It’s an article of faith among consumer goods companies that the best way to create long-term customers is to get them while they are children. Companies from McDonald’s to Apple Computer to Coca Cola have long followed this dictum, with great success.
The big pharmaceutical companies have begun to catch on, with significant success of their own, getting children onto drugs for attention deficit disorder and depression. Now, though, they are ramping up big time, as they encounter safety and government approval problems for their adult products.
Like a lot of people, I did a double-take as I half-listened to the national news last night. The big story was about a recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics (“Academy” sounds so official and scientific) that children as young as eight years old could be candidates to take statins for countering high cholesterol readings. These are the drugs that produce liver problems and muscle weakness in many adults.
I gave the program my full attention as anchor Charles Gibson quizzed Dr. Timothy Johnson, the Marcus-Welby-like guru doctor, and actually asked one penetrating question. “Will children who take statins have to take them for the rest of their lives?” Dr. Johnson seemed taken aback, stumbled a bit, since doctors tend not to think in such terms. After all, the Academy is the Academy.
“Well, yes,” he finally said.
(The segment I saw seems not to be available on the ABC News site, which has other items about this medical development.)
The other part of this story is that some kids as young as age one are being encouraged to consume low-fat milk. Seems even the pediatricians have long recommended whole milk for kids until at least age three.
How can physicians, who take an oath to “do no harm,” countenance such mass-scale drug taking for children using drugs that have been shown to have serious side effects for adults? They say that initially the statins will only be used on children with very high cholesterol readings, and a family history of heart problems. But we all know where this all ultimately leads—to wider and wider dissemination, as the “standards” are adjusted to encompass more and more children.
I had a physician explain how they rationalize it longer term. In their view, most people won’t take the life-style steps in terms of diet and exercise to improve their health (even allowing for the fact that there’s much disagreement on just what the diet steps should include). So doctors are simply responding to our instant-results, convenience-oriented society, and trying to alleviate a crisis situation.
The doctors seem to forget, in all their rationalizations, that they are simply the distribution network for the drug companies.
What we are seeing is the horrendous power of systematized medical care. Our health has been cross-connected with corporate and individual profiteering, political/governmental pandering, and the ugly tendency of humans to self-justify. We have put our ideas, our scientists, our doctors, and our technology on a pedestal. We are unwilling to admit that our gods are false, and the gods themselves, enjoying money and adulation, see no reason for introspection.
Physicians have been quoted in the news as supporting these murderous ideas as a reasonable response to a very dangerous "epidemic" of heart disease. I have not yet heard a major news reporter ask a physician why, if our "health" care is so good, this new epidemic had to happen at all.
How crazy must we get, how many bodies must fail, before we begin questioning the fundamental tenets of our "health" care system?
"Dr. Stephen Daniels is on the AAP’s nutrition committee…" and "Daniels is affiliated
with Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., two big time pharmaceutical companies with cholesterol drugs."
As with all things, follow the money. It shines the light of truth.
And, David, yes, my one daughter-in-law gives her children low fat milk. My 90 year old mother in law drinks no fat milk. It makes me want to scream!
I posted a comment on the NY Times article about statins for children, but, gosh-what-a-shock, it did not make it out of moderation.
Personally, I lost a few pounds within a couple weeks when I switched from 1% milk to whole. (It helped me to lose my before-bed craving for cookies.)
If there are good studies that come to different conclusions, I am not aware of them. It seems to me that the recommendation that children drink lowfat milk does harm.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Dec;159(12):1187-8; author reply 1188.
Milk, dairy fat, dietary calcium, and weight gain: a longitudinal study of adolescents.
Berkey CS, Rockett HR, Willett WC, Colditz GA.
CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to our hypotheses, dietary calcium and skim and 1% milk were associated with weight gain, but dairy fat was not. Drinking large amounts of milk may provide excess energy to some children.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 84, No. 6, 1481-1488, December 2006
2006 American Society for Nutrition
Association between dairy food consumption and weight change over 9 y in 19,352 perimenopausal women
Magdalena Rosell, Niclas N Hkansson and Alicja Wolk
The constant (?1 serving/d) intakes of whole milk and sour milk and of cheese were inversely associated with weight gain; ORs for group 3 were 0.85 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.99) and 0.70 (95% CI: 0.59, 0.84) respectively. No significant associations were seen for the other 3 intake groups. When stratified by BMI, the findings remained significant for cheese and, for normal-weight women only, for whole milk and sour milk.
