>Perhaps it's also worth pointing out that if a child loses 8-10 IQ points
>due to lead exposure, everyone is alarmed, and rightly so. Why then do we
>not worry if a child loses "only" 8-10 IQ points because they were not
>breastfed?

Science News ran an article last year on the seriousness of low-level lead
exposure:

"Since early lead toxicity can permanently impair the brain's 'hard wiring,'
even subtle poisoning can have lifelong impacts, notes Joel Schwartz, of the
Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

"Years ago, Schwartz conducted a risk-benefit analysis of lead's impact on
IQ and economic productivity.  The result, he says, has become a standard
research reference.  'It showed that if you lower the mean IQ of the US
population by one point, you lower the productivity of the economy by about
1 percent' Schwartz says.  'That's a lot,' he adds."
--
Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC, LLLL  Ithaca, NY
www.wiessinger.baka.com

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