Health

Finding the Right Fibroid Treatment to Maintain Fertility

By Bruce McLucas, MD, Fibroid Treatment Collective
bruceFibroid tumors are benign growths within the uterus. They affect 40 percent of women over the age of 40, and cause problems for countless younger women who wish to have a family.

Fibroids can cause the uterus to change shape, which can decrease fertility. The main problems caused by fibroids are miscarriage, loss of pregnancy, premature delivery, increased chance of cesarean section and bleeding after delivery. In addition, fibroids may cause separation of the placenta from the uterus, with the possibility of death of the fetus. Usually, we do not advise our patients to attempt pregnancy until they have undergone treatment for their fibroid problems.
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Lifestyle

Healthy Halloween Treats On A Stick

By Annie Daulter
halloweenpopsFall is my favorite time of year, but my kids miss the warm summer days. I want to share a festive Fall treat that will trick your little ones into thinking it’s summer time all over again.

Harvest Pops
My 3 year old Bodhi, is a picky eater. I mean really picky, and for a mom like me who is obsessed with good foods, it often makes me crazy that he won’t eat. However, one thing he does like are popsicles! This inspired to me to start making all kinds of healthy pops and so, I did what I do…I wrote a book about it!
These Harvest Pops and many others will be featured in my newest book, Ice Pop Joy next March (Sellers, Spring 2011). So this Halloween, instead of putting candied apples on a stick, puree your apples and some butternut squash and make a fun new ice pop treat! They might sound scary, but the real trick is, they are actually a delicious treat!
Harvest Pops
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Education

Empowering Children to Make Their Food Decisions

By Dr. Judy Bin-Nun
nathlieIt is always best that we see “feeding” as a “Line of Development” as the scholar Anna Freud discussed. Anna Freud’s line went from “feeding to rational eating” as a specific developmental progression.
How to learn rational, intuitive eating unless children are able to explore foods, help themselves to food from a “family platter” or “family bowl?” The more a young child can select on his/her own meal portions, the more responsibility is taken in making independent food choices. Try not to pile food on your child’s plate, see what happens when the child begins to take responsibility for food at mealtime – make this a two-week experiment.
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Health

Tackling the Obesity Crisis

By Peter S. Waldstein, M.D., F.A.A.P and Julia A. White, M.D., F.A.A.P
DoctorStarting a healthy lifestyle is not something you begin only after there is a problem. Proper diet and nutrition in early childhood are essential. A child’s diet in the womb, during infancy, and as a toddler can have lifelong effects on his or her health.

Researchers are showing that baby’s food preference can be traced to the womb. For the first six months of a baby’s life, nutritional needs should be summed up in two words: breast milk. Human breast milk is perfectly designed for the building of infant brain tissue. It has six times the essential fatty acids of cow’s milk. This is imperative since the type of fat a baby consumes at this stage can affect brain development and function.

Babies are usually ready for solid foods after six months, but they should continue breast-feeding until at least one year. Unfortunately, only 15 percent of American infants reach that goal, and only six out of ten breast-feed at all. Mothers should also be concerned about what they are eating during this period. Infants can develop allergies to foods passed on through breast milk.
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Lifestyle

Cooking Healthy with Your Kids

Easy, fun recipes to make with your children.

By Catherine McCord
catherine I get countless emails every day from parents and readers of my website, weelicious.com, looking for advice because they can’t get their kids to eat anything healthy. As a mother of two kids under four, I understand all too well what a stress it can be trying to prepare three meals (and snacks) for your family 7 days a week.

So, how do we get kids to fall in love with fruits and vegetables and actually WANT to eat them? It’s important to realize that kids are told what to do and when to do it almost all day long, so when they have the ability to control something — like the food that goes in their body — they won’t hesitate to do it. And that can make life tough for concerned parents.
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Health

Dealing with Whooping Cough

By Peter S. Waldstein, M.D., F.A.A.P and Julia A. White, M.D., F.A.A.P
Doctor You may have heard about the recent epidemic of whooping cough in the news, and like most parents probably have many questions. Pertussis (also know as “whooping cough”) is a respiratory illness that is characterized by paroxysms of cough. Vaccinations greatly decrease the incidence of the disease, although we do see some cyclical peaks in activity. Now, pertussis has made a come back with this year being on track to have the most cases in almost 50 years. Infants and young children are the most severely affected, and it can be fatal especially in young infants. All of the fatalities from pertussis this year in California have been in children under the age of 3 months.

Whooping cough is a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Bordatella pertussis. It may also be caused by Bordatella parapertussis, but less commonly. It is spread by contact with respiratory secretions or droplets of an infected person, and is most infectious during the initial catarrhal phase of the illness. A normal incubation period for the illness is about 7 to 10 days, but may be shorter or longer. After this, the symptoms start to appear.
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Education

Returning to the Routine: A Back to School Quick Study

By Nathalie Kunin
nathlie It’s September, which means that it’s time for you and your children to shake off the lazy days of summer and return to that trusted routine of the school year.

Decluttering the Desk
For the last three months, your child’s workspace has been the docking station for everything other than work, so it’s important to take some time before classes resume to “redefine the desk.” Organize all school materials (pencils, erasers, a dictionary, accordion files, etc.) into a clutter-free work area with plenty of elbowroom.

As you help tidy up, remind your child that music and snacks do not belong in the workspace. Explain why these rules are enforced – snacks are distracting, and music is counterproductive. Promote workspace independence. After all, this is their domain. Suggest hanging a bulletin board and a calendar beside the desk for posting exam reminders, keeping track of extracurricular activities and organizing long term assignments.

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Health

Take A Bite Out Of Summer With Healthy Teeth

Dr. Alan Barbakow, DDS
DR Barbakow Summertime is no reason for kids to take a vacation from maintaining healthy teeth. It is important for them to continue their routine of brushing and flossing regularly. Parents should also continue to reinforce daily dental discipline in addition to seeing their dentist and orthodontist during the summer.

Besides playing video games, hanging out at the mall and playing Marco Polo in the swimming pool, snacking plays a major part in children’s summer activities. Oftentimes, they tend to eat foods such as candy, potato chips and ice cream that are delicious and fun, but are traditionally bad for their teeth. These kinds of foods heavily laced with sugar (sucrose) and corn sweeteners (fructose) attack the hard enamel of the teeth resulting in cavities.
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Education

The Giant Invisible Scoreboard

By Samara Fabrick, LCSW
samaraDo you find yourself fighting with your husband about who changed the last poopy diaper? Are you
battling over who’s going to the farmers market to get the organic produce for your homemade baby
food? Are you feeling like you are carrying the lion’s share of the responsibilities in your family? You are
not alone.
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Lifestyle

Easy Ways To Help You Cope With The BP Oil Spill

By Jen Pleasants
emma Do you get a pit in your stomach when anyone mentions the oil spill in the Gulf? That’s eco-anxiety and it isn’t good for you or the planet.

If I let myself, I would ball up in a fetal position just thinking about those sea turtles on fire as BP tries to burn off the oil. I am angry at BP for their carelessness, angry at myself for our dependence on oil, worried about the sea life, concerned for the livelihoods of the gulf residents and frustrated with how to change the situation. What is a girl to do with these toxic emotions? As the author of a book on how to turn eco-anxiety into constructive energy, I can share with you what I am doing to feel better to keep my own anxiety from increasing as oil gushes, glaciers melt and plastic soups swirl.
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