By Barbara A. Ellicot, EdD, CCC/SLP

Did you know that you can direct your patients to preventative "medicine"–strategies to prevent and/or ward off serous otitis media, certain types of voice disorders, asthma-related respiratory disorders, as well as diabetes 2, obesity, osteoporosis, certain cancers, iron deficiency anemia and respiratory distress? How? By eliminating meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, and foods containing whey, calcium casinate and calcium lactate, which are dairy derivatives.

During the past 15 years, there has been overwhelming evidence that reveals adverse effects of dairy products. Most remarkably the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) succeeded in winning a lawsuit last year against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for wrongly advocating dairy and meat on the food guide pyramid (Good Medicine/Winter 2001). After a year-long battle, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the USDA violated federal law by withholding documentation bias.

What you may not know is that many of the experts who create those guidelines historically have been financial partners with the meat, dairy and egg producers. PCRM filed the lawsuit to ensure that future committee members are selected based on professional expertise and are free of bias.

Many readers might be wondering, "But what about protein, iron and calcium?" Early research indicated that the human body can absorb only approximately 8.8 percent of calcium in dairy products, and milk is a poor source of iron. (Heidrich, 2000; Barnard, 1999; McDougal, 1998, 2000). Dark green, leafy vegetables–such as kale, collard greens, bok choy, spinach and broccoli–provide substantially greater quantities of (absorbable) iron and calcium than dairy products and meats.

Fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains provide more than enough protein, calcium and iron (A Race for Life: A Diet and Exercise Program for Superfitness and Reversing the Aging Process, by Ruth E. Heidrich, PhD, New York: Lantern Books, 2001). The contrast of the considerably lower number of nutrients present in meat and dairy is clearly illustrated through documentation from non-biased sources, such as PCRM.

With respect to protein (Markakis, 1975; Dr. Klaper, 1998), an adult needs daily protein that is the weight of 10 U.S. pennies. We get at least this much from a diet of vegetables, fruits, legumes and grain.

There are a multitude of health problems that may be the direct result of consuming dairy products. As speech-language pathologists, we are in a position to increase patient awareness of the fact that dairy products increase the risk of serous otitis media.

"Milk allergies are very common in children," writes Julian Whitaker, MD [Health and Healing, 8 (10)]. "They are the leading cause of the chronic ear infection that plagues up to 40 percent of all children under the age of 6."

According to Acta Otolaryngologica [119 (8)], "Cows' milk allergy is associated with recurrent otitis media...during childhood." Dr. William Northrop, MD, states, "Concerning ear infections, you just don't see this painful condition among infants and children who aren't getting cow's milk into their systems" (Natural Health, July 1994).

Finally, Benjamin Spock, MD, specifies that there was a time when cow's milk was considered very desirable, but research has forced us to rethink this recommendation. He says, "...Dairy products contribute to health problems, including chronic ear infection" (Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, New York: EP Dutton, 1998).

In addition to chronic ear infection, milk contributes to increased mucous production (Cohen, 2001). Speech-language pathologists are in a position to educate patients, MDs and nurses. Excessive mucous exacerbates certain types of dysphagia and voice problems.

In highly accredited hospitals, such as Morristown Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Institute of Morristown Memorial Hospital in the Atlantic Health System, dietary recommendations by speech-language pathologists call for decreasing or eliminating dairy products from patients' diets.

Working at Morristown Memorial Hospital, I have witnessed profound positive results in my patients just one week after the elimination of dairy products. Improvements in voice quality were noted when dairy was eliminated from the diet. Asthmatic symptoms, which interfered with respiration, decreased as well.

In addition to problems with otitis media and mucous/congestive-related disorders exacerbated by dairy, there is believed to be a link between milk and both autism and attention deficit disorders (ADD). Florida researcher Robert Cade, MD, and his colleagues have identified the milk protein casomorphin as the probable cause of these two conditions. They found beta-casomorphin-7 in high concentrations in the blood and urine of individuals who have schizophrenia and autism (Autism, 1999).

