This is a guest post by registered dietitian Brooke Schantz. She blogs at Bitchin’ Nutrition about nutrition and healthy eating.

photo credit: shawncampbell

With Halloween coming up, many parents may feel stress and pressure with all the allergen-laden treats that are given out during this time of year.  It can be hard around Halloween because part of the celebration revolves around food and treats.   Making a game plan before Halloween during trick-or-treating, parties, and school events can help relieve stress!

Here are a few tips to help your children with food allergies enjoy Halloween:

At Home

Don’t buy your trick-or-treat candy at the last minute.  Shop for your candy early, so you will have enough time to read the ingredient lists on your family’s favorite candies and decide what is okay to buy.

Plan your trick-or-treat route days before Halloween.  Take some of your child’s favorite treats to the neighbors ahead of time.  Your child will still get to enjoy the experience and you will feel relieved knowing that the treats they will receive are safe to eat.

Trick-or-Treat for the United Nation International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).  This will teach your children about helping others and you can still give them their favorite treats when they get home as a thank you.

At Parties

Host a party at your house!  You will be able to control the environment and still provide delicious treats your child can eat.

Have your child eat before they attend a party.  Talk with the host ahead of time and let them know what food allergies your child has, so they can prepare at least one treat that everyone can enjoy.

Take your own appetizers or treats to a party.  This way the buffet or dessert table won’t spook you, because you know what foods can be safely consumed.

At School

Speak with your child’s teacher before any fall party to remind him or her of your child’s food allergies.

Encourage other parents of children in the class to provide non-candy gifts during the school party.  Handout Halloween gifts like: pencils, stickers, or plastic pumpkin baskets.

See if you can volunteer to help out during the party. You can also let the teacher know that you are willing to be in charge of the snacks.

Always pack an allergen–free snack for your child to enjoy just in case there are no other safe options.

Review with your child what foods are safe for him or her to eat and what foods should be avoided.  Teach your children to ask questions about foods and/or treats at parties prior to consumption.

©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Nearly half a billion eggs have been recalled due to an outbreak of salmonella. Even though it is a small number compared to the total number of eggs sold and consumed in the United States, it takes only one bad egg to disturb your family’s peace! Eggs are an excellent source of complete protein. And if your child enjoys them, there is no need to panic even though the screaming headlines in the media may prompt you to completely bypass the egg aisle at the store. Here are 7 ways to ensure your child’s health and safety despite this nationwide food safety issue.

Be informed: Keep an eye on the brands and manufacturing plant numbers affected by the salmonella recall. So far, it is limited to certain farms in Iowa, but eggs produced there are distributed and sold nationwide, If you live in one of the affected states where these eggs are sold, you have to be extra vigilant so you don’t end up bringing contaminated eggs home. Monitor credible websites like the CDC and Egg Safety Center (see links below) for updates.

Look carefully before buying: Every egg carton has number beginning with the letter P, usually stamped on the short side. This is not to be confused with the expiration date, or in some cases, best if used before date. The P number is mandatory, while the others are voluntary. An example of a P number is shown below:

The 4 numbers immediately after the letter P indicate the plant where the eggs were produced. The Julian date shows the date they were packaged. Julian date represents the consecutive days of the year with 001 for January 1 and 365 for December 31. In the above example, P-1946 is the plant number and 223 is Aug 11 in a non leap year like 2010.

According to the recall list, P numbers 1026, 1413, 1946 with Julian dates 136 to 225 are affected. Keep in mind that both the P number and the Julian date should match to be sure that the eggs in the carton are affected.

Even if the egg carton you are about to buy is not included in the recall list, pay attention to how the eggs are stored. They should be kept refrigerated and the egg shells should be clean and uncracked. Compare the Julian date to the current date to get an idea about how long they have been out since they were packed at the plant. Although eggs are considered safe even after 4-5 weeks from the Julian date if kept refrigerated, it is better to buy within 1-2 weeks after they were packed to make sure they are fresh.

Look for the USDA grade shield on the carton which means the eggs  were tested to meet established quality standards.

Ask questions when eating out: Eggs are used in many different dishes, not just what you might order at breakfast. And even if the restaurant makes a fresh dish, they may use many ingredients processed with eggs. Before you order your favorite omelet, or a fried egg with the sunny side up, ask questions to make sure they are using fresh, uncontaminated eggs. Do they use shell eggs or liquid egg mix? Liquid egg mix must be pasteurized. Pay attention to the overall hygiene of the cooking environment. Salmonella contamination can come not just from eggs but from other foods too.

Avoid eating raw eggs: It does not take long for bacteria to grow inside the egg because of their high nutrient density. Even 1-2 h at room temperature or under unrefrigerated conditions may be enough for bacteria to grow and multiply inside the egg. It is often very hard to tell just by looking at the raw egg yolk or white if it is contaminated by bacteria. As a result, eating raw eggs carries a higher risk of getting sick. It is better to cook them well and keep prepared dishes refrigerated until they are served.

