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IN THIS ISSUE:
  • Extra Fat Leads to Extra Health Problems

    Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer are just a few of the health problems associated with obesity.

  • Stay Healthy in Each Decade of Life

    Our health and fitness needs change as we go through life. Here’s what you need to know for each decade.

  • Simple Tips for Weight Loss Success- Part 2

    Here are more practical tips to help you achieve weight loss success in the coming year.

  • Disease Risk Determined Before You Are Born

    Chronic adult illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes have roots that start before we are even born.

  • Keep Colds At Bay While at Work

    Spending eight hours a day together in close contact can increase the chances of spreading germs, but there are things you can do to help lower your risk.

  • Protect Yourself from Colds and Flu

    Cold and flu season is just around the corner. Here are some tips to reduce your chances of getting sick.

  • Toddler Tips for Healthy Eating

    Parents want their young children to eat healthy foods, but how do you get them to develop a taste for those foods?

  • Detox Diet Basics

    This doctor doesn’t recommend quick detox fixes, but a more comprehensive and gradual approach to detoxing in his book “Detox Diet for Dummies”.

  • Reduce Risk of Allergies in Children

    You can take preventive steps to help reduce the risk of allergies from developing in your child.

  • Green Your Spring Cleaning

    Whether you’re getting down and dirty for an intense spring cleaning or just keeping up with your daily duties you’ll probably reach for a bottle of something to clean, deodorize, or disinfect. But what are you leaving behind once you’ve “cleaned” the surface? You may be surprised to learn that there are many natural, yet effective products you can use to clean your home and belongings. Some of them are probably already in your kitchen or pantry.

  • Detox 101 for Spring Cleaning

    Spring is finally in the air. During this season many rid their homes of unwanted junk and give it a good cleaning. Your body also accumulates “junk” or toxins and may benefit from some “spring cleaning” of its own.

  • Calories: A Love, Hate Relationship

    Calories are how we measure the energy in food. Without food energy we could not live, but many of us struggle with balancing the calories we take in with what we burn up.

  • Completely Germ Free May Harm Health

    There is so much focus on keeping things germ free and sanitary these days that we could actually be causing harm to our childrens’ health.

  • Considering a Spring detox? Think again!

    Your body needs cleansing support every day (yes every day!) and with Genuine Health’s convenient Daily Detox formulas, you can do it – safely and naturally. High levels of environmental toxins have been found in the fat storage (adipose) and urine of over 80% of North American adults. Researchers believe we’re exposed to thousands of [...]

  • Study to Examine Environment’s Impact on Kids’ Health

    Posted April 7, 2009 Starting this month, thousands of newly pregnant Utahns and potential mothers-to-be will be asked to enroll in the largest study of children ever conducted in the country. Parents who sign up for the National Children’s Study will join an effort to solve a new mystery in children’s health: How do kids’ [...]

  • Hispanics Comforatble with Natural Medicine

    Posted Dec 27, 2008 When Juan Shutte began feeling heat and pains in his face and back, he went to a clinic, but doctors told him they couldn’t find the problem. That’s when Shutte, a Peruvian immigrant who owns a cleaning business, read about Dr. Melissa Robinson in a Spanish-language newspaper. Robinson’s practice, Natural Solutions [...]

Extra Fat Leads to Extra Health Problems

Posted Jan 20, 2013

Extra body fat increases a person’s risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

“Start with this fact,” Dr. Sally Swisher said. “If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat.”

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston’s Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It’s straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you’re a couch potato, your glucose doesn’t burn up – and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat – unused glucose – float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

“Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers,” Swisher said. “The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they’re tiny.”

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That’s an “extremely simplified version of the way it happens,” Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. “Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries.”

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

“There is bad fat and good fat,” Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat – called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol – inflames artery walls. “It’s not just innocent baby fat,” Swisher said.

“When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows,” she said. “If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives.”

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person’s risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: “A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime,” Swisher said. “A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure.”

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. “Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don’t have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe.”

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called “adult onset” diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes – 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes – can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can’t enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can’t enter the cells, that’s called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person’s bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. “That’s a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better,” Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don’t heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. “That puts you at risk of amputation,” Swisher said.

Kidney failure: “If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working,” Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis – often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. “That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes,” Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

“People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke,” she said. “If we don’t get a grip on this, it’s a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes.”

Alzheimer’s disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a “spare tire” are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. “Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus,” Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

“Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why,” she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don’t ovulate. “They’re infertile and have high insulin levels,” Swisher said. “If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss.”

Incontinence: “If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out,” Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder – or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: “If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older,” Swisher said. “Overweight people don’t get over it as easily. Rehab is harder.”

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and “that can cause stroke in the eye,” Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with “false tumor” condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

“None of these things has to happen,” Swisher said. “That’s the important thing to remember. It’s possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It’s within most people’s reach.

“If I were queen of the world,” she said, “the first thing I’d do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again.”

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Extra body fat increases a person's risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, kidney and liver failure, amputation, blindness, early death and a long list of other problems nobody wants. Research tells us that. But how does it actually happen? The Gazette-Mail asked medical experts to explain, in plain language.

"Start with this fact," Dr. Sally Swisher said. "If you eat more sugar than you burn with exercise, your body generates fat."

Swisher is a neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston's Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic.

The body turns food into glucose, she explained. It's straightforward, almost mathematical. Your muscle cells use most of the glucose for fuel. If you exercise a lot, your muscles burn up a lot of glucose. If you're a couch potato, your glucose doesn't burn up - and the body converts it into fat.

Globs of sunny yellow fat - unused glucose - float through your arteries in your blood to the organ or tissues where they are deposited.

"Picture your arteries coming out of your heart like big rivers," Swisher said. "The farther they are from the heart, the smaller they get, and the easier it is for fat to clog them up. By the time arteries get to your feet and hands, they're tiny."

Fat cells float through these arteries. Along the way, they are deposited on tissue and organs. When fat finds a home in an organ, it can cause problems. If enough fat is deposited, it causes big problems.

That's an "extremely simplified version of the way it happens," Swisher said.

Inside the arteries, fat aggravates the walls as it floats along, then inflames them, Swisher said. "Fat cells slip underneath the inflamed lining. That constricts the artery. It used to be called hardening of the arteries."

If the inner artery wall becomes harder and rougher, the blood has a harder time getting through, and blood clots are more likely to form.

"There is bad fat and good fat," Swisher said. Exercise generates good fat, known as HDL cholesterol. It lowers all kinds of health risks. Bad fat - called triglycerides and LDL cholesterol - inflames artery walls. "It's not just innocent baby fat," Swisher said.

"When we are children, our bodies create the number of fat cells we will have for the rest of our lives, research shows," she said. "If people have too many fat cells when they reach adulthood, they are more likely to have trouble with weight for the rest of their lives."

What damage can it cause?

Extra weight can raise a person's risk of many different kinds of problems:

Heart failure: "A hundred extra pounds makes your heart muscle thicken, just like any muscle working overtime," Swisher said. "A bigger heart eventually leads to heart failure."

A heart has to work extra hard to pump blood through a large body. The strain can cause a heart attack or stroke.

Fat can be especially dangerous inside arteries that supply the heart. It interferes with heart function and can set off heart attacks.

Sleep apnea, which is almost always caused by obesity, Swisher said. "Obese people often have fat in the back of their throats. When they lie down, the weight of their chest is on top of them. They don't have enough oxygen, so they wake up tired, or their spouse hears them struggling to breathe."

Diabetes: Belly fat has a lot to do with Type 2 diabetes, which used to be called "adult onset" diabetes. Thirty years ago, people under 20 almost never got it. Now it is showing up in obese teenagers and children.

Type 2 diabetes - 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes - can be prevented with exercise and healthy diet.

Parkersburg native Dr. Frank Schwartz, who directs the diabetes/ endocrine program at Ohio University, explains the role fat plays in diabetes:

Glucose (digested sugar) can't enter the cells to provide fuel without insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. Insulin interacts with the glucose and lets it enter the cells, like a key that opens the door to the cell. But fat secretes hormones that can keep the key from working.

When glucose can't enter the cells, that's called insulin resistance. The more fat, the more interference. The more interference, the more insulin resistance.

When glucose cannot enter the muscle cells, a person has diabetes. Digested sugar stays in the person's bloodstream and his or her blood sugar goes up. The body converts much of the sugar into fat.

Type 2 diabetes can start in the body 10 years before a person feels symptoms, research says. If a 30-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 20. When a 15-year-old develops diabetes, it might have started at age 5.

Physical activity counteracts insulin resistance and increases the amount of glucose that can reach the cells. "That's a major reason why physical activity can prevent diabetes or help make it better," Swisher said.

Amputation: When little arteries get clogged with fat, circulation is cut off to the body parts farthest from the heart: including feet and hands. They don't heal well from infection and may get ulcers and gangrene. "That puts you at risk of amputation," Swisher said.

Kidney failure: "If small arteries leading to the kidneys get clogged, your body tries to overcome it, but after awhile, your kidneys just quit working," Swisher said. After that, a person needs expensive, time-consuming dialysis - often four hours a day, three days a week, running the entire blood supply through a cleaning machine.

Stroke: Diabetics are more likely to have strokes, caused by constriction of small brain arteries. "That leads to clogging of the carotid arteries, which leads to strokes," Swisher said. Plaques of inflamed cells and fat build up inside the artery.

"People in their 30s and 40s with high cholesterol who smoke can have a premature stroke," she said. "If we don't get a grip on this, it's a matter of time till teenagers start having heart attacks and strokes."

Alzheimer's disease: In 2008, researchers found that obese people are twice as likely to get Alzheimer's as healthy-weight people are. Healthy-weight people with a "spare tire" are twice as likely to get dementia as healthy-weight people with no spare tire, they found. Nobody knows yet why that happens.

Liver disease: Fat deposited on the liver can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Obesity causes more liver failure than alcoholism does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cancer: Estrogen is stored in fat, so excess fat creates higher estrogen levels in the blood. "Extra estrogen in the blood also puts you at risk of cancers of the breast and uterus," Swisher said. The lining of the uterus may also get thicker with excess weight, which can cause cancer.

"Colon cancer is also related to obesity, though nobody knows why," she said.

Sexual dysfunction: Diabetes causes impotence in men, and very obese young women often don't ovulate. "They're infertile and have high insulin levels," Swisher said. "If they lose weight, they can become fertile again. Doctors joke that pregnancy is a side effect of weight loss."

Incontinence: "If a woman has 50 or 60 extra pounds, and she rides a bike or just sneezes, the pressure of the belly against the bladder can force urine out," Swisher said. A woman can undergo surgery to lift the bladder - or she can lose weight, making the surgery unnecessary.

Musculoskeletal problems and arthritis: "If weight-bearing joints carry too much weight: knees, feet and, to a lesser extent, hips, the amount of arthritis accelerates as you get older," Swisher said. "Overweight people don't get over it as easily. Rehab is harder."

Blindness: Diabetes also can cause blindness. Fat clogs the artery leading to the retina, and "that can cause stroke in the eye," Swisher said. Young overweight girls can also go blind with "false tumor" condition, she said, in which fat creates pressure inside the skull, causing severe headaches. The bulge in the optic nerve may resemble a brain tumor.

"None of these things has to happen," Swisher said. "That's the important thing to remember. It's possible to prevent them all with exercise and diet. It's within most people's reach.

"If I were queen of the world," she said, "the first thing I'd do is take control of school lunches and get kids outside playing every day again."

KATE LONG | Sunday Gazette-Mail I have patients lift this rubber model of five pounds of fat when theyre disappointed that they only lost five pounds, said Dr. Sally Swisher, neurologist and bariatric doctor at Charleston Medical Weight Loss and Skin Care Clinic. They feel how heavy it is and realize that five pounds is a wonderful thing not to have to carry around anymore.

Reach Kate Long at 304-348-1798 or katelong@wvgazette.com.

This story was written with the help of the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism, administered by the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships at the USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

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Stay Healthy in Each Decade of Life

Posted Jan 18, 2012

To keep your car running for as long as possible you have to treat it properly: service at regular intervals, use quality fuels and keep it clean.

So why would you treat your body, itself the ultimate machine, any less carefully?

Alas, too many of us do. A recent University of Miami study found that heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and artery inflammation, can start as early as age 3.

In the United States, 19 percent of children 2 to 18 are obese and 30 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“By the fourth grade, 13 percent of American children already have abnormally elevated cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 200 or higher,” said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, one of the study’s authors and the chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The numbers are disproportionately higher among Hispanic and African-American children who tended to have higher inflammation levels and lower levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol.

“There are three really important pieces that go into exercising across the ages from childhood to the 90s: the need to do aerobics, strengthening and stretching exercises,” said Dr. Neva Kirk-Sanchez, an associate professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Miami.

Here, then, is a lifetime guide to good health.

Birth-9

Good nutrition begins at birth.

— Breast feed your newborn.

“In long-term studies, breast feeding truly does benefit children, including lowering cholesterol levels and having lower weight and a lower prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.”

The official recommendation is to breast feed baby for the first year, with breast milk the exclusive source of nourishment for the first six months.

— Limit fat to 30 percent of a child’s total calories after age 2. After age 2, switch from whole milk to non-fat milk and have your toddler drink lots of water.

— Limit fruit juices, even 100-percent fruit juices, to no more than four ounces per day for ages 2-21.

–Trans fats should be avoided and TV time should be limited to one to two hours “of quality programming” per day, he said. “Avoid ever putting a TV in a child’s bedroom.”

— Lower sodium intake. “It’s never too early to limit sodium in a child’s diet,” Lipshultz said. “Elevated blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease.”

— Begin blood pressure checks at age 3.

— Tests to screen for cholesterol should begin by age 9 to 11 and again at 17 for all children.

Children and adolescents should have at least one hour or more of physical exercise every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aerobic activity such as running, brisk walking and playing sports should make up the majority of the exercise.

Children 10 and under don’t need formal muscle strengthening programs, such as weight lifting, as the development of muscles begins at puberty, but muscle strengthening should be done via fun activities, such as playing on the jungle gym, swimming or gymnastics.

10-19

— Exercise, exercise, exercise — at least an hour daily, and include bone strengthening activities such as jumping rope and running games like tag or sports.

“Ninety percent of bone mass is acquired by girls by 19 and boys by 20, so childhood and early adolescence is the most important time for building bone health,” Lipshultz said. “Physical activity patterns established in childhood are carried forward in adulthood. Exercising and unlimited playtime will incorporate lifelong habits that will help the child live longer.”

— Start weight training at around age 14 or the onset of puberty, said Garrett Ratleff, personal training manager for South Beach’s Crunch. “Supervised weight training will have an effect on their body, especially if they are playing sports,” he said.

— Monitor diets. This is a time when children begin making some of their own food choices and salts, fats and sugars are tasty temptations that can lead to trouble.

“Encourage whole foods high in dietary fiber — brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn and encourage fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal,” Lipshultz said. “If you are concerned that your child is overweight, don’t wait until the next checkup to discuss ways to improve a child’s weight and diet and activity levels.”

–Don’t begin smoking and avoid smoke, period. Exposure contributes to heart and lung disease.

20-29

— The Cars had it right: Shake it up. “This is a time you should be exploring and trying different types of workouts,” Ratleff said. “At 20, your body is resilient, you don’t have to worry about injuring yourself as much.”

This is the time to consider that 5K, half marathon or full marathon. Three to six days a week of moderate to intensive aerobic activity for 20 to 60 minutes should be a goal, along with two to five days of strength training.

— Work all the major muscle groups, the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. If you can’t afford a gym, or class, then run, swim, bike, dance, or walk briskly around the neighborhood. Push-ups, crunches, squats and other strength activities can be done around the house or in the office. Find a wall and push against it or do dips from the back of your chair.

If you can do more than 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity you should see improvements in health.

— If you have a disability, consult with a doctor or physical therapist to see what kind of activities are suitable for you. You can also visit the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability at www.ncpad.org.

30-39

Careers and raising children often get in the way of an exercise program but there are ways around the obstacle.

— “Be more efficient in your workouts in the gym, or wherever you do it,” Ratleff recommends. Interval training — sets with multiple reps and tempo — works all the muscle groups and gets the heart rate up in an hour’s time.

— Consider classes, like a boot camp, dance, step, Pilates, kickboxing or any other creative group workout. A Masters swimming group is another fun option.

“The social support in these groups is very helpful,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

— Women should absolutely begin a weight-lifting program, or some other form of strength resistance training, in this decade if they haven’t done so during their 20s to ward off bone density loss, which starts about this time.

“Osteoporosis is a risk so if you want to delay that, start weight training,” Ratleff said.

