A Nutty Day

Some of our loyal readers may have picked up on the fact that we have a loose schedule of rotating blog posts among the builders. Well, today is my day, and I have spent most of it in a 10'x6' doctors office with a 3 year old and a baby, so my brain is pretty fried at this point. This is not the post I had planned to write, but I will be happy if I can put together full sentences.

Today we had Dash's "peanut challenge". He had a reaction the first time he ate peanut butter, and tested very positive to a peanut allergy. His last skin test was shockingly negative, so the next step was to have him ingest peanut protein in increasing amounts in a controlled setting while his vital signs were constantly monitored to see if he is in the 15% of kids that do outgrow their peanut allergies. The great news is that he passed! He had absolutely no reaction to the peanut flour.

Here are some reflections on the day:

1. They tell you to bring something that your child will eat to a food challenge to mix with the allergic food. I made one of Dash's favorite desserts, homemade chocolate custard (or pots de creme). As soon as the door closed I realized I might regret bringing something made with both sugar and caffeine as we would be confined to our room for the next 5 hours.

2. However, caffeine for mom is definitely a plus in this situation.

3. It is possible to hold a crying 3 year old while feeding a baby simultaneously.

4. Someone needs to invent blood pressure cuffs for toddlers that work on the first try.

5. I never thought I would even consider a request to color on the baby. Request was denied, but I did consider the ideas merits (namely, distraction for a stir crazy 3 year old) for a moment.

6. Foam stickers shaped like bugs are worth their weight in gold.

7. Ample time to reflect on why my household of 3 small men was sent an American Girl catalog.

8. I have more patience than I thought I did.

9. Upon returning home and (momentarily) having three children sleeping simultaneously, I feel I deserve to eat something made from sugar and caffeine.

Baffling...

Has anyone seen the new campaign for High Fructose Corn Syrup? I have seen it on TV (Food Network, I think) and in magazines like Bon Appetit and Cooking Light.

What is the most fascinating is that it doesn't deny that refined sweeteners contribute to obesity and have little nutritional value. The punch line is basically that corn syrup is equally bad for you as refined sugar, so have at it. (I'm not sure this is true, I still think HFCS is worse..it has undergone much more processing than refined sugar. Michael Pollan discussed this issue in his book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which we discussed here awhile ago.)

Are we, as consumers, that susceptible to marketing that this type of campaign(corn syrup is just as unhealthy as sugar!) can possibly be effective?

Our Friend, H2O

Swelling... swelling.

One of the many wonderful side-effects of pregnancy. 

In your ankles, legs, hands and fingers... 

Swelling.

Water.

The doctors and midwives tell you to drink it.

You try.  You really do.

But it's so hard to get that daily 64oz.

And add on countless more liters if you're exercising, already nursing, etc.

Not to mention it has no taste!

Yet this pregnancy I have become a believer in water.  I have been overwhelmed at its healing and life-giving power.  I should know better.  A Biology background in tow, my brain knows that water is life-giving in its every form; at the root of every life process and cellular event.  It causes diffusion, osmosis, and cellular respiration, to name a few.  

And it takes away swelling.  Really, it does.

Water is every pregnant woman's small miracle.

And I never believed it until now.

No sooner have my ankles begun to bulge, but I drink a large 32oz'er of the clear stuff and all is well.  No more cankles. 

Bring on the 64, 72, 80 oz-a-day!!  I'll drink it.

Let's not forget the many other reasons to consume it--

*Improve Your Energy
*Increase Your Mental and Physical Performance
*Remove Toxins & Waste Products from your body
*Keep Skin Healthy and Glowing
*Help You Lose Weight
*Reduce Headaches and Dizziness
*Allow for proper Digestion (and avoid constipation!!)
*Help to keep you more Alkaline

(Though an April report in The Journal of American Society of Nephrology disputes these claims!  Pish posh, I say!)

Water.

Just do it.

YET don't always trust its purity, especially the bottled kind.

More scary, bad toxins...

This weekend, I noticed a friend using glass bottles to feed her baby. My brother's fiance has purchased an aluminum water bottle. It is really time to toss our sippy cups and beloved Nalgenes? If the New York Times says so, perhaps the BPA concerns have moved past crunchy extremism...

