Transcript
Speaker: We'll start this video with a quote from one paper that I cite in my book. In a colossal toxicological experiment carried out over the last few decades, there has been the unprecedented production and release of tens of thousands of chemical agents into the environment without sufficient consideration for human safety and without credible testing to secure the absence of danger or harm. Tens of thousands of chemicals.
Speaker: probably over 100 ,000 at this point. So babies and young children are the most vulnerable to these toxins for several reasons. First of all, their detoxification capacities are still not fully developed. In babies, the protective blood -brain barrier is not fully formed until about six months of age. Children's behavior, so crawling on the ground, putting things into their mouth, this puts them at a higher risk for ingesting harmful substances.
Speaker: and relatively speaking, children consume more food and water per unit of body weight than adults. So basically, lower exposures can have a stronger effect because if I take a milligram of mercury and I'm 80 kilograms and a child that's 20 kilograms takes that same milligram of mercury through the diet, let's say,
Speaker: Relatively speaking, it's a much larger burden on that body than on an adult. That's just a very basic example. Now, in the case of autistic children, further problems can actually be present. So we know that a lot of autistic children have impaired detoxification capacities. So this increases their vulnerability to these toxins.
Speaker: Some of them have increased oxidative stress and increased leaky gut that can further exacerbate the problem. Disrupted gut microbiota, as we know the research has shown that autistic children often have. This can also exacerbate the problem. Also depleted glutathione and other antioxidants are common. Again, they can make it worse.
Speaker: And in some cases they even have increased exposure to toxins. And some children also have genetic factors that can predispose them to increased vulnerability to toxic chemicals and metals.
