September marks several nutrition-related health observances and I would like to take this opportunity to touch on family nutrition. Specifically, the most common questions that parents ask regarding their children’s diet.

How much fruit and vegetables do children need?

We all know that our kids need fruit and veggies and we struggle everyday, trying to win the feeding/eating war. But do we know how much our kids really need? The common nutritional advice is that we need 5 servings of fresh fruit and veggies each day. Easy enough except that how big is a serving? Is a serving the same for a child and for an adult? The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has a great tool in calculating the amount of fruit and veggies everybody above the age of 2 needs. By just entering your age, gender, and physical activity, you get your personal food requirements result in terms of cups. What’s more, it even tells you what amounts to a cup. Finally, the sites also has recipes, and features “Fruit and Veggies” of the month. It’s chili peppers and figs for September.

Which products should you buy?

Starting August, the food industry in the US has adapted the so-called green checkmark. The checkmark is part of Smart Choices Program, a US-wide collaboration of scientists, health advocates and food industry representatives to help consumers make healthier choices at the supermarket.

In order to use the green checkmark, food products need to meet certain criteria (Nutrition Criteria for the Smart Choices Program) set by Smart Choices. The program is implemented by the American Society for Nutrition, which also makes sure of maintaining the scientific integrity of the program and checking for conflicts of interest. The standards for the greencheck are based on:

• Nutrients that need to be limited, e.g. fats, sugar, and sodium

• Nutrients that need to be enforced, e.g. vitamins, minerals, and fiber)

• Food groups that to be encouraged, e.g. fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fat-free dairy products

All in all, the criteria cover 19 categories for products found in the supermarket, including cereals, processed fruits and vegetables, breads and pasta, meat, dairy, snacks, and sauces and dressings.

In addition to the greencheck mark, the food manufacturer is already required to display on the front of the package the calorie per serving and the number of servings per package to help us keep to our daily calorie needs.

Do we need to restrict our kids’ diet?

Forbidding certain types of food has high chances of backfiring, according to a study by obesity experts at Pennsylvania State University. It seems that the key factor in weight control is a child’s inhibitory control, which is similar to self-control. Those who lack self-regulation are most likely to be overweight before the age of 15. Low self-control combined with strong parental restriction seem to be a dangerous combination that drives the child towards the forbidden, and therefore more attractive food. Tips to reinforce your child’s inhibitory control are:

• Do not keep restricted food in the house, thus lessening the necessity to “forbid.”

• Find healthier alternatives, e.g. sugar-free or fat-free version of the forbidden snacks (see below).

• Provide different choices. Rather than telling your child “eat this, eat that”, it is better to ask “which would you prefer, the pear or the apple?” Take him/her to the supermarket and allow him to choose something that meets certain criteria (such as the abovementioned greecheckmark). By giving your child the right to choose within certain limits, you give him/her some degree of control over his/her diet.

What about snacks?

Snacking is not that bad. A recent study shows that many of the snacks that kids love – including popcorn – actually contains lots of antioxidants called polyphenols. And whole grain cereals, in addition to fibers, have comparable antioxidant content to fruit and vegetables. However, it is easy to binge on snacks and cereals, according to the researchers. Breakfast cereals contain lots of sugar and salty snacks contain lots of sodium. The key therefore is moderation and keeping to the suggested serving sizes.

Ellyn Satter’s book Your Child’s Weight: Helping without Harming, provides clear directions to make mealtimes pleasant and healthy -something I definitely needed as my infant daughter forayed into solid foods.

As I was looking at my own baby book recently, I noticed several frightening parallels between myself and my daughter, specifically regarding weight and eating habits.

Like me, Ashley was born petite. At 6 lbs. 4 oz., she was just over the limit to be classified “low birth weight.” She was 5 lbs. 14 oz. when I took her home from the hospital, and didn’t begin to gain weight again until she was almost 2 weeks old.

I was born at 6 lbs. 2 oz. and dropped to just over 5 lbs. when I came home from the hospital. It was funny to read that my mom had trouble finding clothes to fit me; even newborn size were too big on Ashley at first!

I cringed when I read that the familiar label “Failure to Thrive”, was almost tossed on me as an infant, as well. (I should note that I was formula-fed, while Ashley was exclusively breastfed, so I think genetics play a bigger role in this situation than anything else).

I started getting what my mom lovingly called “chubby” by my third birthday, and the doctor recommended giving me skim milk. I remember by my sixth birthday, the pediatrician would make disparaging remarks about my weight. He often said, “I told you to feed her and feed her. You can stop now!”

I’d like to think those type of comments – particularly from a doctor who had quite the pot belly himself – wouldn’t be tolerated today. But that, along with other factors, led to a life of chronic yo-yo dieting. While I’m what many would call “thin” now, and my BMI is in the healthy range, I still struggle with weight issues.

I do not want my daughter to grow up with the same relationship to food that I have.

When I happened across Ellyn Satter’s Your Child’s Weight: Helping without Harming, Birth through Adolescence while Web surfing, I didn’t waste any time in requesting a copy to review. (Thank you, again, Ellyn).

