The [Point of] View

WARNING! ACCIDENTAL RANT AHEAD!

It was recently announced that Jenny McCarthy will soon be co-hosting on The View. I don't watch the show, but when I first heard the announcement I thought, "Wow, what a good selection! She's funny, intelligent, opinionated, fearless, and beautiful. They might actually draw some new viewers to this otherwise obnoxious show."

Then I read this and I was infuriated! I COULD NOT BELIEVE how outrageous, misguided, and slanted this and the quoted articles were (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C)! The USA Today article was at least somewhat balanced (Exhibit D). That's what REALLY got to me. I understand there is a lot of controversy around the topic of vaccinating/not vaccinating. It is a SERIOUS and hot topic. But this article was pumped full of quotes that not only painted a skewed picture of Ms. McCarthy as some lunatic but even outright called her a "homicidal maniac":

"I think a network hiring a homicidal maniac, giving her a forum in front of people who have young children and are impressionable, is the most irresponsible thing I've heard of in a long time," New Yorker writer Michael Specter rants to the Los Angeles Times. "She's very dangerous. It's unfortunate that in our society, scientific evidence is now just taken as some other point of view."

Believe it or not, calling her a "homicidal maniac" isn't even the worst part of this quote. It's the last statement which is also parroted in a later quote from Time magazine TV critic James Poniewozik:

"To say that you can simply shrug off differences about medical fact as 'outrageousness' or 'controversy' is to feed the belief that science in general, be it vaccines or climate change or evolution, is simply subjective: You have your truth and I have mine. But we don't. The Earth didn't revolve around the sun only for Galileo."

From my point of view, scientific evidence is by no means rock solid. Just look at his examples of climate change and evolution. These topics are still up for debate (not that I don't believe them to be true). Not to mention some scientist also believe in Sasquatch. Here's a fact that'll blow your mind - SCIENTIFIC DATA CAN BE MANIPULATED TO SHOW THE DESIRED RESULTS.

When it comes to expert advice we should take it as just some other point of view and subjective. As an example, for quite some time now doctors have been correlating cholesterol to heart disease. We are now learning that cholesterol is NOT the bad guy - it is actually essential to our health. Inflammation is largely the cause of heart disease. What causes most inflammation in our country? Sugar, grains, trans fats, foods cooked at high temperature (processed foods). Yet we have been duped by a single study on cholesterol that turned out to be false. Now people are eating egg white omelettes and "low fat" processed foods and have deemed red meats as unhealthy but then are then turning to statin drugs to cobat their heart disease. This is all very well explained in The Cholesterol Myth That Could Be Harming Your Health by Dr. Mercola. I haven't had a chance to read Put Your Heart in Your Mouth yet, but based on her GAPS book, I highly recommend reading this for more insight on heart health. As Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride says on http://www.doctor-natasha.com:

THE SCIENCE HAS SPOKEN: THE DIET-HEART HYPOTHESIS IS FALSE! NATURAL ANIMAL FATS AND CHOLESTEROL-RICH FOODS DO NOT CAUSE HEART DISEASE, THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT; IN FACT THEY PREVENT IT!

Back to the topic of discussion. The article eventually ends with two more quotes:

"On her side is her anecdotal claim that vaccination gave her son autism, and a debunked study from 1998," says Poniewozik. "On the other is, pretty much, the entire pediatric community."

Concludes Specter in the New Yorker, "By preaching her message of scientific illiteracy from one end of this country to the other, she has helped make it possible for people to turn away from rational thought. And that is deadly."

Did any of you also note the "pretty much" in the first quote? So not the whole pediatric community? So the the "truth" about the benefits isn't scientific fact? Because I imagine if it was, ALL pediatricians would be against her message. But the truth is, there is still A LOT of uncertainty around the safety, effectiveness, and possible long term damage. I had first hand experience of a pediatrician that would not weigh in on the matter because there is SO much information supporting both sides of the argument. For her, the best recommendation was to thoroughly research the options and make the best decision for OUR family.

In my experience most people have vaccinated their children blindly - without thorough research. It is done in complete trust of current practice and pediatric recommendations. It is done in fear. Fear induced by the media, the medical community, the school system, the government, and articles like this.

On the contrary, those that have chosen NOT to vaccinate their children have typically done their research. In most cases I have found that it was a VERY educated and thought out decision that was NOT taken lightly. In my own experience, when I started to consider not vaccinating Charli, my biggest reservation was social backlash. I knew many wouldn't agree with that decision (friends, family, coworkers) and many would think I was nuts. I'm willing to live with that if I truly believe it is the best choice for my daughter but that decision wouldn't be made on a whim.

Vaccines are marketed to us like all other drugs and no one hardly questions any of it. So long as our doctors say it's what we should do, we do it. This is especially the case with vaccines.  That is, until in recent years. What sparked the change? People like Jenny McCarthy who are strong enough to stand up and speak out. And guess what? There are tons of people out there standing up and speaking out - they just aren't celebrities.

