We Cured Our Son's Autism

By Karyn Seroussi
Copyright © 2000 Karyn Seroussi

When the doctors said our son would be severely disabled for life, we set out to prove them wrong.

When the psychologist examining our 18-month-old son told me that she thought Miles had autism, my heart began to pound. I didn't know exactly what the word meant, but I knew it was bad. Wasn't autism some type of mental illness -- perhaps juvenile schizophrenia? Even worse, I vaguely remembered hearing that this disorder was caused by emotional trauma during childhood. In an instant, every illusion of safety in my world seemed to vanish. Our pediatrician had referred us to the psychologist in August 1995 because Miles didn't seem to understand anything we said. He'd developed perfectly normally until he was 15 months old, but then he stopped saying the words he'd learned -- cow, cat, dance -- and started disappearing into himself. We figured his chronic ear infections were responsible for his silence, but within three months, he was truly in his own world.

Suddenly, our happy little boy hardly seemed to recognize us or his 3-year-old sister. Miles wouldn't make eye contact or even try to communicate by pointing or gesturing. His behavior became increasingly strange: He'd drag his head across the floor, walk on his toes (very common in autistic children), make odd gurgling sounds, and spend long periods of time repeating an action, such as opening and closing doors or filling and emptying a cup of sand in the sandbox. He often screamed inconsolably, refusing to be held or comforted. And he developed chronic diarrhea.

As I later learned, autism -- or autistic spectrum disorder, as doctors now call it -- is not a mental illness. It is a developmental disability thought to be caused by an anomaly in the brain. The National Institutes of Health estimates that as many as 1 in 500 children are affected. But according to several recent studies, the incidence is rapidly rising: In Florida, for example, the number of autistic children has increased nearly 600 percent in the last ten years. Nevertheless, even though it is more common than Down syndrome, autism remains one of the least understood developmental disorders.

We were told that Miles would almost definitely grow up to be severely impaired. He would never be able to make friends, have a meaningful conversation, learn in a regular classroom without special help, or live independently. We could only hope that with behavioral therapy, we might be able to teach him some of the social skills he'd never grasp on his own. I had always thought that the worst thing that could happen to anyone was to lose a child. Now it was happening to me but in a perverse, inexplicable way. Instead of condolences, I got uncomfortable glances, inappropriately cheerful reassurances, and the sense that some of my friends didn't want to return my calls.

After Miles' initial diagnosis, I spent hours in the library, searching for the reason he'd changed so dramatically. Then I came across a book that mentioned an autistic child whose mother believed that his symptoms had been caused by a "cerebral allergy" to milk. I'd never heard of this, but the thought lingered in my mind because Miles drank an inordinate amount of milk -- at least half a gallon a day.

I also remembered that a few months earlier, my mother had read that many kids with chronic ear infections are allergic to milk and wheat. "You should take Miles off those foods and see if his ears clear up," she said. "Milk, cheese, pasta, and Cheerios are the only foods he'll eat," I insisted. "If I took them away, he'd starve."

Then I realized that Miles' ear infections had begun when he was 11 months old, just after we had switched him from soy formula to cow's milk. He'd been on soy formula because my family was prone to allergies, and I'd read that soy might be better for him. I had breast-fed until he was 3 months old, but he didn't tolerate breast milk very well -- possibly because I was drinking lots of milk. There was nothing to lose, so I decided to eliminate all the dairy products from his diet. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Miles stopped screaming, he didn't spend as much time repeating actions, and by the end of the first week, he pulled on my hand when he wanted to go downstairs. For the first time in months, he let his sister hold his hands to sing "Ring Around a Rosy."

Two weeks later, a month after we'd seen the psychologist, my husband and I kept our appointment with a well-known developmental pediatrician to confirm the diagnosis of autism. Dr. Susan Hyman gave Miles a variety of tests and asked a lot of questions. We described the changes in his behavior since he'd stopped eating dairy products. Finally, Dr. Hyman looked at us sadly. "I'm sorry," the specialist said. "Your son is autistic. I admit the milk allergy issue is interesting, but I just don't think it could be responsible for Miles' autism or his recent improvement."

We were terribly disheartened, but as each day passed, Miles continued to get better. A week later, when I pulled him up to sit on my lap, we made eye contact and he smiled. I started to cry -- at last he seemed to know who I was. He had been oblivious to his sister, but now he watched her play and even got angry when she took things away from him. Miles slept more soundly, but his diarrhea persisted. Although he wasn't even 2 yet, we put him in a special-ed nursery school three mornings a week and started an intensive one-on-one behavioral and language program that Dr. Hyman approved of.  I'm a natural skeptic and my husband is a research scientist, so we decided to test the hypothesis that milk affected Miles' behavior. We gave him a couple of glasses one morning, and by the end of the day, he was walking on his toes, dragging his forehead across the floor, making strange sounds, and exhibiting the other bizarre behaviors we had almost forgotten. A few weeks later, the behaviors briefly returned, and we found out that Miles had eaten some cheese at nursery school. We became completely convinced that dairy products were somehow related to his autism.

I wanted Dr. Hyman to see how well Miles was doing, so I sent her a video of him playing with his father and sister. She called right away. "I'm simply floored," she told me. "Miles has improved remarkably. Karyn, if I hadn't diagnosed him myself, I wouldn't have believed that he was the same child."

I had to find out whether other kids had had similar experiences. I bought a modem for my -- not standard in 1995 -- and discovered an autism support group on the Internet. A bit embarrassed, I asked, "Could my child's autism be related to milk?"  The response was overwhelming. Where had I been? Didn't I know about Karl Reichelt in Norway? Didn't I know about Paul Shattock in England? These researchers had preliminary evidence to validate what parents had been reporting for almost 20 years: Dairy products exacerbated the symptoms of autism.

My husband, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry, got copies of the journal articles that the parents had mentioned on-line and went through them all carefully. As he explained it to me, it was theorized that a subtype of children with autism break down milk protein (casein) into peptides that affect the brain in the same way that hallucinogenic drugs do. A handful of scientists, some of whom were parents of kids with autism, had discovered compounds containing opiates -- a class of substances including opium and heroin -- in the urine of autistic children. The researchers theorized that either these children were missing an enzyme that normally breaks down the peptides into a digestible form, or the peptides were somehow leaking into the bloodstream before they could be digested.


In a burst of excitement, I realized how much sense this made. It explained why Miles developed normally for his first year, when he drank only soy formula. It would also explain why he had later craved milk: Opiates are highly addictive. What's more, the odd behavior of autistic children has often been compared to that of someone hallucinating on LSD.  My husband also told me that the other type of protein being broken down into a toxic form was gluten -- found in wheat, oats, rye, and barley, and commonly added to thousands of packaged foods. The theory would have sounded farfetched to my scientific husband if he hadn't seen the dramatic changes in Miles himself and remembered how Miles had self-limited his diet to foods containing wheat and dairy. As far as I was concerned, there was no question that the gluten in his diet would have to go. Busy as I was, I would learn to cook gluten-free meals. People with celiac disease are also gluten-intolerant, and I spent hours on-line gathering information.


Within 48 hours of being gluten-free, 22-month-old Miles had his first solid stool, and his balance and coordination noticeably improved. A month or two later, he started speaking -- "zawaff" for giraffe, for example, and "ayashoo" for elephant. He still didn't call me Mommy, but he had a special smile for me when I picked him up from nursery school. However, Miles' local doctors -- his pediatrician, neurologist, geneticist, and gastroenterologist -- still scoffed at the connection between autism and diet. Even though dietary intervention was a safe, noninvasive approach to treating autism, until large controlled studies could prove that it worked, most of the medical community would have nothing to do with it.

So my husband and I decided to become experts ourselves. We began attending autism conferences and phoning and e-mailing the European researchers. I also organized a support group for other parents of autistic children in my community. Although some parents weren't interested in exploring dietary intervention at first, they often changed their mind after they met Miles. Not every child with autism responded to the diet, but eventually there were about 50 local families whose children were gluten- and casein-free with exciting results. And judging by the number of people on Internet support lists, there were thousands of children around the world responding well to this diet.

