Family Nutrition Online

The weather is changing. Spring is here. People’s moods are starting to change, and we’re feeling our body’s energy increasing. You know how you feel now? Well, your children feel the same way. It’s time to start harnessing that power and get them active. Get them to lose some of the weight they gained during the winter and start focusing on their health and nutrition. What can you do in the Spring time?

Baseball season!  It’s here.  Your kids can join a local team.  Be it tee-ball, coach pitch, or standard baseball, this is a great time for your kids to get out on the field and stretch their legs.  They’ll make friends and sharpen their skills.  But when they start exercising again, they’re going to be needing some nutrition.  This is where the parents come in.

Whether your child signs up for baseball, or some kind of spring-time sport, you need to make sure you’re providing your children with the nutrients they need to get the most energy to burn away the weight.  Fruits, vegetables and nuts should be the snacks they eat a few times a day or with breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It’s easy for a family on the go to put together, so don’t let them push it away.

Protein is another huge necessity for kids at this age.  Chicken and fish are great dinner meals, and essential for your child to build muscle while burning fat.

Sometimes you or your child might be having stomach acid issues without you even really knowing it.  I suffer from this.  It doesn’t burn, it doesn’t feel painful, and rarely do I have that feeling of stomach acid coming up my throat when I burp (sorry, I know… gross image).  But I started to feel really sick one day, almost like I had a flu.  I was running an elevated temperature and I was nauseous.  Here, because of too much caustic food, I was destroying my stomach lining.

My diet isn’t very good.  I adore hot sauce.  I put it on everything. I love chocolate – I’m always dipping into the candy jar, especially following this past holiday.  I’m a drinker and enjoy a good scotch after work.  I also drink a ton of black coffee.  My job is also pretty stressful.

When I went to the doctor, and told him all this, he knew right away that I had gastritis.  He asked me what color my feces was.  I told him black (again, sorry, another gross image).  He informed me that black stools meant there was blood seeping out of my stomach into my digestion system.  I had no idea.  I thought it was just a part of digestion that happened once in a while.  Needless to say, he put me on some prescription pills to help me lower my acid.  He also put me on a diet limiting all these caustic foods.

The flu symptom was my body going “toxic” from having a loss of blood, and having blood going through my body where it wasn’t supposed to.  Even though I was nauseous, I didn’t throw up.  He said if I did, I’d probably see blood.

Since this is something that is apparently hereditary, I asked my parents if they struggled with acid issues.  They said they did, and they regularly take Nexium.  I wish I had known that ahead of time.

Take care of your diet and stay away from these caustic things.  Your stomach will thank you for it.

Wisdom teeth removal is very common in people in their late teens and early twenties. Wisdom teeth, also known as third molars, can wreak havoc in the mouths of young adults. The overall oral health of the mouth can be compromised if the teeth become impacted and wisdom teeth removal is not not done as quickly as possible.

Usually when going in for yearly check ups, starting around sixteen, they start looking at mouth x-rays and for signs of wisdom teeth. Usually if the wisdom teeth are visible the dentist can tell if they will fit in the person’s mouth, or if there are going to be complications. Usually the dentist will advise wisdom teeth removal because the teeth can be difficult to take care of when they are in the back of the mouth. It can be hard to reach if food particles get back there. We all know how difficult flossing can be – it’s not unlike that.

Most people have four wisdom teeth. In some cases people can have more or less, and about a third of people don’t get them at all. Most of the time, when wisdom teeth cut through the gum line, wisdom teeth removal is recommended as impacted wisdom teeth affect the rest of the person’s teeth.

Acne is a typical problem with adolescence because of the hormonal imbalances. It isn’t always just an issue with nutrition for children (like chocolate, as we’re often told). There are various kinds and forms of acne, so it’s impossible to manufacture just one lotion or remedy. Unfortunately many try one or two kinds of acne medicine only to have it not work, and dismiss the whole industry as a scam.

While a hormonal imbalance is regarded as the main cause of the acne, precarious hygiene can also lead to skin problems. Few people realize that consuming junk foods can have negative effects, not only on their overall health, but on their skin also. If your diet is based more on fats and meat, it will speed up the ageing process of your skin and also cause red zones or other acne conditions.

Try to balance your diet and eat everything in small quantities: fruits, vegetables, meat, milk and other. A good way to remove pimples naturally is to drink lemon juice daily and apply slices of lemon on the affected area of your skin. The lemon contains citric acid which is effective in cleaning your skin.

