Healthy Infant Feeding Education Integrated in Traditional Indian Practices

In the Indian culture, there is a celebratory tradition called Anna-Prashan (food feeding or initiating of food other than milk), which marks the first time that an infant eats cereal/semi-solid food. On Tuesday July 17, 2012, mothers and their six month old infants from the Basti (slum) New Jagdish Nagar gathered together to part take in this rite of passage. For families living in slum neighborhoods under poor conditions, there is very little education or awareness about the importance of nutrition and supplementary feeding after six months of age. This community event serves as an example of how education and tradition can come together to motivate appropriate nutrition behaviours. Sampoorn Mahila Samiti, is a networked federation of 16 groups formally linked with 28 other groups newer groups that are less formally linked. Sampoorn, with guidance and support from Urban Health Resource Center (UHRC) and in close partnership with basti-level women’s groups, organize such “Annaprashan” events periodically in different clusters of Baanganga area in order to utilise this traditional ceremony into an educational and behavior promotion event for the young children of that cluster of bastis.

                                              

The topics discussed during the event is focused on weaning practices and how to properly feed their children, what kinds of foods are vital when weaning, hygiene, sanitation, proper hand washing, and general suggestions for maternal health. 

With their children at hand, mothers were seated in a circle with a bowl of kheer (boiled rice, milk & sugar) in the center ready to feed their children solid food for the first time. Before the children started eating their delicious kheer, Shabnam Verma a UHRC staff member, discussed the importance of proper nutrition practices that were imperative for these mothers to take into consideration. She was actively engaging with these mothers by showing them pictures, asking questions, and making sure they were included in the dialogue.  All of the mothers were sitting eagerly to learn the proper ways to take care of their children. This sparked interest in the eyes of these women because it brought clarity to their traditional somewhat unclear ideas about infant feeding.

  

Similarly, this initiative has the capacity to help many women in need that are not able to obtain the proper knowledge otherwise. In particular, there was one mother who was able to gain information to potentially save her child’s life. She was new immigrant to the Basti New Jagdish Nagar and was unfamiliar with what was going on. Her one year old child was severely malnourished and was in dire need of care.  With great concern and care, all of the other mothers turned to her and gave her advice on how to help bring her child back to normalcy. The gathered women and UHRC staff members spoke to her about the proper infant feeding practices as well as providing her with helpful information for her child’s immunizations. She didn’t have the necessary information to keep her child in a healthy state and this event helped create an internal awareness for herself as well as for her infant. One of the mothers offered to help her by making frequent visits and UHRC has made sure to have an eye out for her.  She was open to learn about her child’s condition and with the new learned information and guidance she will now be able to help her child.

This cultural event was a successful combination of traditional forethought and educational guidance. The messages given to these women reinforce healthy behaviors, in turn, leading to better health outcomes for mothers and their children. These children were not only given real food for the first time, but they were given the knowledge that will support a lifetime of healthy upbringing. 

Namaste from India,

Farah 

Me in pink playing with a very cute Indian baby!

Healthstyle by Darya Pino

By: Darya Pino
http://summertomato.com/
When I was 18 few things were further from my mind than health. Sure I enjoyed my status as a thin, relatively fit teenager, but there was virtually no connection in my brain between what I put in my body and how long or happily I would live.

At that time I saw healthy eating as a fringe activity, for granola crunching hippies or men over 60 with beer bellies. I had no reason to worry about heart disease at my age and organic food was way more expensive, so why bother?



But that wasn’t the only reason I avoided the issue. As a self-conscious girl from Southern California, I was very concerned with my weight. People considered me thin, and I had every intention of staying that way. I knew that my obsession with my body image and constant dieting was considered “unhealthy,” but I didn’t care.

From my perspective the message from the media was clear: healthy is the opposite of thin. And when you’re young and think you’re invincible, the choice is obvious. Getting kids to worry about something in the distant future is difficult enough, but when you set it up as the antithesis of their immediate goals you make it nearly impossible.



It wasn’t until years later that I started to appreciate the value of health as an objective. I now understand that healthy is beautiful, and that thin and healthy are not mutually exclusive. Your ideal size is determined largely by genetics, but if you eat well, exercise and take care of yourself not only will your body look the way you want, you’ll also have nicer hair, a clear complexion and brighter eyes. You’ll likely have more energy and feel happier as well.

Sadly, body size is still the focus when most people talk about health. When you’re “too thin,” healthy means eating more regardless of quality. When you’re overweight, healthy means losing weight no matter how you accomplish it. But in the long term health is a reflection of your daily habits and is determined by things like the quality and diversity of your diet, how often and vigorously you exercise, exposure to environmental toxins and other factors.

