Another Study About Early Puberty – What’s the Chemical Connection? Janelle Sorensen Tuesday, August 10, 2010 ShareThis You hear it all the time, kids grow like weeds. And, an increasing body of research is revealing that kids are growing up faster than ever before. According to a new study published in Pediatrics, young girls are increasingly reaching puberty earlier — putting them at increased risk for breast cancer and type 2 diabetes as well as a laundry list of psychological impacts and high-risk behaviors. How much faster are our girls growing up? In the United States in the early 1800s, breast buds and menarche arrived around ages 13 and 16 respectively. Those changes now come aroundages 9 and a half and 12 and a half! Lead author of this newest study, Dr. Frank Biro, is cited in Time Magazine as speculating that the primary driver behind this shift “may be overweight and obesity, because estrogen is sequestered in fat tissue. But environmental exposures to chemicals — including pesticides and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like bisphenol A (BPA), commonly found in plastics, and phthalates, which are contained in many personal-care products — could also play a role.” This is the latest in a growing body of evidence showing that both girls and boys are developing earlier than ever before and that common chemicals in everyday products are suspect. In an in-depth article from The Economist’s Intelligent Life magazine, aptly called Puberty Blues, author Fiona Neill highlights the complexities of the issue saying, “the debate over EDCs is mired in controversy, akin to the debate over global warming, with environmentalists on one side, big business on the other, and scientists caught in the middle. It is a particularly tricky area of research because we are all now exposed to a cocktail of EDCs in our daily life. This makes it hard to measure how any individual compound might affect the endocrine system. It is almost impossible to measure individual exposure. And it’s likely that this chemical cocktail is passed from mother to baby in the womb.” Endocrinologist Professor Niels Skakkebaek, a pioneer in the field and one of the first scientists to warn of the dangers of endocrine disrupting chemicals, is quoted at length about EDCs and early puberty. “Children are extremely sensitive to hormones before puberty,” says Skakkebaek, “because they are producing so little that small amounts can make a difference.” Skakkebaek’s list of key suspects include, phthalates, Bisphenol A, parabens, and phyto-oestrogens (“like lavender, fennel and tea-tree, and perhaps most significantly, given its widespread use in America, genistein in soya”). Neill also cites Skakkabaek as saying “American children have a particularly high exposure to EDCs because 80% of American beef is still treated with growth promoters. In most cases a tag containing a mix of natural sex hormones (a combination of oestrogen, testosterone or progesterone) and synthetic hormones (zerinol, trenbolone and melengestrol) is implanted as a pellet in the ear of beef cattle in order to get the calves to grow and gain weight faster.” What Can You Do? It’s better to be safe than sorry. We know little about how the human body copes with the chemicals that have become ubiquitous in our daily life. Until we understand the impacts of this chemical cocktail more clearly, you can prevent exposures by taking these simple steps: Eat healthy. Diet is a major exposure route for EDCs. Phthalates are often found in fatty foods such as milk, butter, and meats – so reduce your consumption of these foods or opt for low-fat options. Fats are important for child development, though, so look for plant-based options like avocados, flax seed, walnuts, and almonds. Bisphenol-A is used in the lining of canned foods so opt for fresh or frozen. Choose USDA certified organic beef instead of conventionally-raised to avoid exposure to growth hormones. Moderate soya consumption. (Consult with your pediatrician about significant dietary changes.)

 

To All Post Adoptive Families and Your Children

 (An informal gathering of adoptive families with children)

 

When:

Sunday, September 26th

 

Time:

 1pm-4pm

(No cost)

 

Place:

Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services

Shuken Auditorium **Directions attached

3200 Motor Avenue, LA 90034

 

Our objective is to help you create your personal Adoptive Family Social & Support and Play Groups.  We will help families to connect with one another based on the ages of their children as well as by location and interests.

 

Experienced Adoption/Play Group Coordinators & Facilitators will provide insight into the benefits of Adoption Friendship groups, give instruction on how to get started, offer suggestions for activities and programs, answer questions, and share informational hand-outs.

 

Studies confirm that participating in Adoption Groups provides a wealth of benefits to adoptees and their families. We hope that you can join us for a fun and productive afternoon.

 

An RSVP (even if it’s last minute) including the age(s) of your child(ren) will be greatly appreciated so we can plan for supplies, activities and hand-outs.   (Childcare will be available and free)

RSVP to Elizabeth at earkin@vistadelmar.org or 310-836-1223, ext. 482

 

Please bring your favorite snack

If there's ever a time to be thoughtful about your diet, it's during your pregnancy and postpartum period. The nutrients that you take in are what builds and feeds your baby essential that you give it only the best. Here are 50 foods that nurses agree on for next or expecting moms. They pack a nutritional punch for pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women.

