Caustic Commentary: Fall 2004

[Guest guest]

http://www.westonaprice.org/causticcommentary/cc2004fa.html

 

Sally Fallon and Mary Enig take on the Diet Dictocrats

 

STATIN MADNESS. . .

 

In 2003, sales of the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called

statins totaled almost $14 billion, up 10.9 percent from 2002. Growth

of this magnitude can only be achieved by rapidly expanding the

customer base. First proposed for men deemed " at risk " for

heart disease by virtue of " high " cholesterol levels, doctors

now

recommend statins for both men and women of all ages, diabetics and

sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis. The literature even promotes statin

use as a cancer prevention measure. The cholesterol juggernaut is not

daunted by cautionary studies, such as a review appearing in the May

12, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The

authors looked at studies going back almost 30 years and concluded

that statin drugs do not provide any benefit to women who do not have

already existing heart disease. More healthy Americans joined the

ranks of patients in July with new recommendations to lower

LDL-cholesterol (the so-called " bad " cholesterol) to less

than 100, 30

points lower than previously recommended. The authors of the

recommendations, which were published in the journal Circulation and

endorsed by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the American

Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, have made a

living promoting pharmaceuticals, with most receiving honoraria from

all the major drug producers, including Merck, Pfizer, Parke-Davis,

AstraZeneca, Abbott, Dupont, Sankyo, Bayer and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

The challenge for the statin makers is to convince everyone

" qualified " to actually take the drugs—only about half of

them do. One

proposal calls for making statins available as an over-the-counter

drug (already an option in the UK). Another, presented at a UK medical

meeting by Dr. John Reckless (this is his real name!), calls for

adding statins to tap water—like fluoride. (Actually some of the

bestselling statins—Lipitor, Baycol, Crestor and

Lescol—contain a fluoride compound.) " It would be a great way

of

protecting people from heart disease before it even starts, " says

Dr.

Reckless. What Reckless fails to mention is that statins pose a

massive risk of severe, horrible birth defects if taken by pregnant

women, worse defects than were ever caused by thalidomide. The list of

statin-induced defects includes

holoprosencephaly (defective septum separating lateral cerebral

ventricles with cerebral dysfunction), atrial septal defect, aortic

hypoplasia, neural-tube defects, duplication of spinal cord, spina

bifida, left renal dysplasia, disorganized lumbosacral vertebra and

deformities in the limbs. " We seem to be sleepwalking into what

could be a major medical disaster, " writes Dr. Malcolm Kendrick.

" Most people, and most doctors, are unaware—or don't seem

to care—that statins should never ever be taken by women of

childbearing age. . . .Yet, when statins are available OTC it is

absolutely certain

that women of childbearing age will take them, knowing nothing of this

risk. It is equally certain that a number of these women will become

pregnant, and many of these pregnancies will result in horribly

deformed children " (redflagsdaily.com, 6/18/2004).

 

.. . . AND THE DIET TO GO WITH IT

 

Not content to make you depressed, weak, achy and forgetful with

statins, the medical profession recommends a lowfat diet of processed

foods so you'll feel even worse. A WAPF member recently diagnosed

with " high " cholesterol shared with us the handouts his doctor

gave him and it's the same old, same old—margarine instead of

butter, skim milk, nondairy creamer, lowfat milk and cheese, lean

meat, skinless chicken breasts, egg substitutes, liquid vegetables

oils and lowfat baked goods. No bacon, liver, sausage, cream, full-fat

cheeses or coconut but high-sugar items like sherbert, angel food

cake, lowfat jelly beans and hard candy are OK. In an editorial, Dean

Ornish, dean of the

ultra-lowfat diet, even argues that Medicare should reimburse

dieticians who counsel heart patients on how to follow this spartan

regime (Washington Post, 8/8/2004). Invoking " powerful

benefits " including " sustained weight loss, improved sexual

function, increased energy, decreased blood pressure, dramatic

reductions in angina and better control of diabetes, " Ornish

promises

that a diet of ersatz, tasteless food will increase your " joy of

living, " providing far more motivation than the " fear of

dying. "

Here's what we'd like to know:

Even if such a diet were effective (which it is not), how many days

and weeks would such soul-numbing measures add to the human carcass?

