A team of researchers studying preterm infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital found that premature babies whose daily diets consisted of 50 percent breast milk had more brain tissue by their due dates than premature babies who consumed significantly less breast milk. One notable finding is that researchers didn’t distinguish between milk from the babies’ own mothers and milk donated by other women. Breastfeeding has numerous positive effects on children, one of which is reduce risk for obesity. The researchers plan to follow these babies through their first years of life to look at their growth and motor, cognitive, and social development, because researchers believe they will be able to determine the effects of early exposure ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger
Campaign for Dental Health Community water fluoridation is the practice of adjusting the level of fluoride in the local water supply so there is just enough to help protect teeth from decay. It’s called ‘community’ water fluoridation because the whole community benefits. But Latino kids and families with low incomes, who suffer more than others from tooth decay, benefit the most. For every $1 invested in community water fluoridation we save as much as $38 in money that CHIP, Medicaid, insurance companies, and individuals would have to spend to treat unhealthy teeth. What is fluoride? Fluoride is a mineral that strengthens teeth so they’re more resistant to the bacteria that cause decay. It is found naturally in all sources of water. (It ...
The National Park Service's (NPS) Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program is working with doctors, healthcare providers, and other local organizations as part of the Healthy Parks Healthy People (HPHP); Greater Washington Area Initiative (DC, VA, MD, and WV) to connect physicians with ParkRx. ParkRx (Park Prescriptions) are programs designed in collaboration among public land agencies, healthcare providers, and community partners to encourage people to utilize parks, trails, and open space for the purpose of improving individual and community health. Doctors use a prescription pad to actually prescribe park time outdoors in nature or in a park. Park prescriptions can improve their health-physical and mental-and create a generation of lifelong park stewards. Since 2013, ...
A study from Dr. Kevin Gordish, presented at the Experimental Biology 2016 conference, indicates that added sugars and salts increase the risk for increased blood pressure resulting in "fructose-linked hypertension." The study analyzed groups of rats whose diets mimicked the American diets high in sugary beverages and salt. One group of rats were fed drinking water with 20% fructose and another group was fed plain water, but given high salt diets in the second week, resulting in increase blood pressure and leading to hypertension. Gordish explained that the fructose intake, similar the amounts of sugary beverages we consume, decrease the body's ability to get rid of excess salt and increase sodium retention. “The specific combination of fructose and high salt introduced in the ...
Montezuma County (12.2 % Latino), Colorado, was once well known for its blooming apple orchards. Back in 1904, three Gold Medals were awarded to the county at the St. Louis World’s Fair. But for years, these fresh apples weren’t always available to kids at local schools. Now, with the help of farm-to-school leaders like Sarah Syverson and other groups, Cortez Middle School is growing a garden and an entire apple orchard to bring new fresh foods to local school cafeterias and to the school’s farmers market.
Fresh Fruit and Produce and the Community
Awareness: Sarah Syverson, director of the Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP) in Montezuma County, Colo., was proud of the school garden at Cortez Middle School (CMS). Established in 2013, the schools garden was a place ...
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common disease often found in children who also deal with obesity, and is the most common chronic liver disease in children in the U.S. According to numerous adult studies on NAFLD, genetic and environmental factors are the major responsible triggers for the development and progression of NAFLD. Diets like the Mediterranean diet that is rich in fruits, complex carbs, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil has been associated in various studies to help prevent obesity and overweight related risks of NAFLD. Population-based studies over the last decade have shown that people who commonly consume diets like the Mediterranean diet (MD) show lower risks of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and several types of cancers. In this new ...
Linda Joseph, a special needs teacher in Florida, with some of the highest drowning rates in the country, wanted to make sure her students could swim and weren’t afraid of the water. As someone who values whole-child health, Joseph knows that water safety boosts confidence and opens doors to many water-based physical activities and associated brain and body benefits. She went to a nearby pool for information and learned about and enrolled her students in free water safety education lessons through SWIM Central.
Fear of Drowning is High in Florida Linda Joseph, a special needs teacher at Lauderdale Lakes Middle School, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (13.7% Latino), lost both of her parents to a drowning accident when she was 16. She became fearful of water and didn’t learn ...
In the past 15 years, the drowning rate of school-age children in Broward County, Fla., has plummeted thanks in part to SWIM Central, a program that provides free water safety education classes and transportation for public school children. However, drowning rates remain the No. 1 cause of death among children younger than 5. SWIM Central’s manager and primary funder, the Children’s Services Council, teamed up to develop a voucher program for parents to get their children under 5 into water safety education classes for free or very low cost.
Drowning is No.1 Killer in South Florida Cindy Arenberg Seltzer and Jay Sanford have long been advocates for water safety education for children in Broward County, Fla. (27.5% Latino). Seltzer is president and CEO of the ...
Sugar has been a hot topic in the news. Recent research shows the negative health impacts such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. But does sugar impact kids' brains? A new study shows that not only does consumption of sweets and sugar filled products hurt the body, and cause oral health decay, but also consuming sugar can cause changes in the part of the brain that control emotional and cognitive function. The study was published in the Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, where researchers found that sugar water diets given to rats had the same effect on the brain as if rats were exposed to early life issues or abuse. Over consumption of sugary sweetened beverages is a concern especially for young children the researchers explained, as this can cause ...
