A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally (3 page)

Read A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally Online

Authors: Sue Frederick

Tags: #Health & Fitness, #Women's Health, #test

BOOK: A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally
2.98Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
 
Page 6
response. Dewey notes that breast-feeding during the first year of life also reduces the incidence of diarrhea by 50 percent regardless of socioeconomic and educational levels of the parents.
Sandra Apgar Steffes, program coordinator for the UCLA Extension Lactation Training Program, which has been recognized by the U.S. Surgeon General as a model training program for the country, agrees with Dewey about the importance of breast-feeding. "I believe that all babies should be breast-fed. Human milk is superior to any other, and breastfeeding is easy," says Steffes. Her award-winning program has trained more than 4,000 health care professionals, including hospital-working R.N.s, M.D.s, registered dietitians, and La Leche League leaders to assist and educate breast-feeding mothers.
Steffes likes to remind women that the worldwide average age for children to be weaned from breast-feeding is 4.2 years old, and yet in our culture, nursing a four-year-old is considered abnormal. "I'm afraid that in this country the breast is most admired for its beauty, not its functionality," she notes. "It's such a great privilege to be a woman and be so close to the life force, to be able to sustain life with breast milk. Our bodies should be admired for their great functionality, more than their appearance."
The Perfect Formula
For the first few days after delivery, your breasts secrete a clear fluid called colostrum, an ideal first food for your baby, easily digested and abundant in antibodies, special proteins that defend the newborn against disease. These antibodies, known as immunoglobulins, are manufactured by the mother's immune system in response to infections and germs in her environment. One such protective factor is secretory IgA, which protects the baby at points most vulnerable to germ attacks, such as the throat, lungs, and intestines. The IgA in breast milk also stimulates the development of the infant's own immune system.
Colostrum contains more protein, electrolytes, minerals, salt, vitamin A, and nitrogen than mature mother's milk, but less fat and carbohydrate. It has nearly three times the amount of protein as mature milk because it has several amino acids and antibody-containing proteins not found in mature milk. It has higher levels of IgA and higher numbers of white blood cells.
 
Page 7
Antibodies from colostrum have been found in the feces of breast-fed babies, but not in those who receive only formula, and researchers believe that the breast-fed baby's superior resistance to disease is due in part to these early antibodies.
Colostrum's main function is to protect newborns against infection, yet it also acts as a laxative to clean out the meconium from the baby's bowels. Meconium is the greenish-black waste matter formed in the baby's intestinal tract before birth.
Breast-feeding provides an immediate, on-demand supply of immunoglobulins specifically designed to protect your baby against viruses or bacteria that threaten his system. The nursing mother actually makes antibodies in response to microorganisms threatening her baby, even when the needed immunoglobulin isn't initially present in mom's blood. When a breast-fed infant is invaded by a new virus or bacteria, the offending germ is passed from baby to mother as baby nurses. Your breast actually produces the matching immunoglobulin and sends the protective element back to your baby through the milk.
Another important benefit is that breast milk contains generous amounts of essential fatty acids; specifically, an omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, which is lacking in cow's milk and formula. DHA is essential for optimal brain and nervous system development, and studies have shown that infant diets with reduced levels of omega-3 fatty acids can result in deficiency of DHA, which in turn may cause irreversible retinal damage.
Human milk also provides one and a half times as much lactose as cow's milk. When metabolized, lactose is broken down into two sugars essential to the maturing brain and spinal cord. Lactose also promotes the growth of friendly bacteria,
Lactobacillus bifidus,
in the baby's intestines. These bacteria aid digestion and protect the infant against undesirable bacteria that cause diarrhea.
During the first six months of a baby's life, a diet of breast milk alone helps prevent allergies, especially when the baby begins eating solid foods. The most common cause of food sensitivity or allergy during the first year of life is proteins such as those found in milk, eggs, cereals, or peanuts. While the protein in mother's milk is perfectly suited to her baby's immature digestive system, the proteins in formula, derived from cow's milk or soybeans,
 
Page 8
may not be. Cow's milk contains more than twenty-five proteins that can cause allergic reactions. For these reasons, researchers at the University of California, San Diego, recommend that the baby be six months of age before introducing foods other than breast milk.
Scientists agree that nursing is good for mom, too. As you breast-feed, the baby's sucking helps your uterus to contract and reduces the flow of blood caused by childbirth. Weight loss, particularly during the first three months postpartum, is greater in mothers who breast-feed than in those using formula. Breast-feeding mothers have a lower risk of conception, breast cancer, and osteoporosis, according to studies published in the
Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
Sometimes, of course, it's impossible to breast-feed your baby. You may have adopted a child, you may have health problems, or the child may have health problems that prevent it. Once you start browsing the aisles of your local supermarket in search of a formula, however, you may be shocked at the ingredients.
When my daughter was an infant, I decided I needed a backup formula to keep on hand. My supply of frozen breast milk was dwindling, and she took bottles of expressed milk every afternoon while I was at work. I pumped breast milk as often as possible, but her appetite was increasing, and I couldn't keep up with her. After reading the labels and finding ingredients such as hydrogenated oils, I couldn't bring myself to buy formula.
I was fortunate to have an expert natural health practitioner to consult. Janet Zand, author of
Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child,
designed a goat's milk-based formula specifically for Sarah. She added vitamin and mineral supplements and essential fatty acids based on Sarah's weight and health needs. It became my emergency formula to use whenever I ran out of pumped breast milk. Sarah tolerated it well, and it took some of the pressure off of me.
"The formulas on the market are not satisfactory," explains Zand. "Read the labels. There's no need to give a baby, who doesn't have a fully developed digestive system, hydrogenated oils. It's not an accident that almost every child who is put on formula initially develops digestive problems."
Zand cautions against designing your own formula without guidance. "It's very challenging to create a formula for an infant. It should be specific
 
Page 9
to the needs of the child. It's imperative to seek the guidance of a natural health practitioner."
If you're going to give your baby a store-bought formula, however, there are ways to improve it. "I recommend bifidus supplements [friendly bacteria] put right into the bottle," says Zand." Also,just a drop of an essential fatty acid such as borage or flaxseed oil can make a big difference to your child. However, again, I encourage you to seek the advice of a natural practitioner for guidance."
 
