Rickets Makes a Comeback

A NYTimes article out yesterday reports cases of rickets showing up in infants and toddlers recently. While rickets is a common childhood disease in many developing countries [1], in the US it is not often heard of.

Rickets is defined as a softening of the bones in adolescence. This can lead to fractures and deformities such as bow-legs and wrist widening. However it is easily preventable with proper nutrition- specifically vitamin D.

And here enters the recent problem- doctors are suggesting that infants aren't getting enough vitamin D, even with proper diet. Dr. Catherine M. Gordon, director of the bone health program at Children’s Hospital Boston, says

"I completely support breast-feeding, and I think breast milk is the perfect food, and the healthiest way to nourish an infant... However, we’re finding so many mothers are vitamin D deficient themselves that the milk is therefore deficient, so many babies can’t keep their levels up. They may start their lives vitamin D deficient, and then all they’re getting is vitamin D deficient breast milk."

Dr. Frank Greer, chairman of the committee on nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics, adds that, “Historically speaking, we probably got it from the sun, but now we’re afraid of the sun and we don’t go out as much.”

While rickets is still rare in the US, the number of cases has been cropping up in recent years. Talk to your pediatrician about possibly adding supplements over the wintertime when sun exposure is down and make sure when breast feeding that you are getting adequate amounts of vitamin D yourself.

Summer Mocktails

It's summer. It's hot. It's Friday and you would like drink. What's a pregnant girl to do? While you may have friends and family who tell you "It's perfectly ok to have just one", the verdict is still out. The Center for Disease Control still insists on the following:

* There is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink while pregnant. All drinks with alcohol can hurt an unborn baby. A 12-ounce can of beer has as much alcohol as a 5-ounce glass of wine or a 1-ounce shot of liquor.

* There is no safe time to drink during pregnancy. Alcohol can harm a baby at any time during pregnancy. It can cause problems in the early weeks of pregnancy, before a woman even knows she is pregnant.

* About 1 in 12 pregnant women in the United States reports alcohol use. And about 1 in 30 pregnant women in the United States reports binge drinking (having five or more drinks at one time).

*FASDs are 100% preventable. FASDs are 100% preventable. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are 100% preventable—if a woman does not drink alcohol while she is pregnant.

Meanwhile, there are a slew of those who argue that drinking during pregnancy is perfectly safe. Check out this article for several sources.

If you can't decide or choose to abstain there are several good recipes for some tasty mock-cocktails you can have instead.

Temperance Tantrum - 3 oz. cranberry juice, 2 oz. orange juice, squeeze of lemon, ginger ale. Blend the juices with ice until smooth, then top up with the ginger ale.

Acapulco Gold- 2 shots freshly pressed pineapple juice, 1 shot freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, 1 shot coconut milk, 1 shot fresh cream. Shake all of the ingredients together with ice and then strain into a cocktail glass to serve.

Tornado Twist- 12 fluid ounces cranberry-raspberry juice, 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage. In a pitcher, mix cranberry-raspberry juice with lemon-lime soda. Pour over ice and serve.

Raining Men- Put 1/2 glass of ice, 4 oz. orange juice, 4 strawberries, 1 banana into a blender.
Blend until smooth. Garnish with fresh fruit as appropriate.

Coconut Cooler- 4 parts coconut milk, 4 parts fresh lime juice, Sparkling water, Sprig of mint. Combine the coconut milk and lime juice in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour over ice cubes into a Collins glass. Top up with sparkling water and stir gently, garnish wth the mint sprig.

More recipes here and here and finally here.

Healthy Cool Treats

Sure Basket Robbins, Dairy Queen and Coldstone all sound fantastic, but realistically going out for ice cream as often as we'd like is practical- for the waistline or the wallet. Here are some great at home frozen treats that are almost guilt-free.

Diana's Bananas- Chocolate covered frozen bananas you can pick up at the grocery store! So tasty, mostly fruit and only 6 grams of fat.



Island Way Sorbet- Cute and healthy! The natural half shells of Pineapples, Lemons, Coconuts, Apples and Oranges have been cored out and filled with great natural fruit flavored frozen Sorbet. Great for when you are having guests over too.