 

POKING AND PRODDING

 

Up to now, only men have been the objects of batteries of medical

tests at yearly checkups. No longer. Now the medical profession has

focused its sights on women, urging a huge list of annual tests

including a medical history; a dietary and nutritional assessment (in

case you might still be enjoying real food); questions on tobacco,

alcohol or drug use; a discussion of sexual practices (Big Brother

wants to know); any history of abuse or neglect; measurements of

height, weight and blood pressure; a check for thyroid problems; an

examination of the breast, pelvis and skin; a Pap smear to detect

cervical cancer; cholesterol profiles; a hemoglobin assessment; a

mammogram; a fasting blood sugar test; HIV testing; genetic testing;

TB testing; hepatitis C testing; colorectal screening; and bone

density screening. After age 40, add a yearly fecal occult blood test

and a fasting glucose test for diabetes. After age 50 you are in line

for an annual flu shot; yearly counseling and evaluation for hormone

replacement therapy; thyroid stimulating hormone screening; and a

colonoscopy. Once you hit age 65 you get an annual urine analysis;

bone density screening for osteoporosis; and evaluation and counseling

in the area of vision, hearing and depression (National Enquirer,

August, 2004). After all that poking and prodding, they're bound

to find something wrong with you so that you can step onto the

conveyer belt of the medical care system and qualify for a daily dose

of drugs.

 

CHOLINE AND THE BRAIN

 

The Wall Street Journal reports that scientists have found that

choline, a B vitamin compound, plays a critical role in brain

development (10/26/2004). Choline helps regulate the transport of

nutrients into and out of cells and also forms acetylcholine, a

neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory functions.

Researchers at Duke University have shown that giving extra choline to

pregnant rats during a key window of development permanently changes

the way the brains of its offspring are organized and function. For

example, rats born to mothers given extra choline performed 30 percent

better on tasks relating to memory and attention than control animals;

autopsy showed that the neurons in the offspring's brains were

bigger

and could make more neural connections. " The amazing part of these

studies is that the effects lasted the animal's entire life, even

though it never received any more extra choline except for that one

six-day period in the womb, " says Dr. Stevel Zeisel, head of the

research project. The problem is, according to the article,

" choline has yet to find its way onto the public's radar

screen. " The

unstated

reason for this lack of public recognition is the fact that the Wall

Street Journal, along with the entire US media, have spent the last

few decades demonizing the very foods that contain the highest levels

of choline—beef liver, chicken liver and eggs. Daily requirements

in milligrams range from 375 for youngsters aged 9-13 to 550 for

lactating women, amounts supplied by approximately 100 grams beef

liver, 150 grams chicken liver or 2 eggs. But instead of encouraging

consumption of these foods, the Journal article cites the efforts of

Roger Lantz, sales director at the Solae Company (a manufacturer of

processed soy products) to raise consumer awareness of soy as a

choline source. The problem is, to obtain the requisite amount of

choline from soy, you'd have to consume about 400 grams per day,

an amount that carries a toxic dose of isoflavones, especially for a

pregnant woman.

 

BUYING LOCAL PAYS OFF

 

An economic impact study carried out in Austin, Texas, shows that

locally owned businesses create greater economic benefits for local

communities than large chains. The study compared the economic

activity generated by two locally owned bookstores to that of a large

national chain and found that the local businesses generated more than

three times the economic activity than the chain bookstore.

