The Value of Your Tonsils

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The Value of Your Tonsils

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(http://phobos.doctorspreferred.com/Emails/walt/092609_eletter_default.html)

 

 

The general feeling in medicine today is that the tonsils and adenoids are

of little value and, at most, may have marginal benefit in the early years

for fighting upper respiratory infections. Nearly 300,000 tonsillectomies

are performed every year on children, and another 100,000 on adults. The

American Academy of Otolaryngology (surgeons) recommends removing tonsils

when a child has more than three sore throats a year. The American Academy of

Pediatrics (non-surgeons) recommends having them removed after seven

infections in a year. Surprisingly, there is little, if any, evidence that

indicates the removal of tonsils actually prevents additional infections.

 

As I mention in the October 2009 issue of my Alternatives newsletter, the

tonsils, which have long been regarded as unnecessary beyond childhood,

actually are a part of your lymphatic system, and as such are essential for

proper immune function. In addition to their lymphatic function, they produce

natural antibiotic compounds called beta-defensins, which are effective

against bacteria, viruses, and even fungi. They are often the first defense

in your upper respiratory tract. When they are enlarged, it is generally a

sign that either they are working to eliminate these foreign antigens or

there is a food allergy, which is most commonly from milk and/or milk

products. Oftentimes, eliminating milk from the diet will allow the problem to

resolve.

 

The tonsils also stand guard at the entry to your digestive system. As

pathogens in your food (or in the air, if you’re breathing through your

mouth)

pass by, they set off the release of the beta-defensins, along with other

immune components such as IgA and B cells. In the short time it takes a

substance to make its way down your esophagus, your body is prepared to meet

the invader.

 

Doctors started removing tonsils at about the turn of the last century,

and the practice reached a peak in the early 1930s. After a brief break in

the mid-‘30s, the trend continued well into the 1960s. During this period,

tonsils were removed in response to continued infections or sore throats.

 

These days, one of the main reasons for tonsil removal in children is

sleep apnea, which is a health problem that used to be practically unheard of

in children. Sleep apnea, along with high blood pressure and elevated

cholesterol levels, started surfacing in the last couple of generations due to

the growing childhood obesity problem. Most doctors have been led to believe

that the tonsils are fairly useless after the age of four or five, so

cutting them out to treat sleep apnea seems far more practical than getting

children to change their diets and increase their activity. However, some

research strongly suggests that removing these glands may have far more impact

than anyone realized.

 

Researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York found that, on

average, children experienced a 13 percent increase in weight following the

removal of their tonsils and adenoids. Dr. James Roemmich, the lead researcher

in the study, stated that the weight gain caused by the surgery to help

relieve the breathing problem in these children could create a vicious cycle.

Weight gain in these children is a concern. Obesity may be a primary cause

of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, so additional weight gain may

lead to a re-occurrence of obstructed breathing during sleep in spite of the

surgery.

 

If the child is experiencing sleep apnea and also happens to be obese, as

were the children in this study, it should go without saying that surgery

isn’t the answer. Not only could the surgery contribute to additional weight

gain, the removing the tonsils also eliminates the extra protection

against infections these “unnecessary†organs provide.

 

 

 

Dr. David Williams