You can remove pimples by using different acne creams and solutions, or by scheduling some laser treatment sessions. Those types of treatments can show quicker results than a natural organic treatment, but they are a little bit more expensive and can even cause some side effects. Do not purchase any acne products that contain sulfur, Benzoyl Peroxide or Salicylic acid because they can damage your skin on the long run, even if you see some improvements on your acne condition.

Being told you have plaque is awful news for the teeth, and with the amount of sweet junk foods that folks devour these days, it’s a common diagnosis.  It has never been easier for plaque to take grab onto your teeth and cause some huge problems as you grow older. The great news is you can avoid plaque and still enjoy your favorite foods (in moderation, of course). If you’d like to avoid tooth decay, gum disesase, and ultimately tooth removal, then keep reading.

You Need To Go To The Dentist More Often

Even with a great brushing routine, you have to visit your dentist.  I know you don’t want to.  He plays terrible music.  But regular check ups will really help to catch any issues early, and stop them before they become something you can’t reverse.  Nobody can do this but your dentist.

How often should you go?  You should check with your dentist how frequent your trips should be.  Depending on the health of your mouth, repeat visits can change between 6 months to 2 years.

Tip 1 – Sugar-free Gum:

When you chew on gum, it stimulates the production of the saliva in your mouth. The saliva is the body’s natural defense, helping to get rid of plaque acid. Consider chewing on sugar-free gum after meals.  Bet you never knew gum chewing was a healthy option!

Tip 2 – Use Disclosing Tablets:

Plaque is often very hard to see, so how can you tell if you are really getting rid of it? The best way is by using disclosing tablets. These are simply tablets which you gnaw, that give the plaque on your teeth a red color so you can easily see where to brush.  If you know exactly where the plaque is, it’s much easier to aim at it and get shot of it.

Tip 3 – Utilise a Dental Pick

A dental pick is a tiny stick (with high water pressure) which you can use to remove particles of food from between the teeth. Plenty of folks find these much easier to use than dental floss.

Good luck!  Take your teeth seriously now and they will reward you later in life by staying healthy and in tact.

What to know about Mono, aka, the Kissing Disease.

Mononucleosis is a viral infection caused by the Epstein-Bar virus. It exhibits flu like symptoms, such as swollen lymph nodes, throat pain, fevers, muscle weakness, and chills. This viral infection is most commonly detected in teens and young children. Although it is usually diagnosed in children, adults are not excluded from obtaining the virus. It is important to know the facts about mono because it can easily go unrecognized, especially in newly sexually-interested teens.

People can ease the symptoms of mononucleosis with whatever they usually do for a headache. The symptoms are very similar. Some people will take over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol or Advil, and others have claimed to be able to meditate their aches away. Since the method of treatment for each is up to the patient, the choice that the sufferer knows has worked in the past for headaches will aid with this illness, too.

If not treated with antibiotics, the mononucleosis symptom most often associated with mononucleosis, bodily fatigue, will invade other bodily functions and could even cause death (in very rare cases – don’t panic). This disease is an attack by a herpes virus. The invading organism attacks red blood cells. As more and more red blood cells are attacked, the body makes more white blood cells to fight the invading virus.

Dogs can be part of the family, so I thought this would be a nice “family” post to share – Kim

Dog skin problems persist in many different types. As a pet owner, it really helps to know what these are and make yourself more familiar with how they differ from one another. Knowing them individually also makes you more aware about their symptoms so that you can identify what’s happening to your pet.

Among the usual problems that dogs encounter are allergies. There are also many different causes of allergies. Among the most common is canine atopy wherein a small seemingly invisible trigger gets mixed with the air your dogs breathe thus erupting the allergies. The usually affected areas are the eyes, ears, the muzzle, and the feet.

There are also dog skin problems which are caused by diseases in the autoimmune system. In here, it may be necessary to administer immunotherapy wherein shots are done on a regular basis to improve the immune system of your dog.

The weather may also trigger some dog skin problems, especially during extreme weather conditions during the summer time. Among the most common dog skin problems during this season is having hot spots. Through the use of corticosteroids, they can be relieved. However, you shouldn’t self-medicate your dog and consult a vet about these meds first.

Excessive licking can also be a problem. Sometimes, there may be an even major reason why the dog exhibits this. This is known as lick granuloma and when this happens, some parts of the dog’s skin would appear to be in patches and would end up being more prone to infection.

