Obesity, Diabetes and Autism: Our Children are What We Eat and How Much We Exercise
According to a study involving 2,734 children, 102 with autism, children have over a three times increased risk of autism, particularly with intellectual disability, if the mother had obesity and prepregnancy or pregnancy diabetes, (Mengying Li, Daniele Fallin, Anne Riley, Rebecca Landa, Sheila O. Walker, Michael Silverstein, Deanna Caruso, et. al., "The Association of Maternal Obesity and Diabetes With Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities," Pediatrics 137, no. 2 (January 2016): doi:10.1542/peds.2015-2016). According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2015-2016, the prevalence of obesity was 39.8% in the US.
Our government subsidizes the corn industry to make cheap sugar, known as corn syrup, as well as the meat, dairy and fast food industries, which is destroying our health. Marketing food to children and supplying unhealthy food and drinks at school compounds the problem. Many schools have eliminated recess although children need physical activity. Schools need to focus on lifetime sports such as running and cycling. There is controversy over bike lanes even though exercise promotes health, including among other conditions, decreasing obesity and diabetes. We need to be funding health care and education, not health destruction.
FDA Says Chemical Linked to Autism and ADHD is "Safe"
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics, cans, thermal papers such as receipts. Pregnant women as well as children become exposed to this chemical. February this year, an FDA press release and the FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb of the FDA himself called this chemical safe. In fact, Dr. Gottlieb tweeted, "#FDA continues to conclude BPA is safe for its currently authorized uses."
In a study of 98 children, 46 of them with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and 52 controls, urine samples showed BPA metabolite concentrations about three times greater with the ASD group compared to controls and the "% bound BPA was" about "15 times higher with ASD," (T. Peter Stein, Margaret D. Schluter, Robert A. Steer, Lining Guo and Xue Ming, "Bisphenol A Exposure in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders," Autism Research 8, no. 3 (January 2015): doi:10.1022/aur.1444).
Another study linking ADHD and BPA was discussed in my book and involved 460 children. This study showed that boys and girls with BPA concentrations at or above the median were 11 and 2.8 times respectively to have an ADHD diagnosis, (Shruti Tewar, Peggy Auinger, Joseph M. Braun, Bruce Lanphear, Kinberly Yolton, Jeffery M. Epstein, Shelley Ehrlich, et. al, "Association of Bisphenol A Exposure and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in a National Sample of U.S. Children," Environmental Research 150 (October 2016): 112-118, doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.040).
Before becoming FDA commissioner, "[b]etween 2013 and 2015, Gottlieb received consulting fees and speaking honoraria amounting to more than $400,000 from drug and device companies according to the federal OpenPayments database," (Judith Garber and Shannon Brown Lee, "Gottlieb as FDA Commissioner Would be music to Pharma's Ears," Stat, April 4, 2017). According to this article at that time, he was "a partner at New Enterprise Associates, a global venture capital firm that invests in technology and health care."
While the FDA has advocated to ban my brother's two second skin shock treatment, the FDA is allowing us to consume toxic chemicals that are linking to neurodevelopmental disorders. When children develop these disorders, parents often need significant funds and to educate themselves to obtain effective treatment.
The FDA needs to be protecting the public not private industries!
Lack of Dental Care and Pain Management for People with Special Needs
One week ago, I started to have some tooth pain, it did not start out to be a major problem, but I spent Sunday at the dentist's office, and he thought I might need a root canal, drilled a little so my teeth wouldn't bite too hard, but had a wait and see approach. I went to work the next day and the pain started to increase. At 4PM, it suddenly became unbearable, and I was on the phone frantically trying to find an endodontist. I was so relieved to find someone who could see me later that day, I never asked if he took my plan or what he charged. Just charge whatever you like! I was able to work the next day, but then the pain became worse. The next few days, I was on antibiotics, up during the night, pacing and tugging at my hair, pain killers not doing much. During this time, the endodontist almost every day rechecked and reassured me that the pain would go away, and it did- well worth the over two thousand dollars I spent.
Now, let's discuss people with special needs who are on Medicaid and have dental problems, are in terrible pain, and need treatment under general anesthesia, because they don't have the cognitive skills to cooperate with treatment while awake. They wait for months for an appointment because most doctors do not accept Medicaid as the Medicaid paperwork and the low reimbursement rates discourage private doctors from accepting Medicaid, even though many of those same doctors will participate on private insurance networks. Furthermore, because Medicaid has to be renewed annually, sometimes the Medicaid office does not process the paperwork in a timely fashion, these individuals go without insurance. In addition, it is optional for states to cover dental care for adults on Medicaid. These individuals who cannot access care have more aggression and self-injury to cope with their never ending pain, prompting more psychotropic medication use, in addition to putting their families and their direct care staff at risk.
For all the controversy surrounding my brother Matthew and others receiving a two second skin shock, no one is talking about the lack of health care and pain management for individuals with special needs with serious health conditions. I guarantee you, I would have gladly received multiple two second skin shocks (a treatment I tried myself) over what I have been through the past week! I can't imagine what it must be like to be in such severe pain, not knowing if will ever go away, with a never ending wait for treatment.
Electronic devices, Insomnia, Medical and Psychiatric Illness
Lack of sleep contributes to a host of medical and psychiatric illnesses, such as obesity, diabetes, mood disorders and ADHD. Blue light from electronic devices may suppress melatonin and interfere with sleep. According to one study, "Ari Shechter, Elijah Wookhyun Kim, Marie-Pierre St-Onge, and Andrew Westwood, "Blocking Nocturnal Blue Light for Insomnia: A Randomized Controlled Trial," Journal of Psychiatric Research 96, (January 2018): 196-202, doi:10.1016/j/psychires.2017.10.015), blocking blue light with amber glasses two hours before sleep, subjective total sleep time, overall quality and soundness of sleep improved, and improved sleep in individuals with insomnia.