If you are wondering about the best way to introduce solid foods and want to make sure your infant or toddler grows up with a healthy relationship to food, this book qualifies as a “must-read.”

The beginning of the book explains why diets don’t work – for adults or children – and how early eating patterns can turn into lifelong habits. Then it gives parents the information they need to help their children develop healthy eating habits which will permit children to:

• regulate their own weight from infancy through adulthood;

• learn to recognize their body’s signals of full-ness and hunger;

• learn to appreciate a broad range of healthy foods to create a balanced diet.

At the heart of Ellyn Satter’s philosophy is her Division of Responsibility in Feeding. It states:

• For infants, the parent is responsible for what the baby eats, and the child is responsible for when and how much.

• After infancy, the parent takes on responsibility for what, when and where, while the child is responsible for how much and whether.

This sounds simple, but the philosophy forms the basis for a lifetime of healthy eating, where a child feels in control of food. A child should not view food as reward and should never, ever feel deprived. Children need to know a generous selection of food will be available at a given time and that they are free to eat as much – or as little – as they want.

Satter’s Division of Responsibility should not be confused with Gary Ezzo’s Parent-directed Feeding. Satter believes infants should be fed on demand and no schedule is necessary until they begin solid foods.

For toddlers and adolescents – really, any baby who has started eating solid foods -Satter does stress the importance of a regular schedule. She also emphasizes the significance of family mealtimes to bond with your children. Family meals also permits children to learn table manners by modeling their parents and older siblings’ behavior at the family table.

Before I read Your Child’s Weight, my husband and I would sit down to dinner anytime between 5 PM and 11 PM. Lunch was whatever I could grab quickly and (pre-baby) eat at my desk or (post-baby) eat one-handed and on the go. Breakfast? Yeah. I ate breakfast. Usually.

First, I instituted a set dinnertime – somewhere between 6:30 and 8 PM at the absolute latest, but usually right around 7 PM or 7:30. Then I determined that Ashley and I would sit down for breakfast together in the morning. Lunch, with rare exceptions, takes place at 1 PM everyday.

Another tenet in Satter’s philosophy is to keep emotions out of eating. Don’t reward your child for cleaning her plate, or punish her for failing to do so. Children’s tummies know how much they need to eat to sustain themselves; when parents force-feed or associate rewards with eating large amounts, it eventually shuts off these indicators in a child’s brain, which can lead to a life of overeating.

Of course, it’s impossible to explain and defend a 470-page book in a blog post, but Satter’s philosophies and arguments make sense when she explains them in the text.

Just as What to expect the first year helped me figure out a lot of things about parenting in the first year, Ellyn Satter’s Your Child’s Weight: Helping without Harming is a road map to healthy eating from birth and beyond.

Can you imagine your baby eating as much as you do? A Dietitian has recommended a 2000 calorie a day diet for baby girl Agatha Holloway. She was born 11 weeks prematurely and has been prescribed the high-calorie diet to help her to catch up to a normal weight.

Agatha almost died shortly after she was born. The 3 pound 11 oz newborn suffered a brain hemorrhage, lung disease, and severe reflux. She stayed in the hospital for almost four months before being allowed home with her parents who live in Surrey in the United Kingdom.

Now she’s 16 months old and weighs only 17 pounds.  The average toddler her age weighs around 25 pounds, so her doctors have told her parents she needs to eat twice as much as other babies her age. She’s eating cartons of cream, roast duck, veggies with olive oil, chocolate and special high calorie milk.

Sounds yummy. Apparently, the diet is all healthy, but calorific food, and she shouldn’t suffer any ill effects from it. And as she catches up to her recommended weight, her parents will gradually reduce the amount she eats to a more normal diet.

One in five preschoolers are obese, according to researchers at Ohio State University. That adds up to half-a-million obese four year olds in America.

Baby fat is adorable, and even necessary for survival. Babies are designed to be fat, because fat is needed to help babies regulate their temperature. Those adorable little rolls around their tummies? Their sausage-y legs, fat little fingers, chubby cheeks and squidgy little knees? Precious.

As babies become crawlers and toddlers, and become more aware of the relationship between having a coat on and not being cold, being fat is not vital for survival. And crawling and toddling and running uses up calories and builds muscles, so that baby fat is designed to gradually disappear.

It seems like that isn’t happening in many of today’s children. Many people can tell you their opinion of why people are getting heavier, and getting heavier younger.  Perhaps our kids are getting less exercise, maybe they are eating more food, or the wrong kind of food. Perhaps it’s a combination.

Most of us know that a healthy diet and plenty of activity is vital for maintaining a healthy weight, and that seems to apply to everyone from babies on up.

And the researcher’s best non-obvious advice for preventing a baby becoming an overweight toddler and an obese preschooler?  Helping baby recognise when they are full. Babies are born knowing when they have had enough to eat, and trying to get a baby to eat more than she needs disrupts the natural system and may lead to overeating in future.

As I was pondering all things pregnant this morning while gazing at my rapidly growing waistline, I wondered what my food cravings mean.  Do cravings tell you something, or is there no real reason for them other than to annoy your husband when you demand that he get you fried chicken take out at 11pm?

