Author & Book Views On a Healthy Life! - BREAKING NEWS AND OPINION FROM BASIL & SPICE

Friday

03Jul

Caffeine Affects Children With ADD

Jul 3, 2009

Joanna Dolgoff--

Children today drink twice as much soda as they did 20 years ago, averaging as much as 20 ounces a day! A large soda not only provides tons of calories and sugar but it also includes at least 100 mg of caffeine. Many parents wouldn’t dream of giving their kids a cup of coffee yet routinely offer them soda, which contains caffeine as well. We also see many families hitting the local café or Starbucks for a café latte or mocha frappuccino loaded with the burst of ‘energy’ we call caffeine.

The truth is, caffeine is everywhere but it is wise to keep kids’ consumption of caffeine to a minimum.

How caffeine affects kids:

Caffeine is a stimulant and a drug that is naturally produced in the leaves and seeds of many plants. Caffeine can also be made artificially. Caffeine is considered a drug because it stimulates the central nervous system. The routine side is a feeling of alertness, but when taken in excess side effects may include:

1) Headaches

2) Difficulty concentrating

3) Jitteriness

4) Nervousness

5) Upset stomach

6) Difficulty sleeping

7) Increased heart rate

8) Increased blood pressure

9) Slight dehydration

10) Anxiety

11) Irritability

12) Muscle tremors

13) Nausea

14) Diarrhea

15) Shortened attention span

16) Increased risk of heart problems

Because caffeine’s effects are dependent on body weight, it does not take a lot of caffeine to produce side effects, especially for younger children. Younger kids are more also sensitive to caffeine because they haven’t been exposed to it as much as older kids or adults and have not yet developed a tolerance to its effects.

Beware of withdrawal:

If you decide to cut caffeine out of your diet all together don’t be surprised if you feel withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, and irritability, especially if you are used to consuming a lot. When I was in medical school, I relied on coffee to get me through my exams. Every vacation, I wound up in bed with severe headaches. I finally realized that I was suffering from caffeine withdrawal because I didn’t need the caffeine to give me energy to study and so I wasn’t drinking my usual amount of caffeine! I gave up caffeine and my headaches never returned.

Caffeine takes up to 6 hours to be excreted from the body through the urine, so side effects may last until removed from the body.

More reasons to limit kids’ caffeine consumption:

Obesity: Kids who consume one or more 12-ounce sweetened soft drink per day are 60% more likely to be obese.
Lack of nutrients: Most caffeinated drinks are loaded with empty calories and are high in sugar, but lack the nutrients kids need when growing. More kids are choosing soda over milk now days and are missing out on calcium which helps build bones and teeth.
Tooth Decay: Drinking unhealthy drinks like sweetened beverages can lead to dental cavities from the high sugar content and can lead to erosion of the enamel from the high acidity content.
ADHD: Large doses of caffeine can impact the attention span for children, especially for those diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD).

Recommendations:

The United States has not developed guidelines for caffeine intake because many experts believe because there is not enough data to make any conclusive recommendations. The Canadian guidelines recommend that children 6 and under have no more than 45 milligrams of caffeine per day; 10 to 12 year olds have no more than 85 milligrams per day and adults have no more than 300 milligrams per day.

Foods and Beverages with Caffeine

ITEM	AMOUNT	CAFFEINE CONTENT
BREWED COFFEE	5 OUNCES	115 mg
COCA BEVERAGE	5 OUNCES	4 mg
COCA-COLA	12 OUNCES	34 mg
COFFEE	8 OUNCES	115 mg
COLD RELIEF MEDICINE	1 TABLET	30 mg
CHOCOLATE MILK	8 OUNCES	5 mg
DARK CHOCOLATE	1 OUNCES	20 mg
DECAF COFFEE	6 OUNCES	3-5 mg
DIET COKE	12 OUNCES	45 mg
DUNKIN DONUTS	16 OUNCE	206 mg
ESPRESSO	2 OUNCES	100 mg
ICED TEA	12 OUNCES	70 mg
JOLT SOFT DRINK	12 OUNCES	71.2 mg
MILK CHOCOLATE	1 OUNCE	6 mg
MOUNTAIN DEW	12 OUNCES	55 mg
NO-DOZ	1 TABLET	100 mg
RED BULL	8.3 OUNCES	80 mg
SNICKERS	1 BAR	60 mg
STARBUCKS COFFEE	16 OUNCE	320 mg
STARBUCKS CHAI TEA LATTE	16 OUNCE	100 mg
TEA, BLACK	6 OUNCES	70 mg
TEA, GREEN	6 OUNCES	35 mg
7-UP	12 OUNCES	0 mg

There is no reason for children to drink or consume caffeinated products. One of the best ways to cut caffeine out of the diet is by not offering it at all. Eliminate soda all together and instead offer water, skim milk, or flavored seltzer. For an occasional treat try offering soda or tea but make sure it is decaffeinated.

Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. is a pediatrician whose practice solely deals with child and adolescent weight management. A graduate of Princeton University, she completed her education at NYU School of Medicine and finished her Pediatric Residency training at Columbia Presbyterian's Children's Hospital of New York. She has previously worked as a private practice pediatrician, helping children reach their weight loss goals. A Board Certified Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Dolgoff is also the proud mother of two children. Click here to learn more about Dr. Dolgoff's Weigh Child and Adolescent Weight Management Program.

Sunmaid Yogurt Raisins Versus Raisinets

1 Comment | |

Email Article |

Permalink

tagged

caffeine,

coffee,

frappuccino,

joanna dolgoff,

kids,

soda,

starbucks,

stimulant

Thursday

02Jul

Robert Ferguson Hosts Radio Show

Jul 2, 2009

FRIDAY, July 3, 2009

The show begins at 9:00 AM PST and 12:00 PM EST!

This week's radio show covers Food Lovers for Life, 
which includes both reducing the waistline and never 
being concerned with gaining the weight back. The focal 
point of this show is how to eat Holiday foods (e.g., 
July 4th, Thanksgiving, New Years) - traditional foods 
without getting off track of achieving your weight loss 
goals. In this show Robert hosts guests: 
Jason Love who is a master at keeping humor as part of 
our daily habits and Dawn McCarthy of Your Health Connection 
magazine. 

You can call in at (805) 639-0008 if you have questions. 
Live show goes from: 
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM Pacific and 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Eastern. 

Following the live radio show you will be able to listen to our
replay/podcast.

Click Here to listen live on Fat Loss Friday!

Oprah: The War On Her Weight

264 Liver Transplants Related to Acetaminophen Use

Jul 2, 2009

James Geiger M.D.--

What’s wrong with Tylenol? Take too much and you could end up with a liver transplant, if your “plan” will pay for it.

The FDA has issued Tylenol, also known as acetaminophen a black penalty box warning. That means take this warning seriously.

How can such a commonly taken, over the counter medication be just now labeled as unsafe? It has been know for years now that taking 4 grams daily without alcohol can cause a rise in liver transaminases. That danger is increased causing more damage to the liver when used in daily dosages higher than 7 grams and especially if taken with several alcohol drinks, think certain cold remedies. The evidence of 264 liver transplants required due to acetaminophen related liver failure is one significant study prompting the FDA to enact the black box warning. Acetaminophen is the most common drug causing acute liver failure in children in the U.S. and the U.K. The only acute treatment for acute acetaminophen toxicity is acetylcystine.

So what is the take home message….if you do not want to risk liver failure and liver transplant for your survival then be careful of the amount of acetaminophen you take. Take the black box warning on acetaminophen very seriously. Make CAM alternative choices. For instance, ginger is described as the universal medicine in ayurvedic therapies. Highly recommended for headache and migraine therapy.

There are numerous other rare but potentially serious adverse drug reactions which have earned black box warnings attributed to many different classes (antibiotic, antidepressants, antipsychotics) of drugs including antinausea medications. These adverse drug reactions range from mild confusion, dysphoria, headache, phlebitis, tics, torticolis, serotonin syndrome, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and alpha blockade alterations in blood pressure to potential life-threatening cardiac rhythm disturbances.

Succinylcholine is a neuromuscular blocker used to faciliate endotracheal intubation. There is an FDA black box warning on succinylcholine because co-existing conditions such as certain muscles disorders in children place them at increased risk of malignant hyperthermia.

Droperidol is the subject of a black box warning by the FDA (Habib and Gan, 2003). This controversial warning describes the rational for patients to have a normal Q-T interval documented by ECG prior to intravenous administration of droperidol. The risk of the malignant ventricular dysrhythmias, called torsades de pointes, associated with droperidol is also known to occur with several of the new selective blocking agents of the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. This drug is commonly used by anesthesiologists.

Perhaps ginger oil Z. officinale could be considered an alternative for droperidol, even though one investigation failed to show antinausea benefit when droperidol even though one investigation failed to show antinausea benefit when droperidol was compared with powdered ginger root (Visalyuputra et al., 1998). The essential oil of ginger used topically at the time of surgery works great to prevent nausea. I apply to my anesthesia patients every day.

The King of Pop loved Propofol. It is a very good drug and very safe drug in the hands of an anesthesiologist. So is acetaminophen.

Dr. James L. Geiger is a board certified anesthesiologist practicing acute care anesthesia and clinical aromatherapy in Arizona. He completed residency at USC and Internship at St. Mary’s Center in San Francisco where he remained to perform cardiac anesthesia with his father, a Cardiothoracic surgeon, for 16 years. At St. Mary’s he developed and lectured on Fast Track Cardiac Anesthesia programs for early recovery from anesthesia and was chairman of the critical care committee. Currently Dr. Geiger is on staff at several medical centers, orthopedic hospitals and surgicenters where he has introduced therapy with essential oils into the operating and recovery rooms. Dr Geiger’s special interest is consulting in the development of patient services for Integrative Therapies and Medical Spa services which care for the needs of those seeking integrative treatments. Dr. Geiger’s speaking presentations are suitable for conventions, resorts, spas and business meetings worldwide. He is the author of The Sweet Smell of Success: Health and Wealth Secrets (LifeSuccess Publishing/ Feb 2009).

CSPI Urges FDA to Seize Stockpiles of Bayer One A Day for Men

Candy As Your Medicine

CSPI: Untreated Gulf Oysters Cause Death

Jul 2, 2009

Governors Urged to Block Sale of Untreated Gulf Coast Oysters

Deadly Vibrio Bacteria Common in Summer Months

WASHINGTON—The nation’s governors are being called upon to ban the sale of untreated oysters from the Gulf Coast since they are often contaminated with the deadly Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. For people with liver or kidney disease, AIDS, cancer, diabetes or other conditions that can compromise the immune system, Vibrio vulnificus kills half the people it infects. It has been causing about 15 deaths a year for many years.

In 2003, California banned the sale of untreated Gulf Coast oysters harvested in summer months and saw the number of vibrio-related deaths plummet from about 6 per year to zero in the five years since. Many safety-conscious retailers, such as Legal Sea Foods and Costco, only sell Gulf Coast oysters that have been processed with cold pasteurization, hydrostatic pressure, or another technology that can kill Vibrio vulnificus without affecting taste. Those and similar processes cost merely pennies per oyster.

“Letting untreated Gulf Coast oysters reach consumers this summer will needlessly sentence several of them to death,” said CSPI staff attorney Sarah Klein. “Unfortunately the Food and Drug Administration has abdicated its responsibility to ensure shellfish safety and instead lets the industry police itself with minimal oversight. That’s proven to be a deadly mistake.”

For the past eight years the FDA has relied on the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference to monitor food safety in shellfish. That group includes representatives of the FDA and other government agencies, but also includes representatives of the shellfish industry. It does not require that processors kill Vibrio vulnificus during the dangerous summer months. Under the ISSC framework, more than 125 people have died agonizing deaths from contaminated oysters and another 125 people suffered serious illnesses. Despite the failure of the ISSC to control Vibrio, FDA is poised to grant a three-year extension while the industry tries other techniques—such as changing refrigeration temperatures—rather than making effective changes.

“The Gulf Coast oyster industry has privately acknowledged that it has the capacity to perform post-harvest processing on 100 percent of their oysters, but refuse to do so until demand for treated product is clear,” wrote Klein to 49 governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia. “We urge you to require that only safe oysters be sold in your communities, an approach that will reduce medical costs and save lives.”

