Keep Your Kids the Hell Away From Pesticides—They Could Cause Brain Cancer

Okay, I'm not trying to freak everyone out here?but if you've got kids, or have one on the way, it's time to stop using toxic pesticides in lawn and garden care. Studies are finding with increasing frequency that children who develop brain cancer were often either exposed to pesticides while very young, or their mother was while pregnant.

These are the findings revealed in a new study examined in a recent article from Environmental Health News, and its looking pretty serious. While nothing is conclusive yet, it's probably better to stay on the safe side and keep away from pesticides.

Brain cancer is the second most common cancer to develop in children, and pesticides could very well play a tragic role:

. . . children who live in homes where their parents use pesticides are twice as likely to develop brain cancer versus those that live in residences in which no pesticides are used. Herbicide use appeared to cause a particularly elevated risk for a certain type of cancer.

The study detailed focused on parents who used pesticides in their lawn and garden care. To me, that's reason enough to do away with residential pesticide use altogether—protecting a garden or front lawn from pests just isn't worth the risk. Plus, there are alternatives to pesticides: try using praying mantises as an alternative to pesticides, or making your own nontoxic, organic pesticide from vegetables.

And if, for whatever reason, you must persist in using pesticides, at least wash up properly afterwards:

The risk of childhood brain cancer was significantly lower for fathers who washed immediately after the pesticide exposure or wore protective clothing versus those who never or only sometimes took precautions.

But it's better to ditch the toxic stuff altogether.