Now more than ever, it's essential that you stay hydrated to provide your baby with the water it needs.

Increase your water consumption: Whether you're pregnant or breastfeeding, you need to up your water consumption.

100% fruit juice: Although actually eating fruit is ideal, fruit juice is a good substitute for sodas and other drinks with empty calories.

Proteins are the building blocks for your baby. Eat these foods to make sure you're getting enough.

Chicken: Chicken offers moms a good, low-fat source of much-needed protein.

Peanut butter: Peanut butter is filling, full of folate, and a good source of protein.

Unprocessed meats: Meats in their natural, but fully cooked, state are an excellent source of protein.

Soy: While you're dealing with morning sickness, soy can help you get the protein you need.

Couscous: Flavor up couscous or eat it plain to get protein in pregnancy.

Although hormones may have your system backed up, you can stay regular with the help of these fiber-full foods.

Raspberries: Enjoy some tart raspberries for sweetness and fiber.

Apple: Grab an apple on your way out the door for some fiber on the go.

Figs: Figs pack in an amazing amount of fiber, calcium, and iron.

Bananas: Bananas can fill you up with both fiber and potassium.

Build collagen, healthy skin, and bones with this important vitamin.

Oranges: Many women crave oranges in pregnancy, and it's no wonder why-oranges are packed with the Vitamin C you need.

Lemon: Satisfy your sour craving and a need for Vitamin C with lemons.

Green pepper: Get your Vitamin C by throwing some green peppers in your salad.

Orange juice: Orange juice can give you Vitamin C, folic acid, potassium, and more for pregnancy.

Watermelon: Watermelon offers a hydrating, Vitamin C-packed treat.

Strawberries: Throw some strawberries in your smoothie or salad for Vitamin C.

Ward off common birth defects by eating these foods rich in folic acid.

Asparagus: Folic acid can be found in asparagus.

Corn: On the cob, creamed, or even frozen, corn can give you the folic acid your baby needs.

Spinach: This dark green leaf is full of folic acid.

Peas: Peas are good for naturally occurring folate.

Beans: Beans are great for protein, folate, and complex carbohydrates.

Chickpeas: Enjoy some hummus to get your serving of folic acid.

Zinc is great for keeping away colds drug-free in pregnancy, plus the careful building and functioning of DNA.

Eggs: Eggs aren't just great for protein-they can pack in the zinc you need for breastfeeding.

Mozzarella: Mozzarella cheese is packed with zinc for moms.

Lobster: Crack open a lobster for a tasty serving of zinc.

Protect your bones and give your baby's teeth and bones a good start by loading up on calcium rich food.

Yogurt: Yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium, and tastes great with fresh fruit and nuts.

Milk: Lowfat milk offers so much per serving, especially calcium and protein.

Go nuts: Almonds and hazelnuts can provide you with some of your calcium needs.

Raw vegetables: Many raw vegetables offer a good serving of calcium.

Broccoli: Broccoli isn't just a great source of calcium-it has Vitamin C, folate, and B6.

Long-lasting carbohydrates can offer fullness and the energy you need to keep going.

Oatmeal: This fiber-full breakfast and snack is great for carbohydrates, too.

Whole grain bread: Whole grain bread can give you a good dose of fiber and nutrition while offering healthy carbs.

Whole flour: Whole flour offers a great way to get your zinc.

Popcorn: A handful of air-popped popcorn offers fiber and useful carbs.

Blueberries: Keep your energy levels high with these berries that are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Whole grain cereal: Whole grain cereal is easy to eat and full of good carbs, vitamins, and other nutrients.

Brown rice: Brown rice can give you long-lasting energy.

Be sure you're getting enough iron to keep your energy levels up.

Lean beef: Lean beef is a good source of protein and iron.

Artichokes: Add artichokes to pastas and salads for an iron boost.

Dried fruit: Dried fruit like prunes and raisins are great for iron.

Mollusks: Enjoy mollusks including oysters, clams, and scallops for iron.

Eat these foods for Vitamin A, which is essential to embryonic growth.

Carrots: Carrots don't just help your eyesight-they're packed with the Vitamin A you need.

Cream cheese: Spread some cream cheese on a fortified whole grain bagel for a little tasty Vitamin A.

Sweet potatoes: Enjoy a sweet potato baked or even as sweet potato fries to pack a Vitamin A punch.