When I was pregnant with my older children, I craved carbohydrates.  All of my older children happen to be girls too.  I wonder if it was all the ice cream, pretzels, and cookies I ate during those pregnancies? Doesn’t that nursery rhyme say that little girls are made of  sugar and spice?

When I was pregnant with my son, I craved vegetables and meat.  With the child I am carrying now, I crave spinach souffle and sardines!  I don’t get it either, but it makes my husband laugh.  He tells me that he can’t wait until this child gets old enough to hear Popeye jokes.

My most embarrassing craving moment happened with my first child.  I had a craving for a sundae with whipped cream.  We lived in a very rural area and I stopped at both of the ice cream shops in town asking for a sundae with whipped cream.  Both of the shops had run out of whipped cream!  I actually refused to take the sundaes because of that and instead drove to the grocery store about a half and hour away to get ice cream and whipped cream.  By that time, I decided to just buy the whipped cream to eat.

I was eating a bowlful of whipped cream in my car when a neighbor spotted me!  She promptly gave me a long lecture on nutrition and scolded me for being so irresponsible.  I  patiently listened, waited until she left, and then resumed eating.  I felt so guilty afterwards though!

What food did you crave when you were pregnant?

Have you ever heard of the word synergy?  Basically it means that 2 forces combine and the sum of their forces together is greater than the sum of their individual effects.  Cool word…sometimes.

This weekend, I had “pregnancy synergy”:  I got a virus which my toddler shared with me.  The synergy between the effects of my morning sickness and the effects of my virus was astounding.

With my first child, I had incredibly bad morning sickness.  For weeks, all I could keep down was jello, ginger ale, sherbet, crackers, broth, and pickles.  I assumed that this would work with this child.  This baby does not like jello or broth however.

I find myself worrying about this “little one”, although I know that probably he or she is OK.  Did I eat enough sherbet?  Am I drinking enough ginger ale?  It occurs to me that I am officially a mom.  I’m laying in bed too sick to get up and I’m worried about my baby who is just 10 weeks gestation.

I eventually phased out of the ginger ale and sherbet phase with my first child.  I’m sure that I’ll get over this bout of whatever and be able to eat normally again soon.

Just for the record, I did ask my doctor if my “diet” was ok.  Her advice:  do whatever works.  As long as it isn’t a long term diet, I should be ok.  If the extreme sickness last for more than a week, I need to check in.  If I can’t keep down any thing or any fluids, then I need to call immediately.

For now, I’m doing what works, and it’s ok.  I’m hoping that the effects of synergy don’t last too long!

In the interest of honesty, I’ll let you in on something that most of my friends probably already know but have been kind enough to not mention to me…at least not to my face: I gained too much weight with both my pregnancies, and even though my son is now a preschooler I still haven’t shed all the weight I gained from my first and second pregnancy. I guess when your “baby” starts speaking in complete sentences it becomes absurd to blame the pregnancy for the larger sized pants.

I could have been a little more careful with my eating and exercise during my pregnancies, and I know for sure that I went a little too crazy with my appetite while breastfeeding. I remember a friend telling me that Weight Watchers offers a special program for nursing moms, and while I never checked it out myself I couldn’t help but think that it took some of the fun out of being a nursing mom.

Now I’m reading about a “pregnancy diet” that is designed to help women keep their weight down throughout pregnancy. Talk about taking the fun out of something! It’s one thing to watch what you eat while pregnant and to make sure you get enough exercise, but an actual diet? My jaw would drop if a pregnant friend were to turn down a piece of pie, stating that she was on a diet. A diet? While pregnant? Well, I never.

I did a little research and found out that the diet is supposed to be based on medical research and be safe. Nonetheless, it has some nutritionists and doctors up in arms. I think the fear is that women will get the idea in their head that they aren’t supposed to gain any weight during pregnancy, and that’s just not healthy. I remember cringing at the numbers on the scale when I was pregnant, but never so much that I ever considered going on a diet.

It seems to me that if I had gained too much weight my doctor would have told me to cut back on my caloric intake and to increase my physical activities, but if he had referred me to a diet place I think I might have looked for a different doctor.

Being a parent is an exhausting job, there’s no doubt about it. However, you don’t have to feel exhausted all the time. Here are some things I’ve discovered that really sap my energy and make it more difficult to keep up with my energetic family.

Not Eating
I’ve found that I really need to watch what I eat if I expect to have enough energy to run after my 5 kids. I admit that mornings are a crazy time in our house. Sometime around mid-morning I feel my energy level crash and realize that I forgot to eat!

Over-Doing the Caffeine
It’s tempting to grab a cup of coffee when I need a quick energy burst. However, over-doing the caffeine consumption can actually make you more tired when the fix wears off. Plus, too much caffeine can make you irritable, irritate your stomach, or cause heart palpitations. It’s best to watch your caffeine consumption if you hope to keep your energy levels up.

Not Sleeping
Have you ever been so tired or stressed that you can’t sleep? Or worse yet, remember how you have finally gotten your baby to sleep through the night but you are still waking up for that 2am feeding and having trouble getting back to sleep?

