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Is It Possible For Me To Get Sleeping Pills? Will Doctors Finally Take Me Seriously Now That I’m 18 Y/o?

Pediatrics Question — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 22:22:28 +0000

On this upcoming wednesday I will be turning 18. Over the past, I don’t even know anymore, maybe 4 years, I’ve had a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep, but because of my age all doctors were unwilling to write me a prescription for some sort of sleeping pill. Now that I’m “officially” an adult and overnight my body gained the amazing ability to tolerate cigarettes and apparently most scripts, I was wondering if I even have a chance at getting one. My primary physician is still a pediatric one, assuming I still live close by I will go through them up until I am 21, I believe is the limit. Should I go to a different doctor? Will it increase my chances? What about insurance? Will my parents have to be contacted? So many questions…
(You can ignore the next paragraph if you don’t feel the need for me to justify my wanting to sleep, but for the rest of you>>>)
I know a lot of people will moan and groan and say ” Sleeping pills are bad for you! They have awful side affects and are habit forming, dangerous and” …blah blah blah. Yes, I have tried the alternatives. I’ve taken Valerian root, kava kava, tried relaxation methods, sleep schedules, sleep journals, you name it. The reason why this has started to affect me more now is that I started going back to school and after staying up until 6am each night and sleeping until about 2pm or so until work I now need to go to bed around 10pm and wake up at 6am. I’ve done this before in the summer by going to bed progressivly later over the period of five days or so during the summer and normally this happends a few times throughout the year when I used to homeschool, but now I’m going back to public school and that luxery is not available anymore. I have tried going to bed progressively EARLIER, but I can never do it. Not evn fifteen minutes earlier. Once I stay up more than an hour later than the night before that is my new “bedtime.” I will end up just laying there longer.
I promise to not become addicted or to sell my extras on the side Actually if this doesn’t work out I will be the one who has to do the buying, a friend of mine has offered, for a price of course, and if I get desperate, I feel no obligation of following the law if it means that I cannot function because I am sleep deprived and unable to graduate! But this will be a last resort because I’m so friggin poor. Any help? Suggestions? I just need them for a few weeks at most!

Has Anyone Heard Of Or Had To Deal With Malrotation?

Pediatrics Question — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:29:04 +0000

My daughter is 7 months old and has had tummy issues since birth. We just found out that she has what is called malrotation. This condition happens during developement and the intestines don’t go into place properly. I am taking her to see a pediatric surgeon as surgery is normally required for this and wanted to see if anyone has gone through and could give me some advice.
My daughter had an upper gi on Monday and the appointment with the surgeon is on Thursday. I am making a list of questions I have and also writing in a journal about everything my baby has gone through since birth.
Serious responses only please, I am not in a state to handle rude comments.

How Can The Cdc Say Flu Vaccine Containing Thimerosal Is “safe” If Research Shows That Ethylmercury Is Toxic?

Pediatrics Question — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:24:56 +0000

(I asked this question already and got a VERY rude answer TWICE. Yahoo has even pulled this question because people here are trying to eliminate these types of questions for some reason. If you disagree with something below and need to be rude about it please go to the politics category and answer another question!)
What research am I talking about? Here’s something from the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health (2007) available at the website for the Coalition For Mercury-free Drugs: http://mercury-freedrugs.org/docs/071130…
The CDC’s own Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry (ATSDR) says, “The nervous system is very sensitive to ALL FORMS [my emphasis] of mercury” (source: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html )
EPA guidelines for maximum daily allowable exposure to mercury and mercury compounds is given at .1 micrograms per kilogram body weight (source: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccine… ), but the flu vaccine containing Thimerosal gives a person much higher exposure than this (e.g., a 40 pound 5 year old girl would be getting 14 times the maximum “permissable” level after injection with the first two necessary doses).
How can so many news media sources along with the CDC and the World Health Organization encourage the public to believe that vaccines containing Thimerosal are simply “safe” (even for pregnant women!) in light of this kind of research? The people who argue that the above sources are somehow “invalid” refuse to believe that there are indicators that all research on the safety of ethyl mercury in vaccines is indeed mixed and NOT conclusive. Plus, if you’re ready to cite an epidemiological study that evaluated a large group of individuals, it doesn’t necessarily generalize to an individual case in which for some reason someone is more sensitive than most people to the dose of mercury you get when vaccinated. There hasn’t been a move by the FDA to remove Thimerosal from all pediatric vaccines for no reason!
Is it that the term “safe” is so vague it doesn’t really mean anything anymore?

My Journalism Teacher Is A *****- Should I Take Journalism Next Year?

Pediatrics Question — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:22:02 +0000

Here’s the story. I’m a sophomore, and I’m editor-in-chief of the newspaper. Journalism is a joint class with yearbook and newspaper being combined and printed with a staff of 10 for a school of 1,300. Any who, last Friday, my journalism teacher took me out into the hallway and was like “I’m removing you from editor because “you’re not objective and you don’t make good choices in choosing what goes in the newspaper, it sounds like you’re angry and it will cause an uproar in the schoool.” I was completely hurt, because I do the whole paper by myself, everyday I come home and design, and write the whole thing. Nobody else contributes, I asked people to sign up to write articles, but nobody ever paid any attention to me and so the paper was always my writing. She went on to say that I never interviewed people in my articles and that I wanted the newspaper for myself and such. I was like first of all, I interview at least two to three people per article. Secondly, the newspaper is a free forum for speech and I only took the job because I wanted the students to be able to speak their mind freely in print. So any who, she had the co-editor of the yearbook take control over the newspaper and I was left to design it. I was completely angry because she made writing articles worth grade points and so all my classmates (all seniors) turned in their work. I was like how come you couldn’t have done that when I was editor, because then this wouldn’t have happened. Any who, so today we were sitting in class and I was staying after class for about 2 hours and I was working all fine and stuff. And I was like sitting there saying how much I can’t stand this class because I’m always left to do everything while everyone leaves. And she was like “I’ve never been rude to you. Don’t you want the best for the paper”, I was like “yeah, of course” and she was like “or do you want it to be like one of your stories or you journal” and I was like, “that was never my intention” and she was like “are you trying to undermine my authority” and I was like “what are you talking about, I haven’t done anything.” So I just sat in silence and didn’t speak anymore. Don’t get me wrong I love that class, or at least I loved it until she fired me as editor on Friday. It was so much fun and really laid back and a good place to vent and stuff, I trusted her and stuff. But now, she’s all hostile and bitchy and she seems vindictive. I hope I can get through the rest of this year, but scheduling classes for next year is next week, do you think I should take journalism again next year? The seniors would be gone. Side note, I do not want to be a journalist, I plan on attending Cornell University to major in pre-med and become a cardiologist/neo-natal surgeon/pediatric surgeon… so journalism is not in my future.

Is This Article True?

