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Cholesterol Lowering And Lowfat Diets For Children
By Mary G. Enig, PhD
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children two years
old and older should eat a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains,
lowfat and non-fat dairy products, beans, fish and lean meats. The guidelines
also recommend very low amounts of saturated and trans fats. The “experts”
are increasingly urging strict adherence to this diet in children. “The
idea that heart disease starts in the 50s has been substantially discounted,”
says Dr. Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado and former president
of the American Heart Association. “Saturated fat is always an
enemy to the arteries, at any age.”1
I have described some of the harmful consequences of lowfat diets for
growing children in previous columns (see westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/diet_children.html).
The purported rationale for putting children on fat-restricted diets
involves preventing future obesity and heart disease. Yet one study
indicates that children put on lowfat diets actually develop markers
for heart disease. Children on lowfat diets whose genes would normally
have been producing the desirable light and fluffy form of LDL-cholesterol
started to make the dangerous small and dense form of LDL.2
Lowfat Diets For Children?
Promoters of lowfat diets have seen to it that whole milk has been virtually
eliminated in schools. This new policy is predicated on the assumption
that the fat in whole milk will make children become fat. Yet a recent
study on children in Sweden revealed that lower fat intake was associated
with higher body mass index and greater insulin resistance.3 Children
on lowfat diets also consumed more sugar. Since the beverage choice
for American children in schools today is either reduced-fat milk or
chocolate milk, greater sugar consumption will no doubt be a consequence
of the fat-restriction policy.
More cause for alarm comes from another recent study, this one published
in Human Reproduction. 4 The risk of anovulatory infertility was found
to be 27 percent lower in women who ate at least one portion of high-fat
dairy food per day compared with women who had one high-fat serving
of dairy per week, or even less. Women who ate two or more portions
of lowfat dairy foods a day increased their risk of ovulationrelated
infertility by 85 percent.
The researchers concluded that women who want to get pregnant should
consume high-fat dairy products but, once pregnant, switch back to lowfat
foods. The assumption is that ovulation can be restored in adult women
by switching from lowfat to full-fat dairy products. But what happens
in girls who are denied healthy dairy fats throughout childhood, even,
it seems, in the womb? Will they be able to become pregnant by consuming
full-fat dairy products for the first time when they are adults? This
is a dangerous assumption to make since the vitamins in dairy fats are
essential for the development of the reproductive system throughout
the growing years.
Some researchers are urging caution. Dr. John Kostyak and a team from
Pennsylvania State University recently warned in the online magazine
Nutrition Journal that so-called “muesli mothers” are taking
adult dietary messages to extremes and inflicting them on their children.
“Sufficient fat must be included in the diet for children to support
normal growth and development,” says Kostyak. Unfortunately, the
fats he recommends are the “good fats,” such as olive oil
and sunflower oil. However, some commentators are urging full-fat dairy
products for children under five—contradicting US government policy
that urges restriction of dairy fats after the age of two.5
Cholesterol Lowering
The pharmaceutical industry seems intent on putting growing children
on cholesterol-lowering drugs, with a carefully orchestrated campaign
that first targets children with a condition called hereditary familial
hypercholesterolemia, chronic “high” cholesterol levels
of genetic origin. In a recently published meta-analysis, researchers
reported no side effects in children given cholesterol-lowering statin
drugs compared to a placebo.6 With the drugs, they were able to reduce
total cholesterol by 25 percent and LDLcholesterol by 30 percent. The
report contains a number of caveats—namely that longer-term studies
are needed, as current studies have only examined possible side effects
such as growth problems and retarded sexual development for a period
of one or two years. Nevertheless, the author, Dr. Barbara A. Hutten
from Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, stated with confidence,
“When a child has been diagnosed with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia,
statin treatment should be considered for all children older than eight
years.”