It can be difficult to find the energy you need during the day when you aren’t getting a good sleep during the night. I’ve heard that sleep experts recommend that adults develop a sleep routine in order to promote better sleep habits. I guess if sleep routines work for children, they should work for adults. It sounds reasonable anyway.

I’m trying to work on this subject in my own life because the holiday season is fast approaching. While I love all of the wonderful things that go along with celebrating this special time of year, I realize that it takes energy to be able to do all the things I will need to do. That means that I need to work on creating good habits now (like exercising, eating right, reducing my caffeine and getting sleep) that will enable me to find the energy I need to take me through the holidays and beyond!

This is a difficult post to write. In the grand schemes of things, it’s not catastrophic, and I recognize this. Many other women, new mothers and moms-to-be, have it much worse than I do. But I’ve spent the last three weeks feeling sorry for myself, since I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.

Huh? That was my reaction. My husband and I questioned the test, questioned the competency of the lab personnel, questioned the validity of the results. If the four-hour fasting glucose test wasn’t such an awful ordeal for me, I would have demanded they re-do it.

I don’t want to scare anyone going through the test. As reported in this post, if you don’t have Gestational Diabetes, the test is no big deal. The syrupy glucose doesn’t taste all that bad (although the carbonation can make you a bit gassy) and the time really does pass quickly.

But if you have GD, the sugar shock (not a medical term!) can make you dizzy, nauseated, hot? some people have even passed out. I was permitted to lie in my car with the AC going between blood tests. (If they brought the climate in the waiting room down to a temperature I would have preferred, everyone else there would have frozen!) My husband said I did pass out, but I think I was just lying there silently? I don’t think I lost consciousness. Anyway, that was my first clue, and only indication–that maybe the test was not wrong. Other than that awful four-hour ordeal, I have not had any symptoms throughout my pregnancy.

Gestational Diabetes affects only 2 to 8 percent of all pregnant women. Risk factors include:

• Obesity
• Previously giving birth to a large baby (9 lbs. or more)
• Family history of Type-2 Diabetes
• Rapid weight gain during pregnancy

I am not in any of these groups. My family doesn’t have a stellar medical history, but about the only thing missing from our collective health woes is Type 2 Diabetes. I’m probably the healthiest person in my family, without any afflictions or diseases. I work out regularly, keep my weight in check and, overall, have had an uneventful, uncomplicated (even enjoyable) pregnancy.

After nearly a week of ‘dealing’ with this diagnosis, I’ve gotten used to lancing my finger for blood sugar readings four times a day. The diet is not challenging; I’ve put myself on stricter regimes for far less important reasons (such as looking good in a bikini!)

But I still can’t get that nagging voice out of my mind: Why me? I’m not in any of the risk groups; I take good care of myself and, in fact, I have never eaten healthier than I have during my pregnancy. The odds of my getting GD were, give or take, 8 percent. I also can’t shake my (obviously mistaken) belief that Diabetes is a ‘fat person’s disease’ or that something I did (too many milkshakes?) caused the situation.

Very little of the research or articles written have shown me otherwise, but my midwife’s reassurances have made me feel better. Gestational diabetes occurs when the hormones that, in pregnancy, are designed to block the usual action of insulin, in order to insure the baby gets enough glucose to grow, are not doing their job properly. It’s hormonal, not behavioral. I didn’t really exhibit any of the other hormonal symptoms of pregnancy (such as mood swings), and my morning sickness was mild… so I guess GD is my hormonal burden to bear through this pregnancy.

Because so little of the research and articles out there address the guilt or self-blame associated with the disease, I want to say it now: If you are in that ‘lucky’ 2 to 8 percent diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it’s not your fault. Really.

Yes, it’s up to you now, to control it through diet and exercise, but you didn’t ‘give yourself’ the disease. Releasing that guilt, for me, was the first step toward making sure my pregnancy remains complication-free.

]]> http://blogs.babiesonline.com/health/facts-and-realizations-about-gestational-diabetes/feed/ 3 http://blogs.babiesonline.com/nutrition/how-my-kids-changed-my-eating-habits/ http://blogs.babiesonline.com/nutrition/how-my-kids-changed-my-eating-habits/#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:03:24 +0000 Science-mom http://blogs.babiesonline.com/?p=4537

It’s not that I was a junk food addict. But I did tend to indulge myself with sweets (I’m a big fan of peanut M & M’s), I didn’t like apples and my favorite drink was Coke.

But all that changed when I became pregnant. I don’t know whether it was the hormones or it was mother instinct that radically changed my eating habits. Suddenly, sweet stuff made me sick, Coke gave me heartburn, and I had cravings for apples and lots of vegetables. I’m lucky because I know many pregnant women who had strange cravings, including my mom. She claimed she craved for ox tail soup while carrying me. A friend craved for sushi, food that’s strongly discouraged during pregnancy.

When my twins were born, I thought I’d go back to my old eating habit until they started eating solids themselves. But then I had to change my diet again to set a good example for my kids. Suddenly, I paid more attention to what I was eating – because what I ate was what also my family ate. The first to go were the M & M’s. I gradually introduced more and more vegetables and fruit to our daily fare. My boys didn’t like carbonated drinks for a while so I was safe with my Coke. But that, too, had to go when they turned three. Nowadays, I only drink mineral water.