Fortunately, we found a new local pediatrician who was very supportive, and Miles was doing so well that I nearly sprang out of bed each morning to see the changes in him. One day, when Miles was 2 1/2, he held up a toy dinosaur for me to see. "Wook, Mommy, issa Tywannosauwus Wex!" Astonished, I held out my trembling hands. "You called me Mommy!" I said. He smiled and gave me a long hug.

By the time Miles turned 3, all his doctors agreed that his autism had been completely cured. He tested at eight months above his age level in social, language, self-help, and motor skills, and he entered a regular preschool with no special-ed supports. His teacher told me that he was one of the most delightful, verbal, participatory children in the class. Today, at almost 6, Miles is among the most popular children in his first-grade class. He's reading at a fourth-grade level, has good friends, and recently acted out his part in the class play with flair. He is deeply attached to his older sister, and they spend hours engaged in the type of imaginative play that is never seen in kids with autism. My worst fears were never realized. We are terribly lucky.

But I imagined all the other parents who might not be fortunate enough to learn about the diet. So in 1997, I started a newsletter and international support organization called Autism Network for Dietary Intervention (ANDI), along with another parent, Lisa Lewis, author of Special Diets for Special Kids (Future Horizons, 1998). We've gotten hundreds of letters and e-mails from parents worldwide whose kids use the diet successfully. Although it's best to have professional guidance when implementing the diet, sadly, most doctors are still skeptical.

As I continue to study the emerging research, it has become increasingly clear to me that autism is a disorder related to the immune system. Most autistic children I know have several food allergies in addition to milk and wheat, and nearly all the parents in our group have or had at least one immune-related problem: thyroid disease, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or allergies. Autistic children are probably genetically predisposed to immune-system abnormalities, but what triggers the actual disease?

Many of the parents swore that their child's autistic behavior began at 15 months, shortly after the child received the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. When I examined such evidence as photos and videotapes to see exactly when Miles started to lose his language and social skills, I had to admit that it had coincided with his MMR -- after which he had gone to the emergency room with a temperature of 106°F and febrile seizures. Recently, a small study was published by British researcher Andrew Wakefield, M.D., linking the measles portion of the vaccine to damage in the small intestine -- which might help explain the mechanism by which the hallucinogenic peptides leak into the bloodstream. If the MMR vaccine is indeed found to play a role in triggering autism, we must find out whether some children are at higher risk and therefore should not be vaccinated or should be vaccinated at a later age.

Another new development is giving us hope: Researchers at Johnson and Johnson's Ortho Clinical Diagnostics division -- my husband among them -- are now studying the abnormal presence of peptides in the urine of autistic children. My hope is that eventually a routine diagnostic test will be developed to identify children with autism at a young age and that when some types of autism are recognized as a metabolic disorder, the gluten and dairy-free diet will move from the realm of alternative medicine into the mainstream.

The word autism, which once meant so little to me, has changed my life profoundly. It came to my house like a monstrous, uninvited guest but eventually brought its own gifts. I've felt twice blessed -- once by the amazing good fortune of reclaiming my child and again by being able to help other autistic children who had been written off by their doctors and mourned by their parents.

Adapted from the book Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research and Recovery by Karyn Seroussi.
http://curezone.com/books/amazon/book.asp?ID=449


For more info, contact:

The Autism Network for Dietary Intervention (ANDI)
Fax 609-737-8453
http://www.autismndi.com/
Publishes ANDI News, a newsletter containing recipes, research updates, and articles by parents and physicians.



It's The Law - Rat Poison Must Be Added to Milk

http://www.notmilk.com/ratpoison.html

In 1932, Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations required that 400 units of rat poison be added to every quart of milk sold in America. I receive over 2,000 letters each day, but one letter (from Dr. John Unruh Unruh@aol.com), written in jest, contained a remarkable fact. "Dear Robert, I do not know how you find this stuff but you continue to pile on the evidence as to why milk equals rat poison. Keep up the good work." Dear Dr. Unruh, Your "rat-poison" metaphor is quite close to the truth.

A brochure produced by the Ministry of Environment in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, reveals the rat-posion link:

"SAFE AND SENSIBLE PEST CONTROL"

The brochure represents a series of "safe and sensible" pest control measures, according to the Canadian Health Minister. Canadian health officials believe that Vitamin D-3 is the most effective and ecologically sound method of dealing with rat and mouse infestation. Information on milk cartons reveal that two ingredients fill the container: Milk and Vitamin D-3. Vitamin D-3 is used to kill rats! Why is it added to milk for our children to drink in the name of good health?

According to the Canadian brochure, products containing Vitamin D-3 (calciferol) kill by vitamin overdose after 3-4 days. The Vitamin D-3 actually mobilizes excessive amounts of calcium from an animal's bones. And you thought that Vitamin D-3 in milk helped to absorb calcium. Another dairy industry myth!

Don't try this at home. When the animal dies within your walls, its putrefying body will add the most unpleasant bouquet to your environment. The offensive smell may last for months. Many methods of mice and rat control are discussed. I prefer the most foolproof of methods: Don't let them eat your food. Store all foods in refrigerators or tamper-proof containers. With no food supply, mice and rats go elsewhere to dine.

How soon we forget! Children are taught in first grade that Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin." Vitamin D is a steroid hormone and is synthesized in one's body after skin is exposed to sunlight. Once the body has made enough, it will produce no more. Too much Vitamin D can be toxic and result in bone loss.

In 1963, the journal Pediatrics (Volume 31) revealed:

"Consuming as little as 45 micrograms of Vitamin D-3 in young children has resulted in signs of overdose." (one gallon of milk contains 1600 IU, or 40 micrograms). A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 326, 1992) revealed that of 42 milk samples, only 12% were within the expected range of Vitamin D content. Testing of 10 samples of infant formula revealed seven with more that twice the Vitamin D content reported on the label, one of which had more than four times the label amount.

Robert Cohen http://www.notmilk.com



Milk and Autism

Yesterday's Notmilk column discussed Discover
Magazine's treatment of autism, linking it to milk
and dairy consumption. See:

<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/2639 >

I was very much surprised to receive dozens of letters asking for more information. The phrase "show me real science" was a recurring theme in those letters. Often times, events are not easily reduced into handy scientific formulas. I wish that was possible with milk consumption. I could hand out little white cards to moms every time I witnessed an obnoxious out-of-control kid in the supermarket. Is there a formula for autism and milk consumption?

Autism, Milk, & Relativity

Albert Einstein is best known for his Theory of Relativity, E = MC2 (Energy = mass times the speed of light, squared.) Many can recite the formula. Few
can explain it.

Too many school children are being diagnosed with autism. We live in a world in which little zombies are on dangerous drugs including Ritalin.

So, for today's column, we've developed a formula to describe what will result in mid-life crisis for many.

Autism = M + I + D (Autism = mood swings + irritability+ depression)

Eighty percent of cow's milk protein is casein. It has been documented that casein breaks down in the stomach to produce a morphine-like substance called casomorphine, an opiate. As early as 1979, Panksepp, et. al., observed that casomorphin aggravated the symptoms of autism.(Trends in Neuroscience, 1979, 2) 

In 1988, Gillberg, et. al., produced evidence of elevated levels of endorphin-like substances in the cerebro-spinal fluid of children with autism. (Aspects of Autism: Biological Research Gaskell:London, pp. 31-37).

Dr. Kalle Reichelt, University of Oslo, Norway, believes that milk casomorphins cause learning disorders in 25 percent of children. He writes:

"We therefore by and large treat with a strict diet free of gluten and milk proteins with reasonably good results. Note: diet must be strict and long term."

Florida researcher, Robert Cade, M.D., and his colleagues have identified a milk casomorphin as the probable cause of attention deficit disorder and autism. They also found Beta-casomorphin-7 in high concentrations in the blood and urine of patients with either schizophrenia or autism. (AUTISM, 1999, 3)

Search the Internet and you'll find many anecdotal stories from parents blaming their children's autism on milk and dairy products.

In May of 1996, Julie Klotter, M.D., wrote in the Townsend Medical Letter:

"In reality, cow's milk, especially processed cow's milk, has been linked to a variety of health problems, including: mucous production, hemoglobin loss,
childhood diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, arthritis, kidney stones, mood swings, depression, irritability, and allergies."