Use safe cooking practices: Use common sense and good hygiene as you cook eggs and other foods. Wash hands, sanitized work surfaces and counter tops, use clean cutting boards, knives and utensils. Cook at a high enough temperature and cook completely. In case of eggs, both the yolk and white should be firm when properly cooked.

Limit processed egg products: Eggs and egg products are used in a lot of processed foods. The good news is that there are strict quality standards and pasteurization requirements before egg products can be used. However, the more processed a food is, the less information and control you have about its ingredients. In general, it is better to use fresh, raw and high quality ingredients to prepare your food. This is good not only for your health and nutrition but also to minimize the risk of food based sickness. Whenever possible, limit the consumption of processed foods.

Watch out for early signs of illness: Young children are at a higher risk of getting sick from contaminated eggs. Watch out for symptoms like fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhea within 12 to 72 hours of eating contaminated foods. Vomiting, chills, headache and muscle pains may also occur. Seek immediate medical attention to ensure timely treatment before it gets out of control. Serious sickness and even death can occur.

Staying alert, buying smart and using safe cooking techniques will help you keep your family safe during the current and future food safety crisis. Stay safe and healthy!

Resources:

Egg Safety Center Recall List

CDC update on the outbreak of salmonella in shell eggs

There is something ironic about freezing cold weather in Florida! I know, I should not be complaining because rest of the country seems to be under a really bitter cold, but I can’t help myself. It is not supposed to be that cold here. I would not mind it so much if it got cold enough to get some snow and everything shut down for a day or so. That way, we could go out and play in the snow with kids. That would be fun, but this bitter cold with the sun shining on us at the same time is simply miserable!

Anyway, enough of complaining about the cold. I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season. I am just now getting in the groove with blogging again in the new year after a short break. Therefore, for this week’s 5 for Fridays, I am going to pick my personal favorite nutrition stories of 2009 I wrote about in this weekly column. So, here they are; let me know what you think about them.

Even Top Chefs Have Picky Kids (published Feb 20, 2009)

I have not seen the otherwise popular show “Top Chef”, but I really liked this interview with Chef Tom Colicchio in the New York Times. Despite his celebrity status, he appears to be quite modest and down-to-earth. Like most parents, he too struggles with his teenage son’s eating habits. I liked his ideas about wholesome food made from fresh ingredients and setting an example by eating healthy food at home. According to him, the choice of food is not between unhealthy and healthy, it is between good and bad! Although he acknowledges that people are busy, it is not really that hard and time consuming to make a healthy recipe (if you know what you are doing of course!). He proves that by giving an example of a 20-minute pasta dish with a yummy clams sauce.

Which vitamin is better – tablet or liquid? (published Mar 27, 2009)

There is an interesting debate going on in one of the LinkedIn groups on Nutrition. Does a tablet form of vitamin work better inside the body or the liquid form? Absorption of vitamins and minerals from a multivitamin supplement is not very well understood. In the absence of scientific data, all kinds of claims are made about liquid vitamins that they are better and they are absorbed quickly. In response to these claims, those who believe in tablets and capsules tend to make their own counter claims. It is all very confusing to everybody.

In response to my poll on multivitamins, most of those who used these supplements for their toddlers preferred the gummies or tablet variety. Very few favored the liquid form. Could be that liquid form of vitamins is not very common and tends to be more expensive.

I have been thinking about this topic lately and I intend to do some research before writing a post. In the meantime, feel free to share your opinion.

The sweet nothingness of artificial sweeteners (published May 29, 2009)

There are so many different types of artificial sweeteners available these days. And now there is all this buzz about Stevia, the real “natural” no-calorie sweetener. How do you decide which one of the white, blue, yellow and pink packets to go for as you try to grab your morning coffee? They are zero calories all right, but should you worry about possible adverse health effects, including the possibility of cancer, from some of these chemicals? And what about the fact that consuming zero calories sugary beverages does nothing to control your appetite and you might actually end up eating more even as you try to cut down on calories? Check out this very detailed article on artificial sweeteners which basically says that most artificial sweeteners are safe in moderate amounts. So go for the one that tastes the best to you. Overall, you will be better off going for just water instead of the sweet beverage and following a nutrient-rich diet including fruits and vegetables. Zero means zero after all!