Then my boys got addicted to apples and cucumbers. For snacks it’s always apples plus some seasonal fruits. And supper is not complete without cucumber slices. My husband is now sick of cucumbers so I add raw carrots, tomatoes, and sweet capsicum for variety.

Remember that theory that what mommy eats during pregnancy can influence the baby’s food preference? I think it must be really true because my boys like eating what I used to crave for.

It’s not always that easy though. Like most kids of their age, they are attracted to sweets and I let them try from time to time. But you know what? They’d stop of their own accord, after the initial desire has been satisfied. R especially is very sensible when it comes to sweets. He’d had the bad experience of throwing up during their 4^th birthday party and has been very careful since then.

Because of my kids, I have become more health conscious. The attitude of “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you shall die” is a thing of the past. My kids make me think about the future and not simply about living for today. Thanks to my kids, I’m now taking better care of myself.

People who live in older neighborhoods, those not designed around cars, tend to be slimmer than those in modern neighborhoods and suburbs. Your neighborhood might be making you fat.

I can completely understand this. Until last year, I used to live in a 1980s suburb in California, built for car-owners, where the only thing I could walk to was a gas station.

Now, after moving to the Midwest, I’m lucky to live in a great neighborhood built in the 1920s. The local historical society has a cute photo from the 1930s of a car driving down a local street, with two little boys looking at it like it had landed from space. I can walk to a couple of parks, the chemist, a supermarket, my son’s pediatrician, and a cool coffee shop with my son. If I’m feeling energetic I can push a stroller to two museums and walk along a river bank.

I’ve lost 10 lbs from the walking. It’s also wonderful to be able to set an active example to my son, I’m supporting local independent businesses, and I’ve saved money on gas… although spent it on lattes. Mama has to have caffeine!

I really appreciate my neighborhood. After living in year-round-sunshine California, it was a shock that frigid temperatures kept us indoors most of the winter. So this spring and summer, we’ve been out and taking advantage of our neighborhood.

You can find out the “Walk Score” of where you live on WalkScore.com (My house got a 74 out of 100, woo woo!) and while you can’t do much about the walkability of where you live right now, it might be useful if you are planning to move home any time soon.

After researching 8,150 infants at 9 months old, half were primarily cared for by someone other than the parents, the highlights of the study are as follows:

• 40% of infants who had been in daycare since 3 months of age were less likely to have been breastfed and were eating solids earlier than those cared for by parents.
• Babies in part-time care had gained 175 grams or 0.4 pounds more weight at 9 months than those who were cared for by their parents.
• Babies under other relatives’ care gained 162 grams or 0.35 pounds more weight, and also began eating solid foods earlier.

Why worry about the weight gain in babies? There have been enough studies consistent in their findings that early childhood weight gain can be a a precursor to being overweight as adults. These infants were also less likely to be breastfed understandably due to lack of time (daycare is more often a necessity because both parents are working). Breastfeeding has been linked by some studies, as offering some sort of protection against weight problems later in life.

Parents of children in daycare, what can you do? First, see if you can rearrange finances and schedule so one of you can stay at home full time, part time, or work from home. If that is not possible, be very clear in instructions with daycare staff as to what and when and how much they should be fed. Third, practice a healthy lifestyle of balanced diet and exercise for your babies to grow up emulating. You as parents, aren’t helpless against conclusions from research. And your child is not destined to become overweight just because they are in daycare.

In this final installment of the Food for Thought series, we’re taking a closer look at produce.

The health benefits of fresh produce are widely publicized … from being low-calorie snacks to sources of helpful antioxidants. But as you navigate your way through the produce aisle, do you know what?s lurking behind those fresh leaves and bright colors?

Know the code ? the secret language of produce

Understand the numbers on the product look-up (PLU) codes. All produce has small oval stickers on them with a series of numbers. Anyone who has gone through the self-service checkout lane at the market, knows that those numbers help identify the item along with the price per pound.

But those little numbers tell you more than just the price, they contain a wealth of ?secret? information. PLUs were developed by the International Federation for Produce Standards, a coalition of fruit and vegetable associations that started in 2001. There is no regulatory body for the use of PLUs and grocers are not required to use them, but most do.

PLUs consist of four or five numbers. Four numbers starting with the number three or a number four indicate produce grown in conventional methods, for global distribution and sustained with pesticides. Five numbers, starting with the number nine, are organic, and five numbers starting with the number eight are genetically engineered/genetically modified (GE/GM). The PLU codes also indicate the type of produce, variety (white grapes or red grapes for example), distribution information and price per pound. For organic and GE/GM varieties, the numbers nine and eight respectively are added as a prefix to the existing PLU code for the conventional version of that type of produce.

Conventional/Traditional Produce

Conventional crops are fed synthetic fertilizers, which force the plant to grow bigger in mass, in a shorter period, thereby not allowing the plant the time to take up the same full amount of nutrients as organic crops.

