Avoid Milk, Cheese, and Wheat
Exposure to dairy proteins from cow’s milk has also shown long-term negative consequences when used very young in life. Delaying the feeding of all food except breast milk until six months is important, and the foods you choose to begin with at six months are important, too.– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; page 109
Turns out, Dr. Fuhrman’s dietary recommendations are consistent with those of Dr. Campbell. From his book, “Disease-Proof Your Child” (2005):
Iron Deficiency
“It is better if young children are weaned from the breast onto a diet of mostly real food. Many of today’s children utilize cow’s milk as their leading source of calories. That is why milk is the most common cause of iron-deficiency anemia in infants and young children. Milk is deficient in iron, and it can also bind with the iron that is found in other foods, preventing iron absorption. The inflammatory reaction against milk that often occurs in infants and toddlers can also cause microscopic bleeding in their digestive tracts, leading to blood loss and anemia. Human breast milk is perfectly designed for little humans. Cow’s milk is perfectly designed for the baby cow. “
– page 70
Most Children and Adults Are Lactose-Intolerant
“Cow’s milk protein is the leading cause of food allergies in children. Also, many children are lactose-intolerant. Seventy percent of blacks, and 90% of Asians, and 50% of Hispanics do not digest milk sugars well.”
– page 67
“Mammals need the enzyme lactase to digest lactose (the sugar found in dairy). However, between the ages of eighteen months and four years, we lose 90 to 95 percent of this enzyme. So basically, we are all lactose-intolerant for the most part… A colicky baby is not happy or fun to be around. Imagine giving your baby a bottle full of giraffe milk and the physical distress it would likely cause her. Why on earth would cows’ milk be any different? Just because we have been doing it for years? Or becuase your doctor said it was okay? Or because you “turned out fine” and you drank it? Get your head out of your ass and use some common sense, please, for the sake of your child. If you do, you’ll spend less time at the pediatrician dealing with colic, ear infections, respiratory problems, and skin conditions. And your child won’t grow up to be an insolent teenager with acne-prone skin, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and anxiety, all of which can be attributed to dairy. If you keep your head up your ass, your kid is more likely to suffer from allergies. Milk is the leading cause of allergies in children. Our bodies want nothing to do with dairy.”
– Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven (2005) by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin; pages 69-70
A large number of children have marginal intolerances to wheat and other gluten-rich flours. If your child is frequently ill, chronically congested, or suffers from digestive complaints, it would be wise to try to reduce or eliminate most gluten-containing flours and see if you note a significant improvement.
However, the leading cause of digestive intolerance leading to stomach complaints is dairy products. Many kids have subtle allergies to cow’s milk that perpetuate their nasal congestion, leading to ear infections. Cow’s milk protein is the leading cause of food allergies in children. Also, many children are lactose-intolerant. Seventy percent of blacks, and 90% of Asians, and 50% of Hispanics do not digest milk sugars well.
Milk, which is designed by nature for the rapidly growing cow, has about half its calories supplied from fat. The fatty component is concentrated more to make cheese and butter. Milk and cheese are the foods Americans encourage their children to eat, believing them to be healthy foods. Fifty years of heavy advertising by an economically powerful industry has shaped the public’s perception, illustrating the power of one-sided advertising, but the reality and true health effects on our children is a different story.
Besides the link between high-saturated-fat foods (dairy fat) and cancer, there is a body of scientific literature linking the consumption of cow’s milk to many other diseases. If we expect our children to resist many common illnesses, they simply must consume less milk, cheese, and butter. Dairy foods should be consumed in a limited quantity or not at all.
Diseases with Strong Links to Cow’s Milk
- Allergies
- Anal fissures
- Childhood-onset (Type 1) diabetes
- Chronic constipation
- Crohn’s disease
- Ear infections
- Heart attacks
- Multiple sclerosis
- Prostate cancer
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 67 – 71
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports the introduction of whole cow’s milk after one year of age. I do not. Gastroesophageal reflux, iron deficiency, and calcium and sodium excess may be created by feeding cow’s milk to our infants and toddlers. This is not the only reason, however, for not starting cow’s milk at age one. Your child’s continued intake of the DHA that he would have received from continued breast-feeding is important.
If the child cannot be breast-fed until at least the age of two, I recommend that between twelve and eighteen months a DHA-supplemented cow’s milk formula be utilized. A DHA-supplemented soy milk formula may be substituted for the cow’s milk-based formula, but the cow’s milk-based formula is preferred, as it contains significantly less aluminum compared to soy-based formulas. Then, after eighteen months, it can slowly be decreased, as a mixture of soy and nut milk (and even some cow’s milk) can be used.
Early introduction of cow’s milk increases the chance of developing childhood diabetes and can promote that early-in-life growth spurt linked to later life cancers. Your child does not need cow’s milk to be healthy, but if used at all, it is very important not to start it before the age of eighteen months. I strongly recommend that cow’s milk NOT be utilized as the exclusive drink of babies and toddlers. If you choose to use cow’s milk, have the child use an assortment of healthy drinks, utilizing soy, nut, and cow’s or goat’s milk, so that an overdependency on cow’s milk is prevented and more nutritional diversity is fostered.
– Disease-Proof Your Child (2005) by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, M.D.; pages 114 – 115
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