March 25, 2001
Diabetes
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS from Arnold's Way!
The children cry - the mothers
weep
A nation torn by disbelief . . .
This newsletter is dedicated to
raising awareness for diabetes. This is especially in honor of Valerie
Minuti - a local woman whose persistence and dedication to raising awareness
for diabetes has recently paid off. Valerie, inspired by her son's
condition, has traveled all over the country for the past 2 years promoting
diabetes education and gathering support for an awareness campaign. Her hard
work was recently honored by the unveiling of a new postal stamp which
promotes diabetes awareness, education, and research. ARNOLD'S WAY knows that
it is through awareness and education that hope for a better tomorrow
thrives.
According to the American Medical Association, this disease cannot be fully examined until there is
both more money for research and more public support for the cause. The
American Diabetic Association claims the cause of diabetes is unknown. Well, the
AMA or the ADA may not be able to have an official platform when it comes
to causation. But let's take a good look at what information IS out there
regarding the cause of diabetes.
What exactly is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease in which your body is unable to transport blood sugar -
via insulin - into your cells where it is
used for energy. Insulin is a
hormone produced by specialized cells of the
pancreas. Insulin actually
transports blood sugars directly into your
cells. There are 2 ways this
disease operates. Childhood-Onset Diabetes,
or Type I, is when you don't
produce enough insulin in order to transport
the sugar from the blood into the
cells. Adult-Onset Diabetes, or Type II,
is when you do produce enough
insulin, but it is unable to function
properly.
In "Food For Life", Dr.
Neil Barnard states that Type I, Childhood-Onset
Diabetes, is caused when there is
damage to the pancreas early in life. How
might one damage the pancreas as
a child? Well, mounting evidence is
showing a link between dairy
consumption and Type I diabetes. The New
England Journal of Medicine
reports that researchers in Canada and Finland
found high levels of antibodies
to a specific protein in cow's milk called
bovine serum albumin. In all 142
diabetic children who participated in the
study, EVERY one of them had high
levels of antibodies to that milk protein.
These antibodies actually destroy
those specialized cells in the pancreas
that produce insulin. The
destruction of these specialized cells occurs
gradually, and diabetes becomes
evident when 80-90% of these cells are
destroyed. The fact that out of
142 diabetic children, all 142 had very
high levels of antibodies to
bovine serum albumin, points to a very strong
link between dairy consumption
and Childhood-Onset Diabetes.
To this day, milk is served in
almost every school in America. It is
considered a staple of a healthy
diet, and is touted as a great source of
dietary calcium and protein. The
only thing I can say is : America - wake
up and smell the roses!! Do we
really have to wait 10 or 20 years for more
and more research to point us in
the right direction? Do we really have to
keep raising our children on a
substance that in fact could force them to
take insulin injections for the
rest of their lives? While more trials must
be conducted to fully explore the
link between dairy and Type I diabetes,
would it really hurt to cut milk
and dairy products out of our children's
diets?
Yet this is America - the society
of consumers. We are told by ads and
billboards and the Food Pyramid
that we should drink milk for healthy bones.
That it's "cool" to
drink milk. Yet, do you know that milk and dairy
products in and of themselves
only offer an absorption of 25% of the
available calcium content in
every glass of milk? In order for the body to
absorb dietary calcium, it needs
comparable amounts of magnesium. Yet milk
and dairy products contain only
small amounts of magnesium. So what happens
to the excess calcium the body
can't use? The kidneys convert it into
painful stones which block our
urinary tracks. The body uses calcium to
build plaques on the arteries
which contribute to the development of
arteriosclerosis and heart
disease. Excess calcium is also manifested as
gout, a form of arthritis, a
painful condition in which joints become
inflamed.
Beyond all these facts, there are
also strong links between food
allergies to milk and other
conditions such as asthma, skin rashes, and of
course the well-known
gastrointestinal symptoms classified as "lactose
intolerance." And don't
forget about contaminants in milk like hormones and
antibiotics. ( Another subject,
another newsletter . . .)
Education regarding the assumed
benefits and harmful effects of dairy
products may help all of us make
better decisions when it comes to what we
feed our kids. I don't allow my
kids to drink milk. I find it hard to
believe that the only information
the American Diabetic Association can give
us is that the cause of diabetes
is unknown. Causes of disease are usually
multi-faceted, yet I believe that
the evidence is pointing us in the
direction of at least ONE
possible cause.
When people do start to wake up
and smell the roses- and stop feeding
their kids milk- the dairy
industry will lose millions of dollars in profit.
This debilitating effect on the
profit margin of the dairy industry will
cause great havoc not only within
the sphere of the dairy industry and its
leaders, but also on our economy.
For example, there would be a loss of
profits from medications designed
to treat gastrointestinal illnesses and
discomforts. So the effects will
ripple all the way down. Thus, it is in
the best interest of economists
and industry leaders to not only keep us in
the dark about the negative
effects of dairy, but also to do the opposite:
keep promoting their products and
convincing us to consume them.
So let us join together in
Valerie Minuti's fight to fix the diabetes
problem in this country. Let us
investigate and educate and continue to
spread awareness. Let us keep an
open mind and be driven by a strong thirst
for the truth. Thank you Valerie
for your noble efforts, and we at
Arnold's Way fully support your
cause!
RAW Sources of Dietary Calcium :
Green leafy veggies, almonds,
asparagus, broccoli, cabbage,
oats, beans - especially
soybeans, parsley, & sesame seeds
RAW Sources of Dietary Magnesium:
Green leafy veggies like kale and
collards, whole grains, OJ
NEXT WEEK : We will explore Type
II Diabetes, Adult-Onset Diabetes, and its
links to sugar consumption.
SOURCES OF INFO:
Milk- The Deadly Poison. Robert
Cohen. Argus Publishing, 1998.
Food For Life. Neal Barnard, MD.
Three Rivers Press, 1993.
"Stamp stands for hope in
diabetes effort." Michelle Jeffrey, Philadelphia Inquirer.