In an article written for Healthy Kids, an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) handout for parents, Dr. Howard Pearson, the president of the Academy, puts in a plug for cow's milk consumption. He was responding to the reports from the medical literature about the possible connection between cow's milk consumption and childhood diabetes.
Despite the known relationship between milk ingestion and symptoms of sensitization, Pearson insisted "almost all children will grow and develop normally on a diet that has milk as a major component. The academy continues to recommend that milk be a part of children's diets after one year of age." The publisher of Healthy Kids states that this is the "only magazine 100 percent devoted to raising healthy, happy children. Every word is reviewed and approved by the AAP experts, making it the most up-to-date source of information about children's health."
So there you have it. The official word on milk-drinking for children. There are some mixed messages coming from the citadel of pediatric thought. Elsewhere, the AAP has announced that at least 50 percent of children have some problem with dairy products. Allergists can only find 5 percent of the population allergic to it, as indicated by skin tests and the RAST. Ask any mother, however, and you will find that her child or the neighbor's child has had some difficulties when milk is consumed: ear infections, hyperactivity, strep throats, croup, sinus congestion, postnasal drip, pallor, fatigue, circles under the eyes, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, bedwetting, bloody noses, and anemia, to name but a few. What are parents to do? The child gets sick when he drinks from the cow, but parents are paying good money to the pediatrician to get this edict: "Drink the milk for the calcium and the protein. It's good for you!"
I was one of those who found that milk was at the bottom of so many physical and mental problems, and told mothers to stop listening to the American Dairy Council, and just forget the white stuff. Tell the kids that the cow dried up. Put applesauce on the cereal, use soy protein for cheese, and use yogurt once or twice a month. Those children grew up healthy. Most of the world's children do not drink milk after infancy, I reasoned. Why not let the American kids do the same and get their calcium from broccoli, almonds, or most of the vegetables? Another observation: I found that when a child seems to be sensitive to dairy products, they crave it, as if they know they need the calcium. When we checked the calcium and magnesium levels in those sensitive children, we noticed that those minerals were at the low end of the normal range. They were drinking milk, but the contents were not being absorbed. The intestinal lining cells would flatten out and let the milk slide on through.
Taking calcium supplements may not be the answer. Calcium tablets tend to make one more alkaline which leads to poor absorption and tends to raise the blood pressure. Calcium from dairy products is still the best method of obtaining calcium; in general, it is more bioavailable. There is a method of drinking from the cow without developing symptoms. If the cow's milk is "modified" or mixed half-and-half with an electrolyte solution, the symptoms of sensitivity virtually disappear. The electrolytes will control the acid/base balance, so the fluid is at the proper pH for absorption, and at the inappropriate pH for the growth of strep and other bacteria. The electrolytes act as a buffer for maximum bioavailability of the milk ingredients.
The electrolyte solution I use is a product of research based on the work of Sidney Ringer but modified by my chemical researcher. Now when I drink milk, half and half with this electrolyte, I do not get the bloody noses I used to get, and I only notice a little bit of phlegm.
Because the amounts of sodium, potassium, chloride, and bicarbonate approximate the concentrations of these substances in the blood, the electrolyte solution will carry the other dissolved elements (the calcium, amino acids, and the vitamins) right on into the circulation because of this buffering action. The body will get these important ingredients it is supposed to get from our friendly mother cow. Let me know if you want to try it.
Lendon H. Smith, MD
Portland, Oregon
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