Baby Babble

Just another reason school lunches should be healthier

A new study from the University of Maryland has discovered that students would eat more fruits and vegetables on the whole if only schools would give them a push. The study found that, in many schools, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables offered in the lunch line led to many of the students opting for more of the healthy goods outside of school as well. This seems like such a small effort that could make such a huge change on kids as well as adults and the obesity epidemic in the country.

Do you think your kids would eat more fruits and veggies if their school offered more? If they’re not getting enough of the coloreds and greens at school, what do you think you can do to encourage them to eat more at home?

Probiotics good for expectant mothers and newborns

New research mentioned in this news report from Reuters suggests that a dose of a probiotic mix given to expectant mothers and newborn babies may help fight off respiratory infections. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria in the body that may boost the immune system; prebiotics help the good bacteria survive. A dose of the mix has been proven to slightly decrease the number of autoimmune disorders and allergies in babies younger than two years.

Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that may help preserve a healthy bacterial environment in the body, in the process possibly boosting immunity. We've got them in our Stonyfield Farm YoBaby products, as well as all of our yogurt products. Read more about them here.

We've always known yogurt is a healthy food. Here's just one more piece of evidence!

Cholesterol medications for 8-year-olds! What's the answer?

You know obesity has become a serious problem when the latest stats tell us that 17 percent of U.S. children are obese. Many factors may have contributed to the problem, but whatever they are, it’s clear that adult problems are not just for adults anymore.

Evidence is showing that damage leading to heart disease—the nation's leading killer—starts early in life. Overweight and obese children are not suffering just from carrying too many pounds. More and more overweight kids are developing high cholesterol—an ailment that used to be reserved for adults.

For the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that children who are at least eight years old and have too much LDL, the “bad” cholesterol, be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems. (Of course, physical activity and nutritional eating are prescribed, as well.) To ease parents’ minds, recent research shows that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for kids.

What do you think about this phenomenon? What would be your answer to the childhood obesity problem?

Pediatricians create debate on toddler need for whole milk

The American Academy of Pediatrics has revised its thinking on whole milk for babies.  Where once the fully-fatted milk was the gold standard for babies who have been weaned, the doctors' group is taking another look at that recommendation for children who are at risk for becoming overweight or obese.  According to this article from the Globe Mail in Canada,

"The American Academy of Pediatrics is pushing for cholesterol testing for children as young as 2 to identify those at risk of heart disease. And for children as young as 1 who are considered at risk of becoming overweight or obese - and therefore at risk of high cholesterol and heart disease - the academy is in favour of reduced-fat dairy products, such as 2 per cent milk, to replace whole milk, which is 3.25 per cent fat."

The doctors caution that parents should always go with their own pediatrician's recommendation in the matter. The problem with whole milk, one doctor points out, is that the fat in it is saturated fat. Saturated fat is the one that makes cholesterol levels to go up. The primary reason for milk-drinking in the first place is the calcium, after all.  Calcium remains high in the lower-fat versions of milk.

What do you think? Will you make the switch? Have you already?

Is summer at-risk time time for kids to gain weight?

Schools and school nutrition have taken a lot of the blame for the childhood obesity problem we have in the United States, but nutritionists are cautioning that parents need to take a look at the menus at day camp programs and their own homes during the summer months, in this New York Times article.. Camp food is often meant to be easy to prepare and appeal to many kids. At home, unstructured time may lead to unstructured eating. A study that is nearly 10 years old—but the only one of its kind—suggests that the average body mass index for kindergarteners and first graders increased two to three times faster in the summer than during a regular school year. Are day camp chicken nuggets to blame? Guzzling Kool-Aid at home? It pays to be a vigilant parent in this regard.

How does summer affect your family's eating habits? Have you noticed a difference in your kids? Write us here by clicking onto "comments" just below.

Plan now to have a great student, with good eating habits

Researchers up in Canada have determined a link between a healthy diet and literacy among fifth graders.  While experts have long assumed that a good, balanced diet means better school performances, there hasn't been a lot of research on the subject. Past research has focused on breakfast and malnutrition.

In this study, researchers looked at fifth graders who had failed an elementary literacy assessment.  Students performed better if their diet was of better quality, was adequate and included a variety of foods. This was true even after factoring in parental income and education, the school attended, and student's gender.  Eating fruits and vegetables and a low-fat diet also meant a lower risk of failing the literacy test.

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The DHA debate? Do you watch for it in foods?