Page 11
Chapter 2
Nutrition
Feed Your Children Well
When my daughter, Sarah, was born, I wanted her, above all else, to be healthy. I had lofty ideas about never feeding her sugar or any type of unhealthy food. She would be raised on organic fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
As all parents know, however, when it comes to food choices, rigidity often creates more problems than it solves. I decided that my job was to educate rather than to harass. I learned to let her try foods I didn't approve of. I constantly reinforced her understanding that healthy food gives her energy so she can jump, run, play, and grow big and strong, and that sugary, unhealthy foods can make her sick. If we can educate our children, each day, about how their food choices affect how they feel, they eventually will make the right choices for themselves.
Jay Gordon, M.D., a pediatrician based in Santa Monica, California, and author of
Good Food Today, Great Kids Tomorrow,
believes we should start our babies off with healthy diets for the first few years of their lives but be flexible about birthday parties, Easter, Christmas, Hanukkah, and other special occasions. ''There's a lot more of these occasions than I thought," notes Gordon. "But that's OK. It's still only a small percentage of the meals our kids eat. As children get to be four or five years old, they start to understand that there is a connection between the foods they eat and how fast they run, and whether their tummies hurt or not. At this age, they respond to pleasant
 
Page 12
explanations and will even try new food that is offered in a warm, loving atmosphere."
Dinnertime should not be a battleground, he explains. "Children learn to enjoy new, healthy foods at different paces. The more pressure and bribery we offer surrounding broccoli, the less likely kids are to eat and enjoy it."
Gordon disapproves of telling children, "If you eat your broccoli, you can have dessert." He says this is a very traditional and very flawed way to get kids to eat their vegetables. "Basically you're saying if you eat this food that you dislike, I'll reward you with food that you like." This approach sends the message that broccoli is undesirable, while dessert is desirable. "I suggest you offer whole foods, and then relax."
Think of yourself as an educator rather than an enforcer. You can help your child understand why some foods are better than others by giving a simple and clear explanation. Gordon calls a hamburger a "greaseburger" to paint a vivid picture in his child's mind.
Remember, what you keep on hand is what your family will eat. Paul Wenner, author of
Garden Cuisine
and creator of the GardenBurger, points out, "Anything you do in life requires a little planning to turn out well. Eating healthy meals simply requires advanced planning. When we're hungry, we go with what we've got on hand. So make sure that what you've got is both healthy and tasty."
We Are What We Eat
The food you feed your child creates the foundation for her future health. Although we must relax and educate rather than enforce, remember that vegetables and fruits provide abundant nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, which promote efficient digestion and elimination and may help protect against cancer and heart disease.
An important and often overlooked aspect of your child's diet is making sure that their water is filtered so that it is free from chemicals such as chlorine, and that their food is organic (raised without pesticides or herbicides).
Consider this: American farmers annually apply 700 million pounds of pesticides to their crops. Farmers in other countries use nearly twice as many pesticides on their crops as we do; we import many of these fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables get especially large doses of pesticides,
 
Page 13
with some being treated to a dozen or more applications per year, according to the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that pesticides cause cancer in 6,000 Americans annually. Many members of the organic farming community believe this number is, in reality, much higher.
The potential impact of pesticide residues is more of a threat to children than to adults. Children eat far more fruits and drink more fruit juices relative to their body weight than do adults. Children's growing bodies, with their developing organs and tissues, are more sensitive and vulnerable to toxins than are the fully developed organs of an adult.
A report by Consumers Union (CU) found that Americans eat some fruits and vegetables that contain high enough levels of pesticide residues to cause concern. The study looked at twenty-seven foods, using data gleaned from U.S. Department of Agriculture tests of 27,000 samples from 1994 to 1997. Risk estimates were based on the number of samples containing pesticide residues and the amount of toxicity of each residue. The toxicity levels came from EPA data. CU combined the figures from the two federal agencies to compile a "toxicity index." Apples, grapes, green beans, raw peaches, pears, spinach, and winter squash were high on the risk scale. The highest amount of pesticides was measured in U.S.-grown peaches, which had ten times higher pesticide levels than peaches imported from Chile. The report concluded that even a single daily serving of some produce can deliver unsafe levels of toxic pesticide residues for young children.
Earl Mindell, Ph.D., author of
Parents' Nutrition Bible,
divides foods into three categories: the Good Guys (which includes whole grains, vegetables, and fruits); the Okay Guys (which includes natural sweeteners such as maple syrup); and the Bad Guys (which includes refined sugar, sugared breakfast cereals, candy, and carbonated soft drinks).
Go through your pantry and refrigerator and get rid of the bad guys. If you don't have any unhealthy foods in your house, you won't eat them. Then make a list of healthy snacks and post it on your refrigerator. When you're tired or in a hurry, consult the list and choose something. Remember, the contents of your refrigerator and pantry are like a classroom to your child. He will choose and experiment with foods that you provide. If tofu is never to be found in your refrigerator, your child won't try it. But if you make a tofu gardenburger for lunch and your child loves it, she will ask for it again.

Other books

Restore Me by J. L. Mac
Cause of Death by Jane A. Adams
Kiss Me Hard Before You Go by Shannon McCrimmon
Mister Monday by Garth Nix
Anything but Normal by Melody Carlson
One More Thing by B. J. Novak