While body weight can certainly be an indicator of health problems and sometimes reflect improvements, it’s important to understand that the message we send about health can backfire if these two things are inextricably linked.

How do you define health?

Lace your fatty meal with this fruit to prevent yourself from getting fat

Researchers at Hebrew University and Harvard University have teamed up together in finding the benefitsof  the extract  naringenin, a compound from grapefruit.  With the use of nanotechnology, food is absorbed 11 times better than normal. This may forever change the way our metabolisms deal with fatty and sugary food.


They have isolated the molecule that creates the bitter taste in grapefruits, and have strong clinical evidence that if developed as a dietary supplement. 

"Under regular conditions the absorption of the fat- and sugar-busting molecule naringenin is quite low. You'd have to ingest a lot of grapefruits for it to work -- probably more than you'd ever want to eat.

To improve absorption capabilities, the researchers applied new tools from nanotechnology, and engineered a form of naringenin that includes an extra ring of sugar attached to the molecule. It is this extra ring that improves the absorption of naringenin and turns its bitter taste to sweet."

Read more about this study here. 

Nutrients in Food

Eat Em UP

Vitamin A (RDA 5000 Int’l Units)
Kale (1 cup raw), 10,ooo IU
Mustard Greens (1 cup cooked), 9,000 IU
Carrots (1 large raw), 8,000 IU
Cantaloupe ( 1/8 of  a large melon), 3,000 IU

Kale

Folate (a B Vitamin) (RDA 400 milligrams)
Spinach (1 cup cooked), 194 mg
Lentils (1/2 cup cooked), 180 mg
Asparagus (4 spears), 90 mg
Avocado (1/2 avocado), 80 mg

Avovado

Vitamin C (RDA 90 milligrams)
Red Pepper (1 cup chopped), 190 mg
Orange (1 small), 83 mg
Kale (1 cup raw chopped), 80 mg
Cauliflower (1 cup chopped), 52 mg
Broccoli (2 med spears), 50 mg

Cauliflower

Vitamin D (RDA 600 Int’l Units)
Sunshine (Hard to say how much time you need since there are so many variables (time of year, time of day, color of skin). But unless you’re a lifeguard who’s sworn off sunscreen, you’re likely not getting enough from the sun.)
Tuna (1 tin), 300 IU
Salmon (coho, wild, 3 oz), 383 IU
Sardines (in a tin), 250 IU
Eggs (from the yolk), 44 IU
Yogurt (whole plain), 5 IU (Most milk has high levels of added Vitamin D, it is not naturally occurs in high levels.)
Cod liver oil (The one I take provides 425 IU/two capsules)

Salmon

Almonds

Vitamin E (RDA 15 milligrams)
Almonds, (1/4 cup), 10 mg
Peanut Butter (2 tbsp), 2 mg
Avocado (1/2 avocado), 10 mg

Calcium (RDA 1000 milligrams)
Yogurt (1 cup plain whole milk), 296 mg
Cottage cheese (1 cup, 2%), 206 mg
Mustard Greens (1 cup cooked), 104 mg
Almonds (1/4 cup), 100 mg
Broccoli (2 medium spears), 72 mg
Coconut water (1 cup), 58 mg

Lentils 

Iron (RDA 8 milligrams)
Lentils (1/2 cup cooked), 3.5 mg
Tuna (1 tin), 3 mg
Kidney Beans (or Adzuki) (1/2 cup), 2.5 mg
Spirulina (seaweed) (1 tbsp dry), 2 mg
Beef (4oz sirloin or one hamburger patty), 1.6 mg
Sardines (4), 1.5 mg
Almonds (1/4 cup), 1.25 mg
Walnuts (1/4 cup), 1 mg
Salmon (3 oz), .78 mg
Egg (1), 1 mg

Eat for your Vitality

Healthier looking people who eat vegetables are more attractive, according to a research team from England and Scotland.


“Our study shows that not only do people use colour cues to judge how healthy other individuals are, but they are accurate when they make those judgements,” said Prof Perrett, who heads the Perception Lab. “This is important because evolution would favour individuals who choose to form alliances or mate with healthier individuals over unhealthy individuals.”



‘What we eat and not just how much we eat appears to be important for a healthy appearance. The only natural way in which we can make our skin lighter and more yellow is to eat a more healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables.’


What will you eat today?

http://pilladvised.com/2011/02/want-to-look-more-attractive-eat-carrots/

Israeli vs. Mc Donalds

Israeli man sues Mc Donalds for false nutritional claims and not revealing the proper amount of nutritional information.

