Top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than lead

[andesuma]

The mainstream media is amusingly irrational when it comes to reporting scare stories. The latest example involves the lead content of Mattel toys made in China. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a third recall of Mattel toys involving over 700,000 toys containing unacceptably high levels of lead paint (over .06 percent lead). Irrational parents are rushing back to retailers in droves, turning in their Mattel toys to "save their children" from the dangers of lead paint. Mattel, for its part, is being rightly blasted in the media for selling shoddy products made with toxic heavy metals.

 

But here's the interesting part in all this: Parents directly poison their children every day with products far more dangerous than Mattel toys. Don't believe me? I'll name twenty things in this article that are far more dangerous to children than Mattel toys. It doesn't mean Mattel toys are safe, of course. They apparently do contain unacceptably high levels of lead, and there's no question about the toxicity of lead. But children don't eat toys nearly as often as they eat some other toxic substances given to them by their parents, and even as parents are herding back into retailers to refund their toxic lead-laden toys, they're returning home and poisoning their children with many other products that are far worse.

 

The press, of course, reports nothing about these other toxic products. And why? Because they're made in America.

 

 

American products poisoning American children

American products, you see, are often given blanket immunity by the U.S. press. While the media is happy to jump on toxic lead found in Chinese products, they completely ignore (for example) the toxic mercury that dentists continue to place into the mouths of young children all across the country. Why is it considered highly dangerous for a child to merely touch a toy with .06 percent lead paint while it is considered perfectly safe for a child to chew on a filling made with 40 percent mercury? Mercury is far more toxic than lead in many ways, yet the media has nothing to say about the mass poisoning of children through the outmoded dental work still being performed on children today. Mercury fillings were invented before the Civil War, and they're just as toxic now as they were then!

 

Of course, if dental fillings were made in China, the U.S. press would be screaming about their toxicity! But since they're installed by crazed U.S. dentists -- many of whom still manage to seem convincingly sane -- there's zero coverage in the mainstream media.

 

Reporting the truth about dangerous chemicals, heavy metals and other threats to children is extremely selective. The public never hears the real truth about what's dangerous -- they only hear what the media want them to think is dangerous!

 

But I've had it with popular media distortions. Here, I'm going to reveal the top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than the lead paint in Mattel toys. Interestingly, most of these are things that parents intentionally give their children (or feed to them!). If you're worried about lead paint, you should be far more worried about these 20 things...

 

 

The top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than lead paint in Mattel toys

 

1. Mercury fillings

Often called "silver fillings" to hide the fact that they're made from mercury, these highly toxic fillings are placed directly into the mouths of children where they are inhaled (mercury vapor) and swallowed, causing systemic mercury poisoning to the child and leading to long-term neurological damage. Visit www.IAOMT.org and watch the "Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas" video to learn more.

 

2. Vaccines

Think vaccines are safe? You've been hoodwinked by the popular media parroting drug company propaganda. Vaccines are preserved with methyl mercury, one of the most dangerous chemical forms of the toxic heavy metal. This mercury is injected directly into the bodies of children where it causes severe neurological damage. And yes, it does cause Autism, despite what you've read in the dumbed-down press. Only a fool would inject their child with mercury-preserved vaccines.

 

3. Hot dogs

Hot dogs are made with horrifying processed meat parts (click here to see shocking photos of processed meat products, then preserved with a cancer-causing ingredient called sodium nitrite. As detailed in my book Grocery Warning, this ingredient causes brain tumors in children, not to mention leukemia, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and other cancers. Hot dogs are far more dangerous to a child's health than lead paint in my opinion, and yet parents keep feeding them to their children!

 

4. Antibacterial soap

How about a little nerve toxin in your soap? That's what's found in antibacterial soap. It's a toxic cocktail of chemicals designed to kill life. That's how it kills bacteria. The problem is that it also harms people -- especially infants and children who are trying to develop healthy nervous systems. Avoid all products claiming to be "antibacterial." You're better off using natural soap (like Dr. Bronner's soap, www.DrBronner.com ) and letting your child's immune system fight off common bacteria. The world isn't sterile, after all. You can't turn your house into a germ-free bubble.

