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Caustic Commentary - Fall 2005
Sally Fallon and Mary Enig take on the Diet Dictocrats
RECIPE FOR DISASTER
The American Heart Association and the American Academy
of Pediatrics have ganged up to target children with a starvation diet
guaranteed to saddle them with health and behavioral problems as they
enter adulthood (Reuters Health 9/28/2005). Clothed in platitudes--"breast
feed through the first year," "skip calorie-packed, low-nutrient
foods, "delay introducing juice until at least 6 months of age"--the
new guidelines dictate withholding foods that growing children need
most, namely animal fats and salt. Parents are advised to feed them
lean meats, skinless chicken, "low-mercury" fish and fat-free
milk. In this scheme, children don’t even get the small amount
of fat in lowfat milk--it must be fat free! And they don’t
get butter either, but vegetable oils and soft margarine. Plenty of
whole grains (including extruded whole grain breakfast cereals) mean
lots of stress on the developing intestinal tract and salt restriction
guarantees suboptimal intellectual development. The phrase that comes
to mind as one contemplates the consequences of this appalling advice
is "wailing and gnashing of teeth."
CLASS ACTION
Consumers have filed the first-of-its-kind, nationwide class action
lawsuit against Pfizer, maker of the popular cholesterol-lowering, statin-type
drug Lipitor. The lawsuit alleges that Pfizer engaged in a massive campaign
to convince both doctors and patients that Lipitor is a beneficial treatment
for nearly everyone with elevated cholesterol, even though no studies
have shown it to be effective for those over 65, and for women at any
age who do not already have heart disease or diabetes. In fact, the
ASCOT study, the largest clinical trial on the effectiveness of statin
therapy in women, found that women at increased risk of developing heart
disease who took Lipitor developed 10 percent more heart attacks
than the women who took the placebo. The proposed class action seeks
to represent women who have taken Lipitor and who have no history of
heart disease or diabetes; people aged 65 and over who have taken Lipitor
and who have no history of heart disease or diabetes; and third-party
payers such as insurance companies, union health and welfare funds,
self-insured employers and others who paid for Lipitor for patients
in either of these two groups. The law suit was filed in US District
Court in Boston by Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman Sobol
Shapiro on behalf of several individuals, Health Care of All and the
Teamsters. For further information see www. hbsslaw.com.
UNIONS UNITED AGAINST FLUORIDE
Eleven EPA employee unions representing more than 7,000 environmental
and public health professionals have demanded that drinking water fluoridation
programs across the country be discontinued. These unions, which represent
laboratory
scientists, regulatory support scientists and other EPA workers, have
asked EPA management to recognize the finding that fluoride poses a
potential serious cancer risk to people. The call for a moratorium came
after a Harvard School of Dental Medicine researcher allegedly covered
up evidence linking fluoridation with an elevated risk of a fatal bone
cancer in young boys. Union members are further concerned about recent
work by Richard Mass of the University of North Carolina’s Environmental
Quality Institute, which found an association between increased lead
levels in drinking water systems when silicofluoride fluoridating agents
are combined with chloramines disinfectant. The unions have requested
that EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson issue a public warning in the
form of an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that would set the
drinking water standard for fluoride at zero. One of fluoride’s
negative effects is its ability to compete with iodine, a mineral essential
for thyroid, breast and whole body health. Increased iodine consumption
helps expel fluoride from the body, but levels found in iodized salt
are not sufficient to replenish health supplies. For further information,
visit the Protect Our Water Alliance website at www.powalliance.org/petition.
SWISS MEADOW CLA
WAPF member Judy Mudrak has come across an interesting article while
leafing through the Swiss Federal Research Station
for Animal Production and Dairy Products magazine. The November/December
2004 issue contains a study showing that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA),
an anti-cancer substance in the butterfat of grass-fed cows, is three
times higher in the butterfat from cows grazing on Alpine meadows than
from cows grazing at lower altitudes. Moreover, the CLA concentrations
remain high during the whole grazing season. The report notes that CLA
can also be of use in human health for weight control, strengthening
of the immune system, reduction of inflammation, diabetes and protection
against atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and asthma. Natural CLA
in butterfat comes as a complex of isomers, each with different effects
on the body. One of the isomers inhibits the activity of lipase in fat
cells, thus reducing the storage of lipids in the cells. This explains
animal studies showing a noticeable reduction in body fat while body
weight was not reduced--CLA helps the body make muscle instead
of fat. The authors speculate that the higher levels of CLA in Alpine
milk are due to a much greater number of different plants on which the
cows graze--up to 150--while in the grasslands of the valleys
only about 6 species predominate.
BIG MAC DOC
For nearly 30 years, Dr. Dean Ornish has made a living by advocating
a very lowfat diet as a way to reverse chronic illness,
particularly heart disease. Now it emerges that Ornish is a paid consultant
for McDonald’s. His responsibilities include meeting top executives,
giving talks to employees and providing
copy about diet and breast cancer for McDonald’s patrons on Mother’s
Day. Hypocrisy? Maybe not. A McDonald’s meal is surprisingly high
in soy and low in saturated fat, the kind he demonizes. That’s
because there’s soy protein in the burger and bun plus plenty
of partially hydrogenated soy oil in the fries. Ornish is also a paid
"consultant"--or should we say "executive conscience
assuager"--of PepsiCo and ConAgra Foods.
