What legacy are we leaving our children?

Posted by Dr. Laura Ruby on Aug 10, 2013 in Children's Nutrition | 0 comments

Did you know that this generation of children are predicted to be the first generation to be outlived by their parents?

Every time I read this I get chills!  How can this be true?  What legacy are we leaving our children?  It is time for us to stand up and unite….for our children’s sake!

Why are our children getting sicker?

The facts that I am going to share with you about the rising rate of chronic illness in our children is not only startling, but appalling. 

How is it that we live in a country with the most advanced medical technology in the world, yet our children are getting sicker?

One has to wonder if this childhood epidemic of chronic illness is related to some sort of genetic abnormality ? an aggressive virus or bacterial infection?  While these are all factors that may impact our children’s health, they are not the primary cause.  There is no medical mystery here.  The simple fact is that our children’s health is being impacted by the foods they eat and the toxic environment they live in. Let me share a few of the facts with you. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

• Childhood obesity has more than tripled over the last 30 years
• One out of every 400 children & adolescence have diabetes.  Even more alarming is the dramatic increase in type 2 diabetes in children
• 9.1% of children have asthma & many more with allergies
• 17 million diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD)
• (CDC) has announced that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. are now diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder
• Vaccines: impact natural immunity, linked to increases in autism, ADD, allergies, etc. The US has twice as many vaccines as Sweden and Japan, and twice as high an infant mortality rate
• #2 killer of children ages 5-14 is Cancer
• Sean Palfrey, MD-professor of Clinical Pediatrics & Public Health at Boston University: “80,000 chemicals produced in the United States…We can eat them or drink, breathe them and absorb them through the skin. They harm the blood cells related to Leukemia or brain cells and show up years later.”
• Childhood Leukemia has sky-rocketed

We need to speak up for our children’s sake!

I am blessed with four amazing children, ages 10 – 23 years. My youngest and most challenging eater pictured above!   I understand how difficult it is to get your kids to eat healthy, especially when they are surrounded with high sugar, processed fast foods.  How do we protect our children from the toxic environment?  Stay tuned for my next few posts to see how you can make a difference in a child’s life.