30 states have 30% or higher childhood obesity rates (published Jul 3, 3009)

Scary statistics, and nothing to be proud of in my opinion. This data comes from a new report called F as in Fat – How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009 published by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Mississippi got the top honor for its 44% childhood obesity rate – that is nearly 1 in 2 children 10-17 years old is either overweight or obese. 8 of the 10 states with highest rates of childhood obesity are in the South. Another study of children 2-5 years old in low income families shows that nearly 15% of these children are obese compared to about 12% nationwide. It is not that we don’t know the reason for this trend – children eat junk food, they spend too much time watching TV or in front of a computer, they don’t exercise, and schools are not up to standard when it comes to providing healthy meals. Still, nothing is being done about it, and seems like we have no control over the expanding waistlines of our children. Clearly, childhood obesity is a problem we need to confront with all our creativity and resources since it has terrible implications for the long term health of our nation.

Watch out, eating hamburgers can paralyze you (published Oct 9, 2009)

I was shocked beyond belief to read the unfortunate story of 22 years old Stephanie Smith, who got really sick after eating a hamburger contaminated with E. coli. She was so sick that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks, after which she could no longer walk because she was paralyzed from the waist down. A very heavy price to pay for a cheap hamburger all of us assume safe for eating without much thought.

Turns out there are serious gaps in the food inspection system which is supposed to test packaged meat for E. coli contamination. Ground beef is produced by processors from beef trimmings and other parts which they buy from many different suppliers. Not all of these incoming supplies are tested for contamination before grinding. The result is that contaminated cow parts can sometime enter the ground beef supply undetected. Does not happen very frequently, but it does happen often enough to make the news. 8000 people have become sick from 16 E. coli outbreaks in the last 3 years.

No matter how many regulations and inspections are put in place, there is no way to be 100% safe because of the way meat is processed in modern plants. My advice – cut down on beef in the first place – it has been shown to increase the risk of various types of cancer. And if you do want to enjoy a burger, make sure you follow the safe handling procedures and cook it thoroughly so that the inside of the hamburger reaches 165 °F.

Photo source: dylinindustries on Flickr via everystockphoto
©2010 Littlestomaks.com

Let us admit it – we love our hamburgers! No barbecue party is complete without grilling burgers, the smoke filling the air as you enjoy a couple of beers with friends gathered around the grill. McDonald’s serves millions of hamburgers each day. And if you include other fast food outlets and restaurants, the total number would probably reach tens of millions every day. If we had one, you could say the hamburger has become our national food!

When we eat a hamburger, getting sick is probably the last thing on our mind. It is cheap, readily available and tastes good. Yet, 8000 people have become sick by eating contaminated beef in 16 E. coli outbreaks in the last 3 years. The number may seem small given the very large amount of ground beef produced and consumed in the United States. But what if you or your child is the one getting sick next time. What if it makes you so sick that you have to be put into a coma and when you come out of it, you cannot even walk because you are paralyzed from the waist down. Shocking, I know, but that is what happened to 22 year old Stephanie Smith according to a recent New York Times story.

What is inside that packet of ground beef or ready-to-cook beef patties that can make you so sick?And how come we cannot test for the nasty E. coli bacteria so the contaminated meat does not reach the store shelves?

Ground beef is made from a lot of different cow parts and trimmings from a lot of different cows. In her book Safe Food, Marion Nestle cites a study which says that 1 pound of ground beef can contain meat from more than 400 cattle! The New York Times article E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection describes in detail how different raw materials from far flung slaughterhouses end up at a meat processor’s plant, usually without any testing. The final product is supposed to be tested for contamination, but there is no guarantee that everything will be tested before shipping out. Usually it is too late before contamination is detected. Although there is a product recall to protect customers, some do end up getting sick. And then it is not possible to trace the source of contamination because of too many different ingredients from too many different suppliers.

Clearly, the system is broken and something needs to be done. But no one has any smart ideas for a real fix. Not a surprise that most people are looking up to the Government. I hope you are not going to wait around for that to happen anytime soon!

Here are a few things you can do to safeguard your family’s health:

• Buy from a reliable store with high safety standards. Costco is taking several steps to ensure that the ingredients are tested before meat is ground.
• Ask the store manager about their safety record, sanitation and hygiene practices. Ask if they do any testing within the store.
• Do not buy ready-to-eat frozen patties. Go for the freshly ground beef packaged at the store. Check the expiration date to get an idea of how long the meat has been sitting in the store.
• Follow safe handling procedures. Cook thoroughly to ensure the inside temperature reaches 165 ºF measured by a meat thermometer. A word of caution – a recent NYT video Hamburger Confidential shows that these instructions are not sufficient to completely remove the risk of contamination.

But I think the best tip is what I tried this week after reading about it somewhere:

• Select your favorite beef cut and ask the meat department to grind it for you. I tried this at our local Publix, and they were happy to do it. This way, you will know exactly what is going inside your ground beef.
• You can also buy a meat grinder and do at yourself at home! We have not done it yet – but I read about it in Matthew Amster-Burton’s book Hungry Monkey – could be a lot of fun operating it with your toddler!

I will not say that you should stop eating red meat because it is not very healthy and it is known to increase the risk of cancer. Moderation is the key; after all there is no reason to give up enjoying a juicy burger once in a while. But when it comes to food safety, all it takes is just one incident to make your life miserable.

I would love to hear your ideas and tips for keeping ground beef safe.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com
Photo source: rick on Flickr via everystockphoto

It is great to see orange everywhere in the neighborhood these days! Some people have already put up their Halloween decorations. We don’t get to enjoy the Fall colors as much in Florida. So these decorations – along with the cool evening air – remind us of the changing season. It is great to be outdoors these days!

It seemed like a busy week for nutrition related news. Probably because I discovered a great website which aggregates news from different sources and organizes them in different categories. It is called Alltop and it is created by none other than the Marketing Guru Guy Kawasaki. I was delighted to see my blog listed on Alltop’s Top Nutrition News page. Check it out!

Here are the 5 nutrition related news that caught my eye this week. Enjoy and drop me a comment to share your thoughts.

Watch out, eating hamburgers can paralyze you

I was shocked beyond belief to read the unfortunate story of 22 years old Stephanie Smith, who got really sick after eating a hamburger contaminated with E. coli. She was so sick that doctors had to put her in a coma for nine weeks, after which she could no longer walk because she was paralyzed from the waist down. A very heavy price to pay for a cheap hamburger all of us assume safe for eating without much thought.

Turns out there are serious gaps in the food inspection system which is supposed to test packaged meat for E. coli contamination. Ground beef is produced by processors from beef trimmings and other parts which they buy from many different suppliers. Not all of these incoming supplies are tested for contamination before grinding. The result is that  contaminated cow parts can sometime enter the ground beef supply undetected. Does not happen very frequently, but it does happen often enough to make the news. 8000 people have become sick from 16 E. coli outbreaks in the last 3 years.

No matter how many regulations and inspections are put in place, there is no way to be 100% safe because of the way meat is processed in modern plants. My advice – cut down on beef in the first place – it has been shown to increase the risk of various types of cancer. And if you do want to enjoy a burger, make sure you follow the safe handling procedures and cook it thoroughly so that the inside of the hamburger reaches 165 °F.

Food insecurity increases the risk of childhood obesity

Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? Food insecurity is defined as lack of access to food, or nutritionally adequate food. So it is surprising that new research from the American Dietetic Association concludes that there is a link between food insecurity and childhood obesity. In particular, girls from households facing food insecurity are more likely to be overweight or obese. Girls 2-5 years old from household with food insecurity were 47% more likely to be overweight compared to those from food secure households. Boys of the same age did not show this correlation.

What could be the cause of this? Researchers are not sure yet, but suggests that food insecurity creates stress which affects behavior including food choices. Add to that the availability of cheap, energy dense, nutrient-poor foods and binge eating and you can see why this could happen.

I believe that hunger and obesity are two sides of the same coin. In poor countries, food insecurity is real and energy-dense foods are not affordable. There you see severe malnutrition and low weights. In developed countries, food insecurity causes malnutrition on the other end – that is energy dense foods leading to overweight and obesity. The common factors are distribution, quality and cost of food. This is where organizations like Share Our Strength are so critical. I have supported them by writing blog posts and will continue to do so in future.

Soy isoflavones reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease

I was quite excited to read about new research from UMass (my alma mater!) which attempts to explain how isoflavones from soy rich foods work with fat cells to regulate glucose uptake and increased insulin sensitivity. This mechanism is similar to how anti-diabetic drugs work in the body. This is a very important discovery because soy rich foods have been known to lower diabetes risk, increase insulin sensitivity and reduce cardiovascular disease risk, but the cellular mechanism was not well understood.

Isoflavones are plant-based antioxidants found almost exclusively in beans such as soybeans. They are also known as polyphenols because of their chemical structure. Many of these isoflavones act as dietary estrogens. Some studies have shown a reduced risk of breast cancer especially if the soy-rich diet is given in early childhood.

Although much research still remains to be done, particularly in humans, these results are quite promising.

Michael Pollan considers rules to eat by

What are your rules of thumb that affect your food choices? Do you follow the advice of your Mom or Grandma, or do you make these choices by nutritional labels, diet trends or advertisements? Michael Pollan, the highly acclaimed author of The Omnivores Dilemma is compiling genuinely useful, nutritionally sound examples of popular wisdom about eating via the Well blog on the New York Times. He is writing  a book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual based on these responses due to be published in January.

Pollan is known for his skepticism about modern nutrition science and food marketing claims. At the core, he believes that how we eat has been, and should be, influenced by culture based on our collective wisdom accumulated over generations. In short, have more faith in what your Mama told you and skip the advice based on nutrition science.

I have a little bit of a problem with this. What is culture? How do we know that the wisdom of culture is still relevant today? I agree, that culture strongly drives our behavior, but culture is constantly changing. More so than ever now because we live in the age of the Internet. I say, listen to your Mama, but also learn the science so you can make your own decisions. If you leave the decision making to others, even if they are scientists, you are really giving up responsibility for your own health. Science and culture are not mutually exclusive; use the power of information to make your own decisions. I would love to hear Michael’s thoughts on this.

What do you think? What are your favorite rules?

Preservative-free doesn’t make salty processed foods any healthier

Annie of PhD In Parenting wrote a very nice post this week about how Nestle responded to her question on high sodium content in Stouffer’s frozen foods. This was precipitated by Nestle’s claim on Twitter that Stouffer’s meals contained no preservatives.

The No Preservative claim on processed foods is getting quite common these days because customers are getting more sensitive to chemical additives in foods. What they don’t realize is that just because a certain processed food claims to contain no preservatives, it doesn’t mean that it is healthy for them. Most of them still contain loads of salt, fat and sugar.

Nestle’s response to Annie’s question based on their expert opinion is quite ridiculous! They want you to control your toddler’s salt intake by managing the portion size – that is don’t give the adult size serving to your toddler! As if your child is a robot that you can dial in a serving size to manage their salt intake. The right thing to do is to reduce the sodium content in the food.

Instead of hiding behind the numbers in their so called “expert” response, I would have liked to see them take ownership of the sodium problem and announce specific goals to reduce them to a certain level in their products ahead of regulations. That would have shown true leadership and concern for the consumer.

What do you think?

Photo source -Barbara L. Hanson on Flickr via everystockphoto
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Happy Friday! This photo touched my heart and reminded me the value of nutrition and care for our growing children. Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words!

That said, here are the 5 interesting nutrition stories of the week that caught my eye. Enjoy and drop a comment to let me know what’s on your mind.

Eco-Atkins diet

A low carbohydrate, high protein Atkins diet is popular for weight loss, but carries the risk of increasing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. Now some researchers are suggesting that a vegan diet rich in protein from plants and nuts reduces weight and lowers cholesterol, by as much as 20%. In a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, they concluded that a  plant-based low carbohydrate “eco-Atkins” diet resulted in about the same weight loss as a high-carbohydrate, dairy and whole grain vegetarian diet, but reduced the LDL cholesterol by a larger amount. Although the size of the study was small, it proves again the many benefits of a plant-based diet. Cutting down on meats which are rich in saturated fats and cholesterol is a good idea even though the specific results cited by this study may not be seen for everybody.

New FDA chief focuses on food safety

In an interview with the Associated Press, the newly confirmed FDA chief Dr. Margaret Hamburg put a high priority on restoring FDA’s credibility by using science-based information to drive decisions, and by implementing risk-based controls for early detection of food contamination in the farm-to-store supply chain. I don’t think there is anything earth-shattering here; this is precisely what the FDA is expected to do anyway. Also, this is what the public wants to hear in light of the peanut, pistachio, spinach, lettuce and tomato outbreaks. The public confidence in the nation’s food supply is shaken up, so naturally this is high on FDA’s agenda. What I would like to know is how she plans to fix the management system, improve visibility of problems and bring in a sense of accountability in the public office. Till then, these are simply nice sounding words and we will continue to remain one more outbreak away from another massive recall and public health scare.

Consumers want healthy food but unwilling or unable to pay more

According to the United Soybean Board’s 16th Annual Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition report, nearly 9 out of 10 consumers report wanting to buy nutritious and healthy food but only about half are willing to pay more. Of the remaining, about half say they want to but can’t afford nutritious food right now. A fairly large number of them also say that the food they buy is already healthy, and that the healthier version would not taste as good. There is a certain bias in this survey towards processed foods since that is clearly of interest to the soy industry. I don’t think they even considered asking questions about fresh vegetables and fruits and cutting down on meats. My guess is that the definition of healthfulness was limited to the nutrition facts label – the usual calories, fats, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, vitamins and minerals etc. And the interesting fact about these labels is that even though most people do review them before buying, about half find the nutritional information confusing. With a limited definition of “healthfulness” and confusing nutritional information, how can we expect consumers to make the right trade-offs between buying healthy food and cost?

Challenges of reducing sugar in (processed) foods

I certainly cannot relate to the “challenges” faced by the food technologists in formulating foods with artificial sweeteners. Nor do I want to! But I found this podcast interview with the manager of sweetener technology at Tate & Lyle posted on the FoodNavigator site quite interesting. Turns out that sugar not only provides sweetness, it also affects the texture and feeling of the food. That is why, a simple substitution of natural sugar with artificial sweetener doesn’t work so well except in beverages. In ice cream, for example, reducing sugar or adding artificial sweetener can change its freezing point, and as a result, the consistency. In baked goods, sugar affects the color, taste, bulk and shelf life, which makes it difficult to reproduce with artificial sweeteners. So I guess they make these food technologists earn their paycheck after all! Anyway, this manager also commented that consumers want taste and choice, and for those wanting healthy foods with low sugar, it is a challenge to offer them all three. Tells me that her interpretation of what consumers want is incredibly – though understandably – quite narrow. What happened to fresh, natural, locally sourced, green, organic and wholesome? Guess they have decided not to listen to those customers since they will probably not be helping Tate & Lyle’s bottom line anyway!

Simplicity is the new message for “affordable” healthy food

My blogger friend and registered dietitian Janet Helm was recently interviewed by ABC News (Go Janet!) on the recent trend of going “back to basics” when it comes to food advertising. Janet has written about these trends on her blog Nutrition Unplugged in a couple of very interesting articles. So check out her blog and the ABC interview via her post Simplicity Sells in Tough Economic Times. Janet is also a contributor to my Ask the Expert where she recently wrote a very informative post about sushi and toddlers.

Enjoy your weekend! And let me know what you think.

Photo source – Thiru Murugan on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Aloha! Here is another set of 5 nutrition related news and articles from this week that I found interesting. Feel free to share your opinions in the comments section.

No (conclusive) link between diet and ADHD in children

A recent article in the Harvard Mental Health Letter comes to the conclusion that diet alone is probably not the only factor causing ADHD in children. A lot of people believe that certain food colorants and additives cause the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There are others who believe that sugary foods are responsible. And there are still others who believe that a diet lacking omega-3 fatty acids is to blame. Several studies have been done and special diets have been prescribed to help parents struggling with this problem. Sometimes positive results are seen but sometimes there is no effect.

So the bottom line is that no one knows for sure – yet. There is a chance that removing artificial colorants, reducing sugar, taking vitamins and omega-3 supplements may reduce the symptoms or severity of ADHD. But there is no guarantee. However, there is no doubt that a healthful diet will improve the overall health and nutrition. If you are struggling with this issue, I would love to hear about your experience and what has worked for you.

President Obama creates the Food Safety Working Group (FSWG)

Headed by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, the newly created Food Safety Working Group will strive to “upgrade our food safety laws for the 21st century; foster coordination throughout government; and ensure that we are not just designing laws that will keep the American people safe, but enforcing them.” The recent outbreaks of Salmonella in peanuts and pistachio have shaken up our faith in the safety of our food supply. I welcome the sense of urgency the new administration appears to be giving to this problem. However, reading between the lines, I am baffled by yet another example of poor collaboration between different government agencies. I hope that an expectation of performance from the very top and clear accountability will produce the desired results. If you have a suggestion, question or a comment about the food safety policy, drop a line to FSWG on Twitter hashtag #WHSafefood or visit their Facebook page.

Helpful tips to reduce the risks of grilling

Ah! the summer is here and so is the sweet, smoky smell of barbecues from the backyards in the neighborhood. But did you know that eating too much of grilled meats cooked at high temperature under a lot of smoke can cause cancer? This is because the fat drippings on flaming grills create smoke which contains these cancer causing chemicals. Also, chemicals inside the meats themselves convert to cancer causing chemicals under high heat and long time. This article in the New York Times offers four simple steps to make grilled meats safer – pre-cook the meat, go heavy on your favorite sauce, add broccoli to the dinner menu and avoid well done meats. And just in case you are wondering, grilling vegetables is perfectly fine, although you should still scrape off the black charred layer in case you end up over-grilling them. Enjoy your summer and the barbecues! Feel free to share your favorite tips.

One man’s weed is another man’s “wonder food”

Tired of battling with weeds in your backyard? You will not believe that people are willing to pay top dollar – as much as $9/pound for fresh dandelion greens, the most common of all weeds! But before you get the urge to start collecting your backyard weeds in the hope of converting them into cold, hard cash to supplement your dwindling 401(k), you should check out your competition! Appears that cultivating these weedy greens is a full scale, and very profitable, business these days. Not only the dandelions are in huge demand, but there is also a market for purslane, lamb’s quarters and stinging nettles, a skin-irritating plant that can be eaten safely after boiling. These are exotic greens for exotic salads served by gourmet chefs, not only for their interesting taste, but also a mix of immune system boosting nutrients. To me, the most interesting part of the story was how we have become so removed from the source of our food in nature that our knowledge of what can be eaten as a salad is limited to what is available in the supermarkets. Have you begun to notice these edible weeds in your local supermarket?

