Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks and Kids

The American Academy of Pediatrics has made the following recommendations concerning children consuming energy drinks and sports drinks:

• Pediatricians should highlight the difference between sports drinks and energy drinks with patients and their parents, and talk about the potential health risks.
• Energy drinks pose potential health risks because of the stimulants they contain, and should never be consumed by children or adolescents.
• Routine ingestion of carbohydrate-containing sports drinks by children and adolescents should be avoided or restricted, because they can increase the risk of overweight and obesity, as well as dental erosion.
• Sports drinks have a limited function for pediatric athletes; they should be ingested when there is a need for rapid replenishment of carbohydrates and/or electrolytes in combination with water during prolonged, vigorous physical activity.
• Water, not sports drinks, should be the principal source of hydration for children and adolescents.

www.aap.org, May 30, 2011

Read the article here

Now let me give you my take on it as a nurse, and as a mother. I totally agree with these recommendations! I don’t think energy drinks are necessary for anyone, much less children. There is way too much caffeine or other stimulants in them and in many cases they are loaded with sugar. Make sure if your children are asking for something that is sold with the soft drinks that it is not an “energy drink”. That is, if you allow soft drinks at all. Read more about energy drinks.

As far as sports drinks are concerned, I am a little more forgiving as are the recommendations. Most of the time they are not necessary, but some of the time they are permissible. When it is really hot and they are active outside, or they are sweating a lot a small size sports drink is OK, along with lots of water. Do not buy the large sizes-kids will drink the whole thing! Read more about sports drinks.

The bottom line is, encourage your children to drink water and drink lots of it. If they are outside and hot and sweaty, offer them water and some cold fruit. What’s better on a hot day than ice cold watermelon! When picking them up at day camp pack a cooler with some fruit in it for them to have in the car.

Remember to practice what you preach and drink plenty of water yourself!

Tags: Child nutrition, Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks

Low Fat Lifestyle-Part II

When we start altering our diet to be lower in fat, our proteins need some adjusting. Much of the meat we eat contains fat, but we must evaluate whether it is good fat or bad fat and how we can reduce the amount of fat without sacrificing taste and texture. I have links in this post to articles or websites that I found helpful.

First of all with any meat or poultry trim excess fat and skin off to reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol. Avoid organ meats-while they are low in fat, they are high in cholesterol. In poultry, white meat is preferable to dark meat. When choosing red meat, pick those with top loin, sirloin, round, chuck, or extra lean in the title. Here is an article that explains low fat beef in more detail. Cuts of loin or tenderloin pork are the better choice if you are going to have pork.

Fish and shellfish are good choices. They are full of the healthy fats that help decrease the bad fats in your body. It is recommended to get at least 2 servings of healthy fish each week.

Eggs are not completely out of the picture either. Limiting egg yolks to 2 a week for people with cholesterol problems is recommended. Egg whites are safe and that is where all the protein in the egg is. I have to say that I started eating healthier, including 1 whole egg a day and lowered my cholesterol from borderline bad to well into the good category, so talk to your doctor about whether that is a choice for you. The eggs that are fortified with omega 3 fats are a good alternative and the cholesterol free egg substitute is an even better choice.

Soy protein is also a very good choice because it helps lower bad cholesterol and has other health benefits. I have never used soy much in cooking, but have eaten roasted soy nuts (yummy, but be careful of calories) and used soy milk in my coffee and could not tell much of a difference. If you are not sure about how to add soy to your diet this link will help. There is also a ton of information about soy protein on the internet if you search it on any search engine.

Dry beans are a great source of protein, and they have no cholesterol and are high in fiber, potassium and iron. You can add beans to many recipes or substitute them for all or part of the meat in some recipes. Canned beans are good, but usually full of sodium, so check labels and rinse the liquid off the beans to reduce the amount of sodium. I like to add beans (usually black beans or chickpeas) to just about any soup I make, whether the recipe calls for it or not.

Portion control is also important. A person only needs 2-3 servings of protein a day or if you want to be more specific 0.8 grams/kilogram of body weight per day. For most proteins 3 ounces is a serving size. This is about the size of a deck of cards. Using the palm of your hand as a guide is another idea, with the thought that a larger person with a larger hand will need a larger serving size. One half cup of cooked beans or tofu equals 1 ounce of protein.  Nuts are also a good alternative and 1/4-1/3 cup is a serving. We will talk about dairy products another time, but 1 cup is a serving and low fat dairy is a great source of protein.

I was going to talk about starches today, but am running out of time, so we’ll tackle that next time.

This week I challenge you to

1. Be aware of the meats you are buying, if cost is an issue, look for sales on those healthier cuts.
2. Look at how much healthy fish you have in your diet. Do you get the recommended 2 servings or more servings per week?
3. Look for ways that you can incorporate soy or beans into your diet.

If you want to know more:

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

Turkey Cranberry Burgers

Bean Basics

The Truth About Heart Healthy Eating

Next time—carbohydrates/starches

Tags: Cholesterol, Diet, Health, Low Fat, Protein

Low Fat Lifestyle-Part I

Many people are told to go on a low fat or low cholesterol diet and the truth is everyone can benefit from eating this way. There is so much information out there about low fat diets that sometimes health care professionals just assume that people understand what they should or shouldn’t eat. Also, by calling it a “diet” people think it is temporary, when it really should be a change in normal eating habits.  Totally changing the way you eat should not be something you do overnight, but gradually changing daily habits can lead to a lifelong healthier attitude toward food.

There are two ways to approach this eating plan-one is to cut back on those foods that boost the LDL (bad cholesterol) and the other is to add more of the foods that decrease the LDL and increase the HDL (good cholesterol).

