This article is about rickets in children can make it look like the child is suffering from child abuse due to damaged bones. Rickets is caused be a severe vitamin d deficiency, and in these cases, its the mothers deficiency. It doesn't have numbers so don't know how widespread. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/16/infantile-rickets.aspx
But the interesting thing mentioned in the article is that vitamin D is needed for muscle strength and a deficiency can lead to acid reflux, constipation and more. Also, avoid calcium carbonat supplements & antacids like Tums.
"Another important point is that acid reflux is actually a sign of vitamin D deficiency. Your upper GI tract, from your pharynx to the lower third of your esophagus, is skeletal muscle. Vitamin D is important for muscle strength. The medical literature Dr. Ayoub reviewed revealed that dyspepsia, bloating, constipation, and reflux symptoms are all quite common among those with vitamin D deficiency because of reduced esophageal motility and sphincter dysfunction."
I was sitting in one of my mom's classes to help her (she's a public school k-5 art teacher), and I couldn't help but notice that the behavior of the children indicated pellagra as well as D-deficiency. The children ALL have rampant tooth decay, are very aggressive and can't focus. They're eating a diet of refined flour, vegetable oil and HFCS. My dad said when he was a kid there was a nurse that gave vitamin shots to kids who were deficient, and of course the school lunches were better. Now the kids are medicated and ignored until they enter the prison system around age 15-16.
There is a war on the poor and it starts at birth.
I was sitting in one of my mom's classes to help her (she's a public school k-5 art teacher), and I couldn't help but notice that the behavior of the children indicated pellagra as well as D-deficiency. The children ALL have rampant tooth decay, are very aggressive and can't focus. They're eating a diet of refined flour, vegetable oil and HFCS. My dad said when he was a kid there was a nurse that gave vitamin shots to kids who were deficient, and of course the school lunches were better. Now the kids are medicated and ignored until they enter the prison system around age 15-16.
There is a war on the poor and it starts at birth.
There's an earlier post here or in the healthcare thread about tooth decay in toddlers.
It''s nice to hear the school still has art classes. The urban farm I volunteer at is in a blighted area & I've been hoping we could convince the high school to farm their grounds to grow food for them to eat. Grow food not lawn. As opposed to just have a garden that produces just enough for a few kids to sample. And has been abandoned to weeds anyway. And it could be a vocational class/club. But it turns out, they don't have vocational classes anymore. No shop or anything. And no home Ec. It's no wonder businesses needing skilled labor can't find employees & people don't know how to feed themselves. Few people have any useful skills anymore.
I was sitting in one of my mom's classes to help her (she's a public school k-5 art teacher), and I couldn't help but notice that the behavior of the children indicated pellagra as well as D-deficiency. The children ALL have rampant tooth decay, are very aggressive and can't focus. They're eating a diet of refined flour, vegetable oil and HFCS. My dad said when he was a kid there was a nurse that gave vitamin shots to kids who were deficient, and of course the school lunches were better. Now the kids are medicated and ignored until they enter the prison system around age 15-16.
There is a war on the poor and it starts at birth.
There's an earlier post here or in the healthcare thread about tooth decay in toddlers.
It''s nice to hear the school still has art classes. The urban farm I volunteer at is in a blighted area & I've been hoping we could convince the high school to farm their grounds to grow food for them to eat. Grow food not lawn. As opposed to just have a garden that produces just enough for a few kids to sample. And has been abandoned to weeds anyway. And it could be a vocational class/club. But it turns out, they don't have vocational classes anymore. No shop or anything. And no home Ec. It's no wonder businesses needing skilled labor can't find employees & people don't know how to feed themselves. Few people have any useful skills anymore.
Schools still have "cultural arts" classes that include visual arts and sometimes music. Cultural arts will soon be absorbed by math and science, as is being done with language arts under Common Core. They are already reading informational texts instead of literature in many English classes.
The cultural arts are so important! Art and music develop so many much needed skills and are a great stress reliever, which of course promotes overall health. The movie, "Music of the Heart," has helped bring awareness to this, but I wish more was being done.
Alternativista, what a great project you are working on, and they sure are lucky to have your help. Have you heard of Urban Acres in Dallas, Texas? www.urbanacresmarket.com. They have recently created their own farmstead right in the heart of the city. I wonder if the farm you volunteer at might get some ideas or inspiration from what they are doing? I think it's so cool...such a smart, resourceful and much needed idea.
