“This just in. The world’s gone crazy.”
Those were Kent’s words when he recently e-mailed me the link to this CNN article: Cholesterol drugs urged for kids with heart risks.
photo by colros
We already have too many adults on cholesterol meds, now they’re prescribing these drugs for our children, too?! (Notice the article says that the American Academy of Pediatrics also promotes low-fat milk for children over one – what a crock!) And they’re recommending cholesterol screening after age TWO! Does any of this make sense?
Common Sense…
Are all drugs bad? Not in my opinion. There are times in life when we are very happy to have them, and that they do what they’re supposed to. But this isn’t one of those times because they’re only throwing one problem at another, instead of dealing with the real issues.
How about just raising healthier kids?!
Instead of resorting to this, why aren’t they promoting healthier habits and better nutrition? We rarely hear the AAP pushing whole foods (less foods from boxes & bags), healthy fats like butter & coconut oil, getting kids active, or cutting out the fast food and processed foods – which are full of trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial colors, and preservatives (among other things), and are seriously deficient in nutrients.
If these were the ideas being promoted by the AAP, then kid’s cholesterol levels would be a non-issue.
Additional reading on cholesterol, kids health and more:
- Read about why cholesterol isn’t the villain it’s been made out to be in this post: Does Fat Make You Fat?
- 16 ways to help overweight kids
- Meal Planning/Kitchen Tips
- Kitchen Kop Frequently Asked Questions
- Check out this guest interview from Rich at Frenz coffee to vote on which Frenz logo you like best!
(Many more topics & recipes along the right in the blue section!)
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Michigan Mom2three 07.11.08 at 3:25 am
I thought the same thing as your husband when I heard this! It’s RIDICULOUS. fortunately, there is a backlash. I listen to talk radio when I’m at home, (it’s what is on my kitchen radio) and just yesterday, I heard Chuck Colson speaking out about this, and how there is no evidence to support this recommendation, and that parents just need to feed their children REAL FOOD!
Furthermore – don’t doctors KNOW that babies/toddlers/young children NEED cholesterol and healthy fats to grow healthy brains???? There *is* a reason that mother’s milk is SO high in cholesterol. This makes no sense to me. How can common sense, whole food nutrition and its benefits be so easy to understand by someone like me (a homeschooling mom who just wants to nourish her children well) and yet ELUDE those medical scholars?
The other possiblilty, is that the doctors pushing this really are in bed with big pharma. My dh used to be a big pharma rep, and I will say – that is entirely possible. All the “stuff” that you hear is REALLY TRUE. As much as we miss the income from that job, the ethics were horrible to live with day in and day out…. but I digress.
Shauna
[Reply]
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.11.08 at 9:46 am
Hi Shauna,
It is a sad thought, but oh how the drug companies must cheer when they get more “studies” to convince docs that a new group of people “need” their meds.
I’m impressed with your morals. Living on less money is never easy, but I’m sure that being able to look in the mirror with a peaceful heart is worth it.
Kel
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Michigan Mom2three 07.12.08 at 5:23 am
Well….. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea…. losing that job was one of those things God allowed, and at the time, we thought it was a disaster, but we see now that He had a better plan all along! (New manager, reorganization of sales team, some sales teams elimanted, also – the drug that dh represented had been pulled off the market, and only so many places to fit that sales team in….)
After 2 long years of unemployment/underemployment he has a sales job in the steel industry, which is currently paying less than half of what his old pharma job paid, with FAR fewer “perks”. Such is the climate in Michigan. So – while we’re learning to live on far, far less, he also has a job that he has no ethical issues with now.
Kelly – one of the reasons that I began learning how to cook from scratch was because our income situation changed so drastically. I had to learn to use REAL food, WHOLE food, and provide for my family on next to nothing. We went from a nearly 6-figure income, to one of those 2 years of unemployment having a tax return that stated less than $20,000 income!!!!! Very comfortable “middle class” to “poverty” in one SWOOP. But – God is GOOD, and He provided for our every need, and taught me some wonderful things in that time, that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise – had we just continued in our “comfortable life”.
When people tell me that it costs too much to “eat healthy”, I beg to disagree!
Shauna
[Reply]
Kelly the Kitchen Kop 07.13.08 at 7:30 am
Shauna,
I’ll bet your site is full of good tips on eating healthy, yet frugally. What a great resource you must be for Moms who find themselves in a tight money situation. I’m going to check it out again soon. If you have a specific post that deals with that topic, comment with the link when you get a chance.
Thanks, Kelly
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