Proton pump inhibitors, vaccines for cervical cancer, statins,…I feel I am being slowly desensitized.
Two years ago I heard my OB was possibly going to file a complaint to children’s services against a mother who was refusing IV antibiotics after testing positive for vaginal strep B. Most women who test positive for vaginal strep B have healthy babies. It is the few who don’t, whose babies die, and they sue, that created this scenario.
When pediatricians begin such a practice for refusing statins and cervical cancer vaccines in teenage girls, I’ll worry. But last week, I was offered to opt out of the MMR vaccine for my 2 y/o.
Now, that was a shock. I know it has taken parents of autism spectrum disorders years of work to get to this point. My 3 older children were vaccinated without discussion, and people who refused were sometimes referred to children’s services. But my pediatrician’s office actually stated the vaccine as "optional." It took me aback enough to lose my ability to speak for a second or two.
Tides do change.
Gwen
Hum, indeed. From your link (thanks): "They’re going to have to go through additional testing so we can keep this from spreading," said Jay Van Rein of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Raw dairy in the 21st century in the US enjoys a virtual freedom from bovine tuberculosis due to animal health programs administered by the likes of state ag and USDA to eliminate this horrible disease. Bovine tuberculosis can sickens cattle (regardless of grass feeding–this is an airborne and milkborne pathogen) and human contacts. Both certified raw dairies and "big dairies" participate in testing programs to keep this disease out of their herds – a good thing. And, "closed" herds are safer…
It would be concerning if this disease spread in the same area of California (fresno) where the largest raw milk dairy producer resides. Good thing his herd is "closed" and outsourcing has been eliminated.
Does anyone know if bovine tuberculosis has been found on a modern certified raw milk dairy in the US? Seems unlikely, unless the disease was uncontrolled in an area or being spread by wildlife like deer in Michigan.
I wonder why they don’t release the names and places of the dairies? What are they hiding? Entering the slaughterhouses? Does that equate to the food chain? Will this prompt a stronger fight for mass animal identification?
http://www.agweb.com/DairyToday/Article.aspx?id=143880
2 of the herds are in Fresno County.
http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/22836149.html
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/DA-Progs.html
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vetext/Projects/08-POULTRYLITTER.HTML
You are what you eat…
Looks like open borders contributed to this outbreak of TB.
Apparently TB has been spread possibly from CA infected cows to Idaho. I would expect the media to jump on a raw dairy for any infraction, no matter how small.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/index.php
Which means his cows are worth much much more than 3k a piece. But when they have you at gunpoint what can you do?
Just where tell me did the USDA get the authority to quarantine a herd? Except for the crossing of state lines that ought to be strictly a state matter.
Excellent points all around (sorry, we are off topic from statins)…Why not name the dairy(s) A, B, C? And, what about the border connection as a contribution to bringing this nasty bug back into parts of the US? My understanding is that animal ID in its purest intent is meant to track bovine tuberculosis and other severe diseases of livestock in order to eliminate them before they spread and hurt animal populations (which translates into economics, etc.). If that intention has resulted in unintended consequences like hurting small farms…the details should be addressed and dealt with before things are "set in stone." (In an ideal world).
Question: Given the theories here, should a disease like bovine tuberculosis be allowed to spread–let the cattle and human populations develop immunity, and those (a few?) that don’t, suffer serious illness or death? Caveat: this isn’t fear mongering–bovine tb is very rare in the US unlike E. coli or Salmonella; it’s theoretical question assuming the infrastructure were to break down, which doesn’t seem totally theoretical given the cracks in the system…
Just had to comment though that I like to use the phrase taught to me in one of my nutrition classes instead: "You are what you ate". Just my little quirk, same premise.
Pete, Apparently the "state Vets" are "approved and certified" by USDA…It may be difficult to tell who is running the show.
Why not just name the dairies? What is the purpose in keeping it from public knowledge?