Dr. Klotter was primarily concerned with adult reactions to milk opiates and milk proteins. Of her eleven symptoms, take note of numbers eight, nine, and ten. Mood swings, irritability, and depression. MID = autism. Cow's milk opiates are not for human kids, and they're not for human adults. Unless you wish to display GAB (Goofy Adult Behavior), just say no to all dairy products.

Warning: addiction to opiates is not pretty. Neither is withdrawal. Your child will be angry. Scream. Be moody. Turn into a monster. You must be strong. Milk drinkers are drug addicts. It is no different for milk chocaholics. Recognize that all dairy products, even organic ones, naturally contain powerful morphine-like substances.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@earthlink.net
 



Life, love and autism: A tale of one couple's journey
BY MAJA BECKSTROM
Knight Ridder Newspapers

ST. PAUL, Minn. - (KRT) - April and Eric Schnell refer to their son's life up to age 3 as the dark years. After birth, Tim was sickly. As a toddler, he rarely smiled and didn't return his parents' affection. At age 3, he spoke only 20 words.

But mostly, Tim cried. He cried and gagged when he touched gravel or grass or any rough surface. He cried when the phone rang, prompting the Schnells to switch off the ringer for good. He shrieked during haircuts. At night, his parents took turns checking into a motel or sleeping on the living room couch with earplugs.

At a certain point, April recalled, "It just hit me, there is something really, really wrong."

By age 3 1/2, Tim had been diagnosed with autism. The neurological disorder is characterized by a need for routine, an obsession with patterns or numbers and difficulty communicating and picking up on the nuances of social interaction.

Tim is one of the 5,900 Minnesotans under age 21 who has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, a term describing autism and related disorders such as Aspergers.

In recent years, the number of children on the spectrum has shot up alarmingly. In Minnesota in 2002, the rate of autism in 6- to 11-year-old children was 17 times what it was a decade earlier.

Epidemiologists suspect the jump is the result of a broadened definition, better diagnosis and greater public awareness. But they admit there might simply be more autistic children than there used to be.

While the cause of autism remains a mystery, its symptoms can be alleviated with intensive early treatment. The Schnells are among a growing number of parents who have tried conventional therapies and also have embraced unproven, experimental methods. They have spent thousands of dollars and countless hours seeking help for their son.

The Schnells are among the lucky ones. Tim has miraculously, his parents say, improved. At age 7, he's a curious, lively first-grader with intense brown eyes and a playful smile. His latest report card showed he's keeping up with his peers and doing especially well in language arts.

This is the path his family took.

When April Schnell looks back at Tim's first years, she now recognizes all the warning signs of autism. But at the time, she tried to convince herself that her first-born child was colicky or developing slowly. Deep down, she dreaded that she was doing something wrong.

At their Early Childhood Family Education class, Tim cried hysterically whenever April left the room. When the parents and children were together, he retreated to a corner to play with the same Fisher-Price parking garage week after week. The class instructor told April that she thought the family's nanny might be abusing him.

As a toddler, Tim was uninterested in other children. On a rare play date at a playground, he spent the entire time fussing with a garbage can lid. At a pool party, he was only interested in opening and closing the gate.

Like other parents with autistic children, the Schnells felt isolated.

"Other parents don't get it," April said. "They say, 'Oh I had a bad day, too.' And you'll think, 'No, you can't say that being a mother has been the worst experience of your life.'"

Eric Schnell agreed.

"There is this intensity of experience that is really hard to describe," he said. "When your kid is screaming nonstop, you're torn between this incredible love for this child who you created and then made the promise to take care of ... and, well ... loathing. I mean just like you've been invaded."

A turning point came just after Tim turned 2. Eric and April baby-sat for a friend and saw how glaring Tim's delays were compared with the other child. Eric scheduled an evaluation. Tim scored in the lowest 1 percent.

"It was crushing," Eric said.

The Schnells were referred to the Special Children's Center in Hudson, Wis., where Tim was diagnosed with sensory integration dysfunction, a condition that often accompanies autism and is characterized by either extreme sensitivity or a seeming numbness to touch, movement, sights or sounds.

The diagnosis explained some of Tim's odd behavior. He was so sensitive to noise that he once woke with a start to the sound of an icicle dripping on the pavement below his window. He was so sensitive to visual stimulation that he screamed when his parents turned on the colored Christmas lights.

Tim started speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy six hours a week, a regimen that lasted four years. To improve his sense of gravity, therapists coaxed him onto trampolines. To desensitize his skin, he played in plastic tubs filled with rice or noodles. Eric and April were taught to brush his entire body with a firm-bristled brush.

Eric felt relief. Relief that they finally had some answers. Relief that they weren't crazy. That they weren't alone. And that Tim's problems weren't as severe as those of other children they met.

But April was losing hope. The worst moment came one day at the clinic. Tim was hysterical, and to calm and control him, April had to lie on top of him. Lying there, she said she realized that from the minute she woke up in the morning until she closed her eyes at night, her life was held hostage by her damaged son.

The Schnells stuck with therapy, despite seeing little change in Tim. Then, about six months into his regimen, the center's director mentioned that other families had seen improvements after removing dairy products from their children's diets. So, the Schnells tried that.

A couple days later, for the first time in his life, Tim slept through the night. He was 3 years old. Like many children with autism, Tim had suffered from gastrointestinal problems. Those, too, cleared up.

"Suddenly he became more verbal," said April. "And, he was willing to take more risks."

That was the good news. But also around that time, Tim received his formal diagnosis of autism. Though the Schnells had begun to suspect it, actually hearing it was devastating.

The word autism conjures up images of "Rain Man" or a child rocking in a corner. The stereotypes only sometimes match reality. While a fundamental difficulty in communicating lies at the heart of the disorder, autistic behaviors vary widely. One child might have a huge vocabulary while another might not speak at all. One might be mentally retarded while another might be brilliant.

Estimates of its prevalence range from 1 in 160 to 1 in 500. It is four times more prevalent in boys. Until the 1960s, it was thought to be caused by detached and uncaring "refrigerator" mothers.

Today, experts believe it is linked to defective genes. Some theorize that environmental factors, such as pollution or the mercury used in the production of childhood vaccines, can trigger autism in susceptible children. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found no link to childhood vaccines, but many, including the Schnells, suspect they play some role.

Amid the swirl of competing theories, desperate parents swap anecdotes about the children who somehow get better. They cite studies about the benefits of intensive behavior-modification therapy and talk about the severely autistic child who, after treatment, entered mainstream kindergarten. There are books written by parents who have pursued unorthodox treatments and gotten results.

Those stories rekindled hope in April Schnell. By now, the couple had a second son, Matthew. Tim was almost 5, and April had quit her job to manage and research his treatment. She was especially intrigued by stories of children who improved after radically changing their diets and starting vitamin therapies.

First, she and Eric had to overcome their misgivings about trying treatments not endorsed by the medical establishment.

"It's scary," said April. "You feel you're going against the mainstream. If this really works, why isn't this more well known? I asked my pediatrician to look over this stuff to see if she saw any red flags. She said, 'I can't tell you to do this or not to do this.'

"You wonder, are we playing God here? Is our son a chemistry lab? What if we did some harm to him?"

Eric was even more skeptical and still is.

"We've had to think long and hard about our roles as parents," said Eric. "On the one hand, it is our responsibility to try everything we can to help our child. On the other hand, we didn't want to keep viewing our son as a project, as a thing that is broken and needs fixing.

"I mean, there comes a point when you just have to love your son, however he is."

The first step was relatively easy, at least ethically. April and Eric moved the entire family to a dairy-free, wheat-free and soy-free diet. In place of cow's milk, they used milk made from potato starch. They amassed recipes for meals like tapioca flour waffles. They pored over labels and called food manufacturers, tossing out things like their favorite pepperoni that contained trace amounts of wheat.

Then, they learned about a Chicago clinic that specializes in treating behavioral disorders, such as autism and ADHD, by trying to restore the body's chemical balance.

The nonprofit Pfeiffer Treatment Center made news in 2001, when founder and director Bill Walsh reported at the American Psychiatric Association's meeting that autism might be linked to a defective protein called metallothionein, which plays a crucial role in helping the body purge toxic metals, such as mercury and lead.