Pediatrics Question — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:22:49 +0000

1) Less may mean more. For people who sleep under seven hours a night, the fewer zzzz’s they get, the more obese they tend to be, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. This may relate to the discovery that insufficient sleep appears to tip hunger hormones out of whack. Leptin, which suppresses appetite, is lowered; ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, gets a boost.
2) You’re more apt to make bad food choices. A study published this week in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that people with obstructive sleep apnea or other severely disordered breathing while asleep ate a diet higher in cholesterol, protein, total fat, and total saturated fat. Women were especially affected.
3) Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance, its precursor, may become more likely. A 2005 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people getting five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 2.5 times more likely to be diabetic, while those with six hours or fewer were 1.7 times more likely.
4) The ticker is put at risk. A 2003 study found that heart attacks were 45 percent more likely in women who slept for five or fewer hours per night than in those who got more.
5) Blood pressure may increase. Obstructive sleep apnea, for example, has been associated with chronically elevated daytime blood pressure, and the more severe the disorder, the more significant the hypertension, suggests the 2006 IOM report. Obesity plays a role in both disorders, so losing weight can ease associated health risks.
6) Auto accidents rise. As stated in a 2007 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly 20 percent of serious car crash injuries involve a sleepy driver—and that’s independent of alcohol use.
7) Balance is off. Older folks who have trouble getting to sleep, who wake up at night, or are drowsy during the day could be 2 to 4.5 times more likely to sustain a fall, found a 2007 study in the Journal of Gerontology.
You may be more prone to depression. Adults who chronically operate on fumes report more mental distress, depression, and alcohol use. Adolescents suffer, too: One survey of high school students found similarly high rates of these issues. Middle schoolers, too, report more symptoms of depression and lower self-esteem.
9) Kids may suffer more behavior problems. Research from an April issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine found that children who are plagued by insomnia, short duration of sleeping, or disordered breathing with obesity, for example, are more likely to have behavioral issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
10) Death’s doorstep may be nearer. Those who get five hours or less per night have approximately 15 percent greater risk of dying—regardless of the cause—according to three large population-based studies published in the journals Sleep and the Archives of General Psychiatry.

What Career Would Be Best For Me?

Pediatrics Question — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:23:21 +0000

I am an 18 year old high school senior, and I am having a hard time deciding what I want to go to college for. I love children and used to want to be a pediatric nurse but lately ive been thinking about childrens denist or orthodontist..along with being a teacher or a counselor…i know its wide variety of things but im not sure which one ill be happiest with. Like i said i love to be around children. i keep journals. i like to have fun while i work. i work good in groups but sometimes i would rather be on my own b/c i know i will get the job done. but i also have a problem with waiting till the last min. i am usually very organized when it comes to important stuff a little OCD..lol..i love to draw…and i am a very good listener..most of my friends come to me for advice and i love to help people. ive always loved keeping files and doing stuff like that for my mom im really good in math and well..i just dont know what i should do..its very frustrating..please help me!!

Urgent!!! I Need To Know Any Website That Has Journals Or Articles About Dentistry?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:40:16 +0000

Oral health, pediatric dentistry ESPECIALLY, dental caries and etc… I need it for my project works.. Thank you.

Shortcuts Are Killing America, You Need To Stop And Think. You Can Change Your Future.?

Pediatrics Question — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:29:38 +0000

Hi i’m Nila, im 15yrs old, and i weigh 102lbs.
contact me:
myspace.com/kneehighsock
This is a little summerization from an essay that i have started to write.
I would just like to say i am so passionate about this and i know for a fact that if you change your ways and live through a raw diet you can be healthier. I used to suffer from IBS until i came on this diet, now i am healthier than ever and feel so good, and it makes me so sad, to see other people suffering when i know they dont have to be. Please take 5 minutes to read this. Its a little rough but u get the idea.
————————————–…
Shortcuts are killing America. We don’t even know it. I’m not talking about the drive through at McDonalds or the car instead of the bike. I’m talking about how harmful toxins are being put into our food that studies show is killing us. Over the past 100 years, the average age of men and women has increased, yet now it has started to decrease. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a cause of cancer yet has very little awareness upon it. Raw milk gives you bad bacteria?? No. Raw milk is proven to kill bad bacteria in your stomach. The full-fat and skimmed milk etc. when fed to a baby cow will cause it to die.
200 years ago we did not have all the foods that we have today – we also didn’t have all the diseases and illnesses that we have today. These diseases that are killing us – cancer, autism, diabetes etc. Autism rates in the US increased from less than 3 per 10,000 children in the 1970s to over 30 per 10,000 children born in the 1990s. A recent report in pediatric medical journal stated that they couldn’t see any decrease in the amount of cases in flu in comparison between vaccinated and non-vaccinated. So why would you inject unnecessary harmful shots to your children? Every time you vaccinate your children, feed them un-healthy foods, you’re giving them a dose of disease for the future. There has been a substance added to vaccines for years that now have been found to be extremely toxic, and are so bad that they cause lab rats brains to shrivel. These are the vaccines that we are giving to our children. There are over 3,000 cases in which people are sewing drug companies because there children have developed signs of autism only 2 days after getting routine shots that every child is required to take. Children until the age of 5 will endure 30 shots in that time period.
The harms of not letting cows roam and eat naturally. Because they don’t eat naturally they get sick and are therefore fed medicine. They are then not allowed to roam freely – they are squashed together in small spaces strapped down. How does this affect their growth? They have to get fed hormone tablets to help them grow. Then this goes into out milk, bread, meat, and butter.
More and more people being injected with flu vaccine in America – in Britain only people over 70 years old would be vaccinated, but in the US alone everyone has to get vaccinated, only because the big drug companies are wanting to make more money, and more and more and more research is showing that these shots have a negative affect on us.
I wish that awareness could be raised towards these topics, because it really is one that I feel passionate about, and also feel great concern about. I think some people find it really hard to believe that all this stuff that we use commonly everyday could be the cause of many problems. And I also think that its going to be hard to get people to change. People are so used to this way of life, and its so bad. 500 years ago people weren’t obese, they were lean and healthy. I would just love if everyone would take a second and think because rates are increasing and evidence is being hidden, only because drug companies and food companies would lose so much money if we made this totally public.
.

Do You Think I Have A Decent Chance At Making It Into Ucla? Or A Uc School?

Pediatrics Question — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 06:33:03 +0000

Well, my overall non-weighted GPA is only 3.28 because, I don’t know why, but I never considered my grades until Junior year when I started getting 3.83’s. I’m applying for colleges in November and I do have 100% certain back up schools but I want to know what others think about getting into UCLA, my dream school.
I only took about 4 Honors classes because honestly? I was too lazy to apply for anything and even if I did think about doing it, I never actually did anything about it which only came back and bit me in the ***.
Well, as I’ve said, I have a non-weighted GPA of 3.28. My SAT Reasoning Test score is 1910. I got 610 on my Math 2c and I’m planning on re-taking it as well as U.S. History as my second subject test. I volunteered at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center under my uncle’s department, Pulmonary Neonatology, and am going to be published by the end of this year or by early next year in a recognized pediatric medical journal. My uncle, the Neonatology department head, has promised to write me a recommendation and copy and sign enough for every college I’m applying to as well as promising to do his best to get me into UCLA. On a scale of 1-10, what do you think my chances of getting into UCLA are? I’m not overly hopeful and I do realize that my GPA, lack of AP classes and the fact my SAT Subject Test isn’t particularly high will seriously bring me down.

Is It Good To Drink Milk? The Text Is Too Long But Worthwhile Read….?

