mile of an area using pesticides and the results showed that the children born to these mothers had a 60% increased risk for developing autism if they were living near the farms during any stage of their pregnancy. For some of the pesticides autism risk was increased even if the exposure was before conception. The study also included children diagnosed with developmental delays. These would be children who had delays in communication skills, self care or delays in their motor skills. Children of mothers exposed to pesticides during pregnancy had with an increased risk of having these developmental delays by 150%.
Many animal and cell studies have shown how pesticides can disrupt the chemicals that control how our nervous system and brain work so the results of this study make sense. Our nervous system is the first system to develop. It is a very sensitive time and any disruption to proper formation can have lifelong effects. That’s why exposure to pesticides even before pregnancy can have effects as the pesticides may reside in our bodies for some time. Continued exposure during this important developmental time can be devastating. This study was looking specifically at autism but it is important to note that any exposure to pesticides is the detrimental to the nervous system. Nothing happens in your body without direct communication from your nervous system so the effects of pesticide exposure can be wide reaching and affecting people of all ages.
Now, this study looked at exposure to pesticides from just living within one mile of fields that had been sprayed with pesticides and showed a significant increase in developmental disorders. Do you still want to eat the fruits and vegetables that were sprayed and put pesticides directly in your body?

By Dr Scott Szela