The Schnells had Tim's blood, urine and hair evaluated. Like other autistic children, he tested high for copper and toxic metals and low in zinc, calcium, magnesium and a range of vitamins.

They put him on supplements. They also started him on something called a metallothionein promoter, a cocktail of 14 amino acids, vitamins and minerals designed to enhance the body's ability to create its own metallothionein protein.

Walsh's theory remains unproven and isn't widely accepted by the medical establishment. But some autism experts see hope in his research and results. More than 1,500 children have been treated with the promoter, and a preliminary study of the first 50 patients found that nine out of 10 who stuck with the treatment showed improvement.

In two years, Tim, now 7, has made dramatic progress. The week he went off wheat, he came home from school and told his mother he wanted to show her something. He had never tried to draw her into his world before. He became more affectionate. His language improved. His tantrums subsided.

The Schnells credit not only the Pfeiffer treatment and diet but also Tim's therapies, including 1 1/2 years in a social skills program at Fraser Child and Family Center in Minneapolis. He learned to name feelings, stood inside a hula-hoop to learn about personal space and practiced taking turns in games.

In 2002, Tim had improved so much that he was given a new diagnosis of Aspergers, which has been described by one expert as "having a dash of autism."

"He made some really nice gains," said Pat Pulice, director of Fraser's autism program. "Technically, you don't move from one diagnosis to another. But his language had increased, and his verbal skills were solidly in the average range. What specifically caused the change is hard to say."

Pulice figures about 10 percent of the children in Fraser's autism program are on a diet like Tim's, and she can't venture a guess as to how many might be trying the vitamin and promoter therapy. But she cautioned that not every child shows improvement.

"I've seen cases where it's made a big difference," she said. "But unfortunately there isn't a lot of scientific information about which kids might respond. So, it ends up being the parents' judgment about whether to try it."

It also is expensive. The Schnells say they could not have afforded it without the nearly $60,000 they have received from a state program designed to keep disabled children out of institutional care and that reimburses parents for part of the expense of treatment, respite care and other essentials.

On a recent night, the Schnells gathered around the dinner table for tacos, minus cheese and sour cream. Tim sat across from his 3-year-old brother. He said he wanted to go see the Arthur exhibit at the Children's Museum and instantly provided its closing date. Like many children with Aspergers, he has a remarkable memory and an affinity for facts and numbers.

After he is excused, his voice suddenly squeaks through the intercom in the next room. "Attention!" he calls out. "I got my report card today."

"That's great Timmer," calls out his dad. "How did you do?"

"We'll never see unless we open it," said the disembodied voice.

His parents clear a space on the table to pore over the papers. Tim attends first grade at a Roseville charter school with a large percentage of children with disabilities. His first report card shows average scores and a "satisfactory plus" in language arts.

"There were times when we didn't know if he would talk," said Eric, starting to choke up. "So this is ... well ... momentous."

He turns to Tim, who is squirming with delight. "You got some pluses, Wow! You must be feeling pretty proud of yourself."

Not all the signs of autism have disappeared. Tim acts young for his age. His favorite cartoons, like "Berenstain Bears," are ones that usually appeal to younger children.

He has a diagnosis of a nonverbal learning disability, which means he has trouble summing things up or recognizing relevant detail. He can recite snatches of dialogue verbatim from television shows, for example, but he can't tell you the plot.

He has motor and coordination difficulties that make it hard for him to write. His need for routine is less but still strong. He takes the same route through McDonald's Playland every time and always lines up his toy cars the same way.

And like other children with an autism spectrum disorder, he has trouble reading social cues. One day last year, he came home from the public school he attended and told his parents he had poked a boy. The boy had said he would put Tim "on the floor." Unable to make sense of the exchange, Tim asked his parents: "Isn't that funny?"

His parents have overheard other children say they don't want to play with Tim or don't like him. It breaks their hearts because they know as he gets older, social interactions will become more difficult.

Inevitably, the Schnells worry about the future.

"Will he be able to support himself?" said Eric. "Will he and his brother keep the relationship they have now? Will he need someone to take care of him when he is older? I want to hope for the best and plan for the worst."

For now, they try to take it one day at a time. And celebrate the son they feel they are getting to know.

"Sometimes, I tell myself he's making up for lost time," said April. "Before, he never came running over to me to say, 'Mama! Mama! Come be with me!' He didn't like to be held or hugged. But now, Tim will come and lie in my bed and take my arm and put it around him. And he'll tell me, 'This feels so good Mama.'

"I don't know how to describe it. It's like being lost in a desert and being handed a cup of water. I didn't know how much I was missing it until he started giving it back."

---

© 2004, Saint Paul Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.).
 



Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

January 21, 2004

Obesity is on the rise...  among children as well as adults. But a new study shows that parents may be able to help obese children control their weight by increasing one important mineral in their diet.

The good news is that this mineral is easy to come by and may also be a key nutritional element in helping adults lose weight, too. The not-so-good news is that advice on the best way to get this mineral is a subject of controversy and confusion.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Following the kids
--------------------------------------------------------------

Previous studies have shown that an intake of dietary calcium among adults may be associated with lower amounts of body fat. With childhood obesity becoming a serious problem in most Western countries, researchers at the University of Tennessee (UT) designed a study to find out if calcium levels would have a beneficial effect on children's body fat.

Researchers enrolled a total of 52 children. The group was evenly divided between boys and girls, and each child began the study two months after birth. All of the children were followed for eight years, with regular monitoring of weight, height, dietary intake and other related variables. Body fat was assessed with an x-ray technique called absorptiometry, which measures density.

When the data was compiled, a result that surprised no one was an association between higher body fat and the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Lower body fat was most strongly
associated with two factors: dietary calcium and polyunsaturated  fat intake. Additionally, sufficient calcium intake was associated with diets that delivered a variety of different foods.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Adults benefit too
--------------------------------------------------------------

As I mentioned above, calcium intake may also provide adults with benefits for body weight management. Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a review of studies that examined the correlation of body weight to the intake of supplemental and dietary calcium. Among the data, researchers found evidence that:

* Subjects who showed the highest level of weight loss also had the highest intake of calcium
* Subjects with lower calcium intakes generally were found to have elevated body weight
* Subjects with diets high in dairy and calcium tended to have greater loss of fat in the trunk area (Frankly, this one surprises me. With everything we know about dairy products, I think we'll need to see the results of further studies before we can take this conclusion at face value.)

The NIH report notes that the studies reviewed were mostly small in scope, but conclusive enough to justify larger, population-based clinical trials - especially in light of the growing numbers of Americans suffering from obesity and other pre-diabetic conditions.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Come and get it
--------------------------------------------------------------

So how should you (and your kids and grandkids) go about getting calcium? The UT team concluded their study with this advice: "Children should be strongly encouraged to regularly include
calcium-rich foods and beverages in their diets. And of course, "calcium-rich beverages" is likely a reference to milk, which is where the controversy begins.

One of the iconic beliefs of our culture is that milk is good for you, does a body good, builds strong bones, keeps teeth strong, etc. But as I've addressed in previous e-Alerts, there are many studies that support evidence that milk and other dairy products create more health problems than they solve - especially pasteurized milk which is low on vitamins and contains traces of antibiotics given to cows.

Fortunately, there are better sources of dietary calcium,
including:

* Half a cup of cooked kale - 100 mg of calcium
* Half a cup of yellow, green, or wax beans - 55 mg
* A medium orange - 55 mg
* Three ounces of salmon - 80 mg

--------------------------------------------------------------
Got magnesium?
--------------------------------------------------------------

If calcium has a downside, it's that the body does a poor job of absorbing it. In fact, only a small percentage of our calcium intake (whether from food or supplements) actually makes it into the bloodstream. But magnesium is known to increase the absorption of calcium, and many of the food sources of magnesium fit into a weight-watching diet: leafy green vegetables, whole grains, bananas, apricots, meat, beans, and nuts.