Some examples:

Alfalfa Sprouts (4514)

Granny Smith Apple, small (4138)

Beefsteak Tomato (3061)

California Sweet Onion (4165)

Yellow Banana [including Cavendish] (4011), small (4186)

Organic Produce
Five numbers starting with a “9″

Organically grown produce means that the produce has been grown without the use of artificial chemicals, synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and do not contain the residues of toxic pesticides. Organic produce follows the principles of ecological sustainability.

Example:

An organically grown California sweet onion would bear the number 94165

GE & GM Produce
Five numbers starting with an “8″

Genetically engineered or genetically modified produce means that genetic material (whether natural or manufactured) is introduced into the DNA of a host species, a procedure that results in disruption of the genetic blueprint of the organism.

The FDA describes GE/GM produce as ?an extension of traditional plant breeding [or grafting, but] involves direct modification of DNA … [and makes] it possible to direct and predict changes without introducing … undesirable traits … and will allow scientists to introduce genes from essentially any organism into a plant.”

There are many who caution against consuming GE/GM foods because of concern over allergies, toxicity, an increase in viruses and resistant bacteria, and yet unknown adverse effects on human and animal biology.

Examples:
A GE/GM Beefsteak Tomato would bear the number 83061.

For some produce contain residual traces of pesticides even after washing, something that we tend to think is a reliable way to protect ourselves. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) studied 43 fruits and vegetables, among which many stapes in our family?s diets ? including peaches, apples, lettuce, spinach, carrots and cucumbers. It?s important then, that the next time you?re in the produce aisle, consider what those little oval stickers may mean for the health of your family.

Learn more about understanding the organic label.

Inexpensive ways to buy organic.

Genetic engineering: The future of foods?

Get/View the EWG?s produce report.

What’s in Your Food?
A Closer Look at Dried Fruits & Nuts

As many parents are opting for healthier meals and treats, it means making a bee-line for the produce aisle or for the sundries like raisins, figs and, when allergies aren?t at issue, nuts. They?re fresh (or dried). They?re all-natural. They allow you to encourage good nutritional habits. They?re safe. Or so it seems. As we make healthier choices, it?s also important to be aware of what?s going into the production, growing and maintenance of them as they make the journey from the ground to the table.

The questions to ask are:

• Were pesticides used? If so, which ones?
• Which preservatives were used?
• Are they naturally grown or genetic derivations?
• And now, with a year of various produce companies and the FDA announcing recalls because of harmful bacteria, we must ask: is this safe for my family to eat?

Many food manufacturers produce or use sundries in their products: from Ocean Spray to Sunmaid to Nabisco, names we trust in fact. But their nutritional value might not outweigh the potential toxicity. Sunmaid raisins ? both the red and golden varieties not marked ?USDA Organic,? Fig Newtons (a Nabisco product) and many other dried fruits and dried-fruit related products contain sulfur dioxide. But, you wouldn?t know that unless you read the tiny fine-print on the side of the box opposite the side with the nutritional information.

What is sulfur dioxide? – Sulfur dioxide (SO₂), also a greenhouse gas, is a preservative used because it inhibits the growth of bacteria, yeast and molds; retards rancidity by slowing air oxidation of fats and lipids; and blocks the natural ripening and enzymatic processes that occur after harvest. And according to Hassan Gourama, an Associate Professor of Food Science at University of Pennsylvania, SO₂ ?keeps raisins and other dried fruits from losing their light color by blocking both enzymatic browning and a nonenzymatic browning reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids called the Maillard reaction. The reaction darkens raisins, alters their flavor, and reduces essential amino acid levels.?

Sulfur dioxide is part of the chemical group sulfites. The FDA has estimated that more than 1 million asthmatics are sensitive or allergic to sulfites. Since 1986 the FDA has required that sulfites are listed on the labels of products where they are used as preservatives regardless of the amount used. (Sulfites are banned for use on fresh produce.)

But the problem may not only be in the preservatives. A main cause of acid rain is SO₂, which means that some sundries may be exposed to harmful cellular degradation by substance long before they are even harvested, unless they are grown inside the confines of greehouses.

What can you do?

Read labels carefully and avoid the products that contain sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite, sodium and potassium bisulfite, sodium metabisulfite orpotassium metabisulfite

Choose USDA-certified or organic-growers certified products.

Being aware of what is in your food and how it is produced is an important part of the quest for healthier diets and lifestyle for our children and families.

Next and final installment in the series?a closer look at your produce.

Unfortunately, clinical depression is becoming increasingly common, in children as well as adults. It is considered to be the second most common psychiatric ailment in western society, with anxiety being the first.

There are many changes to lifestyle which can help ease the problem, whether not medication is taken as well.

A good, healthy diet is vital. This should include fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains rather than white flour, oily fish or plenty of sesame, sunflower and linseeds (these have high levels of the fatty acids essential to good mental health).

There are also many foods that should be avoided. First of all is refined sugar. The consumption of excess quantities of sugar can lead to unstable blood sugar levels which can then lead to anxiety, depression and related symptoms.

Many of the additives in processed foods can have negative effects on moods. The artificial sweetener, aspartame, has been linked to depression. Alcohol is a brain depressant and also affects various body functions including sleep cycles. Products containing caffeine are also not recommended because they use up the body?s stores of B vitamins which are vital for mental health and also can give you a boost which is often followed by a low.

