Baby Formula and Obesity

What could be wrong with baby formula? The point here has more to do with the benefits of breast-feeding during the first months of life than the demerits of any particular brand of baby formula.

A number of studies have shown that children who breast-feed are less likely to be overweight or obese in their early years, which is good -- because an overweight child is more likely to grow into an overweight adult. According to one study, the risk of a child becoming overweight declines the longer a child is breast-fed. By age 14, those who were breast-fed at least seven months were 20% less likely to be overweight than those breast-fed for three months.

Why? That's a mystery, though it may well have something to do with how the different nutrients and hormones alter a baby's metabolism.

What you can do:
If you are able, give your child a good start by breastfeeding, in consultation (of course!) with your doctor. A German study found the prevalence of obesity in children aged 5-6 decreased significantly based on the length of time their mothers breast-fed them.

Making Your Children Vegetarian

Turning vegetarians has become a buzz word all across the globe. There are movements taking place to make vegetarian food more acceptable. Growing number of people in different countries are turning vegetarians because of reasons including, environmental, ethical and medical. Meat and other non-vegetarian products are being avoided. Already, there are substantial numbers of people who are vegetarians because of their social, religious and cultural backgrounds.

It is natural for vegetarian parents to want their children to follow suit. But then, everyone has different opinions about nutrition. Parents are more concerned about whether a vegetarian diet can fulfill the dietary requirements of their growing children. There is no doubt regarding the immense health benefits of a vegetarian diet. There is a strong co-relation between vegetarian diets and reduced incidence of many diseases. People who are non-vegetarians are more likely to suffer from hypertension and heart diseases. They will also have higher blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It’s important for parents to instill the habit of vegetarian diet in their kids’ right from the very beginning.

If parents are aiming for a non-vegetarian diet for their kids, they should also ensure that children are not having any sort of junk foods such as potato chips and aerated drinks else the overall benefits of vegetarian food will be nullified. Diet should be nutritionally complete. Parents should make children a part of turning vegetarian process instead of forcing the vegetables down their throats. They should explain why vegetables are necessary and how they stand up against non-vegetarian foods. They should be given their favorite vegetarian diet. Parents should lead by example if they want their children to grow on a vegetarian diet.

Raising a Vegetarian Family

As parents, we do everything we can to raise happy, healthy children. We immunize them against diseases, fret over their runny noses, and consider it to be a national emergency when they have a fever. Unfortunately, many parents don't know that they are risking their children's health by feeding them drug-laden, meat-based diets instead of cholesterol-free vegetarian diets.

Feeding meat to your children is likely to adversely affect their health in both the short and the long term. Meat is packed with hormones, dioxins, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and other contaminants. Some of the drugs that are commonly found in chicken flesh are even arsenic-based. These chemicals are ingested by the animals who are exploited on factory farms and then accumulate in their flesh and fat.

Herbicides and pesticides are also dumped on the crops that are fed to animals on factory farms. This means that these poisons are concentrated in the meat at a level that is up to 14 times higher than what is typically found in vegetables. Furthermore, since these toxins are in the animals' flesh, it's impossible to wash them away.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the consumption of meat causes 70 percent of the food poisoning cases in the U.S. each year. This is not surprising when you consider that meat can be contaminated with a host of dangerous bacteria—including E. coli, salmonella, and campylobacter. Sadly, adults aren't the only ones who feel the ill-health effects of this contaminated food. Recent outbreaks of E. coli have shown that these pathogens can be deadly when consumed by children.

The late Benjamin Spock, M.D., author of the landmark parenting guide Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, wrote, "Children who grow up getting their nutrition from plant foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer."

Indeed, the saturated fat and the relative lack of fiber in a flesh-based diet can make your child overweight and lethargic in the short term and can contribute to the risk of developing chronic illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer in the long term.

In contrast, a healthy vegetarian diet gives children all the protein, calcium, fiber, and vitamins that they need to be strong and healthy. Vegetarian kids are free from the cholesterol and chemical toxins that are found in fish, chicken, pork, and other meat.

