Posted: 22 Mar 2010 05:05 AM PDT

Moms and dads know that young kids need a solid nutritional foundation to grow up healthy and strong. But for many little kids, stubborn eating habits can stand in the way of a healthy meal.

It can be tempting to give in to a tantrum and let your child eat whatever he or she wants. But nutrition experts and pediatricians agree that the right balance of nutrients, including calcium, protein, and certain vitamins, is critical for a healthy future.

Inger Hustrulid, registered dietitian and founder of Foundations Family Nutrition Inc., specializes in helping families give their children a tasty and nutritious start in life. Here are Inger's healthy tips:

- Set an example: You can't expect your kids to eat something you won't. Whether it's broccoli, fish or yogurt, it's important for your children to see you enjoying nutritious, satisfying foods.

- Know your nutrients: Ninety percent of bone strength is developed during childhood and adolescence, so it's essential that young children get enough of calcium, protein and vitamin D. To help them get some of the nutrients they need, choose power-packed snacks.

- Start young: Encourage your kids to be active from an early age, and make it part of your daily routine. Take a family walk after dinner or enroll them in a youth sports program.

- Be creative. Your picky eater won't eat a healthy meal if it doesn't taste good. Homemade breaded and baked fish sticks taste better than frozen ones. Lightly bread the fish with rice cereal or corn flakes and then bake.

- Make it a family affair. Bring your kids to the grocery store to introduce them to healthy food choices. The produce aisle can be a good place to learn about shapes and colors. There are also plenty of ways young children can help in the kitchen. Have them wash fruits and vegetables, measure ingredients, or stir (cold) sauces and batters.

-- ARA

New research: Non-melanoma skin cancers increasing

Studies have found that new diagnoses of non-melanoma skin cancer have become increasingly common, and the disease affects more individuals than all other cancers combined.

While non-melanoma skin cancer has a lower death rate than other cancers, it is the most common malignant disease in the U.S.

One study estimates that approximately 13 million white, non-Hispanic Americans had had at least one non-melanoma skin cancer by 2007. Another study found the total number of procedures to treat skin cancer in the Medicare population increased 76.9 percent from an estimated approximately 1.6 million procedures in 1992 to approximately 2 million procedures in 2006.

-- Archives of Dermatology

Did You Know?

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons found total knee replacement patients might not need to avoid high-impact activities like football, soccer or jogging.

Health Tip: Prevent injury when starting yoga

Common yoga injuries include repetitive strain to and overstretching of the neck, shoulders, spine, legs and knees. To help minimize injury from this beneficial activity, follow these tips:

- If you have any medical conditions or injuries, speak to your doctor before participating in yoga.

- Work with a qualified yoga instructor. Ask about his or her experience and credentials.

- Warm up thoroughly before a yoga session -- cold muscles, tendons and ligaments are vulnerable to injury.

- Keep hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, especially if participating in Bikram or "hot" yoga.

- Listen to your body and know your limits. If you are experiencing pain or exhaustion while participating in yoga, stop or take a break. If pain persists, speak with a physician.

-- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Number to Know: 35.2 percent

Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries, resulting in 35.2 percent of the injuries. Rates of these brain injuries caused by falls are highest for children from birth up to age 4, and for adults 75 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Children's Health: Stress might increase asthma risk

Stress during pregnancy may raise the risk of asthma in children, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

The researchers investigated differences in immune-function markers in cord blood between infants born to mothers in high stress environments and those born to mothers with lower stress and found marked differences in patterns that may be associated with asthma risk later in life.

Asthma is known to be more prevalent among ethnic minorities and among disadvantaged urban communities, but the disparity is not completely explained by known physical factors.

-- Harvard Medical School

Senior Health: Colon cancer treatment less aggressive

New results from a major initiative on the quality of cancer care in the United States show that patients with a common type of colon cancer, especially older patients, often do not receive the aggressive treatment that research shows is associated with better survival.

