Chinese Milk Scare
January 26, 2010
Reuters
by Ralph Jennings
Authorities in southwestern China have ordered three batches of milk products off shelves because they contain a chemical that killed at least six children in 2008, causing global concern over the made-in-China brand.
The health department in Guizhou province stopped the sales of dairy products made by three Chinese companies, the state-run China Daily newspaper said.
The products were found to contain melamine, which can cause kidney stones and is meant for making plastics, fertilizers and even concrete. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed.
Guizhou health authorities were unavailable for comment.
China executed two people in November for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and sullied the made-in-China brand.
Nearly 300,000 children fell ill in that scandal in 2008 after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, sold mainly in that case by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group.
Dairy Industry Pushing Chocolate Milk
November 9, 2009
Associated Press
Emily Fredrix
The creators of the “Got Milk?” campaign are getting ready to make a big push to keep chocolate milk on kids’ minds and on school lunch menus, a plan that has some educators and obesity activists none too pleased.
The new ad campaign from the dairy industry, set to launch Monday, emphasizes that sugary flavorings are ways to get kids to drink milk. Without them, some youngsters won’t drink regular milk and won’t get its nutrients, the ads say.
The “Raise your hand for chocolate milk” campaign starts Monday with an ad in USA Today featuring chocolatey brown colors and the launch of a Web site that asks people to sign a petition declaring their support for chocolate milk in school.
But some educators and obesity experts say kids get enough calcium — essential for bone growth — and will drink white milk if it’s the only milk offered. They say kids get too much sugar, which is heightening America’s obesity problem, and schools shouldn’t serve chocolate milk at all.
The idea behind the campaign is to draw a distinction between chocolate milk and the soda and candy that have come under attack in schools, said Vivien Godfrey, CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program, the industry marketing group that developed the campaign with the National Dairy Council. Godfrey said the effort will cost between $500,000 and $1 million.
She said most kids choose chocolate milk, but without it they drink juice, soda or water, which don’t have the same nutrients. The facts — that chocolate milk does have nutrients — are getting lost in the debate over school lunches, she said.
“If there’s even a chance chocolate milk might get taken out of schools, that really can do more harm than good,” she said.
It’s not clear how many schools have chocolate milk or are pulling it. But parents and school districts are becoming increasingly concerned and asking for more information, said Margie Saidel, a vice president with Chartwells School Dining Services, which manages food programs in 600 districts and supports chocolate milk.
But experts like Marlene Schwartz, deputy directory of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, want chocolate milk tossed. She said kids have too much sugar already and chocolate milk has no place in schools.
Clean Up Acne The Natural Way
October 14, 2009
NaturalNews
By Mike Adams
Acne sucks. But you don’t need antibiotics or harsh chemicals to treat it. In addition to altering your diet so that you consume fewer acne-producing foods (dairy products and fried foods, mostly), there are some effective natural remedies that are also useful for clearing up your skin.
Below, we’ve compiled a few of these recommendations from some of the top authors in natural health. Enjoy this short collection, and feel free to share it with others (please give appropriate credit to the original author as well as this NaturalNews page, thank you).
Natural remedies for acne
Brazilian school kids have acne. There’s far less acne in Kenya, Zambia, Malaysia, and rural Japan than is common in Western societies. But if there was any doubt left about the diet-acne connection it should have been erased by the seminal research paper published in the Archives of Dermatology in 2002 by respected Natural Prescription for Acne Paleo Diet: No grains, dairy, beans, or soy; high in protein (fish, grass-fed meats), vegetables, fruits (especially berries), nuts, and omega fats.
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
Acne may develop due to an allergic reaction to dairy products, and the fat content of the dairy products can worsen the condition. Modern dairy and other animal products often contain hormones and steroids that can upset the body’s natural hormonal balance. Q If you are not allergic to dairy products, eat plenty of soured products, such as low-fat yogurt, to maintain healthy intestinal flora. Q Avoid all forms of sugar. Sugar impairs immune function. In addition, biopsies of individuals with acne have shown their tissues’ glucose tolerance to be seriously flawed.
- Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
Your skin is an organ that can excrete waste products, and acne is one way that your body is actually excreting internal toxins through your skin to get rid of them. The classic model and explanation for acne is really incomplete. The classic model says that acne is simply caused by bacteria – but that’s not entirely true. It’s often caused by the body trying to get rid of something. The number-one cause of acne is the consumption of milk – milk from cows. Any dairy products – but especially liquid milk including cheese, butter and things like ice cream – promote acne.
