A new study published in the journal
Endocrinology reveals that giving Prozac to children may result in a loss of bone mass. The study was conducted on mice and showed an average 9.4% less bone formation in the thighbones of the mice taking Prozac, compared to mice who were not given the drug. With the popularity of antidepressant drugs continuing to climb, and with Prozac now the only antidepressant still being widely prescribed to children in the United States, this finding is of special significance.
Elsewhere around the world, the use of antidepressant drugs in children has been banned. This is largely because overwhelming evidence has surfaced in the last several years pointing to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and violent behavior in children given SSRI drugs -- a class of drugs to which Prozac and other antidepressants belongs. Now this study brings to light new safety questions: could the drugs be causing bone disorders?
The manufacturer of Prozac, Eli Lilly & Co., continues to stress that Prozac has been proven quite safe, even in use with children. It has been the FDA approved, after all, and we all know how stringent the FDA drug safety program is.
My own take is that we are dosing up our children with far too many psychoactive drugs. Our children don't need Ritalin, they don't need Prozac, and they don't need to be given labels of fictitious diseases such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or Social Anxiety Disorder. What they need is physical activity -- more recess time, more time under natural sunlight so they can generate their own vitamin D and prevent depression and other mental disorders on their own.
They need better diets, starting with the banning of soft drinks in all public schools and the banning of all advertising and marketing of junk foods and fast foods to children. Because it is these foods, drinks, and junk products that create physiological disorders that ultimately get diagnosed as clinical depression or ADHD. If we could get our nation's schoolchildren on a program of solid nutrition, we wouldn't need these drugs in the first place, and we wouldn't have to talk about the potentially dangerous side effects like loss of bone mass, violent behavior, and childhood suicides.
And I continue to stress the fact -- which I still haven't seen mentioned in the mainstream press even once -- that the two boys in the Columbine school massacre were both on antidepressant drugs at the time they opened fire on their classmates. Nobody seems to be looking at this fact, or tempting to correlate these violent outbreaks with the use of antidepressant drugs. And yet the pattern is there to see for anyone willing to take a closer look at the evidence.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has authored and published several downloadable personal preparedness courses including a downloadable course focused on safety and self defense. Adams is a trusted, independent journalist who receives no money or promotional fees whatsoever to write about other companies' products. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. He's also author of numerous health books published by Truth Publishing and is the creator of several consumer-oriented grassroots campaigns, including the Spam. Don't Buy It! campaign, and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. He also created the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the ending of corporate control over medicines, genes and seeds. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org
Have comments on this article? Post them here:
people have commented on this article.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Email this article to a friend
