Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Wow. That’s some list! Recently, a bunch of school kids wrote letters to our newly elected president. And one little girl thinks he’s too skinny. Her advice, gobble down lots of hamburgers, cupcakes, cotton candy and French fries. Eek! Clearly, good nutrition for kids still is a long, long way away. Luckily, other suggestions were better, such as taking walks and reading books; via The New York Times.

I wonder what her parents are feeding her! Maybe she’s eating nothing but French fries, like this little girl, or hotdogs in shape of squids. I’m not sure which is worse, fries or hotdogs. Actually, they’re both horrible. Dr. Fuhrman considers hotdogs and French fries, along with other foods, like butter, cheese, doughnuts, salt and sausage, as some of the worst foods you can eat. They’ll shorten your life!

People are monkey-see, monkey-do. If kids grow up around parents who eat healthy, eating lots of fruits and veggies, kids will eat good stuff too. Hey, the main reason I love greens and beans is because I grew up watching my mother eat it, then I started eating it, now I eat it all the time!

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Change the way kids think about health and lifestyle. According to new research, published by The Cochrane Library, family-based interventions, such as improving diet and more physical activity, help overweight children lose weight more than conventional self-help approaches. Scientists insist it’s important for parents to get involved and influence their children’s behavior; Reuters investigates.

Instilling healthy habits early is a great idea, especially when it comes to fitness. It’s been reported that a person’s activity level in youth, influences their over health as an adult. Maybe that’s why South Korea is giving away free gym memberships to children. Darn it! I want a free membership.

And don’t forget. Studies have shown kids eat like their parents. So dad, put down deep-fried hotdog!

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In a swift and harsh act of justice, China has sentenced 2 men involved with the milk-melamine crisis to death and another man to life in prison. With 6 fatalities and 300,000 babies suffering kidney disease from ingesting baby formula tainted with melamine, a pesticide, China sought an abrupt and decisive end to a national embarrassment and has since taken steps to improve food safety; via BusinessWeek.

Initially China encouraged citizens to breast feed in order to avoid tainted formula and the United States Food and Drug Administration urged consumers not to buy Chinese-made baby formula. And recently research discovered exposure to melamine can cause painful kidney stones.

In 2007, the U.S. quarantined 6,000 hogs contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid, an ingredient in bleach and herbicides.

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Hypocrisy, thy name is advertising. A new study in the European Journal of Public Health reveals 25.5% of advertisements in 30 popular British magazines are for ready-made meals, soups and sauces, which are full of salt. Another 23% are for high-fat and sugary foods, like ice-cream, chocolate bars, sweets and soft drinks. Only 1.8% of the adverts are for fruits and vegetables. And here’s the kicker, many of these advertisements appear alongside articles with healthy messages; ScienceDaily investigates.

Can’t say I’m shocked! Now, in December, research came out claiming sophisticated marketing campaigns do not acknowledge a drug’s rarer complications and hides any lack of long-term testing, putting people at increased risk of serious side-effects.

As for food advertising, last year Kellogg’s announced it would cut advertisements aimed at young children.

Via That’s Fit.

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A new report in the Journal of Environmental Quality claims crops grown in fertilizer made with livestock manure actually absorb the antibiotics injected into cattle. Researchers point out that an alarming 70% of antibiotics produced in the United States are fed to livestock and 90% of those antibiotics are excreted in farm animal urine and feces. Putting vegetables at risk, even those grown on organic farms, exacerbating the fear over antibiotic-resistant bacteria; Environmental Health News investigates.

It gets worse! Last week it was discovered many pharmaceuticals, like cholesterol-lowering medications, painkillers and tranquilizers, are polluting our drinking water. Eek!

Also, in humans, antibiotics are over-used and misused. According to Dr. Fuhrman, doctors are too quick to prescribe antibiotics for conditions that will resolve on their own, like ear infections.

Via TreeHugger.

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This fall, a study revealed the food supplied to 94,000 public and private schools by the United States Department of Agriculture is of poor nutritional quality, too many high-fat foods, like pizza and chicken nuggets. In California, fruits and veggies only make up 13% of the total money spent on school food.

And now, new research in Journal of the American Dietetic Association claims most bagged lunches, packed by parents, did not have enough of fruits and vegetables. Researchers studied the lunches of 74 children from 5 different childcare centers, observing their packed lunch for 3 days. They found only 29% of the packed lunches had adequate fruits and vegetables. And many parents were more likely to pack foods kids liked, rather than healthy, nutritious foods; HealthDay News reports.

Not surprising. Some parents feed their kids pizza and French because they don’t like vegetables and fruit hurts their mouth. Kooky! That why Dr. Fuhrman says it’s the parents’ job to set the example, if you want your kids to eat healthfully, start eating YOUR fruits and veggies! Monkey see, monkey do.