These foods with fatty acid are incredibly valuable for growth and development of your baby.

Seeds: Seeds an supply your body with essential fatty acids.

Flaxseeds: Flaxseeds are a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids.

Shrimp: Throw some shrimp on the barbeque, in your salad, or in your pasta to up your Omega 3 fatty acid intake.

Salmon: Salmon is a powerhouse full of DHA, and an even help your mood.

Treat yourself now and then for a mommy pick me up.

Dark chocolate: For new moms, dark chocolate full of antioxidants just might be the ticket to busting a bad mood.

(Original Protocol March 2004; Revision #1 March 2010)

Resource : The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol Committee

Storage of Human Milk

1. Freshly expressed human milk may be stored safely at

room temperature (10–298C, 50–858F). Different studiessuggest different optimal times for room temperature

storage because the studies vary greatly in the cleanliness

of milk expression technique and the room

temperature during the study. Warmer ambient temperatures

are associated with faster growing bacterial

counts in stored milk. For room temperatures ranging

from 278C to 328C (298C¼858F), 3–4 hours may be a

reasonable limit.3,12,13 For very clean expressed milk

with very little bacteria, 6–8 hours at lower room temperatures

may be reasonable.2,14–16

2. Very few studies have evaluated milk storage safety at

158C (598F), which would be equivalent to a blue-ice

pack in a small cooler. Hamosh et al.12 suggested that

human milk is safe at 158C for 24 hours, based on

minimal bacterial growth noted in the samples from

their study.

3. Several studies have demonstrated the safety of refrigerating

human milk (48C, 408F), either by evaluating the

bactericidal capacity of stored milk as a marker for milk

quality or by measuring bacterial growth in the stored

milk samples. Bactericidal capacity of stored refrigerated

human milk declines significantly by 48–72

hours.17–19 However, studies of expressed human milk

with little contamination at the time of expression

demonstrate safe, low levels of bacteria growth in milk

at 72 hours15 and even after 4–8 days of refrigeration.

1,2,20

4. Freezing expressed human milk (48C to 208C) has

been demonstrated to be safe for at least 3 months.

Vitamins A, E, and B, total protein, fat, enzymes, lactose,

zinc, immunoglobulins, lysozyme, and lactoferrin

are generally preserved when freezing human milk.21–23

A few studies have found a significant decrease in vitamin

C levels in frozen milk after 3 months.24,25 Bacterial

growth was not found to be a problem in frozen

milk for at least 6 weeks.26 Antibacterial activity of

frozen human milk is preserved for at least 3 weeks.27

The basic principles of freezing dictate that frozen foods

at 188C (08F) are indefinitely safe from bacterial contamination,

although enzymatic processes inherent in

food could persist, with possible changes in milk

quality.28 Frozen human milk should be stored in the

back of the freezer to prevent intermittent rewarming

due to freezer door opening. All containers with human

milk should be well sealed to prevent contamination.

5. After a container is filled with human milk, space

should be left at the top of the container to allow for

expansion with freezing. All stored containers of

human milk should be labeled with the date of milk

expression and the name of the child if the milk will be

used in a child-care setting. It is typical for infants in

daycare to take 60–120mL (2–4 ounces) of human milk

at one feeding. Therefore, storing human milk in 60–

120-mL increments is a convenient way to prevent

waste of defrosted=thawed human milk.

6. Try to avoid adding warm milk to already cooled or

frozen milk, in order to prevent rewarming of the already

stored milk. It is best to cool down the newly expressed

milk first before adding it to older stored milk.

7. Stored human milk may have an altered smell and taste

because of the activity of lipase, an enzyme that breaks

down fat into fatty acids. This breakdown of fat aids the

infant in the digestion of human milk, particularly for

preterm infants, and is not harmful,28,29 although some

infants may refuse to drink it. Heating milk to above

408C is not advised because this will result in loss of

enzyme activity.

Using Stored Human Milk

1. Fresh milk is better than frozen milk. Use the oldest

milk in the refrigerator or freezer first.

2. The baby may drink the milk cool, at room temperature,

or warmed. Infants may demonstrate a preference.

3. It is best to defrost human milk either in the refrigerator

overnight, by running under warm water, or setting it

in a container of warm water. Studies done on defrosting

human milk in a microwave demonstrate that

controlling the temperature in a microwave is difficult,

causing the milk to heat unevenly.30 Although microwaving

milk decreases bacteria in the milk much like

pasteurization does, microwaving also significantly

decreases the anti-infective quality of human milk,

which may reduce its overall health properties for the

infant.

