SAFE NATURAL CURES & LIVING

Today, kids 13 or over are allowed to ride in the front seat of a car with a passenger-side airbag, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommendations.  Some parents may even think that their younger child is safe if he is tall for his age.

Dr. Craig Newgard is assistant professor of emergency medicine in the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine’s Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine, and an emergency physician at OHSU and Doernbecher hospitals.   He “felt it was time to study whether more children could be at risk, and assess whether age or body size were good measurement guidelines.”

According to his 2005 study, “children 14 and younger were at high risk for serious injury from air bags when they sat in the front passenger seat during car crashes.  In contrast, air bags had a protective effect for children aged 15 to 18.  In addition, the study showed age may be a better indicator of risk than height or weight.”

“Several body changes during puberty, such as muscle mass, bone density, and bone mineral content, may help explain why body size isn’t a good measurement of risk in children.”

Automakers have switched to airbags with sensors for the front passenger seat, to deploy with less force than a regular airbag.  The sensor may be able to detect the passenger’s weight, but not the age.

If a child under 15 must ride in the front seat of a car, it is only safe if there is no airbag at all, or if the airbag can be turned off or set to a lower force.  In addition, the child must use a lap belt and shoulder harness.

Teenagers see staying up late at night as a right.  Even though teenagers push to stay up later and later, they do still need more sleep than adults.  Many adults function best with 7 hours of sleep, but school-aged children need 9 or 10 hours.  Teenagers will give themselves this much sleep if they are allowed to wake up on their own.  Weekends attest to this.  But, it is necessary for them to go to bed early enough to get 9 or 10 hours of sleep before getting up for school. 

Kids start a new cycle in approximately the sixth grade.  It seems that their inner clock is telling them to stay up later.  But, they end up sleepy and sluggish in the morning if this is allowed because they still need the same amount of sleep.  If the situation goes unchanged, the effects worsen.

Getting enough sleep is necessary to stay healthy.  Lack of sleep can cause physical and emotional problems, and learning difficulties.  Impaired memory, concentration and ability to learn – these seem to describe the typical teenager, who is probably not getting enough sleep.  Anxiety, depression, and other emotional problems – even more “symptoms” of being a teenager that relate back to sleep deprivation.  Poor decision-making, poor judgment, increased risk taking – all three describe many, if not most, teenagers.  It is possible that most teenagers are not getting to bed early enough.

Parents can help kids adjust their inner clock, known as circadian rhythm, so that they can get the sleep they require.  A schedule helps greatly.  The younger a schedule is started, the easier it is to keep a regular sleep schedule as they age.  And, if younger kids are sent to bed as early as they really need to, the forward push of the cycle is probably not as late into the night as kids that routinely stayed up too late. 

One big step is to help kids start winding down in the evening instead of allowing more physical activity or television shows that are too stimulating.  Shows that are too stimulating or are aired too late can be recorded for viewing at a better time.

Kids are getting less sleep as the popularity of coffee, soda, and/or “energy” drinks increases.  All of these drinks should be limited in general and be stopped before dinnertime.  And, dinnertime should be at least 3 hours before bedtime to prevent obesity.

Kids who are active during the day will be more likely to be tired at bedtime.  Sunlight is not only healthy, it helps to normalize the sleep schedule.  On dreary days or when a child cannot get out in the sun, the house should be brightly lit.  Bright lights should then be dimmed in the evening.  Bright lights include the computer screen and television.  TV viewing should be done from a distance, and computer use should be scheduled for late in the afternoon or very early in the evening.  Mornings should include bright lights to start the day cycle.

Kids also need the right conditions to be met in order to be able to sleep properly.   They should not use the bed as a place to do homework; or to lie on while listening to their favorite music, read, make phone calls, or watch television.  This reserves the bed as a place for sleeping.  It is even better if most of these activities take place outside the bedroom.  The bed should be neat and inviting for sleep instead of piled high with notebooks and clothes.  The child’s bedroom should be dark and quiet when they do go to bed, although soft music can be soothing.  And, the rest of the household should not be loud enough to be a distraction.

When kids are not sleepy at bedtime, lying in bed in the dark will at least allow their bodies and minds to begin to recharge for the next day.  Lots of kids who complain, “I’m not tired,” fall asleep quickly once they are in bed.

Once a good sleep schedule has become regular, it is safe to allow kids to stay up 1 or 2 hours later on Friday and Saturday nights.  For a special occasion, like a sleepover or a concert, a good compromise would be for kids to take a nap before dinner.