Eighteen percent of cows' milk is casein. It has been documented that casein breaks down in the stomach to produce a peptide casomorphine. Another researcher observed that casomorphin aggravated the symptoms of autism (J. Panksepp, 1979).

Anecdotal stories from patients who attribute children's autism to milk and other dairy products appear in the February issue of Parent's Magazine and online at www.livingsensibly.org/autism.htm.

A report titled "In Harm's Way" (www.IGC.org/ihw.htm), by Greater Boston's Physicians for Social Responsibility, states that toxic chemicals in dairy products are associated with learning problems and neurological disorders in children ["Protecting Against Adverse Effects of Environment, Diet," by B. Ellicott, ADVANCE for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists, 10 (39)].

Many speech-language pathologists work with patients in a meal management capacity. I have worked with patients who suffer from Crohn's disease at numerous hospitals. The elimination of dairy in these patients may be helpful in the prevention and/or treatment of the disease.

According to Cohen (2001), "The most serious of bacterial cow diseases for American dairymen is caused by mycobacterium paratuberculosis. These bacteria become cultured in milk and are not destroyed by pasteurization. Occasionally, the milk-borne bacteria will begin to grow in the human host, and irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's results."

Those of us who work in hospitals are wholly aware of the increasing number of patients with whom we work who have osteoporosis. I believe the real cause of osteoporosis is too much protein, especially protein from animals (including fish) and animal products, like dairy (Klaper, 2000).

Another population we work with includes those who have diabetes.

Researchers have stated, "Studies suggest that bovine serum albumin in the milk is proven responsible for the onset of diabetes. Patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus produce antibodies to cow milk proteins that participate in the development of dysfunction.... Our finding suggests that an active response in patients with IDDM (to the bovine protein) is a feature of the autoimmune response" (New England Journal of Medicine, July 30, 1992).

That same year an article in Pediatrics (July 1992) reported, "In lieu of the recent evidence that cow's milk protein may be implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus, we believe that the Committee on Nutrition should clarify whether cow's milk is ever appropriate for children and whether or not infant formulas that are based on cow's milk protein are appropriate alternatives to breast milk."

In addition, two 1994 studies linked dairy products to juvenile diabetes [Diabetologia, 37 (4); Diabetes Care, 17 (12)].

Speech-language pathologists who work in hospitals see more than their share of patients with cancer and heart disease. There is now scientific evidence demonstrating a positive connection between the growth hormone IGF-I and many types of cancers, especially of the breast and prostrate.

A 1981 report stated that milk and milk products gave the highest correlation coefficient to heart disease, white sugar, animal proteins and animal fats. In addition, an elevated level of antibodies against milk proteins was found in patients with myocardial infarction, compared to individuals without coronary heart disease (Lancet, 1980).

The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1994) reported, "Milk consumption correlates positively with cholesterol levels in blood as well as coronary mortality"; and Alternative Medical Review (1998) stated, "For ischemic heart disease, milk carbohydrates were found to have the highest statistical association for males aged 35-plus and females aged 65-plus."

There is additional and still more compelling information to examine relevant to the association of meat, fish and dairy products with other diseases and conditions, i.e. anemia, allergies, mad cow disease, rheumatoid arthritis, sudden infant death, tuberculosis and D-efficiency. Those readers who are interested in the latter as well as more detailed information relevant to any of the information thus cited should contact the author.

Hopefully, this information will have tantalized some taste buds to the extent that speech-language pathologists might be encouraged to delve more deeply into these areas of increasingly new scientific expertise for the benefit of not only our patients, but ourselves as well.

Resources

Dairy Education Board, online: www.notmilk.com

Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, online: www.pcrm.org

Barbara Ellicott, EdD, is a speech-language pathologist, learning consultant and school psychologist in New Jersey. She can be contacted at Comprehensive Therapeutic Services, 300 Madison Ave., Madison, NJ 07940.