Katie,
Thank you very much for your response. I am pleased to know there are people like you working to try and improve the nutritional quality of the school lunch program. My understanding is that our federal unch program is still not good for the health of many students. I appreciate your efforts. I wish you were fighting for me when I was eating the school lunches.
I also appreciate your insightful explanation as to why a vegetarian diet might shrink the brain, the missing B-12. I was unaware that acid blockers also might block B-12, this might explain my ever shrinking brain : P.
I cannot, however, support a vegetarian diet, as there are lots of missing proteins and other nutrients found in many kinds meat that cannot be provided for in human made supplements. I think that adults are free to choose whatever diet they wish. Children on the other hand should be taught to eat a well balanced diet with all the food groups included.
Thanks again!
Donovan Arnold
--- On Tue, 9/30/08, Saundra Lund <sslund_2007 at verizon.net> wrote:
From: Saundra Lund <sslund_2007 at verizon.net>
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Care About Healthy School Nutrition for Our Children?
To: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com, vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:15 PM
Hi Donovan & Other Visionaries,
Thanks for your response and for the opportunity to provide accurate information.
First, because improving the nutrition available for all children who eat meals at school is very important to me, I renew my request that folks take this opportunity to contact the USDA to encourage that vegetarian meals and non-dairy beverage options be incorporated into The Child Nutrition Act revisions currently being drafted (for those who may have missed my original post, please scroll down or go to http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/2008-September/056598.html).
Second, the study you cited has nothing to do with the topic I was posting about, although through no fault of yours, no one would know that from reading the links since the study itself wasn’t identified in the links you provided. In case there are other science junkies like me here, feel free to check out:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779510?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
OR
http://tinyurl.com/4e65uu
Vitamin B12 status and rate of brain volume loss in community-dwelling elderly.
With permission, I’m sharing the response I received from my contact at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who has given permission for it to be shared to anyone who may be confused:
Headlines claiming that vegetarian and vegan diets cause "brain shrinkage" have received quite a bit of attention recently. These headlines are based on a recent study conducted by researchers at Oxford and published in the Journal "Neurology". This was not a study of vegans or vegetarians. Unfortunately, this sound research study on vitamin B12 status in older adults has been mistakenly misconstrued by a few members of the popular media.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18779510?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
This study looked at older adults, who are much more likely to be deficient in vitamin B12 compared to younger adults. This allowed the researchers to see the differences in brain atrophy, or "shrinkage," between groups of people with low B12 levels vs. normal B12 levels. In fact, the researchers found that older adults with lower B12 levels lost more brain mass over a five-year period compared to those with higher B12 levels. But this does not necessarily have anything to do with their diet, and because dietary intake was not measured, there is no evidence of a relationship between a vegetarian or vegan diet and brain volume.
The most common cause of B12 deficiency actually has nothing to do with diet. Rather, some people simply cannot absorb it adequately. Normally, cells in the stomach produce a compound called intrinsic factor, which combines with vitamin B12 and allows it to be absorbed in the small intestine. Some people cannot make intrinsic factor, because of various stomach disorders. They need monthly B12 injections or very large oral doses (1,000 - 2,000 mcg per day). Also, certain medicines for acid stomach, such as omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), ranitidine (Zantac), or famotidine (Pepcid), interfere with the body's ability to absorb B12.
Vegan diets need to be supplemented with B12. However, the National Academy of Sciences recommends that everyone over age 50 take a B12 supplement or use B12-fortified foods, and some have suggested that this should apply to all age groups. The reason is that about 15 percent of older meat-eaters-and some younger ones as well-are low in B12. So, the bottom line is to take a multiple vitamin or a B12 supplement. This is not a reason to add meat to your diet; that would lead to far worse problems.
The harm in the popular media's misinterpretation of this study is twofold. First, reporters have wrongfully implicated vegetarian and vegan diets in causing brain shrinkage, while research continues to show the health benefits of this plant-based eating pattern. But most regrettably, we as a community have failed to acknowledge the value of this study, which clearly demonstrates the need to prevent, screen, and treat vitamin B12 deficiency in older adults. While these vulnerable members of our community go unnoticed, they continue to suffer from preventable cognitive decline, nerve damage, personality changes, and depression.
