Killing them with Kindness?

KILLING THEM WITH KINDNESS?

An article by Julie Umpleby, www.diamondlightworld.net

Most of us at some stage will have reached into our pockets and made some kind of financial contribution to assist those in the ‘third world’ so desperately in need of nourishment, help and support. After all, how can any decent human being not be affected by the images of emaciated, starving children too hungry to do anything other than plead with eyes that seem too large for their drawn faces?? It is heart breaking indeed to witness such suffering and not be moved by it.

Over the years we have learned of the corruption that has infiltrated many charitable foundations, leading to the redistribution of either funds or products so that those most in need are the ones least likely to receive what they so desperately need. Valuable resources are often hijacked for black market sales, further enriching those for whom the only motivation is greed and accumulation. Even worse, is the use of such ill-gotten gains to fund the purchase of weapons, further excacerbating the fear, impoverishment and neglect of human life.

However, there is another insidious issue that has not received the attention of the mainstream media that is equally as detrimental to those most desperately in need. That issue is the type of nutrition they are provided with even when food supplies do manage to reach their intended destinations.

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For malnourished babies and children, the primary products they are provided with are milk based ‘therapeutic’ products known as F-75 and F-100 (source). These are quite possibly the worst sources of nutrition for such undernourished babies and children, and are quite likely to lead to a compromised immune system and extreme diarrhoea, among other conditions.

Professor Walter J Veith has given numerous presentations on the scientific research that has been done on the impact of dairy products and health at all age levels and across different cultures. His insights are incredibly revealing and should give AID agencies pause to reformulate their strategies if saving lives is indeed their primary objective.

Professor Veith provides some serious food for thought on the  implications of even our own nutritional needs. What I found most compelling, however, is the fact that dairy products are so detrimental for certain ethnic groups and cultures, that they could literally die from being fed them, especially babies and children.

In a nutshell, here are a few of the salient points extracted from this very well presented expose on the health effects of dairy products :

-          The primary protein in milk and dairy products is casein which requires the enzyme rennin to be able to metabolise it. Babies have a very small amount of rennin available, but this is only sufficient to digest the small amount of casein in mothers milk, and not able to cope with the amounts in cow’s milk. Once weaned, humans longer produce rennin and are therefore unable to metabolise casein or dairy protein properly.

-          Babies fed cows milk during the first 2-6 months of life may experience a 30% increase in intestinal blood loss and lose iron through their stools.

-          The primary sugar in milk is lactose, which requires the enzyme lactase in order to break it down into its constituents which would be glucose and galactose. Glucose can be used by the body for energy, while galactose cannot be utilised at all. Galactose is recognised as a foreign substance by the body which it tries to get rid of through the skin and also through the eyes. Galactose build up is implicated in many health conditions including acne, CFS, a compromised immune system, allergies and more.

-          While many of European descent are recognising lactose intolerance (which means they do not have enough of the enzyme lactase to break down the lactose in dairy products), the levels of lactose intolerance differ across ethnic groups and cultures.

-          As a percentage of the population, between 50 – 90% of those from the various indigenous peoples and of Asian descent are lactose intolerant which means they should never eat dairy products. Black Africans are between 90 – 100% lactose intolerant.

-          If a starving child in any of these groups is given dairy products as their source of nutrition, they may put on weight relatively quickly due to the fats in the product. This means that they may appear to be more ‘healthy’ as their weight begins to increase. However, the high degree of lactose intolerance means that they can’t utilise either the milk sugar (lactose) or the protein (casein). What then happens is that the lactose passes straight through the digestive system, and only in the colon are certain bacteria able to ‘split it’ into glucose and galactose. This leads to a high sugar environment in the colon which attracts water from the body into the colon leading to often severe diarrhoea and dehydration.

A sorry state of affairs indeed!

Diarrhoea, which is often attributed to pathogens, is the second highest cause of death in under 5 children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Add the toxic load of other additives in the milk, and the avalanche of vaccines to an already severely compromised immune system and it is little wonder that some of the huge aid initiatives have had little impact on preventing deaths from so called malnutrition. The whole subject of AIDS also becomes a factor when we learn of its direct association with poor nutrition (and less on the so called HIV virus). Of course, the AIDS/HIV topic is another huge and tragic story of its own.

Of course, there is a much bigger picture involved in examining the causes of famine and malnutrition and in providing effective aid to those countries most in need of a sustainable solution for their very survival. The issues are complex and multi-faceted. However, we don’t do them any favours by supporting charitable organisations that still send dairy products as food, no matter how well intended they may be.

Perhaps it is time we raised our voices and began asking more direct questions of those aid agencies and charities who still insist on providing milk solids as famine or disaster relief.

Professor Walter J Veith complete lecture, ‘Udderly Amazing’ can be viewed on youtube :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9XuYRoqo1A