 

5. ADHD drugs

Would you give your child street drugs like speed or meth? Probably not, but what if your doctor wrote you a prescription for speed and said your child needed it because he was ADHD? If you're like most parents, you'd fall in step and start giving your child speed. But wait, you say: ADHD drugs are not speed, are they? But of course they are. They belong to a class of drugs called amphetamines. They used to be illegally sold as speed. Now they're prescription drugs, and they're given to children in schools all across America (and elsewhere). Psychiatrists and drug companies are making a killing dosing up kids and infants on substances that used to be considered illegal street drugs (and that have no legitimate medical use whatsoever).

 

6. Sports drinks

For some reason, parents irrationally believe sports drinks are healthy because they contain the word "sports." Didn't they notice the neon green artificial coloring? Sports drinks are, in my opinion, a nutritional joke. Made from salt water, processed sweeteners and petrochemical coloring, many of their ingredients are actually harmful. Drinking water would be smarter, and feeding your child some healthy trace minerals would be even better. Low on potassium? Eat a banana.

 

7. Cough syrup and over-the-counter medicines

Nearly all children's over-the-counter medicines contain multiple toxic substances such as chemical sweeteners, preservatives and additives. Cough syrup, in particular, has been scientifically proven to be absolutely worthless in preventing coughs. Many "children's" medicines are actually more toxic than their adult counterparts because they're sweetened up and cosmetically enhanced with artificial colors made from petrochemicals. Yet parents poison their children every day with over-the-counter medicine.

 

8. Sunscreen

The sunscreen industry is a huge scam. Most popular sunscreen products actually cause skin cancer due to the numerous toxic chemicals they contain (which are quickly absorbed into the skin where they cause DNA mutations that lead to cancer). Even worse, sunscreen blocks the UV radiation that allows the skin to manufacture all-important vitamin D -- the most powerful anti-cancer nutrient yet known to modern science. It prevents over a dozen different cancers, yet parents block it by slathering toxic sunscreen on their children, all while mistakenly believing they're "protecting their children from cancer!" What a scam.

 

9. Fluoride in the water

I've always found it amazing that city water officials were dumb enough to actually buy a toxic waste substance and arrange to have it dripped into the public water supply where it would be ingested by infants and children. The result? Mass fluorosis and toxicity to children everywhere. Didn't these people realize that fluoride only works topically? (That is, it only works if you rub it on your teeth, then spit it out, and even that only works if you're using natural fluoride, not the chemicals spit out as byproducts of the fertilizer industry, which is what city water departments are buying and dripping into the water supply.) Click here to see my CounterThink cartoon on this topic.

 

Whoever heard of drinking a topical medication in the first place? It's like swallowing sunscreen to prevent sunburn. Even worse, putting this into the public water supply effectively mass medicates everyone with a bioactive chemical substance that no one has been given a prescription for. This is all done with no regard for the level of natural fluoride children might already be ingesting from other sources. The situation is so crazy that it's difficult to find a more insane example of medical tyranny than the mass fluoridation of public water supplies. The fact that doctors and dentists so vehemently support it demonstrates just how crazy they really are.

 

10. Processed milk

Children as young as 10 years old are now being diagnosed with heart disease and clogged arteries. Ever wonder how it happened? It's due in part, I believe, to all the processed milk children are swallowing these days. Not only is the milk contaminated with pus, blood and detectable levels of pesticides and other chemicals, it's also homogenized, meaning the fats are artificially modified in a way that makes them stay in suspension. This homogenization also makes milk fats dangerous to cardiovascular health. While I support the consumption of raw, unprocessed milk, I think that consuming processed, homogenized milk is dangerous to the health of infants, children and adults alike!

 

11. Fast food

Fast food is extremely unhealthy for children. Not only are the foods often fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and otherwise altered, they're also laced with chemical additives, taste enhancers, processed sugars, petrochemical food coloring and other unhealthy substances. Strangely, many parents actually reward their children for good behavior by buying them unhealthy fast food meals, thereby creating a psychological association between good feelings and junk food. (Fast food restaurants further exploit this psychological link by building playgrounds and running feel-good advertisements that emphasize friends and fun, then link those good vibes to their food products.)

