DHA/ARA oils in infant formula reactions/ sensitivities

Many parents may see DHA and ARA on labels for infant formula and immediately think this is the best choice for their child.

The National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy (NABA) contributed to a report written by The Cornucopia Institute on the novel oils DHA and ARA in infant formula. These oils appear to be marketing tools to tell mothers that formula is now "as close as ever to breast milk." These lab-produced, hexane-extracted algal and fungal oils have been linked to diarrhea, vomiting and other adverse reactions in some infants, but the formula companies are not sharing the possibility of side effects with parents. Some infants have suffered through months of diarrhea because their parents did not know that a simple switch to non-DHA/ARA formula would, in many cases, relieve symptoms within a day.

Below is a link to the full report.

A quick scan of the highlighted quotes and photo captions will give you a sense of the report's contents although I do encourage you to take the time to read it in its entirety. The report is available for free download at http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report/

Reference: This is an excerpt from a message from Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC

she would like your help in finding infants and their parents, and inviting them to share their stories. If you know anyone who has been impacted, please ask them to email their story, in confidence, to The Cornucopia Institute, at cultivate@cornucopia.org.

Immediate food allergy reactions and food sensitivities

An immediate food allergy reaction is when you are allergic to a certain type of food, the reaction is predictable, happens every time you ingest the food, and it happens immediately. I have a family member who has this issue, his throat closes and he feels as if he cannot breath when eating the offending food. This reaction happens when he eats various types of melons, it has even happened to him when he has eaten pizza (who knows what went into the sauce). So this person avoids this type of food (not pizza, just that place where he bought it that time LOL). He has other problems as well on a daily basis, excessive gas, chronic heart burn, IBS symptoms, and even a tendancy toward depression, anxiety and problems with "brain fuzziness" . Could this be food caused? Unfortunately a little bird with a white coat has whispered in his ear that food sensitivities are a bunch of BS. He has no problem avoiding the foods that cause the immediate reaction, but foods causing IBS and heart burn, come on! In fact, people who have these types of reactions are likely to have other less 'obvious' food sensitivities as well.

Food can be emotional and complex, it involves tradition, habits, and emotional attachments. No one wants to feel like they must be "deprived" after all, their aunt, brother, Grandma or whoever always ate the food so they should be able to right? If a person can get past this and try an elimination diet to see if it may make them feel better, maybe they would be willing to change. Mind body techniques, really getting in touch with your body and working with it instead of against it can really benefit. Meditation (this does not have to be traditional, simply taking a time to be silent and connect is OK, or even a walk or yoga), and being in the present, delaying immediate gratification in order to have your body functioning at it's optimum level will help as well. Rewarding yourself with other things instead of food is also a good alternative, massage, a brisk walk, a swim these things will help decrease stress and increase energy~ you feel better immediately, you will wonder why you thought you needed that cookie for a quick energy boost. Change is very hard for most people, but the benefits will outweigh any temporary discomfort. After a while your new style of eating will be like second nature, you will make mistakes, and your body will likely let you know you made them, simple try and do better most of the time rather than giving up completely. The question is, how bad do you really want to improve your quality of life? There are many symptoms that may be related to food sensitivity.

Here are some examples (and there may be others):

• Chronic Digestive problems of all kinds
  
• recurring infections of any kind
• recurring inflammatory conditions of any kind
• Difficulty loosing weight, putting on weight easily to spite exercise
  
• Unexplained bouts of fatigue after eating
• Tendency to hold water that is not associated with cyclic fluid retention or menstrual cycling
• Chronic dark rings under eyes
• Chronic horizontal creases under the lower eye lids
• Frequent stuffy nose or nasal drip for no explainable reason, clearing throat after eating
• Chronically swollen glands, with no known reason
• Bouts of anxiety, sweating, or heart palpitations withing several hours of eating
• Frequent unexplained skin rashes
• Immediate family members with food allergies or asthma
• History of gall bladder disease
• Mental fuzziness for fogginess after eating
• Bouts of "low blood sugar" that do not go away
• Headaches that don't go away
• General ill feelings that do not go away and are not explainable

