Selecting an Autism Diet A Review of Popular Approaches

                

 

Art therapy may be an ideal way to develop social skills, but an autism diet may also be another form of effective treatment. Art therapy is a form of expressive therapy, and like expressive therapy, when it comes to food control, there is more than one type of diet that can be used to treat autism.

Many health practitioners believe that an autism diet may be beneficial treatment. The reason is because most autistics have distorted immune response which causes their body to respond abnormally to certain types of food, viruses and toxins. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for many autistics to suffer from gastrointestinal inflammation and other intestinal disorders. It is thought that these intestinal problems might decrease the body?s ability to absorb specific essential nutrients. Thus, by following a diet and other alternative treatment methods, certain abilities and overall health may be improved in an autistic individual.

The following are 4 autism diets you may want to consider ?

Gluten and Casein Free Diet
Gluten and Casein are both proteins found in many foods which some autistics have a hard time digesting. Gluten occurs in wheat, oat and rye products, while casein is found in human milk, cow milk and many other dairy products. Both of these proteins are also in the ingredients of many medications.

Research has discovered that abnormally high level of specific peptides related to gluten and casein have been found in the urine of autistic children. This could mean that these proteins are not being effectively broken down into amino acids, and this over-absorption of peptide can actually affect brain function. Thus, by removing gluten and casein from the autism diet, this will prevent further gastrointestinal and neurological damage from occurring.

Yeast- Free Diet
Some research is based on the belief that some autistics have high levels of candida albicans (a type of yeast that occurs naturally in the body) in their intestinal tract. A candida overgrowth in the intestines can cause ?leaky gut? syndrome, a condition that causes tiny holes in the intestinal tract. The yeast grows fast and releases toxins in the bloodstream which has the potential to affect brain functioning.

In fact, aside from causing stomach distress, it is thought by some that a candida overgrowth can cause a number of behavioural difficulties such as fatigue, confusion and hyperactivity.

Candida can be controlled naturally through an anti-candida (yeast) diet or with essential oils. In short, an anti-yeast diet involves cutting out all natural and artificial sugars, caffeine, most diary products, preservatives and, of course, yeast products (I.E. bread).

Specific Carbohydrate Diet
This is a science based autism diet, and it involves the cessation of ingesting specific carbohydrates (sugars and starches) that have been found to cause problems within the digestive tract. In addition, carbohydrates are small enough that they can slip by the surface of the small intestine into the blood stream, and can cause abnormal brain function.

This diet limits the amount of carbohydrates ingested and slowly adds them back once the intestinal tract has had time to heal.

Body Ecology Diet (BED)
This particular diet used to treat autism was originally created to treat systemic fungal infections typically caused by Candida overgrowth. It has been used to treat the inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn?s disease, as well as a number of autoimmune diseases and AIDS. Like the other autism diets, the BED works to heal the gastrointestinal system and prevent future infections.

The BED diet involves eliminating gluten and casein from the diet as well as drastically limiting bad fats, carbohydrates and sugars.

It is best to talk to your child?s health care provider to find out which autism diet would be the best course of treatment. It is also important to have your doctor monitor your child?s condition while on a diet treatment. This way you can ask any questions or concerns you may have about the autism diets, and to ensure your child is receiving the sufficient nutrients his/her body requires.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans' brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about autism strategies and for information on autism diet please visit The Essential Guide To Autism.

How to Balance an Autism Diet

                

 

There are many autistic children who are very picky eaters and have odd autism diet foibles. This is not just another problem with behavior, though it might seem like it at first. This is often something that happens for simpler reasons, and some of them are correctable.

A child who is not eating enough of the right foods is not getting the nutritional intake they need to remain healthy, and parents must do what they can to establish a more balanced diet.

There are times when there is a medical reason behind the picky eating, and it might mean talking to a doctor about nutrition and how to make sure the right foods are in a child?s diet.

Some children who won?t eat are simply not hungry. Sometimes this is just the way it is, but more often than not, there may be a medication to blame. Some children with autism also have ADHD and they may be on mediations for that purpose. Some of the medications for this condition will suppress appetite, along with others drugs like antibiotics. If this is the suspected problem, there may be alternative medications that can be given that will not have the same affect on the child?s hunger. Talk to your doctor about this.

There are also some autistic children that have very sensitive digestive systems. They may have problems with acid reflux, and this can make eating hard for them.

They may also have problems in the intestines that lead to constipation, loose stools, or gas and bloating. They learn to associate these feelings with eating, and that makes them not want to eat.

