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2017 Feb 1;185(3):212-223). Moms with low weight gain dur- ing pregnancy—restricted food intake during pregnancy is often encouraged by medical professionals—are 30 percent more likely to have babies who develop schizophrenia later in life (JAMA Psychiatry. 2017 Apr 1;74(4):339-349). High levels of glyphosate—the “safe” ubiquitous herbicide—in mothers are associated with shorter pregnancies and smaller babies (http://gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/17541-high- glyphosate-levels-in-mothers-leads-to-shorter-pregnancies- and-smaller-babies). The point is that many approved practices, such as the widespread use of herbicides, taking multivitamins, plant-based diets and discouraging weight gain during pregnancy take their toll on the next genera- tion—the generation depending on us to do our homework and do the right thing to ensure their good health.
UNTRUTH IN LABELING
No product has garnered such widespread consumer disgust as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Consumption of high fructose corn syrup has been linked to liver damage, diabe- tes and blood sugar imbalances, and immune suppression. So what's the beleaguered Corn Refiners Association to do? Change the way HFCS is labeled, of course. Manufactur- ers are now labeling high fructose corn syrup as fructose. Packaging on products such as General Mills Vanilla Chex cereal now states the product contains no high fructose corn syrup, while the ingredients list contains the simple word, “fructose.” This fructose is actually a manufactured sugar called HFCS-90, which is 90 percent pure fructose, created in factories by the enzymatic conversion of corn starch to sugar. (High fructose corn syrup, or HFCS, contains “only” 42 or 55 percent fructose.) The Corn Refiners Association states, “. . . HFCS-90 is sometimes used in natural and ‛light’ foods, where very little is needed to provide sweetness. Syrups with 90% fructose will not state high fructose corn syrup on the label [any more], they will state ‛fructose’ or ‛fructose syrup.’”
MORE ROLES FOR VITAMIN A
Vitamin A plays key roles in vision and in protecting against infection, and this is where most of the research on this important vitamin has focused. However, vitamin A is also essential for several regions of the brain, especially the hippocampus, needed for learning and memory, and
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the hypothalamus, necessary to maintain the body's inter- nal physiological balance, and control of body weight and food intake, among many other roles (World Rev Nutr Diet. 2016;115:98-108). In other words, plentiful vitamin A dur- ing growth and development will ensure excellent growth, normal sleep patterns, healthy weight, ease of learning and consistent focus—in short, everything a child needs to be healthy, happy and wise. That’s why giving liver, egg yolks and cod liver oil is so important for babies and children, feeding practices that conventional medicine discourages.
ANOTHER REASON TO TAKE COD LIVER OIL Glaucoma, characterized by a specific structural alteration of the optic nerve, is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, afflicting nearly sixty-seven million people world- wide and causing almost seven million cases of blindness. Citing studies showing that vitamin A along with omega-3 fatty acids both provide protection against glaucoma, Chi- nese researchers conclude that “Cod liver oil, as a combined supplement of vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids, should be more effective than single supplement formulations” (Int J Ophthalmol. 2011;4(6):648-51). They call for “properly con- trolled, long-term clinical trials” to determine whether cod liver oil can prevent glaucoma, but for starters, we recom- mend they interview some WAPF-ers who have taken cod liver oil for many years.
NATURE TO THE RESCUE
Now for some welcome news. Scientists have discovered bacteria that can biologically degrade the widespread plastic polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Other species can gobble up oil spills and radioactive waste. The field of bioremedia- tion has a bright and important future.
Caustic Commentary
FOR SCIENTISTS AND LAY READERS
Please note that the mission of the Weston A. Price Foundation is to provide important information about diet and health to both scientists and the lay public. For this rea- son, some of the articles in Wise Traditions are necessarily technical. It is very important for us to describe the science that supports the legitimacy of our dietary principles. In articles aimed at scientists and practitioners, we provide a summary of the main points and also put the most techni- cal information in sidebars. These articles are balanced by
others that provide practical advice to our lay readers.
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