I highly recommend keeping a food diary of everything you eat for one week (be honest and consistent) I have found that this is hard for some to do, but it is very important, many people are not eating consciously, in other words, eating while driving, eating and doing other things, many times forgetting that they ate the particular food at all. Sit down and take a break when you eat, really be in the present moment. Find foods that overlap each other that you eat frequently (these may be culprits), also note any symptoms you may feel after eating. Try the elimination diet that Henriette explains on her blog on the post about food sensitivities- you will also find much more detailed information there about the subject. Once you start an elimination diet, you will be amazed at some of the creative alternatives you may come up with! Ask family members to help as well and do not bring the offending foods into the house to make you tempted.

Besides the major culprits discussed on many web pages and in books that focus on food sensitivity (Dairy, Wheat, soy, corn, yeast, eggs, citrus, carrots, apples and berries, members of the nightshade family, refined sugars)

Be mindful of what you drink and cook with as well, you may be sensitive to; alcohol, refined sugars and or additives in drinks, coffee or certain teas, citrus drinks, tap water, certain processed oils, additives and preservatives such as MSG & food colorings (before you spice up that meat, read the label many pre made spice blends have added preservatives, colorings, sugar and other junk! or better yet create your own spices with fresh herbs or single herbs where you know the source)

Really read those labels!

Changing food habits can be very hard at first, I have heard every justification and excuse in the book, but I guess what it boils down to is how bad do you really want to feel better and have a better quality of life. I have seen the effects of those who have stayed committed. I have one client who found she had food sensitivities to both dairy and gluten, she worked out daily and could not loose weight, plus she had many other symptoms, as soon as she eliminated these foods, she dropped 30 pounds, feels great, has more energy and even has had improvements with her menstrual symptoms, her relationships have improved and she has more energy to spend time with her child and husband after she does her daily workout. Trust me if you have food sensitivities, it is worth it to change your food choices!

Resourse: Healthy Digestion the natural way L Berkson 2000

Elk Steak Stew

Burrr! It's cold, windy and rainy today. Perfect day to cuddle up Ella and make some Elk steak stew! I received an excellent bottle of red wine from the nice store clerk the other day (mentioned in my nasturtium post)I always cook with wine I like to drink~ I would never use "cooking wine". We received the Elk in trade for fish (Tony didn't get an Elk this year) I don't cook with a recipe, my intuition is my guide, I just add a handful of this and a dash of that, so here is my description.
So I browned the Elk steak (3 firm shoulder steaks a little bigger than the size of your hand) in oil on the bottom of the pan (the secret to browning is, if the steak feels like it does not want to come off the bottom, don't turn it over, wait until it shrinks and dis attaches itself, then you can turn it)

Anything that grows in the ground is great for stew, I happened to have potatoes, carrots, onions- chop them in big chunks- use more veges than meat because they will shrink upon cooking- and add 1/2 the vegetables (no need to brown the veges, the steak gives plenty of browning flavor)~ red wine (the more the better) a little over half the bottle.

I added some water (you could use stalk) so you just cover the meat and vegetables, a large sprig of rosemary and a few bay leaves. I will let them simmer most of the day, toward the end of cooking, I will add the second half of the vegetables (so you get the best of both worlds, all the flavor of the veges you added earlier and that thickness of the cooked potatoes, plus the firmness of the vegetables you just added) A little sea salt and pepper if needed for seasoning....

Yum! Just the smell throughout the house is delish!

Know Your Wild Foods Baby Food

A word of caution for parents who make their own baby food. In a previous article I discuss chickweed. You may be thinking it's packed with nutrients, why not add to baby food? Chickweed like corn, celery, miner's lettuce, and many other plants, will accumulate nitrates under the right conditions. Nitrates can inhibit an infants ability to breath oxygen. Nitrates will accumulate in the plant where there have been nitrate based fertilizers in the soil and the plant has been under a variety of stresses. Since there is no real way of knowing the amount if any nitrates the plant may have, it is best to avoid using these plants for baby food in infants under 1 year of age. Nitrates can be properly metabolized in humans over 1 year of age.