In this case, it might just take something as simple as a course of acid reflux medication to get them feeling better and eating more. As a natural alternative you could try ginger to help soothe the system, ask your doctor for more advice.

Sometimes eating is not something a child looks forward to because they have poor motor skills and can?t get the foods into their mouth with ease, and they may have problems with chewing and swallowing. They may gag or choke and they will avoid eating to avoid those things. When that happens, therapy sessions with a oral-motor therapist might be the answer to the child?s eating problems.

Some children simply cannot stand the textures of foods, and they may be hyper sensitive to almost all sensations associated with eating. Finding a way to desensitize the mouth can help, and quite often liquids can be taken in by the use of a straw.

Keep reading to sign up for the free Autism newsletter that addresses the signs and symptoms of autism and discover natural treatment options available, as well as more information on the link between diet and autism.

When parents have concerns, they need to consult with their physician about what they should do first. New medications might be found that will not affect the appetite, and there may be additional medications that can help with an upset digestive system.

There are supplements that a doctor might suggest to restore balance and give important vitamins and minerals. Sometimes little things can help restore a good autism diet to help a child remain healthy and strong, but before giving supplements, it is important to find out how much they should have and how often they should have it.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter for more information on autism diet. In the newsletter you'll find out more about the signs and symptoms of autism.

Autism and Diet - What Are Your Options?

                

 

When, as parents, you hear your child has autism, the first response is usually one of shock even though you may have had concerns that led to the diagnosis. After the shock wears off, you?ll probably be looking for things that can help your child. Unfortunately, information regarding a cure or even the root cause of autism is not yet known, so many parents turn to differing treatment options and there are a number of theories that suggest there is a link between autism and diet. More specifically that a special diet called GFCF that might help children with autism in many ways.

GFCF stands for gluten free casein free. Following a GFCF diet means foods with those proteins are eliminated from your child?s daily diet. Sounds simple right? Well, unfortunately it?s actually pretty difficult to do.

The problem is that these proteins are commonly found in foods that most of us eat each day, and therefore the diet can be somewhat restrictive.

Casein is found most commonly in milk and milk products like ice cream and cheese that are made with milk. Gluten is found in grains and also in oats and barley. It is also found in soy products, and many additives that are put in foods for coloring, flavor, or as a preservative. Both these proteins also appear in other food sources as well meaning you have to become an avid label reader.

Though studies are on going, there is no conclusive link between the GFCF diet and improvement for autistic children just yet. However, what is known is that some autistic children find if very difficult to digest these types of proteins in the same way as others can, and can lead the body to treat them as if they are poisonous.

Having this reaction to these proteins might lead to problems with bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Some also believe that these have an impact on social and emotional problems that are very common in children and adults struggling with autism.

Before removing any foods in order to follow a GFCF diet, it is a good idea to get approval from a doctor. The doctor might want to keep a close eye on the child because many important nutritional elements like calcium might be missing from the diet once milk is removed.

There are other foods that can supplement calcium, and a doctor can help with adding foods back to replace what following such a diet can miss. Vitamins and minerals are important to any eating plan, and if they are lacking, a child will suffer in other ways.

Continue reading for more information about GFCF diets and sign up to the newsletter for additional information on managing autism with dietary changes.

Some parents? report astounding changes in both physical and emotional problems, while others say that nothing changed when trying the GFCF diet. There are some in the middle that say the elimination diet helped with one problem but not others. How each child will react cannot be known until the diet is tried.

However, before jumping in and restricting your child?s diet to see if there is a link between autism and diet, parents should talk to the doctor and remember that the results for other families have been mixed. As long as a physician is overseeing the diet, and the child is receiving regular check ups, there should be no harm in trying the diet to see if it works.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter for more information on autism. In the newsletter you'll find out more about the signs and symptoms of autism.

Understanding Autism Statistics

                

 

It would seem there are more alarming autism statistics each year. These are often hard to comprehend, and can be very misleading if you don?t understand what you are reading. Autism is a blanket term for quite a few different conditions that are all related, yet vary in degree of function.

Asperger?s is a relatively new term that covers a wide range of higher functioning children and adults. This is something that is relatively new, and people are now just getting the proper diagnosis. Though it would seem that the numbers of those with autism is rising almost out of control, it may be that diagnosis has been wrong in the past, and it is now easier to make the proper one.