4. Once frozen milk is brought to room temperature, its

ability to inhibit bacterial growth is lessened, especially

by 24 hours after thawing.27 Previously frozen human

milk that has been thawed for 24 hours should not be

left out at room temperature for more than a few hours.

5. There is little information on refreezing of thawed

human milk. Bacterial growth and loss of antibacterial

activity in thawed milk will vary depending on thetechnique of milk thawing, duration of the thaw, and

the amount of bacteria in the milk at the time of expression.

At this time no recommendations can be made

on the refreezing of thawed human milk.

6. Once a baby begins drinking expressed human milk,

some bacterial contamination occurs in the milk from

the baby’s mouth. The duration of time the milk can be

kept at room temperature once the baby has partially

fed from the cup or bottle would theoretically depend

on the initial bacterial load in the milk, how long the

milk has been thawed, and the ambient temperature.

There have been no studies done to provide recommendations

in this regard. Based on related evidence

thus far, it seems reasonable to discard the remaining

milk within 1–2 hours after the baby is finished feeding.

7. Expressed human milk does not require special handling

(such as universal precautions), as is required for

other bodily fluids such as blood. It can be stored in a

workplace refrigerator where other workers store food,

although it should be labeled with name and date.33

Mothers may prefer to store their milk in a personal

freezer pack.

8. Uncontaminated human milk naturally contains nonpathogenic

bacteria34,35 and is important in establishing the

neonatal intestinal flora. These bacteria are probiotics—

they create conditions in the intestine that are unfavorable

to the growth of pathogenic organisms.35 If a mother

has breast or nipple pain from what is considered to be

a bacterial or yeast infection, there is no evidence that

her stored expressed milk needs to be discarded. Human

milk that appears stringy, foul, or purulent should

not be fed to the baby.

Regards,

Zatul Hijanah Ramzi

Lactation Counselor/ Columnist for Mami & Baby Magazine

Just a quick heads up on a new and insidious marketing tactic being employed

by Nestle, owner of the Gerber brand of formula. The wonderful Blacktating

blog informed us on May 14 of a new type of formula marketing tactic

employed by Nestle/Gerber, the House Party. House Party is an internet based

mechanism to entice people to host a party for a particular product brand,

in this case Gerber formula. Prospective hosts apply on-line at the House

Party website, HouseParty.com, and if selected, the host receives free

products for themselves and product samples to distribute to their friends,

family, and neighbors that they invite to this party (reminiscent of

Tupperware parties). Essentially, Nestle/Gerber recruits salespeople who are

not hired employees but peers of the targeted market. Guests at this party

receive a Gerber insulated backpack filled with numerous coupons and samples

of Gerber products. The host receives a box of gifts for herself and samples

including infant formula to display for all participants. Hosts are

encouraged to take photos of the party and provide (glowing) comments on how

much fun they had and how people gushed over Good Start formula. Who has

breastfeeding parties?!!!

This is a clever way to put into practice what a growing body of research is

showing about how people process information when making decisions,

including health decisions for themselves and their family. Research has

shown evidence regarding the striking persuasive power of anecdotal comments

from friends and family. Even a weakly offhand positive comment about an

inferior product has proven more powerful than research-based evidence and

statistics. Mothers are putting more stock in what their friends say about

formula than they are in what we say about breastfeeding.

This may make it more important for us to consider alternative interventions

to mitigate the effect of powerful anecdotal biases. Anecdotal manipulation

of health decisions is a powerful marketing tactic for both infant formula

manufacturers and for us to consider when helping mothers make infant

feeding decisions. Some health providers ask mothers to "think like a

scientist" when presented with information on the differences between health

outcomes when using infant formula or breastmilk. In other words, the mother

is oriented to think in a different manner to make her judgement and

decision. Decision aids are also helpful (videos of mothers talking about

breastfeeding, visual aids, etc). Counterarguments to formula feeding also

include asking mothers to engage in an exercise to orient their thinking to

and write down reasons why the reliability of certain types of information

might be called into question. Perhaps we need to direct mothers' thinking

in a different manner when talking about breastfeeding, supplementation, and

the use of infant formula.

It is so frustrating to me to work with mothers and see them make inferior

choices based on what their friends tell them. These house parties represent

yet another perfect example of marketing research at its finest. It makes me

wonder if we need to really take a closer look at changing the way we

approach how we present information to mothers regarding infant feeding. The

hours we spend talking about the health benefits can be completely undone at

a house party where other mothers gush over how great formula has been to

their life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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