Source : PETA

8 Ways To Make A Vegetarian Diet Safe For You & Baby

1. Maximize iron absorption by combining plant sources of iron with foods high in vitamin C.

2. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider you're a vegan, and have your hemoglobin checked at least every other month. Because you can still feel anemic with a normal hemoglobin level, your doctor may want to do an iron profile, which is a more accurate measure of iron-sufficiency in your blood than is measuring your hemoglobin. (Research whether the increased fluid volume artificially dilutes the hemoglobin, giving a falsely low value.)

3. If your practitioner recommends that you take iron supplements, protect yourself from discomfort by taking smaller doses with meals, for example, 100 milligrams of ferrous sulfate tablets three times a day. To increase the amount of iron absorbed from these pills, down a 100-milligram vitamin C tablet at the same time.

4. Lean on sunlight as a valuable source of vitamin D. Since vitamin D is not stored in the body, you may need to take a supplement daily. Excess vitamin D is not readily excreted, so be sure you take only the required amount, which is 400 IU daily.

5. You will need vitamin B12 supplements, since animal foods are the primary sources of this vitamin. Consult your healthcare provider. Some Vitamin B12 is found in yeast, wheat germ, whole grains, eggs, and milk.

6. If you are a lacto-ova vegetarian (eat eggs and dairy, but no meat or fish), you can get adequate vitamin D and additional protein from these sources, yet iron and B12 may still be insufficient.

7. If you are unwilling to take commercial supplements but are willing to compromise, eating four ounces of fish (fish liver oils, salmon, sardines, tuna) daily will provide enough of the otherwise missing nutrients for you to safely continue being "almost" a vegetarian while pregnant.

8. If you're a strict vegetarian (a vegan -- no eggs, dairy, meat, or fish), you will need to monitor your diet most carefully. Consult a nutritionist to work out alternative sources of marginal nutrients.

Source : Ask Dr Sears

Is it safe to feed children a vegetarian diet?

Raising a little vegan requires more planning and nutritional know-how to insure that the child gets enough calcium, vitamin D, iron, vitamin B-12, and some of the other B-vitamins. Yes, children can grow normally on a diet of grains, legumes, and greens, yet it's a bit risky. A wise parent should seek periodic advice from a nutritionist experienced in vegan diets and practice these precautions:

• Protein is not a problem, children can get all the proteins they need from plant foods only; especially whole grains, soy products, legumes, and nuts.
• Calcium may present a challenge, since traditional plant sources of calcium are not big favorites with children. (Good luck getting your child to eat kale and collards.) But many foods today are fortified with calcium, including calcium-fortified soy milk and orange juice, so a vegan child can get enough calcium without relying on supplements. Fortified foods, such as cereals and soy beverages, can also be a dietary source of vitamin B-12.
• Getting enough calories may be another challenge in vegan diets. Veggies have a lot of nutrients per calorie, but not a lot of calories per cup. Tiny tummies fill up faster on lots of fiber, but fewer calories. One way to overcome this problem is to encourage your child to graze on small, frequent feedings that include higher-calorie foods, such as nutbutter sandwiches, California avocados, nuts and seeds (for children over four years of age who can eat them safely), pasta, dried fruits, and smoothies.
• Vegetarian children should get the nutrients they need from foods rather than pills, since pills don't provide calories, and the nutrients in foods, through the process of synergy, are better for the body. The growth of some vegan children may appear to be slower because vegetarian children, like vegetarian adults, tend to be leaner. A child's position on the growth chart is not an accurate measure of the state of health. Actually, where a child fits on the chart is influenced more by genes than by diet.

Maintaining a vegetarian diet can be more challenging during periods in a person's life when there are extra nutritional needs, such as pregnancy, lactation, childhood, and adolescence. Once the person reaches adulthood, nutritional deficiencies are less of a concern. Even if your children do not remain vegetarians for life, by getting their little bodies accustomed to the taste and feel of a vegetarian diet you have programmed them with a healthy eating pattern that will benefit them throughout life. Vegetarian children, because they get used to the comfortable, after-dinner feeling of a vegetarian meal, tend to shun, or at least don't overdose on junk meats, such as hot dogs and fast-food burgers. Yet, don't expect your child to go meatless all his life. Give your children a vegetarian start and, as they grow away from your nest, let them decide what eating pattern they will follow. They may find reasons, such as concern for cruelty to animals, that keep them on the veggie tract. Model your excitement about eating a wide variety of plant-based foods, serve them tastefully, and the rest is up to your child.