Not content with statin therapy for the small percentage of children
with hereditary familial hypercholesterolemia, the American Heart Association
now endorses statin treatment in children for a variety of risk factors:
“. . . just as with adults, there are certain risk factors in
children that may call for more aggressive treatment.”7 The National
Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) has drawn up new guidelines that
would include diabetes, overweight and a family history of cardiovascular
disease, as well as familial hypercholesterolemia, as risk factors in
children that could be treated with statins. Even “male gender”
has been singled out as a risk factor! NCEP estimates that under these
guidelines, from 36 to 46 percent of children and adolescents would
be targeted for cholesterol-lowering measures, which could include statin
treatment. Although the American Heart Association statement notes that
“There is a real need for ongoing research regarding drug therapy
of high risk lipid abnormalities in children, particularly regarding
long-term efficacy and safety [emphasis mine],” it seems clear
that plans to lower cholesterol in children are going forward.
A Note Of Caution
A note of caution comes from the expert committee of the US Preventive
Services Task Force.8 The committee examined randomized, control clinical
trials and all available evidence, carefully considering ten key questions
concerning the effectiveness, risks and accuracy of screening; the effectiveness
and risks of diet, drug and exercise interventions for managing cholesterol
and preventing cardiovascular disease; and whether reducing blood cholesterol
levels in youth reduces the risk of high cholesterol and cardiovascular
disease in adulthood. Their conclusion: “The evidence is insufficient
to recommend for or against routine screening for lipid disorders in
infants, children, adolescents, or young adults (up to age 20). Evidence
for effectiveness is lacking, of poor quality, or conflicting, and the
balance of benefits and harms can not be determined.”
The committee raised serious concerns about side effects. They found
evidence of growth failure, nutritional dwarfing and inhibited progression
of puberty in children on fat-restricted diets. They also reported that
“lower fat intake was associated with lower levels of calcium,
zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin E, vitamin B12, thiamine, niacin
and riboflavin.”
As for prescribing statin drugs to children, the committee noted that
these drugs have FDA approval for use in children only in cases of familial
hypercholesterolemia. “There is no evidence that diet or exercise
interventions in childhood lead to improved lipid profiles or better
health outcomes in adulthood.” Furthermore, statin drugs also
have side effects, including liver damage, gastrointestinal problems
and decreased absorption of vitamins and minerals.
Unfortunately, this report received scant publicity and will probably
do little to stop the anti-cholesterol campaign in children. As a result,
well-meaning parents and health officials will continue to apply cholesterol-
lowering measures to young people—including starving them of nutrients—in
the mistaken belief that they are protecting their health.
Diet Foods May Cause Weight Gain
As health officials continue to harp on the dangers of weight gain,
parents are increasingly likely to give low-calorie products to their
children. But studies with rats provide further evidence of the folly
of this policy. Young animals given low-calorie version of foods ended
up overeating, whether they were lean or obese; however, older adolescent
rats fed diet foods did not show the same tendency to overeat.9 “Diet
foods are probably not a good idea for growing youngsters,” said
Professor David Pierce, head of the study. But that is exactly what
the “experts” recommend—lowfat versions of dairy products
and meat, and a restriction of animal fats like butter.
Can Cholesterol Protect Against Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Defects (FASD) includes numerous abnormalities,
such as neurological, craniofacial and cardiac malformations. In studies
with zebra fish, researchers found that alcohol interferes with embryonic
development by disrupting cholesterol-dependent activation of a critical
signaling molecule. But with cholesterol supplementation of the alcohol-exposed
embryos, FASD-like defects were prevented. The defects resulted from
minimal alcohol exposure, equivalent to a 120-pound woman drinking one
12-ounce beer.10 This study raises the specter of increased FASD in
human children as a result of lowfat diets for pregnant women.
References
1. www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art. asp?articlekey=79122.
2. Dreon, MD et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2000 71:1611-1616.
3. www.ub.gu.se/sok/dissdatabas/detaljvy.xml?id=6979.
4. Human Reproduction 2007;doi:10.1093/humrep/dem019.
5. Let Your Children Chew the Fat. www.timesonline.co.uk, August 23,
2007.
6. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2007;27:1803-1810.
7. www.americanheart.org, March 21, 2007.
8. www.ahrq.gov/clinic/cps3dix.htm.
9. Obesity, August 8, 2007.
10. Laboratory Investigation, January 25, 2007.
About the Author
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