Pediatrics Question — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:36:21 +0000

“MILK” Just the word itself sounds comforting! “How about a
nice cup of hot milk?” The last time you heard that question
it was from someone who cared for you–and you appreciated
their effort.
The entire matter of food and especially that of milk is
surrounded with emotional and cultural importance. Milk was
our very first food. If we were fortunate it was our
mother’s milk. A loving link, given and taken. It was the
only path to survival. If not mother’s milk it was cow’s
milk or soy milk “formula”–rarely it was goat, camel or
water buffalo milk.
Now, we are a nation of milk drinkers. Nearly all of us.
Infants, the young, adolescents, adults and even the aged.
We drink dozens or even several hundred gallons a year and
add to that many pounds of “dairy products” such as cheese,
butter, and yogurt.
Can there be anything wrong with this? We see reassuring
images of healthy, beautiful people on our television
screens and hear messages that assure us that, “Milk is good
for your body.” Our dieticians insist that: “You’ve got to
have milk, or where will you get your calcium?” School
lunches always include milk and nearly every hospital meal
will have milk added. And if that isn’t enough, our
nutritionists told us for years that dairy products make up
an “essential food group.” Industry spokesmen made sure that
colourful charts proclaiming the necessity of milk and other
essential nutrients were made available at no cost for
schools. Cow’s milk became “normal.”
You may be surprised to learn that most of the human beings
that live on planet Earth today do not drink or use cow’s
milk. Further, most of them can’t drink milk because it
makes them ill.
There are students of human nutrition who are not supportive
of milk use for adults. Here is a quotation from the
March/April 1991 Utne Reader:
If you really want to play it safe, you may decide to join
the growing number of Americans who are eliminating dairy
products from their diets altogether. Although this sounds
radical to those of us weaned on milk and the five basic
food groups, it is eminently viable. Indeed, of all the
mammals, only humans–and then only a minority, principally
Caucasians–continue to drink milk beyond babyhood.
Who is right? Why the confusion? Where best to get our
answers? Can we trust milk industry spokesmen? Can you trust
any industry spokesmen? Are nutritionists up to date or are
they simply repeating what their professors learned years
ago? What about the new voices urging caution?
I believe that there are three reliable sources of
information. The first, and probably the best, is a study of
nature. The second is to study the history of our own
species. Finally we need to look at the world’s scientific
literature on the subject of milk.
Let’s look at the scientific literature first. From 1988 to
1993 there were over 2,700 articles dealing with milk
recorded in the ‘Medicine’ archives. Fifteen hundred of
theses had milk as the main focus of the article. There is
no lack of scientific information on this subject. I
reviewed over 500 of the 1,500 articles, discarding articles
that dealt exclusively with animals, esoteric research and
inconclusive studies.
How would I summarize the articles? They were only slightly
less than horrifying. First of all, none of the authors
spoke of cow’s milk as an excellent food, free of side
effects and the ‘perfect food’ as we have been led to
believe by the industry. The main focus of the published
reports seems to be on intestinal colic, intestinal
irritation, intestinal bleeding, anemia, allergic reactions
in infants and children as well as infections such as
salmonella. More ominous is the fear of viral infection with
bovine leukemia virus or an AIDS-like virus as well as
concern for childhood diabetes. Contamination of milk by
blood and white (pus) cells as well as a variety of
chemicals and insecticides was also discussed. Among
children the problems were allergy, ear and tonsillar
infections, bedwetting, asthma, intestinal bleeding, colic
and childhood diabetes. In adults the problems seemed
centered more around heart disease and arthritis, allergy,
sinusitis, and the more serious questions of leukemia,
lymphoma and cancer.
I think that an answer can also be found in a consideration
of what occurs in nature & what happens with free living
mammals and what happens with human groups living in close
to a natural state as ‘hunter-gatherers’.
Our paleolithic ancestors are another crucial and
interesting group to study. Here we are limited to
speculation and indirect evidences, but the bony remains
available for our study are remarkable. There is no doubt
whatever that these skeletal remains reflect great strength,
muscularity (the size of the muscular insertions show this),
and total absence of advanced osteoporosis. And if you feel
that these people are not important for us to study,
consider that today our genes are programming our bodies in
almost exactly the same way as our ancestors of 50,000 to
100,000 years ago.
WHAT IS MILK?
Milk is a maternal lactating secretion, a short term
nutrient for new-borns. Nothing more, nothing less.
Invariably, the mother of any mammal will provide her milk
for a short period of time immediately after birth. When the
time comes for ‘weaning’, the young offspring is introduced
to the proper food for that species of mammal. A familiar
example is that of a puppy. The mother nurses the pup for
just a few weeks and then rejects the young animal and
teaches it to eat solid food. Nursing is provided by nature
only for the very youngest of mammals. Of course, it is not
possible for animals living in a natural state to continue
with the drinking of milk after weaning.
IS ALL MILK THE SAME?
Then there is the matter of where we get our milk. We have
settled on the cow because of its docile nature, its size,
and its abundant milk supply. Somehow this choice seems
‘normal’ and blessed by nature, our culture, and our
customs. But is it natural? Is it wise to drink the milk of
another species of mammal?
Consider for a moment, if it was possible, to drink the milk
of a mammal other than a cow, let’s say a rat. Or perhaps
the milk of a dog would be more to your liking. Possibly
some horse milk or cat milk. Do you get the idea? Well, I’m
not serious about this, except to suggest that human milk is
for human infants, dogs’ milk is for pups, cows’ milk is for
calves, cats’ milk is for kittens, and so forth. Clearly,
this is the way nature intends it. Just use your own good
judgement on this one.
Milk is not just milk. The milk of every species of mammal
is unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of
that animal. For example, cows’ milk is very much richer in
protein than human milk. Three to four times as much. It has
five to seven times the mineral content. However, it is
markedly deficient in essential fatty acids when compared to
human mothers’ milk. Mothers’ milk has six to ten times as
much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid.
(Incidentally, skimmed cow’s milk has no linoleic acid). It
simply is not designed for humans.
Food is not just food, and milk is not just milk. It is not
only the proper amount of food but the proper qualitative
composition that is critical for the very best in health and
growth. Biochemists and physiologists -and rarely medical
doctors – are gradually learning that foods contain the
crucial elements that allow a particular species to develop
its unique specializations.
Clearly, our specialization is for advanced neurological
development and delicate neuromuscular control. We do not
have much need of massive skeletal growth or huge muscle
groups as does a calf. Think of the difference between the
demands make on the human hand and the demands on a cow’s
hoof. Human new-borns specifically need critical material
for their brains, spinal cord and nerves.
Can mother’s milk increase intelligence? It seems that it
can. In a remarkable study published in Lancet during 1992
(Vol. 339, p. 261-4), a group of British workers randomly
placed premature infants into two groups. One group received
a proper formula, the other group received human breast
milk. Both fluids were given by stomach tube. These children
were followed up for over 10 years. In intelligence testing,
the human milk children averaged 10 IQ points higher! Well,
why not? Why wouldn’t the correct building blocks for the
rapidly maturing and growing brain have a positive effect?
In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1982) Ralph
Holman described an infant who developed profound
neurological disease while being nourished by intravenous
