CHILDREN IN CRISIS, Part II

In the frst part, we discussed the pharmaceutical industries goal of drugging 52

million of our children and how theyre going about it. In this second part, in
addition to continuing the problem with this, we will also discuss other areas
where our children are in crisis.
The hazards of drugging our children are playing havoc in our society. e are
seeing a dramatic increase in socio!pathic displays of emotions. "ost are
attributed to medications used to #control$ these #undesirable$ behaviors. In
fact, %&' of the children involved in the (olumbine )chool shootings were on
prescribed psychotropic drugs. The other 2&' have #closed fles$ and it is
un*nown whether or not they were on drugs too. This is true of most of the
shooting rampages in schools and wor* places.
)ome of the e+ects of ,italin alone are frightening. -ccording to the .ational
Institutes for health, there is an urgent need to research the long term e+ects of
treatment with ,italin. -ccording to /eter ,. 0reggin, ".1. there are several
dangerous e+ects of ,italin2 #decreased blood 3ow to the brain, an e+ect
recently shown to be caused by cocaine where it is associated with impaired
thin*ing ability and memory loss4 disruption of growth hormone, leading to
suppression of growth in the body and brain of the child4 permanent
neurological tics, including Tourettes )yndrome4 addiction and abuse, including
withdrawal reactions on a daily basis4 psychosis 5mania6, depression, insomnia,
agitation, and social withdrawal4 possible shrin*age 5atrophy6 or other
permanent physical abnormalities in the brain4 worsening of the very symptoms
the drug is supposed to improve including hyperactivity and inattention4
decreased ability to learn.$ -ccording to the 7.). 1rug 8nforcement -gency,
#,italin is considered a (lass II 1rug and a controlled substance, a fact not
widely *nown. 9ther drugs in this category are those such as cocaine,
methamphetamine and methadone. - drug becomes a controlled substance
when it has the potential for abuse and for addiction. It is not uncommon in
many classrooms today to fnd the percentage of children on ,italin to be 25'
or greater and the numbers are climbing.$ If this isnt frightening enough, lets
loo* at the other things putting our *ids in a state of crisis2
Obesity: 9besity is not a new problem overall, however, in children it is
relatively new. 9besity in the 7nited )tates has grown from :;' of the
population in :<=2 to ;:' in 2&&&. =;' have a 0ody "ass Inde> in e>cess of
25.& 5overweight6 and ;:' e>ceed ;&.& 5obese6. (hildhood obesity has more
than tripled in the past 2& years.
,elated to this is 1iabetes. "ore and more children are being diagnosed with
Type II 1iabetes. This type is typically referred to as #adult!onset$ or #ac?uired$
statistics. -bout %5' of children diagnosed with Type II 1iabetes are obese.
So why this trend, and what can we do about it?
-ccording to the -merican @ournal of (linical .utrition, the consumption of high
fructose corn syrup 5AB()6 increased :&&&' between :<C& and :<<&, far
e>ceeding the changes in inta*e of any other food or food group. Di*ewise,
there has been a concurrent rise in obesity during this time, leading scientists
and nutritionists to see a connection between AB() and weight gain. )oda
consumption among teenage girls has doubled and among teenage boys has
tripled since :<C%. -nother startling statistic is that one ffth of all infants ages
one and two are now soda drin*ersE
Aowever, we cant blame only sugar. Too little physical activity and too much
bad fats F fried foods, margarine and hydrogenated fats cause many problems
in children. Too little good fats are also to blame. 8ssential fatty acid
defciencies interfere with the bodys receptivity to insulin and are part of the
material components the body uses to ma*e insulin. 0ad fats cause you to gain
weight, good fats support weight loss.
-nother issue is school lunches. <5' of all school lunches today come from a
federally assisted meal program. This program provides food that is pre!
pac*aged, only re?uiring warming. It is laden with hydrogenated fats, AB(),
dyes, preservatives, synthetic vitamins and many ingredients that are
contributing to the physical and mental ill!health of children. Dong gone are the
on!site coo*ed meals that provided some semblance of nutrition. e need to
be demanding a better ?uality lunch than the #empty calorie$ choices that
children have gotten used to today. 9n the website www.sustainabletable.org,
#ith the demise of fresh, balanced meals prepared on campus has come the
rise of Gun* food as a main course. In order to compensate for a lac* of
government funding, school systems around the country have turned to Gun*
food and Gun* food advertising F mainly for sodas and fast food chains. -n area
that was once reserved for learning has opened up as a mar*et for large Gun*
food manufacturers to peddle their products in vending machines and in the
form of school sponsorships. -s )enator Tom Aar*in 51!Iowa6 put it, in his
opening remar*s to a convention of government health oHcials and big food
industry representatives, #corporate -merica spends I:2 billion a year on food
ads to *ids because it wor*s.$
-fter much persuasion by concerned parents regarding these issues, many
responsible states are rising to the occasion and creating healthier programs.
These programs include organic fruit and vegetables, chic*en wraps, garden
pizza, organic salad bars, etc. ashington is one of these states. )everal other
states are following suit. The amazing thing is that they are fnding children are
better behaved, their weight is beginning to normalize and they are fnding it is
costing the schools about 2 cents per meal lessE
So what can we do about our children in crisis?
)tart feeding them real food. Jood old!fashioned steamed vegetables and
organic meats, cutting out the sodas and other sugars, hydrogenated fats, and
fast food. "a*e sure their diets contain lots of minerals and essential fatty
acids which have been shown to be e+ective with behavioral issues. "a*e sure
your child is properly diagnosed and not Gust labeled 5i.e. -1A16. Jet active
with your school lunch programs. Kisit resources such as
www.sustainabletable.orgLfeaturesLbac*toschool for more information on what
you can do to improve school lunches. Muality foods in the schools as well as at
home will go far in reducing childhood obesity and behavioral issues. -nd see a
good physician s*illed in handling these mental and health issues with *ids
naturally without drugging them.