| Peanut butter: still a ‘good thing’
Peanut butter is a longtime staple and favorite for children and adults. The good news is peanuts, it turns out, can be really good for us. Peanuts pack a load of nutrition in a small package. They are a good source of protein, with 7 grams in a 1-ounce serving. There are also 2 grams of fiber and almost one quarter of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin E in each ounce, not to mention magnesium, potassium, copper, folic acid and many other vitamins and minerals. A healthy handful Fear of fat keeps many people from making peanuts part of their diet. But many studies are showing that the monounsaturated fat in peanuts is a healthy choice — especially since it comes with so much that is good for you. The newest and latest flat-belly diet insists on nuts. Heart health — Several studies have shown that eating peanuts can help reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering both cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
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. .
Christopher Magryta column: Back to old-school parenting
As an advocate for the health of the children of Rowan County, I want to help give parents the tools they need to help their children live a life in wellness. I want to encourage parenting with responsibility. Let's look at the state of our youth's nutrition today. Our children are more obese than ever, prone to more chronic disease and relatively unaware of the poor quality of life that awaits them. Whose fault is this? Corporate fast food? Our work schedules? School vending machines/lunches? I think not, although maybe partly. The fault lies with our collective inability to make healthy choices and to educate our children to do the same. Simply, we do not parent effectively. How does one effect change? I have been fighting this battle in my head and at Salisbury Pediatrics for nine years.
Nature Made creates nutritional supplements for prescription users
For years, vitamin supplements have targeted specific users, from children's chewables to prenatal pills. Nature Made recently launched a line of supplements that address the nutritional needs of adults taking specific prescription medications, from Prilosec to Prozac. Scientific research increasingly indicates that certain medications can reduce key nutrients in the body, said Carroll Reider, a registered dietitian with Pharmavite, Nature Made's parent company. "We've been watching these studies come in for 10 to 15 years, showing that one medicine or another may deplete nutrients in users," Ms. Reider said. "In many cases, you'd have to take a bunch of individual vitamins or minerals to make up for the deficiencies." Nature Made last fall unveiled five formulations under the name Rx Essentials.
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.
Study Spotlights 'Exercise-Friendly' Day-Care Centers
"Childhood obesity is an epidemic that threatens the future health of our nation. We know that about 57 percent of all 3- to 5-year-olds in the United States attend child-care centers, so it's important to understand what factors will encourage them to be more active, and, hopefully, less likely to become obese," study co-author Dianne Ward said in a statement. Ward is director of the intervention and policy division in the nutrition department at University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. In their study, Ward's team evaluated the physical activity levels of children at 20 child-care centers in North Carolina. They found that children did more moderate and vigorous physical activity if the child-care center: had more portable play equipment, such as balls, jump ropes, hula hoops and riding toys; offered more opportunities for indoor and outdoor active play; and provided physical activity training and education for staff and students.
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