fluids only. The fluids used contained only linoleic acid -
just one of the essential fatty acids. When the other, alpha
linoleic acid, was added to the intravenous fluids the
neurological disorders cleared.
In the same journal five years later Bjerve, Mostad and
Thoresen, working in Norway found exactly the same problem
in adult patients on long term gastric tube feeding.
In 1930 Dr. G.O. Burr in Minnesota working with rats found
that linoleic acid deficiencies created a deficiency
syndrome. Why is this mentioned? In the early 1960s
pediatricians found skin lesions in children fed formulas
without the same linoleic acid. Remembering the research,
the addition of the acid to the formula cured the problem.
Essential fatty acids are just that and cows’ milk is
markedly deficient in these when compared to human milk.
WELL, AT LEAST COW’S MILK IS PURE
Or is it? Fifty years ago an average cow produced 2,000
pounds of milk per year. Today the top producers give 50,000
pounds! How was this accomplished? Drugs, antibiotics,
hormones, forced feeding plans and specialized breeding;
that’s how.
The latest high-tech onslaught on the poor cow is bovine
growth hormone or BGH. This genetically engineered drug is
supposed to stimulate milk production but, according to
Monsanto, the hormone’s manufacturer, does not affect the
milk or meat. There are three other manufacturers: Upjohn,
Eli Lilly, and American Cyanamid Company. Obviously, there
have been no long-term studies on the hormone’s effect on
the humans drinking the milk. Other countries have banned
BGH because of safety concerns. One of the problems with
adding molecules to a milk cows’ body is that the molecules
usually come out in the milk. I don’t know how you feel, but
I don’t want to experiment with the ingestion of a growth
hormone. A related problem is that it causes a marked
increase (50 to 70 per cent) in mastitis. This, then,
requires antibiotic therapy, and the residues of the
antibiotics appear in the milk. It seems that the public is
uneasy about this product and in one survey 43 per cent felt
that growth hormone treated milk represented a health risk.
A vice president for public policy at Monsanto was opposed
to labelling for that reason, and because the labelling
would create an ‘artificial distinction’. The country is
awash with milk as it is, we produce more milk than we can
consume. Let’s not create storage costs and further taxpayer
burdens, because the law requires the USDA to buy any
surplus of butter, cheese, or non-fat dry milk at a support
price set by Congress! In fiscal 1991, the USDA spent $757
million on surplus butter, and one billion dollars a year on
average for price supports during the 1980s (Consumer
Reports, May 1992: 330-32).
Any lactating mammal excretes toxins through her milk. This
includes antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals and hormones.
Also, all cows’ milk contains blood! The inspectors are
simply asked to keep it under certain limits. You may be
horrified to learn that the USDA allows milk to contain from
one to one and a half million white blood cells per
millilitre. (That’s only 1/30 of an ounce). If you don’t
already know this, I’m sorry to tell you that another way to
describe white cells where they don’t belong would be to
call them pus cells. To get to the point, is milk pure or is
it a chemical, biological, and bacterial cocktail? Finally,
will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) protect you? The
United States General Accounting Office (GAO) tells us that
the FDA and the individual States are failing to protect the
public from drug residues in milk. Authorities test for only
4 of the 82 drugs in dairy cows.
As you can imagine, the Milk Industry Foundation’s spokesman
claims it’s perfectly safe. Jerome Kozak says, “I still
think that milk is the safest product we have.”
Other, perhaps less biased observers, have found the
following: 38% of milk samples in 10 cities were
contaminated with sulfa drugs or other antibiotics. (This
from the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and The
Wall Street Journal, Dec. 29, 1989).. A similar study in
Washington, DC found a 20 percent contamination rate
(Nutrition Action Healthletter, April 1990).
What’s going on here? When the FDA tested milk, they found
few problems. However, they used very lax standards. When
they used the same criteria, the FDA data showed 51 percent
of the milk samples showed drug traces.
Let’s focus in on this because itÂ’s critical to our
understanding of the apparent discrepancies. The FDA uses a
disk-assay method that can detect only 2 of the 30 or so
drugs found in milk. Also, the test detects only at the
relatively high level. A more powerful test called the
‘Charm II test’ can detect drugs down to 5 parts per
billion.
One nasty subject must be discussed. It seems that cows are
forever getting infections around the udder that require
ointments and antibiotics. An article from France tells us
that when a cow receives penicillin, that penicillin appears
in the milk for from 4 to 7 milkings. Another study from the
University of Nevada, Reno tells of cells in ‘mastic milk’,
milk from cows with infected udders. An elaborate analysis
of the cell fragments, employing cell cultures, flow
cytometric analysis , and a great deal of high tech stuff.
Do you know what the conclusion was? If the cow has
mastitis, there is pus in the milk. Sorry, itÂ’s in the
study, all concealed with language such as “macrophages
containing many vacuoles and phagocytosed particles,” etc.
IT GETS WORSE
Well, at least human mothers’ milk is pure! Sorry. A huge
study showed that human breast milk in over 14,000 women had
contamination by pesticides! Further, it seems that the
sources of the pesticides are meat and–you guessed it–
dairy products. Well, why not? These pesticides are
concentrated in fat and that’s what’s in these products. (Of
interest, a subgroup of lactating vegetarian mothers had
only half the levels of contamination).
A recent report showed an increased concentration of
pesticides in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer
when compared to the tissue of women with fibrocystic
disease. Other articles in the standard medical literature
describe problems. Just scan these titles:
1.Cow’s Milk as a Cause of Infantile Colic Breast-Fed
Infants. Lancet 2 (1978): 437 2.Dietary Protein-Induced
Colitis in Breast- Fed Infants, J. Pediatr. I01 (1982): 906
3.The Question of the Elimination of Foreign Protein in
Women’s Milk, J. Immunology 19 (1930): 15
There are many others. There are dozens of studies
describing the prompt appearance of cows’ milk allergy in
children being exclusively breast-fed! The cows’ milk
allergens simply appear in the mother’s milk and are
transmitted to the infant.
A committee on nutrition of the American Academy of
Pediatrics reported on the use of whole cows’ milk in
infancy (Pediatrics 1983: 72-253). They were unable to
provide any cogent reason why bovine milk should be used
before the first birthday yet continued to recommend its
use! Doctor Frank Oski from the Upstate Medical Centre
Department of Pediatrics, commenting on the recommendation,
cited the problems of acute gastrointestinal blood loss in
infants, the lack of iron, recurrent abdominal pain, milk-
borne infections and contaminants, and said:
Why give it at all – then or ever? In the face of
uncertainty about many of the potential dangers of whole
bovine milk, it would seem prudent to recommend that whole
milk not be started until the answers are available. Isn’t
it time for these uncontrolled experiments on human
nutrition to come to an end?
In the same issue of Pediatrics he further commented:
It is my thesis that whole milk should not be fed to the
infant in the first year of life because of its association
with iron deficiency anemia (milk is so deficient in iron
that an infant would have to drink an impossible 31 quarts a
day to get the RDA of 15 mg), acute gastrointiestinal
bleeding, and various manifestations of food allergy.
I suggest that unmodified whole bovine milk should not be
consumed after infancy because of the problems of lactose
intolerance, its contribution to the genesis of
atherosclerosis, and its possible link to other diseases.
In late 1992 Dr. Benjamin Spock, possibly the best known
pediatrician in history, shocked the country when he
articulated the same thoughts and specified avoidance for
the first two years of life. Here is his quotation:
I want to pass on the word to parents that cows’ milk from
the carton has definite faults for some babies. Human milk
is the right one for babies. A study comparing the incidence
