Our Children and Our World
Question
You put great emphasis on the connection between the health of our children and the health of the environment. How do you think the environment will influence children's health? And what can we do to improve the environment and to influence children's health positively?
Dr. Greene's Answer
Illnesses arise from interplay between our genes and the environment. When you look at all the conditions on the rise in kids – problems such as asthma, ADD, high blood pressure, childhood cancers, diabetes – you can’t blame our genes. These conditions have increased so rapidly in the last 30 years that we know the environment is the problem, which means that the environment also holds the answers.
As I say in “Raising Baby Green,” we are the environment. There is no separation. If a chemical exists “out there,” we should assume it’s “in here” – in our homes and in our bodies. We know there are harmful chemicals in our environment, but, as parents, we can create new healthy habits to reduce our families’ exposure to risky elements.
Alan Greene MD
Our goal is to improve children's health by inspiring parents to become knowledgable partners who can work with their children's physicians in new and rich ways.