The sweet nothingness of artificial sweeteners

There are so many different types of artificial sweeteners available these days. And now there is all this buzz about Stevia, the real “natural” no-calorie sweetener. How do you decide which one of the white, blue, yellow and pink packets to go for as you try to grab your morning coffee? They are zero calories all right, but should you worry about possible adverse health effects, including the possibility of cancer, from some of these chemicals? And what about the fact that consuming zero calories sugary beverages does nothing to control your appetite and you might actually end up eating more even as you try to cut down on calories? Check out this very detailed article on artificial sweeteners which basically says that most artificial sweeteners are safe in moderate amounts. So go for the one that tastes the best to you. Overall, you will be better off going for just water instead of the sweet beverage and following a nutrient-rich diet including fruits and vegetables. Zero means zero after all!

Enjoy your weekend!

Photo source – John Leach on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

In this week’s Ask the Expert, Registered Dietitian Janet Helm offered tips on how to safely introduce your toddler to sushi. She emphasized the need to be careful about bacteria, mercury contamination and parasites. Here are a few additional tips for you to enjoy the experience of sushi with your toddlers -

1. When eating out, always select a reputable sushi restaurants in your area. Read their reviews and check their safety records. There should be a restaurant food safety inspection program in your state which may publish their inspection records online. As an example, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation provides the food inspetion records of hotels and restaurants on their website. There should also be a way for you to register a complaint if you have a bad experience eating at a restaurant.
2. Ask questions about how the raw fish and rice is handled at these restaurants. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that raw fish needs to be frozen at -4 °F for 7 days or -35 °F for 15 hours to make sure that it does not contain any parasites. Rice should be prepared with rice vinegar so its pH is below 4.5. Overall sanitation, handling and hygiene practices of these restaurants should be of high quality. They need to also make sure that there is no cross contamination between raw and cooked fish.
3. When buying prepared sushi from a supermarket, follow the same advice and ask questions about the fish, rice and how it is made. You may find labels such as “sushi grade” or “sashimi grade” fish, but make sure to ask how the fish was frozen since these are not standard labels.
4. The best option may be to make sushi at home! You could try making a sushi roll without any raw fish and use vegetables or fully cooked fish instead. You can even involve your kids in a sushi making project – I am sure they will have a lot of fun playing with the sticky koshihikari rice! There are many instructional videos on making sushi at home; here is a good one:
   
   We haven’t tried making sushi at home so far, but after watching this video, I am planning to give it a try!
5. Learn to recognize the symptoms of illness from fish parasites. It can range from mild discomfort, nausea, cramps or diarrhea. In some extreme cases, the parasites can enter the stomach or gut lining which can cause severe abdominal inflammation and pain. Seek immediate medical help in such situations.
6. Like any other new food, it is better to go slow and introduce sushi in small quantities. Try to make it fun and interesting. The taste of soy sauce, wasabi and Japanese ginger may be strange at first, but in the long run your child may learn to like it. Eating fish, raw or cooked, has many benefits and if done right, you can safely enjoy sushi with your kids over a lifetime.

Have you tried sushi with your toddlers? Share your experiences and tips in your comments below.

©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Having read about the Food Allergy Awareness Week while researching for last week’s Five for Fridays, I wanted to dig into this topic a little more. This is a problem that an increasing number of parents are worried about these days. If you are one of them, I would love to have you share your personal experience and tips in the comments below. Here is a summary of my research from several good sources on food allergies.

I am also glad to announce that this is my 100^th post!

First the numbers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report on Food Allergy Among US Children in October 2008. Here are few interesting, and in my opinion a little worrisome, statistics from this report -

1. Almost 4 in 100 children less than 18 years old were reported to have some form of food allergy in 2007. This corresponds to a total of 3 million children. The rate of food allergy in children less than 5 years old is nearly 5 in 100.
2. Compared to 10 years ago, this represents an increase of 18%.
3. Children reporting an allergic response to food were 2 to 4 times more likely to develop asthma or other allergies compared to children without food allergies.
4. Eight types of foods account for over 90% of food allergies - milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.
5. Hospitalizations with diagnosis of food allergy have increased nearly 4 times compared to 10 years ago.

Why food allergies are on the rise

The exact reason why a child develops allergy to various foods are not well known. However a lot of experts believe that poor quality of early childhood nutrition may be a factor. In his book Disease-Proof Your Child, Dr. Joel Fuhrman writes that apart from non-dietary factors, following nutrition related issues are responsible for increasing the risk for asthma and food allergies -

1. Lack of breastfeeding
2. High ratio of omega-6 acids to omega-3 fatty acids. People on meat rich diets in the Western world typically get ratios around 10 to 1 and some get as high as 30 to 1. This ratio should be around 4 to 1 or lower.
3. High ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in mother’s diet during pregnancy
4. Low vitamin E intakes
5. Lack of fruits and vegetables

The immune system of young children is not fully developed, which makes them more likely to develop food allergies especially if they do not get good nutrition. But the good news, according to Dr. Fuhrman, is that it is also easier for them to recover from food allergies when a program of good nutrition is adopted.

