2005 Daybook -“Generations: Women’s Health
Across the Lifespan” is available to view or download in
its entirety on the NWHIC web site. The chapter, “Healthy Eating and an
Active Lifestyle” outlines the physical effects of being overweight and
obese, and provides ideas for healthy eating.
Link:
www.4woman.gov/pub/daybook.2005/obesity.cfm
Fit to Eat is a section of
4Girls Health that is aimed at teaching teen girls to develop nutritious
eating habits. Whether you have a teenage girl, work with them, or are
just interested in adolescent health, this site is full of important
nutrition information that will give anyone insight into a healthier
diet.
Link:
www.4girls.gov/nutrition/index.htm
Your Children Health
You Can Be Smarter Than a 5th Grader!
- By Nonna Joann Bruso
- Author of
Baby Bites: Transforming a Picky
Eater into a Healthy Eater -
Denver, Colo.— Forty-nine
percent of
moms
say they have a picky eater. Not willing to “cope” with a
picky eater or “hope” a picky eater will someday change, Nonna Joann tackles
this ever increasing dilemma.
Baby Bites is her breakthrough method
incorporating multi-sensory learning.
Motivated by her two-and-half-year-old grandson, Joshy, who had been winning
every food battle, Nonna Joann found a way to circumvent his extreme
resistance to eating healthy foods. She condenses forty years of parenting
and grand-parenting, as well as her thirty-year passion and independent
study of nutrition, into yummy bite-size pieces.
Parents are often out-maneuvered by their preschoolers, and end up giving
them the
foods they willing eat: junk foods. To their detriment, these foods
are directly related to the epidemic of childhood disease and obesity we’re
experiencing today. Baby Bites offers practical advice, while
providing parents the tools needed to transform their picky eater into a
healthy eater.
Your child’s
health is in your hands. You’re the one who controls the food purchased
and stored in your pantry. You’re the one who plans the menu. You’re the
one who decides when snacking is permitted.
How to
Avoid Kids’ Blood Sugar “Spike and Crash”
-By Missy Chase Lapine -
Author of
The Sneaky Chef -
Kids love
roller coasters. Moms don’t -- well, at least not
the ones that take place inside our homes! I’m talking about
the “spike and crash” syndrome that describes the rapid ups
and downs of children’s blood sugar levels when they eat too
much sugar and overly processed carbs, especially on an
empty stomach. Foods that are especially high in sugar --
even natural
sugar and honey -- are known to cause a very quick rise in
blood-sugar levels. They are rated high on the “glycemic
index” (GI) -- a measurement of the effect a food has on
one’s blood sugar level. The higher the rating on the index,
the more rapid the increase in blood sugar level. The spike
doesn’t last very long and is followed by a corresponding
fast drop in blood-sugar level. (often it drops even lower
than it was before we ate). This is commonly referred to as
the “spike and crash syndrome.”
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation - by
Amanda Bach
- I'd like to share with you this wonderful organization, the
Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation – a national
non-
profit organization providing information and raising
awareness for children and adolescents with cancer and their
families, advocacy for their needs, and research support so
every child survives and leads a long and healthy life. Founded
in 1970 by concerned parents of children with cancer, the
group also engages in legislative dialogue on issues
relating to cancer and cancer treatments. Children
with cancer continue to be treated primarily with drugs that
were developed 20-30 years ago. Scientifically, researchers
have reached an era where new types of 'smart drugs'
can be developed to treat cancer at a genetic level.
These new types of cancer treatments have started to be
developed for adult cancers and have showed great promise
for cure. Children with cancer need these types of new drugs
to give them Hope for a complete cure. Current
debates in both the House and Senate could eliminate such
future development of targeted drugs for children with
cancer and other rare diseases. To protect biotech
development of such essential biologic products, Ruth and
the Foundation have begun a
petition to support the “Patient Protection and
Innovation Biologic Medicines Act of 2007.”
What about Asthma? Your child might be having an asthma attack
- by
Amanda Bach
- Asthma is very common among children, teens
and adults. It is a disease
that causes the
airways
of the lungs to tighten. An asthma attack is when your lungs aren’t
getting enough air to breathe. Asthma is a chronic disease that affects
your airways. The airways are the tubes that carry air in and out of
your lungs. If you have asthma, the inside walls of your airways are
inflamed (swollen). The inflammation makes the airways very sensitive,
and they tend to react strongly to things that you are allergic to or
find irritating. When the airways react, they get narrower, and less air
flows through to your lung tissue. Your child might be having an asthma
attack if he or she has trouble breathing, wheezing (a whistling sound
when you breathe), coughing, chest pain, chest tightness, especially at
night and in the early morning. Asthma cannot be cured, but most people
with asthma can control it so that they have few and infrequent symptoms
and can live active lives.
