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The Answer to Childhood Obesity? Ayurveda! NOT Statin Drugs
By Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C. | August 6, 2008
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read in the New York Times that the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new guidelines to “aggressively screen and medicate for high cholesterol in children” and that they plan on administering cholesterol-lowering drugs - called statins - to kids as young as age 8! Age 8!
WHAT’S NEXT - PUTTING YOUR NEWBORN ON ANTI-DEPRESSANTS BECAUSE IT DOESN’T SMILE ENOUGH??
But before we go into that, let me remind you of the simple facts about cholesterol…
DON’T ACCUSE CHOLESTEROL OF A CRIME IT DIDN’T COMMIT!
Back in April, I posted an article that dispelled the myths surrounding cholesterol, so allow me to reiterate a few things: in Ayurveda, there is no “bad” and “good” cholesterol - it’s all good. High cholesterol is the informant, a warning sign, that something else is not right in your body - it’s not the criminal. Don’t blame the cholesterol!
Use of cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins, also known as Lipitor - Pfizer; Pravachol - Bristol Myers Squibb; and Lescol - Novartis) rose by 156% (from 15.8 million people to 29.7 million people) between 2000 and 2005. Spending on these drugs catapulted from $7.7 billion to $19.7 billion, and prescriptions rose from about 90 million to nearly 174 million during that same time period.
In 2004, the U.S. government’s National Cholesterol Education Program advised those at risk for heart disease to reduce their LDL (”bad”) cholesterol to the ridiculously low levels of less than 100 (or even 70). If you want to meet these dangerously low targets, you would generally have to take multiple statins in combination.
Big business shouldn’t dictate how we treat ourselves or especially our children, and statins are not the solution to the “problem” with cholesterol. Don’t just take my word for it. Dr. Joseph Mercola, D.O., (www.mercola.com) has spoken out against the use of statins for children.
“I do not find it particularly heartening that these drugs are as safe for children as they are for adults, considering that they are highly dangerous for adults to begin with,” Dr. Mercola notes in his article “Now They Want to Treat Kids with Statins.”
Dr. Mercola also lists some of the known dangers of statins (”Crestor and Other Statins: Are They Really Worth the Risk?“) including: “potential increase in liver enzymes…muscle aches, weakness, immune system suppression, an increase in cancer risk, and a serious degenerative muscle tissue condition called rhabdomyolysis.”
OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER!
So where do we go from here? There’s no arguing with the fact that there is an obesity crisis among the kids in this country, and it’s time for it to end - the natural way. Rather than putting their lives in more danger with harmful drugs, let’s look to the ancient sciences of Ayurveda to get them healthier and happier in the short- and long-term.
Ayurveda teaches that obesity is a predisposition based on body type, but just because it might be in the genes, that doesn’t mean we can’t fix sluggish metabolisms and even fat tissue disorders! The first step on a path to weight loss is identifying your child’s digestive body type and then steering them toward wellness by supporting their unique digestive tendencies.
CHILDHOOD OBESITY CAN BE MANAGED AND CURED THROUGH AYURVEDA
There are three main types of digestive imbalances and tendencies according to the child’s body type:
1. “Visnagni” - characterized by irregular appetite, overstimulated stomach and intestines. A child with a “nervous stomach” will have problems with indigestion, nausea, stomach pains and may want to eat at odd times. Johnny or Susie’s tummy aches and refusal to eat for hours at a time can be an indicator of a Visnagni digestive body type. So can their emotional stress, fear, anxiety and sleeplessness. In severe cases, they may even have dark rings around their eyes. Not the recipe for a happy, balanced child!
2. “Tiksnagni” - or an “acid stomach.” If Johnny or Susie gets cranky when they’re not fed on time, or if they exhibit hot, red skin, there’s nothing irregular about this child’s digestive fire. Rather, they could be agitated because the acidic stomach overcooks the food, causing a lack of nutrients being absorbed. The key to this type is regular feedings: same time every day.
3. “Mandagni” - indicated by a heavy, slow and clogged up digestive system. Too much stomach mucus causes undigested foods to clog the fat channels and all other tissues. Johnny or Susie is lethargic, always hungry, and susceptible to colds and mucus problems. With their un-metabolized food toxins clogging their body channels, they gain weight easily and lose it slowly.
Each one of these digestive disorders can lead the way to childhood obesity, and by identifying which category your child is part of, you are taking the first step towards creating a wellness weight loss program for your unique little one.
And as far as their cholesterol is concerned, there are studies out there (including one from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that you can read about in Mike Adams’ article “Healing Foods Beat Statin Drugs for Lowering High Cholesterol“ on NaturalNews.com) that prove eating certain foods can lower your cholesterol levels just as well as taking statins - only without all of the dangerous side effects. Eating these foods, including “soy products, plus almonds and cereal fiber” can not only regulate “biochemical markers such as cholesterol” but they can also be effective “in treating conditions such as chronic depression” (”Healing Foods Beat Statin Drugs for Lowering High Cholesterol” by Mike Adams, June 7, 2005).
Wouldn’t you rather feed your child - and yourself - a hearty serving of healthy foods instead of processed chemicals?
Next week, we’ll talk about the “Signs and Symptoms of Childhood Weight and Obesity Disorders” so stayed tuned!
P.S. Please feel free to send this onto all of your friends with children. Weight management for ALL children is a prevention wellness life path!
P.P.S. Save August 26th, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time/8:00 p.m. Eastern Time because the Doctors are in! Don’t miss your opportunity to ask Dr. Helen and Dr. Craig questions as they give us the Ayurvedic Answers to Getting Our Children Healthy!
Childhood obesity is a national epidemic…but there is an answer - and it’s NOT Statin drugs! It is gentle and loving in its approach…and it’s as close as Mama’s spice rack!
Watch in the next Effortless Ayurvedic Living EZine for the details on signing up for this important tele-seminar!
Topics: Ayurveda and Children, Ayurveda and Digestive Health, Ayurveda and Modern Medicine, Ayurveda and Weight Loss, India & Ayurveda |
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