Vitamin K It's role in bone health

Vitamin K facilitates the action of calcium in building bone and clotting blood. Many people in America may be taking drugs that effect the absorption of Vitamin K.

forms: Phylloquinone or phytonadione (K₁), menaquinone (K₂), menadione (K₃)

Worldwide, only a handful of researchers study vitamin K—long known for its critical role in blood clotting. But with the aging of the U.S. population, this vitamin may command a bigger following as its importance to the integrity of bones becomes increasingly clear. It activates at least three proteins involved in bone health, says Sarah Booth. She is in the Vitamin K Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

"Not too long ago," Booth says, "it looked like Americans consumed several times the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin K. But improved analytical methods show that the vitamin isn't as abundant in the diet as once thought."

Read the whole article here http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jan00/green0100.htm

• mechanism: Steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (including prednisone) cause increased loss of vitamin K through the urine. Though widely observed, the clinical implications of this pattern remain unclear.
(Buist RA. Intl Clin Nutr Rev 1984;4(3):114; Pronsky Z. 1991, 60.)

• nutritional support: Individuals using corticosteroids (including prednisone) for periods longer than two weeks should consult with their prescribing physician and/or a nutritionally trained healthcare professional about the potential need to supplement with vitamin K to counter the depleting effects of the drug(s). A typical dose in such situations would be in the range of 65-80 mg of vitamin K per day, a level easily obtained by eating leafy green vegetables

I have a client who has an undiagnosed inflammatory condition, she was given prednisone to treat it. 2 years later (using prednisone the whole length of time) she has received 2 hip replacements, and her lumbar area is decreasing in bone mass. Not once has the Doctor suggested anything about vitamin K, it's role in bone health or diet modification. It is also important to note, she had irritable bowel symptoms and vitamin K2 is made by intestinal bacteria. Antibiotics also have an effect on vitamin K absorption in the gut. So it seems when it comes to bone health we should be thinking about vitamin K along with Calcium.

Booth says (from ards.usa.gov) that as much as 30 percent of total vitamin K intake may come in the form of dihydrophylloquinone (found in hydrogenated oils), but it is less biologically active than phylloquinone ( found in organic soy bean oil, dark green vegetables). In fact, it was half as active with a clot-forming protein and was completely inactive with a bone-forming protein. "So hydrogenated oils shouldn't be considered an important source of vitamin K," she emphasizes.

chemistry:
• The naturally occurring forms of vitamin K are all fat soluble. They are stored in the liver, though not to any great extent. Stable to heat and reducing agents, they are destroyed by light, acid, alkali, oxidizing agents, and alcohol.
• Most supplemental forms of chlorophyll, as a vitamin K source, are water soluble.
• K₁: phytonadione or phylloquinone (Aquamephyton): is a natural derivative from fish or plants.
• K₂: menaquinone: fat-soluble form made by intestinal bacteria.
• K₃: menadione: the synthetic water-soluble form tends to have a greater degree of toxicity.

metabolism:
• Vitamin K₁ is absorbed in the upper GI tract and requires bile salts for absorption.

function:
• Vitamin K acts as a cofactor in the final synthesis of proteins with a modified amino acid residue.
This modified glutamic acid residue is found in bone proteins and can bind onto calcium ions to cause calcification.It is also found in the blood and along vessel walls, and along with platelet-derived phospholipid, binds calcium, and is an integral part of the clotting process.
• Vitamin K facilitates the action of calcium in building bone and clotting blood.
• Vitamin K is involved in the synthesis of a protein, osteocalcin, which is found in high amounts in bone. It allows calcium ions to bind, thus resulting in the calcification of bone.
• Vitamin K is involved in the synthesis of a kidney protein that functions in the inhibition of calcium oxalate stone formation via its ability to bind onto calcium in the kidneys.
• Vitamin K is involved in the synthesis of proteins C and S. These two proteins, formed in the liver, promote fibrinolysis and anti-coagulation. Thus, they are involved with reducing inflammation.