— If you haven’t begun regular dental visits, which generally suggests twice-yearly cleanings and exams, begin now. The American Dental Association has identified an association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery, preeclampsia and low birth weight infants. Later, periodontal disease can lead to cardiovascular disease.

40-49

— Stretching becomes more important as flexibility lessens. Devote more time to warming up and the post-workout stretch, Kirk-Sanchez suggests. “Don’t just walk out the door and sprint down the street. You need to adapt to the aging body and warm up,” she said.

Avoid injuries. “When you are 40 and injured you can be out for a month; in your 20s, you’re usually out for a week,” Ratleff said. Consider a certified trainer in the gym.

— Workout videos are another option for those who need some guidance but like to work out in the home. Jane Fonda, who launched the home video workout revolution in the ’80s with her tapes, is back with a new series of Prime Time DVDs that offer toning, sculpting and stretching routines designed for adults. The Dancing With the Stars pros also have DVD workouts, including one that promises Ballroom Buns & Abs.

— For women, it’s the pre-menopause period. Estrogen levels start to drop and fat storage around the abdomen goes up. Strength training and cardio remain important. For men, lean muscle mass is good for posture and a boost in the metabolism.

50-59

— If beginning an exercise program, “Start slowly and listen to the body if anything painful needs to be addressed,” Kirk-Sanchez said. Maintain at least 30 minutes of moderate activity daily and strengthening two to three days per week.

Tissues tend to get less flexible with age. Chronic problems like arthritis and obesity are often felt at this time but it is not too late to begin a program. “People very easily take the medications their doctor prescribes but are much less eager to do exercise.

“For all the chronic conditions exercise is known to prevent, you have to consider the exercise prescription just as important as taking your pills,” she said.

— Break it up. While 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous activity is best in the younger years, at this stage you can break up the activities into 10-minute blocks. A brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day, five days a week, will help you hit the required 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.

60-69

— The retirement years (for some) lead to more time for exercise. Circuit training, swimming, cardio walking are good options, along with resistance training. Resistance bands are as viable as weights if you don’t have access to a gym.

Stretching, longer warm-ups and safety is paramount.

— Balance exercises should be added to the program. Stand on one leg, practice walking on a line or navigate through an obstacle course. Tai-Chi and yoga classes are great options for balance exercises.

“All of the sensory systems tend to decline a little in the older population, but maintaining good muscles and a healthy nervous system is much easier in those who exercise regularly,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

70-79

— Don’t forget the trunk. The core muscle group in the abdomen area helps the body maintain balance and accomplish tasks, like rising from the bed or a chair. “When older people have trouble getting out of bed that’s generally because abdominal and hip strength has declined — it’s the Use it or Lose It philosophy,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

Modified sit-ups, while seated in a chair, or crunches could help tone the tummy and help with balance.

— Forget cultural fallacies. “In Hispanic women, especially, they feel as they get older they shouldn’t exercise, but the opposite is true. They must exercise to fend off chronic diseases that come up, such as osteoporosis and diabetes,” Kirk-Sanchez said.

80 and older

— The same lessons apply. Exercise. Ratleff recalled an instructor who once counseled, “You’re never too old to do a squat.”

“You see seniors who are hunched over, posture will go quickly if you lose muscle mass and bone density,” he said.

— Consider two days of low-impact exercise, like walking or Tai-Chi. A half hour of circuit training. Trunk rotations to keep the body limber to ward off injuries from falls, which can be life-threatening.

— Many hospitals and centers offer free exercise programs, such as Baptist Health’s mall walkers program at Dadeland Mall which incorporates activities like stretching and toning exercises to music with group walking.

“Even in the 90s people can make big improvements in their ability to get up and walk around,” Kirk-Sanchez said. “Exercise has an effect on cognition, normal aging memory. It’s not only the blood flow, but the biochemistry in the brain. There are changes in the brain in response to exercise across the life span.”

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

To keep your car running for as long as possible you have to treat it properly: service at regular intervals, use quality fuels and keep it clean.

So why would you treat your body, itself the ultimate machine, any less carefully?

Alas, too many of us do. A recent University of Miami study found that heart disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol levels and artery inflammation, can start as early as age 3.

In the United States, 19 percent of children 2 to 18 are obese and 30 percent are overweight, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"By the fourth grade, 13 percent of American children already have abnormally elevated cholesterol, with a total cholesterol of 200 or higher," said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, one of the study's authors and the chairman of the pediatrics department at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The numbers are disproportionately higher among Hispanic and African-American children who tended to have higher inflammation levels and lower levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol.

"There are three really important pieces that go into exercising across the ages from childhood to the 90s: the need to do aerobics, strengthening and stretching exercises," said Dr. Neva Kirk-Sanchez, an associate professor in the department of physical therapy at the University of Miami.

Here, then, is a lifetime guide to good health.

Birth-9

Good nutrition begins at birth.

-- Breast feed your newborn.

"In long-term studies, breast feeding truly does benefit children, including lowering cholesterol levels and having lower weight and a lower prevalence of Type 2 diabetes."

The official recommendation is to breast feed baby for the first year, with breast milk the exclusive source of nourishment for the first six months.

-- Limit fat to 30 percent of a child's total calories after age 2. After age 2, switch from whole milk to non-fat milk and have your toddler drink lots of water.

-- Limit fruit juices, even 100-percent fruit juices, to no more than four ounces per day for ages 2-21.

--Trans fats should be avoided and TV time should be limited to one to two hours "of quality programming" per day, he said. "Avoid ever putting a TV in a child's bedroom."

-- Lower sodium intake. "It's never too early to limit sodium in a child's diet," Lipshultz said. "Elevated blood pressure is a major contributor to heart disease."

-- Begin blood pressure checks at age 3.

-- Tests to screen for cholesterol should begin by age 9 to 11 and again at 17 for all children.

Children and adolescents should have at least one hour or more of physical exercise every day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Aerobic activity such as running, brisk walking and playing sports should make up the majority of the exercise.

Children 10 and under don't need formal muscle strengthening programs, such as weight lifting, as the development of muscles begins at puberty, but muscle strengthening should be done via fun activities, such as playing on the jungle gym, swimming or gymnastics.

10-19

-- Exercise, exercise, exercise -- at least an hour daily, and include bone strengthening activities such as jumping rope and running games like tag or sports.

"Ninety percent of bone mass is acquired by girls by 19 and boys by 20, so childhood and early adolescence is the most important time for building bone health," Lipshultz said. "Physical activity patterns established in childhood are carried forward in adulthood. Exercising and unlimited playtime will incorporate lifelong habits that will help the child live longer."

-- Start weight training at around age 14 or the onset of puberty, said Garrett Ratleff, personal training manager for South Beach's Crunch. "Supervised weight training will have an effect on their body, especially if they are playing sports," he said.

-- Monitor diets. This is a time when children begin making some of their own food choices and salts, fats and sugars are tasty temptations that can lead to trouble.

"Encourage whole foods high in dietary fiber -- brown rice, oatmeal, popcorn and encourage fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal," Lipshultz said. "If you are concerned that your child is overweight, don't wait until the next checkup to discuss ways to improve a child's weight and diet and activity levels."

--Don't begin smoking and avoid smoke, period. Exposure contributes to heart and lung disease.

20-29

-- The Cars had it right: Shake it up. "This is a time you should be exploring and trying different types of workouts," Ratleff said. "At 20, your body is resilient, you don't have to worry about injuring yourself as much."

This is the time to consider that 5K, half marathon or full marathon. Three to six days a week of moderate to intensive aerobic activity for 20 to 60 minutes should be a goal, along with two to five days of strength training.

-- Work all the major muscle groups, the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms. If you can't afford a gym, or class, then run, swim, bike, dance, or walk briskly around the neighborhood. Push-ups, crunches, squats and other strength activities can be done around the house or in the office. Find a wall and push against it or do dips from the back of your chair.

If you can do more than 300 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity you should see improvements in health.

-- If you have a disability, consult with a doctor or physical therapist to see what kind of activities are suitable for you. You can also visit the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability at www.ncpad.org.

30-39

Careers and raising children often get in the way of an exercise program but there are ways around the obstacle.

-- "Be more efficient in your workouts in the gym, or wherever you do it," Ratleff recommends. Interval training -- sets with multiple reps and tempo -- works all the muscle groups and gets the heart rate up in an hour's time.

-- Consider classes, like a boot camp, dance, step, Pilates, kickboxing or any other creative group workout. A Masters swimming group is another fun option.

"The social support in these groups is very helpful,'' Kirk-Sanchez said.

-- Women should absolutely begin a weight-lifting program, or some other form of strength resistance training, in this decade if they haven't done so during their 20s to ward off bone density loss, which starts about this time.

"Osteoporosis is a risk so if you want to delay that, start weight training," Ratleff said.

-- If you haven't begun regular dental visits, which generally suggests twice-yearly cleanings and exams, begin now. The American Dental Association has identified an association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery, preeclampsia and low birth weight infants. Later, periodontal disease can lead to cardiovascular disease.

40-49

-- Stretching becomes more important as flexibility lessens. Devote more time to warming up and the post-workout stretch, Kirk-Sanchez suggests. "Don't just walk out the door and sprint down the street. You need to adapt to the aging body and warm up," she said.

Avoid injuries. "When you are 40 and injured you can be out for a month; in your 20s, you're usually out for a week," Ratleff said. Consider a certified trainer in the gym.

-- Workout videos are another option for those who need some guidance but like to work out in the home. Jane Fonda, who launched the home video workout revolution in the '80s with her tapes, is back with a new series of Prime Time DVDs that offer toning, sculpting and stretching routines designed for adults. The Dancing With the Stars pros also have DVD workouts, including one that promises Ballroom Buns & Abs.

-- For women, it's the pre-menopause period. Estrogen levels start to drop and fat storage around the abdomen goes up. Strength training and cardio remain important. For men, lean muscle mass is good for posture and a boost in the metabolism.

50-59

-- If beginning an exercise program, "Start slowly and listen to the body if anything painful needs to be addressed," Kirk-Sanchez said. Maintain at least 30 minutes of moderate activity daily and strengthening two to three days per week.

Tissues tend to get less flexible with age. Chronic problems like arthritis and obesity are often felt at this time but it is not too late to begin a program. "People very easily take the medications their doctor prescribes but are much less eager to do exercise.

"For all the chronic conditions exercise is known to prevent, you have to consider the exercise prescription just as important as taking your pills," she said.

-- Break it up. While 30 minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous activity is best in the younger years, at this stage you can break up the activities into 10-minute blocks. A brisk 10-minute walk, three times a day, five days a week, will help you hit the required 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.

60-69

-- The retirement years (for some) lead to more time for exercise. Circuit training, swimming, cardio walking are good options, along with resistance training. Resistance bands are as viable as weights if you don't have access to a gym.

Stretching, longer warm-ups and safety is paramount.

-- Balance exercises should be added to the program. Stand on one leg, practice walking on a line or navigate through an obstacle course. Tai-Chi and yoga classes are great options for balance exercises.

"All of the sensory systems tend to decline a little in the older population, but maintaining good muscles and a healthy nervous system is much easier in those who exercise regularly," Kirk-Sanchez said.

70-79

-- Don't forget the trunk. The core muscle group in the abdomen area helps the body maintain balance and accomplish tasks, like rising from the bed or a chair. "When older people have trouble getting out of bed that's generally because abdominal and hip strength has declined -- it's the Use it or Lose It philosophy," Kirk-Sanchez said.

Modified sit-ups, while seated in a chair, or crunches could help tone the tummy and help with balance.

-- Forget cultural fallacies. "In Hispanic women, especially, they feel as they get older they shouldn't exercise, but the opposite is true. They must exercise to fend off chronic diseases that come up, such as osteoporosis and diabetes," Kirk-Sanchez said.

80 and older

-- The same lessons apply. Exercise. Ratleff recalled an instructor who once counseled, "You're never too old to do a squat."

"You see seniors who are hunched over, posture will go quickly if you lose muscle mass and bone density," he said.

-- Consider two days of low-impact exercise, like walking or Tai-Chi. A half hour of circuit training. Trunk rotations to keep the body limber to ward off injuries from falls, which can be life-threatening.

-- Many hospitals and centers offer free exercise programs, such as Baptist Health's mall walkers program at Dadeland Mall which incorporates activities like stretching and toning exercises to music with group walking.

"Even in the 90s people can make big improvements in their ability to get up and walk around," Kirk-Sanchez said. "Exercise has an effect on cognition, normal aging memory. It's not only the blood flow, but the biochemistry in the brain. There are changes in the brain in response to exercise across the life span."

©2012 The Miami Herald

Visit The Miami Herald at www.miamiherald.com

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Simple Tips for Weight Loss Success- Part 2

Posted Dec 29, 2012

How can you lose weight in 2012? Let us count the ways. Whether you’ve vowed to lose 5 pounds or 50, the following advice will help make achieving your weight loss resolution a little easier. We scoured research journals and spoke with diet and fitness experts to find a year’s worth of practical and effective methods to rev your metabolism, torch fat and flatten your belly. In this three-part series, we’ll bring you a total of 52 ways to cut the fat.

The following tips are simple, but the effects will add up.

“When you successfully implement one change, you’re more likely to do another. The more you’re able to stick to your goal, the greater your confidence, and the more chance you’ll have to start and accomplish new goals. These small changes can add up to a lifestyle change,” says Jessica Cassity, author of “Better Each Day: 365 Expert Tips for a Healthier, Happier You.” Over the next 52 weeks, use these strategies in your daily life to help you reach your goal by year’s end.

-Eat an orange. People who don’t get enough vitamin C burn 25 percent less fat when working out than those who have adequate levels, say researchers. They also found that people who are vitamin-C deficient can quadruple their fat burn after taking 500 mg of the nutrient.

-Do intervals. You’ve probably already heard it, but doing interval training – alternating between periods of intense exercise and recovery – burns more fat and calories than exercising at a steady rate. University of Guelph researchers found that cyclists who switched between cycling for four minutes at 90 percent of their max and 2 minutes of recovery for an hour burn up to 36 percent more calories after their workout than those who biked at a moderate pace for the same amount of time.

-Go organic. Canadian researchers found that people with the highest levels of organochlorides – a chemical found in pesticides – were more likely to have slower metabolisms.

-Munch on almonds. Spanish researchers found that people who eat a diet high in MUFAs lose more fat from their middles than people who follow a high-carb diet or a high-fat one.

-Outsmart the elliptical trainer. The calorie-count mechanisms on cardio equipment are often off by 20 to 30 percent. So if the readout says that you’ve cranked out 260 calories’ worth of exercise, a more accurate estimate could be 200 calories burned. To even things out, aim to burn off 30 percent more than your target, notes Cassity in “Better Each Day.” Even if your machine’s calorie tally is accurate, ramping up your workout will help you achieve your weight loss goal.

-Pick a smarter spread. Rather than smear on a tablespoon of butter over your morning toast (102 calories, 11.5 g of fat), try apple butter (20 calories, 0 g fat). It tastes delicious and packs a fraction of the fat and calories.

-Choose Canadian bacon. You can get a heftier portion of the leaner meat and still cut fat. Two slices of Canadian bacon are 89 calories, 4 g of fat (57 g); two slices of the regular kind contain 86 calories and 6 g of fat (16 g).

-Try Meatless Monday. Vegetarians usually have a lower body mass index than those who eat meat. For instance, lacto-ovo vegetarians have an average BMI of 25.7, whereas meat eaters check in at a BMI of 28.8. Not ready to forgo meat entirely? Incorporate Meatless Monday into your eating routine. You’ll still be able to reap the benefits as vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in fiber, potassium and antioxidants than other diets.

-See the sun. Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that people who had higher levels of vitamin D were able to lose more weight on a reduced-calorie diet than those who had inadequate levels – even though both cut 750 calories from their diets. Your body generates vitamin D naturally through sunlight, and it’s also found in foods like salmon, tuna, fortified milk and cereals and yogurt.

-Broaden your circle of friends. Having a lot of friends might not just help you live longer – it may make you leaner, too. A study in Cell Metabolism found that having a more active social life can turn regular white fat into calorie-torching brown fat, increasing overall calorie burn. Researchers found that when lab rats were placed in a living environment with 15 to 20 other mice and had greater opportunity to play, they lost weight due to increased brown-fat stores.

-Have half a grapefruit. There’s no need to go on an all-grapefruit diet, but incorporating the fruit into your diet can help you lose weight, say researchers from Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif. They found that people who ate half a grapefruit before every meal lost 3 pounds more than those who didn’t. Why? Not only is grapefruit a good source of fiber, but it also seems to help regulate insulin levels.

-Sweeten with cinnamon. An in vitro study by the USDA found that the spice can increase the rate at which sugar is metabolized by 20-fold. Eating 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon a day has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels. The spice is also a great low-calorie alternative to sugar to sweeten your coffee.