If you go by the number presented in 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 150 births will result in autistic children. This number seems scary, but the actually cases are probably about the same as before, but many others just were not known or could not be diagnosed. Some of these children had never been seen by a doctor, and many grew into adulthood with a different but wrong diagnosis. They may have been living with autism, but they were thought of as introverted, troubled or disruptive.

If you go back to the findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001, it was estimated that about 1.5 million children and adults are living with autism. The statistics from that year in comparison to this year would leave you to believe that the cases of this condition are rising by 15%. That seems alarming, but it might show in increase in proper diagnosis rather than an increase in overall cases. More and more children are now being diagnosed with autism when they would have normally been left to fall through the cracks and suffer needlessly.

There is some good news, even though the numbers seem to be very troubling. It would seem that an early and proper diagnosis might help avoid some of the costs of raising and caring for a child with autism. Most of the extra costs are ones that occur in adulthood, with some people requiring care for their entire lives.

When a child is diagnosed early, they can go through programs designed to help them communicate and socialize with others more effectively. This lessens the costs associated with caring for them when they reach adulthood in most cases. Though many children with autism are unlikely to fully integrate into society, some manage their condition well and go on to have pretty normal interactions and jobs when they reach adulthood.

The rise in Autism statistics can not be attributed to bad parenting nor is it something a person can ever leave behind, but through the proper support and intervention they can lead happy and fulfilled lives.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter about aspergers and discover more on the signs and symptoms of autism

Five Autism Types Explained

                

 

Autism used to be the term used for anyone with that particular condition. Today, there are several different sub categories for different levels of disability or function. No two children diagnosed will be the same, but there will be many things that they do have in common. With some high functioning autistics most people may not even be aware that they have autism, while others need assistance in almost any part of life, and they are obviously living a very different life than other children. More is being discovered about each of these different autism types as time goes on.

Asperger?s Disorder

This type of autism is something that you hear more and more about. These children are often misdiagnosed at first, and are thought to have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or perhaps Attention Deficit Disorder. These children are very unskilled with social interactions and have problems with communicating. They have repetitive motions, and are fixated on patterns of all types. They can have above average language skills, though they don?t use them well in social situations. They are often clumsy, as motor skills are under developed. Those with Asperger?s are thought to have a talent that they focus on almost exclusively, and are considered to be highly intelligent. Recent findings indicate that Albert Einstein may have had this condition.

Kanner?s Syndrome (classic autistic disorder)

This particular type of autism was named after a Dr. Kanner. He described and studied it in the 1930s and into the 1940s. This is the well-known type of this condition that is very common. Those with Kanner?s have very limited emotional connection with anyone, and they are very into their own little world. They want everything to be the same all of the time, and this includes routine (sometimes down to the exact minute) clothing, food, and television shows or movies. They can be deeply effected by noises, bright lights and smells. They are generally considered to be low functioning, but how well their mind works is largely unknown because of extremely poor social and communication skills.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder--Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).

This term is used to describe children who have most of the same symptoms as classic autism. They will need the same interventions and help that autistic children require. The differences between PDD-NOS and autism are minor and usually only obvious to researchers and doctors.

Rett?s Syndrome

Rett?s is a rare and relatively little-known type of autism, and it seems to only happen in girls. This branch of autism was first described by Dr. Rett. These patients often have problems with muscle atrophy, and tend to do repetitive hand motions. They area almost always mentally retarded to some degree. These girls are very low functioning and will need care for most of their lives. This particular type of autism has been diagnosed since the sixties, but in the late 1990s a gene that might cause this condition was found.

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

This is also thankfully pretty rare and something that strikes children who appear to have normal development from birth. Usually between two and four years of age this changes. These children begin to regress, and often do not potty train. They will lose the will and the ability to interact with other children, and will lose an interested in play. They will also have problem with the motor skills that were something they at one time had mastered. They will stop talking, or their communication skills will regress to some degree.

Though there are more autism types out there, these tend to be the most common. They are all things that take parents by surprise, and each comes with their own set of difficulties. Most children will need to be cared for long after their peers have established independence, even though the will to be on their own is very strong.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter about autistic and discover more on the signs and symptoms of autism

The Benefits Of Music Therapy For Autism

                

 

A professional who specializes in autism can suggest different treatment for autistic?s that can have a significant positive effect on their behavior. One such treatment is Music therapy.