(A follow-up to “Ephedra Free,” dated August 13th, 2007)

Coffee contains about twice as much caffeine as soda, and    most of the energy drinks contain at least as much caffeine as coffee.  One of the energy drinks contains as much caffeine as five cups of coffee, or the equivalent of two and a half Vivarin, No-Doz or Dexatrim.  (The name of this drink is being omitted so kids won’t search it out.)   To put this into perspective, the Olympic Committee will disquality an athlete that has had more than three cups of coffee.

And, that is only the amount of caffeine listed as a separate ingredient.  The top drink also includes green tea, which contains additional caffeine.  Some of these drinks also add guarana, ginseng, and/or mate – which are stimulants.  One brand of energy drink contains 140 mg of caffeine, and it also contains 600 mg of ginseng and an unknown amount of guarana. 

The FDA does not require disclosure of the amounts of caffeine, guarana, ginseng, or mate on energy drinks.  But, this information is available on internet sites.  The labels do not contain enough information for an adult to make an informed decision.  But, kids most likely don’t read labels at all.  So it is up to parents to research the drinks their kids are ingesting, or put limits on what their kids are allowed to drink.  Adults may be used to drinking one or two cups of coffee in one sitting, but kids are not; and kids have smaller bodies than adults, so stimulants affect them more.  A child is also not likely to limit themselves as adults do.

Too much caffeine and/or other stimulants found in energy drinks can cause dangerous symptoms. 

These can include some or all of:  diarrhea, sleeplessness, heart palpitations, dehydration, panic attack, and suicide.  Dehydration, for instance, can cause death, especially when it is mixed with exercise and/or heat. 

Kids can “bounce off the walls” without energy drinks.  And, kids can be moody enough without the withdrawal symptoms that come after the stimulants wear off.  If parents don’t worry about the dangers of energy drinks for their kids’ sakes, they should at least worry about them for the sake of their own sanity.

Most people know that caffeine is stimulant.  Many do not realize that guarana, ginseng and mate are also.  Stimulants can be beneficial when used correctly.

Another stimulant, ephedra, was taken off the market because a few people died after taking it.  Some of the fatalities occurred when it was taken before extreme physical activity, or rigorous activity in extreme heat.  When used correctly, it does work wonders for allergies and asthma.

After the ephedra scare, companies started adding “no ephedra” to their labels.

The Monster drink contains guarana, ginseng and caffeine.  Kids love to drink it for its energy boost.  Snapple has at least eight drinks that contain all three ingredients.  The problem with “energy” drinks and many pills (mainly for weight loss) is twofold:   that they contain one of these in an excessive amount, or a combination of these ingredients; and that many of the labels do not specify that they are stimulants.  Some even imply that their product contains no stimulants because it is “ephedra free.”

It is important to read labels on everything nowadays.  It is equally important to know what the ingredient names mean.

Many people have given up eating meat, for a variety of reasons.  One reason is that they think meat does not digest well, if at all.  Proponents of “food combining” say that the real problem is what you eat with your meat. 

Their rule for eating meat is to not combine it with starch, another protein, cheese, acid foods, sugars, or fats.  That eliminates the cheeseburger, bacon and eggs, pepperoni pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, and most of the staples of the American diet.

So if you’ve turned vegetarian simply for better digestion but miss the occasional steak, you might consider trying a small one with a leafy salad. 

The link below has many details on this and other food combinations, even for the vegetarian diet.  www.internethealthlibrary.com/DietandLifestyle/Food_combining.htm

(What we eat and how we treat others are personal decisions.)

Oh, where your toothbrush has been! 

Not many people would feel it is healthy to prepare meals in a bathroom.  But, toothbrushes are usually stored there – and in the open.  This is a room that was built for regular deposits of urine and feces. 

A place that is almost as filthy as the bathroom is the mouth.  But, that is where toothbrushes go every day.

First, prevent the filth.

Close the toilet lid before you flush, and instruct everyone in the family to do the same.  The flushing action of the toilet forces waste down, but it also forces germs up into the room.  These germs land on every surface, including exposed toothbrushes.

Toothbrushes could be kept inside a closed medicine cabinet.  This would prevent them from the germs that must still escape while the toilet is being used.  There must be a covered toothbrush holder somewhere.

And, clean up the filth.

Most people who read this have probably already thrown away their filthy toothbrushes. 

But, when you have a cold, you put your toothbrush into the holder next to those of your loved ones.  It’s no wonder colds spread like wildfire through families. 

Washing your toothbrush after every use when you are sick will keep it from infecting others.  This will also prevent reinfecting yourself with your own cold germs over and over.  You could use a fancy machine to kill the germs.  Or, you could just rinse the toothbrush (bristles and handle) with hydrogen peroxide, diluted grapefruit seed extract, or rubbing alcohol, all of which kill germs.