-Clean your house. A tidy home may translate to a fit body. A recent study found that how clean a house is – or isn’t – is a better indicator of the occupant’s fitness level than the home’s proximity to safe walking trails and sidewalks. “Scientists really don’t know if it’s because you burn calories while cleaning the house or if it’s a reflection of how you take care of your body,” says Cassity. “It’s probably a little bit of each.”

-Avoid boxed baked goods. Store-bought cookies, cakes and mixes are often loaded with saturated fat. Case in point: A serving of Entenmann’s coffee cake is loaded with 260 calories and 13 g of fat – 4 of which are saturated. Make your own dessert at home for less.

-Switch to sorbet. A 1/2-cup serving of Haagen-Daz chocolate sorbet has half the calories and a whopping 16 grams fewer fat than a serving of chocolate ice cream.

-Slurp broth-based soups. A bowl of creamy New England clam chowder contains 154 calories and 5 g of fat. Switch to the broth-based Manhattan clam chowder at 73 calories and 2 g of fat per cup. Penn State researchers found that people who had a cup of soup before lunch ate 20 percent fewer calories at the meal. When you choose a low-cal soup to fill up on beforehand, you can actually consume fewer calories overall, too.

-Cut the can. And while we’re on the subject of soup, fresh is better than canned. Harvard researchers found that people who ate canned soup for 5 days in a row had BPA levels in their blood that were 10 times higher than those who ate homemade soup for the same amount of time. Elevated levels of BPA – a chemical- and hormone-disruptor that’s found in plastics and plastic-lined cans – has been shown to increase the number and size of fat cells.

-Skip fried food. It’s a no-brainer. Deep-frying adds tons of fat and calories. Make this fast-food swap: Instead of a Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap (Crispy) from McDonald’s, try the grilled version. You’ll save 80 calories and 7 g of fat.

For more tips and tricks, visit Fitbie.com

@2011, Fitbie.com

Visit them at http://fitbie.msn.com/

Distributed by MCT Information Services

How can you lose weight in 2012? Let us count the ways. Whether you've vowed to lose 5 pounds or 50, the following advice will help make achieving your weight loss resolution a little easier. We scoured research journals and spoke with diet and fitness experts to find a year's worth of practical and effective methods to rev your metabolism, torch fat and flatten your belly. In this three-part series, we'll bring you a total of 52 ways to cut the fat.

The following tips are simple, but the effects will add up.

"When you successfully implement one change, you're more likely to do another. The more you're able to stick to your goal, the greater your confidence, and the more chance you'll have to start and accomplish new goals. These small changes can add up to a lifestyle change," says Jessica Cassity, author of "Better Each Day: 365 Expert Tips for a Healthier, Happier You." Over the next 52 weeks, use these strategies in your daily life to help you reach your goal by year's end.

-Eat an orange. People who don't get enough vitamin C burn 25 percent less fat when working out than those who have adequate levels, say researchers. They also found that people who are vitamin-C deficient can quadruple their fat burn after taking 500 mg of the nutrient.

-Do intervals. You've probably already heard it, but doing interval training - alternating between periods of intense exercise and recovery - burns more fat and calories than exercising at a steady rate. University of Guelph researchers found that cyclists who switched between cycling for four minutes at 90 percent of their max and 2 minutes of recovery for an hour burn up to 36 percent more calories after their workout than those who biked at a moderate pace for the same amount of time.

-Go organic. Canadian researchers found that people with the highest levels of organochlorides - a chemical found in pesticides - were more likely to have slower metabolisms.

-Munch on almonds. Spanish researchers found that people who eat a diet high in MUFAs lose more fat from their middles than people who follow a high-carb diet or a high-fat one.

-Outsmart the elliptical trainer. The calorie-count mechanisms on cardio equipment are often off by 20 to 30 percent. So if the readout says that you've cranked out 260 calories' worth of exercise, a more accurate estimate could be 200 calories burned. To even things out, aim to burn off 30 percent more than your target, notes Cassity in "Better Each Day." Even if your machine's calorie tally is accurate, ramping up your workout will help you achieve your weight loss goal.

-Pick a smarter spread. Rather than smear on a tablespoon of butter over your morning toast (102 calories, 11.5 g of fat), try apple butter (20 calories, 0 g fat). It tastes delicious and packs a fraction of the fat and calories.

-Choose Canadian bacon. You can get a heftier portion of the leaner meat and still cut fat. Two slices of Canadian bacon are 89 calories, 4 g of fat (57 g); two slices of the regular kind contain 86 calories and 6 g of fat (16 g).

-Try Meatless Monday. Vegetarians usually have a lower body mass index than those who eat meat. For instance, lacto-ovo vegetarians have an average BMI of 25.7, whereas meat eaters check in at a BMI of 28.8. Not ready to forgo meat entirely? Incorporate Meatless Monday into your eating routine. You'll still be able to reap the benefits as vegetarian diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and cholesterol, and higher in fiber, potassium and antioxidants than other diets.

-See the sun. Researchers from the University of Minnesota found that people who had higher levels of vitamin D were able to lose more weight on a reduced-calorie diet than those who had inadequate levels - even though both cut 750 calories from their diets. Your body generates vitamin D naturally through sunlight, and it's also found in foods like salmon, tuna, fortified milk and cereals and yogurt.

-Broaden your circle of friends. Having a lot of friends might not just help you live longer - it may make you leaner, too. A study in Cell Metabolism found that having a more active social life can turn regular white fat into calorie-torching brown fat, increasing overall calorie burn. Researchers found that when lab rats were placed in a living environment with 15 to 20 other mice and had greater opportunity to play, they lost weight due to increased brown-fat stores.



-Have half a grapefruit. There's no need to go on an all-grapefruit diet, but incorporating the fruit into your diet can help you lose weight, say researchers from Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif. They found that people who ate half a grapefruit before every meal lost 3 pounds more than those who didn't. Why? Not only is grapefruit a good source of fiber, but it also seems to help regulate insulin levels.

-Sweeten with cinnamon. An in vitro study by the USDA found that the spice can increase the rate at which sugar is metabolized by 20-fold. Eating 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon a day has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels. The spice is also a great low-calorie alternative to sugar to sweeten your coffee.

-Clean your house. A tidy home may translate to a fit body. A recent study found that how clean a house is - or isn't - is a better indicator of the occupant's fitness level than the home's proximity to safe walking trails and sidewalks. "Scientists really don't know if it's because you burn calories while cleaning the house or if it's a reflection of how you take care of your body," says Cassity. "It's probably a little bit of each."

-Avoid boxed baked goods. Store-bought cookies, cakes and mixes are often loaded with saturated fat. Case in point: A serving of Entenmann's coffee cake is loaded with 260 calories and 13 g of fat - 4 of which are saturated. Make your own dessert at home for less.

-Switch to sorbet. A 1/2-cup serving of Haagen-Daz chocolate sorbet has half the calories and a whopping 16 grams fewer fat than a serving of chocolate ice cream.

-Slurp broth-based soups. A bowl of creamy New England clam chowder contains 154 calories and 5 g of fat. Switch to the broth-based Manhattan clam chowder at 73 calories and 2 g of fat per cup. Penn State researchers found that people who had a cup of soup before lunch ate 20 percent fewer calories at the meal. When you choose a low-cal soup to fill up on beforehand, you can actually consume fewer calories overall, too.

-Cut the can. And while we're on the subject of soup, fresh is better than canned. Harvard researchers found that people who ate canned soup for 5 days in a row had BPA levels in their blood that were 10 times higher than those who ate homemade soup for the same amount of time. Elevated levels of BPA - a chemical- and hormone-disruptor that's found in plastics and plastic-lined cans - has been shown to increase the number and size of fat cells.

-Skip fried food. It's a no-brainer. Deep-frying adds tons of fat and calories. Make this fast-food swap: Instead of a Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap (Crispy) from McDonald's, try the grilled version. You'll save 80 calories and 7 g of fat.

For more tips and tricks, visit Fitbie.com

@2011, Fitbie.com

Visit them at http://fitbie.msn.com/

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,



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Disease Risk Determined Before You Are Born

Posted Nov 18, 2011

Pregnant women sacrifice many of life’s simple pleasures — caffeine, sushi, a glass of wine — in the hope that their baby will be born healthy.

But according to a provocative new field of research, what happens during pregnancy can have lasting consequences that emerge decades after the child leaves the hospital. Studies are finding that adult illnesses like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes can have roots in the mysterious months we spend in the womb.

Although genetics and lifestyle choices certainly influence an adult’s risk of getting a disease, researchers now believe that the food a pregnant woman eats, her weight and fitness, her stress level, and the drugs, pollutants and infections she is exposed to can trigger changes that also make her baby vulnerable to disease after birth.

For example, scientists have found that a diet containing excessive protein can suppress fetal growth and lead to adult-onset hypertension. Expectant mothers who starved during their final trimester as a result of the Dutch famine of 1944-45 were more likely to have babies who later developed Type 2 diabetes. And the children of obese mothers also are at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

“Human beings break down the same reason cars break down; they’re either driven on bad roads or made badly in the first place,” said David Barker, a professor of clinical epidemiology at England’s University of Southampton, who in 1989 initially advanced the idea that coronary heart disease might originate in fetal life. “Some people are just strong and some are not. Being made bad means, biologically, that you have fewer functioning units.”

Experts stress that this field of study is relatively new and that the physical mechanisms that might explain the correlations between stressors in the womb and mechanical problems down the road are unclear.

It is also not lost on researchers that some pregnant women already are wracked with guilt over forgetting their prenatal vitamins or eating hot dogs instead of broccoli.

“I feel like a walking bomb,” said Chicago’s Amy Elstein, 28, who is five months pregnant and fears that her stress levels are affecting her baby. “It’s like my body is not my own. Everything I put into it — what I eat, what I breathe — I worry that will have an effect on my child.”

“Pregnancy feels like a period in your life when you want very badly to do the right thing, but you don’t have control of what’s going to happen, so women look for areas they can control,” said Dr. Ann Borders, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University. “We’re trying to help women be aware of unhealthy stresses but not freak out that they’re hurting baby for long term.”

The current advice for pregnant women still stands: Eat nutritious foods, exercise, reduce stress and avoid smoking and drinking.

But Barker and other scientists in the field want to step up prenatal care radically because they believe the diets of girls and young women are determining the health of the next generation.

Eventually, this area of research “will make a huge impact on not just what we tell women during pregnancy, but what our children’s health will be,” said Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

It was once widely assumed that, aside from cigarette smoke, drugs and excessive alcohol, the uterus, or womb, sheltered the fetus from environmental influences. Scientists also thought that the growing fetus could siphon off necessary nutrients from a mother like a parasite to ensure its survival.

Two decades of research into the fetal origins of disease, however, have challenged both assumptions and led to a revolutionary shift into the thinking about health and development.

According to Barker’s widely accepted fetal origins theory, also referred to as the developmental origins of health and disease, stressors in the womb can permanently change a fetus’s body structure, physiology and metabolism. Those changes then can lead to a higher risk of illness in the future.

Though some research looks at the effects of environmental exposures and psychological stress, much attention centers on nutrient deprivation, which occurs when the mother isn’t getting amino acids, glucose and lipids to the developing baby quickly enough to meet its growing needs.

For example, most pancreatic beta cells — they produce the insulin that regulates blood sugar — are produced during fetal life, said Dr. Susan Ozanne, a British Heart Foundation senior fellow at the University of Cambridge. If the environment in the womb is suboptimal, as when a mother isn’t getting enough protein to the fetus, the baby can wind up with fewer beta cells.

“This causes us problems later on, particularly if we place high demands on our body to produce insulin by becoming obese or eating high-sugar diets. Then we don’t have enough beta cells to produce the amount of insulin we need,” Ozanne said.

Nourishing a fetus, however, involves more than just eating the right foods. A woman’s body composition also can affect how well her placenta transfers nutrients to the fetus.

“Different types of women provide different levels of access to her nutrients,” said Kent Thornburg, director of the Heart Research Center at Oregon Health and Science University. “Thin mothers with low amounts of muscle are less able to handle protein than more muscular women, for example. Women who carry large amounts of fat are in a constant state of mild inflammation, which affects the formation and function of the placenta.”

Fetal programming may work in at least two ways. One is that nutrient deprivation may simply stunt the growth of organs or tissue.

If a fetus can’t get enough nutrients, scientists believe, it adapts by diverting sustenance to organs crucial for survival, such as the brain and heart. That can compromise other organs, such as the kidneys, lungs and pancreas, leaving the developing baby more vulnerable to illness down the road.

“The idea of the human baby as an efficient extraction of nutrients from mother is completely wrong,” said Barker, also a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. Muscle growth also can be sacrificed, as an undernourished fetus will try to maintain levels of blood glucose by making its muscles resistant to the effects of insulin. This thrifty handling of sugar turns into a liability after birth, when sugar from freely available food floods the blood and obesity can make the body even more resistant to insulin, which leads to diabetes.

The other proposed mechanism is epigenetics, a process by which stressors modify the body’s DNA in ways that affect the functioning of key genes.

Ozanne and her colleagues at Cambridge found that rat pups whose mothers ate a low-protein diet during pregnancy had low levels of activity of a gene called HNF4. That “leads to a reduction in the number of pancreatic beta cells that develop in the fetus, making them less able to produce sufficient levels of insulin in adulthood,” Ozanne said.

Fetal exposure to the stress hormone cortisol appears to trigger both processes.

The placenta normally shields a fetus from exposure to cortisol, but if a mother is chronically stressed — constantly in fight-or-flight mode — it can’t produce enough enzymes to do the job. If the fetus is exposed, Thornburg said, cortisol not only slows growth in most organs, “it also modifies genes through epigenetic mechanisms to make them lose their protective functions.”

Chicago’s Sara Strother, 30, who is due in December, said she keeps her stress levels down with yoga and avoids pesticides, plastic containers, cigarette smoke, alcohol, chemicals found in commercial cleaning products, airplanes (because of radiation exposure), even people with negative attitudes.

“You name it, I am paranoid,” Strother said during a recent Mother Me childbirth education class at Sweet Pea’s Studio in Chicago.

Early in Strother’s pregnancy, she bought a juicer and binged on carrot juice. She then panicked after reading that high doses of vitamin A could be harmful. Her midwife eased her concerns: Carrots are OK. High doses of vitamin A supplements may not be.

Elstein, a recruiter, said she also tries to be careful about what she eats, drinks and inhales. She holds her breath around buses and moved out of the house for two days when a room was painted. “I’m so scared something will go wrong and I will blame myself, so I cope by trying to control what I can to ease my concerns.”

Eventually, she talked to a therapist who reminded her that many people have babies in less than ideal circumstances and things work out.

“That’s what I try to remind myself when I get nervous or scared,” she said. “The cells are dividing and there’s nothing I can do to stop this train from leaving the station.”

jdeardorff@tribune.com

Twitter @Juliedeardorff

©2011 the Chicago Tribune

Pregnant women sacrifice many of life's simple pleasures -- caffeine, sushi, a glass of wine -- in the hope that their baby will be born healthy.

But according to a provocative new field of research, what happens during pregnancy can have lasting consequences that emerge decades after the child leaves the hospital. Studies are finding that adult illnesses like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes can have roots in the mysterious months we spend in the womb.

Although genetics and lifestyle choices certainly influence an adult's risk of getting a disease, researchers now believe that the food a pregnant woman eats, her weight and fitness, her stress level, and the drugs, pollutants and infections she is exposed to can trigger changes that also make her baby vulnerable to disease after birth.

For example, scientists have found that a diet containing excessive protein can suppress fetal growth and lead to adult-onset hypertension. Expectant mothers who starved during their final trimester as a result of the Dutch famine of 1944-45 were more likely to have babies who later developed Type 2 diabetes. And the children of obese mothers also are at high risk of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

"Human beings break down the same reason cars break down; they're either driven on bad roads or made badly in the first place," said David Barker, a professor of clinical epidemiology at England's University of Southampton, who in 1989 initially advanced the idea that coronary heart disease might originate in fetal life. "Some people are just strong and some are not. Being made bad means, biologically, that you have fewer functioning units."

Experts stress that this field of study is relatively new and that the physical mechanisms that might explain the correlations between stressors in the womb and mechanical problems down the road are unclear.

It is also not lost on researchers that some pregnant women already are wracked with guilt over forgetting their prenatal vitamins or eating hot dogs instead of broccoli.

"I feel like a walking bomb," said Chicago's Amy Elstein, 28, who is five months pregnant and fears that her stress levels are affecting her baby. "It's like my body is not my own. Everything I put into it -- what I eat, what I breathe -- I worry that will have an effect on my child."