Music therapy is a controlled music experience that is used to facilitate positive change in human behavior. Each session of music therapy is carefully planned, carried out, and evaluated to suit the specific needs of each patient. Music therapy can include any of the following musical activities:

? Listening to music and/or musical creation
? Playing musical instruments (any instrument can be used)
? Moving to music
? Singing

As far as autism is concerned, studies have shown that music therapy has a significant, positive influence when used to treat autistic individuals. Participating in music therapy allows autistics the opportunity to experience non-threatening outside stimulation, as they don?t engage in direct human contact.

As was previously mentioned, music therapy is made specific to each individual. This is extremely important, because what may be positively received by one autistic may be negative to another. That being said, let?s take a look at the positive influence music therapy has had on autistic individuals.
Music therapy -

Improved socio-emotional development: In the first steps of a relationship, autistics tend to physically ignore or reject the attempts of social contact made by others. Music therapy helps to stop this social withdrawal by an initial object relation with a musical instrument. Instead of seeing the instrument as threatening, autistic children are usually fascinated by the shape, feel and sound of it. Therefore, the musical instrument provides an initial point of contact between the autistic and the other individual by acting as an intermediary.

Assisted in both verbal and non-verbal communication ? When music therapy is used to aid in communication, its goal is to improve the production of vocalization and speech, as well as stimulate the mental process of comprehending, conceptualizing and symbolizing. A music therapist will attempt to establish a communicative relationship between the behavior of a child with autism and a specific sound. An autistic person may have an easier time recognizing or being more open to these sounds than they would to a verbal approach. This musical awareness, and the relationship between the autistics? actions and the music, has potential to encourage communication.

Another form of music therapy that may help with communication is to play a wind instrument (IE flute). It is thought that by playing such an instrument, you become aware of the functioning of your teeth, jaws, lips and tongue. Thus, playing a wind instrument almost mirrors the functioning required in order to produce speech vocalizations.

Encouraged emotional fulfillment ? Most autistics lack the ability to affectively respond to stimuli that would otherwise allow them to enjoy an appropriate emotional charge. Thus, since most autistics respond well to music stimuli, music therapy has been able to provide autistics with an environment that is free of fear, stimuli considered threatening, etc.

During a music therapy session, an autistic individual has the freedom to behave in specific ways that allow them to discover and express themselves when they want and choose. They can make noise, bang instruments, shout and express and experience the pleasure of emotional satisfaction.

Musical therapy has also helped autistic individuals by:

? Teaching social skills
? Improving language comprehension
? Encouraging the desire to communicate
? Making creative-self expression possible
? Reducing non-communicative speech
? Decreasing echolalia (uncontrolled and instant repetition of the words spoken by another)

Keep in mind that although music therapy can have positive effects on autistic individuals, it is vital that an autistic receives such treatment from a trained and experienced musical therapist.

For more help and advice regarding autism therapy please browse through the rest of the autism articles on the Essential Guide To Autism blog.

Learn and understand the basic autism symptoms

                

 

Autism is a condition that affects perception, attention, interaction with others, thought, and many other vital abilities. Unfortunately, because we know so little about how the brain functions, we can't explain why autism appears or how can it be treated. The only thing we can do for autistic people is to try to help them integrate and fit in as much as possible, and to make them feel good about themselves.

The first thing that can be done in order to help an autistic person is need to discover if he/she is suffering from autism or not by checking the symptoms, because it's up to the ones around those with autism disorders to discover them due to the fact that they are not aware of their own condition and will never visit a doctor on their own. In the children's case it's up to the parents or the family to see if their son or daughter have the autism condition.

Autism is a term that covers a wide-range of disabilities, from mild to severe ones, so there aren't some specific symptoms of this so-called illness, but it is known that it affects behavior, interaction with others and communication skills, so those with problems of this kind and that present some other signs that seem to be common in autism cases are diagnosed with the autism disorder.

Here follows a list of the most encountered symptoms and signs of autism, but as mentioned before this affection does not follow a certain pattern, so don't jump to any conclusions on your own. Only a certified doctor can put an accurate diagnosis.

The first autism symptoms can be detected during the childhood, and until the child reaches the age of 3 or 4 years old the disorder is usually very visible. Adults and children that suffer from autism disorders are completely ignoring other people, they are indifferent to whatever is happening around them, they like to be alone, they reject contact and communication with others and they stare for hours at a single thing sometimes. They are living in a world of their own and they are very sensitive to sensations such as strong smells or loud noises.