The study found that older patients often do not receive chemotherapy after surgery; with only 50 percent of patients aged 75 and older receiving the treatment.

Older patients also were less likely to receive the strongest chemotherapy, which has been shown in clinical trials to be most effective in improving survival.

-- UCLA

GateHouse News Service

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Your Health: Allergy shots achieve best results - USA Today

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 06:53 AM PDT

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Few, however, are using what may be the most effective treatment for uncontrolled symptoms: immunotherapy, or what most people know as allergy shots. The practice of injecting people with increasing amounts of the substances they are allergic to, so they can build gradual tolerance, is nearly 100 years old.

But U.S. surveys suggest shots are used by just 5% of nasal allergy patients.

"Inconvenience is the most likely reason," says Linda Cox, an allergist in Fort Lauderdale. A typical treatment plan calls for a patient to come to a medical office once a week for several months, get a shot and wait 30 minutes (in case a rare, dangerous reaction occurs) and then continue less frequent shots for months or years more.

There's also a needle "fear factor," says Stanley Fineman, an Atlanta allergist and vice president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. And costs for the shots and office visits, which vary based on insurance coverage and other factors, may play a role.

But a recent study published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology showed children who get allergy shots had lower health care costs over 18 months than otherwise similar children. The cost of their shots, about $600, was more than made up by drug savings and fewer doctors' visits and hospitalizations, says Cox, who led the study. Immunotherapy also might help prevent asthma, a costly life-long condition.

So allergists are working to make the therapy more appealing. Most efforts fall into two categories: non-shot alternatives and faster shot schedules.

Liquid or pill alternatives

Immunotherapy without shots is standard in Europe. There, most doctors prescribe "sublingual immunotherapy." Patients get liquids or pills containing extracts of grass pollen, dust mites, ragweed or other allergens and put a bit under their tongues at home each day.

But none of these products has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Some U.S. physicians prescribe sublingual use of liquid extracts approved for injections — but that is an unproven practice. And some studies on sublingual products under development have failed to show they work better than placebos.

That is changing, though. In one new study, a daily sublingual grass pollen pill reduced symptoms and medication use 26% in children and teens, says Michael Blaiss, clinical professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Blaiss, a consultant to the drug's maker, Merck, presented the data at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. A study in adults found similar results, he says.

The pills have not been compared with shots and might cost more. They are not available now.

What is increasingly available: faster shot schedules. In so-called rush immunotherapy, allergists give patients numerous shots over one to three days to quickly build tolerance so patients can soon start coming just once or twice a month. In the somewhat slower "cluster" technique, patients might come once or twice a week for a month and get two or three shots at each visit to get a faster start. These patients all get antihistamines, steroids or other drugs to prevent dangerous reactions.

Cox says the cluster technique is more widely used and thought safer. But Fineman says he safely gives rush patients nine to 20 injections in a day.

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Healthy Air Tip of the Month: Studies connect health ... - Fond du Lac Reporter

Posted: 22 Mar 2010 02:42 AM PDT

Air pollution ingredients matter.

Researchers in New York City studied the symptoms of 700 children from birth to age 2 and monitored pollution levels during the same time. They found that levels of nickel and vanadium, emitted from vehicle and industrial emissions, were most closely related to wheezing, while carbon particles from soot or diesel engines were most associated with coughing in the winter.

These findings indicate that regulating air quality based on the total quantity of pollutants, as EPA does now, may not be as effective for children's health as regulating levels of specific pollutants.

The March Healthy Air Tip is a project of the NEW Air Coalition, a group of representatives from Fond du Lac County government, business and education working together to improve air quality and the health of county residents. Share your air quality best practices and learn more about countywide efforts at www.fdlhealthyair.com.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

plus 2 more, “Health Watch: Nutritional tips for feeding picky kids - MetroWest Daily News”

plus 2 more, “Health Watch: Nutritional tips for feeding picky kids - MetroWest Daily News”

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