As reported in the journal Pediatrics, a study of over 1,000 subjects in Montreal shows a positive correlation between increasing amounts of organophosphates and the increasing incidence of ADHD in children. Organophosphates are currently used in many products, including the manufacture of plastics. They are neurotoxins that hydrolyze and break down quickly, which made them an appealing alternative to insecticides such as DDT which were found to have an additive affect in living organisms. The mechanism of action of organophosphates and the history of the chemicals themselves are pretty disturbing, and are cause for concern.
Organophosphates (OPs) were observed to have an insecticidal usage by a German scientist, who proposed that they had a neurological effect on the insects. What first seemed an appealing chemical property turned into horror as the scientists developed sarin gas for the Nazis during the German Reich. British scientists were not far behind in developing a nerve gas of their own, VX, which was much more powerful than the feared sarin gas and its fellow G series weapons. After the war, chemists in the US began producing mass quantities of organophosphates such as malathion, which increased in popularity after organochlorates such as DDT were banned.
The mechanism of OPs as a nerve agent work by blocking acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme naturally found in the brain and necessary for insect as well as human neural cells to function properly. Neurons are excited by different aspects of brain chemistry, and AChE is needed for the neurons to return to a relaxed state. The inhibitory affects of OPs on this enzyme keeps insects from being able to move properly. This makes it very valuable to humans and is widely used in crop cultivation and to prevent diseases carried by insects such as West Nile Virus. Unfortunately, this study and others like it are showing trends in which it implicates OPs in having the same neurological effects in people who are exposed to elevated levels. This study supports earlier work in 1997 that targeted a specific organophosphate, produced by Dow, and its correlation to ADHD. Another study released earlier in 2010 correlates organophosphate exposure with Alzheimer’s disease.
In order to reduce exposure to organophosphates, thorough washing of produce is very important. While this removes surface contaminants, it does not remove the chemical altogether. Many such additives can be absorbed into the plant through the roots, a hitchhiker with water and nutrients that plants need to grow. The only way to drastically reduce exposure of OPs in your diet is to buy organic produce; preferably from local farmers who can tell you exactly what types of chemicals were used.
***If you liked this article, stay tuned for my next piece on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), specifically Round Up Ready (RR) soybeans, and how they are impacting how we eat and live.***