Austists cannot speak right, they have problems with the language skills, so they express their needs through gestures rather than through words. Young children with autism don't like to be cuddled, tickled, or touched at all. The way they play is very different from other children's play.

The world is a strange place that they don't understand, so autistic persons need special treatment and special care, they need to be loved and protected because they are in danger all the time. For them it does not seem dangerous to cross the street when the traffic lights are red for example.

Therefore, discovering and properly diagnosing and treating autism is the first and most important step in helping those that suffer from it. So seek advice from a specialized doctor if you suspect your child or anyone else to be an autistic.

More informations about autism causes or about autism symptoms can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/

Autism, ADD, ADHA - Vaccine Related

                

 

According to the most recent estimates by the CDC, about 1 in 150 children in the US suffers from an autistic disorder. Recent studies have shown that exposure to mercury in childhood vaccines, not only causes autism but can also result in immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits associated with autism.

Thimerosal is a vaccine preservative that was developed in the 1930s by Eli Lilly, and has been regularly used in vaccines ever since. It contains 49.5% mercury. The amount of mercury considered safe for adults, by the EPA is 0.1 microgram per kilogram of weight.

As a neurotoxin, thimerosal, has been linked to the depletion of the protective anti-oxidant, glutathione, which helps rid the body of mercury. People with autism seem to be more susceptible to this effect and most have low levels of glutathione. Therefore, their bodies have difficulty excreting mercury.

In 1999, many drug companies claimed they were reducing the amount of thimerosal in vaccines. Some companies even provided product inserts that claimed that only a trace amount of mercury still existed in the final product. Others claimed to be producing vaccines that were completely mercury-free.

A few months ago the group, Health Advocacy in the Public Interest (HAPI), sent four separate vials of different vaccines to be tested for mercury content by Doctor's Data, an independent lab, which specializes in heavy metal testing.

The testing revealed that all four of the vials contained mercury, despite the claim by 2 companies that their vaccines were completely mercury-free. According to HAPI, all four vaccines also contained aluminum which greatly increases the toxicity of mercury in causing neuronal death in the brain.

In fact, during further investigation of the matter, HAPI discovered that mercury-based thimerosal was still being used to produce most vaccines. The drug makers claimed that after production, they use a process to filter the preservative out of the final vaccines.

However, Scientist, Boyd Haley, Phd, who is the Chemistry Department Chair at the University of Kentucky, told HAPI that its not possible to filter out all of the thimerosal because mercury binds to the antigenic protein in the vaccine and therefore, cannot be completely filtered out 100%.

We are not going to see a drastic decline in autism due to the fact that we have been misled about when thimerosal was actually eliminated from vaccines. Because the FDA has never ordered drug makers to recall all the vaccines previously manufactured and shipped to health care providers, to this very day, several different mercury-containing vaccines remain in the inventories of health care facilities, and some have an expiration date as late as September, 2005.

In addition, pregnant women and their unborn infants, are still being injected with thimerosal in flu vaccines, and a shot to combat the RH negative factor. The FDA and CDC have ignored the tremendous amount of scientific evidence of injury from these vaccines discovered by all the various studies, and have continued to recommend flu vaccines for pregnant women and certain children.

Most flu vaccines recommended for pregnant women contain 25 micrograms of mercury. Which means a fetus, through the vaccination of its mother, receives a dose of mercury that exceeds the Federal guidelines by several hundred-fold.

Experts Weigh In

To what degree of scientific certainty can the epidemic of autism be blamed on mercury in childhood vaccines? David Ayoub, MD, answered this question for Independent Media TV, I can state that the certainty of the science supporting mercury as a major cause of autism is probably more overpowering than the science behind any other disease process that I studied dating back to medical school, he said.

In 2002, the research team of David and Mark Geier, released a study based on tens of millions of doses of vaccines given to children in the US during the 1990s, that presented the first epidemiologic evidence that associated the increase in thimerosal from vaccines with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Specifically, the Geiers analysis of the Federal government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database showed statistical increases in the incidence rate of autism, mental retardation, and speech disorders in children receiving thimerosal-containing diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines, when compared with those who received thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines. The VAERS database has only been maintained by the CDC since 1990.

According to the Geiers, the usual course of DTaP vaccine consists of primary immunizations administered at 2, 4, and 6 months, followed up by booster doses at 18 months and at 5 years.

Using the database, the Geiers determined that there were a total of 6575 adverse reaction reports after thimerosal-vaccines, compared to only 1516 adverse reactions reported after thimerosal-free vaccines.