Top Tips for Coping
with Fussy Eaters
- By
Annabel
Karmel
-
Author of
SuperFoods For Babies and Children
-
The first thing to do
when trying to help your child overcome fussy eating habits is to only buy
the foods that you want your child to eat. You should also set an example by
eating the right foods yourself. If your child doesn't
like eating vegetables, try to disguise them by blending them into a tomato
sauce for pasta or adding vegetables to a pizza topping. Also, many children
who don't like eating cooked vegetables do like eating them raw, so give
carrot sticks, cucumber, bell pepper, etc., with a tasty dip.
Tough
Love for Tiny Teeth -- Office on Women's Health - By
Amanda Bach - Baby teeth may not be permanent, but dentists say they require
just as much cleaning and care as adult teeth. - The reason: Neglecting
them can cause your child pain and create lifetime consequences for
their dental health. About 20% of children
already have tooth decay by age 3, according to the American Dental
Association. Not only do these kids
experience pain from cavities, they run the risk of having their
permanent teeth come in incorrectly, said Katie L. Dawson, president of
the American Dental Hygienists' Association, and a dental hygienist in
Oakland, Calif.
Body
Image and Your Kids: Your body image plays a role in
theirs - by
Amanda Bach - “On
a diet, you can’t eat.” This is what one five
year-old girl had to say in a study on girls’
ideas about dieting. This and other research has
shown that daughters are more likely to have
ideas about dieting when their mothers diet.
Children pick up on comments about dieting
concepts that may seem harmless, such as
limiting high-fat foods or eating less. Yet, as
girls enter their teen years, having ideas about
dieting can lead to problems.
Mental Illness Exacts Heavy Toll, Beginning in
Youth - Contributed by Amanda Bach - Researchers supported by the
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime
cases of mental illness begin by age 14, and that despite effective treatments,
there are long delays — sometimes decades — between first onset of symptoms and
when people seek and receive treatment. The study also reveals that an untreated
mental disorder can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness, and
to the development of co-occurring mental illnesses.
Parents of Children with
Autism Find Help at the Children's Health Council -
Contributed by Amanda Bach - Recent reports in California if an unexplainable jump in autism cases - 13%
in 2004 alone - are once again bringing the mysterious brain disorder to the
forefront of national attention. So what do we know about autism right now?
What should parents know about the assessment and treatment for this
disorder? And most importantly, what can parents do to help their children?
Child experts from the Children's Health Council (CHC) in Paolo Alto, CA
offer answers.
Study: Food Restrictions on Kids Backfire
-
HealthDayNews --
If your child is at high risk for being overweight
or obese, restricting food probably isn't the best
way to try to keep the youngster at a healthy
weight.That's because in
children who have a genetic predisposition to
gaining extra weight, parental restriction of food
may actually cause them to gain more weight, says
a study appearing in the October issue of
Pediatrics.
Want Your Kids Cut
Down On Sodas -
If you want your teenager to veer away from
the vending machine in the school cafeteria
this fall, you need to swear off soft drinks
yourself. That's because new research shows parents who
drink soda set the stage for their kids to do
the same.
Mosquito Awareness -
West Nile Virus -
This new, public-interest site, located at
MosquitoAwareness.com, is a great source
of information about how you can get
involved with your community to make sure
mosquitoes are controlled in the most
efficient and economical ways possible.
Should Your Child be Tested with
Cholesterol and Heart Disease?
-
From HealthyWomen.org
"Even
if you don't have health insurance, you
are still taken care of in America. That
certainly could be defined as universal coverage."Up to one-third of American children, from age
two through the teenage years, have high
cholesterol.
Obesity May Be In
Your Head? -
From
Brookhaven National Laboratory
-
Sight and smell of food increases brain
metabolism, study found.
Time to Lose - Gastric Bypass Surgery in Teens
- One Story
- by Corrie Pelc -
It seems that
gastric bypass surgery has been the talk
of the town recently. Ever since
celebrities like Carnie Wilson and Al Roker
went public with their newly slimmed-down
bodies, and the news they had undergone
weight-loss surgery, it's received tons of
both good and bad publicity.
Gastric Bypass Surgery in Teens
- Risks & Expectations - Weighing the Cons
-
by Corrie Pelc -
So if a teen is
found to be a candidate for gastric bypass
and has the surgery done, what can they
expect? But this type of surgery really
necessary for someone as young as 13?
Children's Health Insurance
Your children may be eligible for free or low-cost health insurance!
You work hard to provide for your children and want to make sure they grow up strong, smart and healthy. But like many parents whose children don't have health insurance, you worry about taking care of them.
Phone:
1-877-KIDS-NOW
www.insurekidsnow.gov
Cover the Uninsured Week
CoverTheUninsuredWeek.org
Are you currently without health
insurance? Finding some possible health
insurance coverage in your States by
visiting the Website above.
Bureau of Primary Health Care
http://ask.hrsa.gov/pc/
Looking for low-cost health care programs
and services in your area? To locate
contact information for service delivery
sites, please visit the Website above.
