Best for Your Baby?

A recent analysis showed that in the last year organic food sales have increased dramatically. Specifically, parents with newborn babies or pregnant mothers have been purchasing organic baby food. Baby food sales have increased 18 percent in the last year, and the sale of organic food products has reached a national distribution deal with Toys R Us and Babies R Us.

The recent increase in organic baby food sales is probably due to increased awareness of pesticide levels in food. A pediatrician in northern California, Alan Greene, stated that "The concern about children is that they are more vulnerable to toxins in their diets. As children grow rapidly, their brains and organs are forming and they eat more for their size than grown-ups." Parents should be more aware of what their children are eating because children injest higher concentrations than adults.

A recent government-funded study in children showed alarming results. The study showed that children whose diets were changed from regular to organic had an enormous drop in pesticide levels almost immediately. The drop was so enormous that the levels were unknown until they began to eat conventional foods again. The Environmental Working Group released a guide showing that the lowest pesticide levels in conventional foods are found in: asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papya, pineapples, and sweet peas. The highest levels are found in: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.

Although the effects of pesticides are unknown, parents are being safe rather than sorry with their children and their diets.

Chocolate Fights Tooth Decay?

Researches at the Osaka University in Japan showed that chocolate could help fight tooth decay. In fact, many scientists suggested that due to its successful effects, the components of chocolate may be added to toothpaste and mouthwash in the future. The studies proved that the cocoa bean, the major ingredient of chocolate, primarily thwarts mouth bacteria and tooth decay. Cavities and tooth decay are caused by bacteria in the mouth which turn sugars into acids. These acids eat away at the tooth's surface (enamel) and causes cavities.

"They discovered that the cocoa bean husk - the outer part of the bean which usually goes to waste in chocolate production - has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and can fight effectively against plaque and other damaging agents."

In addition, the researchers concluded that because its antibacterial agents in cocoa beans offsets its high sugar levels, chocolate is less harmful than any other sweet food.

"They tested their theory on rats by adding an extract of cocoa bean husk (CBH) to their drinking water. Another group was infected with streptococcus mutans bacteria, which contributes to plaque and tooth decay. They were also fed a high-sugar diet.
After three months, the study found that the rates with the high sugar diet had 14 cavities on average compared to just six cavities for those who received cocoa bean husk in their diet."

Despite these prepositions made about the effects of chocolate, consumers must not overdo and drastically increase the amount of their chocolate intake.

~Stella

MIT's Findings About Aspartame

source: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1998/aspartame-0916.html

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) conducted a study in 1998 to determine whether or not the rumours about the harmful effects of aspartame was true. The study concluded that even excessively high doses of aspartame (also known as NutraSweet) had no adverse effects on the study subject's health or their well-being. Paul A. Spiers, a visiting scientist, said, "We conclude that aspartame is safe for the general population."

The possible side effects tested were mood, aggression, and selected cognitive functions. Some subjects ingested almost 20 times the daily amount taken by a vast majority of the general public. During this four month test period, subjects were either given aspartame, sugar or a placebo. They underwent both physical and psychological testing. Some of the subjects were given doses of up to 45 milligrams per kilgram of body mass. This is equivalent to 17 to 24 12-ounce diet drinks for males, and 14 to 19 12-ounce diet drinks forfemales. Generally, most Americans who consume aspartame in their daily diet only ingest 3 milligrams per kilogram of body mass.

MIT also reported that "Despite the high consumption of aspartame, the 48 normal subjects showed no changes in mood, memory, behavior, electroencephalograms (which record the electrical signals of the brain) or physiology that could be tied to aspartame." Some of the subjects who were given aspartame complained of headaches, fatigue, nausea and acne. However, the same amount of people who were given sugar and given a placebo reported the same. Dr. Spiers brought up a recent study which showed that aspartame had no effect on preschool and elementary children.

~Christine

Diabetes

Dr. Joe Schwartz discussed the benefits of eating sugar free chocolate for diabetics in his book A Fly in the Ointment. I was curious to find out more about what diabetes is exactly and how many people have it. These are my findings.

Roughly 18.2 million people in the United States have diabetes – 6.3% of the population. Of that number, nearly one-third (5.2 million people) are unaware they have the disease. Diabetes often goes undiagnosed because the symptoms seem relatively harmless – frequent urination, excessive thirst, unusual weight loss or increased fatigue. But diabetes is a serious disease. The good news is that early detection and treatment will decrease your chances of developing complications.

When the body digests food, it converts that food to blood sugar or glucose. As levels of glucose rise, this signals the pancreas to release the hormone insulin. Insulin “unlocks” the body’s cells, allowing glucose to enter and be converted to energy. Diabetes is a disease in which the body either does not produce insulin or does not use it properly. When glucose builds up in the blood instead of going into cells, it can starve cells for energy. Over time, high glucose levels may damage organs and body systems, including the eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart.

See http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp for more information.

~Amanda