Have you noticed that there seems to be a greater number of children with special needs than in earlier years? A few years ago, we had quite a large number with a ratio of maybe two or three in a class of 25; now, classes seem to have equal numbers of children with autism and other challenges. The numbers are astronomically greater in the United States than in any other country. Why is that? Why are the children bearing the sins of the fathers and mothers?

One of the major contributors is diet. Expectant parents are not eating properly and children are being fed dead foods laced with additives and other chemicals. Even something as seemingly innocuous as chewing gum contains aspartame and sucralose, two known neurotoxins. Sodas, fruit juices, candy, cereals and other foods are laced with dyes like Blue#1 and #2, Red dye #3 and #40, and Yellow #6 and Yellow Tartrazine that are shown, through animal studies to cause cancer and chromosomal damage.

Improper Hydration is another problem. Too often, I hear people saying that they do not like water. Instead of filling up with this life liquid, people are drinking everything but water. These substitutes are filled with sugar, high fructose corn syrup (it deserves its own mention) and caffeine. These actually cause the body more harm, harming the brain and organs. Caffeine is a diuretic, pulling water from little bodies that are already dehydrated, constipated, and manifesting joint pain and headaches.

A third contributor is insufficient movement. Even physical education in schools is not as it used to be. Now, students spend more time receiving lectures or taking paper tests than actually exercising. Once out of school for the day, children are not encouraged to go outside and play. Even when they go outside, they spend more time on their electronic devices than actually taking advantage of nature and freedom.

The fourth concern is over medication. Children are too easily medicated in the U.S. Rather than being a last resort, prescription drugs are, most times, the first line of defense. There is then the whole matter of side-effects, not to mention the strain that some of these drugs place on the liver and other organs.