Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Milk and Autism

Milk and Autism

Other possibilities for causation of autism spectrum disorder subtypes other than vaccines - Though I have been strongly receptive to the idea that vaccines cause at least one subtype of autism, I want to recognize one other, and that is allergens. I have seen data that reports with those receptive to a gluten free and casein free diet that most of these folks also have an allergy to gluten and/or casein (Cade). The question is whether a vaccine(s) causes the damage that leads to autism or that non-human milks cause the damage that leads to autism, or if sometimes both play a role.

With respect to weaning breast fed infants from human breast milk to cow’s milk, some children may not react to breast milk, but definitely have an allergic reaction to cow’s milk. Thus, onset of autism, and it’s severity might also be correlated to whether or not one receives cow’s milk at an early age. If that reaction is severe enough, I hypothesize that it might cause children to develop both a gluten and casein intolerance, different than an allergy, through damaging the gut, where the intolerance is related to production of opiates that cause a subtype of autistic symptoms, and the allergen is relative to the immune system. (Allergy is an immune response. Intolerance is a chemical response.) Thus, both the intolerance and the allergic reaction may give a double whammy that leads to various kinds of autism spectrum disorders, especially relative to severity of symptoms displayed in conjunction to the inception of the specific food to one’s diet, which is not to say a particular type of food is bad. However, specifics types of food, particularly cow’s milk, might be bad for certain individuals, such that immediate and total abstinence from a food type might be needed to prevent possible brain damage via a leaky gut that does not digest opiates commonly known to preexist in foods, but are generally null in most people’s systems. It is also thought that since there seems to be so many subtypes of autism, that milk alone is not the sole cause of all kinds of autism.

Further research is needed to gain discernment. I hypothesize that this reaction sequence of taking a child off breast milk at about the same time as the administration of vaccines has possibly falsely lead to blaming the occurrence of autism on vaccine’s in some instances. However, vaccines in some instances might be the sole cause of autism, where that would be a different subtype than the type that might be caused from an allergic reaction to cow’s milk. It is also thought that sheep’s milk, and goat’s milk can produce these same intolerant reactions.

Both instances of causation of autism causation hypothesized here involve immune system malfunction that results in subtypes of the autism spectrum, which might also include illnesses such as bipolar, schizophrenia, chronic fatigue and others. It is thought by the author of this note/blog that mental illness should be studied, especially as it relates to the immune system, and that the answers to many of the questions of causation that mental illness possess will be found here, both in genetics and environmental causes.

Personal History

I have given several personal histories in the past. This time I have added the possible correlation of cow’s milk allergy causing autism.

I was breast fed as a baby. Similar to many cases of those who develop autism, I developed autistic like symptoms at about the age of 1yrs old, a time generally for weaning from breast milk, and a time of many vaccinations. My mom had thought vaccination was a possible cause. However, one doctor had told my mom to take me off of dairy (casein), and my father refused. Thus, in my situation both possible causes that I hypothesize were in place.

I was not informed that the doctor had said this to my parents until after having a severe psychotic episode in college, where again another doctor said to take me off dairy, but this time it was both gluten and casein. I was informed that though I attended a top tier University, that my auditory comprehension was in the bottom 1% of people in a professionally given learning assessment, which also included IQ. I was not deaf. I could hear, but I had difficulty listening. I knew sounds were being made. I just couldn’t discern what they were in many instances.

The likely reason that I had made it so far academically was that though my auditory comprehension was atrocious, the other areas of my IQ were usually equally profound, all the questions were answered correctly in the various parts.

Through a company my psychiatrist ordered a tests for me. My urine tested positive for opiates that commonly occur in gluten and casein. This test is more specific than that of what is given for a common physical from primary care doctors, and it was not covered by insurance, but neither was the licensed psychiatrist that ordered the tests. I tested positive for gluten and casein intolerance. Additionally, a second test was administered that showed I have a very severe dairy and casein allergy. Thus, this is where my double whammy hypothesis comes from.

Additionally, I have had experience around babies, some having been breast fed, and some having been fed formula. When I was holding a baby that was fed human breast milk, I did not react to that milk that was on a baby’s breath though the scent of it was noticeably detectable. However, in two instances mild symptoms of exposure to milk affected me in when holding the formula fed babies (the formula was milk based). My own son was formula fed: She intended to breast feed him, but she only produced a few drops of colostrums. As a control, he was fed soy, and I did not react soy formula when it was on his breath.

The reasons he was fed soy formula instead of milk formula were firstly that he was showing signs of having a milk allergy, and secondly that merely having milk based formula in the house was too overwhelming for me, especially given that my dairy allergy and intolerance is so severe. Additionally, he is not affected with autism, or any psychiatric disorder, and is able to consume gluten. His dairy allergy, if he still has it was never as severe as mine.

