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

A new report in the journal Pediatrics claims small children are vulnerable to waterborne illnesses originating from well water. Private wells can become contaminated with chemicals, germs and bacteria. Experts recommend well water be tested annually, at least. Currently, private wells are not subject to federal regulations, leaving owners responsible for proper care and safety testing; ScienceDaily reports.

And earlier this year, it was reported that pharmaceuticals, such as cholesterol medications, anti-depressants and blood pressure pills, are turning up in America’s streams and rivers. Bottled water is no better. One study found bottled water is just as impure as water out of the tap.

In 2006, water in Seattle area schools was found to be contaminated with lead. Most of China’s groundwater is polluted and India’s water has shown harmful levels of arsenic. Eek!

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According to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, factory workers exposed to high levels of formaldehyde are more likely to die from cancer. Data on 14,000 deaths among people who worked at facilities manufacturing formaldehyde revealed a 37% higher risk of death from blood and lymphatic cancers. Many preservatives are made with formaldehyde and have been implicated in the unusual rate of leukemia deaths in pathologists; via The New York Times.

In February, researchers discovered female employees working around organic solvents containing formaldehyde had a 30% greater risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. And pesticides, like those used on farms and for hobby-gardening, may heighten the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

Now, you got to be careful around chemicals, especially kids. Dr. Fuhrman insists it’s the parents’ responsibility to maintain a chemical-free environment for their children.

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New findings in the journal PLoS Medicine claim moms who take folic acid supplements for one year prior to getting pregnant are 50% less likely to have a premature baby. Experts analyzed self-reporting of folate supplementation by 38,033 mothers and found premature delivery rates were cut up 70%. The drop was most profound for resulting in cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease and blindness. Here are Dr. Fuhrman’s thoughts on the study:

The need for folate is reflective of the inadequacy of the Americans dietary practices. The medical profession and everyone else it seems translate all these findings into the need to take a pill, instead of the lack of green vegetables in the diet.

Taking a pill is permission to eat the same crummy diet that causes child to get cancer, as well as moms. If instead, we stated the truth that a low-folate diet is dangerous and you must eat your greens every day. Then we would really see childhood cancers plummet.

Via EurekAlert!

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• According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, highly educated people, ages 25 to 74, are healthier than adults who didn’t graduate high school of the same age. Non-graduates are 2.5 times less likely to be in very good health than college graduates; from HealthDay News.

• Writing in the journal Nutrition Reviews, researchers claim immigrant populations moving to European countries tend to replace their traditional healthy diets with the worst aspects of western diets, such as fast food. Ethnic groups with low incomes often can not afford healthier foods and face limited food availability; via EurekAlert!

• Americans are mental! Published in the journal Health Affairs, data shows more Americans are now on medications for mental issues. Compared to 1996, 73% more adults and 50% more children are using psychotropic drugs, medications include antidepressants, antipsychotics and Alzheimer's drugs; Reuters reports.

• United States senators Tom Harkin and Lisa Murkowski want a bill passed allowing the U.S. Agriculture Department to establish nutrition standards for snack food and beverages sold in school vending machines, which are often high in fat, sugar and calories. This sort of legislation may help kick junk foods out of schools; Reuters explains.

• Parents who teach their kids to stay focused and not worry about the small stuff, increase children’s chances of becoming healthier adults, especially girls. The study, in the journal Health Psychology, tracked 569 individuals finding participants with better attention spans and positives outlooks reported better health; from ScienceDaily.

• The Children's Food Campaign has determined many baby foods are worse than junk food. Saying some baby products contain as much sugar and saturated fat as chocolate cookies and cheeseburgers. For example, a brand of cheese biscuits has more saturated fat per gram than a McDonald’s quarter-pounder with cheese; via Reuters.

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Expectant mothers need more sun. Presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, scientists recommend women of childbearing age spend more time in the sun in order to get sufficient vitamin D. Researchers found over one-third of mothers and 58% of their infants have vitamin D deficiency at birth. Blood samples from 433 women and 376 newborns, within 72 hours of birth, revealed low vitamin D was present in 36% of mothers, with deficiency was considered severe in roughly two-thirds of cases; Reuters reports.

The sun is important to our health. We convert ultraviolet rays into vitamin D, which tells our bodies to absorb calcium and phosphorus. Other studies show mom’s getting enough sun exposure strengths their children’s bones. Now, Dr. Fuhrman sells a vitamin D supplement, in vegan and non-vegan formulations.

In related news, insufficient vitamin D has been linked sudden cardiac death, such as heart failure and cardiac muscle performance, and rickets in young children.

UPDATE: Dr. Fuhrman had some thoughts on this report:

Mothers should be taking Vitamin D supplements and document the adequacy of their Vitamin D with a blood test and also babies and mom’s in northern climates, not getting sufficient sunshine, should use a baby Vitamin D supplement or they can twist open half a capsule of my OsteoSun and sprinkle some of the tasteless white powder into the babies food, water or breast milk.

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Good news mommies. New findings in the upcoming May issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology claim mothers who breastfed were 10% percent less likely to develop heart disease or suffer a stroke than women who had never breastfed. The study, which involved nearly 140,000 postmenopausal women, also showed women who breastfed for at least one month had less diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol; from EurekAlert!

The benefits of breastfeeding are innumerable. Previous reports pin breastfeeding to breast cancer prevention, less likelihood of children becoming obese and reduced risk of allergies. Last year, it was reported 77% of new moms are breastfeeding. Not too shabby.