Marilyn Shannon Rocks!

In my brief 29 years of experience, Fertility, Cycles and Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon is the best book I have come across on nutrition for the layperson. In the book, Shannon discusses the link between diet and fertility, AND encourages some basic dietary changes for women and men. I read this book as a newlywed, and I can honestly say that it changed my life. Her book had a huge impact on my diet, my female cycles, and our ability to conceive our children. My husband and I now teach Natural Family Planning classes, and I heartily recommend her book to our students and anyone else who will listen.

And if my own personal testimony isn't enough for you, Drs. Jorge Chavarro and Walter Willet of the Harvard School of Public Health have confirmed much of what Shannon originally argued 15 -20 years ago. In their new book, The Fertility Diet, Chavarro and Walter compile information from the Nurses Health Study, and make dietary suggestions very similar to what Shannon argued for in her own book many years ago.

In the ongoing Nurses Health Study, started in 1989, thousands of nurses kept records of their diet, exercise, and other life patterns. Chavarro and Walter studied the data from participating nurses who wished to become pregnant. The data showed several correlations between diet and ovulatory infertility. In the latest issue of Family Foundations Magazine (put out by the Couple to Couple League, the largest provider of NFP services in the US), Shannon very humbly summarizes this new book and highlights some of Chavarro and Walter's recommendations.

1. Avoid trans fats. The artery clogging fats found in many commercially prepared products and fast foods.
2. Use more unsaturated vegetable oils, such as olive oil and canola oil
3. Eat more vegetables protein, like beans and nuts, and less animal protein.
4. Choose whole grains and other sources of carbohydrates that have lower, slower effects on blood sugar and insulin rather than highly refined carbohydrates that quickly boost blood sugar and insulin.
5. Drink a glass of whole milk or have a small dish of ice cream or full-fat yogurt every day; temporarily trade in skim milk and low or no-fat dairy products like cottage cheese and frozen yogurt for their full-fat cousins.
6. Take a multivitamin that contains folic acid and other B vitamins.
7. Get plenty of iron from fruits, vegetables, beans, and supplements but not from red meat.
8. Beverages matter. Water is great; coffee, tea, and alcohol are okay in moderation; leave sugared sodas unopened.
9. Aim for a healthy weight.
10. If you aren't physically active, start a daily exercise plan.

I find many of these recommendations a matter of common sense, but others are really interesting, particularly the go ahead for full-fat dairy products. The low-fat craze is most evident in dairy products, but natural fat as found in milk is actually very healthy. Our family traded in skim milk for full fat dairy years ago (and believe me this was difficult for me as I actually like the taste of skim milk better!). Plus full fat dairy products are really great for kids and their developing brains.

Ultimately, why is this so important? First of all, many painful infertility treatments can be avoided through dietary and lifestyle changes. But in a broader sense, our fertility is just another sign of our overall health. If a women has irregular cycles that can be aided through dietary changes, well then think of all the other things that might not have been working so well in her body. So the recommendations of this study are really good for everyone, even those not currently trying to add another little one to their family.

On Fish

B-mama brought up a great question about fish and mercury levels during pregnancy. Many pregnant women are nervous about fish and so they don't eat it during pregnancy, and many don't eat it at all, which is a huge shame because fish has so many beneficial omega fatty acids that are not found in other foods--fatty acids that are very beneficial for a developing baby--maybe better than mad-cow beef. Most health care providers give women a list of fish known to be high in mercury (large fish that live in the ocean for a long time). For mercury levels of various fish see this chart. Personally, I would avoid fish on the top of this list or have them no more than once per month during pregnancy and with small children. All other fish, especially those low in mercury, can be consumed regularly. Tilapia is a favorite in our house because it is relatively inexpensive and fairly tasty. I'd recommend buying fresh fish, not frozen, because I find that frozen fish can be mushy and taste, well...gross. We try to eat fish on Fridays. DH doesn't like fish very much, so eating fish for dinner on Fridays is a real sacrifice for him, but the kids love it. I think serving it regularly really helps them think it is "normal" to eat fish, and the texture seems easier for them to like and chew than meat.
**This picture is not meant to promote dolphin consumption