The Value of Your Tonsils

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http://phobos.doctorspreferred.com/Emails/walt/092609_eletter_default.html

Dear Reader,

 

The general feeling in medicine today is that the tonsils and adenoids are of

little value and, at most, may have marginal benefit in the early years for

fighting upper respiratory infections. Nearly 300,000 tonsillectomies are

performed every year on children, and another 100,000 on adults. The American

Academy of Otolaryngology (surgeons) recommends removing tonsils when a child

has more than three sore throats a year. The American Academy of Pediatrics

(non-surgeons) recommends having them removed after seven infections in a year.

Surprisingly, there is little, if any, evidence that indicates the removal of

tonsils actually prevents additional infections.

As I mention in the October 2009 issue of my Alternatives newsletter, the

tonsils, which have long been regarded as unnecessary beyond childhood, actually

are a part of your lymphatic system, and as such are essential for proper immune

function. In addition to their lymphatic function, they produce natural

antibiotic compounds called beta-defensins, which are effective against

bacteria, viruses, and even fungi. They are often the first defense in your

upper respiratory tract. When they are enlarged, it is generally a sign that

either they are working to eliminate these foreign antigens or there is a food

allergy, which is most commonly from milk and/or milk products. Oftentimes,

eliminating milk from the diet will allow the problem to resolve.

The tonsils also stand guard at the entry to your digestive system. As pathogens

in your food (or in the air, if you’re breathing through your mouth) pass by,

they set off the release of the beta-defensins, along with other immune

components such as IgA and B cells. In the short time it takes a substance to

make its way down your esophagus, your body is prepared to meet the invader.

Doctors started removing tonsils at about the turn of the last century, and the

practice reached a peak in the early 1930s. After a brief break in the

mid-‘30s, the trend continued well into the 1960s. During this period, tonsils

were removed in response to continued infections or sore throats.

These days, one of the main reasons for tonsil removal in children is sleep

apnea, which is a health problem that used to be practically unheard of in

children. Sleep apnea, along with high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol

levels, started surfacing in the last couple of generations due to the growing

childhood obesity problem. Most doctors have been led to believe that the

tonsils are fairly useless after the age of four or five, so cutting them out to

treat sleep apnea seems far more practical than getting children to change their

diets and increase their activity. However, some research strongly suggests that

removing these glands may have far more impact than anyone realized.

Researchers at the University of Buffalo in New York found that, on average,

children experienced a 13 percent increase in weight following the removal of

their tonsils and adenoids. Dr. Roemmich, the lead researcher in the

study, stated that the weight gain caused by the surgery to help relieve the

breathing problem in these children could create a vicious cycle. Weight gain in

these children is a concern. Obesity may be a primary cause of obstructive

sleep-disordered breathing, so additional weight gain may lead to a

re-occurrence of obstructed breathing during sleep in spite of the surgery.

If the child is experiencing sleep apnea and also happens to be obese, as were

the children in this study, it should go without saying that surgery isn’t the

answer. Not only could the surgery contribute to additional weight gain, the

removing the tonsils also eliminates the extra protection against infections

these “unnecessary†organs provide.

Until next time,

Dr.

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/gabby911

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" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport