Sure, we have a problem with childhood obesity in this country but, come on, what country doesn't? What's it going to hurt to let kids pig out one night a year? I mean, Halloween only comes once a year, just like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, birthdays (of siblings and friends), anniversaries... Okay, so maybe they do end up eating a lot of junk a lot of the time.
Some parents are trying to make a difference -- by skipping the Halloween candy and handing out less fattening treats. Toys, pencils, stickers, Play-doh, and glow sticks are some of the alternatives people are handing out. "I thought, here I am trying to take care of my health," says Lisa Bruno, of Des Plaines, Illinois, who ditched the candy five years ago. "I felt a responsibility to my community to take care of the kids around me."
Experts suggest that Halloween can be used as a vehicle for teaching kids about portion size and limits to help them deal with food issues all year long. "It's important that we as parents help them find the balance between that very traditional fun activity and a healthy lifestyle," says Connie Diekman, past president of the American Dietetic Association.
I like the idea of giving out pencils or Play-doh -- things that will last longer than the length of a single swallow. I'm not so sure, however, how kids feel about it. Are you giving out candy or a less sugary alternative this year?
I doubt any parent thinks of a product called "Sugar Smacks" as nutritious. We reserve that kind of labeling for cereals that have no taste or taste like compacted sawdust. Still, would it surprise you to find out that many cereals, especially those designed for kids, are essentially candy? Move over Butterfinger, moms and dads could be handing out samples of cereal to the sweet seeking trick-or-treaters hitting their doorsteps this October!
Sugar Smacks were renamed Honey Smacks some time well after I stopped eating cereals (and being a kid--I guess those two things are linked) but a consumer group still found they were half sugar by weight. So, too did they find as such for Golden Crisp. Never heard of that one. If you'd told me that Cocoa Puffs were half sugar I would believe you, but the consumer group didn't test those.
As you might expect, Cheerios (champion cereal of small children everywhere) and Honey Nut Cheerios were found to be the healthiest. Cheerios ranked first with only one gram of sugar and three grams of fiber per serving. The study of cereals also found that kids serve themselves at least twice as much per serving as recommended. Who doesn't--especially if it's delicious and full of sugar??? Kellogg, who make Honey Smacks, noted they've made strides to increase the nutritional content of several cereals, including Fruit Loops, and that a serving of yogurt contains more sugar than a serving of Honey Smacks. What they didn't point out is the size of a serving of each--I'd wager you get a lot more yogurt than you do cereal per recommended serving. It also depends on what kind of yogurt you're discussing, as some brands add sugar a lot more liberally than others.
Considering all we've heard about the childhood obesity epidemic, it really should come as no surprise that parents are turning to surgical procedures to help their kids lose weight. According to a 2007 study, nearly 800 U.S. kids had weight-loss surgery in 2003. Those surgeries range from gastric bypass operations to stomach banding.
While weight loss surgery for kids may not be surprising, it is rather alarming. Research has shown that one in every 200 patients dies from gastric bypass and one in every 1,000 patients dies from banding. Why would a parent subject a child to the risks associated with major surgery when perhaps all that is really needed is a better diet and more exercise?
Karen Hanrahan is a wellness educator who teaches a workshop titled Healthy Choices for Children. Her class is for parents and is intended to teach them about healthy alternatives to the processed food products so widely available today. To illustrate just how unhealthy some of our diet staples are, she carries with her a rather unusual prop: a 12-year-old McDonald's hamburger.
Before you start cringing in disgust, go have a look at her blog and the burger in question. The plain hamburger Hanrahan says she purchased back in 1996 looks exactly like one you would purchase today. It's not moldy, maggoty or otherwise decomposed. Hanrahan claims to have done nothing at all to preserve the burger other than to store it in a plastic sandwich container. She says that the burger's unchanging appearance over the years illustrates her point: McDonald's hamburgers are not real food.
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She writes: "Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike - this is a chemical food. Not one ounce of food value. Or at least value for why we are eating in the first place."
Of course, Hanrahan gets beat up in the comments to her post, but most seem to accept her claim that the burger has survived basically unchanged for over a decade. We aren't big McDonald's eaters around here, but I know plenty of families who are. I wonder if this 12-year-old burger might impact the way they feel about their favorite fast-food stop. Does it give you pause?
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 20,000 Children's Metal Water Bottles from Pottery Barn Kids. The sip top on the bottles can detach and pose a choking hazard to young kids.
The bottles are about 9 inches tall and have a black rubber sip top that pulls up. The following color and styles are included in the recall. You can find the style number and "Pottery Barn Kids" printed on a white sticker on the bottom of the bottle.
Lavender - 5795141 Pink - 5795166 Pink - 9121591 Navy - 5795158 Navy - 9211583 Green - 5795133
The water bottles were made in Taiwan and sold exclusively at Pottery Barn Kids' stores nationwide, Pottery Barn Kids' catalog, and through Pottery Barn online from from January 2007 through August 2008 for about $10 each. If you have one of the recalled bottles, you should immediately take it away from your child and return it to any Pottery Barn Kids' store for a full refund. If you bought it online or through the catalog, contact Pottery Barn Kids to receive your refund. You can reach them by calling (877) 800-9720 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or by visiting their Web site.
We all know that "breast is best" when it comes to a baby's first food, but what about after that? Some mothers breastfeed their children for several years. Okay, so that's great if you can do it, but what about adults? Why should grown-ups be denied the health benefits of mother's milk? Well, a restaurant owner in Switzerland doesn't think his customers should be given the cold shoulder when it comes to breastmilk.