 

12. Antidepressant drugs

Children as young as six months old are now being put on psychotropic drugs such as SSRIs (antidepressants). These drugs, we now know, cause suicidal thoughts and violent behavior, especially in young boys. They imbalance brain chemistry and even alter the body's metabolism of sugar, promoting diabetes and leading to rapid weight gain. These drugs are so dangerous that feeding them to children should be considered a crime. Every single school shooting involving a child in the United States in the last 15 years has been linked to antidepressant drug use. Need I say more?

 

13. Chemical laundry detergents

Parents are shown fancy ads on television depicting how wonderful and clean their clothes will be if they wash them in brand-name laundry detergent. What they're not shown, however, is the toxicity of all the synthetic chemicals that go into most laundry detergent products. The fragrance chemicals alone are often carcinogenic, and they're just as bad for the environment as they are children's health. A new alternative has appeared, however: Soap berries! It's laundry soap that grows on trees. We offer it at www.BetterLifeGoods.com

 

14. Flame retardant chemicals

Did you know that new mattresses for infants and children are often sprayed with extremely toxic flame retardant chemicals? These are easily absorbed through the skin of infants and children where they contribute to numerous neurological disorders and immune suppression. Many clothing products are also sprayed with flame retardants, as are some carpeting products. In the push to make everything fireproof, state regulators (who have mandated the flame retardant chemicals in states like California) have created a toxic environment for everyone. I suppose if you're a politician, it's always better for a million people to die of a mysterious disease that can't be linked to you than to have one baby burning up on the evening news with fingers of blame pointed directly at you.

 

15. Soda

Aside from directly promoting diabetes and obesity, sodas also contain high amounts of phosphoric acid, a substance that dissolves bones and causes a loss of bone mineral density. This causes massive tooth decay as well as a shrinking jaw bone and overall skeletal fragility. Diet sodas are even worse, since they contain chemical sweeteners linked to neurological disorders and learning disabilities.

 

16. Air fresheners

Air fresheners contain cancer-causing chemicals. Unleashing them in the house exposes children to these chemicals, promoting asthma and other respiratory problems. If you value the health of your children, avoid air freshener products and just use essential oils or citrus peels instead. (Peel an orange and hang the peel in your kitchen.)

 

17. Synthetic vitamins

Many children's vitamins are made with cheap, synthetic "vitamin" chemicals that actually harm people who take them. Plus, many are loaded up with artificial colors, sucrose and chemical sweeteners. Avoid cheap, store-bought children's vitamins or anything containing cyanocobalamin (a toxic form of vitamin B12). Quality children's vitamins are available through sources like Nordic Naturals (fish oils) and www.IntegratedHealth.com (also check www.WellnessResources.com for high-quality supplements).

 

18. Dryer sheets

Most popular dryer sheets and fabric softeners are made with toxic synthetic chemicals that are not safe to use on children's clothing. The fragrance chemicals alone are often highly carcinogenic, and the other chemicals contribute additional toxicity to the clothing. Children's clothes should never be washed or dried in chemicals. Only use natural detergents and fabric softeners, or avoid the fabric softeners altogether.

 

19. Bacon

Most bacon and sausage are processed meat products made with sodium nitrite (like the hot dogs, above) and contaminated with various chemicals lodged in the animal fats. Conventionally-raised beef, pork and chicken products are, in my opinion, extremely toxic to the human body and contribute to colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and many other diseases and disorders. If you make meat for your children, shop for 100% organic, free-range, antibiotic-free meats that have no nitrites or nitrates.

 

20. Shampoo and bath products

Virtually all popular shampoo and bath products sold on the market contain cancer-causing chemicals. The ingredients read like a top-40 list of toxic chemicals. Virtually none of these chemicals have ever been tested or approved for use on humans (they are simply ignored because the FDA astonishingly believes the skin won't absorb chemicals). If you want healthy products, use the shampoo I recommend: Pure Essentials Fragrance-Free Shampoo from Earth Science (www.TheNewES.com)

 

 

Keeping your health priorities straight

So that's the list of 20 items that are more dangerous to the health of children than the lead paint in Mattel toys. Most parents have no concern whatsoever for any of these 20 things, but they're going ape-shoot-crazy over the tiny amounts of lead in their Barbie toys and Elmo stuffed animals. It all just goes to show you that the sheeple will think anything the mainstream media tells them to think (and they'll ignore everything else).

