Did you know that The American Academy of Pediatrics advises women to avoid consuming peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding in order to reduce the risk of their children developing a life-threatening peanut allergy? What a joke! Did you actually believe that by consuming peanuts you are increasing the chances of your baby developing peanut allergies? There is no supporting evidence available, that means that the message was not communicated correctly. If you have no history of peanut allergies, then eating peanuts during pregnancy isn’t a harm but a good source of folate and protein. This message should be considered by individuals with a history of allergies in the family. You should not consume peanuts or peanut products during pregnancy or while breast feeding if you have a history of allergies. Whether you consume the peanuts or not, if allergies run in the family (especially eczema and asthma) your baby has a higher chance of developing peanut allergy. This message was communicated in response to accidental deaths of newborns of mothers who weren’t aware of their history of allergies in the family. During pregnancy and while breast feeding the best thing to do is to stick to the elimination diet to avoid consumption of harmful allergens. Once the baby is born you can take her to get tested and make decisions based on the results.
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Is Consumption of Peanuts During Pregnancy Safe?
Friday, September 4th, 2009iEatOut Gluten and Allergen Free Application for iPhone/iTouch
Monday, August 24th, 2009The Apple application store has once again proven to not just dispense mind-numbing games, but to help the masses. Based on the award-winning “Let’s Eat Out!” book series, the iEatOut Gluten & Allergen Free™ iPhone™/iPod® touch has 86 menu options and also teaches about the food preparation techniques restaurants typically practice. Launched earlier this month the application contains information compiled during a six year research and is well endorsed by the celiac/coeliac food allergy association. This is an ideal solution for allergy sufferers who are on the go and have little time to search for restaurants that are allergy free.
Beach Sand in Florida Causes Gastrointestinal Illness
Thursday, July 16th, 2009After reading an article in the monthly newsletter from the Surfrider Foundation (South Florida Chapter), I was in shock to find out the recent findings. As you all know (I hope), our waters are becoming contaminated because we still dispose our disgusting human waste in our own beaches. But did you know that even though the disposal is done miles away from shore, it still reaches us and causes illnesses? Recent research shocked me and shows how hazardous this can be.
How do Allergies Develop?
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Allergies can develop at any point in life. The main causes for allergies are exposure to chemicals, heredity, and hygiene hypothesis. Heredity is a common cause because if one parent is affected by allergies, each child has a 30% chance of developing an allergy. Then if both parents have any type of allergy, the child has 70% of developing an allergy. Also if neither of the parents has allergies the chances of the child developing allergies is still 15%. I hope I didn’t confuse you with all these numbers, regardless of the percentage, your child can still develop allergies at any point in life thanks to the other two factors: chemicals and hygiene hypothesis.
Child Aggression
Thursday, May 21st, 2009The last thought on my mind was that my son would be one of those aggressive kids, who constantly causes trouble in school. Every week I find him sitting in time out. It’s not easy to digest the idea that my son might turn into a bully one day. When it’s time to pick him up from school I try to stay positive and hope for the best. I usually walk into the classroom all anxious, expecting the usual thank-God-you’re-here smile. It breaks my heart to see my son with his eyes all watery and red from crying in the time out chair. What now? Another report of him hitting or not behaving? What can possibly cause this behavior? Was he in an argument for a toy? “He is too aggressive,” replies the teacher, “I can’t keep him still, he has so much energy and gets out of control.” “He hardly naps, and most of the time I send him to the other classroom, that way he can calm down.” I can hardly believe what comes out of her mouth. I don’t even spank him, he doesn’t watch violent shows, all of the family members are calm at home, there are no signs of violence or aggression. How can my kid out of all the kids in the classroom be the worst? For the one-hundredth time I sit and talk with him in the classroom. Then on the way home in the car, I tell him how sad I am that he hit his friend and how sad his friend’s mom will be when she finds out. Then we arrive home, the TV stays off during dinner time, he cannot play outside or engage in his favorite activities. After he realizes that is is restricted and punished, he goes into rage. I sit him in time out as usual. Walking out of the room, I hear, “Stupid!” I re-open the door and take away a box full of his favorite cars and warn him that I’m going to continue taking toys if he continues saying bad words. As I close the door, I hear it again, “Stupid!” I rush back in and take more toys. Finally silence.