"Pregnancy feels like a period in your life when you want very badly to do the right thing, but you don't have control of what's going to happen, so women look for areas they can control," said Dr. Ann Borders, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University. "We're trying to help women be aware of unhealthy stresses but not freak out that they're hurting baby for long term."

The current advice for pregnant women still stands: Eat nutritious foods, exercise, reduce stress and avoid smoking and drinking.

But Barker and other scientists in the field want to step up prenatal care radically because they believe the diets of girls and young women are determining the health of the next generation.

Eventually, this area of research "will make a huge impact on not just what we tell women during pregnancy, but what our children's health will be," said Alan Guttmacher, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

It was once widely assumed that, aside from cigarette smoke, drugs and excessive alcohol, the uterus, or womb, sheltered the fetus from environmental influences. Scientists also thought that the growing fetus could siphon off necessary nutrients from a mother like a parasite to ensure its survival.

Two decades of research into the fetal origins of disease, however, have challenged both assumptions and led to a revolutionary shift into the thinking about health and development.

According to Barker's widely accepted fetal origins theory, also referred to as the developmental origins of health and disease, stressors in the womb can permanently change a fetus's body structure, physiology and metabolism. Those changes then can lead to a higher risk of illness in the future.

Though some research looks at the effects of environmental exposures and psychological stress, much attention centers on nutrient deprivation, which occurs when the mother isn't getting amino acids, glucose and lipids to the developing baby quickly enough to meet its growing needs.

For example, most pancreatic beta cells -- they produce the insulin that regulates blood sugar -- are produced during fetal life, said Dr. Susan Ozanne, a British Heart Foundation senior fellow at the University of Cambridge. If the environment in the womb is suboptimal, as when a mother isn't getting enough protein to the fetus, the baby can wind up with fewer beta cells.

"This causes us problems later on, particularly if we place high demands on our body to produce insulin by becoming obese or eating high-sugar diets. Then we don't have enough beta cells to produce the amount of insulin we need," Ozanne said.

Nourishing a fetus, however, involves more than just eating the right foods. A woman's body composition also can affect how well her placenta transfers nutrients to the fetus.

"Different types of women provide different levels of access to her nutrients," said Kent Thornburg, director of the Heart Research Center at Oregon Health and Science University. "Thin mothers with low amounts of muscle are less able to handle protein than more muscular women, for example. Women who carry large amounts of fat are in a constant state of mild inflammation, which affects the formation and function of the placenta."

Fetal programming may work in at least two ways. One is that nutrient deprivation may simply stunt the growth of organs or tissue.

If a fetus can't get enough nutrients, scientists believe, it adapts by diverting sustenance to organs crucial for survival, such as the brain and heart. That can compromise other organs, such as the kidneys, lungs and pancreas, leaving the developing baby more vulnerable to illness down the road.

"The idea of the human baby as an efficient extraction of nutrients from mother is completely wrong," said Barker, also a professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University. Muscle growth also can be sacrificed, as an undernourished fetus will try to maintain levels of blood glucose by making its muscles resistant to the effects of insulin. This thrifty handling of sugar turns into a liability after birth, when sugar from freely available food floods the blood and obesity can make the body even more resistant to insulin, which leads to diabetes.

The other proposed mechanism is epigenetics, a process by which stressors modify the body's DNA in ways that affect the functioning of key genes.

Ozanne and her colleagues at Cambridge found that rat pups whose mothers ate a low-protein diet during pregnancy had low levels of activity of a gene called HNF4. That "leads to a reduction in the number of pancreatic beta cells that develop in the fetus, making them less able to produce sufficient levels of insulin in adulthood," Ozanne said.

Fetal exposure to the stress hormone cortisol appears to trigger both processes.

The placenta normally shields a fetus from exposure to cortisol, but if a mother is chronically stressed -- constantly in fight-or-flight mode -- it can't produce enough enzymes to do the job. If the fetus is exposed, Thornburg said, cortisol not only slows growth in most organs, "it also modifies genes through epigenetic mechanisms to make them lose their protective functions."

Chicago's Sara Strother, 30, who is due in December, said she keeps her stress levels down with yoga and avoids pesticides, plastic containers, cigarette smoke, alcohol, chemicals found in commercial cleaning products, airplanes (because of radiation exposure), even people with negative attitudes.

"You name it, I am paranoid," Strother said during a recent Mother Me childbirth education class at Sweet Pea's Studio in Chicago.

Early in Strother's pregnancy, she bought a juicer and binged on carrot juice. She then panicked after reading that high doses of vitamin A could be harmful. Her midwife eased her concerns: Carrots are OK. High doses of vitamin A supplements may not be.

Elstein, a recruiter, said she also tries to be careful about what she eats, drinks and inhales. She holds her breath around buses and moved out of the house for two days when a room was painted. "I'm so scared something will go wrong and I will blame myself, so I cope by trying to control what I can to ease my concerns."

Eventually, she talked to a therapist who reminded her that many people have babies in less than ideal circumstances and things work out.

"That's what I try to remind myself when I get nervous or scared," she said. "The cells are dividing and there's nothing I can do to stop this train from leaving the station."

jdeardorff@tribune.com

Twitter @Juliedeardorff

©2011 the Chicago Tribune

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Keep Colds At Bay While at Work

Posted Nov 17, 2011

Cold and flu season are just around the corner. Stocking up on vitamins may seem like the smart thing to do, but are your wellness methods up to date? We asked Dr. Yael Halaas, an ear, nose and throat doctor based in New York City, to clarify fact and fiction when it comes to fending off those co-worker cooties.

“We can’t get rid of the common cold entirely, but there are ways to shorten its duration,” Halaas said.

Here are Halaas’ tips for staying healthy.

Think zinc. Rather than grabbing the vitamin C or echinacea, Halaas said zinc is a more proven way to fight germs.

“Studies show that zinc, particularly zinc gluconate, will shorten the duration (of a cold) by about 42 percent,” Halaas said.

Halaas recommends you take it by mouth. She said you can get zinc from oysters, but if those aren’t handy, there are many forms available over the counter.

“Just be sure it says ‘zinc gluconate’ on the packaging and not just ‘zinc,’ ” she said.

Treat it right. Halaas said that people often confuse allergies for a cold and mistreat their symptoms.

“Antihistamines are for allergies, not for congestion from a cold,” Halaas said. “When fall comes around people start to sniffle, they often take the antihistamines thinking it’s just an allergy kicking in but those which won’t help with cold congestion. You need a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, but be cautious taking these if you have high blood pressure.”

Eat yogurt. “Some recent data says that probiotics can help keep you well,” she said. “Probiotics interfere with toxin and cell-binding sites, which prevents germs from invading the GI tract as much.”

Buy a humidifier. “One of the reasons we don’t get as many colds in the summer is because hot, humid air bogs down the transmission of the virus,” she said. “The humidifier will moisten the membranes and loosen the mucus. It’s soothing.”

Flush your nose with saline solution. An over-the-counter saline spray can help, Halaas said. “This is good for cleaning out and moving things around,” she said. “But don’t get nasal (decongestant) spray. Your nose can get addicted to those. You want to be flushing things out, not medicating. You can also use a neti pot, which are available at most pharmacies.”

Bring in chicken soup for lunch. As cliched as this may sound, Halaas said there is some truth to grandma’s old standby. “There has been some evidence that chicken soup does help boost part of the immune system,” she said. “Plus it has some protein and it’s soothing to eat.”

Be happy. “Studies have shown that having a positive attitude will help you stay well,” she said. “If you have good stress release mechanisms, this will help tremendously.” Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Distributed by MCT Information Services

Cold and flu season are just around the corner. Stocking up on vitamins may seem like the smart thing to do, but are your wellness methods up to date? We asked Dr. Yael Halaas, an ear, nose and throat doctor based in New York City, to clarify fact and fiction when it comes to fending off those co-worker cooties.

"We can't get rid of the common cold entirely, but there are ways to shorten its duration," Halaas said.

Here are Halaas' tips for staying healthy.

Think zinc. Rather than grabbing the vitamin C or echinacea, Halaas said zinc is a more proven way to fight germs.

"Studies show that zinc, particularly zinc gluconate, will shorten the duration (of a cold) by about 42 percent," Halaas said.

Halaas recommends you take it by mouth. She said you can get zinc from oysters, but if those aren't handy, there are many forms available over the counter.

"Just be sure it says 'zinc gluconate' on the packaging and not just 'zinc,' " she said.

Treat it right. Halaas said that people often confuse allergies for a cold and mistreat their symptoms.

"Antihistamines are for allergies, not for congestion from a cold," Halaas said. "When fall comes around people start to sniffle, they often take the antihistamines thinking it's just an allergy kicking in but those which won't help with cold congestion. You need a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, but be cautious taking these if you have high blood pressure."

Eat yogurt. "Some recent data says that probiotics can help keep you well," she said. "Probiotics interfere with toxin and cell-binding sites, which prevents germs from invading the GI tract as much."

Buy a humidifier. "One of the reasons we don't get as many colds in the summer is because hot, humid air bogs down the transmission of the virus," she said. "The humidifier will moisten the membranes and loosen the mucus. It's soothing."

Flush your nose with saline solution. An over-the-counter saline spray can help, Halaas said. "This is good for cleaning out and moving things around," she said. "But don't get nasal (decongestant) spray. Your nose can get addicted to those. You want to be flushing things out, not medicating. You can also use a neti pot, which are available at most pharmacies."

Bring in chicken soup for lunch. As cliched as this may sound, Halaas said there is some truth to grandma's old standby. "There has been some evidence that chicken soup does help boost part of the immune system," she said. "Plus it has some protein and it's soothing to eat."

Be happy. "Studies have shown that having a positive attitude will help you stay well," she said. "If you have good stress release mechanisms, this will help tremendously." Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Protect Yourself from Colds and Flu

Posted November 1, 2011

While it might feel like summer, cold and flu season are just around the corner. Stocking up on vitamins may seem like the smart thing to do, but are your wellness methods up to date? We asked Dr. Yael Halaas, an ear, nose and throat doctor based in New York City, to clarify fact and fiction when it comes to fending off those co-worker cooties.

“We can’t get rid of the common cold entirely, but there are ways to shorten its duration,” Halaas said.

Here are Halaas’ tips for staying healthy.

Think zinc. Rather than grabbing the vitamin C or echinacea, Halaas said zinc is a more proven way to fight germs.

“Studies show that zinc, particularly zinc gluconate, will shorten the duration (of a cold) by about 42 percent,” Halaas said.

Halaas recommends you take it by mouth. She said you can get zinc from oysters, but if those aren’t handy, there are many forms available over the counter.

“Just be sure it says ‘zinc gluconate’ on the packaging and not just ‘zinc,’ ” she said.

Treat it right. Halaas said that people often confuse allergies for a cold and mistreat their symptoms.

“Antihistamines are for allergies, not for congestion from a cold,” Halaas said. “When fall comes around people start to sniffle, they often take the antihistamines thinking it’s just an allergy kicking in but those which won’t help with cold congestion. You need a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, but be cautious taking these if you have high blood pressure.”

Eat yogurt. “Some recent data says that probiotics can help keep you well,” she said. “Probiotics interfere with toxin and cell-binding sites, which prevents germs from invading the GI tract as much.”

Buy a humidifier. “One of the reasons we don’t get as many colds in the summer is because hot, humid air bogs down the transmission of the virus,” she said. “The humidifier will moisten the membranes and loosen the mucus. It’s soothing.”

Flush your nose with saline solution. An over-the-counter saline spray can help, Halaas said. “This is good for cleaning out and moving things around,” she said. “But don’t get nasal (decongestant) spray. Your nose can get addicted to those. You want to be flushing things out, not medicating. You can also use a neti pot, which are available at most pharmacies.”

Bring in chicken soup for lunch. As cliched as this may sound, Halaas said there is some truth to grandma’s old standby. “There has been some evidence that chicken soup does help boost part of the immune system,” she said. “Plus it has some protein and it’s soothing to eat.”

Be happy. “Studies have shown that having a positive attitude will help you stay well,” she said. “If you have good stress release mechanisms, this will help tremendously.”

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

While it might feel like summer, cold and flu season are just around the corner. Stocking up on vitamins may seem like the smart thing to do, but are your wellness methods up to date? We asked Dr. Yael Halaas, an ear, nose and throat doctor based in New York City, to clarify fact and fiction when it comes to fending off those co-worker cooties.

"We can't get rid of the common cold entirely, but there are ways to shorten its duration," Halaas said.

Here are Halaas' tips for staying healthy.

Think zinc. Rather than grabbing the vitamin C or echinacea, Halaas said zinc is a more proven way to fight germs.

"Studies show that zinc, particularly zinc gluconate, will shorten the duration (of a cold) by about 42 percent," Halaas said.

Halaas recommends you take it by mouth. She said you can get zinc from oysters, but if those aren't handy, there are many forms available over the counter.

"Just be sure it says 'zinc gluconate' on the packaging and not just 'zinc,' " she said.

Treat it right. Halaas said that people often confuse allergies for a cold and mistreat their symptoms.

"Antihistamines are for allergies, not for congestion from a cold," Halaas said. "When fall comes around people start to sniffle, they often take the antihistamines thinking it's just an allergy kicking in but those which won't help with cold congestion. You need a decongestant that contains pseudoephedrine, but be cautious taking these if you have high blood pressure."

Eat yogurt. "Some recent data says that probiotics can help keep you well," she said. "Probiotics interfere with toxin and cell-binding sites, which prevents germs from invading the GI tract as much."

Buy a humidifier. "One of the reasons we don't get as many colds in the summer is because hot, humid air bogs down the transmission of the virus," she said. "The humidifier will moisten the membranes and loosen the mucus. It's soothing."

Flush your nose with saline solution. An over-the-counter saline spray can help, Halaas said. "This is good for cleaning out and moving things around," she said. "But don't get nasal (decongestant) spray. Your nose can get addicted to those. You want to be flushing things out, not medicating. You can also use a neti pot, which are available at most pharmacies."

Bring in chicken soup for lunch. As cliched as this may sound, Halaas said there is some truth to grandma's old standby. "There has been some evidence that chicken soup does help boost part of the immune system," she said. "Plus it has some protein and it's soothing to eat."

Be happy. "Studies have shown that having a positive attitude will help you stay well," she said. "If you have good stress release mechanisms, this will help tremendously."



Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Toddler Tips for Healthy Eating

Posted Aug 26, 2011

Determined that her toddler finish a nutritious meal, a mom surrenders her iPhone and lets him play “Angry Birds” while she scoops avocado into his mouth. Many parents, particularly those with picky eaters, would empathize with that tactic.

Good nutrition and good manners often seem to be opposing forces. Elizabeth Verdick, author of the “Mealtime” board book in the Toddler Tools series (Free Spirit Publishing, $7.95), offers tips on how to engage tots in happy, healthy eating.

Question: What do you think of distracting a kid so he doesn’t notice the nutritious food he’s consuming?

Answer: Lots of cookbooks help moms and dads sneak some veggies into favorite meals, usually by steaming then blending the vegetables into a puree that can be added into pasta dishes or other foods. Also, young children can develop a taste for a variety of foods, as long as you keep trying. Be sure to let your child see you eating – and enjoying – these foods.

Q: What about the importance of sitting down together? I always found that virtually impossible because my toddler ate around 5 p.m. and my husband gets home more than an hour later.

A: If eating together is important to you, set your family up for success. So, your husband gets home at 6 – then an hour before that, you can give your toddler a satisfying snack and let him or her help you in the kitchen. If your toddler is crabby during that hour, make it a quiet time instead.

Offer the snack and then let your child be nearby with books (or favorite toys you bring out only during this hour) while you’re cooking. Then you can have time at the table together when dinner is ready.

Q: What is a reasonable length of time to expect a child to sit?

A: It depends on the age of the child. If your toddler can sit for about 10 or 15 minutes and then needs to get down from the highchair and play, that’s OK. Try to make the most of those 10 minutes by talking with your child and getting him or her to eat what you’ve prepared. If it’s important to you that your child sit for a longer amount of time, make table time lots of fun. Ask each other funny questions or have a funny-face contest.

Q: What’s your position on “cleaning your plate”?

A: I hated the “clean your plate” rule when I was a kid. But if you’re a firm believer in “clean your plate,” make sure the portions you serve aren’t too large so that your child is getting full but still must finish. I’m more of a believer in the “try one bite” rule – with the understanding that if they truly don’t like it, they don’t have to eat the whole thing.

Determined that her toddler finish a nutritious meal, a mom surrenders her iPhone and lets him play "Angry Birds" while she scoops avocado into his mouth. Many parents, particularly those with picky eaters, would empathize with that tactic.