You should also be wary of the infectious dog skin problems that your pet might have. Among them are canine scabies and are known to be parasitically contagious. They exhibit themselves as mange on the skin wherein hair loss makes the ongoing skin irritation totally visible on the dog’s coat.

Another contagious type of dog skin problems are fleas. These are perhaps the most common because fleas can easily be picked up especially by dogs that have medium to heavy types of coat. The saliva of the flea bite is what causes dermatitis.

Dog skin problems can be soothed temporarily but permanent relief may only be prescribed by a vet. So if you suspect your dog to have a case of any of the illnesses mentioned, you need to be wary and bring them to the vet the soonest time possible.

Jennifer is a pet health practitioner who specializes in treatment for canine food allergies.

Christmas season is one heck of an obstacle to many fitness fanatics. Some remain strong and some fail miserably. The holidays are a worldwide party and it doesn’t end without food.  It’s where plenty of us fall.  It’s when we give in to enticements.

For some of us, we just can’t stop eating too much. It has been like that for years, and we’ve probably really done a number to our bodies… therefore it’s high time we put an end to it. The best solution is a change of heart.  It’s OK to break practices as long as it’s replaced by something better, and it is usually provides an added advantage for everyone in your family.  By correcting your eating habits, you’re also going to improve the eating habits of your kids simply based on the type of food you start stocking your kitchen with.

You cannot reach your goals without practicing the right habits. Without living with the right attitude, and making the “right way of doing things” into a real, whole-hearted habit, we will always be led to overeating, forcing us to start this cycle over again.  Survive Christmas by developing self-control and discipline.

It is your only weapon. Without it, you will not stop yourself from chewing high cholesterol and health detrimental delicacies. One solution will be to prepare a green and healthy party.  Make as much salad as possible. It’s always great to have greens in your table.  Get rid of the 4 deserts, and leave only healthy deserts.

Another solution is kick up your exercise routine before the holiday arrive.  Get your body in high gear.  Don’t stop working out, regardless of how cold it is.  Always find a place to do your usual exercise.

And the last practice is controlling your urges or hunger or desire for eating, it’s all in the mind. If you want to, you can control it. Swiftest way to shed some weight can only be reached if you know how to make some serious mental changes.  Do some meditation, some yoga, or just take 30 minutes each day to talk to yourself.  It may sound silly, but it’s a really healthy and practical thing to do.

Stink bugs are small, but once they make their way inside your house, they make a big presence. They bring germs to your food, and they hide in your clothing.  The best way to prevent fighting off these bugs inside your house is to start defending your home before they actually get in.

Stink bugs need a warm place to hibernate in the winter time. Their favorite place? Your home. Consequently, start treating your home in the early fall before winter hits. If you effectively seal your home up, your chances of having a stink bug infestation is greatly reduced.

Go over the entire outside of your home, looking for any cracks or holes stink bugs could come in. Use a silicone caulk to go around windows, ducts, vents, or any other small cracks. Replace torn screens. Roll up old rugs to put around the base of doors which do not make a firm seal around the door frame. Stink bugs are particularly attracted to the sunny side of your home (typically the south side).  Especially focus your attention there.

Spray the top half of your home with a Cypermethrin solution, allowing the spray to run down the sides. The solution typically can be found at any hardware store. You can also go around the areas you have caulked and spray them to further reinforce your home. You can make your own spray by shredding up a pack of cigarettes into half a gallon of water and letting the solution sit for thirty minutes. Strain and add a teaspoon of dish soap before spraying. You can also combine a solution of lavender oil and water (half and half) for a better smelling spray to use.

As stink bugs feed on leafy plants, go around the outside of your home and cut back plants which are touching the sides.

If you did not prepare your house before winter hit and now have stink bugs inside, you have a challenge. But you can still get rid of them. Spray around windows, doors, cracks, vents, light fixtures, and crawl spaces. If you have an attic, make sure there are no openings in which stink bugs can come in.

Use homemade bug sprays or use a bug spray purchased from a store. If you get desperate, call an exterminator, whose professional help should be effective.

You can purchase light traps, which have lights the stink bugs are attracted to and then are locked inside. You can also set sticky traps around areas you think stink bugs are getting in. Whatever you do with them afterwards, do not smash them. They emit their fowl odor when crushed.

Suck up the stink bugs with a vacuum, but be sure to empty the bag in an outside trashcan immediately. As stink bugs are attracted to lights, turn off outdoor lights before going to bed at night.