It is obvious that the open borders caused the outbreak of that strain of TB. If the inspectors did what should be in their job descriptions;they would have caught the contaminated products attempting to cross into the US and prevented entry. Cracks in the system? LMAO
Animal ID? How would it work? For example, I have a cow, I sell it to someone here in CA, I put her in a trailer and drive her to the buyer. I don’t know that she has contracted TB. Explain to me how having my cow tagged/ID’d would prevent my cow from contracting the TB and possibly spreading it?
I would bet that those bulls shipped to Idaho were tagged in some manner. They crossed state lines with TB. Tagging them did no good.
Do you really think anyone would, in reality, write down all movements of their animals? I currently have 25 chickens at a friends, I will be butchering them in a few weeks. They do go into the neighbors fields. They are free-range.
Animal ID is a way someone can make big $$$ and be of no benefit to the public. As stated, follow the money.
American children are saturated with drugs, poor quality "food", crappy mental & physical stimulation. Until those factors change, it will only get worse. Adults are fairing any better.
From an article yesterday: ‘"I don’t think we’ll ever see a totally bacteria-free environment in the United States," Ed Schafer said Tuesday during a visit of several Nebraska meat processing plants.’ No sh*t, Sherlock. By the way, the processing plants he visited have USDA deep in their pockets, one being Cargill.
"Bovine t-b does not pose a threat to the human food supply, because the bacteria that causes the disease is not found in meat. The pasteurizing process destroys any t-b bacteria in milk or milk products."
WE see these statements made repeatedly in the news.Where is the scientific study that supports this?
I can find evidence that these statements are very likely false.
http://drbroxmeyer.netfirms.com/MadCow.htm
"That
bovine tuberculosis can be transmitted thru ingesting
contaminated meat cannot be denied
[35], and its neurotaxic potential showed clearly
in an England prior to 1960, where 25% of all
tuberculous meningitis victims suffered from M.
bovis [46]. And that both forms of bovine tuberculosis,
M. bovis and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis
(also referred to as paratuberculosis)
are consistently and markedly underestimated in
the meat that we eat has been extensively
brought up [3034,53]. Paratuberculosis, extremely
slow growing, causes Johnes disease, a
rapidly emerging, known and neglected, malady
in cattle and sheep for almost a century. The
evidence to support cattle paratuberculosis as
the cause of human Crohns disease is mounting
rapidly [19,50,51], and Rossiter found in up to
34% of dairy cows, the very same cattle frequently
used to produce the ground beef that
enters the food [57]."
"Virus or a viral-like bacteria
The initial slow virus concept for the causal agent
of TSE arose simply because the agent was filterable.
By the mid-1990s, Manuelidis found viral-like
particles which even when separated from proteinacious
prions were responsible for transmitting
infection [9].
In 1928, Eleanor Alexander-Jackson, discovering
unusual and to that point unrecognized forms of
the human and bovine TB bacillus, marveled at
their many forms, including the tiny particles
which the German Hans Much saw in 1908 and soon
became known as Muchs granules [10]. In 1910
Fontes proved Muchs granules, as a sub-classifi-
cation of Kleinbergers cell-wall-deficient L-forms
were filterable and therefore also often
mistaken for viruses. In fact, in certain circles, the
variable acid-fast granules were called the TB
virus [11].
Much, for almost 30 years. studied the typical
and atypical forms of tuberculosis watching the
tiny nonacid-fast granules named after him convert
thru a diptheroid stage into classic acid fast rods
and fibrils [10].
L-forms, the connecting link between viruses
and bacteria, where first described by Klieneberger-
Nobel [12] at Englands Lister Institute for
which they were named. L-Forms were cell-wall
deficient because they either had a disruption of
or lack of a rigid bacterial cell wall. This allowed
them the plasticity to assume many forms (pleomorphic)
some of them viral-like, but all of them
different from their classical parent and poorly
demonstrated by ordinary staining [12]. Of all the
bacteria, L-forms predominate and are crucial to
the survival of tuberculosis and the mycobacterium,
whose cell-wall deficient forms escape destruction
by the bodys immune system. Because of
their small size and configuration bacterial L-forms
have, at different times, been called viruses,
retroviruses or C-particles.