It is easy to confuse food intolerance with food allergies

Sometimes the first symptoms of a mild food allergy may be similar to food intolerance, so it is easy to get confused. The main difference is that food allergy is a response from the immune system while food intolerance is a problem with digestion. For example, people with lactose intolerance cannot digest milk because their bodies do not have an enzyme called lactase. Lactose intolerance can result in discomfort, gas, bloating or nausea or diarrhea, but is not life threatening. Allergy to cow milk on the other hand is a result of antibodies produced by the immune system as a reaction to milk protein and can cause a very severe reaction. Similarly, intolerance to gluten causes the celiac disease which affects the small intestine, but it is not the same as wheat allergy.

Diagnosing food allergies

It is good to take any reaction to food  seriously and consult with your doctor who can run tests to confirm if your child has food allergies. Physical examination and a comprehensive medical history is usually the first step. Use of blood tests to detect food related antibodies is becoming very common, but without a good interpretation and link to the medical history, these can be very misleading. In fact there is an increase in the number of misdiagnosis of food allergies based on blood tests which I wrote about recently in my Five for Fridays column. This can result in unnecessary over restriction of foods. Skin testing with known food allergens is another option but this is not routinely done. In some extreme cases, your allergy specialist may decide to do food challenges to find out which specific foods cause an allergic response. Do not try it at home! The key is to keep a watchful eye on the reaction of your child, and if you suspect food allergies or intolerance, contact your physician as soon as possible.

Tips for managing nutrition of children with allergy

In his book, Dr. Fuhrman provides examples of how food allergies and asthma can be managed, and in some cases, completely reversed by good nutrition. I like one example of 3 year old twin boys who had severe allergic reactions to almost anything like soy, milk, peanuts, corn, strawberries, cats, dogs, and how within a few years of his nutritional therapy he was able to resolve most of these problems. In general, he recommends a diet rich in vegetables, walnuts and fruits with DHA supplements and multivitamins and no processed foods, dairy fats or trans fats. Not that this can guarantee to result in reversal of food allergies, but it makes good sense to me.

I would love to hear your experiences and tips if your child is suffering from food allergies. I am sure it is very hard for you as a parent, and it is my sincere hope that things get better for you in time. Please leave a comment below if you want to share.

Photo source – laffy4k on Flickr
©2009 Littlestomaks.com

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

For this post, I decided to compile a list of tips and ideas for Thanksgiving from around the web. Enjoy!

1. Good suggestions on how to include your toddler in the Thanksgiving festivities without putting too much pressure on them. Check out this post on swellbeing.
2. Tips for traveling with kids from Simple Mom. I liked one in particular – high protein snack and cow milk having a sedative effect on young kids. I guess we will have to give it a try! Last month we traveled overseas with our twins. It was, by far, one of the most challenging experiences we have ever had. This was after a lot of planning, preparation and spending money on Triple Play Sit ‘n Stroll car-seat strollers. And yes, we had to buy two!
3. Healthcastle.com has a few useful Healthy Holiday Eating Tips for Thanksgiving. It gives several ideas for low-fat substitution in Thanksgiving recipes.
4. CNN.com has these healthy tips from “market to table”. I didn’t know that when eating in a group, we are likely to eat 44% more calories than if we were eating alone! Take a note of that if you are invited to a big Thanksgiving dinner.
5. Check out these easy-to-remember  tips to safely handle and prepare stuffing from the USDA – Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. A lot of it is common sense and good hygiene while preparing and cooking. Something new to keep in mind is to check the inside temperature of the stuffing if you are cooking it inside the turkey. It should be 165 ⁰F. It may not reach this temperature even if the turkey is fully cooked.
6. Another recent post from CNN.com offers these tips for a Thanksgiving on a tight budget. This is very timely given the current economy.
7. If you are in the mood for some history about Thanksgiving and how cooking turkey became a tradition, check out this article published in the New York Times on November 27, 1895. The earliest record of Thanksgiving celebration goes back to a feast hosted by Gov. Bradford in 1621 after the first harvest of the colonists at Plymouth. According to the story, he sent four men out fowling right before the Thanksgiving day, and they brought back a “generous supply of plump wild turkeys”; which is how we have “immortalized the turkey of later days, making it our National Thanksgiving Day bird”. And by the way, Gov. Bradford’s feast lasted three days and it hosted the “greatest King Massaoyt” and 90 Indians. What a party! If you happen to beat that, let me know!!

Have fun, enjoy and be safe. Share your special story from this Thanksgiving.