Is there a link from Autism, ADHD and other

 development and learning disabilities to

Genetically Modified Foods?

At Brain Works, we are concerned about the correlation that has been found between diet and autism, ADHD and other developmental and learning disabilities.

I recently read an article about a possible link between genetically modified foods (GMO’s ) and autism that gave me pause.

GMO seeds have altered gene, so that the growing plant can withstand Round-up, a weed killer, so that it can be used in fields with no danger to the crops.

These crops come into our grocery stores as cereal, corn syrup, corn and soy cooking oils, tofu, chips and other products. Livestock that are fed corn make it into our stomachs as meat products. In the US, there are no requirements to label GMO foods.

The following information is from the web article, “Worse than DDT: When You Eat This, it Ends Up Lingering in Your Gut” posted by Dr. Mercola January 15, 2012. (http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/15/dr-don-huber-interview-part-2.aspx?e_cid=20120115_SNL_Art_1)

“The major danger of genetically engineered foods may be related to the increased use of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup). Glyphosate is the most common weed killer in the US and just happens to be more toxic than DDT.”

“When applied to crops, glyphosate becomes systemic throughout the plant, so it cannot be washed off. And once you eat this crop, the glyphosate ends up in your gut where it can decimate your beneficial bacteria. This can wreak havoc with your health as 80 percent of your immune system resides in your gut and is dependent on a healthy ratio of good and bad bacteria.”

Dr. Huber (former Purdue professor of plant pathology, soil microbiology and micro-ecological interactions) recently spent some time in Australia, where he had the opportunity to review an ongoing study into genetically engineered foods.

“It’s a continuation of a study that was conducted in Iowa with pigs and cattle. The [Australians] are doing it with mice so that they can define what the toxins are… They’re using these one or two-pound, big, white rats that some people call pet rats… You can reach in to the non-GMO-fed rat cage and pull one out. Put it on your lap and it can be patted just like a cat.

But try and reach in to the cage where the rats are being fed the genetically engineered feed. Here they have limited it to one rat per cage. The rats are irritated. They don’t get along together. They always go off into their own little world. They do back flips. They crawl up and run around the cage. They can’t get any peace; can’t settle down. That is very typical of what you’d see with autism. Then you start looking and say, “Well, are there any other similarities?”

Dr. Huber also recently met with a doctor in Germany who specializes in working with autistic children. Interestingly, there appear to be many correlations between the rats fed genetically modified feed and autistic children.

“When you look at the stomachs of the GMO-fed animals, they have all of the severe allergy responses, the inflammation and the reddening… When they looked at the intestine, they said that the intestinal lining is deteriorating… The smell of the intestinal contents is very rank. The biology has been drastically changed, the German doctor said, “That’s exactly what we’re seeing with our children with autism.”

I hope you find this information helpful as we work together to prevent autism, ADHD and other physical and learning disabilities. As we increase our knowledge about the impact of genetically altered foods, we can use it to take one more step toward protecting our families.