The strengths of the draft safety assessment notwithstanding, the Subcommittee identified several significant concerns with the assessment in its current form. The exposure assessment lacks an adequate number of infant formula samples and relies on mean values rather than accounting for the variability in samples. The draft lacks a clear description of the criteria for eliminating an increasing number of non-GLP studies that indicate the possibility of toxic effects that are not mediated by interaction of BPA with the estrogen receptor, and the Subcommittee does not agree with the exclusion of the non-GLP studies in the safety assessment. Additional concern is expressed with the calculation of the NOAEL and specifically whether the exposure assessment to ‘at risk’ infants with minimal or impaired metabolic function and exposures from medical devices and procedures is as conservative as the assessment claims. In fact, it is the judgment of the Subcommittee that lack of consideration of the totality of exposures from other sources severely limits the usefulness of the safety assessment with respect to food contact applications.
I used to love the foil wrapped chocolate gold coins when I was a child. I don’t know why I thought they were so cool, but I coveted them. I was recently sent an email from a friend warning parents not to let their children consume chocolate gold coins, because they contain melamine. Snopes.com checked it out, and the Pirate coins have been recalled in Canada.
As the daughter of a dentists and a proponent of healthy eating, I have a reputation. I’m the mom who doesn’t buy her kid candy.
Nope.
I
Don’t
OK. So you don’t think I’m absolutely draconian, He does get candy in his Easter basket, I do let him eat a piece or two at birthday parties and yes, grandma, grandpa and even my DH buy him candy.
But I don’t.
You see, I grew up that way. We didn’t have candy in the house. Candy was something for holidays, other people’s houses and, of course, Halloween (though we gave out apples instead of candy to the disappointed trick-or-treaters that appeared at our door).
So Halloween’s a tough holiday for me. I cringe when I see the shear amount of candy he ends up consuming between Halloween parties, school events and even the candy bowl that magically appears at many of the stores we frequent around this time of year.
This time of year finds me furiously brushing his teeth and hoping for the best. Over time though, I’ve found a few tricks that seem to help reduce the amount of unrefined sugar he ingests.
1. Good Deeds Begin at Home – This year, instead of buying a bag of commercial candy treats consider giving out small toys instead. The dollar store often has trinkets that won’t upset your green soul too much – like chalk, crayons and notepads. If you tend not to get too many trick-or-treaters at your door, consider spending a bit more and buying little wooden toys orif you really must give out candy, make it organic.
I find two trends in education alarming: the growing number of schools that eliminate recess and physical education programs and the large number of children on Ritalin for attention problems. As a teacher, I can’t help but wonder if the attention problems some children experience is due to the structure and expectations of education and life in the 21st century. Children were not designed to just sit at desks all day long without much opportunity for movement and interaction.
One of the most misunderstood and over-treated childhood conditions is a fever. Fever is not a disease, and in most cases is nothing to worry about. An elevation in body temperature is one of the body’s strongest weapons to deal with infections, and is best left to run its course.
A fever increases the amount of natural antiviral and antibacterial substances in the blood. Fever also increases white blood cell count, to kill cells infected with viruses, and it improves the ability of white blood cells to destroy bacteria and infected cells, while impairing the replication of bacteria and viruses.
Western medicine has a limited number of treatments available for fevers, most of which involve Tylenol or Ibuprofen, which may mask the symptoms and actually prolong the illness.
Treating a feverish child with natural remedies is a gentler method that doesn’t introduce pharmaceuticals into their body or artificially force a fever down. Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, author of How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor, debunks the myth that febrile seizures (convulsions) and high fevers cause permanent damage the child’s brain or body. He does recommend seeing a physician if your infant (under two months old) has a fever over 100°. Fevers under 106° should be allowed to run their course.
Of course, when your child is miserable and can’t sleep, treating a fever with natural remedies may give enough relief for them to sleep and heal. You will probably need the sleep as well…
Sometimes you just run into the answer to a question that you didn’t actually know you wanted to ask. That was the case when I ran into this article on wisegeek - Why Are Chicken Eggs Different Colors? that carefully validated my usual choice.
Chickens who eat free range, varied diets tend to produce healthier eggs, as their free range lifestyles allow them to consume the dietary minerals they need for their own health, and these minerals will be passed down in their eggs. You may also have noticed that farm-fresh eggs have very dark yolks, whereas chicken eggs from battery hens have much lighter yolks, indicating less nutritional value.
I admit, like many of you, my husband and I often stand in complete bewilderment in front of the egg section and wonder if spending that extra 2 TO 3 DOLLARSper dozen of eggs really makes a difference? Or why the brown, free range eggs we tend to buy at Trader Joes are less than the organic white ones?Or why we like the taste of brown eggs better- is this just psychological. (My husband I have to admit gets into these types of conundrums in the milk aisle too).
As I started to dig into this issue, I ran across this article in the NY Times, which helpfully, seemed to answer most if not all my questions and definitely summarized my dilemma.
Now they can be cage free and free range, vegetarian and omega-3 fortified, organic, “certified humane” or “American humane certified.” The incredible, edible egg is becoming unintelligible.
The Children’s Defense Fund’s Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
My children love balloons. When I was first potty training my daughter I tried the sticker chart and the potty songs and videos, but nothing worked. A few months later I tried balloons as rewards. Before long our whole house was full of balloons and our daughter was using the potty on her own. This was before I learned the dangers of balloons. Read the rest of this entry »
Eating healthy (naturally, organically) is a huge part of being green. Purchasing and preparing foods for your family that are organically grown and free of artificial additives is vitally important to the health of your loved ones and the health of our Earth.