There are some things that should be tossed out or saved for true “special occasions”. These include cookies, pastries, cakes, pies, organ meat, high fat cuts of meat and ground meat, sausage, canned meat, stick margarine, butter, full fat dairy products and “white” carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice just to name a few.  Read the labels of food you have on hand. If it contains high levels of “saturated fat” “trans fat” or says it is “partially hydrogenated” stay away from it. Aim for a daily amount of saturated fat less than 7 percent of your daily calories (for a 2000 calorie a day diet that is 16 gm of saturated fat or less.) Aim for less than 2 gm daily of trans fat. Some trans fat occurs naturally in meat and dairy products, so try to eliminate foods that have trans fat or partially hydrogenated oils added. Look for foods with monounsaturated fat or polyunsaturated fat. The American Heart Association website includes detailed information on FATS and has a Fats Translator to help figure out how much fat you need in your diet.  Remember that even if a food is “low fat” or “low cholesterol” it may contain large amounts of some type of added sugar or high fructose corn syrup.  There is mounting evidence that ingesting simple sugars like those can cause higher cholesterol levels not to mention the risk of diabetes.

“So, what can I eat!?” you may be asking. Let’s start with fruits and vegetables. With spring here and summer on its way the variety of fresh produce available is wonderful and getting better. A healthy diet should include at least 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. A serving of most of these is ½ cup, however, for greens like lettuce and spinach one cup is a serving size. A half cup serving is about the amount most people can hold in their cupped hand or an orange or apple about the size of a baseball. According to Harvard Heart Letter some of the best at lowering LDL are eggplants, okra, apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruit because of the large amounts of fiber in them.  One important point to remember is to vary the colors as much as possible-each color in produce correlates to the nutrients that food is rich in and those different nutrients help in our overall health and our body’s ability to fight off infection, inflammation and aging. Be aware of the amount of sodium in canned vegetables and steer away from fruits packed in “syrup”. Here is the link to a website that gives some information on fruits and veggies and hints on working them into what you eat http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.

So this week I challenge you to

1. Clean out the pantry and fridge. Read labels and look for levels of saturated, trans or partially hydrogenated oils and fat. Keep in mind sugar amounts also.
2. Go shopping with the goal in mind of increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you are eating and see how many different colors you can incorporate into your healthy eating plan.

If you want to know more:

Here is an article about a chef and food writer who heard his wakeup call loud and clear.

Lists of fruits and vegetables that lower cholesterol

Next week—What proteins and carbohydrates/starches fit into a low fat lifestyle

Tags: Cholesterol, Diet, Health, Low Fat

Is It A Cold Or Allergies?

If you just listen, you are likely to hear the sound of sneezing, coughing or nose blowing around here right now.  In Charlotte, this is the time of year that everything gets covered in yellow pollen and allergy sufferers buy out all the tissues in town. Many people confuse allergies for a cold and telling the difference can be tricky even for doctors. Here are some of the usual symptoms and where they fit in:

Even if you can figure out if you are suffering from a cold or allergies, there is no cure for either one. If you can find the right allergy medicine for the type of allergy you suffer from you may be able to halt the symptoms. Otherwise the only relief comes about by treating the symptoms. There are countless medications and combinations available for colds and allergies. Asking the pharmacist for help is a great idea, because they can help you pinpoint what medication will best work for your combination of symptoms. Here is a little information to arm yourself with on the meds that are available:

Nasal Decongestants are taken orally in pill or liquid form or nasally as spray or drops. They help to unclog stuffy noses. Using nasal sprays for more than 3 days can make nasal congestion worse.

Expectorants are taken orally in pill or liquid form and help thin mucus so it can be coughed up more easily. Drinking more fluids is important to help these work.

Antitussives or cough suppressants help to quiet coughs. They can be taken orally in pill, liquid, or lozenge form or used topically as an ointment rubbed on the skin or in humidifiers and vaporizers.

Antihistamines work against allergies. They stop your body from reacting to the allergen. While there is debate over their effectiveness against colds, they may help with some of the symptoms.

Pain Relievers/Fever Reducers are taken orally in pill or liquid form. There are many different types, such as aspirin (NEVER give aspirin to children without a doctor’s approval), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin).

If you have other health issues or take medications always ask your doctor before taking over the counter medications. Check with a doctor before giving medications to children. Thoroughly read labels for all ingredients. For example, a medication that has a “D” after it (like Claritin-D) also has a nasal decongestant in it. You may not need the decongestant and it may make it difficult to sleep after a few doses, so you may want to choose a medicine without it. Also, if you are taking multiple medicines, be sure you are not taking duplicate doses of the same medicine. An example of this is you don’t want to take acetaminophen tablets at the same time you are taking cold medicine with acetaminophen in it.

Both cold and allergies can lead to sinus infections or lower respiratory infections like bronchitis (also called a chest cold) so see your health care provider if you run a fever over 102 for more than 2 days, have thick yellow or green mucus, facial pain for more than a week, wheezing, shortness of breath, cough up blood or have a cough that lasts more than 2 weeks. A side note-if symptoms are fever and sore throat without any other cold symptoms, it could be strep throat and needs to be treated by a doctor.

If you have any of these symptoms and need help figuring out what to do about them, please email me. I’m happy to help.

Lynne

Tags: Allergy, Cold, Cough, Expectorants, Health, Sinus

Welcome!!

Welcome to our blog! The idea behind this is to get health and wellness information out there in an easy to understand format. The plan is to post on here at least twice a month either an original article or a link to a good article with our thoughts on why it is a good article. If you have ideas or questions please email me.