Robyn O'Brien--

Headlines are enough to make any mother quake.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, autism rates have doubled. Research published this morning in the journal Pediatrics reveals that in the U.S. in 2007 about 1 in 91 children ages 3 to 17 were somewhere on the autism spectrum. That’s more than any previous survey has found.

The new study then goes on to cite earlier research showing that the life-time medical cost of dealing with Austim Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is $1.6 million; other research cited says ASD-related costs borne by the health-care system rose 142 percent from 2000 to 2004.

While industry funded ‘experts’ may suggest that this study is based on subjective data, industry funded ‘experts’ also suggest that a bowl of Cocoa Krispies is a SMART CHOICE for our children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there has been a 265% increase in the rate of hospitalizations related to food allergic reactions, 1 in 2 minority children and 1 in 3 Caucasian children born in the year 2000 (this year’s fourth graders) are expected to be insulin dependent by the time they reach adulthood.

Today, health care spending represents 17% of our GDP, but perhaps it is time that we view our children as more than just a sales channel for Big Pharma’s money making medicine.

The unhealthy truth is that today 1 in 3 American children now has autism, allergies, ADHD or asthma.

In 1946, Harry Truman said, “A nation is only as healthy as its children.”

Shouldn’t we stop playing Russian Roulette with ours?

According to the New York Times, Robyn O’Brien is “Food’s Erin Brockovich.” Robyn is the founder of AllergyKids, an organization designed to protect the 1 in 3 American children with autism, allergies, ADHD and asthma. Robyn has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and CNN highlighting the role that chemicals in our food supply are having on our health. O'Brien is the author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It (Random House/ May 2009) and it exposes the role that money plays in our federal food policy.  Born and raised in Texas, Robyn earned a Fulbright Fellowship, an MBA and served as an equity analyst on a multibillion dollar fund prior to moving to Boulder, Colorado with her husband and four children. Additional resources, articles and information are available at www.robynobrien.com and www.allergykids.com

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