 

It's classic American contradiction: Returning a Mattel toy at the local toy store while taking your child to a dentist to have mercury implanted in the cavities caused by all the soda the kid consumed at home (because the parents keep buying Coke and Pepsi). If it all weren't so downright tragic, it would almost be funny.

 

Almost.

 

 

 

 

 

 

pass this onto all the parents you know.

thankyou.

 

 

 

 

If you don't believe that 6 month old kids are being put on drugs, or

children as young as 10 are being diagnosed with bad hearts.

Listen to this....

 

My mother is an RN Nurse Supervisor(aka. runs an entire hospital).

Last night she told me about a 4 year old girl that came into the ER

complaining of an infection, and she had a form of a severe cold, etc.

They did some testing, blood tests etc.

 

They found out, she is diabetic.

(they are even going to call it Juvenile onset Diabetes too...)

They diagnosed her with DIABETES!!!

AT 4!

 

 

 

wow.

 

We need to take care of each other.

We need to take care of our health.

[tommybricks]

What about bullies?

[suz]

Awesome post, andesuma!

[Odidnetne]

I can't begin to say how glad I am that sports drinks are on that list. I honestly run into people who believe that Gatorade is *THE ONLY* source of electrolytes in food out there.

[Zack]

I can't begin to say how glad I am that sports drinks are on that list. I honestly run into people who believe that Gatorade is *THE ONLY* source of electrolytes in food out there.

 

[the Asocial Ape]

lawn darts.

[the Asocial Ape]

i have a question -

my grandmother was from the deep south, and so had her share of folk remedies.

 

reading #7 about cough syrup got me thinking. when i was a little kid, her cough medicine for me was a big big spoonful (like 2 or 3 Tbs) of a mixture of honey, lemon juice, and whiskey. is that better than the OTC commercial medicines?

[Zack]

 

reading #7 about cough syrup got me thinking. when i was a little kid, her cough medicine for me was a big big spoonful (like 2 or 3 Tbs) of a mixture of honey, lemon juice, and whiskey. is that better than the OTC commercial medicines?

 

Yes. Did it work?

[the Asocial Ape]

 

Yes. Did it work?

 

it did, but also i remember thinking the whiskey was horrible. of course that changed as i got older. heh.

[Octopussoir]

Where did all this come from? I emailed a bunch of people and some want to know the source.

[crashnburn]

i have a question -

my grandmother was from the deep south, and so had her share of folk remedies.

 

reading #7 about cough syrup got me thinking. when i was a little kid, her cough medicine for me was a big big spoonful (like 2 or 3 Tbs) of a mixture of honey, lemon juice, and whiskey. is that better than the OTC commercial medicines?

 

Ginger - Honey - Lemon have been part of indian cooking & home remedies for ages. Stuff from Bad throat / Cough to Appetite to Bad stomach

[the Asocial Ape]

Ginger - Honey - Lemon have been part of indian cooking & home remedies for ages. Stuff from Bad throat / Cough to Appetite to Bad stomach

 

my wife drinks ginger and lemon tea when her stomach is upset. it works well.

[Matt]

Great post, andesuma.

[Aaron]

I emailed a bunch of people and some want to know the source.

 

I'm interested in that too...

[Dr. Pink]

lawn darts.

 

hahaha. That reminded me of a game me and my brother used to play. Dart Ball. And it wasn't lawn darts either. But real dangerous pointy darts. I'd have my brother throw the darts at me while I attempted to swing at it with a wooden bat to try and make it tick to it. I'm lucky I never was hurt playing Dart Ball. That goes to show you. KIDS ARE DUMB!!!! ( OR maybe it's just me.)

[Troy]

Bump.... great thread!

[Marcina]

This is a great thread.

I'm gonna pass it on the all the moms I know who have young kids. It's sick that corporations put this shit in eveything. I disagree about the vaccines though. Kids who already have autism (thought very slight) become full blown autistic when exposed to the vaccine, but a majority of kids are fine on it. It's either have some kids get autism, or let measles, meningitis, hepatitis, etc. which are FATAL and contagious, run rampant among the young population.