Good nutrition and good manners often seem to be opposing forces. Elizabeth Verdick, author of the "Mealtime" board book in the Toddler Tools series (Free Spirit Publishing, $7.95), offers tips on how to engage tots in happy, healthy eating.

Question: What do you think of distracting a kid so he doesn't notice the nutritious food he's consuming?

Answer: Lots of cookbooks help moms and dads sneak some veggies into favorite meals, usually by steaming then blending the vegetables into a puree that can be added into pasta dishes or other foods. Also, young children can develop a taste for a variety of foods, as long as you keep trying. Be sure to let your child see you eating - and enjoying - these foods.

Q: What about the importance of sitting down together? I always found that virtually impossible because my toddler ate around 5 p.m. and my husband gets home more than an hour later.

A: If eating together is important to you, set your family up for success. So, your husband gets home at 6 - then an hour before that, you can give your toddler a satisfying snack and let him or her help you in the kitchen. If your toddler is crabby during that hour, make it a quiet time instead.

Offer the snack and then let your child be nearby with books (or favorite toys you bring out only during this hour) while you're cooking. Then you can have time at the table together when dinner is ready.

Q: What is a reasonable length of time to expect a child to sit?

A: It depends on the age of the child. If your toddler can sit for about 10 or 15 minutes and then needs to get down from the highchair and play, that's OK. Try to make the most of those 10 minutes by talking with your child and getting him or her to eat what you've prepared. If it's important to you that your child sit for a longer amount of time, make table time lots of fun. Ask each other funny questions or have a funny-face contest.

Q: What's your position on "cleaning your plate"?

A: I hated the "clean your plate" rule when I was a kid. But if you're a firm believer in "clean your plate," make sure the portions you serve aren't too large so that your child is getting full but still must finish. I'm more of a believer in the "try one bite" rule - with the understanding that if they truly don't like it, they don't have to eat the whole thing.

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Detox Diet Basics

Posted April 1, 2011

Dr. Gerald Wootan’s book “Detox Diet for Dummies” (Wiley, $19.99) is based on the program he prescribes to patients at his practice.

Detox diets like the master cleanse and lemonade diet refer to “quick-fix” liquid diets. Wootan’s plan is more comprehensive with a gradual approach to healthy eating and tackling unhealthy habits.

We talked to Wootan about the basics of detox dieting and how to get started, even without a formal plan.

Here are his tips:

–Eat organic when possible. “Fresh is best. Frozen is next. Canned is processed to death and miserable,” Wootan said.

–Animal protein has a place in detox dieting. “Beef is fine, so long as it’s clean beef. Range, grass-fed beef is fine. Look for meat that’s not injected with hormones. You can find it locally,” Wootan said.

–Don’t eat anything that’s served through a window.

–Use spices to make food interesting and to pack it with antioxidants.

–Avoid white foods: sugar, sugar substitutes and anything made from flour.

–Do everything you can to sweat. If you’re having trouble losing weight, add an exercise that makes you sweat. Wootan is also a fan of the sauna. “Every major society, from a historical perspective, has had a method of

sauna as a matter of routine health,” he said.

–Avoid processed foods.

–Avoid foods that have been sprayed with chemicals.

–Removing environmental toxins can be as easy as watching what you do inside of your home. Avoid air fresheners and perfumed cleaning agents.

–Limit your exposure to paint fumes, dry cleaning, air fresheners, fabric softeners, household insecticides, and lawn and garden chemicals. Recipes Recipes from “Detox Diets for Dummies” by Dr. Gerald Wootan

APPLE-PEAR SMOOTHIE

Makes 4 servings

2 organic apples, unpeeled, chopped

2 organic pears, unpeeled, chopped

1 frozen organic banana, peeled

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup nonfat organic yogurt

2 tablespoons organic honey

1/2 teaspoon stevia

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 cup ice made from filtered water

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy-duty blender or food processor. Process or blend until mixture is smooth. Immediately pour into chilled glasses and serve.

Nutrition per serving: 211 calories, 3 g fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 23 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrates, 7 g dietary fiber, 4 g protein

CHOPPED VEGGIE SALAD

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2/3 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped organic flat-leaf parsley

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped organic red cabbage

2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped

1 pound organic asparagus, chopped

2 small beets, peeled and shredded

3 organic carrots, peeled and shredded

2 avocados, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, flaxseed oil, mustard, lemon juice, parsley and pepper; mix well. Add cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, beets and carrots, and stir to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Just before serving, add avocados and toss gently. Sprinkle with almonds and serve. You can also serve this salad on a bed of mixed organic greens or cooked brown rice mixed with chopped nuts and a mustard vinaigrette.

Nutrition per serving: 387 calories, 27 g fat (0 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrates, 15 g dietary fiber, 12 g protein

Natalie Mikles 918-581-8486 natalie.mikles@tulsaworld.com

To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.

Copyright © 2011, Tulsa World, Okla.



Dr. Gerald Wootan's book "Detox Diet for Dummies" (Wiley, $19.99) is based on the program he prescribes to patients at his practice.

Detox diets like the master cleanse and lemonade diet refer to "quick-fix" liquid diets. Wootan's plan is more comprehensive with a gradual approach to healthy eating and tackling unhealthy habits.

We talked to Wootan about the basics of detox dieting and how to get started, even without a formal plan.

Here are his tips:

--Eat organic when possible. "Fresh is best. Frozen is next. Canned is processed to death and miserable," Wootan said.

--Animal protein has a place in detox dieting. "Beef is fine, so long as it's clean beef. Range, grass-fed beef is fine. Look for meat that's not injected with hormones. You can find it locally," Wootan said.

--Don't eat anything that's served through a window.

--Use spices to make food interesting and to pack it with antioxidants.

--Avoid white foods: sugar, sugar substitutes and anything made from flour.

--Do everything you can to sweat. If you're having trouble losing weight, add an exercise that makes you sweat. Wootan is also a fan of the sauna. "Every major society, from a historical perspective, has had a method of

sauna as a matter of routine health," he said.

--Avoid processed foods.

--Avoid foods that have been sprayed with chemicals.

--Removing environmental toxins can be as easy as watching what you do inside of your home. Avoid air fresheners and perfumed cleaning agents.

--Limit your exposure to paint fumes, dry cleaning, air fresheners, fabric softeners, household insecticides, and lawn and garden chemicals. Recipes Recipes from "Detox Diets for Dummies" by Dr. Gerald Wootan

APPLE-PEAR SMOOTHIE

Makes 4 servings

2 organic apples, unpeeled, chopped

2 organic pears, unpeeled, chopped

1 frozen organic banana, peeled

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup nonfat organic yogurt

2 tablespoons organic honey

1/2 teaspoon stevia

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

1 cup ice made from filtered water

1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy-duty blender or food processor. Process or blend until mixture is smooth. Immediately pour into chilled glasses and serve.

Nutrition per serving: 211 calories, 3 g fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 23 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrates, 7 g dietary fiber, 4 g protein

CHOPPED VEGGIE SALAD

Makes 4 to 6 servings

2/3 cup plain, low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped organic flat-leaf parsley

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped organic red cabbage

2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped

1 pound organic asparagus, chopped

2 small beets, peeled and shredded

3 organic carrots, peeled and shredded

2 avocados, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup almonds, sliced and toasted

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, flaxseed oil, mustard, lemon juice, parsley and pepper; mix well. Add cabbage, cauliflower, asparagus, beets and carrots, and stir to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Just before serving, add avocados and toss gently. Sprinkle with almonds and serve. You can also serve this salad on a bed of mixed organic greens or cooked brown rice mixed with chopped nuts and a mustard vinaigrette.

Nutrition per serving: 387 calories, 27 g fat (0 g saturated), 3 mg cholesterol, 400 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrates, 15 g dietary fiber, 12 g protein

Natalie Mikles 918-581-8486 natalie.mikles@tulsaworld.com

To see more of the Tulsa World, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tulsaworld.com.

Copyright © 2011, Tulsa World, Okla.

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Reduce Risk of Allergies in Children

Posted Mar 20, 2011

HOW TO … AVOID CHILDHOOD ALLERGIES

Many cases of food allergies and eczema – a skin condition marked by itchy rashes – are unavoidable. But dermatologists say these steps may help reduce your child’s risks:

Consider your pregnancy diet. Babies whose mothers eat peanuts are more likely to test positive for peanut allergies, and the same may be true for eggs and egg allergies, according to a recently published article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. However, previous studies have had conflicting results. Talk to your doctor.

Breastfeed your baby. Here’s another plus for nursing: “There is evidence that for at-risk babies, exclusive breast feeding for the first four months reduces the risk of eczema and cow’s milk allergy during the first two years of life,” says Dr. Stephen Shield of Allergy Partners of Eastern Virginia. “At-risk” refers to a child who has a parent or sibling with allergies.

Ask about a specialized formula. If you don’t breastfeed, extensively or partly hydrolyzed formula – mixtures in which protein is broken into smaller parts for easier digestion – may prevent or delay the onset of eczema in at-risk children.

Don’t introduce solid foods before age 4 to 6 months. Rice and oat cereals are good first choices because they rarely trigger allergies. Many pediatricians recommend not feeding highly allergenic foods to a child until age 1 (cow’s milk and citrus fruits), 2 (eggs and wheat) and 3 (peanuts and fish).

Introduce single foods at a time. Give your child a new food every three to five days. That way, you’ll know exactly which one is to blame for any allergic reactions.

Ditch antibacterial soap. Regular soap and water is fine for cleaning – and may be better at preventing allergies as a child’s immune system matures.

HOW TO ... AVOID CHILDHOOD ALLERGIES

Many cases of food allergies and eczema - a skin condition marked by itchy rashes - are unavoidable. But dermatologists say these steps may help reduce your child's risks:

Consider your pregnancy diet. Babies whose mothers eat peanuts are more likely to test positive for peanut allergies, and the same may be true for eggs and egg allergies, according to a recently published article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. However, previous studies have had conflicting results. Talk to your doctor.

Breastfeed your baby. Here's another plus for nursing: "There is evidence that for at-risk babies, exclusive breast feeding for the first four months reduces the risk of eczema and cow's milk allergy during the first two years of life," says Dr. Stephen Shield of Allergy Partners of Eastern Virginia. "At-risk" refers to a child who has a parent or sibling with allergies.

Ask about a specialized formula. If you don't breastfeed, extensively or partly hydrolyzed formula - mixtures in which protein is broken into smaller parts for easier digestion - may prevent or delay the onset of eczema in at-risk children.

Don't introduce solid foods before age 4 to 6 months. Rice and oat cereals are good first choices because they rarely trigger allergies. Many pediatricians recommend not feeding highly allergenic foods to a child until age 1 (cow's milk and citrus fruits), 2 (eggs and wheat) and 3 (peanuts and fish).

Introduce single foods at a time. Give your child a new food every three to five days. That way, you'll know exactly which one is to blame for any allergic reactions.

Ditch antibacterial soap. Regular soap and water is fine for cleaning - and may be better at preventing allergies as a child's immune system matures.

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Green Your Spring Cleaning

Whether you’re getting down and dirty for an intense spring cleaning or just keeping up with your daily duties you’ll probably reach for a bottle of something to clean, deodorize, or disinfect. But what are you leaving behind once you’ve “cleaned” the surface? Many of us may not think about common household cleaners as being a health threat, unless consumed. But, there are known health hazards associated with many of these products. In addition to health concerns, what goes down the drain also impacts the environment. You may be surprised to learn that there are many natural, yet effective products you can use to clean your home and belongings. Some of them are probably already in your kitchen or pantry.

Common Ingredients in Non-Green-Cleaners

Bleach is probably the most common and inexpensive household cleaner. It will appear on disinfectant products as ‘sodium hypochlorite’. The fumes can be irritating to the lungs and can lead to asthma-like symptoms. Skin contact should also be avoided. Use caution when cleaning with multiple products as mixing bleach with ammonia causes the toxic gas chloramine to form. Mixing bleach with acids, including vinegar and ingredients in other cleaning products, can cause chlorine gas to be given off. High levels of exposure can cause chest pain, breathing problems, pneumonia and fluid in the lungs. The making and use of chlorine bleach also releases toxins into the environment, which can accumulate in animals and people over time.

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are present in many household cleaners. They are smog forming chemicals that evaporate into the air and can cause eye and respiratory irritation.

Ammonia is a common ingredient in glass cleaners. It can irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs, and may cause headaches. Again, never mix ammonia with bleach due to the toxic gas that forms.

Petroleum distillates work to dissolve oil and grease, but are highly flammable and very dangerous if swallowed or if the fumes are inhaled. Long term exposure may damage the nervous system, skin, kidneys, and eyes.

Phosphates, now banned in many areas, are used as water softening agents and used to be common in many detergents. They negatively impact the environmental health of lakes by causing algae overgrowth, which reduces available oxygen for fish.

Formaldehyde is used as a preservative in many products and is a suspected carcinogen.

This is just a very tiny list when it comes to the hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals and compounds we use every day to clean our home, belongings, and even our bodies. Besides the obvious health hazards these compounds present, they can also cause more subtle health effects such as fatigue, mental fogginess, and allergy-like symptoms. http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/safe-fs.html

Green Cleaning Alternatives

There are plenty of products available that are effective green cleaners. You can find green household cleaners and other necessary products for dishes, laundry, and other household and personal needs. These products can be found in most natural retail stores and more increasingly in traditional market places. Some green cleaning product lines include Seventh Generation, Ecover, Life Tree, Earth Friendly Products, New Age, and Bio-Pac, just to name a few. There are many choices, so try a few and see what works best for you and your family’s needs.

A few things to look for when shopping for green cleaning products:

- Biodegradable and not toxic to animals or humans

- Recycled, recyclable, or refillable containers

- VOCs concentrations of less than 10% when diluted for use

- Works in cold water washes

- Free of chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite

- Low or no phosphates, less than .5%

Make Your Own You can also make your own green cleaning solutions with a few simple ingredients you may already have on hand.

All purpose cleaner – 4 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in 1 quart warm water. Apply with sponge and rinse with clear water. You may also apply the baking soda directly on a damp sponge for heavy duty cleaning.

A paste for scrubbing can be made using salt, water, and a little vinegar.

Toilet bowl cleaner – Sprinkle baking soda into the toilet, add vinegar, and scour with brush.

Furniture cleaner and polish – 3 cups olive oil and 1 cup vinegar mixed well and applied with a clean, soft cloth.

Glass cleaner – Mix together 2 tablespoons vinegar in 1 quart water or you may mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and water.

You can add essential oils, such as lavender and tea tree oil to the basic cleaning recipes to boost their cleaning and disinfecting power. Grapefruit seed extract (not to be confused with grape seed extract) is a natural antimicrobial agent that can also be added to kill germs. It is non-toxic to humans and animals and can even be taken internally to treat a variety of health problems. You can make an all purpose antiseptic cleaner by adding 30-60 drops of grapefruit seed extract to 32 ounces of water.

By incorporating green alternatives into your cleaning routine, you can help reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals and also do some good for the environment.

References:

CDC

Seventh Generation

Clean Air Counts

Mississippi State University Extension Office

New Jersey Department of Health

Whether you're getting down and dirty for an intense spring cleaning or just keeping up with your daily duties you'll probably reach for a bottle of something to clean, deodorize, or disinfect. But what are you leaving behind once you've "cleaned" the surface? Many of us may not think about common household cleaners as being a health threat, unless consumed. But, there are known health hazards associated with many of these products. In addition to health concerns, what goes down the drain also impacts the environment. You may be surprised to learn that there are many natural, yet effective products you can use to clean your home and belongings. Some of them are probably already in your kitchen or pantry.

Common Ingredients in Non-Green-Cleaners

Bleach is probably the most common and inexpensive household cleaner. It will appear on disinfectant products as 'sodium hypochlorite'. The fumes can be irritating to the lungs and can lead to asthma-like symptoms. Skin contact should also be avoided. Use caution when cleaning with multiple products as mixing bleach with ammonia causes the toxic gas chloramine to form. Mixing bleach with acids, including vinegar and ingredients in other cleaning products, can cause chlorine gas to be given off. High levels of exposure can cause chest pain, breathing problems, pneumonia and fluid in the lungs. The making and use of chlorine bleach also releases toxins into the environment, which can accumulate in animals and people over time.

VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are present in many household cleaners. They are smog forming chemicals that evaporate into the air and can cause eye and respiratory irritation.

Ammonia is a common ingredient in glass cleaners. It can irritate the eyes, skin, and lungs, and may cause headaches. Again, never mix ammonia with bleach due to the toxic gas that forms.

Petroleum distillates work to dissolve oil and grease, but are highly flammable and very dangerous if swallowed or if the fumes are inhaled. Long term exposure may damage the nervous system, skin, kidneys, and eyes.