Huge number of Americans have lost limbs due to diabetes. So woo hoo! Thanks to drugs people live longer.. But look at the quality of life. This is just one example. And none of this would happen if doctors would recognize the importance of truly healthy diet and make it their number one preventative & treatment.
Watch this video about Soft Drinks & what they are doing to people in developing nations. Panama specifically. Comparing it to invasion & war. it's dramatic sure, but that's because it started as a poem. And has a valid point. http://www.upworthy.com/now-here-s-a-good-reason-to-cross-sodas-off-my-grocery-list-forever?c=tkp1
The visuals include a graphic saying that 1,000 soldiers had legs amputated due to injuries in Iraq & Afghanistan. (that number seems low, but maybe it's not current) While in the same time period 70,000 Californians had legs amputated due to diabetes!
According to the below data from http://www.amputee-coalition.org/fact_sheets/diabetes_leamp.html: we have like 75,000 diabetes related Lower Extremity Amputations PER YEAR. (that number includes toes) In 1980, it was 'only' 33,000.
- the CDC estimates that 23.6 million Americans currently [in 2007] have diabetes7 percent of the U.S. populationup from 18.2 million in 2003. 3
- Each year, over half of all amputations in the United States are caused by diabetes mellitus and subsequent complications, with most being lower-extremity amputations.
- From 1980 to 2003, the number of diabetes-related LEA hospital discharges increased from an average of 33,000 to a high of 84,000 in 1997, dropping to 75,000 in 2003. 4
- Damage to the foots sensory nerves, diabetic neuropathy, contributes to foot deformities and/or ulcers that increase the chance of lower-extremity amputations (LEA) unless treated.
Rates and Demographic Trends
- In 1997, a total of 87,720 out of 131,218 LEA hospital discharges (67 percent) were diabetes related. 5
About the just released film "Fed Up" and a review in the New York Times in which they note that the CDC makes the same diet recommendations as big food specifically the American Beverage Association aka the sugary drink people.
and
Big Government and Big Food Give the Same Weight Loss Advice?
"In a stunning review of the new film FED UP the New York Times offered a disturbing observation: The dietary recommendations for weight loss coming from both the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Beverage Association (formerly known as the American Soda Pop Association) are based on the same scientifically unfounded dietary advice."
The doctor involved in the above film was on Real Time with Bill Maher this past Friday. You can listen for free via podcast from iTunes. and probably find it elsewhere if you don't have access to HBOgo. (speaking of which, someone let me use their HBO, please. I know too many people without cable.)
He said he originally got into pediatrics partly because he didn't want to deal with chronic disease. Which children shouldn't and didn't tend to have. Until now.
So, the USDA has passed a regulation that a percentage of the food served in schools needs to be vegetables from local farms. I am in Houston, one of the largest, if not the largest, school districts in the country. The amount of food they need is massive and the bidding system prevents small producers from being involved. I attended a meeting that including the H.I.S.D. rep and school garden organizations, some local farmers and other interested parties. They currently get their food from Aramark.
The HISD rep said something about how hard it is to make the menus according to the guidelines. They do it way in advance and when they don't get something they were promised it is very difficult for them to come up with alternatives. But in all her examples, she always mentioned hamburger buns or apples. We don't grow apples in these parts and she needs to just forget about local apples. And need I say more about the buns? It shows she really doesn't get it at all.
And apparently there are regulations that prevent food growing in the school gardens from being brought into the kitchens and prepared for lunch. They mentioned a pilot project where they might be able to grow herbs at the school to be added to the food. I suggested what I believe is a far better idea and that is greens to be added to nearly every dish. Added to soups, stir fry, pasta sauce, eggs for breakfast, etc. And they can add as much or as little as they have. Amounts don't matter. Most of the food prep is done at a central kitchen and just heated or finished at the local school. Which is fine because you want to add the greens when everything is done. And we can grow greens here throughout the school year.
Mark Bittman about the new film Fed Up.
"David Ludwig, another M.D., notes that there is no difference between many processed foods and sugar itself, saying you can eat a bowl of cornflakes with no added sugar or a bowl of sugar with no added cornflakes and below the neck theyre the same thing.