CSPI says untreated oysters harvested from Gulf Coast waters from April to October should be subject to state bans and, meanwhile, consumers should avoid consuming such oysters.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a nonprofit health advocacy group based in Washington, DC, that focuses on nutrition, food safety, and pro-health alcohol policies. CSPI is supported by the 900,000 U.S. and Canadian subscribers to its Nutrition Action Healthletter and by foundation grants.

Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough Recalled

Americans Bury 827,060 Gallons Of Toxic Embalming Fluid Yearly

Jul 1, 2009

By Kelly Jad'on

As Americans throng in lines waiting for a glimpse of music history, Michael Jackson’s body is prepared for a public viewing and his final journey home.

The American funeral business is a toxic one. Each year, 827,060 gallons of toxic embalming fluid (formaldehyde) are buried in the United States. We also bury tons of reinforced concrete to act as vaults for coffins and many many caskets, comprised of steel (104,272 tons buried per year), copper and bronze (2,700 tons per year) and 30 million board feet of hardwoods.

Mark Harris, author of Grave Matters (Simon & Schuster/ Dec 2008) writes, “We call our cemeteries parks and lawns and fields and greens. Yet the American graveyard hardly qualifies as a natural environment….Over time the typical ten-acre swatch of cemetery ground, for example, contains enough coffin wood to construct more than forty houses, nine hundred-plus tons of casket steel, and another twenty thousand tons of vault concrete. To that add a volume of formalin sufficient to fill a small backyard swimming pool and untold gallons of pesticide and weed killer to keep the graveyard preternaturally green.”

Currently no branch of the government is regularly testing ground waters surrounding cemeteries for formaldehyde pollution and there is no declared safety level for the chemical in drinking water. (Embalmers face a higher risk of leukemia and cancer of the brain and colon.)

Historically, humans have cremated and practiced natural burial for their dead. Up until about a hundred years ago, Americans did this too. The change began with the Civil War. Many men from the North were killed in the South, and families asked that their men’s remains be returned. Decaying bodies brought home the necessity of embalming. Arsenic, mercury and other chemicals were combined with good results. Later, Abraham Lincoln was shot in Washington, D.C., his body too was embalmed in a similar manner for the two-week train trip and several public viewings on his way home to Springfield, Illinois.

The practice of embalming took hold, families gave their dead over to an undertaker, and the funeral industry grew. Incidentally, both Islam and Judaism ban autopsy and embalming “on grounds that it constitutes the abuse of a corpse.” Previously, Christians had considered the two practices to be sacrilegious as well, citing that they desecrated the “human temple of God.” Though permission to embalm a body is required from the family, embalming is NOT required by state laws.

Mark Harris’s groundbreaking book, Grave Matters: A Journey Through The Modern Funeral Industry To A Natural Way of Burial explores greener options families have when thinking about how to best memorialize loved ones. Natural burial includes:

Cremation—archaeologists have located urns of ashes “dating back to 1,500 B.C.E.” (Modern day Ukraine)
The scattering of ashes at sea—July 22, 1999: John Kennedy Jr., his wife and sister-in-law “were cast from a warship” off of Martha’s Vineyard.
Eternal Reefs—uses a reef ball with cremated remains mixed into its concrete; the family accompanies the ball to its final resting spot via boat; induces reef-building of native fauna
Home funeral—bypasses embalming; the dead are laid out at home; excluded by law in New York, Connecticut, Nebraska, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, and Louisiana.
A plain pine box—you can make one yourself, buy from an internet outlet (shipped quickly), or from the funeral home. Harris writes that this service is even available through Costco. Exclusively sold by a funeral director only in Virginia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma.
The backyard burial—Available on rural property; not allowed by law in California, Indiana, and Washington; the casket should be placed 150 or more feet away from the water supply, should be six feet below the ground and a good distance away from power lines/ underground cable.
The natural cemetery—embalmed bodies are banned; now turning green, hybrid burial grounds which are traditional cemeteries with green burial areas.

Many times, directions for a funeral has not been prearranged, and the process simply follows tradition and an emotional undertaking by the immediate family. For Michael Jackson, who leaves behind not just adoring fans, but also three children, several siblings, and his two parents, the decisions regarding his autopsies and embalming have probably been the most difficult the Jackson family have ever encountered. And how Michael will be viewed and interred, these are purely family matters of the heart.