Napoli Boys Italian Ice- Perfect solution for people with food allergies. They don't contain artificial ingredients, glutens and other additives. They even have a chocolate flavor for you chocaholics, and you can indulge knowing that it is fat free, cholesterol free and dairy free.

Bad News About Nuts During Pregnancy

A new study just published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine suggests that pregnant women who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy.

Don't worry just yet. Research in the area of allergenic foods during pregnancy has been contradictory and inconclusive. The main thought behind it being that the allergens present in foods like nuts cross the placenta and cause fetuses that are exposed to become sensitized to certain allergens.

John E. Heffner, M.D., past president of the American Thoracic Society made a statement in response to the research, "These findings emphasize the critical important of additional investigations into the environmental exposures for both mother and child that underlie the pathogenesis of asthma... It is important, however, to emphasize that such associations do not confirm a causative linkage."

For more information:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114901.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7505682.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25687224/

Cane Sugar for Infants?

Similac Organic formula has captured 36 percent of the organic formula market since being on the market since 2007, but did you know that doctors are not fans? It turns out that Similac's Organic formula is sweetened with cane sugar- a much sweeter sugar than used in most formulas.

Babies need sugar in order to digest the proteins that are present in soy and or cow's milk, so adding the sugar is not the issue. The type of sugar is for some people. Other organic formulas use organic lactose, which extracted from organic milk. The problems seen with cane sugar is that it tends can damage tooth enamel faster and may cause babies to resist foods that aren't as sweet in comparison and possibly also cause babies to gain too much weight in their first year.

The other possible negative consequence of cane sugar (sucrose) is that consuming sucrose generates future cravings for sucrose- while consuming sugar such as fructose or glucose, do not have the same long-term effect.

Reveiw: Mott's Tots

Mott's has introduced a new line of juice boxes and juices that are getting great reveiws. Instead of lugging around a sippy cup, juice and water and diluting the 100% juice yourself- Motts has done it for you. You and your doctor knows they don't need all that straight juice- this juice box has 40% less sugar than regular 100% juice boxes. No artifical additives to boot!




Mott's for Tots is a great-tasting juice drink that has 40% less sugar than regular apple juice and no artificial sweeteners. We've blended delicious juice with purified water and 100% vitamin C in a variety of flavors, conveniently packaged in single-serve juice boxes, nine to a pack. We've even added 64-oz multi-serve bottles to our product mix. Mott's for Tots contains 100% juice mixed with purified water, making it easier than ever to make a healthy choice for your kids – and it's pediatrician approved.

Got Milk Worries? Just Drink It

Wal-mart announced recently that it would be adding milk that comes exclusively from cows free of artificial growth hormones. This sparked a big debate.

The argument against:
- Some believe that it causes early sexual maturity in girls, though the scientific research here is not necessarily clear.

The argument to keep on trucking:
- Americans routinely don't get enough in their diet and drinking any brand is more important than drinking a specific kind
- Milk is still the top dietary source of calcium, which we all need all day. You can only adsorb 500 mcg at a time, so getting it all at once doesn't help as much as spreading it out through the day.
- All milk has vitamin D, which helps you absorb calcium and it is one of the few places you can easily find vitamin D.

What can you do?
- Drink skim! The hormones in milk reside mostly in the milk fat, drinking skim would greatly reduce the amount of exposure

Did You Get Your DHA Today?

Everyone is told from very early on to get folic acid in their diet when preparing for baby and when pregnant. But the next big push? It's DHA, Docosahexaenoic Acid and the bottom line is that it will help with brain and eye development of your growing baby. It's hard to get it just by diet so consider taking Expecta, a DHA supplement designed for pregnant and nursing moms.

So where is the motivation for taking this omega-3 fatty acid?

A 2003 study published in the journal Pediatrics showed children whose mothers took a DHA supplement during pregnancy scored higher on intelligence tests at four years of age than children of mothers not taking DHA supplements.

Research has found low levels of DHA in mother's milk and in the red blood cells of women with postpartum depression. (Journal of Affective Disorders, 2002). Some scientists believe increasing levels of maternal DHA may reduce the risk of postpartum depression.