Phosphates, now banned in many areas, are used as water softening agents and used to be common in many detergents. They negatively impact the environmental health of lakes by causing algae overgrowth, which reduces available oxygen for fish.

Formaldehyde is used as a preservative in many products and is a suspected carcinogen.

This is just a very tiny list when it comes to the hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals and compounds we use every day to clean our home, belongings, and even our bodies. Besides the obvious health hazards these compounds present, they can also cause more subtle health effects such as fatigue, mental fogginess, and allergy-like symptoms. http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/safe-fs.html

Green Cleaning Alternatives

There are plenty of products available that are effective green cleaners. You can find green household cleaners and other necessary products for dishes, laundry, and other household and personal needs. These products can be found in most natural retail stores and more increasingly in traditional market places. Some green cleaning product lines include Seventh Generation, Ecover, Life Tree, Earth Friendly Products, New Age, and Bio-Pac, just to name a few. There are many choices, so try a few and see what works best for you and your family's needs.

A few things to look for when shopping for green cleaning products:

- Biodegradable and not toxic to animals or humans

- Recycled, recyclable, or refillable containers

- VOCs concentrations of less than 10% when diluted for use

- Works in cold water washes

- Free of chlorine bleach or sodium hypochlorite

- Low or no phosphates, less than .5%

Make Your Own You can also make your own green cleaning solutions with a few simple ingredients you may already have on hand.

All purpose cleaner - 4 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in 1 quart warm water. Apply with sponge and rinse with clear water. You may also apply the baking soda directly on a damp sponge for heavy duty cleaning.

A paste for scrubbing can be made using salt, water, and a little vinegar.

Toilet bowl cleaner - Sprinkle baking soda into the toilet, add vinegar, and scour with brush.

Furniture cleaner and polish - 3 cups olive oil and 1 cup vinegar mixed well and applied with a clean, soft cloth.

Glass cleaner - Mix together 2 tablespoons vinegar in 1 quart water or you may mix equal parts rubbing alcohol and water.

You can add essential oils, such as lavender and tea tree oil to the basic cleaning recipes to boost their cleaning and disinfecting power. Grapefruit seed extract (not to be confused with grape seed extract) is a natural antimicrobial agent that can also be added to kill germs. It is non-toxic to humans and animals and can even be taken internally to treat a variety of health problems. You can make an all purpose antiseptic cleaner by adding 30-60 drops of grapefruit seed extract to 32 ounces of water.

By incorporating green alternatives into your cleaning routine, you can help reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals and also do some good for the environment.

References:

CDC

Seventh Generation

Clean Air Counts

Mississippi State University Extension Office

New Jersey Department of Health

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Detox 101 for Spring Cleaning

Spring is finally in the air. During this season many rid their homes of unwanted junk and give it a good cleaning. Your body also accumulates “junk” or toxins and may benefit from some “spring cleaning” of its own.

A Toxic World

We live in a toxic world. Every year there is an increasing amount of chemicals, preservatives, pesticides and other pollutants added to our environment. Our liver works hard to keep up with the demands of detoxification as it cleans the blood and breakdowns harmful substances for removal from the body. Toxic build up can occur if the liver is over-burdened, which may lead to a variety of symptoms including fatigue, headaches, allergies and other ills. A gentle detox program that supports the health of the liver and allows the body to rid itself of toxins may help restore lost vitality, allowing you to follow through with those New Year’s resolutions!

Detox Basics

When undergoing a basic detox program, one should avoid extra toxins such as alcohol, caffeine, tobacco smoke and any unnecessary medicine. Research suggests that a nutritionally balanced diet has many advantages over a juice or water fast when undergoing a detox program. In general, a basic detox-supporting diet should include plenty of fresh, fiber rich, whole organic foods. If consumed, dairy and other animal products should come from organic sources where growth hormones and antibiotics are not used.

Adequate protein is needed to manufacture important enzymes in the liver for toxin breakdown and removal. A carbohydrate rich diet that lacks protein may actually have an inflammatory effect.

Carbohydrates from fruits, veggies and whole grains are important as they provide fiber and antioxidants. Fiber is important for removal of waste from the body. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E, are needed to neutralize free radicals caused by the detoxification process in the liver.

Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts and the allium veggies including onions, garlic and chives are especially important for liver health. These foods contain compounds that help the liver produce enzymes needed for toxin breakdown and elimination. They also provide antioxidants that quench free radicals produced during the detox process. Other foods rich in antioxidants that can provide additional support during detox include berries, avocados and green tea.

Herbs & Supplements to Support Liver Health

Milk thistle can help protect the liver from damage caused by drugs, alcohol and even viruses. The active compound found in milk thistle, silymarin, even appears to help the liver regenerate cells after damage has occurred.

Dandelion, the common yellow yard weed, has long been used to support liver health and treat various liver conditions. It also increases the production of bile from the liver and gall bladder, which helps carry toxins out of the liver. Artichoke also helps stimulate bile production.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) helps the body make more glutathione, an important antioxidant involved in liver detox. NAC is commonly used to reduce liver and kidney damage from acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdoses.

The spice turmeric (a common ingredient in curries) has been shown to boost bile production. Animal studies have also found that turmeric can help protect the liver from certain toxic substances.

Toxin Elimination

Adequate fiber and purified water are essential to help remove toxins from the body. Psyllium, which is a bulk forming laxative, or whole, ground flaxseed can be added to provide extra fiber. Senna is an herbal laxative sometimes used short-term in detox to stimulate colon activity. Exercise to induce sweating is another way to help rid your body of toxins.

References:

American Liver Foundation

Percival, Dr. Mark. Nutritional Support for Detoxification. ANSR-Applied Nutritional Science Reports. Advanced Nutrition Publications, Inc. 1999.

A.D.A.M. Inc., 2004

University of Maryland Medical Center

Spring is finally in the air. During this season many rid their homes of unwanted junk and give it a good cleaning. Your body also accumulates "junk" or toxins and may benefit from some "spring cleaning" of its own.

A Toxic World

We live in a toxic world. Every year there is an increasing amount of chemicals, preservatives, pesticides and other pollutants added to our environment. Our liver works hard to keep up with the demands of detoxification as it cleans the blood and breakdowns harmful substances for removal from the body. Toxic build up can occur if the liver is over-burdened, which may lead to a variety of symptoms including fatigue, headaches, allergies and other ills. A gentle detox program that supports the health of the liver and allows the body to rid itself of toxins may help restore lost vitality, allowing you to follow through with those New Year's resolutions!

Detox Basics

When undergoing a basic detox program, one should avoid extra toxins such as alcohol, caffeine, tobacco smoke and any unnecessary medicine. Research suggests that a nutritionally balanced diet has many advantages over a juice or water fast when undergoing a detox program. In general, a basic detox-supporting diet should include plenty of fresh, fiber rich, whole organic foods. If consumed, dairy and other animal products should come from organic sources where growth hormones and antibiotics are not used.

Adequate protein is needed to manufacture important enzymes in the liver for toxin breakdown and removal. A carbohydrate rich diet that lacks protein may actually have an inflammatory effect.

Carbohydrates from fruits, veggies and whole grains are important as they provide fiber and antioxidants. Fiber is important for removal of waste from the body. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E, are needed to neutralize free radicals caused by the detoxification process in the liver.

Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts and the allium veggies including onions, garlic and chives are especially important for liver health. These foods contain compounds that help the liver produce enzymes needed for toxin breakdown and elimination. They also provide antioxidants that quench free radicals produced during the detox process. Other foods rich in antioxidants that can provide additional support during detox include berries, avocados and green tea.

Herbs & Supplements to Support Liver Health

Milk thistle can help protect the liver from damage caused by drugs, alcohol and even viruses. The active compound found in milk thistle, silymarin, even appears to help the liver regenerate cells after damage has occurred.

Dandelion, the common yellow yard weed, has long been used to support liver health and treat various liver conditions. It also increases the production of bile from the liver and gall bladder, which helps carry toxins out of the liver. Artichoke also helps stimulate bile production.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) helps the body make more glutathione, an important antioxidant involved in liver detox. NAC is commonly used to reduce liver and kidney damage from acetaminophen (Tylenol) overdoses.

The spice turmeric (a common ingredient in curries) has been shown to boost bile production. Animal studies have also found that turmeric can help protect the liver from certain toxic substances.

Toxin Elimination

Adequate fiber and purified water are essential to help remove toxins from the body. Psyllium, which is a bulk forming laxative, or whole, ground flaxseed can be added to provide extra fiber. Senna is an herbal laxative sometimes used short-term in detox to stimulate colon activity. Exercise to induce sweating is another way to help rid your body of toxins.

References:

American Liver Foundation

Percival, Dr. Mark. Nutritional Support for Detoxification. ANSR-Applied Nutritional Science Reports. Advanced Nutrition Publications, Inc. 1999.

A.D.A.M. Inc., 2004

University of Maryland Medical Center

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Calories: A Love, Hate Relationship

Posted Feb 27, 2010

Calories can help us lose weight if …

We burn more calories than we take in. “It doesn’t matter when you eat them; your body uses the calories from ice cream in the same way, whether you eat at 10 p.m. or 10 a.m. But if you deliberately eat lightly during the day to have a good dinner, then hunger often gets out of control and you overeat,” said Susan Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University’s Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. “Pacing calories is an important component of successful dieting.”

Registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger tells her clients that calories are money. “You have a certain amount in your budget, and if you spend too much, you go into debt. If you take more than your calorie allowance, you get fat.”

If you want extra money for something special, you might try to earn more or save. “Think of calories the same way: If you want some extra for a special dessert or other treat, earn them by doing extra exercise, or save them from another time,” Weisenberger said. “A 500- calorie slice of cheesecake will take an hour or more of really hard exercise. Or you could skip that second piece of buttered toast at breakfast, cut your juice in half and trade in your large sandwich for a smaller one. Or you could combine dietary and exercise changes.” By Julie Deardorff

Chicago Tribune

Registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger once had a client who kept a puzzling food journal. The calorie counts were all out of whack. The woman’s tuna sandwich had 33 calories. An apple: 144. Turns out the woman was mistaking a food-calorie book’s index for a calorie chart. It’s not too far-fetched, seeing as few common health words are as baffling to us as “calorie.” Calories are invisible, yet we try to count them and cut them. Food supplies them, but they’re not nutrients.

“They’re abstract,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, who says calories are “a mess” to explain. “Ordinary mortals cannot count, see, taste, smell or feel a calorie,” she said.

We’re bizarrely tied to a concept we know very little about. Calories are the first thing people look for on the Nutrition Facts panel of food and beverages, according to a survey by the International Food Information Council and Foundation. But just 15 percent of Americans can accurately guess how many calories they should consume. And less than one-third of us correctly say that “calories in general are most likely to cause weight gain.”

“I frequently discourage calorie counting because it can be tedious and ruin the joy of eating,” said Weisenberger, a food and nutrition consultant based in Virginia. “But I still want my patients to understand the concept so they can compare different food choices.”

And if they don’t understand? Focus instead on food choices and portions. “But weight loss won’t happen without calorie reduction,” she said.

Most of us simply want to know how many calories we need. But to truly grasp how calories can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, it helps to know the basics.

Q&A

Q. Are some calories more fattening than others?

A. Not any more than the dollar in your right pocket will buy you more than the dollar in your left pocket. Some foods are more jam- packed with calories than others. You can eat a cup of pasta for about 220 calories, or you can eat about 4 cups of broccoli or you can snack on about one-quarter cup of nuts. They’re all about the same calories, but the 4 cups of broccoli will tame your hunger more.

Q. How many calories do I need?

A. The best way is to look at your weight. If you’re gaining weight (and don’t want to), you’re eating too many calories. You can also get an estimate at www.mypyramid.gov.

Q. How can I cut calories without starving or hating what I eat?

A. If you like vegetables, there’s no reason to be hungry. They’re relatively low in calories and pretty filling because of their fiber and water content. Eat a couple of cups of them at dinner. It’s a lot easier to decrease your potatoes and steak when you’ve got broccoli or zucchini or both to fill you up.

Also try cooking at home. If take out is your norm, commit to cooking just once or twice a week. And allow indulgences. Don’t give up your favorite foods. Just eat smaller portions or eat them less often.

By the numbers

2,000 to 3,000

The range of calories per day that maintains body weight in most people. Bigger or more active people need more. Smaller, more sedentary people need fewer.

3,500

Number of calories in 1 pound of body fat.

A calorie is …

A unit of energy. First described in the 1800s, a calorie is technically the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. But in the health and nutrition world, a calorie is the potential energy in food and the amount of energy the body uses, according to the American Dietetic Association’s Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.

“We need this reference value in the same way we’d need to know how many pieces of wood to build a certain size house,” said San Diego registered dietitian Janice Baker, a certified diabetes educator. “Everyone’s body needs different amounts of energy based on height, weight, activity level, age and other factors. A calorie is not good or bad. It just is.”

A calorie comes from …

Three nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Water, vitamins and minerals are all calorie-free. When we digest food, the nutrients are released, absorbed into the bloodstream and converted to glucose, or blood sugar. This powers the body, allowing us to shiver, blink, remember, breathe or run marathons. The food energy we don’t need right away is stored as body fat, regardless of the nutrient it comes from. That means excess carbs are no more fattening than added calories from any source, including fats and proteins. An apple Can of soda Candy bar Slice of pepperoni pizza Cheeseburger

Calories burned per hour during activities

Assuming a weight of 150 pounds 680 544 544 Running* Bicycling** Rollerskating Boxing, punching bag Cleaning gutters Golf, walking, carrying clubs Singles tennis Mowing lawn, power mower Raking Playing the drums Trampoline Vacuuming Playing catch*** Light housekeeping 476 408 340 306 306 292 272 238 238 170 170 how you lose weight * 10-minute miles, 6 mph

** Moderate pace, 12-14 mph

Football or baseball

To see more activities, go to www.caloriecount.about.com/ activities-sports-ac15. how many calories?

Date: Feb 23, 2010

Calories can help us lose weight if ...

We burn more calories than we take in. "It doesn't matter when you eat them; your body uses the calories from ice cream in the same way, whether you eat at 10 p.m. or 10 a.m. But if you deliberately eat lightly during the day to have a good dinner, then hunger often gets out of control and you overeat," said Susan Roberts, director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. "Pacing calories is an important component of successful dieting."

Registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger tells her clients that calories are money. "You have a certain amount in your budget, and if you spend too much, you go into debt. If you take more than your calorie allowance, you get fat."

If you want extra money for something special, you might try to earn more or save. "Think of calories the same way: If you want some extra for a special dessert or other treat, earn them by doing extra exercise, or save them from another time," Weisenberger said. "A 500- calorie slice of cheesecake will take an hour or more of really hard exercise. Or you could skip that second piece of buttered toast at breakfast, cut your juice in half and trade in your large sandwich for a smaller one. Or you could combine dietary and exercise changes." By Julie Deardorff

Chicago Tribune

Registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger once had a client who kept a puzzling food journal. The calorie counts were all out of whack. The woman's tuna sandwich had 33 calories. An apple: 144. Turns out the woman was mistaking a food-calorie book's index for a calorie chart. It's not too far-fetched, seeing as few common health words are as baffling to us as "calorie." Calories are invisible, yet we try to count them and cut them. Food supplies them, but they're not nutrients.

"They're abstract," said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, who says calories are "a mess" to explain. "Ordinary mortals cannot count, see, taste, smell or feel a calorie," she said.

We're bizarrely tied to a concept we know very little about. Calories are the first thing people look for on the Nutrition Facts panel of food and beverages, according to a survey by the International Food Information Council and Foundation. But just 15 percent of Americans can accurately guess how many calories they should consume. And less than one-third of us correctly say that "calories in general are most likely to cause weight gain."

"I frequently discourage calorie counting because it can be tedious and ruin the joy of eating," said Weisenberger, a food and nutrition consultant based in Virginia. "But I still want my patients to understand the concept so they can compare different food choices."

And if they don't understand? Focus instead on food choices and portions. "But weight loss won't happen without calorie reduction," she said.

Most of us simply want to know how many calories we need. But to truly grasp how calories can help you reach and maintain a healthy weight, it helps to know the basics.

Q&A

Q. Are some calories more fattening than others?

A. Not any more than the dollar in your right pocket will buy you more than the dollar in your left pocket. Some foods are more jam- packed with calories than others. You can eat a cup of pasta for about 220 calories, or you can eat about 4 cups of broccoli or you can snack on about one-quarter cup of nuts. They're all about the same calories, but the 4 cups of broccoli will tame your hunger more.

Q. How many calories do I need?

A. The best way is to look at your weight. If you're gaining weight (and don't want to), you're eating too many calories. You can also get an estimate at www.mypyramid.gov.