of allergy and colic in the breast-fed infants of omnivorous
and vegan mothers would be important. I haven’t found such a
study; it would be both important and inexpensive. And it
will probably never be done. There is simply no academic or
economic profit involved.
OTHER PROBLEMS
Let’s just mention the problems of bacterial contamination.
Salmonella, E. coli, and staphylococcal infections can be
traced to milk. In the old days tuberculosis was a major
problem and some folks want to go back to those times by
insisting on raw milk on the basis that it’s “natural.” This
is insanity! A study from UCLA showed that over a third of
all cases of salmonella infection in California, 1980-1983
were traced to raw milk. That’ll be a way to revive good old
brucellosis again and I would fear leukemia, too. (More
about that later). In England, and Wales where raw milk is
still consumed there have been outbreaks of milk-borne
diseases. The Journal of the American Medical Association
(251: 483, 1984) reported a multi-state series of infections
caused by Yersinia enterocolitica in pasteurised whole milk.
This is despite safety precautions.
All parents dread juvenile diabetes for their children. A
Canadian study reported in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, Mar. 1990, describes a “…significant positive
correlation between consumption of unfermented milk protein
and incidence of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in data
from various countries. Conversely a possible negative
relationship is observed between breast-feeding at age 3
months and diabetes risk.”.
Another study from Finland found that diabetic children had
higher levels of serum antibodies to cowsÂ’ milk (Diabetes
Research 7(3): 137-140 March 1988). Here is a quotation from
this study:
We infer that either the pattern of cows’ milk consumption
is altered in children who will have insulin dependent
diabetes mellitus or, their immunological reactivity to
proteins in cows’ milk is enhanced, or the permeability of
their intestines to cows’ milk protein is higher than
normal.
The April 18, 1992 British Medical Journal has a fascinating
study contrasting the difference in incidence of juvenile
insulin dependent diabetes in Pakistani children who have
migrated to England. The incidence is roughly 10 times
greater in the English group compared to children remaining
in Pakistan! What caused this highly significant increase?
The authors said that “the diet was unchanged in Great
Britain.” Do you believe that? Do you think that the
availability of milk, sugar and fat is the same in Pakistan
as it is in England? That a grocery store in England has the
same products as food sources in Pakistan? I don’t believe
that for a minute. Remember, we’re not talking here about
adult onset, type II diabetes which all workers agree is
strongly linked to diet as well as to a genetic
predisposition. This study is a major blow to the “it’s all
in your genes” crowd. Type I diabetes was always considered
to be genetic or possibly viral, but now this? So resistant
are we to consider diet as causation that the authors of the
last article concluded that the cooler climate in England
altered viruses and caused the very real increase in
diabetes! The first two authors had the same reluctance top
admit the obvious. The milk just may have had something to
do with the disease.
The latest in this remarkable list of reports, a New England
Journal of Medicine article (July 30, 1992), also reported
in the Los Angeles Times. This study comes from the Hospital
for Sick Children in Toronto and from Finnish researchers.
In Finland there is “…the world’s highest rate of dairy
product consumption and the world’s highest rate of insulin
dependent diabetes. The disease strikes about 40 children
out of every 1,000 there contrasted with six to eight per
1,000 in the United States…. Antibodies produced against
the milk protein during the first year of life, the
researchers speculate, also attack and destroy the pancreas
in a so-called auto-immune reaction, producing diabetes in
people whose genetic makeup leaves them vulnerable.” “…142
Finnish children with newly diagnosed diabetes. They found
that every one had at least eight times as many antibodies
against the milk protein as did healthy children, clear
evidence that the children had a raging auto immune
disorder.” The team has now expanded the study to 400
children and is starting a trial where 3,000 children will
receive no dairy products during the first nine months of
life. “The study may take 10 years, but we’ll get a
definitive answer one way or the other,” according to one of
the researchers. I would caution them to be certain that the
breast feeding mothers use on cows’ milk in their diets or
the results will be confounded by the transmission of the
cows’ milk protein in the mother’s breast milk…. Now what
was the reaction from the diabetes association? This is very
interesting! Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, the president of the
association says: “It does not mean that children should
stop drinking milk or that parents of diabetics should
withdraw dairy products. These are rich sources of good
protein.” (Emphasis added) My God, it’s the “good protein”
that causes the problem! Do you suspect that the dairy
industry may have helped the American Diabetes Association
in the past?
LEUKEMIA? LYMPHOMA? THIS MAY BE THE WORST–BRACE YOURSELF!
I hate to tell you this, but the bovine leukemia virus is
found in more than three of five dairy cows in the United
States! This involves about 80% of dairy herds.
Unfortunately, when the milk is pooled, a very large
percentage of all milk produced is contaminated (90 to 95
per cent). Of course the virus is killed in pasteurisation–
if the pasteurisation was done correctly. What if the milk
is raw? In a study of randomly collected raw milk samples
the bovine leukemia virus was recovered from two-thirds. I
sincerely hope that the raw milk dairy herds are carefully
monitored when compared to the regular herds. (Science 1981;
213:1014).
This is a world-wide problem. One lengthy study from Germany
deplored the problem and admitted the impossibility of
keeping the virus from infected cows’ milk from the rest of
the milk. Several European countries, including Germany and
Switzerland, have attempted to “cull” the infected cows from
their herds. Certainly the United States must be the leader
in the fight against leukemic dairy cows, right? Wrong! We
are the worst in the world with the former exception of
Venezuela according to Virgil Hulse MD, a milk specialist
who also has a B.S. in Dairy Manufacturing as well as a
Master’s degree in Public Health.
As mentioned, the leukemia virus is rendered inactive by
pasteurisation. Of course. However, there can be Chernobyl
like accidents. One of these occurred in the Chicago area in
April, 1985. At a modern, large, milk processing plant an
accidental “cross connection” between raw and pasteurized
milk occurred. A violent salmonella outbreak followed,
killing 4 and making an estimated 150,000 ill. Now the
question I would pose to the dairy industry people is this:
“How can you assure the people who drank this milk that they
were not exposed to the ingestion of raw, unkilled, bully
active bovine leukemia viruses?” Further, it would be
fascinating to know if a “cluster” of leukemia cases
blossoms in that area in 1 to 3 decades. There are reports
of “leukemia clusters” elsewhere, one of them mentioned in
the June 10, 1990 San Francisco Chronicle involving Northern
California.
What happens to other species of mammals when they are
exposed to the bovine leukemia virus? It’s a fair question
and the answer is not reassuring. Virtually all animals
exposed to the virus develop leukemia. This includes sheep,
goats, and even primates such as rhesus monkeys and
chimpanzees. The route of transmission includes ingestion
(both intravenous and intramuscular) and cells present in
milk. There are obviously no instances of transfer attempts
to human beings, but we know that the virus can infect human
cells in vitro. There is evidence of human antibody
formation to the bovine leukemia virus; this is disturbing.
How did the bovine leukemia virus particles gain access to
humans and become antigens? Was it as small, denatured
particles?
If the bovine leukemia viruses causes human leukemia, we
could expect the dairy states with known leukemic herds to
have a higher incidence of human leukemia. Is this so?
Unfortunately, it seems to be the case! Iowa, Nebraska,
South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin have statistically
higher incidence of leukemia than the national average. In