Phosphorus also promotes good calcium absorption. This is why sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and figs are some of the best calcium sources around, because all three deliver calcium, magnesium and phosphorus. In addition, phosphorus helps develop hard enamel, but studies have shown that the interior structure of teeth can be weakened when too much calcium and phosphorus are present without magnesium. And guess what delivers calcium and phosphorus, but zero magnesium?

Milk.
 




Autism and Malnutrition: The Milk Connection   By Linda Carlton To understand autism we can begin this journey from what we have learned about how seemingly insignificant dietary changes can affect newborn primates. In October 1975, three Japanese scientists raised a group of infant primates. By artificial nursing, these primates were fed a casein powdered milk formula. When they modified the infant formula to reduce the content of protein and increased the lactose to supplement the appropriate number of calories, the primate infants developed abnormal behaviors such as stereotype rocking, fear, aggression, head banging and other autistic-like behaviors. Completely unaware of what they had discovered, the scientists had induced autism in a clinical setting.

Now, they were aware that by reducing the protein content they caused the infants to become malnourished. They also observed that without human contact some infants were much more impaired. They learned that the infants that received the standard solution were reared successfully. At that time they concluded that a protein deficiency had caused a decline in physical and mental growth. Subsequent studies have supported this, whereby protein deficiency does cause developmental delay.

Autism Versus Developmental Delay
 

But it is important to know which symptoms are truly autistic and which are that of developmental delay. These disorders are often used interchangeably, but they are very different. For example, hand flapping is an autistic symptom, but it is not a common characteristic of developmental delay. In developmental delay children are often slow to learn, and will quickly fall behind their peers. The symptoms of these primates were more than just symptoms of developmental delay--they were symptoms of autism.

The most important information we have about these infant primates is that the researchers had also increased the lactose content in their diet. If the quantity of protein matched that of the quantity of lactose, this might not have occurred, or it might also have occurred if they had been fed too much protein. The standard formula given to the infant primates that were reared successfully were given the same amount of lactose, and what would have been the normal amount of protein for these size mammals.

Lactose and Autism

Lactose is the key to unraveling what happened to these infants. Bacteria use lactose, or milk sugar, as a nutrient base. Bifidobacteria and clostridia use lactose, and they often describe these strains of bacteria as lactose-fermenting bacteria. One difference in Bifidobacteria and Clostridia is that only one can produce significant amounts of ammonia, only one can damage the intestines. Milk oligosaccharides contain lactose; they are fermented in the infant colon where they selectively stimulate the growth of Bifidobacteria. Clostridia are competitors of Bifidobacteria, and Clostridia produce ammonia. Ammonia and only ammonia produced from bacteria could have caused the aberrant behaviors.

The infant primates had developed symptoms of autism because there was protein restriction, milk proteins needed for ammonia detoxification, and not necessarily just casein. They were fed lactose and lactose ferments ammonia, producing bacteria. They were unable to detoxify on a protein-deficient diet. It is a simple formula:

Protein + Lactose = Normal Development
Low protein + High Lactose = Autism

But protein malnutrition does not equal autism nor does lactose feeding equal autism. However,

Protein malnutrition + high-lactose feeding + (the unknown factor) = Autism

There has to be an unknown factor for this to occur, a combination of things that all relate to one another. The unknown factor can be found by testing these three variables. We have to review other information that we have on children with autism to give us the correct answer to the unknown factor.

A low-protein diet offsets a nitrogen balance to detoxify ammonia, whereas lactose feeding ferments bacteria. The only variable that could account for the unknown factor is ammonia. In autism, there are signs of ammonia detoxification, for example when GABA and nitric oxide are increased. So instead of developing overt ammonia toxicity, they are able to detoxify this excess ammonia. As encouraging as this sounds it still depletes cellular energy. Many parents can recall 'staring spells' as the first behavioral change in a child prior to autistic regression. This can be the first sign of increased blood ammonia.

Other symptoms found in children with only minimal increases in blood ammonia were:

Developmental regression Loss of acquired speech Stereotype hand movements Myoclonic seizures Generalized epileptic discharges Repetitive behaviors Sensory dysfunction Auditory and visual hallucinations
  Finegold and his colleagues have published three studies on children with autism. The first study was with the use of antibiotics. The second study of stool specimens indicated a vast overpopulation of Clostridia in children with autism. Many physicians use antibiotics for treatment of elevated blood ammonia to kill the ammonia-producing bacteria. Antibiotics have produced dramatic effects in children with autism, however this treatment did inevitably fail. Experiments with fermented foods after antibiotic treatments have been somewhat successful in preventing relapsing Clostridial infections.

Live Bacteria to Temper Immune Response

As many of us already know, treatment with probiotic supplements at most show only minor, if any, improvement in autistic symptoms. These can sometimes take weeks or even months to take affect or may never have any effect. The reason for this is that when probiotic bacteria are dried and then rehydrated, even with prebiotic assistance it takes time for these bacteria to reestablish a colony. When live bacteria are frozen they can re-colonize within 24 hours at room temperature, but when bacteria are heat-killed they induce an immune response and their ability to re-colonize is remote. Each time we consume foods with heat-killed bacteria it produces an immune response.

Every time we receive a vaccination with heat-killed bacteria or a heat-killed virus, it produces a similar immune response. Live bacteria such as that of lactic acid bacteria can temper these immune responses. The infant primates were fed heat-treated formulas, Clostridia is an opportunist infection, looking for a chance to colonize. However, Clostridia is also a natural inhabitant of the colon. The problem here with heat-treated foods is that you might as well say they are sterile. If you are feeding sterile foods, they don't contain bacteria that can form
a colony. So in order to colonize bacteria you have to consume foods with live bacteria or an opportunist will take that invitation.

Breast-fed babies are colonized naturally by Bifidobacteria. Babies fed formula develop much more harmful fecal environments. Preterm infants are especially at risk for Clostridrial infections because there is usually a delay in breast feeding. In older children generally pathogenic Clostridial infections develop after antibiotic treatment, which can destroy the beneficial bacteria derived from the mother.

Impaired Digestion and Pasteurized Milk

Pasteurized milk causes the impaired digestion of casein and other proteins found in milk. Malnutrition is caused by either an insufficient diet or an impaired utilization of foods. Malabsorption is the impairment of intestinal absorption of nutrients. Some children with protein-calorie deficiency had abnormal intestinal fat absorption, and because of this they had an increased uptake of serotonin in the plasma. One scientific study found hyperserotoninaemia in 70 percent of their autistic patients. It should come as no surprise that serotonin uptake inhibitors have had some success in treating autistic children. The medical literature supports the realization that protein deficiency causes developmental delay and even mild increases in ammonia causes oddities in behavior.

Some methods of ammonia detoxification have been suggested with the use of lactulose, oral lactulose and the drug Tributyrate, which can scavenge excess ammonia. Lactulose can cause extreme irritability in children, and perhaps its use with autistic children was abandoned due to these circumstances.

Impacted Colons and Pasteurized Milk
 

Children with autism frequently have impacted colons. Clostridia is notorious for reducing the quantity of water in the colon. Hard dry stools can cause irritability once stool-softening products are started. These stools might only be removed by using an enema prior to beginning any stool-softening treatment. Once the bowels have been cleared of extremely hard, dry stools, then treatment with stool softeners can begin.

What we have to consider is the matter of colonizing bacteria. A healthy colon in a normal infant contains a significant supply of Bifidobacteira. Pasteurized milk simply putrefies in the colon and hinders the passage of fecal matter. Pasteurized milk contains heat-killed bacteria and is unable to reflourish the colon with host-friendly bacteria--unless contaminated, it is sterile.

When milk proteins are damaged by heat processing it renders them indigestible. Raw milk does not cause constipation. Constipation is caused by the loss of moisture. Lactose and lactulose add moisture back to the colon, but clostridia can quickly dry up the feces. Raw milk is easily digestible by infants, for as long as babies have been born mothers have been feeding their young casein and other milk proteins. Clostridia can feed on unabsorbed lactose from the diet. Lactose is completely hydrolyzed in cheeses made with bifidobacteria.

Autism and Casein-Free Diets

Science cannot support the presumption that a casein-free diet reduces autistic symptoms. All the literature on casein restriction indicates this only causes a developmental delay. If an improvement is seen on a casein-free diet, it is only because of the removal of free lactose, and the removal of constipating foods.