Mellon and Fisher warned that filterable forms of
M. avium, M. bovis and M. tuberculosis could easily
be mistaken for viruses. Mellon stated that the
granular, prion-like forms of TB, found in its bovine
and avian strains, prevalent in the very animals
susceptible to BSE, including cattle and
sheep, all originated from Muchs granules [13].
Such viral forms of mycobacteria like M. bovis
could by themselves produce disease. And since
they were filterable, they could easily penetrate
the bloodbrain barrier [14]. Filterable, viral form
of TB or TB in cattle have been recovered as an
ultra virus in all body fluids, including urine and in
the spinal fluid in central nervous system infection.
This is similar to the granules Gabizon found in
prions in the urine [15].
Xalabarder of Barcelona noted L-forms of bovine
tuberculosis even in the blood of people simply
vaccinated against TB with BCG, a diluted M. bovis
vaccine [16]. He emphasized that L-Forms of the
mycobacteria were remarkably different from Lforms
of other species in their resistance to physical
and chemical agents [17]. Similar to prions,
mycobacterial CWD forms escape destruction by
the bodys immune system, and are seemingly imperishable
(ibid). Xalabarder noted that these Lforms
contain proteins, both RNA and DNA but do
not stain well by ordinary mycobacteria dyes. Klieneberger-
Nobel adds that L-forms consists of the
formation of very small forms, poor in ribonucleic
acid (ibid). Yet no matter how small and enucleated,
some of these L-forms will revert back to
virulent mycobacteria. In the case of cattle this has
led to a 10,00015,000 year history of sometimes
fatal interaction between M. bovis, the cow, and
man."
"In his
Nobel Prize address of 1901 Von Behring stated As
you know, tuberculosis in cattle is one of the most
damaging infectious diseases to affect agriculture
[26]. But the problem was more extensive than
even Von Behring realized. Enter Mycobacterium
avium complex or MAC.
Fowl tuberculosis: a major plight in the
cattle industry
Mycobacterium avium causes tuberculosis in
chickens and other fowls but can also infect an
extensive range of different animal species including
cattle, sheep, deer and man. The M. avium
complex (MAC) includes closely related M. avium,
M. intracellular and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis
or paratuberculosis. Paratuberculosis, extremely
slow growing, causes Johnes disease in
domestic and wild ruminants, a problem known and
neglected in cattle and sheep for almost a century.
Johnes disease caused by M. paratuberculosis is
rapidly emerging as the disease of the new
735 Is mad cow disease caused by a bacteria?
millennium. Recent European epidemiological
studies indicate an alarming increase of paratuberculosis
in cattle and sheep, and the USDA reports
that between 20% and 40% of US dairy herds
are infected [48]. This, as well as its role in Crohns
disease in humans has shifted attention front and
forward [49].The evidence to support M. paratuberculosis
infection as a cause of Crohns disease is
mounting rapidly [50].
Not only has M. paratuberculosis been found in
Crohns disease by five investigative groups in different
countries, but Crohns patients and Johnes
diseased cattle have antibodies which cross-react
with the antigens of paratuberculosis [19]. All
paratuberculosis isolated from Crohns have been
of the bovine subtype, found in cattle [51]. Cattle
and sheep can infect one another with paratuberculosis
[52]. Deer are also susceptible.
Since paratuberculosis is not classified as a human
pathogen, the beef from cattle infected with
it is not prevented from entering the food chain
[53]. Paratuberculosis causes a disease in cattle
that is similar to Crohns in humans in that both
attack the terminal illium. Crohns disease is no
small problem, and the number of Americans suffering
from it is between 400,000 and 1,000,000
(Scientific facts about Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
and Crohns disease Source: http://members.
aol.com/ParaTBweb/crohn.htm).
Paratuberculosis is highly heat resistant [54],
and may not be killed by standard techniques for
cooking beef [55], even more so than M. bovis.
It is estimated that from 5% to 20% of all cattle
in the US alone, are infected with paratuberculosis,
bringing estimated losses to $1.5 billion
annually, [56], but the problem is worldwide.
And Rosisiter found it in up to 34% of dairy cows
[57], the very same cattle frequently used for
the production of the ground beef that enters
the food chain [58]."
It appears that a lot of children are over medicated with a lot of drugs.