Russia and in Sweden, areas with uncontrolled bovine
leukemia virus have been linked with increases in human
leukemia. I am also told that veterinarians have higher
rates of leukemia than the general public. Dairy farmers
have significantly elevated leukemia rates. Recent research
shows lymphocytes from milk fed to neonatal mammals gains
access to bodily tissues by passing directly through the
intestinal wall.
An optimistic note from the University of Illinois, Ubana
from the Department of Animal Sciences shows the importance
of one’s perspective. Since they are concerned with the
economics of milk and not primarily the health aspects, they
noted that the production of milk was greater in the cows
with the bovine leukemia virus. However when the leukemia
produced a persistent and significant lymphocytosis
(increased white blood cell count), the production fell off.
They suggested “a need to re-evaluate the economic impact of
bovine leukemia virus infection on the dairy industry”. Does
this mean that leukemia is good for profits only if we can
keep it under control? You can get the details on this
business concern from Proc. Nat. Acad. Sciences, U.S. Feb.
1989. I added emphasis and am insulted that a university
department feels that this is an economic and not a human
health issue. Do not expect help from the Department of
Agriculture or the universities. The money stakes and the
political pressures are too great. You’re on you own.
What does this all mean? We know that virus is capable of
producing leukemia in other animals. Is it proven that it
can contribute to human leukemia (or lymphoma, a related
cancer)? Several articles tackle this one:
1.Epidemiologic Relationships of the Bovine Population and
Human Leukemia in Iowa. Am Journal of Epidemiology 112
(1980):80 2.Milk of Dairy Cows Frequently Contains a
Leukemogenic Virus. Science 213 (1981): 1014 3.Beware of the
Cow. (Editorial) Lancet 2 (1974):30 4.Is Bovine Milk A
Health Hazard?. Pediatrics; Suppl. Feeding the Normal
Infant. 75:182-186; 1985
In Norway, 1422 individuals were followed for 11 and a half
years. Those drinking 2 or more glasses of milk per day had
3.5 times the incidence of cancer of the lymphatic organs.
British Med. Journal 61:456-9, March 1990.
One of the more thoughtful articles on this subject is from
Allan S. Cunningham of Cooperstown, New York. Writing in the
Lancet, November 27, 1976 (page 1184), his article is
entitled, “Lymphomas and Animal-Protein Consumption”. Many
people think of milk as Â“liquid meatÂ” and Dr. Cunningham
agrees with this. He tracked the beef and dairy consumption
in terms of grams per day for a one year period, 1955-1956.,
in 15 countries . New Zealand, United States and Canada were
highest in that order. The lowest was Japan followed by
Yugoslavia and France. The difference between the highest
and lowest was quite pronounced: 43.8 grams/day for New
Zealanders versus 1.5 for Japan. Nearly a 30-fold
difference! (Parenthetically, the last 36 years have seen a
startling increase in the amount of beef and milk used in
Japan and their disease patterns are reflecting this,
confirming the lack of ‘genetic protection’ seen in
migration studies. Formerly the increase in frequency of
lymphomas in Japanese people was only in those who moved to
the USA)!
An interesting bit of trivia is to note the memorial built
at the Gyokusenji Temple in Shimoda, Japan. This marked the
spot where the first cow was killed in Japan for human
consumption! The chains around this memorial were a gift
from the US Navy. Where do you suppose the Japanese got the
idea to eat beef? The year? 1930.
Cunningham found a highly significant positive correlation
between deaths from lymphomas and beef and dairy ingestion
in the 15 countries analysed. A few quotations from his
article follow:
The average intake of protein in many countries is far in
excess of the recommended requirements. Excessive
consumption of animal protein may be one co-factor in the
causation of lymphomas by acting in the following manner.
Ingestion of certain proteins results in the adsorption of
antigenic fragments through the gastrointestinal mucous
membrane.
This results in chronic stimulation of lymphoid tissue to
which these fragments gain access “Chronic immunological
stimulation causes lymphomas in laboratory animals and is
believed to cause lymphoid cancers in men.” The
gastrointestinal mucous membrane is only a partial barrier
to the absorption of food antigens, and circulating
antibodies to food protein is commonplace especially potent
lymphoid stimulants. Ingestion of cows’ milk can produce
generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and
profound adenoid hypertrophy. It has been conservatively
estimated that more than 100 distinct antigens are released
by the normal digestion of cows’ milk which evoke production
of all antibody classes [This may explain why pasteurized,
killed viruses are still antigenic and can still cause
disease.
Here’s more. A large prospective study from Norway was
reported in the British Journal of Cancer 61 (3):456-9,
March 1990. (Almost 16,000 individuals were followed for 11
and a half years). For most cancers there was no association
between the tumour and milk ingestion. However, in lymphoma,
there was a strong positive association. If one drank two
glasses or more daily (or the equivalent in dairy products),
the odds were 3.4 times greater than in persons drinking
less than one glass of developing a lymphoma.
There are two other cow-related diseases that you should be
aware of. At this time they are not known to be spread by
the use of dairy products and are not known to involve man.
The first is bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and the
second is the bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV). The first
of these diseases, we hope, is confined to England and
causes cavities in the animal’s brain. Sheep have long been
known to suffer from a disease called scrapie. It seems to
have been started by the feeding of contaminated sheep
parts, especially brains, to the British cows. Now, use your
good sense. Do cows seem like carnivores? Should they eat
meat? This profit-motivated practice backfired and bovine
spongiform encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease, swept
Britain. The disease literally causes dementia in the
unfortunate animal and is 100 per cent incurable. To date,
over 100,000 cows have been incinerated in England in
keeping with British law. Four hundred to 500 cows are
reported as infected each month. The British public is
concerned and has dropped its beef consumption by 25 per
cent, while some 2,000 schools have stopped serving beef to
children. Several farmers have developed a fatal disease
syndrome that resembles both BSE and CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob-
Disease). But the British Veterinary Association says that
transmission of BSE to humans is “remote.”
The USDA agrees that the British epidemic was due to the
feeding of cattle with bonemeal or animal protein produced
at rendering plants from the carcasses of scrapie-infected
sheep. The have prohibited the importation of live cattle
and zoo ruminants from Great Britain and claim that the
disease does not exist in the United States. However, there
may be a problem. “Downer cows” are animals who arrive at
auction yards or slaughter houses dead, trampled, lacerated,
dehydrated, or too ill from viral or bacterial diseases to
walk. Thus they are “down.” If they cannot respond to
electrical shocks by walking, they are dragged by chains to
dumpsters and transported to rendering plants where, if they
are not already dead, they are killed. Even a “humane” death
is usually denied them. They are then turned into protein
food for animals as well as other preparations. Minks that
have been fed this protein have developed a fatal
encephalopathy that has some resemblance to BSE. Entire
colonies of minks have been lost in this manner,
particularly in Wisconsin. It is feared that the infective
agent is a prion or slow virus possible obtained from the
ill “downer cows.”
The British Medical Journal in an editorial whimsically
entitled “How Now Mad Cow?” (BMJ vol. 304, 11 Apr. 1992:929-
30) describes cases of BSE in species not previously known
to be affected, such as cats. They admit that produce
contaminated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy entered
the human food chain in England between 1986 and 1989. They
say. “The result of this experiment is awaited.” As the
incubation period can be up to three decades, wait we must.
The immunodeficency virus is seen in cattle in the United
States and is more worrisome. Its structure is closely
