Category Archives: Childrens Health

Are Children of Busy Parents at Greater Risk of Childhood Obesity?

Are Children of Busy Parents at Greater Risk of Childhood Obesity?

Who is causing childhood obesity, child day-care centers or parents? Children that attend full-time daycare are more likely to be obese than children who are home cared. But a new study indicates it may be the parents fault for obesity in full-time day-care children. Obesity among children attending daycare compared with home cared children suggestsContinue Reading

Soy-Based Formula: A Safe Choice for Infants?

Soy-Based Formula: A Safe Choice for Infants?

Soy formula is often used when infants have a cow’s milk allergy, or when being raised on a vegan diet. Soybeans are very nutrient dense and are full of many bioactive compounds, such as phytoestrogens.1 In fact, soybeans are so abundant in phytoestrogens concern is arising that such a high concentration may have negative effectsContinue Reading

Farms and Heroes for Vegetables

Farms and Heroes for Vegetables

Wisconsin’s Farm to School program has high hopes of getting elementary school kids to eat more fruits and vegetables during lunchtime. Andrea Yoder recently put the program to the test, implementing it into nine elementary schools and carefully measuring if the kids consumed more vegetables than they did before the program was put into place1.Continue Reading

Waste Not? New Study on School Lunch Waste

Waste Not? New Study on School Lunch Waste

A study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior examined the amount of food wasted in school lunch after the new National School Lunch Program guidelines were implemented. This was done by observing food wasted by one pre-kindergarten class and five kindergarten classes for five consecutive days. It was found that almost halfContinue Reading

Ideal Healthy Snacks for “On The Go”

Ideal Healthy Snacks for “On The Go”

Snacking throughout the day is ideal for preventing overeating during meals and for preventing night-time cravings. In order to be effective in our busy lives, snacks must be portable. Size of a snack matters for portability. Also, the energy consumed from a snack should be adjusted for individual requirements. So, how much food one shouldContinue Reading

Childhood Obesity Linked to Maternal Vitamin D Status

Childhood Obesity Linked to Maternal Vitamin D Status

Vitamin D is an important fat-soluble vitamin; it is also a hormone that is responsible for enhancing intestinal absorption of some minerals, such as Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphate and Zinc.  Vitamin D can be found in fatty fish, but how many of us consume fatty fish every day? The good news is we don’t haveContinue Reading

Smile! Probiotics are Good for Your Teeth Too!

Smile! Probiotics are Good for Your Teeth Too!

In mid 2013, researchers in India conducted a randomized trial that looked at probiotic use and its oral health benefits in school children. This study, conducted on students between the ages of 14-17, showed a significant increase in plaque reduction by feeding the students a common dairy product called curd. Although these results have beenContinue Reading

Stickers May Make Healthy Eating Habits Stick

Stickers May Make Healthy Eating Habits Stick

Getting young children to eat fruits and vegetables is a challenge that many parents face. Faced with this challenge parents have come up with a variety of ways to get their children to eat their fruits and vegetables. One common trick is to offer the child a reward to get them to try a biteContinue Reading

Going Gluten-Free: Are We Getting Enough Nutrients?

Going Gluten-Free: Are We Getting Enough Nutrients?

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects the G.I. tract and it has many symptoms involved. The best way to help prevent these symptoms is by going on a gluten-free diet. But what about the nutrients that gluten lacks that these people are losing? The study performed by Shepherd, SJ and Gibson, PR inContinue Reading

Introduction of Solid Foods Affects Allergy Development

Introduction of Solid Foods Affects Allergy Development

There are many people who suffer from allergies, and for some something as common as peanuts may be deadly; others cannot tolerate milk. Perhaps our diets as children have affected what allergies we obtain. According to the University of Southampton, introducing foods into a baby’s diet after 17 week may decrease the chances of foodContinue Reading