October 21, 2019
By John Yang
After a public health crisis in Flint, Michigan, (click here) triggered by high levels of lead in the drinking water, a number of programs are working to encourage good nutrition for children in order to prevent recurring effects of the neurotoxin on growing bodies. John Yang reports....
...John Yang:
A professional chef leads a cooking class for kids in a kitchen at the farmers market in Flint, Michigan.
They're not just learning how to make pot pies, tacos and baked cheese sticks. They're learning healthy eating with foods that doctors say help limit the amount of lead their growing bodies absorb, milk, dried fruits and green leafy vegetables
It's called Flint Kids Cook, and it's one of a number of programs that started or expanded after the city's public health crisis, which was triggered by high levels of lead in the drinking water.
...
Pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha, who was among the first to sound the alarm about lead in the water, explains that the metal is stored in bones and can reenter the circulatory system.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha:
In periods of, for example, poor nutrition in the future or stress or pregnancy, it can come back out of your bones into your bloodstream and cause that neurotoxicity all over again.
John Yang:
But research, she says, shows that certain nutrients decrease lead absorption: iron, found in lean meat, spinach and beans, vitamin C in tomatoes, citrus fruit and peppers, and calcium in milk, cheese and yogurt.
Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha:
That's why nutrition is like a forever medicine. Children need to always have great nutrition to limit the ongoing kind of potential exposure from lead release....
...John Yang:
Nikki Bormann works at Steady Eddy's Veggies in the market and has seen the effects.
Nikki Bormann:
There's a lot of kids that come up. Their parents will bring them in and, like, actually let them pick out fruits and veggies for themselves.
So that's pretty cool, instead of parents coming in like, well, maybe my kid will eat this, or maybe my kid will eat that, we will try this today....