Dr. Sears states "DHA is the most important brain-building nutrient at all ages, especially during pregnancy and the pre-school years when the child's brain is growing the fastest."

For more information check out WebMd's article, Pregnancy & Baby's article or Wikipedia's article.

Folic Acid in Flour

If you have heard it once, you have heard it 10 billion times: when pregnant and when trying to conceive take Folic Acid! Yet still the NYTimes reports, "an estimated 200,000 children around the world are born with crippling defects of the spinal column. Many are paralyzed or permanently impaired by spina bifida".

Experts are suggesting that governments should require that flour be fortified with folic acid, which has been shown to prevent these neural tube defects. For Americans, this bill has already been passed. The federal government has been requiring almost all flour to be fortified since 1998. However, the average amount that most women get from this addition to flour is a mere extra 100 micrograms of folic acid a day. 100 micrograms is not nearly enough to make a difference, as women in the first trimester should have 600 micrograms. For the last 10 years doctors have been asking the Food and Drug Administration to double the amount, but the FDA keeps resisting.

Keep an eye out for further news on this topic, as recently the buzz around it has picked up. The American Medical Association, the March of Dimes and several pediatric societies have stepped up and asked the FDA to amend this policy.

Halloween Weakness Anyone?

Halloween is indeed a favorite for many, and kids in particular, generally love it. Free candy, fun costumes, what is not to love? But what is a Mom to do during this month when chocolate and candy corn seem to be all over the grocery store and there is nowhere to hide? Don't buy it! Just not yet. I can't tell you how many times I have bought Halloween candy in advance only to see it all eaten before the day actually arrives. If you are trying to be healthier this year, try waiting until the last possible moment (the day of perhaps) to buy candy. That way its not sitting around tempting you. And on Halloween, make sure to give it all out. The kids are going to come home with bags full anyway, don't keep any extra laying around that you don't need.

Cupcake Follow Up

NYTimes Sunday, wrote about the cupcake ban that has been making news lately.

As I am on the cupcakes-are-heavenly-blame-TV-instead side of the argument, I found the following quote a tad humorous:

Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, "cupcakes are deal breakers... It sounds like a joke, but it’s a very serious problem on a number of levels. You have to control it."

I still think cupcakes are just the victim here. We don't have to control cupcakes, we have to control lifestyle- which is much bigger.

Banning Cupcakes and Peanut Butter

I learned recently of two equally peculiar bans that have been catching on in elementary schools: cupcakes and peanut butter. They aren't the only food item being banned either, whole milk, white bread and soda have been slashed recently as well. Regulations for health concerns are generally good practice, but how far will they go and how far should they be allowed to go?

The ban on whole milk, white bread, and soda stems from the increase in childhood obesity in the last thirty years. Since the 1970s the number of overweight children has doubled for among ages 2-5 and teens 12-19, while for children aged 6 to 11 the number has tripled. Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) of Illinois said, "We know that better nutrition helps children attend school more regularly, behave better when they're in school, and score better on tests". And therefore many states and school districts are doing something about it. Replacing whole milk with 2% or skim, and replacing white bread with wheat will greatly improve the diet of our children, but cutting out good old healthy peanut butter?

Peanut butter is a good staple. It has protein and good fats, and still tastes good after sitting in lunch box for several hours. I think that people should look at the numbers and likelihood of serious cases before banning this healthy, cheap, and easy to prepare food. Dr. Max van Gilder, a Manhattan pediatrician, who was interviewed on this topic by the NYTimes said that in 25 years of practicing and seeing over 2,500 patients, only one had the most severe form of peanut allergy.

Banning peanut butter is missing the point the doctor claims; ''There's peanut butter in the world... I think the issue is that food should be properly labeled.'' In the few cases where the rare allergy is present, those children should already be carrying an Epipen and all the teachers and lunchroom staff should be alerted to this allergy. The allergy can be managed wisely without having to cause an entire school district to ban it. The likelihood of a child dying at school from being exposed to peanut butter is just so rare. The CDC reported that in a recent year 2,880 children died in car accidents, while only 5 died from all types of food allergies.