Still, they should find a way to preserve vaccines with less toxic substances.

I wanna give this to my sister but I honestly don't think she'll care since she smoking through her whole pregnancy ><

[Troy]

I wanna give this to my sister but I honestly don't think she'll care since she smoking through her whole pregnancy ><

 

[beforewisdom]

When I was in college I did a term paper on lead poisoning. Lead paint causes permanent brain and other neurological damage. Small children are particularly vulnerable. Lead paint also flakes easily and is tasty to small kids who actually go through a stage of putting things in their mouths.

 

I'm sorry, but hot dogs, sports drinks and some of the other things you listed are no where near as dangerous as lead paint.

 

I could feed a toddler a hot dog with a sports drink every day for 1 year and that toddler will not get brain damage. I can't say the same thing for small flakes of lead paint.

[plc3]

When I was in college I did a term paper on lead poisoning. Lead paint causes permanent brain and other neurological damage. Small children are particularly vulnerable. Lead paint also flakes easily and is tasty to small kids who actually go through a stage of putting things in their mouths.

 

I'm sorry, but hot dogs, sports drinks and some of the other things you listed are no where near as dangerous as lead paint.

 

I could feed a toddler a hot dog with a sports drink every day for 1 year and that toddler will not get brain damage. I can't say the same thing for small flakes of lead paint

 

What I got out of the original article was that it is ironic that we panic about the possibility of lead in our children's toys (which may get into their bodies) but we eagerly feed them other 'poisons'. I totally agree with the gist of this article.

 

I see what you are saying too. It's a matter of degree of toxicity and dose. What dose of nitrates does it take to cause brain damage....? You also have to take into account the synergistic effects of multiple 'poisons' and, on the flip side, what effect a great diet/life style has with the occasional 'lips & a$$hole' dog.

 

Oh, and not every child who gets lead poisoned has brain damage. I had lead poisoning as a child, and I am not brain damaged (sometimes I wonder though ) Lead paint is a tasty treat - I used our window sills as a teething tool!

[Wobbly Lifter]

This is the stupidest thing I have ever read. Sorry to be rude but I feel it has to be said. Saying lead is less dangerous then anything on that list is promoting dangerous mis-information.

[Troy]

This is the stupidest thing I have ever read. Sorry to be rude but I feel it has to be said. Saying lead is less dangerous then anything on that list is promoting dangerous mis-information.

 

What I got out of the original article was that it is ironic that we panic about the possibility of lead in our children's toys (which may get into their bodies) but we eagerly feed them other 'poisons'. I totally agree with the gist of this article.

[Wobbly Lifter]

This is the stupidest thing I have ever read. Sorry to be rude but I feel it has to be said. Saying lead is less dangerous then anything on that list is promoting dangerous mis-information.

 

What I got out of the original article was that it is ironic that we panic about the possibility of lead in our children's toys (which may get into their bodies) but we eagerly feed them other 'poisons'. I totally agree with the gist of this article.

 

What are you trying to say? It's ironic that parents protect their kids from lead but not from medicine?

[plc3]

A right back at you WL......

 

Of course parents should protect their children from known dangers, including diseases that require vaccination. The panic over one danger while ignoring other potential dangers is what I find ironic.

 

I didn't refer specifically to medicine vs lead. And I didn't say lead was less dangerous than anything on that list, although I wonder about the vaccine preservative. But since I don't have children yet, I didn't think too deeply about the things mentoned in the article. I won't have to deal with it personally anytime soon so all I can do is try to get my friends and family with children to think a little bit more about what they allow their children to consume.

 

One thing that did bother me about the article was that it mentions that methyl mercury is the preservative used in vaccines, when it fact it is thimerisol. Both are organic mercury compounds but they are different compounds. A more reputable source would have gotten that right.

[beforewisdom]

You are extremely lucky that you only had a mild case of lead poisoning as a child. Mild cases of lead poisoning are rare.

 

No insult intended to you or andesumma, but I think the both of you are spreading a wrong and dangerous impression with your opinion.