We cannot and should not, without question, lay down and accept ALL "healthcare" recommendations especially when it comes to anything influenced by pharmaceutical companies. Vaccines may work for some (although there is plenty of evidence available that says otherwise). For others, say those who are immune compromised, it could be dangerous - even deadly. Maybe it does CAUSE autism; maybe it is the final straw that breaks the camel's back and pushes a kid into autism (the latter is my opinion). I have read several stories like Kennedy's story where vaccines did just that. Kennedy ended up with Dravet Syndrome after receiving vaccines.

I know plenty of people in the real food, hippie, GAPS, Paleo etc communities that have chosen NOT to vaccinate, and it was a VERY conscience decision, not influenced by a Hollywood celebrity. I'm not here to try and persuade you either way. I am encouraging you to do your research and make the best decision for you, your children, and your family. DO NOT FALL VICTIM TO SUCH FEAR MONGERING as shown in this article. For additional resources on this subject I recommend reading:

Where to Start

Why Vaccines Are Scientific Fraud

If You Are In Support of Vaccinations, Read This If You Dare

Vaccinations: Parents’ Informed Choice

Bla, Bla, Blogs

As I said in my first blog entry, "I didn't pay any attention to blogs and thought it all sounded a bit, umm, stupid and trendy". And then I had my daughter, Charli (I'll be sharing her story in a later post). Charli was diagnosed with Kabuki Syndrome at 10 months. That's when I discovered the value of blogs. 

In my quest to learn all I could about this diagnosis I joined a Kabuki support group on Facebook. Within that group someone stood out to me that seemed brilliant and knowledgeable - someone that just "got it". When I started considering dietary interventions and posed the question to the group this person, again, stood out and stated that she was following the GAPS diet with her daughter. She had a blog that shared her story of her daughter, Juliana, Healthy Hope. I felt like a bit of a stalker, but I really felt connected with Liz. Even crazier, her daughter Juliana looks just like Charli (not sure if you think the same Liz) only she's about 6 months older. But her blog was and continues to be so helpful and inspiring for me.

Juliana (Funny part is at first glance Hippie
Husband thought this was Charli) 

Charli (I really wanted to find pictures that
showed just how much they look alike
but I didn't seem to have any - maybe it's
all in my head)

From there I continued to "stalk" Liz and joined the GAPS Kids group on Facebook. WHAT AN AMAZING GROUP!! When diving into the world of GAPS it is nearly impossible to not feel overwhelmed. By all means, if you are considering the GAPS diet for your child, you are probably already overwhelmed just by life with a GAPS kid. Then the diet just seems confusing, challenging, and outright intimidating when starting out. There are TONS of resources, mainly in the form of blogs, but many have conflicting information not to mention everything is so foreign it's hard to feel confident in what you're doing. Essentially, purchasing and reading the GAPS book is required. This is a bit of an investment for a book when you're not sure it's what you want to do. I feel like somewhat of a seasoned veteran in the Facebook group now, but I remember what it was like starting down this path and thinking Charli was just a mild case and all I really wanted to do was cure her constipation. Everyone in this group was supportive and kindly answered my questions gently guiding me to acceptance that I just needed to start implementing the intro diet. I understand now that GAPS truly is a commitment and an all or nothing deal. But my fear held me back in the beginning. But all of the amazing stories pushed me along and eventually made me comfortable in the decision to do GAPS. 

The most impactful story came from Nichole Sawatzky. Her daughter Ellie was diagnosed with FPIES (Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome). Ellie Belly, from beginning to end and it changed the entire way I viewed food and the medical community. This story alone was enough to convince me that GAPS was safe (the main question that kept cropping up for me). Nichole started the GAPS Kids Facebook group and also had created a website, GAPS and Kids, which shared many similar stories. I was entranced by stories like Carter's FPIES Maze, and Home Food Heals. These brave mommas gave me the strength and confidence I needed to move forward with the GAPS Diet. 
Basically she was allergic to food. That's right, FOOD. Ellie was on the brink of death when Nichole made the leap to GAPS. I read her entire blog,

I hope I didn't offend anyone by saying that I thought blogs were "stupid and trendy". I just wasn't aware of such a positive use for this type of forum. Now that my life has been so positively influenced I hope my blog can help someone else gain the confidence to follow their instincts. I'll also say that blogs are darn fun! I love blogs that give great recipes and share fun DIY projects or provide awesome resources (my friend Tiffany has a blog that covers all of these, A Touch of Grace). I'm still digging around in We Can Do All Things to find tools for Charli's development (thanks for this one Liz). And since Ellie is now well on her way to healing, Nichole has started up a new blog more focused on hope, healing, and real food, Hopecentric. She is also a contributor for GNOWFGLINS (God's natural, organic, whole foods, grown locally, in season). For a good laugh I highly recommend Parenting. Illustrated With Crappy Pictures. And I follow a few local blogs for inside info on all the good deals. I've also been meaning to check out a blog that my friend follows, 100 Days of Real Food.  So please forgive my ignorance and accept my apologies. It's official and undeniable: I LOVE BLOGS!

Do you have any blogs that you think I should be following??