The very worst thing that you can do to a child coping with mercury is to wean them off of breast or raw milk. Weaning causes the hair and blood mercury levels to suddenly drop, and it is re-routed to the colon for excretion. If the child is constipated, it could mean real problems.

Now we know three Japanese researchers were able to induce autism in a clinical setting, with a low-protein, high-lactose, sterilized formula. The belief that infant-mother separation or the refrigerator mother causes autistic symptoms continued for many years. Understanding what happened to these infant primates could have changed the course of medical history. Unfortunately, two new theories of what causes autistic symptoms have followed.

Treating Autistic Symptoms

To treat the symptoms of autism, we have to feed our children foods that they can digest, foods that do not cause constipation, foods that will give them back the bacterial environment to temper these inflammatory conditions. And most importantly return to proper nitrogen-ammonia balance.

Treatment should begin with a healthy diet, high in quality protein foods such as eggs, meat, milk and cheese and balanced essential oils. Raw goat's or raw cow's milk may be given. If not well tolerated, then cultured raw milk/kefir can be used. Oral, inexpensive butyrate may be given to both clean the colon and to detoxify ammonia from the liver and bowels.

To finalize, there are still the issues of treating malabsorption, the impairment of intestinal absorption of nutrients and abnormal intestinal fat absorption. To begin nutritional rehabilitation for your child you will need some help navigating through the complicated process. Dr. Patricia Kane has treated thousands of children with autism over the past 25 years who have not only had malnutrition, but also abnormal intestinal fat absorption. Restoration of digestive function is critical to absorbing dietary essential fatty acids and stabilizing the nutrient base.

Japanese scientists in 1975 documented the development of autistic symptoms and revealed how diet can induce these symptoms. In 2004 we now have the tools to eradicate the symptoms of autism.





Got Migraines?

Fifteen years ago, the journal of Pediatrics (1989;84(4):595-603) reported:

"Dairy products may play a major role in the development of allergies, asthma, sleep difficulties, and migraine headaches."
 



Why Does Cow's Milk Contain Calcium?

Do you wonder why it is that cow's milk contains so much calcium? After all, cow's do not drink milk. Where then, do they get their calcium? The answer is that plants (veggies) are loaded with calcium. Cows eat plants. Humans should, too.

Human breast milk is the perfect formula for baby humans. In her wisdom, Mother Nature included 33 milligrams of calcium in every 100 grams, or 3 1/2-ounce portion, of human breast milk. At the end of this column are calcium values for 55 commonly eaten foods. Compare those calcium values to human breast milk.

The perfect calcium-rich food is hummus. Chick peas (150 mg) + sesame seeds (1160 mg) will yield a food containing ten times as much calcium as human breast milk. In order to absorb calcium, the body needs comparable amounts of another mineral element, magnesium. Magnesium is the center atom of chlorophyl. Milk and dairy products contain only small amounts of magnesium. Without the presence of magnesium, the body only absorbs 25 percent of the available dairy calcium content. The remainder of the calcium spells trouble. Without magnesium, excess calcium is utilized by the body in injurious ways. The body uses calcium to build the mortar on arterial walls which becomes atherosclerotic plaques. Excess calcium is converted by the kidneys into painful stones which grow in size like pearls in oysters, blocking our urinary tracts. Excess calcium contributes to arthritis; painful calcium buildup often is manifested as gout.

Osteoporosis is NOT a problem that should be associated with lack of calcium intake. Osteoporosis results from calcium loss. The massive amounts of protein in milk result in a 50 percent loss of calcium in the urine. In other words, by doubling your protein intake there will be a loss of 1-1.5 percent in skeletal mass per year in postmenopausal women. The calcium contained in leafy green vegetables is more easily absorbed than the calcium in milk, and plant proteins do not result in calcium loss the same way as do animal proteins.

Human breast milk contains 33 milligrams of calcium per 100-gram portion and potato chips contain 40 milligrams!

Calcium content of foods (per 100-gram portion) (100 grams equals around 3.5 ounces):
01. Human Breast Milk 33 mg
02. Almonds 234 mg
03. Amaranth 267 mg
04. Apricots (dried) 67 mg
05. Artichokes 51 mg
06. Beans (can: pinto, black) 135 mg
07. Beet greens (cooked) 99 mg
08. Blackeye Peas 55 mg
09. Bran 70 mg
10. Broccoli (raw) 48 mg
11. Brussel Sprouts 36 mg
12. Buckwheat 114 mg
13. Cabbage (raw) 49 mg
14. Carrot (raw) 37 mg
15. Cashew nuts 38 mg
16. Cauliflower (cooked) 42 mg
17. Swiss Chard (raw) 88 mg
18. Chickpeas (garbanzos) 150 mg
19. Collards (raw leaves) 250 mg
20. Cress (raw) 81 mg
21. Dandelion Greens 187 mg
22. Endive 81 mg
23. Escarole 81 mg
24. Figs (dried) 126 mg
25. Filberts (Hazelnuts) 209 mg
26. Kale (raw leaves) 249 mg
27. Kale (cooked leaves) 187 mg
28. Leeks 52 mg
29. Lettuce (lt. green) 35 mg
30. Lettuce (dark green) 68 mg
31. Molasses (dark-213 cal.) 684 mg
32. Mustard Greens (raw) 183 mg
33. Mustard Greens (cooked) 138 mg
34. Okra (raw or cooked) 92 mg
35. Olives 61 mg
36. Oranges (Florida) 43 mg
37. Parsley 203 mg
38. Peanuts (roasted & salted) 74 mg
39. Peas (boiled) 56 mg
40. Pistachio Nuts 131 mg
41. Potato Chips 40 mg
42. Raisins 62 mg
43. Rhubarb (cooked) 78 mg
44. Sauerkraut 36 mg
45. Sesame Seeds 1160 mg
46. Squash (Butternut) 40 mg
47. Soybeans 60 mg
48. Sugar (brown) 85 mg
49. Tofu 128 mg
50. Spinach (raw) 93 mg
51. Sunflower Seeds 120 mg
52. Sweet Potatoes (baked) 40 mg
53. Turnips (cooked) 35 mg
54. Turnip Greens (raw) 246 mg
55. Turnip Greens (boiled) 184 mg
56. Water Cress 151 mg
 



Conditioning
We are so conditioned into believing that milk gives us calcium that we can’t imagine it might harm us and cause osteoporosis.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blood acidity
Keeping our blood at an essentially neutral pH is a top priority for the body. If our blood were to become too acidic we would die. If the diet contains a lot of acid forming foods, then the body withdraws calcium from the bones and uses this alkaline mineral to balance the pH of the blood. Meat, eggs and fish are the most acid-forming foods. Most fruits and vegetables yield an alkaline ash, and don't deplete calcium stores. High protein diets in general, and meat based diets in particular, lead to a gradual decrease in bone density. World health statistics show that osteoporosis is most common in exactly those countries where diary products are con-sumed in the largest quantities - the U.S.A., Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. 2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

African Women
African Bantu women take in only 350 mg. of calcium per day, compared to the R.D.A. of 1,200 mg. They bear nine children during their lifetime and breast feed them for two years. They never have calcium deficiency, seldom break a bone, and rarely lose a tooth. Their low protein diet doesn't kick the calcium out of the body. 3 They consume much less calcium than Americans, and yet are essentially free of osteoporosis. 4 Genetic relatives of the Bantus living in the U.S.A., and eating the standard American diet, have levels of osteoporosis equal to those of their white neighbours. 5

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Eskimos
Eskimos have the highest dietary calcium intake of any people in the world - more than 2,000 mg. a day 6 - and one of the worlds highest protein - 250 to 400 grams a day. 7 Native Eskimo people have one of the very highest rates of osteoporosis in the world. 8

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References
Robbins, John, Diet for a New America, Stillpoint Publishing, 1987, pages 189-199.
Walker, A., "Calcium Retention in the Adult human Male as Affected by Protein Intake", Journal of Nutrition, 102:1297, 1972.
Pritikin, N., quoted in Vegetarian Times, Issue 43, pg. 22.
Walker, A., "Osteoporosis and Calcium Deficiency," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 16:327, 1965
Smith, R., "Epidemiologic Studies of Osteoporosis in Women of Puerto Rico and South-easter Michigan ..." Clin Ortho 45:32, 1966
Mazees, R., "Bone Mineral Content of North Alaskan Eskimos", Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 27:916, 1974
Ibid.
Ibid.
Nilas, L., "Calcium Supplementation and Postmenopausal Bone Loss," British Medical Journal, 289:1103, 1984
Recker, R., "The Effect of Milk Supplements on Calcium Metabolism, Bone Metabolism and Calcium Balance," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 41:254, 1985
Barzel, V., Osteoporosis, Grune and Stratton, New York, 1970

 




Dairy Trivia

QUESTIONS

1) What color is natural cheddar cheese?