Q. How can I cut calories without starving or hating what I eat?

A. If you like vegetables, there's no reason to be hungry. They're relatively low in calories and pretty filling because of their fiber and water content. Eat a couple of cups of them at dinner. It's a lot easier to decrease your potatoes and steak when you've got broccoli or zucchini or both to fill you up.

Also try cooking at home. If take out is your norm, commit to cooking just once or twice a week. And allow indulgences. Don't give up your favorite foods. Just eat smaller portions or eat them less often.

By the numbers

2,000 to 3,000

The range of calories per day that maintains body weight in most people. Bigger or more active people need more. Smaller, more sedentary people need fewer.

3,500

Number of calories in 1 pound of body fat.

A calorie is ...

A unit of energy. First described in the 1800s, a calorie is technically the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. But in the health and nutrition world, a calorie is the potential energy in food and the amount of energy the body uses, according to the American Dietetic Association's Complete Food and Nutrition Guide.

"We need this reference value in the same way we'd need to know how many pieces of wood to build a certain size house," said San Diego registered dietitian Janice Baker, a certified diabetes educator. "Everyone's body needs different amounts of energy based on height, weight, activity level, age and other factors. A calorie is not good or bad. It just is."

A calorie comes from ...

Three nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Water, vitamins and minerals are all calorie-free. When we digest food, the nutrients are released, absorbed into the bloodstream and converted to glucose, or blood sugar. This powers the body, allowing us to shiver, blink, remember, breathe or run marathons. The food energy we don't need right away is stored as body fat, regardless of the nutrient it comes from. That means excess carbs are no more fattening than added calories from any source, including fats and proteins. An apple Can of soda Candy bar Slice of pepperoni pizza Cheeseburger

Calories burned per hour during activities

Assuming a weight of 150 pounds 680 544 544 Running* Bicycling** Rollerskating Boxing, punching bag Cleaning gutters Golf, walking, carrying clubs Singles tennis Mowing lawn, power mower Raking Playing the drums Trampoline Vacuuming Playing catch*** Light housekeeping 476 408 340 306 306 292 272 238 238 170 170 how you lose weight * 10-minute miles, 6 mph

** Moderate pace, 12-14 mph

Football or baseball

To see more activities, go to www.caloriecount.about.com/ activities-sports-ac15. how many calories?

Date: Feb 23, 2010

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Completely Germ Free May Harm Health

Posted Jan 19, 2010

Cleaning supplies of all sorts are plastered with claims of bacteria-annihilating powers.

Hand sanitizer is ubiquitous, especially since the arrival of H1N1 flu. And plain old soap isn’t enough anymore, the soap companies tell us, touting concoctions that kill “99.99 percent of germs.”

But a growing body of scientific evidence is pointing to links between hypersanitary lifestyles and health problems.

Recently, a study of 1,534 Filipinos followed from before birth until early adulthood showed that those exposed to more bacteria had lower levels of a protein that indicates inflammation. Cardiovascular problems and other diseases increasingly are being linked to inflammation.

On average, babies exposed to more germs, including from animal feces, had lower levels of C-reactive protein when they became young adults.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, was led by Thomas McDade, an associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern University and a fellow in the Institute for Policy Research. The researchers used statistical modeling to draw the connection between factors early in life and C-reactive protein levels in adulthood.

McDade advised caution when extrapolating too much from the study and is eager to pursue follow-up research, but he said this and other studies should at least give parents pause when they reach for another antibacterial product.

Young immune systems, like young brains, need stimulation, he said.

“What I think is important is exposure to common, everyday germs in dirt, in mud, that probably don’t lead to an infection but have an important role in priming our immune systems.”

Doing reasonable things to prevent the spread of known viruses and bacteria is a good thing, he said. But trying to keep your little one from ever encountering a germ might cause harm in the long term.

Studies, many comparing diseases in the developed world with those in less-developed countries, have led to the “hygiene hypothesis” — the idea that a more-protected immune system might lead to higher rates of certain illnesses.

“It’s healthy for us to get sick from time to time. It helps educate our body what to attack and what not to attack,” said Dr. Bradley Van Sickle, a pediatric endocrinologist at Akron Children’s Hospital.

“Washing your child from head to toe all day long and not letting them play with other kids is not helpful.”

Of particular concern in his field is the rise in Type 1 diabetes. According to an analysis of 37 studies over the past 40 years, the incidence worldwide is increasing by 3 percent annually, and some people think an increasingly sanitary society is at play.

Some studies have shown that living in a home with animals, or on a farm, decreases the likelihood a person will develop asthma, said Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, an allergy specialist and professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

But there are many exposures — or lack thereof — that might contribute, he said. And don’t forget the role of genetics.

It will be some time before scientists fully understand the role of hand sanitizers and other antibacterial products widely used today, Bernstein said.

There’s no question that some bacteria are good for us, said Dr. Kurt Stevenson, a professor in Ohio State University’s division of infectious diseases. In our guts, in particular, the absence of bacteria can cause mayhem.

In the hospital setting, doctors try to focus on known high-risk situations when using strong antimicrobial products, but use regular soap in areas where it’s appropriate, he said.

And at home?

“Probably on a day-to-day basis, just common sense and regular soap is probably adequate.”

mcrane@dispatch.com

To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.

Copyright © 2010, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Cleaning supplies of all sorts are plastered with claims of bacteria-annihilating powers.

Hand sanitizer is ubiquitous, especially since the arrival of H1N1 flu. And plain old soap isn't enough anymore, the soap companies tell us, touting concoctions that kill "99.99 percent of germs."

But a growing body of scientific evidence is pointing to links between hypersanitary lifestyles and health problems.

Recently, a study of 1,534 Filipinos followed from before birth until early adulthood showed that those exposed to more bacteria had lower levels of a protein that indicates inflammation. Cardiovascular problems and other diseases increasingly are being linked to inflammation.

On average, babies exposed to more germs, including from animal feces, had lower levels of C-reactive protein when they became young adults.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, was led by Thomas McDade, an associate professor of anthropology at Northwestern University and a fellow in the Institute for Policy Research. The researchers used statistical modeling to draw the connection between factors early in life and C-reactive protein levels in adulthood.

McDade advised caution when extrapolating too much from the study and is eager to pursue follow-up research, but he said this and other studies should at least give parents pause when they reach for another antibacterial product.

Young immune systems, like young brains, need stimulation, he said.

"What I think is important is exposure to common, everyday germs in dirt, in mud, that probably don't lead to an infection but have an important role in priming our immune systems."

Doing reasonable things to prevent the spread of known viruses and bacteria is a good thing, he said. But trying to keep your little one from ever encountering a germ might cause harm in the long term.

Studies, many comparing diseases in the developed world with those in less-developed countries, have led to the "hygiene hypothesis" -- the idea that a more-protected immune system might lead to higher rates of certain illnesses.

"It's healthy for us to get sick from time to time. It helps educate our body what to attack and what not to attack," said Dr. Bradley Van Sickle, a pediatric endocrinologist at Akron Children's Hospital.

"Washing your child from head to toe all day long and not letting them play with other kids is not helpful."

Of particular concern in his field is the rise in Type 1 diabetes. According to an analysis of 37 studies over the past 40 years, the incidence worldwide is increasing by 3 percent annually, and some people think an increasingly sanitary society is at play.

Some studies have shown that living in a home with animals, or on a farm, decreases the likelihood a person will develop asthma, said Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, an allergy specialist and professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

But there are many exposures -- or lack thereof -- that might contribute, he said. And don't forget the role of genetics.

It will be some time before scientists fully understand the role of hand sanitizers and other antibacterial products widely used today, Bernstein said.

There's no question that some bacteria are good for us, said Dr. Kurt Stevenson, a professor in Ohio State University's division of infectious diseases. In our guts, in particular, the absence of bacteria can cause mayhem.

In the hospital setting, doctors try to focus on known high-risk situations when using strong antimicrobial products, but use regular soap in areas where it's appropriate, he said.

And at home?

"Probably on a day-to-day basis, just common sense and regular soap is probably adequate."

mcrane@dispatch.com

To see more of The Columbus Dispatch, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.columbusdispatch.com.

Copyright © 2010, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio



Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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Considering a Spring detox? Think again!

Your body needs cleansing support every day (yes every day!) and with Genuine Health’s convenient Daily Detox formulas, you can do it – safely and naturally.

High levels of environmental toxins have been found in the fat storage (adipose) and urine of over 80% of North American adults. Researchers believe we’re exposed to thousands of toxins daily – including those in our air, food, cleaning products and cosmetics.

Is your health at risk? Signs of toxin overload include:

  • Frequent headaches
  • Problems concentrating or ‘brain fog’
  • Poor sleep and digestion
  • Problem skin and weight gain

To fully clean and protect your body, relying on ‘once-a-year formulas’ is not enough. Along with causing undesirable side-effects, many fail to target phase I and phase II detox cycles, or fail to address toxins in the liver, GI tract, blood and skin.

Why is this important? In phase I, toxins are transported to the liver where they are transformed into metabolites. During phase II, these metabolites are made water soluble, then attached to a transporter molecule (such as glutathione) and eliminated from the body via urine, stool or sweat as a non-toxic substance.

Many detox formulas do not activate phase II, leaving metabolites (in phase I) still in the body which are extremely toxic! Signs include poor skin, pimples and rashes.

Learn more about the contributors and symptoms of toxic overload, and why daily detoxification is necessary.

Crinion WJ. Environmental medicine, part 4: the human burden of environmental toxins and their common health effects. Altern Med Rev. 2000, oct.;5(5):152.
Graci, Sam. (2005). The Path to Phenomenal Health. Ontario: Wiley. 12: 162.

Your body needs cleansing support every day (yes every day!) and with Genuine Health's convenient Daily Detox formulas, you can do it - safely and naturally.

High levels of environmental toxins have been found in the fat storage (adipose) and urine of over 80% of North American adults. Researchers believe we're exposed to thousands of toxins daily - including those in our air, food, cleaning products and cosmetics.

Is your health at risk? Signs of toxin overload include:
  • Frequent headaches
  • Problems concentrating or 'brain fog'
  • Poor sleep and digestion
  • Problem skin and weight gain
To fully clean and protect your body, relying on 'once-a-year formulas' is not enough. Along with causing undesirable side-effects, many fail to target phase I and phase II detox cycles, or fail to address toxins in the liver, GI tract, blood and skin.

Why is this important? In phase I, toxins are transported to the liver where they are transformed into metabolites. During phase II, these metabolites are made water soluble, then attached to a transporter molecule (such as glutathione) and eliminated from the body via urine, stool or sweat as a non-toxic substance.

Many detox formulas do not activate phase II, leaving metabolites (in phase I) still in the body which are extremely toxic! Signs include poor skin, pimples and rashes.

Learn more about the contributors and symptoms of toxic overload, and why daily detoxification is necessary.

Crinion WJ. Environmental medicine, part 4: the human burden of environmental toxins and their common health effects. Altern Med Rev. 2000, oct.;5(5):152.
Graci, Sam. (2005). The Path to Phenomenal Health. Ontario: Wiley. 12: 162.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,



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Study to Examine Environment’s Impact on Kids’ Health

Posted April 7, 2009

Starting this month, thousands of newly pregnant Utahns and potential mothers-to-be will be asked to enroll in the largest study of children ever conducted in the country.

Parents who sign up for the National Children’s Study will join an effort to solve a new mystery in children’s health: How do kids’ genes interact with the water they drink, the air they breathe, the soil they play in and the products they use — to make them sick?

Scientists will be searching from womb to bedroom and beyond to understand why children increasingly suffer chronic diseases, such as asthma and learning disabilities, that have no other known cause.

Researchers will be figuratively — and sometimes literally — peering over mothers’ shoulders, from gauging how close they are to their child to probing how much television or junk food they allow. They’ll scan blood, urine, hair and nails to see what children or mothers are exposed to, from pesticides to drugs to stress.

“We recognize this is very, very intrusive,” says Sean Firth, an epidemiologist and study project director in Utah. “We will become part of their lives.”

Every scrap of information that will be collected is thought to be linked to a particular disease, he says, whether it’s prenatal infection and autism, household dust and asthma, or family dynamics and child development.

“We are going to accomplish great things by pulling this off,” says Firth.

But the massive study — the

goal is to enroll 100,000 children nationwide and follow them to age 21 — also raises ethical questions: How can a parent commit their future child to tests and questions that not even researchers have dreamed up? And what do parents deserve to know about their children’s health and environment — and when?

‘Change the world: In Salt Lake County — one of seven national pilot sites — recruiters will start knocking on the doors of 7,000 households during the last week of April. It could take six months to reach every home in the study boundaries.

They will look for women ages 18 to 49 who are in their first trimester of pregnancy or women who are likely to become pregnant in the next five years. Teens who become pregnant during the study period will also be approached. Biological fathers will be invited, but don’t have to participate for their children to be included.

The study will attempt to address the changing nature of childhood diseases. Although children used to die or suffer from infectious diseases, now their biggest threats are chronic diseases, which arise from the interaction of genes and environment, according to the study.

South Salt Lake mom Bronwen Calver hopes Utah women enroll to possibly help her son or his future children. Julian, 13, has asthma and allergies. While his asthma led to hospitalizations for bacterial pneumonia when he was a toddler — he coughed so much he broke capillaries in his lungs — it’s under control now. Still, on bad-air days during the winter and summer, he uses an inhaler and stays indoors.

“I hear of more and more kids having asthma. You have to wonder if there’s something environmental causing this,” she says. “A lot of people don’t understand how debilitating asthma can be. It makes your world very, very small when you’re sick.”

To build support, the local research team has been meeting with elected officials and community leaders in churches, ethnic organizations and schools.

Julie Miller, principal of Wasatch Elementary in Salt Lake City, is ready to urge parents to participate. She sees more children at school with asthma, allergies and diabetes. “I care [about the study] because I’ve spent a lifetime working with kids. There are things we can do to change the world we live in that will have a better outcome for all of us.”

–

Breast milk to bedsheets: But on the national level, researchers acknowledge recruitment will be a “significant challenge” due to the burden placed on families. Over two decades, participants are expected to meet with researchers about a dozen times for four hours each, in their homes or at a clinic; keep records of doctor visits and fill out dozens of questionnaires. In the first two years alone, participants will devote 38 hours.

Researchers will take environmental samples from children’s homes, and possibly day care centers and mothers’ workplaces. They will chart graffiti, traffic and recreation spots in the neighborhoods.

They will vacuum household dust from tabletops, floors and bedsheets; take samples of placentas and umbilical-cord blood; collect vaginal swabs during pregnancy and breast milk afterward. They will gauge children’s development, from language to motor skills, even videotaping mothers and infants playing.

Families will be paid $25 an hour for in-home and clinic visits and will receive gift certificates and other incidentals.

Because researchers don’t know what information they will want to gather in the future, parents and children will be told at each visit what to expect. They can bow out at any time, or decide not to participate in certain portions. Children will be asked their opinions around age 7, 14 and 18. If they say “no,” their parents cannot overrule them.

Asking consent before every visit makes the study “ethically stronger than much of what we do otherwise in research,” says Jeffrey Botkin, associate vice president for research integrity at the University of Utah. He raised such ethical issues at the national level as co-chair of the study’s ethics working group.

The commitment “sounds like a lot,” says Andrea Riddle, who is trying to become pregnant with her second child. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old from West Jordan hopes to join, believing research of this magnitude requires the intrusiveness. “It’s always better to know more about what’s affecting children, how children are getting sick, how the environment affects them.”

–

Gift to the future: If Riddle joins the study, she would want feedback as scientists discover environmental factors that affect children’s health. “If they found your home is not safe — something in the air, pesticides close by that could cause problems with the child — I would hope they would [give] you the information right away.”

But beyond immediately sharing information like blood pressure, height and weight researchers are still working through how they will report other information, prompting criticism from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). It reviewed the study last year at the federal government’s request.

“Parents are often eager to get research results, regardless of their clinical utility or the availability of effective intervention,” the NAS report said. The review also noted that researchers could be sued if they learn that certain exposures are dangerous and don’t alert families to them.

“They need to have a plan on what they’re going to do,” says Ellen Wright Clayton, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University, who was on the NAS review panel.

She says her personal opinion is that parents should be told, for example, if an ultrasound detects fetal deformities or a blood test reveals anemia. That’s because those are known health effects or risks.

The study’s researchers agree, and also will share information about signs of illnesses or developmental delays. But it’s more complicated with other information. Most biological and environmental samples won’t be analyzed until years later — when and if funding becomes available — delaying when researchers learn of risks.

Another problem: There are no national reporting standards for some samples, such as organophosphates, a chemical used in pesticides, says Edward Clark, chairman of the U.’s pediatrics department and principal investigator of the Utah portion of the study.

