Genetically Modified Foods and the Link to Allergies - Part 3

This is the final part to my series on the link between allergies and genetically modified foods.  This post focuses on why our children, newborns and pregnant women are at the biggest risk of developing long-term health concerns as a result of consuming GM foods.

Referencing the article "Moms! GMO Foods Threaten Your Children" on the Nutrition Center Research's website, here's why:

• Young, fast-developing bodies are influenced most.
• Children are more susceptible to allergies.
• Children are more susceptible to problems with milk.
• Children are more susceptible to nutritional problems.
• Children are in danger from antibiotic resistant diseases.
• Young, fast-developing bodies are influenced most.

I reviewed the Institute for Responsible Technology's list of 65 Health Risks of GM Foods for studies applicable to young children or pregnant women.  Here's one that stood out for me.

In this particular study, female lab rats were given GM soy before conception and continuing through pregnancy and weaning.  Here are the conclusions:

1. Of the offspring, 55.6% died within three weeks compared to 9% from non-GM soy controls.
2. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were significantly smaller and both mothers and pups were more aggressive.
3. In a separate study, after a lab began feeding rats a commercial diet containing GM soy, offspring mortality reached 55.3%.
4. When offspring from GM-fed rats were mated together, they were unable to conceive.

In the article, Genetically Engineered Foods Pose Health Risk for Children, written by Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, a UK government-funded study demonstrated that young rats fed a GM potato developed potentially pre-cancerous cell growth, damaged immune systems, partial atrophy of the liver, and inhibited development of their brains, livers and testicles. When the lead scientist went public with his concerns, he was promptly fired from his job after 35 years and silenced with threats of a lawsuit.

According to that same article, differences in GM food will likely have a much larger impact on children because they are three to four times more susceptible to allergies. Children convert more of the food into body-building material. Altered nutrients or added toxins can result in developmental problems. Here are a couple more blurbs..

Kids are regularly fed GM soy-based infant formula. The digestive capacity of small children is less than adults, suggesting that more GM DNA might survive with more transgenes ending up inside gut bacteria or possibly inside organs.

What about corn genetically engineered to create its own pesticide? If the inserted gene were to transfer from the corn that children eat into their gut bacteria, it could theoretically transform their intestinal flora into living pesticide factories.

Children prone to ear and other infections may be at risk of facing antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, due to the use of antibiotic resistant genes.

Milk and dairy products from cows treated with the genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH) contain an increased amount of the hormone IGF-1, which is one of the highest risk factors associated with breast and prostate cancer. “rbGH and its digested products could be absorbed from milk into blood, particularly in infants, and produce hormonal and allergic effects, i.e., premature growth and breast stimulation in infants.”

I did a lot of cutting and pasting in this post which I really hate to do.  There's a lot more information to further explain these blurbs that I pulled from the article written by Jeffrey Smith.  I'd encourage you to read it in it's entirety.

One last thought to leave you with.  While we have the choice to limit our childrens' exposure to GM foods by packing safe lunches, what about the children that depend on the school system for hot lunches and often breakfast too?  Wonder about the quality of food our kids are getting for $2.00 (or that matter, us, on the $$  menu in fast food restaurants)?  You can bet it's below par.  Here's one more reference article published on the Center for Environmental Education's website outlining how school food effects the health of students.

Early Signs?

Were there any early signs that Abigail would have an allergy to peanuts? I referenced Dr. Burks in my last blog. He's the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Duke and oversees all of the clinical trials as well as sees patients (I hear it takes about 6 months or more to get an appointment). We haven't met him on any of our trips to Duke yet. He's been in the news so much lately, that I feel like when I do meet him, I should ask for an autograph or something. Anyway, in a 2006 article, he stated that about 20 percent of babies with eczema or milk and egg allergies will develop an allergy to peanuts by age five.

As an infant Abigail had eczema, and although she was never diagnosed with a milk allergy, she was definitely "intolerant". Just look at this picture taken of her at one month. A lot of newborns have red cheeks and acne. She had both. The majority of that cleared up after the first week or so. Then her cheeks got rashy and inflamed. Our pediatrician (at the time) didn't appear overly concerned. I didn't like it because it looked raw and painful. A friend happened to mention that her son's cheeks also looked like Abigail's until they eliminated milk products from his diet. I was breast-feeding so that meant if I wanted to try that, I had to eliminate dairy from my diet. I did, and in a just a matter of days, her cheeks were clear and baby-soft. Just look at my sweet baby at two months. Assuming that was the culprit, we continued the milk elimination diet when Abigail started formula. We put her on a soy-based formula, and at a year old, switched her to soy milk. She didn't drink cow's milk until around 2 years of age when I started reading that soy was a natural estrogen booster, and we weened her off. At that point, she appeared to have out-grown her sensitivity to milk. She later tested negative to a milk allergy.

In researching for this post, I came across an article published by the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders entitled Interesting Causes for Peanut Allergy Identified. The article sites a study done in southwest England that followed almost 14,000 preschool children for a year. It would take too long to post all of their findings, but here's one of interest:

Notably, there was a strong and statistically significant association between consumption of soy milk or soy formula in the first two years of life and the development of peanut allergy. This consumption typically preceded development of peanut allergy. The association with soy protein exposure and peanut allergy could arise from cross sensitization through common episodes that may prime T cell responses. It goes on to say that, In contrast, milk allergy was not associated with peanut allergy.

Okay, so now I'm confused as so many other parents are. One source says there is a link between milk and peanut allergies and another source states that it's soy that is linked to peanut allergies. But just to further muddy the water....read this.

Sydney, June 19, 2008. Parents need not worry about giving their children soy milk or soy-based formula. It is not likely to trigger peanut allergy, according to a new study. “Our results show that their risk of becoming allergic to peanuts … is a myth,” said epidemiologist Jennifer Koplin of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, who led the research. The article goes on to say that "the new study, however, suggested that the association between soy consumption and peanut allergy is coincidental. It occurs because parents whose children are already at higher risk of peanut allergy - due to a family or personal history of cow’s milk allergy - are more likely to give their children soy." For the record, neither Dave or myself is allergic to cow's milk.

So, maybe I didn't answer my question, but did I absolve myself of guilt? I'm not really sure that I did. But, I did it again anyway. Our second child (who is now 2) also showed a sensitivity to cow's milk. Not wanting to make the same mistake, we tried a Lactose free formula instead of a soy formula which seemed to work for him. However, when it was time to change him to milk, we compared a Lactose-free milk and Silk Soy milk with DHA Omega-3 and calcium and couldn't get over the difference in nutritional value in the Silk. So, yes, we did it again. Nathaniel drank the soy milk for a year before we changed him to the Lactose-free milk. He still is a little sensitive to just straight cow's milk. We've had him allergy tested also. At this point, he tested negative to both peanuts and dairy.

So, if not the soy milk, maybe my daughter's allergy is related to all of the peanut butter I ate when I was pregnant?? That's a topic for another blog.

One other note, we're actually waiting 3 weeks between visits to Duke this time because Abigail has music camp next week. Duke is pretty flexible when scheduling visits. I don't think they'd let us go longer than 21 days though. Until later.