ADHD Linked to Pesticide Exposure

Chemicals on our produce may contribute to behavior problems in our kids, suggest three new studies. The studies, which looked at a class of pesticides called organophosphates (OP), linked exposure to the chemicals with attention disorders in children, with perhaps the most dramatic impacts to kids who are exposed in the womb and those who are genetically most susceptible. Because pesticide residues linger on fruits and vegetables, the findings suggest that people either buy organic or take the time to wash their produce well.

Organophosphates are a set of common pesticides that work by attacking the nervous systems of insects. When people are exposed to high levels of the chemicals, they can develop anxiety, confusion impaired concentration, and other serious symptoms. More recently, scientists have started to wonder how chronic exposure at low levels might be affecting people, especially kids, whose nervous systems are still developing.

www.news.discovery.com

10 Kids' Foods to Avoid & Their Healthy Alternatives

1. Kid's yogurt

Is the equivalent of sprinkling lots of sugar and candy on top of a cup of steamed broccoli. "All the sugar that's in many brands turns something that's full of calcium, protein, vitamin D, and magnesium into dessert." The biggest offenders: yogurt "fun foods." Read the labels of yogurt in plastic tubes that are meant to be frozen and thrown into kids' lunchboxes. After the first ingredient, which as hoped for, is milk, come high fructose corn syrup and sugar, artificial flavorings and colors.

Alternative-organic yogurt with fruit added for sweetness

2. Instant oatmeal

You already know that many kids' cereals are sugary to the extreme. Read the ingredient label-one teaspoon of sugar equals four grams -- some of the 'maple' or other favors have more than 12 grams per serving.

Alternative-Microwave whole oats in a glass dish (following the directions using low-fat milk or water). Stir in a quarter-cup of raisins and, voila, a naturally sweet breakfast.

3. Fruit juice

Many juices advertised as "natural" contain artificial sweeteners. Some contain only fruit juice concentrates, and are little more than sweetened water, enhanced with extra vitamins.

Alternative- Pack an orange, an apple or a cup of applesauce. And if you do serve juice, go for 100% natural fruit juice, not concentrate, and limit kids to one 8-ounce serving a day.

4. Kid's meals

On the menu at just about any restaurant, these are often higher in fat and calories than items on the adult menu. They're high-sodium and high-fat foods like fried chicken nuggets, fried chicken, cheese pizza or mac 'n cheese -- all foods that have very little nutritional value.

Alternative-Insist your kid be able to order a half-size portion of adult foods.

5. Fish sticks

Some labels advertise them as a better-for-you fish, but frozen fried fish is fat-laden and loaded with artificial ingredients. No matter what you call them, fish 'tenders,' 'sticks,' or the like are all battered and fried.

Alternative-Grilled or baked fish.

6. Peanut butter

While peanut butter can be a good source of protein and calories, several have sugar, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat. And steer clear of the jars of peanut butter and jelly. They're loaded with high fructose corn syrup, dextrose and other unwelcome additives.

Alternative-Look for brands with one or at most two ingredients: peanuts and maybe salt.

7. Rice cakes

Parents concerned about their children's weight look to rice cakes as snacks. But there is little nutritional value in these white rice snacks. No matter how many calories they have, they're empty calories and won't fill kids up, so a child is hungry soon after eating one and back in the cupboards looking for something to eat.

Alternative- Whole-wheat pita chips with hummus or peanut butter. To make your own, slice a whole wheat pita into quarters and lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake until lightly crunchy.

8. Breakfast bars

The first ingredient listed on cereal bar, granola bar, and breakfast bar packages is usually refined flour (even enriched). Sugar is often second or third. Not only does that make this a fattening meal, it'll have your kid's tummy grumbling in about an hour. Empty calorie foods like this do not fill a child up. So they wind up eating more than if they would have had a 'real' meal.

Alternative-A cup of yogurt with a cup of crunchy low-sugar cereal stirred in.

9. Fruit snacks

Once and for all ... there is no fruit in fruit roll-up-type snacks. Even though the front of the package shows pictures of fruit, the ingredients tell the tale. They're loaded with high fructose corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, artificial flavors, fruit flavors, artificial colors, etc.

Alternative-An apple.

10. Fat-free foods

Just because something is fat-free, that doesn't make it calorie-free, or healthy. When fast food apples come with 'low fat caramel dipping sauce,' the apples are still being served with a 70 calorie portion of low-fat caramel dip. So low-fat doesn't mean low-calorie or low-sugar. And since sugar can turn into fat in the body, fat-free foods that are high in sugar aren't really fat free after all.

Alternative-Read the labels and look at the calories and sugar per serving. Although it might feel counterintuitive, fat-free just might be more fattening.

http://www.susanburkemarch.com/

1 in 100 Children Have Autism

Two new government studies indicate about 1 in 100 children have autism disorders – higher than a previous U.S. estimate of 1 in 150.

The new estimate would mean about 673,000 American children have autism. Previous estimates put the number at about 560,000.

President Barack Obama has made autism a priority for research, Insel said. Federal stimulus money has been earmarked for autism, and a 2006 law pumped millions of dollars of new federal money into autism research, screening and treatment.

American Academy of Pediatrics

Antidepressant Usage Doubles for Americans

The number of Americans using antidepressants doubled in only a decade, while the number seeing psychiatrists continued to fall, a study shows.

About 10% of Americans — or 27 million people — were taking antidepressants in 2005, the last year for which data were available at the time the study was written. That's about twice the number in 1996, according to the study of nearly 50,000 children and adults in today's Archives of General Psychiatry. Yet the majority weren't being treated for depression. Half of those taking antidepressants used them for back pain, nerve pain, fatigue, sleep difficulties or other problems, the study says.

In 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a "black box" warning that the medications could increase the risk of suicidal thoughts in children. Use of antidepressants by children fell nearly 10% the next year, according to Olfson's 2008 study of the subject. Antidepressant use had been rising so quickly in the years before the warning, however, that the rate of use in 2005 was still higher than in 1996.

To aid this increase, spending on direct-to-consumer antidepressant ads increased from $32 million to $122 million.

Antidepressants do not cure depression they simply mask the symptoms. If you are on antidepressants I encourage you to seek counseling, find the root of the problem, try to fix it, and talk to your doctor about going off the medication.

USA Today