related to that of the human AIDS virus. At this time we do
not know if exposure to the raw BIV proteins can cause the
sera of humans to become positive for HIV. The extent of the
virus among American herds is said to be “widespread”. (The
USDA refuses to inspect the meat and milk to see if
antibodies to this retrovirus is present). It also has no
plans to quarantine the infected animals. As in the case of
humans with AIDS, there is no cure for BIV in cows. Each day
we consume beef and diary products from cows infected with
these viruses and no scientific assurance exists that the
products are safe. Eating raw beef (as in steak Tartare)
strikes me as being very risky, especially after the Seattle
E. coli deaths of 1993.
A report in the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research,
October 1992, Vol. 56 pp.353-359 and another from the
Russian literature, tell of a horrifying development. They
report the first detection in human serum of the antibody to
a bovine immunodeficiency virus protein. In addition to this
disturbing report, is another from Russia telling us of the
presence of virus proteins related to the bovine leukemia
virus in 5 of 89 women with breast disease (Acta Virologica
Feb. 1990 34(1): 19-26). The implications of these
developments are unknown at present. However, it is safe to
assume that these animal viruses are unlikely to “stay” in
the animal kingdom.
OTHER CANCERS–DOES IT GET WORSE?
Unfortunately it does. Ovarian cancer–a particularly nasty
tumour–was associated with milk consumption by workers at
Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York.
Drinking more than one glass of whole milk or equivalent
daily gave a woman a 3.1 times risk over non-milk users.
They felt that the reduced fat milk products helped reduce
the risk. This association has been made repeatedly by
numerous investigators.
Another important study, this from the Harvard Medical
School, analyzed data from 27 countries mainly from the
1970s. Again a significant positive correlation is revealed
between ovarian cancer and per capita milk consumption.
These investigators feel that the lactose component of milk
is the responsible fraction, and the digestion of this is
facilitated by the persistence of the ability to digest the
lactose (lactose persistence) – a little different emphasis,
but the same conclusion. This study was reported in the
American Journal of Epidemiology 130 (5): 904-10 Nov. 1989.
These articles come from two of the country’s leading
institutions, not the Rodale Press or Prevention Magazine.
Even lung cancer has been associated with milk ingestion?
The beverage habits of 569 lung cancer patients and 569
controls again at Roswell Park were studied in the
International Journal of Cancer, April 15, 1989. Persons
drinking whole milk 3 or more times daily had a 2-fold
increase in lung cancer risk when compared to those never
drinking whole milk.
For many years we have been watching the lung cancer rates
for Japanese men who smoke far more than American or
European men but who develop fewer lung cancers. Workers in
this research area feel that the total fat intake is the
difference.
There are not many reports studying an association between
milk ingestion and prostate cancer. One such report though
was of great interest. This is from the Roswell Park
Memorial Institute and is found in Cancer 64 (3): 605-12,
1989. They analyzed the diets of 371 prostate cancer
patients and comparable control subjects:
Men who reported drinking three or more glasses of whole
milk daily had a relative risk of 2.49 compared with men who
reported never drinking whole milk the weight of the
evidence appears to favour the hypothesis that animal fat is
related to increased risk of prostate cancer. Prostate
cancer is now the most common cancer diagnosed in US men and
is the second leading cause of cancer mortality.
WELL, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Is there any health reason at all for an adult human to
drink cows’ milk?
It’s hard for me to come up with even one good reason other
than simple preference. But if you try hard, in my opinion,
these would be the best two: milk is a source of calcium and
it’s a source of amino acids (proteins).
Let’s look at the calcium first. Why are we concerned at all
about calcium? Obviously, we intend it to build strong bones
and protect us against osteoporosis. And no doubt about it,
milk is loaded with calcium. But is it a good calcium source
for humans? I think not. These are the reasons. Excessive
amounts of dairy products actually interfere with calcium
absorption. Secondly, the excess of protein that the milk
provides is a major cause of the osteoporosis problem. Dr. H
egsted in England has been writing for years about the
geographical distribution of osteoporosis. It seems that the
countries with the highest intake of dairy products are
invariably the countries with the most osteoporosis. He
feels that milk is a cause of osteoporosis. Reasons to be
given below.
Numerous studies have shown that the level of calcium
ingestion and especially calcium supplementation has no
effect whatever on the development of osteoporosis. The most
important such article appeared recently in the British
Journal of Medicine where the long arm of our dairy industry
can’t reach. Another study in the United States actually
showed a worsening in calcium balance in post-menopausal
women given three 8-ounce glasses of cows’ milk per day.
(Am. Journal of Clin. Nutrition, 1985). The effects of
hormone, gender, weight bearing on the axial bones, and in
particular protein intake, are critically important. Another
observation that may be helpful to our analysis is to note
the absence of any recorded dietary deficiencies of calcium
among people living on a natural diet without milk.
For the key to the osteoporosis riddle, donÂ’t look at
calcium, look at protein. Consider these two contrasting
groups. Eskimos have an exceptionally high protein intake
estimated at 25 percent of total calories. They also have a
high calcium intake at 2,500 mg/day. Their osteoporosis is
among the worst in the world. The other instructive group
are the Bantus of South Africa. They have a 12 percent
protein diet, mostly p lant protein, and only 200 to 350
mg/day of calcium, about half our women’s intake. The women
have virtually no osteoporosis despite bearing six or more
children and nursing them for prolonged periods! When
African women immigrate to the United States, do they
develop osteoporosis? The answer is yes, but not quite are
much as Caucasian or Asian women. Thus, there is a genetic
difference that is modified by diet.
To answer the obvious question, “Well, where do you get your
calcium?” The answer is: “From exactly the same place the
cow gets the calcium, from green things that grow in the
ground,” mainly from leafy vegetables. After all, elephants
and rhinos develop their huge bones (after being weaned) by
eating green leafy plants, so do horses. Carnivorous animals
also do quite nicely without leafy plants. It seems that all
of earth’s mammals do well if they live in harmony with
their genetic programming and natural food. Only humans
living an affluent life style have rampant osteoporosis.
If animal references do not convince you, think of the
several billion humans on this earth who have never seen
cows’ milk. Wouldn’t you think osteoporosis would be
prevalent in this huge group? The dairy people would suggest
this but the truth is exactly the opposite. They have far
less than that seen in the countries where dairy products
are commonly consumed. It is the subject of another paper,
but the truly significant determinants of osteoporosis are
grossly excessive protein intakes and lack of weight bearing
on long bones, both taking place over decades. Hormones play
a secondary, but not trivial role in women. Milk is a
deterrent to good bone health.
THE PROTEIN MYTH
Remember when you were a kid and the adults all told you to
“make sure you get plenty of good protein”. Protein was the
nutritional “good guyÂ”” when I was young. And of course
milk is fitted right in.
As regards protein, milk is indeed a rich source of protein-
-”liquid meat,” remember? However that isn’t necessarily
what we need. In actual fact it is a source of difficulty.
Nearly all Americans eat too much protein.
For this information we rely on the most authoritative
source that I am aware of. This is the latest edition (1oth,
1989: 4th printing, Jan. 1992) of the Recommended Dietary
Allowances produced by the National Research Council. Of
interest, the current editor of this important work is Dr.
Richard Havel of the University of California in San
Francisco.