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that the makers of food for children are increasingly adding DHA omega-3 fatty acids to their foods in an effort to help boost baby brain and eye development.  Stonyfield Farm did this with its YoBaby yogurt products back in 2006 because we, too, thought it was important to give babies all the help they can get with brain development.  And, now we have our YoMommy yogurts, which come with DHA built in to give babies a healthy start even before they're born.

You can read all about DHA in our products here, but here's the gist of why we went the DHA route:"A study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Development found that infants fed DHA-fortified formula scored about seven points higher on a 100-point scale on a test of mental development when they were toddlers, compared to those fed formula without DHA. The same study showed improved vision equal to about one line on a vision chart."

The Wall Street Journal article points out that DHA is now showing up in baby food, vitamins and beverages as well as yogurt.  One source of DHA in the diet is from fish, a food that many pregnant women and children avoid because of concerns over mercury contamination]

There's disagreement on just how much of a boost DHA provides, as you'll see in the Wall Street Journal article. It may just help premature babies, and the boost may not last long in life. Also, some pediatricians say it's not necessary to add DHA to food because our bodies can manufacture it on its own, even without fish--the prime source of DHA--in the diet of mom or baby.  Here at Stonyfield, we're thinking it certainly doesn't hurt, and if it helps, all the better!

Is this issue important to you as a parent? Do you look for products with DHA added?

Write us with your coments, by using the "comments" button just below, and please take our mini-poll on DHA. We'll get back to you and discuss the results here at The Baby Babble.

Rickets? Sounds like something from the dark ages

Expecting or breastfeeding women in the United Kingdom are being encouraged to take Vitamin D supplements for fear of rickets affecting their babies. Rickets is a bone disorder characterized by bowed legs and fragile bones in children.  Sunlight helps create Vitamin D in the body, but these days, residents in the United Kingdom, as elsewhere, aren't getting their children outside as much as we used to. And, in northern climes like the United Kingdom, the risk for rickets is even greater.  A Vitamin D supplement can help make up for the deficit. When possible., 15 minutes of sun a day is a good idea, they say.  Apparently, in the United Kingdom, immigrant groups with darker skins are suddenly at high risk for the disease, because their skins don't absorb as much of the already limited sunlight. Doctors there are seeing an increased incidence of rickets among children of Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Middle Eastern immigrant families.

Colicky baby? Some coping strategies

A colicky baby can have parents at their wit's end.  Many believe colic is related to gas, but really, there's no known cause, according to this article.  It is defined as prolonged crying that is more intense than the norm and seems to occur about the same time every day.  Colic usually strikes when a baby is between 2 weeks and 4 months old. A colicky baby often tenses his or her whole body along with the crying, with arms and legs kicking. Since there is no known cause, parents should try a few strategies to see if anything makes a difference: a change in mother's diet if she is breastfeeding; swaddling; holding the baby on his side or stomach; swinging; shushing and suckling on a pacifier may all have some effect.

If not, not to worry. No baby has ever been harmed by crying.  Parents should be sure to take a break and ask for help when they can't take it any more. And, keep in mind, the colicky stage passes--eventually.

Do you have any colic coping strategies? Write them to us here using the "comment" button just below.

Preventing allergies in young children--stop worrying so much!

The American Academy of Pediatrics has revised an earlier statement and are now trying to tell parents that breastfeeding is about the best you can do to help your child avoid developing allergies later in life.  Parents should NOT be worrying about whether a breastfeeding mother is consuming peanuts, cow's milk, eggs, fish or tree nuts.  These things, apparently, are NOT leading to early onset of allergies, as previously thought. (Boy, do parents need this kind of confusing and conflicting advise? No!)  Now the docs have come up with some "guidance" in how to go about introducing certain foods in a baby's diet, but they are emphasizing that there is very little evidence about what does and doesn't trigger allergies, asthma and allergic rashes.

Here's the pediatricians' short list of guidelines:

• There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child's risk of allergies.
• For infants with a family history of allergies, exclusive breast-feeding for at least four months can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow's milk.
• Exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months protects against wheezing in babies, but whether it prevents asthma in older children is unclear.
• There is modest evidence for feeding hypoallergenic formulas to susceptible babies if they are not solely breast-fed.
• There is no good evidence that soy-based formulas prevent allergies.
• There is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. Babies should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, however.

In short, as one of the doctors said, "There's really no reason to engage in a lot of dietary manipulation except in very specific instances."

Okay, now lighten up, you parents out there!