A new Pediatrics study shows that there is a link between the pesticides found in kid friendly foods like berries and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study substantiated the long held fact that children who live and work on farms and are around pesticides have a higher risk of neurological problems. Scientists from both Harvard and the University of Montreal conducted this study published in the journal of Pediatrics.  The pesticide in question is the man-made organophosphate.

This pesticide is commonly sprayed on fruit and vegetables to keep bugs off the crop. Organophosphate works by interrupting an insect’s life neurologically. The major question swirling around this pesticide has always been: if Organophosphate can do that to an insect can it interrupt a human’s life neurologically? Just to put the amount of Organophosphate found on commonly eaten foods into perspective there is 28% residue from it found on frozen blueberries and 25% on non-organic strawberries. Organophosphates are washed out of the human body rather quickly, but what these researchers found was that for every tenfold increase of the residue present in the patients urine there was a 55% increased risk for ADHD.

As many questions as the study answered it also posed new ones like: For young children whose neurological systems are rapidly developing can even a small amount the pesticide Organophosphate make the neurological system change? This also adds to the nature vs. nature debate, as there is now a cause and effect link between the food children are fed and their health. This also poses questions about what we are doing to the food chain. Humans created this pesticide, and introduced it into the environment and now it is potentially wreaking havoc on generations of unsuspecting children. This study may raise many questions for parents, like can’t we just wash the berries and other fruit? Washing does not rid the fruits or vegetables of all the Organophosphate present on them. What about eating organic?  That is the key especially with Organophosphate high foods like berries; however terms like ‘organic’ and ‘all natural’ have been watered down and sometimes are nothing more than buzzwords.

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