Specifically, the local bookstores generated $45 of economic impact

for every $100 spent, compared to $13 by the chain. The reason:

locally owned businesses spend more on payroll because they tend to

employ their own ad writers, buyers, accountants and other positions,

whereas chain stores often centralize these types of positions in a

single headquarter location; locally owned businesses purchase more

from other locally owned businesses than do chain stores; and a higher

percentage of a locally owned business's profit is recycled back

into

the community. Another survey of eight locally owned businesses in

Maine revealed similar figures. Locally owned businesses returned 44.6

percent of their revenue to the surrounding two counties and another

8.7 percent elsewhere around the state compared to only 14.1 percent

by a " big box " retailer. A study carried out in Barnstable,

Massachusetts found that many types of development actually drain

local economies. The biggest drain comes from fast food restaurants

with a net annual deficit of $5,168 per 1000 square feet. Next comes

big box retail stores with a loss of $468 per 1000 square feet and

shopping centers with a loss of $134 per 1000 square feet. Why?

Because these types of businesses require higher road maintenance

costs and increased police coverage. The study cited a case in

Pineville, North Carolina which faced an increased cost of $120,000

per year for two additional police officers required for a new

Wal-Mart supercenter. The additional expense far exceeded the

municipal revenue the store would have generated for the city so

officials turned down the proposal

(http://www.nobigboxes.org/docs/bbr_research.php). Wal-Mart's

failure to provide affordable health insurance to its employees costs

California's state health care programs an estimated $32 million

per year (New York Times, 11/1/2004).

 

ENCOURAGING TRENDS

 

General Mills reported a 19 percent drop in earnings this year, a

decline that reflects an industry-wide trend. Other food industry

giants, such as Coca-Cola and Unilever, also expect lower profits.

Manufacturers blame the rising cost of raw materials and stiff

competition in the retail sector, specifically citing the influence of

Wal-Mart in keeping prices artificially low (FoodNavigator.com

9/22/2004). But changing purchasing habits have also taken a toll;

weight-conscious consumers are eating less wheat, fewer potatoes, less

orange juice and fewer processed foods in general. A recent victim of

this change in spending habits was Interstate Bakery, maker of Hostess

Twinkies, Wonder Bread, Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs. The firm has filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with more than $1.3 billion in debt.

" We are in an industry that is challenged because of consumer

tastes, " says turnaround specialist Tony Alvarez. " Twinkies

and Wonder

Bread are nutritional disasters, " says Larry Samuel, president of

Culture Planning, a trends forecasting and consulting firm.

" Boomers

who ate them as kids now find them socially reprehensible to eat in

public. And they don't want their kids eating them either "

(USA Today, 9/23/2004).

 

THE DATA QUALITY ACT

 

Scientist Tyrone B. Hayes, a professor of integrative biology and an

expert in frog development at the University of California at

Berkeley, found that the herbicide atrazine had demasculinizing

effects on male tadpoles leading to hermaphroditism after exposure of

just 0.1 parts per billion, or the equivalent of one drop per 5,000

40-gallon barrels of water; and that 100 percent of male leopard frogs

in regions that had been treated with atrazine had abnormal sex

organs, compared to no such problem in untreated regions. Results like

these led the European Union to ban atrazine starting in 2005. Yet,

after 10 years of review, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

decided to permit ongoing use in the US, with no new restrictions. The

EPA gave the chemical industry what it wanted by citing the recently

approved Data Quality Act, written by Jim J. Tozzi, an industry

lobbyist, and slipped into a giant appropriations bill in 2000 without

congressional discussion or debate. It consists of just two sentences

directing the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that all

information disseminated by the federal government is reliable.

According to John D. Graham, administrator of the OMB Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs, the law will keep the federal

government hewing to " sound science " and allows people and

companies

to challenge government they believe is inaccurate. Conservationists

point out that by demanding that the government use only data that

have achieved a rare level of certainty, the act dismisses scientific

information that in the past would have triggered tighter regulation.

In the case of atrazine, the EPA responded to a petition filed by Mr.

