7 Nasty and Crazy Effects of Pesticides in Food, Exposure

7 Nasty and Crazy Effects of Pesticides in Food, Exposure







Lisa Garber
Activist Post

When asked by a skeptical friend why you buy organic, do you find
yourself tongue-tied? Was it obesity? Or thyroid problems? Why should
you buy organic? There are numerous reasons to skip the mainstream
supermarket food and shop at an organic grocer, but just one of those
reasons revolves around the effects of pesticides.

Unfortunately, pesticides attack your body on several fronts. Keep this
list handy the next time you find yourself wondering if you should buy a
carton of conventional strawberries rather than organic to potentially
save a few pennies. Remember that all of the following conditions will
cost you much more than money; the effects of pesticides will cost you
your health.

Here are 7 nasty and crazy effects of pesticides.

Cancer

The dreaded diagnosis of cancer has been linked in over 260 studies
worldwide to agrochemicals. Worse, scientists have linked pesticides
with several types of cancers, including that of the breast, prostate,
brain, bone, thyroid, colon, liver, lung, and more. Some researchers
from USC found that
“those who lived within 500 meters of places where methyl bromide,
captan and eight other organochlorine pesticides had been applied, they
found, were more likely to have developed prostate cancer.”

But even indirect exposure, such as through parental use, has been found
to affect children in a terrible way. A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives has linked parental use of pesticides with an increased risk of brain cancer in children.
“Parental exposures may act before the child’s conception, during
gestation, or after birth to increase the risk of cancer,” the study
said. And when the parents are exposed to the pesticides may also play a
role in the different cellular changes that lead to cancer.

Obesity and Diabetes

Because pesticides have also been linked to obesity,
it’s logical that it would be connected to diabetes, in which obesity
often has a role. Some researchers found a higher prevalence of obesity
in the participants with high urinary concentrations of a pesticide
known as 2,5-dichlorophenol (2,5-DCP). It is important to note that
2,5-DCP is one of the most widely used pesticides on the globe.

Robert Sargis, MD, PhD, revealed his recent study findings at the
Endocrine Society’s 94th Annual Meeting, stating that agricultural
fungicide created insulin resistance in fat cells.

The journal Diabetes Care published in 2011 that people with
excess weight and high levels of organochlorine pesticides in their
bodies had greater risk of becoming diabetic.

Parkinson’s Disease

Long-term exposure to herbicides and pesticides have been associated in
over 60 studies with Parkinson’s. You don’t have to be a conventional
farmer to be wary of these findings. Use natural methods to keep pests
and weeds out of your home and garden today.

Infertility and Birth Defects

One of the most well-known negative effects of pesticides, infertility
is continuously found to be a result of exposure to these agrochemicals.
Atrazine—a weed killer used in agriculture as well as on golf courses
and which has been found in tap water—may be partially responsible for
climbing miscarriage and infertility rates. As for men, one 2006 study
pinpointed chlorpyrifos with lowering testosterone levels. This
pesticide is often found in strawberry fields and apple and peach
orchards.

Other researchers tested roundup on mature male rats at a concentration range between 1 and 10,000 parts per million (ppm), and found that within 1 to 48 hours of exposure, testicular cells of the mature rats were either damaged or killed.

Avoid pesticides even if you’re already pregnant. These chemicals are responsible for causing various birth defects, too. A report revealed that the top selling herbicide Roundup disrupts male hormones due to the main active ingredient – glyphosate.

Autism

Admittedly, pesticides aren’t solely to blame for autism, but they may
be a hefty part of the equation. Leading scientists are attributing the
condition to genes and insecticides exposed to the mother while pregnant
as well as to the child in early years.

This is because many chemicals affect the neurology of bugs, inadvertently affecting the neurological function of children, too.

A 2010 Harvard study blames organophosphate pesticides—found in children’s urine—to ADHD.

What is the best way to to avoid pesticide exposure and pesticides in food? Don’t use pesticides, and buy organic. Organic isn’t always easy or cheap, so keep in mind these updated dirty dozen
fruits and vegetables to always buy organic (plus 15 cleaner foods you
can afford to buy conventional). NASA has also suggested raising air purifying plants indoors to clear your home of indoor air pollution. Remember to remove pesticides from your home, too.


Source:-
http://www.activistpost.com/2012/10/7-nasty-and-crazy-effects-of-pesticides.html