- Natural Health Solutions by Mike Adams
The result is an allergic reaction, which can produce acne. Processed foods are another cause of acne, and include all junk foods, refined foods (white flour, white sugar, and other refined sugars), processed meats (deli foods), unsaturated fats, margarine and other fake foods, and commercial meat, poultry, and dairy products which contain chemicals and hormones. Sometimes, simply treating any food allergies and avoiding junk or processed foods will prevent acne. However, if you have hormonal problems, changing your diet will not be sufficient to heal the acne.
- The Enzyme Cure: How Plant Enzymes Can Help You Relieve 36 Health Problems by Lita Lee, Lisa Turner and Burton Goldberg
As much as this link between pubescent hormonal changes and acne is true, the skin disorder is unfortunately not confined to the teenage years. Many adults suffer from acne, as well. Some adult acne sufferers have elevated levels of male hormones that stimulate sebum production. Genetic factors may be the cause of these elevated androgen levels, or as Dr. Frank A. Oski believes, consumption of cow’s milk may also be to blame. About 80 percent of milked dairy cows are pregnant, which causes the hormone progesterone to appear in their milk.
- Natural Health Solutions by Mike Adams
Dietary clean-up is the basis of natural therapy for acne. Excess saturated fat and hydrogenated oils must be eliminated. Certain foods trigger acne in susceptible people. For some, it is sugar or chocolate; for others, dairy products. Still others react to iodine in shellfish or excess iodized salt. Some experience exacerbations with spicy foods. With a little experimentation and self-observation you can find out for yourself what foods trigger or exacerbate your acne.
- Intelligent Medicine: A Guide to Optimizing Health and Preventing Illness for the Baby-Boomer Generation by Ronald L. Hoffman, M.D.
In another of his books, The Dietary Cure for Acne, he lays out some tasty options for a diet based on whole foods – salmon, sirloin, strawberries, walnuts, carrots, and the like – which may well be the cornerstone of a natural prescription for getting rid of acne. (The Paleo Diet is absent of grains and dairy and high in grass-fed meats, vegetables, fruits, and omegas.) Cordain hypothesizes that a diet that produces high levels of the hormone insulin is partly the culprit when it comes to acne.
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
It is not the fattening aspect of chocolate that concerns us here but the chemical stimulants it contains, especially phenylethylamine and theobromine that imitate our hormones; and the caffeine and sugar chocolate contains make it doubly bad for acne. For some people, cutting out dairy products, especially cream and hard cheese, helps enormously. Fruits, surprisingly perhaps, do not help acne because of their high sugar content, but vegetables do.
- The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood
A daily intake of 50,000 units of vitamin A and 50 mg of zinc has reportedly cleared some forms of acne, and a version of vitamin A – retinoic acid (RA), also called vitamin A acid (which is classified as a drug) – has been used as a topical acne treatment as well, though some people are allergic to it. It’s also been used to treat aging skin (RA causes the shedding of skin cells). Vitamin A can be obtained from fish liver oil, liver, carrots, green and yellow vegetables, eggs, milk and dairy products, margarine and yellow fruits.
- The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood
There are many approaches to acne treatment; if self-care does not prove effective, a dermatologist should be able to prescribe a therapy that will help. • Change your diet. A low-glycemic-index diet with very little sugar and other refined carbohydrates might improve skin significantly, and it will have other health benefits as well. Other things to avoid: milk and trans fatty acids, which are found in margarine and shortening. A study of dairy products and acne is currently under way. • Facial masks of clay may remove excess oil and help clear the skin.
- Best Choices From the People’s Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
Ask any number of dermatologists if poor digestion is a cause of acne, and you’re likely to get the same answer from each: No. This is precisely why dermatologists don’t always cure acne, says Andrew Rubman, N.D., a naturopathic physician and founder of the Southbury Clinic for Traditional Medicine in Connecticut. “Acne has generated an entire industry of high-priced dermatologists and an incredible laundry list of very potent and expensive medications, including topical and oral antibiotics,” he says.
- Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems by Bill Gottlieb
A constitutional remedy usually helps acne, but if I can’t determine this, sometimes I give Kali bromatum, which is known to be helpful in treating acne. If, in addition to itchy acne, your teenager is restless during sleep and has unpleasant dreams, these are further indications for Kali brom. Sulphur is a good remedy for the teenager with chronic acne characterized by a rough, hard skin that gets worse from washing. This same person is often warm blooded, perspires freely, and suffers from constipation.
- Homeopathic Medicine at Home: Natural Remedies for Everyday Ailments and Minor Injuries by Maesimund B. Panos, M.D. and Jane Heimlich
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