Furthermore, the authors of this article noted that other risk factors for brain atrophy include hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. So, PCRM concludes that those people who follow a low-fat vegan diet and take a vitamin B12 supplement have a low risk of brain atrophy, as a low-fat vegan diet has demonstrated improvements and reversals of all of the above risk factors.
Please see PCRM's fact sheet on vitamin B12 for more information.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/PDFs/faq_b12.pdf
Best regards,
Katie Strong, M.S., R.D.
Staff Dietitian
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 ext. 338
Fax: 202-686-2216
kstrong at pcrm.org
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.
~ Edmund Burke
***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2008 through life plus 70 years, Saundra Lund. Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the author.*****
From: Donovan Arnold [mailto:donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 9:25 PM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com; Saundra Lund
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Care About Healthy School Nutrition for Our Children?
Didn't they just find out that not eating meat shrinks the brain?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/Eating_veggies_shrinks_the_brain/articleshow/3480629.cms
http://www.nowpublic.com/health/eating-veggies-shrinks-brain
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=28622
Isn't that something the students need? I sure could have used a bigger brain in school, now I don't need it that much, but I sure could have used one back when I was in school.
Best Regards,
Donovan
--- On Thu, 9/25/08, Saundra Lund <sslund_2007 at verizon.net> wrote:
From: Saundra Lund <sslund_2007 at verizon.net>
Subject: [Vision2020] Care About Healthy School Nutrition for Our Children?
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2008, 11:11 AMIf so, then I urge you to contact Mr. Robert M. Eadie, Policy and ProgramPlanning Branch Chief for the USDA to encourage that vegetarian meals andnon-dairy beverage options be incorporated into The Child Nutrition Actrevisions currently being drafted. You can contact Mr. Eadie by letter, fax, or email at: Mr. Robert M. Eadie, Policy and Program Planning Branch ChiefU.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service3101 Park Center Drive, Room 640Alexandria, VA 22302-1594E-mail: robert.eadie at fns.usda.govFax: (703) 305-2879 You can learn more about what we can do to provide healthy meal options inour schools at:http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/ For those who don't want to have to reinvent the wheel, below is a copy ofour letter: Dear Mr. Eadie, Although neither of us are vegetarian, our daughter took the "Pledge to beVeg" when she was in the seventh grade. She graduated from high school
inJune, and she remained vegetarian in spite of the challenges schoolbreakfasts and lunches provided throughout the years. And, out of the groupof friends who took the Pledge, all 11 of them remain vegetarian today. Many children do not consume animal products due to ethical, religious, orhealth reasons. Children of color are especially likely to need analternative to regular cow's milk, due to lactose intolerance. It is***essential*** that the National School Lunch Program accommodate allstudents! The American Medical Association and American Public HealthAssociation already support efforts to provide vegetables, fruits, legumes,grains, vegetarian foods, and healthful nondairy beverages in school lunchesand food assistance programs. We ask the USDA to include these items when the Child Nutrition Act isreauthorized next year:- Nondairy beverage alternatives should be available and reimbursablewithout a note wherever cow's milk is provided.
Offering all students anutritious nondairy beverage will reduce saturated fat consumption andincrease overall program participation. -- Vegetarian meal options should be available every day, as trailblazingstates such as California, Florida, Hawaii, and New York have alreadyrecommended. Whether a student consumes a vegetarian diet or chooses anoccasional vegetarian meal, experts agree that plant-based foods are healthychoices for all children. -- Nondairy vegetarian commodity foods should be readily available toschools. The USDA should provide schools with more fresh fruits andvegetables and plant-based entrées to help meet the demand for thesehealthful foods. The USDA and Congress should shift federal subsidies sothat they support child health rather than agricultural interests. We join the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the AmericanMedical Association, and the American Public Health Association in askingthe USDA to
provide healthful vegetarian foods including vegetables, fruits,legumes, grains, and nutritious nondairy beverages in schools. Increasingaccess to low-fat, cholesterol-free, vegetarian foods will help mitigate therising prevalence of obesity and other chronic diseases. Sincerely,Saundra & Bill Lund<snip>_____ Saundra LundMoscow, ID Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ======================================================= List services made available by First Step Internet, serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. http://www.fsr.net mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com=======================================================
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