To Your Health
April, 2020 (Vol. 14, Issue 04) |
|
|
Toxic to Your Child's IQ
By Editorial Staff
IQ stands for intelligence quotient; essentially, it's a measure of intelligence based on a series of tests that generate a total point value. An IQ between 90 and 109 is considered "average," while 160-175 is considered "extraordinary genius." Once you get below an IQ of about 80, the risk of experiencing challenges with independent living increases.
Obviously many other variables come into play when evaluating how intelligent / functional your child is, but many people rely on IQ, so let's rely on it, too, and consider some of the things you may unknowingly be doing to
lower your child's IQ in a really bad way. Two simple ones: exposing them to flame retardants and pesticides.
Research published in Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology suggests exposure to flame retardants and pesticides accounted for the bulk of the more than 1 million cases of "intellectual disability" in the U.S. between 2001 and 2016, despite increasingly tight regulations. Those regulations actually reduced total IQ point loss over the study period – something the parents of the 1 million-plus children with "intellectual disability" likely don't care about one bit.
While IQ point loss may have decreased during the study period, exposure to flame retardants and pesticides actually increased significantly, as did the costs associated with the health consequences. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – flame retardants, such as those commonly found in plastics, paints, furniture padding, curtains, automobiles, and countless other products – were the most significant contributors to intellectual disability.