dietary sources:
• Lettuce, spinach, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, egg yolk, soybean oil, liver, kelp, alfalfa and other green plants, cow's milk, liver. Leafy green vegetables are the single best dietary source of vitamin K because of their high chlorophyll content.
• Probiotic flora in intestines with a healthy ecology normally manufacture vitamin K.

deficiency:
• A clinically significant vitamin K deficiency, as manifest by uncontrolled bleeding, is rare. Those cases which do develop are usually associated with malabsorption diseases.
• Infancy: Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn has been related to Vitamin K deficiency. This is due to poor transport across the placenta: especially with premature infants. Also, because of the relatively sterile infant gut, the ability to make vitamin K is impaired. The practice of supplementing pregnant women with vitamin K and providing vitamin K to newborn infants has significantly reduced the risk of deficiencies among infants, especially those who are breast-fed.
• Easy bleeding in children: especially spontaneous nose bleeds.
• Osteoporosis: A deficiency of vitamin K leads to impaired bone mineralization due to inadequate osteocalcin levels.
(Hart JP, et al. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1985 Jun;60(6):1268-1269; Hodges SJ, et al. Clin Sci (Colch). 1990 Jan;78(1):63-66; Hodges SJ, et al. Bone. 1991;12(6):387-389.)
• Vitamin E may interfere with the absorption and utilization of vitamin K.
• Many drugs, particularly antibiotics, cephalosporins and anticonvulsants such as phenytoin

from http://home.caregroup.org/clinical/altmed/interactions/Nutrients/Vitamin_K.htm

Click the above link for more info on drug interactions and vitamin K

Broccoli Sprouts vrs Full Grown Broccoli

Above Picture from Martha Stewart Magazine 3/03

In a 1997 study at John Hopkins University, it was found that broccoli sprouts contained as much as 50 times more of the anti cancer compound sulforaphane than fully grown broccoli. The sprouts hit their highest amount of concentration when they were 3 days old, when the shoots have their 2 baby leaves. Sulforaphane prompts the body to make an enzyme that has been shown to prevent tumor growth according to the study. Sulforaphane levels varied greatly in the full grown broccoli when tested.

Sprouts are easy to grow any time of year & they taste great! Place a plant light inside the top of a book shelf (as shown in the picture above), grow them right in your house! Add them to your salads & sandwiches, make a stir fry, place as a garnish.

To Sprout
Put 2 to 3 beans, seeds, or grain in a screw top mason jar, half fill the jar with luke-warm water. Leave to soak overnight.

Bean sprouting tops can be bought at your local wild foods store or you can make one from some muslin, cheesecloth or gauze and a preserving ring or rubber band.

Poor off the water, use the water for your plants.

Rinse once or twice and stand the jar upside down until the water drains out completely. Keep the sprouts in a dark area or cover them with a kitchen towel until you see they are germinating. At this stage, bring them into the light to develop their green tips.

Rinse once or twice daily until the sprouts are about 3 cm long or have 2 baby leaves. Do not leave them standing in water or they will quickly rot. They increase their size rapidly, don't sprout too many at once. Wash jar thoroughly between sprouting.

Prepare as much as you will use in 2 or 3 days.



If you would like to view the study go to www.hopkinsmedicine.org/1997/SEPT/970903.HTM

French Women Don't Get Fat a book review

A friend of mine gave me the book French Women Don't Get fat, was she trying to tell me something? LOL. Well, I am doing pretty good post pregnancy. I do like to keep up on the trends out there to see what other people are doing. I don't believe in dieting. The one thing I will say about this book is I really liked it's overall theme. Basically, you are supposed to sit down and enjoy your food, slowly....No going through the drive through, as your speeding away and shoving in the fileOfish thinking your getting some Omega 3's. She makes a day of it. She WALKS to the store, that's right folks actually walks. Only buys the ingredients for that days meal. She talks about the French lifestyle, have your wine, but only 1 glass, yes even with every meal if you wish. Have your desert, but a very small piece. Moderation.......Something most American's have a hard time with. Eat in beautiful surroundings and enjoy the experience. I liked this book. If your thinking, I don't have time to walk to the store. Hum....may this be part of the problem? Just a thought.