It’s best to change your toothbrush at least every three months anyway.  Now’s a good time to start.

Men are physically able to father a child much later than women can normally conceive.  But, the risks increase with the age of the father.

It has long been known that older women have a higher chance of giving birth to a baby with Down Syndrome.  This occurs in less than 1 in 1,000 women under 30, 1 in 400 at 35, and 1 in 6 by age 50.

Researchers now say that the same can be said for older fathers.  Compared to fathers between 20 and 29, the incidence of Down Syndrome increased by 15 percent in men over 35, 30 to 40 percent in men over 40, and 300 percent higher in men over 50.

Older men also have a higher risk of fathering children with Achondroplastic Dwarfism, Marfan Syndrome, or Myositis Ossificans.

New studies also show that older fathers are far more likely to have children with schizophrenia than men under 25.  This increase is 200 percent higher in men between 45 and 49, and 300 percent higher in men over 50.  The age of the mother appears to have no influence.

The risk of autism also increases with the father’s age but not with the mother’s age.  Autism is 5.75 times more likely among children born to men ages 40 to 49, compared with those born to men under 30.

In the old days, it was natural for men to marry before the age of 20, and women were even younger.  Both sexes are most fertile at around 24.  Taking into account the fact that most teenage pregnancies occur on the first “try,” it is probably more accurate to say that both are most fertile from puberty until the age of 24.  Physically, it does make sense to marry before or during the period of peak fertility instead of 5 to 15 years after.

Imagine a bird hatching from its egg.  The process involves an incredible stuggle for life.  The human reaction is to help crack the egg and/or pull away some of the shell.  Helping with the hatching process almost always results in the death of the baby bird.  The same is true for a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.  The process of change, from a fetus to a live baby or from a caterpillar to a butterfly, imparts strengthening and protective properties.

  ~ According to Dr. Sakala of Childbirth Connection, “Cesarean-born babies are more likely to have breathing problems around the time of birth and to experience asthma in childhood and adulthood.  Respiratory benefits also appear to be associated with experiencing the onset and occurrence of labor.  The connection to asthma is less clear and may relate to exposure to beneficial microbes during vaginal birth.” 

  “The studies we reviewed found that a baby who was born by cesarean is [also] less likely to be breastfed and get the benefits of breastfeeding, most likely because the transition from surgery poses challenges for successful initiation of breastfeeding.  The mother’s relationship with her baby can be adversely affected, because a woman who has a cesarean gets less early contact with her baby and is more likely to have initial negative feelings about the baby,” says Dr. Sakala.

  ~ In addition, “Babies born by Caesarean are nearly three times more likely to die in the first month than those born naturally,” according to the BBC News.  “The researchers suggest that the process of labour helps prepare the baby for life outside the womb.  As well as squeezing fluid out of the lungs, it may promote the release of hormones that encourage healthy lung function.  Labour is an important part of the birthing process because it gets infants ready to breathe air and function outside the womb.”

  ~ Finally, a Norwegian study shows that babies born by cesarean to mothers with a food allergy have a much higher chance of developing the life-long food allergy themselves.  The increase of an allergy to egg, fish or nuts is seven fold.  The intestines of a baby are beneficially affected during the natural birth process, and this is bypassed in a cesarean delivery.

There are times when a cesarean delivery is necessary, either for the baby or the mother.  But, cesarean births for unnecessary reasons are on the rise.  Some doctors feel that cesareans offer less chance of problems resulting in lawsuits.  Still others prefer being able to have births fit their schedules, especially when their insurance carriers only cover a specified number of births per month.  Just as unnatural is the new craze of mothers choosing a cesarean birth in advance simply to bypass the pain of labor or so they can select the birthdate (or astrological sign) they prefer for their baby.  We should take a lesson from birds and butterflies.

The world began as a perfect place, and we were given all that we need.  Even though the world is no longer a perfect place, who’s to say that we don’t still have all that we need.  Here are just a few examples of “medicines” found in nature.

• Aspirin was one of the greatest discoveries ever, but it was found in the bark and leaves of the willow tree.
• Cranberry juice will prevent a urinary tract infection.
• Apple cider vinegar lowers blood pressure and takes away the pain and restriction of movement caused by arthritis.
• Eating turkey will put an insomniac right to sleep.
• Garlic will lower the bad cholesterol.

When there is a choice, the natural way seems best.

~ Natural remedies do affect the body and can be strong “medicine.”  Using two at once can result in each cancelling out the other or in getting too much of a good thing.