Now that we have all returned safely and inspected our candy, what are you going to do with all this sugar?
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A Year Supply of Candy, What is a Parent to Do???
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Category Archives: Diet and Nutrition
Health Information That May Surprise You…
It can be difficult to keep up to date on the latest research concerning your children’s health. Here are some study results that you may find surprising.
1. Early Anesthesia is Associated With Learning Disabilities
A study showed that children who received general anesthesia two or more times before 4 years old had an increased incidence of learning disabilities. Continue reading
Surprise! Five of the Worst Kid’s Foods in Your Kitchen
I will forever be teased by my family for trying to pass organic raisins as a snack for my daughter’s soccer team. I was pretty much laughed off the field. So I let it go when the brownies come out and sometimes even join in. We cannot control what our children eat when they are out of the house, especially as they get older. Also, there is a fine line between teaching your children about healthy foods and creating a forbidden food obsession. I do think we can make choices about what we stock at home so that our children realize that there are many satisfying options. There are some foods that the media has misrepresented as “healthy” and there are some foods that are just plain unhealthy. Leave those to the soccer snacks and Halloween treats and just turn the other way…
Five Worst “Kid’s Foods”
1. Fruit snacks. Continue reading
Too Many Cavities
My admiration for my husband includes his teeth. At 42 years old he has never had a cavity, not one!! His dental regimen is conscientious but not obsessive. He just lucked out in the genetic lottery. However, American children (including my own) are still getting cavities. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC):
“Although dental caries has declined significantly among school-aged children since the early 1970s, dental caries has remained the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood.”
So, what can we do to prevent cavities and improve our family’s dental health no matter what our genetic tendencies? Continue reading
Kids and Sugar-Together in Surprising Places
Sugar sugar (Photo credit: dhammza)
Thought your children were consuming most of their sugar from treats at school and parties? Nope, most children consume the majority of their sugar at home. Blaming those high sugar energy drinks for most of your child’s sugar intake? Wrong again, most children consume more sugar from foods than from drinks. New data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey produced the following surprising results.
* Boys consumed an average of 16.3% of their calories from added sugars, while girls consumed an average of 15.5% of their calories from added sugars. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting total intake Continue reading
GOT MILK?
Image via Wikipedia
Most children do not get the recommended amount of calcium in their diet. Additionally, vitamin D, which is essential for calcium absorption, has taken center stage recently in light of studies that show that it may help fight infections, prevent cancer, osteoporosis, thyroid disorders, diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.
1. How much calcium is recommended for children?
2. What about vitamin D?
3. My child will not or can not have milk, what can I do?
4. What about vitamin supplementation?
5. A few general considerations.
The answers:
1. How much calcium is recommended per day? Continue reading
Should You Buy Organic?
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Talk about sticker shock!! Some organic food is more than DOUBLE the price of the conventionally grown version. AND it is not as pretty AND it goes bad faster. So, when is it worth it to buy organic? Does it matter for my children’s health? Who says it is organic? What is the difference between natural and organic? Continue reading
Peanut Butter-Should You or Shouldn’t You?
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I remember when I first started feeding my baby solid foods I thought, “Where is the manual? What do I feed her? How much? How often?”. This is still a common topic in the office and has become even more complicated with the increase of food allergies in children. There have been conflicting studies on whether diet during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood can impact whether a child develops food allergies. You may have been told one thing for your oldest child and the complete opposite for your youngest. So, what ARE the most current recommendations?