2) If you were eating exactly the number of calories required to maintain your present weight and then added one container of low-fat fruit yogurt to your diet each day, how much weight would you
gain after one year?

3) For every quart of milk a cow produces, how much blood does she filter through her udder?

4) Given the opportunity to rank order their beverage of choice (beer, coffee, milk, soda, water, etc.), in what place did consumers rank milk?

5) Which contains more cholesterol? One quart of rich vanilla ice cream or 68 slices of bacon?

6) Dairy industry sxperts recommend that adult Americans consume 1000 mg. of calcium per day to prevent bone disease. What group of people consume the most calcium in the world, 3500 mg.
per day, and what are their rates of osteoporosis?

ANSWERS
__________________________________________
{What color is natural cheddar cheese?}

1) White. Most people believe that cheddar is naturally orange. Actually, cheddar becomes orange after the addition of a carrot-based food coloring.
__________________________________________
{How much weight would you gain by eating a small container of low fat yogurt each day for a year?}

2) 23 1/2 pounds.
One container of low-fat fruit yogurt contains 225 calories. There are 3500 calories in one pound of human fat. By eating 82,125 more calories than your body required to maintain your current weight, you would gain 23 1/2 pounds in your hips, thighs, tummy and butt. So much for low fat dairy foods
which naturally contain powerful bovine growth hormones.
__________________________________________
{For 1 quart of milk, how much blood is filtered through a cow's udder?}

3) A cow filters 500 quarts of blood for each quart of milk she produces. Many people consider milk to be white blood. The average quart of milk sold in America in the year 2000 contained 323 million
white blood cells.
__________________________________________
{How did consumers rate milk against other beverages?}

4) Milk ranked fifth as the beverage of choice among U.S. consumers. Soft drinks led with a 30 percent share, followed by water at 17.3 percent, beer at 12.4 percent, coffee at 10.5 percent, and milk at 10.4 percent. All other beverages combined for the remaining 19.4%.
__________________________________________
(Which contains more cholesterol, one quart of ice cream or 68 slices of bacon?}

5) This was a trick question. The quart of vanilla ice cream and the 68 slices of bacon contain the same amount of cholesterol.
__________________________________________

{What group of people eat 3500 mg per day of calcium, and what is the effect?}

6) Inuit Indians (Eskimos) consume the highest per capita amount of calcium in the world and most are crippled with debilitating bone disease by age 40. Here's why:

http://www.notmilk.com/o.html

For more fun questions and answers, take the 25-question milk quiz:

http://www.notmilk.com/nmquiz.html

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
201-967-7001
 



Subject: An American Recipe: Feces-Infused Milk

Yesterday (September 6, 2004), I reported that University of Minnesota investigators had visited 110 dairy farms in four states and determined that 92.7% of those farms tested positive for salmonella. See:

<http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/notmilk/message/1762 >

I was surprised by the angry responses from more than a dozen of my dairy farmer readers. My columns sometimes make news within the milk industry, and to a man, each of the pro-dairy readers objected to what they called "the deceptive Notmilk newsletter." Their claim was that salmonella will sometimes test positive in cows, but it is rare to detect salmonella or other fecal bacteria in milk. Their claim was that once the milk is collected, filtered, and picked up by the milk truck, it is clean and wholesome.

I've got some very bad news for these hard working dairymen. The September, 2004 issue of the Journal Dairy Science (Volume 87:2822-2830) contains a study in which USDA researchers documented the presence of fecal bacteria, including salmonella, in milk that had been loaded onto refrigerated trucks.

Three government scientists (Van Kessel1, Karns, & Gorski) tested 861 bulk milk trucks in 21 states.

Coliform bacteria (bacteria originating in cow colons) were detected in 95% of the milk samples (818 of 860). Got dairy? Got feces! The milk may be lily-white and appear to be pure, but there is nothing wholesome about drinking a fluid tainted with fecal bacteria.

I've always wondered about this: If health inspectors detect the presence of mouse turds in a vat of apple cider (an extremely rare event), the entire batch is condemned. Yet, if those same inspectors were to detect the presence of cow feces in cow's milk (it happens with every batch), that same product is routinely packaged and distributed to consumers.

An American Recipe: Feces-Infused Milk

Ingredients:

Milk from one herd of dairy cows

Method:

Milk cows.
Collect and store milk in holding tank.
Filter milk. Discard filter with brown sludge.
<Note: That brown sludge ain't dirt.>
Load milk onto truck.
Put milk into containers.
Refrigerate.
Serve cold. With Brownies...

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com 

 



Hu Loves Milk Too!

Hu Jintao is China's premier, and his promotion of milk and dairy products will propel Chinese people into a 21st century plagued by Western diseases. The Chinese have an inferiority complex. They've seen the Japanese people grow an average of two inches over the last two generations (40 years) while their heights have remained stable. In order to attain the same physical growth, the Chinese government has been working closely with America's dairy industry, recognizing that growth hormones in milk are the missing link keeping them from attaining the same  stature as the Japanese.

What happened to Japan after World War II? Japanese got their first taste of dairy products in 1946. While milk and dairy consumption increased by twenty-one times, from 1950 to 1975, cerebral vascular disease (strokes) increased 38 percent. Heart disease increased 35 percent, breast cancer rates increased 77 percent. Colon cancer increased 77 percent. Lung cancer increased by three hundred percent. In 2004, there is a runaway asthma epidemic plaguing Japanese, and nobody seems to be considering the increased cheese consumption.

What happened to young girls and the impact of milk consumption on puberty is even more dramatic. In 1950 the average twelve-year old girl was 4'6" tall and weighed 71 pounds. By 1975 the average Japanese girl, after guzzling a daily diet of milk and dairy products containing 59 different bioactive hormones, had grown an average of 4 1/2 inches and gained 19 pounds. In 1950 the average Japanese girl had her first menstrual cycle at the age of 15.2 years. Twenty five years later, after a daily intake of estrogen and progesterone from milk, the average Japanese girl was ovulating at the age of 12.2 years, three years younger.

The Chinese are developing enormous state-of-the-art 10,000-cow dairy farms, but they do not have the same fully developed power and electrical resources as do the Americans or Japanese. Refrigerators are not found in every home. How to cool and store the milk? That problem has been solved.

The first Chinese-made fully automatic, milk packing equipment has been manufactured by the Anhui Keyuan Group. They will now put the milk into Parmalat-style shelf stable containers. Who will drink the half-pint cartons? Children. The Chinese dairy industry has targeted kids. Their method is to borrow another appropriately named American marketing tool, Looney Tunes.  Warner Brothers has developed a licensing deal with Premier Hu Jintao so that milk cartons will include "fun-filled flavor" for Chinese consumers.

I am a big fan of Chinese food. There are no cheese dishes to be found on Chinese restaurant menus. One does not order Moo Shu dragon with mozzarella cheese.  I dread the thought of what happens when Porky the stir-fried Pig meets Peking-Daffy Duck at Shanghai's new dairy bar. Indigestion? Osteoporosis? Heart disease, asthma, and cancer? Choose one from column A and one from column B. An American menu for western-style diseases. One glass of milk and thirty minutes later, the Chinese will be wanting more.

 



www.notmilk.com/kradjian.html ....this is an excellent article don't miss it!



