| Rethinking breakfast to feed your brain and body
Gail Frank's voice, soft and southern, made its way through a sea of scientific data. I met her for breakfast at a cozy coffee shop in Seal Beach and while we consumed our eggs (hers an egg-white spinach omelet, mine two eggs over medium) we discussed what Frank considers a crisis of utmost importance. Breakfast. Frank, a professor of nutrition at California State University Long Beach and a registered dietitian, says that breakfast is an issue for adults and children alike. "Breakfast fuels us for the day. It is energy for the brain and gets you started," she said using her fork to cut her huge omelet in half before she'd taken one bite, scooping it into a take-out container to eat later in the day. "We need 130 grams of carbohydrates a day for normal function.
Lower-income Neighborhoods Associated With Higher Obesity Rates
ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2008) Obesity prevalence has increased significantly among adults and children in the U.S. over the last two decades. A new study appearing in the journal Nutrition Reviews reveals that characteristics of neighborhoods, including the area’s income level, the built environment, and access to healthy food, contribute to the continuing obesity epidemic. .
Mothers Given Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation Give Birth To ...
When mothers are given multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMN,) they tend to give birth to children who are bigger and heavier. This is contrast to mothers given just iron and folic acid supplementation (IFA). The effect continues into the first three years of the children's lives, according to an article in the February 8 issue of The Lancet, which follows up the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition.
While it is already known that low birthweight affects child morbidity and survival rates in developing countries, it is not always clear what effect interventions to increase birthweight can have on child health. Dr David Osrin, UCL Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, London, UK and colleagues from Mother and Infant Research Activities, Kathmandu, Nepal, has previously investigated this issue through a randomized controlled trial in Nepal comparing 1,200 women given either IFA (a control) or MMN, a supplement with the recommended daily value of 15 vitamins and minerals, during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.
Dietary exercises take students from brainstorms to brain freezes
There was a whole lot of slurping going on at Franklin School on Thursday. And there may have been a few children suffering from brain freeze.For the second time this year, lunchtime was turned into a lively nutrition lesson as kids participated in a "Mix It Up" activity focused on the benefits of eating fruit. Their reward for paying attention? A frozen 5-ounce serving of a "strawberry whirl" or "pomegranate paradise" smoothie from Jamba Juice."It doesn't just taste good, it tastes really good!" said first-grader Raghav Bangalore.During each lunch session, students were randomly assigned to one of six tables and asked to brainstorm different ways to eat a banana, apple, cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries or pomegranate.Fifth-graders Kole Bartley and Kieley Trempy found themselves sitting at the "pomegranate table." They said they loved pomegranates and described the taste as between sweet and sour."You have to eat the seeds," said Kieley, to nods of agreement from Kole.
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