It is also important to consider any food intolerances or allergies. These can affect mood quite considerably. We tend to be intolerant to items that we get cravings for, so try eliminating these and see how you feel.

I consider a good, all round, multinutrient is vital for everybody, especially those with any sort of health problems. It is very hard these days to get enough nutrients in the diet, and by the time we are feeling ill we are already usually deficient in something. Many nutrients such as vitamin B, zinc, omega fatty acids and amino acids are vital to mental health.

Exercise is something else that is very important. It has many useful functions in keeping the body healthy. It produces endorphins which make us feel better. Going out in the park or, even better, in the countryside is also important, many people feel noticeably better after a brief time in nature.

It is also important to talk and to cry if you feel the need, but also to realise that you can feel better and to look at all the positive things in your life. There are many books available now on this subject. Find one that suits you.

A couple of years ago I went through a phase where I went to the dentist with toothache, he removed the tooth and then a week or two later I had another toothache and the process repeated itself. In the end I had 11 teeth removed in the space of a year. I went back to taking my calcium tablets and the problem cleared up, whether this was coincidence or not I don’t know, but now after a couple of years I have had no problems at all. Having asked around, I found that actually this is quite common for women in their forties to go through a phase like this.

We all know that diet affects our teeth, but I don’t think we all know how important it is. A healthy diet is essential for all parts of the mind and body. These days everybody has a reasonable idea of what they should be eating, even if they don’t follow those guidelines. We all know that we should be cutting back on sugar and salt increasing our intake of fruits and vegetables. On top of that I consider a good multinutrient to be essential, it gives a good foundation of everything that is required in a health diet and I shall cover here the most relevant nutrients.

Calcium is one thing that is very important, this is particularly the case with women who have had children, since pregnancy and breast feeding can deplete your calcium levels. Milk is often recommended as a good source of calcium, but, unfortunately, it is not very well absorbed. Green vegetables are also a good source of calcium or you can take a supplement and this can protect against osteoporosis as well. Calcium is best absorbed if take in conjunction with magnesium and boron. Vitamin D also helps the absorption of calcium.

As well as the teeth it is also important to look after the gums. If your gums are bad you can lose perfectly good teeth. Vitamin C is very good for the gums it reduces the chance of infection and helps the blood circulation, this is found mainly in fresh fruit and vegetables. A B vitamin deficiency can lead to bleeding gums and other mouth problems. CoEnzyme Q10 is highly recommended for many gum conditions, this has to be taken as a supplement.

Aloe vera is very popular for mouth disorders. It is recommended for the whole of the digestive system. It can be drunk or taken in capsules form and is particularly good for mouth ulcers and bleeding gums. It is also possible to get aloe vera toothpaste, which many people find helps various mouth conditions.

Further Information

Nutrition For Your Teeth

Nutrition and Gingivitis

What’s in your food?
A primer on artificial food colorings.

In part one of this series, the issue of studies relating artificial food colorings and artificial additives presenting a link to childhood hyperactivity was explored. In this part, we look at artificial food coloring.

The list of artificial food coloring studied included tetrazine (FD&C yellow no. 5/European food code E102); sunset yellow (FD&C yellow no. 6/E110); quinoline yellow (FD&C Yellow No. 10/E104); carmoisine (Food Red 3/E122); and ponceau 4R (Food Red 7/E124).

All of these are considered color additives by the FDA, which by definition are: “any dye, pigment or substance that can impart color when added or applied to a food, drug, or cosmetic, or to the human body.” And according to the FDA, they are added to food “for many reasons, including to offset color loss due to storage or processing of foods and to correct natural variations in food color.”

Anyone who has made guacamole from scratch for example knows that after about a half hour, it loses that rich avocado green color, whereas from a commercial mix, it stays green even long after it has grown a moldy fuzz – all thanks to artificial color additives.

While coloring additives have been heavily monitored and regulated since 1960 and the FDA believes that they are safe, but the recent research may indeed prove otherwise because “both the Food Additives and Color Additives Amendments include a provision which prohibits the approval of an additive if it is found to cause cancer in humans or animals.” This statement makes it seem as if the FDA only raises concern once an additive is found to be carcinogenic – a growing epidemic of childhood hyperactivity is not enough to make revisions or adjustments.

The problem is that while manufacturers can only use the regulated amounts of coloring additives in their products, there are thousands of products that we consume daily that contain these “small, regulated amounts.” Consider this: the ten largest companies that make our food use artificial colorings regularly. After how many sippy cups of juice, bags of candy, boxes of cereal, cookies and other snacks that are not whole foods consumed in one day can we be sure that those ’small, regulated amounts’ are still safe when combined? The FDA even asserts that food additives (including color additives) are in cereals, snacks, beverages and oral cosmetics/personal health care items such as toothpaste. While we don’t want to be alarmist, it might be a good time to take stock in what’s in our pantries and cabinets to find out just what we are consuming and consider alternative measures to give our kids a healthier start, even as early as in utero.