As for cupcakes, it seems that if you are going to ban sweets, why pick one out amongst all the others? Chocolate is ok, cheese puffs, cookies, brownies, Halloween candy... the list goes on of possible junk kids may bring to school. Why do cupcakes get singled out? In Texas, parents were so upset and vocal that legislators passed the "Safe Cupcake Amendment" which allows individual districts to decide their policy on cupcakes, so long as it does not conflict with the policies of the Texas or US Dept. of Agriculture. I understand the dilemma, health versus tradition and a little fun-- but I think if parents are good about smart meals at home and healthy lunches, a birthday cupcake one or twice a month never really hurt anyone.

Pregnancy Eating Minus Pesticides

As if eating healthy, staying away from alcohol and caffeine, wasn't enough... now there are fruits that out do other fruits. Several green pregnancy articles are boasting lists of fruits and vegetables that are better than other because they are treated with less pesticides and are the "least contaminated". On these lists:

Closer to Ideal:
Asparagus. Avocados. Bananas. Broccoli. Cauliflower. Kiwi. Mangoes. Onions. Papaya. Pineapples. Sweet Corn. Sweet Peas.

Not Quiet as 'Green':
Apples. Bell Peppers. Cherries. Grapes. Nectarines. Peaches. Pears. Potatoes. Red Rasberries. Strawberries. Spinach.

What if you buy organic? Then I suppose you are safe. But what if you just wash them real good before eating, give them a little scrub? Well what's on the outside is not the only thing. FitPregnancy.com writes that,

A recent study from the University of California, Davis, found that organically grown berries and corn contain nearly 60 percent more polyphenolics, natural antioxidants that may improve your health. The theory: Crops grown without pesticides or herbicides produce more of these chemicals due to stress from insects or other pests, similar to the way humans build antibodies to ward off bacterial “bugs.”

To counter that argument, the USDA and the American Dietetic Association firmly claim that organic foods are not nutritionally superior or safer than conventionally produced food. So what is a hungry pregnant, apple-strawberry loving woman to do? Look at farmers markets for cheap, locally grown organic stuff, if not... do what your wallet and stomach tell you to do. Fruits and veggies are always a better choice than deep fried carnival dough, so go for it and enjoy.

Back to Packing Lunches

Have a tough time packing healthy lunches in a hurry and getting the kids to eat them? Perhaps remembering what actually goes in a Lunchable (mainly sodium, fat and sugar) will inspire you to try some of these healthy tips.

Make Fruit Fun! Apples are easy and if you use a nontoxic dry-erase marker to draw a face on, maybe your little ones will be more likely to eat 'em. The marks are safe to eat and flavorless. Think variety too! If you little one hates bananas but digs apples, switch it up with Granny Smiths one day, Golden Delicious another and McIntosh the day after that.

Fruits not the only thing that is easy to pack and isn't packaged. Hard boiled eggs, almonds (they have calcium!), baby carrots, raisins, craisins- any dried fruit really, edamame, are all easy to pack, tasty and healthy. Keep some small (think 1 cup size) Tupperware around for quick as a snap packing.

'Divinely D'lish' Granola Bars. These bars come in lots of great flavors and are packed with essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. Served in a recyclable wrapper you will happily find them without refined sugar, trans fat, or wheat and low in sodium.

Kettle Valley 100% Real Fruit Snacks are made only from 100% real fruit and contain one whole apple in every bar. They are flavored from natural purees and juices and certified kosher. They contain no preservatives or added sugar, artificial colors or flavors and are available in 7 flavors.

O.N.E Coconut Water. 100% natural and with five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no added sugars, no fat, no cholesterol and no preservatives. Packaged in a juice box, but really this drink was the water inside a young green coconut just the other day. Doesn't that sound refreshing?

A little treat never hurt anyone. Small portions of graham crackers, baked chips or bite-size candy bars are perfectly fine. It keeps them happy and is still better than squeeze cheese on salty mystery meat.

If you are tempted to buy something prepackaged, check out Slate writer Dan Kois' review before purchasing. He tasted and had a nutritionist review a bunch of store bought varieties.