"The McDonald's Israel franchise owner has settled a class-action motion against it, including through a pledge to fund a study on children's eating habits." 


"Aloniel, the company that owns the McDonald's franchise in Israel, will pay compensation to the lead plaintiff, pay his lawyer - and pay NIS 450,000 for a study on eating habits of children up to age 18. The study will be conducted at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa."

Read more about this here. 

-Farah 

Thrilled to hear someone is DOING something about Childhood Obesity

Students need guidance and need to be nurtured in an educational manner throughout all spheres of life. Nutrition education is not intrinsic, rather, it is an informative tool that can, with the right teachers and mentors, help children thrive. In the United States measures have been made for change but not on a grand scale. Surprisingly, officials in Mexico City seem to care more for the well being of their children.

The New York Times article explains that the nation’s health and education officials stepped in last year to limit what schools could sell at recess.

“We managed to do the most important things, which was to pull out the soft drinks and to get the composition of foods changed,” said Dr. José Angel Córdova, Mexico’s health minister. He estimates that one-third of Mexico’s health care spending goes to fight diseases related to obesity.

It seems to be working at her school. Verónica Cruz Hernández now sends her 6-year-old daughter, Fatima, to class with a packed lunch of a ham sandwich, sliced mango, cucumber sticks and water. No more soft drinks. “She doesn’t want to be fat like me,” Ms. Cruz said.
 

 
“Almost all of the girls eat fruit,” said Leticia García Gutíerrez, 11. Then she added: “Sometimes we eat candy. But that’s because we’re kids.”

2010 Nutrition Research Overview

What a year. The journey of nutritional research has come a long way this year. Researchers all over the world have done groundbreaking research which revealed an array beneficial information. Dr. Tim Harlan describes five findings that can be easily implemented into your life to offer a beneficial diet and lifestyle.

1. Red meat:

A study(1) published in the journal Circulation took a look at the connection between red meat and processed meats and their relationship to heart disease and diabetes. They found that the issue is processed meat and not really eating red meat in general.

Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institute of Health, researchers reviewed the data from 20 studies of red and processed meat consumption that included evaluation of a link to heart disease and diabetes. Their findings are particularly striking:

1. Those who ate 1 serving of red meat per day were at no greater risk of heart disease than those who ate less than 1 serving per week. The same was true of the risk of diabetes.

2. However, each serving of processed meat (bacon, salami, hot dogs, etc.) eaten per day led to a 42 percent increase in risk of heart disease and a 19 percent increase in risk of diabetes.

3. Each serving per day of meat, both processed and unprocessed, tended to show a higher risk of heart disease, but these findings were strongly skewed by two studies. If those two studies were excluded, the risk fell to near normal.

The message: Eat red meat in moderation but avoid processed meats.

http://www.drgourmet.com/bites/2010/051910.shtml

2. Portion Control:

I love Brian Wansink's work and his team look at the portion sizes of the Joy of Cooking over the last 79 years.(2) That's right, they got bigger!

The team analyzed the serving sizes for 18 recipes across seven editions to see if the portion sizes (and thus the number of calories in each portion) had changed over time. Unsurprisingly, they did increase for 14 of the 18 recipes. As it happens, simple portion size was not the only cause of higher calories in a recipe -- often the recipe's ingredients were changed from a lower-calorie ingredient to a higher-calorie ingredient.

Between the 1936 edition and the 2006 edition, the average number of servings in a recipe decreased by a little over 1 serving per recipe, and the average number of calories in a serving increased by over 60 percent.

What's especially interesting is Dr. Wansink's team notes that the average serving sizes increased by about 33 percent since 1996.

The message: Take some time this year to learn about and reduce your portion sizes. 

http://www.drgourmet.com/bites/2010/020310.shtml

3. Stocking Your Cupboards:

Researchers at Rutgers University wondered if there was a difference in what foods were actually in the home between those families with overweight members and those families who were all of normal weight.

One hundred mothers with at least one child 12 years of age or younger were recruited to participate in the study. While all homes tended to keep the same amounts of nutrients on hand, but the differences were in what forms of foods those nutrients were in.

For example, those homes with overweight parents tended to have their carbohydrates in the form of frozen potatoes (like tater tots or french fries) or frozen vegetables with an included sauce (like broccoli with cheese sauce or brussels sprouts with butter sauce). Fresh and frozen meats also supplied much of the protein, total fat and saturated fats than in normal-weight households.