So researchers will have to determine what levels are dangerous before reporting to participants — and potentially, neighborhoods.

Somewhere in the country, “We will have another Love Canal,” Clark predicts, referring to a New York neighborhood built on top of toxic waste. “Our pledge is to bring this [information] back in a responsible way so individuals and communities will be aware of it and can develop an appropriate response.”

Scientists will immediately analyze specimens that cannot be stored for long periods of time, including volatile organic compounds, according to Rod Larson, who is in charge of the study’s environmental monitoring in Utah.

Such gasses are emitted from products such as paint, cleaning supplies, furniture and carpet, and are known to cause cancer and organ damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Participants will be told if levels are too high as soon as the information is available, Larson says.

Firth, the Utah study project director, says it wouldn’t make sense to share certain information too soon, when researchers don’t know what level is dangerous. “People [would] look at that and see a big chemical name and think, ‘Holy cow. I’m in trouble.’”

Clayton, who recently joined an advisory committee for the study, agrees and says parents should understand what they are signing up for.

“A lot of people participate in research because they think they’re going to learn something about their own health. … They need to realize that participating in this is a gift to American children and the future.”

hmay@sltrib.com

Date: April 4, 2009

To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com.

Copyright © 2009, The Salt Lake Tribune

Starting this month, thousands of newly pregnant Utahns and potential mothers-to-be will be asked to enroll in the largest study of children ever conducted in the country.

Parents who sign up for the National Children's Study will join an effort to solve a new mystery in children's health: How do kids' genes interact with the water they drink, the air they breathe, the soil they play in and the products they use -- to make them sick?

Scientists will be searching from womb to bedroom and beyond to understand why children increasingly suffer chronic diseases, such as asthma and learning disabilities, that have no other known cause.

Researchers will be figuratively -- and sometimes literally -- peering over mothers' shoulders, from gauging how close they are to their child to probing how much television or junk food they allow. They'll scan blood, urine, hair and nails to see what children or mothers are exposed to, from pesticides to drugs to stress.

"We recognize this is very, very intrusive," says Sean Firth, an epidemiologist and study project director in Utah. "We will become part of their lives."

Every scrap of information that will be collected is thought to be linked to a particular disease, he says, whether it's prenatal infection and autism, household dust and asthma, or family dynamics and child development.

"We are going to accomplish great things by pulling this off," says Firth.

But the massive study -- the

goal is to enroll 100,000 children nationwide and follow them to age 21 -- also raises ethical questions: How can a parent commit their future child to tests and questions that not even researchers have dreamed up? And what do parents deserve to know about their children's health and environment -- and when?

'Change the world: In Salt Lake County -- one of seven national pilot sites -- recruiters will start knocking on the doors of 7,000 households during the last week of April. It could take six months to reach every home in the study boundaries.

They will look for women ages 18 to 49 who are in their first trimester of pregnancy or women who are likely to become pregnant in the next five years. Teens who become pregnant during the study period will also be approached. Biological fathers will be invited, but don't have to participate for their children to be included.

The study will attempt to address the changing nature of childhood diseases. Although children used to die or suffer from infectious diseases, now their biggest threats are chronic diseases, which arise from the interaction of genes and environment, according to the study.

South Salt Lake mom Bronwen Calver hopes Utah women enroll to possibly help her son or his future children. Julian, 13, has asthma and allergies. While his asthma led to hospitalizations for bacterial pneumonia when he was a toddler -- he coughed so much he broke capillaries in his lungs -- it's under control now. Still, on bad-air days during the winter and summer, he uses an inhaler and stays indoors.

"I hear of more and more kids having asthma. You have to wonder if there's something environmental causing this," she says. "A lot of people don't understand how debilitating asthma can be. It makes your world very, very small when you're sick."

To build support, the local research team has been meeting with elected officials and community leaders in churches, ethnic organizations and schools.

Julie Miller, principal of Wasatch Elementary in Salt Lake City, is ready to urge parents to participate. She sees more children at school with asthma, allergies and diabetes. "I care [about the study] because I've spent a lifetime working with kids. There are things we can do to change the world we live in that will have a better outcome for all of us."

-

Breast milk to bedsheets: But on the national level, researchers acknowledge recruitment will be a "significant challenge" due to the burden placed on families. Over two decades, participants are expected to meet with researchers about a dozen times for four hours each, in their homes or at a clinic; keep records of doctor visits and fill out dozens of questionnaires. In the first two years alone, participants will devote 38 hours.

Researchers will take environmental samples from children's homes, and possibly day care centers and mothers' workplaces. They will chart graffiti, traffic and recreation spots in the neighborhoods.

They will vacuum household dust from tabletops, floors and bedsheets; take samples of placentas and umbilical-cord blood; collect vaginal swabs during pregnancy and breast milk afterward. They will gauge children's development, from language to motor skills, even videotaping mothers and infants playing.

Families will be paid $25 an hour for in-home and clinic visits and will receive gift certificates and other incidentals.

Because researchers don't know what information they will want to gather in the future, parents and children will be told at each visit what to expect. They can bow out at any time, or decide not to participate in certain portions. Children will be asked their opinions around age 7, 14 and 18. If they say "no," their parents cannot overrule them.

Asking consent before every visit makes the study "ethically stronger than much of what we do otherwise in research," says Jeffrey Botkin, associate vice president for research integrity at the University of Utah. He raised such ethical issues at the national level as co-chair of the study's ethics working group.

The commitment "sounds like a lot," says Andrea Riddle, who is trying to become pregnant with her second child. Nevertheless, the 31-year-old from West Jordan hopes to join, believing research of this magnitude requires the intrusiveness. "It's always better to know more about what's affecting children, how children are getting sick, how the environment affects them."

-

Gift to the future: If Riddle joins the study, she would want feedback as scientists discover environmental factors that affect children's health. "If they found your home is not safe -- something in the air, pesticides close by that could cause problems with the child -- I would hope they would [give] you the information right away."

But beyond immediately sharing information like blood pressure, height and weight researchers are still working through how they will report other information, prompting criticism from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). It reviewed the study last year at the federal government's request.

"Parents are often eager to get research results, regardless of their clinical utility or the availability of effective intervention," the NAS report said. The review also noted that researchers could be sued if they learn that certain exposures are dangerous and don't alert families to them.

"They need to have a plan on what they're going to do," says Ellen Wright Clayton, co-director of the Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University, who was on the NAS review panel.

She says her personal opinion is that parents should be told, for example, if an ultrasound detects fetal deformities or a blood test reveals anemia. That's because those are known health effects or risks.

The study's researchers agree, and also will share information about signs of illnesses or developmental delays. But it's more complicated with other information. Most biological and environmental samples won't be analyzed until years later -- when and if funding becomes available -- delaying when researchers learn of risks.

Another problem: There are no national reporting standards for some samples, such as organophosphates, a chemical used in pesticides, says Edward Clark, chairman of the U.'s pediatrics department and principal investigator of the Utah portion of the study.

So researchers will have to determine what levels are dangerous before reporting to participants -- and potentially, neighborhoods.

Somewhere in the country, "We will have another Love Canal," Clark predicts, referring to a New York neighborhood built on top of toxic waste. "Our pledge is to bring this [information] back in a responsible way so individuals and communities will be aware of it and can develop an appropriate response."

Scientists will immediately analyze specimens that cannot be stored for long periods of time, including volatile organic compounds, according to Rod Larson, who is in charge of the study's environmental monitoring in Utah.

Such gasses are emitted from products such as paint, cleaning supplies, furniture and carpet, and are known to cause cancer and organ damage, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Participants will be told if levels are too high as soon as the information is available, Larson says.

Firth, the Utah study project director, says it wouldn't make sense to share certain information too soon, when researchers don't know what level is dangerous. "People [would] look at that and see a big chemical name and think, 'Holy cow. I'm in trouble.'"

Clayton, who recently joined an advisory committee for the study, agrees and says parents should understand what they are signing up for.

"A lot of people participate in research because they think they're going to learn something about their own health. ... They need to realize that participating in this is a gift to American children and the future."

hmay@sltrib.com

Date: April 4, 2009



To see more of The Salt Lake Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sltrib.com.

Copyright © 2009, The Salt Lake Tribune

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Hispanics Comforatble with Natural Medicine

Posted Dec 27, 2008

When Juan Shutte began feeling heat and pains in his face and back, he went to a clinic, but doctors told him they couldn’t find the problem.

That’s when Shutte, a Peruvian immigrant who owns a cleaning business, read about Dr. Melissa Robinson in a Spanish-language newspaper.

Robinson’s practice, Natural Solutions for Health, uses nutritional counseling, diet and exercise planning, thermal massage and dietary supplements to heal the body without prescription drugs or invasive surgeries.

Shutte, a pot-bellied man who looks much younger than his 70 years, decided to try it. Within two months, his blood pressure lowered and his symptoms significantly subsided, he said.

“I had gone to the clinic for a few months and I didn’t feel any different,” Shutte said. “Now I’m coming here, and I feel a little better. The medicines she gave me helped calm the pain a lot.”

Robinson, one of many doctors in the small but growing field of naturopathic medicine, has helped build her private practice in Stamford by offering her services to the Hispanic community at affordable rates.

Early in her practice, Robinson discovered Hispanic patients were drawn to the type of natural medicine she offered. Now most of her business comes from Hispanics, she said.

“I feel like we’re really fulfilling a need in the community,” Robinson said. “They’re helping me, so I can build this business.”

Robinson operates out of a single-room office on Glenbrook Road above a Chinese

restaurant and decorative glass shop. Shutte had an appointment Saturday, part of a routine of biweekly visits for the past two months. Robinson began by interviewing Shutte, mostly in Spanish, with the help of a translator.

“Como estas?” Robinson said, asking, “How are you” in Spanish. “Are you taking your medicine?”

She went through the routines of a primary doctor — taking blood pressure, listening to Shutte’s heartbeat, taking his weight. But instead of writing a prescription for blood pressure medication, which Shutte once took and disliked because of side effects, Robinson recommended he supplement his diet with fish peptides, flax, pumpkin seeds and cucumber.

That will help Shutte’s symptoms, Robinson said. For another problem, his weight, Robinson gave Shutte worksheets to record his diet for the next two weeks and advised him not to eat late at night. When he returns, they will figure out how to improve his nutrition, Robinson said.

After the visit, Robinson summed up the philosophy of naturopathic doctors.

“We all believe the body has a natural ability to heal itself,” she said.

As a practitioner of alternative medicine, Robinson said she is sometimes marginalized. Some insurance companies do not cover

Dr. Melissa Robinson takes Juan Shutte’s temperature and blood pressure Saturday during a visit at her Stamford office. Robinson’s practice, Natural Solutions for Health, uses nutritional counseling, diet and exercise planning, thermal massage and dietary supplements. (David Ames/For The Advocate)

It can be difficult to connect her patients with low-cost access to specialists for X-rays, blood work, MRIs and other services, she said. Sometimes patients need treatments, such as surgery, that are out of her realm, she said.

But Robinson’s philosophy of using herbs and natural cures is one that many people from Latin America are quick to embrace, said Ingrid Fallaque, Robinson’s translator and intermediary with the Hispanic community. Many Hispanics are familiar with natural remedies from their own countries and feel more safe using them than taking pills, said Fallaque, who is from Peru.

“When I talk to people, that’s the most important thing for them,” Fallaque said. “They grew up with it. Even my own mother used to give me herbs for everything.”

Robinson’s approach goes beyond physical symptoms. Another patient, Francisco Rosario, 16, started seeing Robinson about two months ago after a friend of the family recommended the practice to his mother.

Rosario had low energy and felt uninterested in most everything. He’d watch TV instead of being active and was skipping classes at school. He tried prescription medication, but it made him feel worse, Rosario said.

Robinson gave him vitamins, fish oil and a natural amino acid to help him with his moods, an approach that can be characterized as holistic medicine, in which doctors view the physical and the mental as interconnected.

Rosario said the difference was clear.

“I feel more calm, I understand more, and I can pay attention,” Rosario said. “Before I just didn’t care.”

Robinson didn’t stop there. She helped Rosario get a job at a church and asked him how he was doing in school, offering to help tutor him in math.

Asked why she put in the extra effort, Robinson thought a moment.

“Sometimes people need a spokesperson for them,” Robinson said. “I want to follow through and make sure people get better.”

Date: Nov 17, 2008

– Staff Writer Magdalene Perez can be reached at magdalene.perez@scni.com or 964-2240.

To see more of The Stamford Advocate, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stamfordadvocate.com.

Copyright © 2008, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

When Juan Shutte began feeling heat and pains in his face and back, he went to a clinic, but doctors told him they couldn't find the problem.

That's when Shutte, a Peruvian immigrant who owns a cleaning business, read about Dr. Melissa Robinson in a Spanish-language newspaper.

Robinson's practice, Natural Solutions for Health, uses nutritional counseling, diet and exercise planning, thermal massage and dietary supplements to heal the body without prescription drugs or invasive surgeries.

Shutte, a pot-bellied man who looks much younger than his 70 years, decided to try it. Within two months, his blood pressure lowered and his symptoms significantly subsided, he said.

"I had gone to the clinic for a few months and I didn't feel any different," Shutte said. "Now I'm coming here, and I feel a little better. The medicines she gave me helped calm the pain a lot."

Robinson, one of many doctors in the small but growing field of naturopathic medicine, has helped build her private practice in Stamford by offering her services to the Hispanic community at affordable rates.

Early in her practice, Robinson discovered Hispanic patients were drawn to the type of natural medicine she offered. Now most of her business comes from Hispanics, she said.

"I feel like we're really fulfilling a need in the community," Robinson said. "They're helping me, so I can build this business."

Robinson operates out of a single-room office on Glenbrook Road above a Chinese

restaurant and decorative glass shop. Shutte had an appointment Saturday, part of a routine of biweekly visits for the past two months. Robinson began by interviewing Shutte, mostly in Spanish, with the help of a translator.

"Como estas?" Robinson said, asking, "How are you" in Spanish. "Are you taking your medicine?"

She went through the routines of a primary doctor -- taking blood pressure, listening to Shutte's heartbeat, taking his weight. But instead of writing a prescription for blood pressure medication, which Shutte once took and disliked because of side effects, Robinson recommended he supplement his diet with fish peptides, flax, pumpkin seeds and cucumber.

That will help Shutte's symptoms, Robinson said. For another problem, his weight, Robinson gave Shutte worksheets to record his diet for the next two weeks and advised him not to eat late at night. When he returns, they will figure out how to improve his nutrition, Robinson said.

After the visit, Robinson summed up the philosophy of naturopathic doctors.

"We all believe the body has a natural ability to heal itself," she said.

As a practitioner of alternative medicine, Robinson said she is sometimes marginalized. Some insurance companies do not cover

Dr. Melissa Robinson takes Juan Shutte's temperature and blood pressure Saturday during a visit at her Stamford office. Robinson's practice, Natural Solutions for Health, uses nutritional counseling, diet and exercise planning, thermal massage and dietary supplements. (David Ames/For The Advocate)

It can be difficult to connect her patients with low-cost access to specialists for X-rays, blood work, MRIs and other services, she said. Sometimes patients need treatments, such as surgery, that are out of her realm, she said.

But Robinson's philosophy of using herbs and natural cures is one that many people from Latin America are quick to embrace, said Ingrid Fallaque, Robinson's translator and intermediary with the Hispanic community. Many Hispanics are familiar with natural remedies from their own countries and feel more safe using them than taking pills, said Fallaque, who is from Peru.

"When I talk to people, that's the most important thing for them," Fallaque said. "They grew up with it. Even my own mother used to give me herbs for everything."

Robinson's approach goes beyond physical symptoms. Another patient, Francisco Rosario, 16, started seeing Robinson about two months ago after a friend of the family recommended the practice to his mother.

Rosario had low energy and felt uninterested in most everything. He'd watch TV instead of being active and was skipping classes at school. He tried prescription medication, but it made him feel worse, Rosario said.

Robinson gave him vitamins, fish oil and a natural amino acid to help him with his moods, an approach that can be characterized as holistic medicine, in which doctors view the physical and the mental as interconnected.

Rosario said the difference was clear.

"I feel more calm, I understand more, and I can pay attention," Rosario said. "Before I just didn't care."

Robinson didn't stop there. She helped Rosario get a job at a church and asked him how he was doing in school, offering to help tutor him in math.

Asked why she put in the extra effort, Robinson thought a moment.

"Sometimes people need a spokesperson for them," Robinson said. "I want to follow through and make sure people get better."

Date: Nov 17, 2008

- Staff Writer Magdalene Perez can be reached at magdalene.perez@scni.com or 964-2240.

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