CSPI AT IT AGAIN
Center for Science in the Public Interest is the group responsible
for the replacement of healthy fats like tallow and coconut
oil in processed and fried with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
During its 1980s campaign against healthy traditional fats, CSPI assured
the public that the replacement for those terrible saturated fats posed
no health problem. But once the dirty deed had been done, spokesmen
for CSPI professed shock that the industry was using oils containing
unhealthy trans fats. In a repeat performance, CSPI has now
focused its vitriol on sugary soft drinks, while assuring the public
that the artificial sweetener aspartame is perfectly safe. It can’t
be a coincidence that the American Beverage Association has recently
announced that its board of directors has approved a new school vending
policy that would provide lower-calorie and "nutritious"
drinks to schools while also limiting soft drinks. Under the new policy,
the beverage industry will provide middle schools with only "nutritious"/lower
calorie beverages, such as water, 100% juice, sports drinks, no-calorie
soft drinks and low-calorie juice drinks. . . in other words, drinks
sweetened with aspartame (www.ameribev.org).
The announcement follows by just a few weeks a report from the Cancer
Research Center of the European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental
Sciences in Bologna, Italy, that aspartame "induces an increase
in lymphomas and leukemias in female rats." The researchers also
found an increased incidence of malignant brain tumors (www.dorway.com).
HEALTHIER FRENCH FRIES?
Meanwhile, food scientists are working to come up with some kind of
trans-free vegetable oil that can be used for frying. Dow Chemical
Company believes it has done just that. "We may have discovered
the recipe that turns a greasy spoon into a healthy heart," says
a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal (9/2/2005). "Imagine:
Fried foods your nutritionist would approve
of," reads the text. "Made possible by NATREONTM,
a new cooking oil that comes from new canola and sunflower seed varieties
developed by Dow AgroSciences. NATREON has the lowest saturated fat
content of any vegetable oil and virtually eliminates trans
fat, to reduce the risk of heart disease. It maintains the taste and
texture of food, so it’s ideal for restaurants, snack foods, frying,
and spray oils. It’s expected that healthful oils like NATREON
will replace eight billion pounds of partially hydrogenated oil volume.
Healthier french fries? Pass the ketchup." Pardon us while we
pass on NATREON.
CONTRA-DECEPTION
The trendy new contraceptive patch you’ve seen in the ads works
by delivering pregnancy-blocking hormones into the bloodstream. Ortho-McNeil,
manufacturer of the patch, touts the device, worn on the shoulder, buttocks
or hip, as more convenient than the Pill. The company is the object
of a lawsuit charging that the device causes blood clots. Ray Chester,
a Texas personal injury attorney, is suing Ortho-McNeil in Pittsburgh
on behalf of two women, ages 21 and 43, who suffered debilitating blood
clots while wearing the patch, and also in Austin, Texas, for a 37-year-old
mother of two left paralyzed after a massive stroke. In the first fatality
publicly linked to the patch, a Manhattan student and aspiring model,
Zakiya Kennedy, age 18, collapsed in a subway station in April 2004.
In the lawsuits, Chester has revealed information on Dr. Andrew Friedman,
who is currently senior director of clinical research at Ortho-McNeil
Pharmaceutical in New Jersey. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Friedman admitted
to fabricating 80 percent of patient data and altering files in three
studies of hormonal drugs for women. He was banned for three years from
government-funded research for "scientific misconduct,"
resigned from his post at a Harvard University-affiliated women’s
hospital and lost his medical license in Massachusetts for a year. Friedman
was not involved in clinical trials for the patch but is now part of
a team doing further research on the device. "We made the decision
to hire Dr. Friedman based on his performance as a consultant and overall
reputation in the medical community," said company spokesman Michael
Beckerich, "which was excellent" (New York Post,
5/8/05).
BIRD BRAINED LOGIC
Avian flu is decimating confinement poultry flocks and has even been
blamed for the deaths of about 60 people in southeast
Asia. The cause of poultry die-off is obvious--overcrowding
and horrendous conditions in confinement poultry operations, making
the birds vulnerable to infection. But the official explanation points
the finger of blame in the opposite direction--at migratory birds
and poultry raised in the out of doors! Hard to believe but some officials
have suggested culling migratory birds as a way to protect indoor flocks.
And in a move that should delight the industrial poultry industry, the
Netherlands has ordered all of its 5.5 million free range poultry in
doors. Germany, Britain and France are considering similar moves, justified
with the bird brained logic that outdoor birds can serve as a vector
and "infect" confinement birds with whom they never have
any contact. Fortunately, some experts have pointed out that moving
poultry flocks indoors doesn’t necessarily solve the problem.
Dr. Karen Becker, a veterinarian with the US Department of Health and
Human Services, says it would be hard to argue in favor of such a draconian
order, given that infectious diseases often sweep through poultry operations
where flocks are raised entirely in chicken houses (Edmonton Sun
8/24/2005).
PROCESSING OPPORTUNITY
A new study by the US Department of Agriculture reveals that only abut
30 percent of food in China is processed, compared to 80 percent in
western nations. This fact translates into an opportunity for the food
processing industry. While most consumers in China "still prefer
to purchase fresh foods, there is a clear shift towards processed foods,
throwing up untold opportunities for western food firms faced with saturated
sales in home markets." The Chinese food processing industry grew
16 percent between 2001-2002 and a huge 23 percent in 2002-2003. Packaged
foods, especially baked goods, dairy products, oils and fats, baby food
and ice cream have all demonstrated "exceptional growth. . . .
In the upcoming years the industry will focus on the development of
corn and wheat goods, dairy products, food additives and seasoning essentials."
For US manufacturers, "Good prospects include infant formula,
baking
ingredients (nuts, whey powder, flours), fruit flavorings, stabilizers
as well as a range of nuts and fruits." The industry has capitalized
on recent "food poisoning incidents" in China that have
"increased consumer concern over food safety" and sent many
consumers "towards big-name brands that they feel they can trust"
(www.dairyreporter.com/news/news-ng.asp?n=60899-china-food-opportunities).
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