Lisa Blakemore-Brown, a Psychologist in the UK, also maintains that thimerosal is the cause of autism, and suspects it is also the culprit involved in a wide variety of other health problems showing up in children these days.

"The epidemic of health and developmental problems in so called advanced countries is now undeniable," Blakemore reports, "1 in 10 children suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, 1 in 4 have asthma."

According to Blakemore, the current autism epidemic did not occur earlier because children "were given single vaccines with single amounts of mercury, she says, but with the introduction of triple vaccines the amount of mercury contained within the preservative was multiplied and the cumulative effects are only just now being discovered by the public," she adds.

Thimerosal is now also being blamed for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD), which affect millions of children and their families. Currently statistics suggest that as many as 10% of the school-aged children have ADD and another 20% exhibit symptoms of ADHD.

Since they believe vaccines may have caused these disorders, many parents have come to resent the fact that the pharmaceutical industry is now raking in huge profits from the sale of drugs to treat these disorders by the same drug companies that caused the injury in the first place.

Number Of Vaccines Too High

The number of vaccinations given to children before the age 2, has nearly tripled since 1988, according the CDC, which currently recommends vaccination against 12 diseases. Because some vaccines must be given more than once, children get as many as 23 shots by the age of 2.

Under the CDC immunization schedule, here are the vaccines recommended for children before two years of age.

Birth-6 months: Hepatitis B: 2 doses; Diphtheria, Pertussis (DPT), Tetanus: 3 doses; Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib): 3 doses; Inactivated poliovirus: 2 doses; Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): not recommended; Varicella: not recommended; Pneumococcal conjugate: 3 doses. Total 13 doses

12-24 months: Hepatitis B: 1 dose; Diphtheria, Pertussis (DPT), Tetanus: 1 dose; Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib): 1 dose; Inactivated poliovirus: 1 dose; Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR): 1 dose; Varicella: 1 dose; Pneumococcal conjugate: 1 dose; Pneumococcal polysaccharide*: 1 dose; and Influenza: 1 dose

Hepatitis A*: 1 dose; Total 10 doses

* Vaccines recommended in selected states and regions and for certain high-risk groups.

The worst example of an unnecessary vaccine being sold to boost drug company profits, is the injection of Hepatitis B into newborns to an adult lifestyle disease contracted through sex and sharing needles with drug addicts. Plain and simple, the industory needed a market for a new vaccine so they got together with their cronies in the FDA and CDC and hatched a scheme to target nations infants using the Federal immunization program.

Prior to the introduction of the vaccine, Hepatitis B among children was almost unheard of. According to the Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, in 1986, there were only 279 cases reported in children under the age of 14.

Even in adults, the incidence rate of Hepatitis B has always been low. In 1991, for instance, there were only 18,003 cases within a total population of approximately 248 million people.

Dr Jay Gordon is a pediatrician who was named CBS TV's Medical Consultant for Children's programming and also worked for 5 years on ABC, as the on-air medical correspondent. He has appeared on "Good Morning America" to discuss vaccinations.

On his website, Gordon says, "I also don't like the financial ties that vaccine researchers have to the manufacturers because some of these same experts help make the official decisions about which shots will be approved and/or required."

He is concerned about the needless vaccines being given to children. The diseases against which we vaccinate used to be much more common, Gordon says, but we are now down to an average of one case of diphtheria (the "D" of the DPT) per year in the US, a few thousand cases of Pertussis ("P"), and 30 or so cases of Tetanus each year, he explains.

We have not had a case of "wild" polio in America since 1979 and the entire Western Hemisphere has been free of the disease for some years, Gordon adds. He claims it's highly unlikely that a young child would contract hepatitis B; there are only a few dozen cases of tetanus in this country each year.

"In my opinion, we vaccinate in an unscientific and potentially dangerous way," Gordon says. He believes it would be better to vaccinate children later and slower, The expedient and economically superior method, doesn't serve our babies well, he warns.

In my day, we got a few vaccines. And my children (now 33 & 36) got a few during their school years. Due to the fact that no one from those two generations ever got the 3 dozen vaccines currently mandated, one question keep rolling around in my mind. If three dozen vaccines are really necessary to fight off these highly-contagious diseases, in the 54 years that Ive been on this earth, why have I never met a single unvaccinated person who caught one?

Evelyn Pringle
e.pringle@sbcglobal.net
Miamisburg OH

(Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an investigative journalist focused on exposing government corruption)