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Congress Investigates Potential Conflict of Interest
New York Times Article - June 8, 2008
Researchers Fail to Reveal Full Drug Pay
By Gardiner Harris and Benedict Carey
A world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007, but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, according to information given Congressional investigators.
By failing to report income, the psychiatrist, Dr. Joseph Biederman, and a colleague in the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens, may have violated federal and university research rules designed to police potential conflicts of interest, according to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa. Some of their research is financed by government grants.
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Given these "potential conflicts of interest", could we possibly follow the same money trail with the new information regarding cholesterol drugs being urged for 8-year-olds by the American Academy of Pediatrics? According to an msnbc.com report, new guidlines were released on Monday which also includes low-fat milk for 1-year-olds. This is shameful! Are we allowing the drug companies to control physican recommendations? What happened to "first do no harm"?
Fat in the diet is vital to the health of the heart, and the brain, and the central nervous system. If you choose to feed your child milk, it should preferentially be raw and come from cows that are pasture-fed and hormone-free. Good quality fats in foods help to provide flavor, to satisfy and to help stabilize blood sugar. Low-fat dietary intake in children will escalate obesity, diabetes, heart disease, ADD, and other central nervous system disorders.
We must get our children moving, get them away from televisions, videos and sedentary lifestyles. Better yet, we, as parents must be better examples for our children in how we eat, how we cope, and how we exercise. Let's be proactive, preventive and get to the root cause of psychotic issues, high cholesterol or any of a myriad of other diseases. Take responsibility for your health, as well as your child's. | 