But some breastfeeding news can be icky. A Swiss restaurant was told no, they can’t serve human breast milk. Although, the story about the Chinese cop who breastfed infants in need during the rescue effort following last year’s deadly earthquake is heartwarming.

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Amy Roskelley of SuperHealthyKids and does NOT necessarily represent the opinions of DiseaseProof or Dr. Fuhrman.

I remember as a child going to my brother’s soccer games. When it was our turn for snacks, we would cut up a bowl full of oranges, and the players would eat them during half time for extra energy. Today, our soccer games usually culminate with a box of Kool-Aid and a candy bar on the side. What happened here!

When it’s your turn for little league treats, you want to find something healthy, but you also want the kids to like it, right? During the fall soccer season, I decided to go against the grain, return to days of old, and bring sliced oranges. Those kids loved them!

I had a huge bowl with orange wedges for during and after the game, and every single one was gone before I could have any myself. Often parents underestimate the kids’ desire for solid, healthy food. Here are some other foods my kids love to eat:

• Sliced apples, watermelon wedges and bananas.

• Individually packaged non-salted nuts or trail mix

• 8 oz water bottles, kids like these little water bottles.

• Dried apricots and raisins in little individual boxes.

• Baggies of air-popped popcorn.

So, ditch the cupcakes and give kids something better to replace their lost nutrients from playing hard.

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Gretchen Goel of Total Wellness Mentor and does NOT necessarily represent the opinions of DiseaseProof or Dr. Fuhrman.

My kids have been using The Learning Tower since they were toddlers and I can tell you it has been the most used piece of furniture in our house! It is as necessary of a purchase as a VitaMix if you have kids or even grandkids. Kids can safely climb up in it by themselves and it can be adjusted to height as your children grow.

I have our tower located next to a large assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables on our counter top. They can climb up and grab a snack whenever they want. We don't have a snack cabinet full of processed junk, just a "snack counter" full of healthy whole foods.

When we cook I move the tower to an open space so they can help measure, pour, stir, peel garlic and onions or chop easy-to-chop foods like mushrooms or herbs. They get a hands on math and cooking lesson every day, which I love since I home-school them.

I find that I rarely have issues with my kids trying new foods because I have them so involved in food preparation. My oldest daughter is 6 and she is already inventing her own healthy recipes using raw foods!

The bonus to using The Learning Tower is easily turns into a "puppet theater" for play during the day. We just throw a sheet over it and our kids sit on the platform and perform!

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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Ilana Kriegsman of Healthy & Green on the Cheap and does NOT necessarily represent the opinions of DiseaseProof or Dr. Fuhrman.

“No, Mommy! I don’t want to sit in the cart! I want to go home! I want that!” Sound familiar? These are just a few of the things that my daughter has been known to say during a shopping excursion. Yes, grocery shopping can be a torturous experience for parent and child alike.

But what choice do we have? I suppose the obvious answer is to leave the kids at home, but my feeling is that’s not the right choice. With a slight change of purpose, you can keep your children interested and occupied (and peaceful) while also taking advantage of some great learning opportunities. These are my rules to a happy shopping trip:

Engage your kids in the shopping experience.

• Show them and talk about your shopping list: Why do you make it? What’s on it? Etc.

• Tell them about how you plan to use the items you buy once you get them home and how they can be your helpers.

• Show them how to look at produce: Is it ripe? Is it fresh? Etc.

• Explain the seasonality of vegetables and fruits and where the produce in the store comes from.

• Take them to farms and farmers markets to help them identify with the source of their food.
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• Allow them to make some decisions about the foods you buy. Do you want apples or pears?

Encourage questions and curiosity about food.

• Let your child take a sample here and there of things you’re buying or if the store sets out samples. My daughter’s particularly fond of doing this with leafy greens, especially if it’s organic!

• When they have a question, take the time to answer it, don’t rush.

• Allow them to take an interest in packaging and other marketing ploys. Candy and kids’ cereals might look like fun on the outside, but they’re not healthy on the inside.

Be consistent.

• Let your children in on what is “okay” and what is not. Have them help you look at labels when they ask for something. Does it have hydrogenated oil or artificial colors? Then we can’t have it.

• Be clear about what is a “treat” and what is an every day food. Treats in our family are things we have very rarely, generally for holidays and special occasions.

• If you’re working within a tight budget, like we are, it’s also a good idea to stick to the list as a general rule, making exceptions for incredible bargains, but not for whims and fancies.

I believe the more kids understand about food, the more varieties of food they’ll try. They’ll be less inclined to eat food from unidentifiable sources (i.e. processed foods) and more inclined to eat whole foods. And the more they understand about shopping and meal planning, the more adept they will be at handling these sorts of tasks as teens and adults.

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New findings in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine suggest eating more fiber and less sugar can lower the risk of type-2 diabetes in adolescent Latinos. For the study, 66 overweight Latino teenagers were put into three groups. One group attended weekly classes on nutrition, specifically reducing sugar and increasing fiber. Group two was given nutrition education twice a week and did some strength training. The final group served as a control. After 16 weeks teens who ate less sugar and more fiber had substantial drops in blood glucose and insulin levels; Reuters reports.

In New York City, type-2 diabetes hits ethnic groups hard as they abandon traditional diets in favor of standard American fare, 800,000 people in NYC have diabetes. Yesterday, a study showed 22% of Hispanic children in America, ages 1 to 4, are obese. Dr. Fuhrman recommends the whole family eat healthy early to promote good eating habits later in life.

In related news, research shows children going to high school within walking distance of fast food restaurants are more likely to eat less fruits and vegetables and drink more soda.

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