First to be noted is that the recommended protein has been
steadily revised downward in successive editions. The
current recommendation is 0.75 g/kilo/day for adults 19
through 51 years. This, of course, is only 45 grams per day
for the mythical 60 kilogram adult. You should also know
that the WHO estimated the need for protein in adults to by
.6g/kilo per day. (All RDA’s are calculated with large
safety allowances in case you’re the type that wants to add
some more to “be sure.”) You can “get by” on 28 to 30 grams
a day if necessary!
Now 45 grams a day is a tiny amount of protein. That’s an
ounce and a half! Consider too, that the protein does not
have to be animal protein. Vegetable protein is identical
for all practical purposes and has no cholesterol and vastly
less saturated fat. (Do not be misled by the antiquated
belief that plant proteins must be carefully balanced to
avoid deficiencies. This is not a realistic concern.)
Therefore virtually all Americans, Canadians, British and
European people are in a protein overloaded state. This has
serious consequences when maintained over decades. The
problems are the already mentioned osteoporosis,
atherosclerosis and kidney damage. There is good evidence
that certain malignancies, chiefly colon and rectal, are
related to excessive meat intake. Barry Brenner, an eminent
renal physiologist was the first to fully point out the
dangers of excess protein for the kidney tubule. The dangers
of the fat and cholesterol are known to all. Finally, you
should know that the protein content of human milk is amount
the lowest (0.9%) in mammals.
IS THAT ALL OF THE TROUBLE?
Sorry, there’s more. Remember lactose? This is the principal
carbohydrate of milk. It seems that nature provides new-
borns with the enzymatic equipment to metabolize lactose,
but this ability often extinguishes by age 4 or 5 years.
What is the problem with lactose or milk sugar? It seems
that it is a disaccharide which is too large to be absorbed
into the blood stream without first being broken down into
monosaccharides, namely galactose and glucose. This requires
the presence of an enzyme, lactase plus additional enzymes
to break down the galactose into glucose.
Let’s think about his for a moment. Nature gives us the
ability to metabolize lactose for a few years and then shuts
off the mechanism. Is Mother Nature trying to tell us
something? Clearly all infants must drink milk. The fact
that so many adults cannot seems to be related to the
tendency for nature to abandon mechanisms that are not
needed. At least half of the adult humans on this earth are
lactose intolerant. It was not until the relatively recent
introduction of dairy herding and the ability to “borrow”
milk from another group of mammals that the survival
advantage of preserving lactase (the enzyme that allows us
to digest lactose) became evident. But why would it be
advantageous to drink cows’ milk? After all, most of the
human beings in the history of the world did. And further,
why was it just the white or light skinned humans who
retained this knack while the pigmented people tended to
lose it?
Some students of evolution feel that white skin is a fairly
recent innovation, perhaps not more than 20,000 or 30,000
years old. It clearly has to do with the Northward migration
of early man to cold and relatively sunless areas when skins
and clothing became available. Fair skin allows the
production of Vitamin D from sunlight more readily than does
dark skin. However, when only the face was exposed to
sunlight that area of fair skin was insufficient to provide
the vitamin D from sunlight. If dietary and sunlight sources
were poorly available, the ability to use the abundant
calcium in cows’ milk would give a survival advantage to
humans who could digest that milk. This seems to be the only
logical explanation for fair skinned humans having a high
degree of lactose tolerance when compared to dark skinned
people.
How does this break down? Certain racial groups, namely
blacks are up to 90% lactose intolerant as adults.
Caucasians are 20 to 40% lactose intolerant. Orientals are
midway between the above two groups. Diarrhea, gas and
abdominal cramps are the results of substantial milk intake
in such persons. Most American Indians cannot tolerate milk.
The milk industry admits that lactose intolerance plays
intestinal havoc with as many as 50 million Americans. A
lactose-intolerance industry has sprung up and had sales of
$117 million in 1992 (Time May 17, 1993.)
What if you are lactose-intolerant and lust after dairy
products? Is all lost? Not at all. It seems that lactose is
largely digested by bacteria and you will be able to enjoy
your cheese despite lactose intolerance. Yogurt is similar
in this respect. Finally, and I could never have dreamed
this up, geneticists want to splice genes to alter the
composition of milk (Am J Clin Nutr 1993 Suppl 302s).
One could quibble and say that milk is totally devoid of
fiber content and that its habitual use will predispose to
constipation and bowel disorders.
The association with anemia and occult intestinal bleeding
in infants is known to all physicians. This is chiefly from
its lack of iron and its irritating qualities for the
intestinal mucosa. The pediatric literature abounds with
articles describing irritated intestinal lining, bleeding,
increased permeability as well as colic, diarrhea and
vomiting in cows’milk-sensitive babies. The anemia gets a
double push by loss of blood and iron as well as deficiency
of iron in the cows’ milk. Milk is also the leading cause of
childhood allergy.
LOW FAT
One additional topic: the matter of “low fat” milk. A common
and sincere question is: “Well, low fat milk is OK, isn’t
it?”
The answer to this question is that low fat milk isn’t low
fat. The term “low fat” is a marketing term used to gull the
public. Low fat milk contains from 24 to 33% fat as
calories! The 2% figure is also misleading. This refers to
weight. They don’t tell you that, by weight, the milk is 87%
water!
“Well, then, kill-joy surely you must approve of non-fat
milk!” I hear this quite a bit. (Another constant concern
is: “What do you put on your cereal?”) True, there is little
or no fat, but now you have a relative overburden of protein
and lactose. It there is something that we do not need more
of it is another simple sugar-lactose, composed of galactose
and glucose. Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant to
boot, as noted. As for protein, as stated earlier, we live
in a society that routinely ingests far more protein than we
need. It is a burden for our bodies, especially the kidneys,
and a prominent cause of osteoporosis. Concerning the dry
cereal issue, I would suggest soy milk, rice milk or almond
milk as a healthy substitute. If you’re still concerned
about calcium, “Westsoy” is formulated to have the same
calcium concentration as milk.
SUMMARY
To my thinking, there is only one valid reason to drink milk
or use milk products. That is just because we simply want
to. Because we like it and because it has become a part of
our culture. Because we have become accustomed to its taste
and texture. Because we like the way it slides down our
throat. Because our parents did the very best they could for
us and provided milk in our earliest training and
conditioning. They taught us to like it. And then probably
the very best reason is ice cream! I’ve heard it described
“to die for”.
I had one patient who did exactly that. He had no obvious
vices. He didn’t smoke or drink, he didnÂ’t eat meat, his
diet and lifestyle was nearly a perfectly health promoting
one; but he had a passion. You guessed it, he loved rich ice
cream. A pint of the richest would be a lean day’s ration
for him. On many occasions he would eat an entire quart -
and yes there were some cookies and other pastries. Good ice
cream deserves this after all. He seemed to be in good
health despite some expected “middle age spread” when he had
a devastating stroke which left him paralyzed, miserable and
helpless, and he had additional strokes and d ied several
years later never having left a hospital or rehabilitation
unit. Was he old? I don’t think so. He was in his 50s.
So don’t drink milk for health. I am convinced on the weight
of the scientific evidence that it does not “do a body
good.” Inclusion of milk will only reduce your diet’s
nutritional value and safety.
Most of the people on this planet live very healthfully
without cows’ milk. You can too.
It will be difficult to change; we’ve been conditioned since
childhood to think of milk as “nature’s most perfect food.”
I’ll guarantee you that it will be safe, improve your health
and it won’t cost anything. What can you lose?