Hans Locher plans to offer soups, stews, and sauces containing at least seventy-five percent breastmilk on his menu. "We have all been raised on it," he says. "Why should we not include it into our diet?" He has taken out ads looking for donors and plans to pay more than five dollars a pint. "I first experimented with breast milk when my daughter was born," Locher explains. "One can cook really delicious things with it."
If you're considering adding some to your diet, I'm sure Locher would be completely supportive. "However," he warns, "it always needs to be mixed with a bit of whipped cream, in order to keep the consistency." So there you go.
Well, that is not exactly true. Keira Knightley said that she should get pregnant, though, so people will stop talking about her weight. The actress is constantly battling rumors that she is anorexic.
These rumors persist probably because she is less than pencil thin and I don't think anyone has ever seen her eating anything. Regardless, people should lay off her shape. Knightley agrees and thinks perhaps she should get knocked up so she'll grow a baby belly and people's tongues will stop wagging.
I'm guessing there are a number of you out there who would disagree that's a good reason to have a baby. Of course, there are an equal number of you out there who feel Keira is being facetious. And rightly so. I also think Knightley would rather die than trade her thinness for anything, and that the lady perhaps doth protest a wee too much.
Getting your child to eat healthfully can be harder than a 48-hour labor. Much of the time, where picky eaters come from is unknown, although it seems able to start at an early age and set in for the duration of childhood if we're not careful. For most parents, we're terrified of the growing obesity epidemic and our children possibly becoming a part of it and we're equally concerned about our children getting proper nutrition.
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So, what to do? Well, a new section of the New York Times, dedicated to health issues, has a few suggestions. The first is to keep kids in the kitchen and get them involved in food preparation. Making kids aware of all the different kinds of food out there, moreso than just getting them to eat SOMETHING, is key, and being in the kitchen gives them, at least in part, that awareness. Another suggestion is to encourage children to try a bite of everything that's served. It was noted that coercing them into eating foods or bribing them into doing it doesn't really work. Many of you have noted that as well. And hiding or restricting the goodies? Well, that just makes kids want them more. We all know how that feels--adults who deprive themselves of the things they enjoy while dieting usually end up sneaking the foods or possibly overdosing on them.
Depending on the age of your child, some of these techniques may or may not work. I can agree with offering the variety approach though, regardless of your child's age. That seems to be the kindest, smartest way to get a kid to at least try something. I also eat whatever it is I serve my child, and make a big deal out of how yummy it is. Then, he inevitably at least wants to try what I have. He may not like it, but at least he sampled--and that's better than the period during which he attempted to sustain himself entirely on Cheerios.
China has recalled more than 700 tons of infant formula after it was found to be contaminated with melamine. The formula has been attributed to at least one child's death and kidney problems in 50 others. Babies who've consumed the tainted formula have been suffering from kidney stones and kidney failure. Melamine is added on the sly to animal food in order to make it appear as though it has more protein in it.
The Sanlu group recalled the infant formula rather unfortunately on the heals of the other product woes China's been dealing with in the past year--recalls have been abounding over everything from children's goods to pet foods and has given China a hard battle in convincing other countries their products are safe. Melamine, which is an industrial product, was found in tainted pet food. Thousands of pets died before a recall was issued.
China is no stranger to tainted infant formula. Sadly, counterfeiters using the Sanlu name distributed infant formula that was attributed to the the deaths of thirteen babies several years ago. China's health ministry confirmed most of the babies who've fallen ill have consumed the Sanlu formula. They are vowing severe punishment for the perpetrators (granted they're ever caught). According to the U.S. FDA, no Chinese formula has been approved for distribution in the States.
Ok, who knows if this is really true, but it's certainly cute. According to Victoria Beckham herself, she cooks for her family. Many moms accomplish this task, but I'd wager few are as busy as Posh Spice, who spends her time running her fashion lines of jeans and clothes as well as modeling and being a fashion plate in general. Posh also recently released yet another fragrance she's been promoting.
Posh, who is vegetarian (perhaps that is how she keeps her trim figure?) says she makes a good mincemeat pie though. Posh also says she cooks dinner every Sunday for her family, which consists of husband David--international soccer star and megahottie--and three sons, Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn. The menu includes Yorkshire pudding and Dora the Explorer cakes--I'm guessing those are David's favorite???
Victoria was under recent speculation that she might be adding to her family but has done her best to quell those rumors by wearing tight fitting clothes and telling everyone she is too busy to consider another child at this time. Part of the reason she is so busy is spending some time suing magazines for claiming she takes dieting pills. Maybe she just doesn't like mincemeat pies!
Sure, we have a problem with childhood obesity in this country but, come on, what country doesn't? What's it going to hurt to let kids pig out one night a year? I mean, Halloween only comes once a year, just like Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, the Fourth of July, birthdays (of siblings and friends), anniversaries... Okay, so maybe they do end up eating a lot of junk a lot of the time.
Considering all we've heard about the childhood obesity epidemic, it really should come as no surprise that parents are turning to 
Karen Hanrahan is a wellness educator who teaches a workshop titled Healthy Choices for Children. Her class is for parents and is intended to teach them about healthy alternatives to the processed food products so widely available today. To illustrate just how unhealthy some of our diet staples are, she carries with her a rather unusual prop: a 12-year-old McDonald's hamburger.
We all know that "breast is best" when it comes to a baby's first food, but what about after that? Some mothers breastfeed their children for several years. Okay, so that's great if you can do it, but what about adults? Why should grown-ups be denied the health benefits of mother's milk? Well, a restaurant owner in Switzerland doesn't think his customers should be given the cold shoulder when it comes to breastmilk.