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I’m not much of a kid person. But these kids are pretty freaking cute. It’s a commercial for an insurance company, which stinks, but the little boy is priceless. It’s spinach, not Spanish!

Now, not all kids are enthusiastic about veggies. This little girl is totally whacked out about green beans. She REALLY doesn’t want them. Maybe she needs a visit from Captain Vegetable!

Via TrueHoop.

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Children’s cold medicine has drawn heavy fire lately. Health officials are concerned over the possible health risks. In fact, last month, Canadian health officials urged parents not to give kids over-the-counter cold remedies, even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considered banning children’s cold medicine. 

And yesterday, researchers in Chest revealed Vicks VapoRub, a popular cold remedy, triggers respiratory distress in children younger than 2, when incorrectly applied under the nose, causing airways to swell and fill with mucus. This reaction is normal in adults, but infants and toddlers’ have narrower airways, putting them at risk. But researchers are quick to point out. Vicks clearly states their product should never go under the nose of children under the age of 2. And while not tested, generics could pose the same danger; Reuters reports.

Oddly enough, many of these cold remedies may not even work in little kids, placebo works just as well.

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A new study in Pediatrics claims a person’s level of fitness as a child influences their health as an adult. Of the participants, Norwegian students, those who were more physically active at age 13 were less likely to become obese and develop high blood pressure in their 20s and mid-30s, but this effect dissipated by age 40. Leaving researchers to recommend staying fit as you grow up; Reuters reports.

With so many schools cutting gym programs and obesity soaring worldwide, a lot of attention is being paid to keeping kids active. The National Football League has its Play 60 campaign and recently, India’s health minister suggested making Yoga mandatory for all school children.

Oh! And remember, the television is the enemy. Children that watch too much TV are unfit.

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SpongeBob and MySpace might be super cool. But new research in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests teenagers who spend more than 2 hours in front of a television or computer each day, had less endurance during a standard running test than their peers. However, the findings do not support the theory that watching television or playing on the computer makes kids out-of-shape, but still, researchers recommend parents set clear rules for computer usage and TV time; Reuters reports.

Television has a nasty reputation. A previous report claims sitting around and watching good TV makes people more likely to overeat, the brain becomes distracted and doesn’t realize it’s over-consuming. And commercials make it worse! On average, children ages 8 to 12 are exposed to 7,600 ads a year, teenagers about 6,000 and little kids, ages 2 to 7, 4,400 commercials a year. Eek!

Go outside kids! You haven’t lived until you’ve spent hours throwing a tennis ball against a wall.
 

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A new analysis of 60,000 medical records revealed pediatricians fail to diagnosis weight problems in children. Reporting in Pediatrics, researchers determined 54% of obese children and 74% of severely obese kids were diagnosed, but only 10% of overweight children were given a weight-related diagnosis, meaning doctors are missing an opportunity to intervene before weight issues get out of control; The New York Times investigates.

Not surprising, some parents can’t even recognize their child is overweight or obese, could be because parents themselves are overweight and previous research claims kids eat like their parents and if parents don’t eat and live healthfully, they shouldn’t expect their children too!

And unchecked childhood obesity is being blamed for more kids taking drugs for diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and other chronic conditions. Eek!

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A new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reveals women with early-stage breast cancer may live longer if they adopt a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and avoid things like red meat and refined foods. Researchers followed 1,901 women diagnosed with breast cancer for 8 years and found those maintaining a healthy diet had a lower overall death rate than those eating a Western diet, i.e. lots of processed meat, high-fat dairy and white bread. This trend held up even when other factors were considered, like tumor size and smoking; Reuters reports.

Actually, previous research, also in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, claims breast cancer survivors who eat more than 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day are less likely to develop recurring tumors. And pectin, a compound found naturally in citrus fruits and used in jams, has been shown to inhibit the growth of proteins responsible for cancer progression.

The powerful phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables have anti-aging effects, promote cardiovascular health and also lower the risk of other cancers, like prostate and pancreatic cancer. And a recent reported linked fruits and vegetables with reduced risk of colon cancer too.

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In the past, research has shown breastfeeding can increase children’s IQ, decrease risk of obesity and release happiness hormones in babies. And now, a new study in Thorax has determined children who are breastfed for at least 4 months have better lung function than children breastfed for shorter periods and then given a bottle; Reuters investigates.

Dr. Fuhrman advocates breastfeeding until age 2. This allows plenty of time for the mother’s antibodies to be passed along to her child. These nutrients are necessary for proper immune system function, maximizing intelligence and protecting against cancer, like breast cancer.

But sometimes breastfeeding can go berserk, like this crazy restaurant that cooked with human breast milk. Very gross!

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