Milk, vaccine, autism, gluten, casein, genetic, environmental, intolerance, allergy, causation, opiate, immune system, cow’s milk, cow milk, human milk, mother’s milk

Saturday, April 16, 2011

On Working toward an Anarchist Ideal

On Working toward an Anarchist Ideal

by Craig Hamilton on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 4:20pm

On Working toward an Anarchist Ideal

Immediately, some will be turned off that I like the idea of anarchy. Furthermore, some will find it even more confusing that I generally vote Democrat. I even like the idea of a republic. Even the Tea Party has some good ideas. There are all these words, Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Libertarian, Communist and Anarchist that aren’t bad ideas. And, I’m even aware that some might call me idealistic. However, I do not believe that there is anything wrong with working toward an ideal. The ideal I believe in happens to be anarchy.

For most people, my guess is that they would equate anarchy with having the rug pulled out from under them. Historically, that has been what anarchy has been. If there was no rule of law, then there was bedlam. This usually happened suddenly, such that anarchy usually represents the most dystopian times of history. But, I don’t think it has to be that way. Anarchy can work if it is coupled with a socialist mentality. However, I am not joining the socialist party yet to get there. There are some that equate socialism with large government, so what I am talking about may seem preposterous to them.

First, in my history I went to a lot of heavy metal and hardcore shows. I was not afraid at these places. Though they have potential to be a place of gang fights, I didn’t see it that way. What I had was a lot of frustration. It seemed as if the government had given me nothing, while I had paid my taxes. Sure I got a good high school education, but I could have gotten that from my parents. Law enforcement didn’t protect me. After all, I felt safe at hardcore and metal shows, a place where the police aren’t safe. I also came to see technology as being the antithesis of manhood. The government seemed to only protect that technology could continue, and I didn’t want that. I espoused a more primitive lifestyle. One where it might be said, “It takes a village to raise a child.” I did not care who the ruler of the land was, or that the USA might be taken over. Anarchists don’t overthrow power. They simply don’t recognize it. It was not until I got a check from Social Security, SSI, that I finally felt like the government had given me something back. Maybe government had a purpose after all?

On SSI I picked up Plato’s Republic again, and it was like I read it for the first time. The first time I read it, I hadn’t appreciated it. This time, I understood the power of a republic, but most anyone will criticize Plato’s Republic. The cost of having a republic is the toll it takes on the family. Everyone gets educated, with a phenomenal amount of competition, and weeding. In a republic, everyone is trying to make it to the top, such that Plato recognized something that most conservative Republicans don’t. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have a strong sense of family values and have a strong republic. In fact, the idea of the republic is big government. Republicans say small government is best, but they just don’t mean it. They can’t have small government if they want to have a republic. This causes me to lean toward the liberal democrats. As Plato saw it, democracy was closer to anarchy than the republic, and he didn’t like it for that reason. So, as you can probably guess, I like the libertarians. However, the libertarians are just too radical for me right now. I might vote for one as a congressman or a senator, but not as a President. Being libertarians is a goal that we should work towards. Then, slowly we peel away government and peel it away some more until finally we have anarchy. This is far from the idea of having the rug pulled out. In fact, though I am an anarchist, I don’t believe an anarchist utopian ideal could happen in my lifetime. Why? We need to learn to share first, and this might require some legislation, and that is why I am a Democrat. We need to be a rural village, and learn to socialize before we can actually go back to creation and love her as the hunter gatherers we once were.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

NPR: Fresh Air with Terry Gross - Vaccines - Aired 4/5/2011

NPR: Fresh Air with Terry Gross - Vaccines - Aired 4/5/2011

I understand that Terry Gross is merely interviewing people and not necessarily passing judgment on her guests. Her opinion on her guest’s closing argument is not given. I won’t name him for he literally states that we should join the herd. Respecting him, I will treat him as a nameless nobody, a member of the herd.

The guest closes the show with the idea that everyone should get vaccinated. Terry Gross’ guest mentions that we Americans especially don’t seem to like the herd instinct, but yet this is the reason we should get vaccinated. I strongly disagree.

I have some questions for the guest: Isn’t the herd instinct, peer pressure that leads some to do drugs? Isn’t the herd instinct what leads girls to watch MTV and dress like whores? Isn’t it herd instinct that leads to genocides, such as in Rwanda and Nazi Germany?

Simply to follow the herd is not a good reason to get vaccinated.

I once read a story about how their child’s choosing to eat kosher would hopefully give them the strength to say, “No,” based upon principles of belief, such that they choose their Jewish identity over that of the herd. The person that had offered the child the candy got angry at the parenting, but the parent was proud. The herd would have said, kosher is bull shit, as if the child was harmed in some way, but the parent was proud. Even if eating kosher has no medical advantage, the decision to act not as a result of peer pressure, but as a matter of one’s own convictions is often what separates a nobody from a somebody.

transcript available here: http://www.npr.org/transcripts/ (may be previous day's Fresh Air transcript either 4/5 or 4/4)