New Bone Study Shatters Dairy Lie


The October 21, 2004 issue of the International Journal of Osteoporosis reports a "milk intake and fracture risk" study performed at the University of Sheffield Medical School, United Kingdom, for the World Health Organization. Researchers studied 28,300 women and 12,200 men and determined:

"A low intake of calcium (less than 1 glass of milk daily) was not associated with a significantly increased risk of any fracture, osteoporotic fracture or hip fracture."

Scientists concluded:

"...[a] self-reported low intake of milk is not associated with any marked increase in fracture risk and that the use of this risk indicator is of little or no value in case-finding strategies."

This new publication is consistent with early studies, which reported:

"Calcium intake demonstrated no protective in preventing bone fractures. In fact, those populations with the highest calcium intakes had higher fracture rates than those with more modest calcium intakes."

Calif Tissue Int 1992;50

"There is no significant association between teenaged milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. Data indicate that frequent milk consumption and higher dietary calcium intakes in middle aged women do not provide protection against hip or forearm fractures...women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods had significantly increased risks of hip fractures, while no increase in fracture risk was observed for the same levels of calcium from nondairy sources."

12-year Harvard study of 78,000 women American Journal of Public Health 1997;87

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com 

 



'Good' Bacteria Help with Eczema in Infants

Fri Apr 8, 6:51 PM ET
Health - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Mixing a type of beneficial or "probiotic" bacteria, Lactobacillus GG (LGG), into food helps reduce symptoms in allergic infants with the skin condition eczema, according to a report in the medical journal Allergy.

Previous reports have suggested that probiotic bacteria may be useful in reducing symptoms in food-allergic children. To investigate this further, Dr. Mirva Viljanen, from the University of Helsinki in Finland, and colleagues assessed symptoms in 230 infants with eczema and suspected allergy to cow's milk.  The children's food was mixed with capsules containing LGG alone, LGG plus three other probiotics, or inactive "placebo" for 4 weeks.

Following the treatment phase, milk exposure testing was performed and cow's milk allergy was diagnosed in 120 infants, the authors report. In the overall analysis, allergy symptoms dropped by 65 percent during the study, but no differences were observed between the treatment groups. However, when the analysis was confined to subjects sensitized by a type of antibody called IgE, LGG alone, but not with the other probiotics, seemed to reduce symptoms compared with placebo.

Influencing the natural microbes in the intestinal tract "by administration of probiotic bacteria to treat allergy is a new alternative," the authors state. The findings suggest that this may be a successful approach for some children with food allergy.

SOURCE: Allergy, April 2005.

 




One of my readers recently wrote to me and asked, "What Notmilk column are you most proud of? I've been reading your notmilkisms for years. Just out of curiosity, which one is your personal favorite of all time?"

I had to give that query quite a bit of thought. During a ten year period, I wrote and posted a column nearly every day. They now number over 3,000. Which one is numero uno on my list?

It did not take long for me to come up with an appropriate non-controversial response. The best one was...is...by far:

Today's!

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If Ignorance Was Bliss..

If ignorance had been bliss, then we would not be familiar with the work of endocrinologist Clark Grosvenor. Having nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, many of us real men*** might have turned on a ball game or figured out the Final Four college basketball teams, working backwards into selecting
each round of survivors in the upcoming NCAA March Madness tourney.

Clark Grosvenor was a man driven by curiousity and had a burning desire to know if hormones could possibly be found in the same glass of cow's milk that school kids drink. Dairy farmers might have suggested that Dr. Grosvenor was a scientist badly in need of a hobby.

So, Grosvenor got funding for his project and he went to the lab. And he researched. And he used all of the skills that we laymen have long since forgotten from high school chemistry to isolate and identify. And when Dr. Grosvenor had finished his astounding task, he had done just that. Isolated and identified. Fifty-nine unique hormones in every sip of milk. A motto never to be used by the dairy industry's copywriters and admen, and you can bet your sweet bippy or your bottom dollar on that one.

The Heinz company would have been proud to own such a motto. The dairy industry would be mortified. This information could never be released to the public. Who would ever drink milk after learning that tidbit of information? With that knowledge, what parent would ever allow a child to drink cow's milk? Despite the odds against him, Grosvenor set off to find a publisher for his mind-boggling research results.

Rumor has it that Time and Newsweek passed and Ladies Home Journal could not justify publishing Grosvenor's research because of its incompatibility with the seventeen milk ads that were due to run concurrently in the following month's edition.  Sport's Illustrated saw no point to it all, but their editors did note that models posing for the swimsuit issue kept showing up with physical endowments more enhanced than previous years. Even the New York Times, with all the news that's fit to print, determined that this news was not fit to print, recognizing that truth must subordinate itself to ad revenue. Ultimately,  Grosvenor's work was published in volume 14, number 6 of an obscure publication called the Journal of Endocrine Reviews in 1992, where it sat for many years, undiscovered, until a guy calling himself the NotMilkMan found the paper, and in the vererable style of Archimedes some 22 centuries earlier, uttered his solitary word of effervescing acknowledgment, "Eureka!"

Visualize a wretched looking emaciated cow with flies buzzing round her stinking butt and grotesquely contoured head. Now, imagine the most beautiful Holstein specimen, with anatomically perfect udders laden with milk. Both bovines share a common distinction. Each one carries milk, which naturally contains powerful steroid hormones. Now, ladies and gentlemen, glance over at the serene and lovely face of your mate. He or she is about to wake from a restless night's sleep and drink that glass of milk from either creature for breakfast and become transformed into a psycho-beast from the netherworld and
there's not a gosh-darned thing that can be done about it.

Cow's milk contains steroid and protein hormones. The healthiest milk from the cleanest, organically-raised cow unquestionably contains hormones. The ugliest cow, barely able to stand on her own four feet, suffering from the agony of arthritic legs caused by calcium depletion, in constant anguish from overworked and ulcerated udders also carries milk containing these same naturally occurring powerful hormones.

Can you imagine starting your day with an estrogen pill, followed by progesterone, prolactin, melatonin, oxytocin, and 50+ other chemical messengers, including gastrointestinal peptides and hypothalamic hormones? It is no wonder that the  Townsend Medical Letter noted the following in May of 1995:

"In reality, cow's milk, especially processed cow's milk, has been linked to a variety of health problems, including: ...mood swings, depression, and irritability."

OK, trust me here, people...Due to circumstances far beyond our control, we have become behavioral experts on this hormonal thing...pre-menstrual, post-menstrual, climacteric, this syndrome and that...how can we cope with this stuff? Our crimes? So we occasionally leave the toilet seat in the wrong position and drop dirty underwear on the bedroom floor...is this reason enough to be living with a hormonal psycho-creature from perdition? If your significant other has eaten one or more portions of dairy before bed, let this be your warning. Be nice, be caring, don't, I repeat, don't push the wrong buttons. You know the obvious triggers, but you may not be aware of the explosive force of dairy synergy caused by swallowing hormones. Milk hormones.

For fatal attractions, do not turn the light off on your dairy-using mate until you hear the snoring. It ain't over until the neurotic dairy-user sleeps. Allow your
mate to drink milk and you've taken the first step towards attaining your inevitable destiny, that of a pathetically beaten lost soul. It's not too late to spike the Special-K with soymilk. If you do not, prepare to suffer the consequences... His name was Vinko Bogataj, and he forever became known as the "agony of defeat" week after week, year after year, as ABC'S Wide World of Sports captured the losing end of his now infamous ski jump.

The agony of defeat: <http://tinyurl.com/2vzo85>

That is you, my friend. You are Vinko, and the mood swings, depression, and irritability described so eloquently by medical professionals writing for the Townsend Medical Letter and suffered so ignominiously by your mate after consuming milk and dairy products will continue to take you on an upside-down inside-out somersault through life.

Real Man Test*** <http://tinyurl.com/3xp3n2>

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Learn to tell this joke...it's worth five points on the "real men test" which you just skipped over... see question number five.
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A man goes to a medical clinic for tests, and the doctor says, "I've got bad news, and more bad news."

"Okay doc, give it to me straight. What's wrong?"

"The bad news is...you've gotten prostate cancer from your habit of drinking cow's milk and eating cheese."

"And the other bad news?"

"The other bad news is, you've caught Mad Cow Disease and gotten Alzheimers by consuming dairy products."

"Well, at least I don't have cancer!"

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@earthlink.net