The Message: This is the single most important thing that I believe you can do to eat healthier. If you have healthy ingredients on hand, that's what you will eat.

http://www.drgourmet.com/bites/2009/052009.shtml

4. Snack on Nuts:

We've known for a long that nuts are great for you but recently a team of researchers pooled the results of 25 different studies on nuts and cholesterol to see if the type of nut made a difference in the cholesterol-lowering effects of eating nuts.(3)

The studies reviewed came from seven countries and included over 580 men and women. Each study included information on Body Mass Index, cholesterol scores both before and at the close of the study, and excluded people who were taking cholesterol medication. The types of nuts studies varied and included walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, almonds, pistachios and hazelnuts.

After analyzing the correlation between the amount of nuts each participant ate on a daily basis over the course of each study and their cholesterol scores, the researchers found that those diets that included nuts helped reduce total cholesterol, LDL (bad cholesterol), the ratio of LDL to HDL (good) cholesterol, and the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (all improved scores).

The Message: Put down the potato chips and crackers and snack on nuts instead! 

http://www.drgourmet.com/bites/2010/051210.shtml

5. Don't Drink Soda:

It's pretty amazing how little soda it takes to cause diabetes and health problems.

Research reported in Diabetes Care5 grouped together 11 prospective studies that included over 310,000 people.

The researchers standardized the serving size of the sugar-sweetened beverage consumption measured in each of the eleven studies. Then they stratified the various levels of intake into groups: from none or less than 1 serving per month up to more than 1 serving per day. The amount of soft drinks drunk by individuals who developed type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome was then compared to the amount drunk by those who did not develop type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome.

The scientists found that even when they took into account other variables such as Body Mass Index or individual caloric intake, those who drank at least one 12-ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage per day were 20 percent more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and 26 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than 1 serving per month.

1. Circulation 2010;121:2271-2283 
2. The Annals of Internal Medicine (2009;150(4):291)
3. Appetite 52 (2009) 479-484).
4. Arch Intern Med 2010;170(9):821-827).
5. Diabetes Care (2010; 33: 2477-2483)

 *these findings were taken from an article written in the Huffington Post.

What Matters Most?

FOODMATTERS.  "Let thy Food be thy Medicine and thy Medicine be thy Food" - Hippocrates. 

Food Matters is a feature length documentary film informing you on the best choices you can make for you and your family's health. In a collection of interviews with leading Nutritionists, Naturopaths, Scientists, M.D.'s and Medical Journalists you will discover...

• How to use food as medicine
• Who needs vitamins?
• Is organic better?
• How safe is our food?
• Natural treatments for lowering Cholesterol
• Foods that fight Anxiety and Depression
• Natural therapies for Cancer
• Which drugs might do more harm than good?
• The best ways to detox, lose weight and keep it off!

This wonderful  films focus is "helping us rethink the belief systems fed to us by our modern medical and health care establishments. The interviewees point out that not every problem requires costly, major medical attention and reveal many alternative therapies that can be more effective, more economical, less harmful and less invasive than conventional medical treatments."  










Who is the wealthiest of all? he/she who is healthy. 
FDS 

Yes, research can sometimes be stupid!

A professor has found that by eating junk-food one can "loose weight."
Read more about it here.

Health Myths

Did your mother ever tell you not to leave the house with wet hair because "you'll get sick"?
Well I have interesting news for you, this is false!
Here are many other myths that have been proven true and false.
P.S. warm milk really does help you fall asleep better, so drink away!

Love cupcakes?

Cupcakes are a very tasty sweet indulgence. The main ingredient, sugar, has no real benefits and is simply fatty. BUT, what if you can make it taste good and add ample amounts of vitamins and minerals? Check out this article from NPR, there are many tasty recipes and easy alternatives to making healthy cupcakes.  

Superfoods

Add meaning to your daily eating rituals by knowing what vitamins are in the types of foods you eat. There are some foods in particular that have extraordinary nutrients in which we can all benefit from.  It is very important to choose wisely. Conventionally, many eat foods based on instant gratification,  without caring about the long-term effects of what they have eaten. Taste usually comes before health and it is one important factor to think about. Having fun with it! Going to your local farmers market and bringing home local, fresh, and health ingredients is a great way to get in touch to your "healthy side."Some of the fruits and vegetables that are on the top of the list of SUPERFOODS include: spinach, blueberries, bell peppers, apples,. . . . . .
Pics I took at my local farmers market! YUM ;D

For more information I highly recommend reading this article by Darya Pinto, a scientist and health blogger. 

Also check out this book, "The Worlds Healthiest Foods in The World" by George Mateljan. 

I leave you with a quote by the beloved Audrey Hepurn 

‎"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek 
out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the 
hungry. For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it 
once a day. For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never
walk alone."