Page 13 - Special Issue: Healthy Baby

Caustic Commentary

August 22, 2000). But the fine print revealed that the differ- 5 (associated with attention deficit disorder) and Blue No. 1
ence in fat consumption for the two groups was no more than Aluminum Lake. (Aluminum ties up magnesium and has been
3 percent. And neither of the two groups was compared with associated with Alzheimer’s disease and kidney problems.)
children who were given a truly adequate diet, one containing Then there are all those other ingredients in ketchup not fit
lots of quality dairy fat and cod liver oil. The recent decline in for man nor beast, including high-fructose corn syrup and
test scores and great increase in learning disabilities tells us that “natural flavors,” a source of MSG. Another thing: the only
modern diets—either lowfat diets or diets in which vegetable way to make ketchup green is to get rid of the red color first,
oils are substituted for animal fats—have tragic effects on the which makes us wonder whether they started with tomatoes
neurological development of our children. bleached white (New York Times October 22, 2000).

NOT FULLY WIRED VACCINE DAMAGE
Scientists have always blamed the surge of hormones at puberty As the number of required vaccinations increases, and the use
for reckless adolescent behavior but neuroscientists have come of protective fats rich in vitamin A declines, the number of
up with a different explanation. Beginning around age 11, the vaccine injuries in our children is soaring. According to the
area of the brain associated with social behavior and impulse federal Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, of the four
control actually sprouts a tangle of nerve cells. After puberty, million children each year who receive multiple vaccines, about
this thicket of nerve sprouts is “pruned.” About half the new 10,000 have adverse reactions, including high pitched scream-
nerve fibers are cut away to create an efficient network of cir- ing, bowel blockage, seizures, autism, bizarre neurological
cuits. The new wiring allows the adult to manage “executive disorders and complete paralysis. Doctors are discouraged from
functions” such as goal-setting, priority-setting, planning, reporting reactions so this number is probably low. In 2005,
organization and impulse inhibition (Washington Times, a record number of families have filed cases with the nation’s
January 7, 2001). Now consider the fact that most American Vaccine Compensation Fund on behalf of children who’ve
children are denied the kind of fats the brain needs when they suffered side effects from their immunizations. A New Jersey
are put on lowfat milk and margarine at the age of two. How girl whose mental development stopped at two months old after
does the brain get fed during this period of delicate rewiring? an immunization received a $4.7 million settlement from the
The answer is that many teenagers enter adulthood not fully Fund. Of course, no amount of money can compensate parents
wired, and unable to participate in those kinds of activities that for the heartbreak of lifelong brain damage.
give pleasure and a sense of meaning to adults—goal-setting,
priority setting, planning, organization and the kind of patient
follow-through based on mature impulse inhibition.

IT’S A SCREAM—KETCHUP THAT’S GREEN FOR SCIENTISTS AND LAY READERS
The latest funny food to hit the marketplace is green ketchup, Please note that the mission of the Weston A. Price
an invention by the food engineers at H. J. Heinz. In develop- Foundation is to provide important information about diet
ment for nearly a year, the green ketchup is aimed squarely at and health to both scientists and the lay public. For this rea-
children. It comes in a softer, “child-friendly” bottle which lets son, some of the articles in Wise Traditions are necessarily
kids draw or write on their food, decorate each French fry and technical. It is very important for us to describe the science
that supports the legitimacy of our dietary principles. In
make patterns on their burgers. Red ketchup is also being sold articles aimed at scientists and practitioners, we provide a
in the new bottle. “It’s the first step in making ketchup fun,” summary of the main points and also put the most techni-
said a Heinz spokesman, who did not rule out other colors in cal information in sidebars. These articles are balanced by
the future. What makes the new ketchup green is Yellow No others that provide practical advice to our lay readers.

Wise Traditions 11