Tozzi working with atrazine's primary manufacturer, Syngenta Crop

Protection, by claiming that hormone disruption cannot be considered a

" legitimate regulatory endpoint at this time. " Other pending

regulation challenged by industry under the Data Quality Act includes

a ban on wood treated with heavy metals and arsenic in playground

equipment, FDA recommendations to limit sugar intake and a report on

the hazards of nickel in food and the environment. According to Rena

Steinzor, a professor of law and director of the Environmental Law

Clinic at the University of Maryland, the Data Quality Act is " a

tool to clobber every effort to regulate. In my view, it amounts to

censorship and harassment. " Expect the Data Quality Act to be

invoked as we lobby to remove another endocrine disrupter from the

marketplace—soy infant formula.

 

FLU SHOTS

 

Parents and activist organizations have worked hard to have thimerosal

removed from children's vaccines. But as the mercury-based

preservative is phased out, mercury has returned to the pediatric

scene in the form of the flu vaccine. Current recommendation is two

flu shots for babies in their first year and one shot per year

thereafter. A single flu shot contains 25 micrograms of mercury, which

is 100 times more than kids get in their cumulative vaccinations over

several years. The Centers for Disease Control disputes claims that

mercury in childhood vaccines contributes to autism but a study by Dr.

Mady Hornig from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia

University supports the mercury-autism connection. Hornig injected a

strain of mice with genetic tissues similar to those found in autistic

children with vaccines containing amounts of mercury equivalent to

what kids got in the 1990s. The mice developed profound brain

problems, repetitive behavior and withdrawal from their surroundings.

They resisted change and developed brain abnormalities affecting

emotion and thinking, just like autistic children. And what about

adults taking the flu vaccine? According to Dr. Russell Blaylock, a

speaker at our recent conference, adults who receive the flu vaccine

five years in a row are 1000 percent more likely to develop

Alzheimer's disease.

 

FAT DILEMMA

 

The food industry is looking for a replacement for trans fats, due to

be labeled in 2006. For frying, they are using so-called " heart

healthy " liquid oils such as canola, corn and soybean, which are

invariably rancid from processing and which suffer further breakdown

during the frying process. For a solid fat (as a shortening in baked

goods like crackers and cookies) the choices are palm oil,

" interesterified " oils or " stearic rich " oils.

Intesterification is a

process that rearranges fatty acids to make a liquid oil slightly

solid; full hydrogenation makes a solid fat by forming fully saturated

stearic acid out of unsaturated fatty acids; and palm oil is a stable,

healthy, natural fat composed of saturated and monounsaturated fatty

acids. The obvious choice is palm oil but it is imported, expensive

and the subject of intense industry demonization over the past 30

years. Interesterified oils pose several problems including bad taste

and lack of stability; and " stearic rich " oils contain those

same saturated fats that you find in the verboten tallows. Definitely

a dilemma for the food processing industry.

 

The Top Fourteen

 

According to government and media health pundits, the top best 14

foods are:

 

1. Beans

2. Blueberries

3. Broccoli

4. Oats

5. Oranges

6. Pumpkin

7. Salmon

8. Soy

9. Spinach

10. Tea (green or black)

11. Tomatoes

12. Turkey

13. Walnuts

14. Yoghurt

 

This uninspiring list reflects the current establishment angels

(anti-oxidants and omega-3 fatty acids) and demons (saturated fats and

animal foods).

 

Our list of the 14 best top foods, foods that supply vital nutrients

including the fat-soluble vitamins, looks like this:

 

1. Butter from grass-fed cows (preferably raw)

2. Oysters

3. Liver from grass-fed animals

4. Eggs from grass-fed hens

5. Cod liver oil

6. Fish eggs

7. Whole raw milk from grass-fed cows

8. Bone broth

9. Shrimp

10. Wild salmon

11. Whole yoghurt or kefir

12. Beef from grass-fed steers

13. Sauerkraut

14. Organic Beets

 

A diet containing only these foods will confer lifelong good health; a

diet containing only the foods in the first list is the fast track to

nutritional deficiencies.

 

 

This article appeared in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the

Healing Arts,

the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, FALL 2004.

The material on this site is copyrighted by the Weston A. Price

Foundation.