Learn more:

• FDA on the safety of color additives.
• FDA’s “Summary of Color Additives“:
  (can search by FD&C number or color name)
• FDA’s ‘What is a Color Additive?‘
• “How ‘Safe’ is Safe?”
• “Limiting your child’s intake of food additives”
• Organic Food (from BOL)
• Parenting Starts Before Pregnancy (from BOL)

Part three will look at artificial sweeteners and non-coloring additives.

From the Chinese Gender Chart to fetal heart rate, parents have been trying to predict the gender of their unborn babies for generations. Now there’s new research that show how parents can actually influence the eventual gender of their child.

According to a study done at the University of Exeter and Oxford, women who ate a high-calorie diet around the time of conception were more likely to produce sons. The researchers studied 740 women and grouped them according to their calorie consumption. In the group eating the least, 45% had sons, versus higher-calorie consumers who had sons 56% of the time. Those who ate more breakfast cereals also had a higher incidence of producing sons.

This study may aid in the noticeable decline in the number of baby boys born in recent years. Recent studies have cited that boys worldwide now number 1 per 1000 births.

A Note to all moms who wish to have boys: It is always recommended to eat a healthy, balanced diet, and not just to increase the calorie intake with empty calories like those found in junk foods. Discuss your diet with your doctor for guidance. Also note that a high-calorie diet is still no guaranteed predictor of your baby’s gender.

The study appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Research published in the medical journal, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, and which was undertaken in the University Hospital of Lille and Broussais in France on 9636 French people aged over 65 indicates that women who drink at least three cups of tea a day are less likely to have heart attacks and strokes. However, no such improvement was shown in men. A similar study was done on younger men and women, and no link between tea and heart disease and strokes was found. There also seemed to be no improvement in those who drank one or two cups of tea.

The aim of the research was to see whether there was a link between tea drinking and various other variables. It showed that as well as being linked with heart attacks and strokes, those women who drank more tea were less likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes and a high body mass index. (BMI), they were also less likely to smoke. In men, those who drank tea were less likely to drink much alcohol or coffee and also less likely to eat meat. Both men and women who drank tea were more likely to eat fish, fruit and vegetables and to have a higher level of education.

Those women who had more than three cups of tea a day were found to have fewer plaques on the carotid arteries than those who did not. These plaques are a build up of cholesterol and fat and are linked to an increase in heart attacks and strokes. Apparently 34% of those who drank three or more cups of tea a day had plaques, compared to 44% of those who drank no tea all. Other factors such as weight and diet were also taken into account.

However, whilst the results tested for the plaques, due to the short length of the study, the actual incidence of hearts attacks or strokes was not measured. Also, the quantity of tea drunk was reported by the individual and not measured scientifically. In addition the type of tea drunk was not reported, whether it was black tea, green tea or something else.

However, keep drinking that tea!!

Further Information

Tea Good for Women?s Hearts

Tea Consumption Is Inversely Associated With Carotid Plaques in Women

Drinking Tea ? Is it Good or Bad?

This information is not meant to constitute medical advice, please speak to your doctor before changing your diet.

Epilepsy can be a very distressing condition and the medication from the doctor is not always as effective as we would like. However, the correct diet can help the condition. First of all it is necessary to follow the guidelines recommended for general health such as plenty of water, plenty of fruit and vegetables and not too much salt and sugar. A good quality multinutrient is also important to ensure that we have adequate vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other nutrients. Seizures may be caused by various nutritional problems, including low blood sugar levels, nutritional imbalances and excess alcohol.Many nutrients can help epilepsy, one of the more common ones is a vitamin B complex. More B vitamins are required when you are under stress, and seizures can cause and lead to stress. Because B vitamins are water based, it is difficult to have to much of them, because any excess will be washed out the body.

Vitamin E has been indicated in research to reduce the quantity of seizures. The contraceptive pill can lead to a deficiency in vitamin E.

Chromium can help blood sugar levels, which can be an important factor in epilepsy. In those women where seizures occur premenstrually, it is particularly likely that there is a blood sugar issue.

A deficiency in magnesium is known to be a factor in seizure frequency, and if a supplement is taken, this should also include calcium as it helps the absorption of magnesium. Calcium has a sedative effect and a deficiency can lead to depression and allergies.

The quantity of zinc in the body can be reduced by taking anticonvulsants or the contraceptive pill. Zinc is very important in the correct functioning of the nervous system and is used to treat mild mental conditions and schizophrenia.

Dimethyl-Glycine (DMG) is an amino acid that has been used to treat epilepsy. It helps the oxygen flow to the brain. Another useful amino acid is taurine, an increase in which can lead to improved brain function.

Essential Fatty Acids are also very important with any neurological condition.

Things to be avoided are MSG (monosodium glutamate, E621) which is a flavor enhancer and used in many foods particularly crisps and Chinese takeout. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which has been linked to seizures. Alcohol and coffee can have a negative effect. St John?s Wort and Evening Primrose Oil may also lead to an increase in seizures.

Further information

Epilepsy and Nutrition

Low Blood Sugar – Hypoglycemia

Epilepsy and Hormones

This information is not meant to constitute medical advice, please speak to your doctor before changing your diet.