Have you heard of Becky Bailey? No? Well more than likely you soon will or at least her book Conscious Discipline. Her book is being used in the new program CSEFEL that 13 states are currently doing pilot programs in this. It's suppose to be a whole new approach to discipline and growing the child emotionally and socially. My Child Guidance class is all about this. So below is the link to her Youtube videos. Let me know what you think. Do you feel this would work with your child? Or not?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j3gF1dh_t4
I truly am curious to know what other parents think about this!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The Science of Taste: How Restaurants Use our Bodies Against Us!
The Science of Taste: How Restaurants Use our Bodies Against Us!
I recently read a FASCINATING book called “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD. I highly recommend it! In the book, Dr. Kessler reviews what makes some people prone to overeating. He outlines the science behind the drive to eat when you are already full. He then goes over how restaurants manipulate us to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more food.
We are born preferring sweet tastes. Even newborns “smile” when given sugar water! But we are not just drawn to sweetness alone. As Dr. Kessler points out, few people eat sugar straight from the packets. Rather, we prefer mixtures of fat and sugar. Adam Drewnowski did a study where he gave people drinks containing different ratios of milk and sugar. Not surprisingly, the skim milk with sugar (no fat, lots of sugar) and the unsweetened cream (lots of fat, no sugar) did not get high marks. Everybody preferred the mixture that contained lots of sugar and lots of fat.
More interesting, is that there is a “bliss point”, a point where we enjoy the sugar/fat the most. It is possible too make a food too sweet or too fatty. We all know that too little fat/sugar is no good but scientists have shown that too much fat/sugar is also not desired. Scientists have shown that the ideal amount of sugar in a drink is 10%. If a drink is more than 10% sugar, it is deemed too sweet.
Eating foods high in sugar and fat makes you want to eat MORE sugar and fat.
Variety makes you eat more. Our body has what is called “taste-specific satiety”, meaning that it can become full from a certain taste but can immediately feel “hunger” if exposed to a different type of food. This helps account for why we eat so much more at a buffet than a sit-down meal.
We become conditioned to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods. In one study, people who did not usually snack mid-morning were given a high-fat, high-sugar snack before lunchtime for five days in a row. For days afterwards, they craved a mid-morning snack, even though they never used to eat at that time!
When we first put a yummy food in our mouths, our taste buds send a signal to the brain that activates our body’s natural opiates. Opiates make us feel pleasure and can also relieve pain or stress and can relax us. No wonder I want to turn to a donut whenever I feel discomfort and anxiety!
Restaurants use this science agains us! Restaurants are in the business to sell food. And what sells? Fat and sugar! So restaurants will stick fat and sugar into everything. If you order vegetables in a restaurant, chances are they have been fried (or sauteed) in oil.
It gets worse. In just one example from the book, a consultant/restaurant insider discusses the Southwestern Eggrolls from Chilis.
Deep-frying the tortilla drives down its water content from 40 percent to about 5 percent and replaces the rest with fat. “The tortilla is really going to absorb a lot of fat”…
“Cooked white meat chicken, binder added, smoke flavor. People really like smoky flavor- it’s the caveman in them.”
“There’s green stuff in there,” he said, noting the spinach. “That makes me feel like I am eating something healthy.”
He believed the chicken had been chopped and formed much like a meat loaf, with binders added, which makes those calories easier to swallow. Ingredients that hold moisture, including autolyzed yeast extract, sodium phosphate, and soy protein concentrate, further soften the food.
I noticed that salt appeared eight times on the label and that sweeteners were there five times, in the form of corn-syrup solids, molasses, honey, brown sugar, and sugar.
“This is highly processed?” I asked.
“Absolutely, yes. All of this has been processed such that you can wolf it down fast… chopped up and made ultrapalatable… Very appealing looking, very high pleasure in the fod, very high calorie density. Rules out all the stuff you have to chew.”
By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster. “When you’re eating these things, you’ve had 500, 600, 800, 900 calories before you know it,” said the consultant. “Literally before you know it.” Refined food simply melts in the mouth.
Restaurants add fat to everything! Why? The fat helps to lubricate the food so it absorbs saliva better and is swallowed more easily. Fat also lingers after food is swallowed, leaving the flavor behind in your mouth. The end result is that you eat so quickly that you don’t realize how much you have consumed. And you still have some flavor in your mouth, keeping you salivating. So what do you do next? You order more!
Restaurants also add lubricants and process foods to eliminate the amount of time spent chewing. According to Gail Civille, in the past Americans typically chewed a mouthful of food twenty-five times before swallowing; now it is only about ten times. Food processing creates a type of “adult baby food” which doesn’t require much effort to eat. Because it goes down so quickly, it easily overrides the body’s signals that should signal fullness.
Did you know that most restaurant food is fried not once, but twice? It’s true! Most chain restaurants use “individually quick-frozen foods”. These foods are partially fried in factories before they are quick-frozen and sent to the restaurant. Once in the restaurant, they can be taken from the package (still frozen) and into the deep fryer before being served. Very few chain restaurants cook the food from scratch. This helps explain why a Chili’s burger tastes the same in New York as it does in Nevada. They are all made in the same factory! Yum… Even the vegetables and lettuce are prepared elsewhere and then either frozen or sealed in vacuum packages.
The book goes on to give lots of other examples of how restaurants manipulate food to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more. It also goes over lots of different food chains, including Starbucks, Cinnabon’s, Pink’s, McDonalds and more, revealing their techniques to make their food more appealing. I think it is a must-read for every parent. It definitely has made me think twice about eating out!
Joanna Dolgoff MD is a pediatrician who specializes in child and adolescent weight management. She is the creator of Dr. Dolgoff’s Weigh.
Source: http://www.homeschool-articles.com/the-science-of-taste-how-restaurants-use-our-bodies-against-us/
I recently read a FASCINATING book called “The End of Overeating” by David A. Kessler, MD. I highly recommend it! In the book, Dr. Kessler reviews what makes some people prone to overeating. He outlines the science behind the drive to eat when you are already full. He then goes over how restaurants manipulate us to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more food.
We are born preferring sweet tastes. Even newborns “smile” when given sugar water! But we are not just drawn to sweetness alone. As Dr. Kessler points out, few people eat sugar straight from the packets. Rather, we prefer mixtures of fat and sugar. Adam Drewnowski did a study where he gave people drinks containing different ratios of milk and sugar. Not surprisingly, the skim milk with sugar (no fat, lots of sugar) and the unsweetened cream (lots of fat, no sugar) did not get high marks. Everybody preferred the mixture that contained lots of sugar and lots of fat.
More interesting, is that there is a “bliss point”, a point where we enjoy the sugar/fat the most. It is possible too make a food too sweet or too fatty. We all know that too little fat/sugar is no good but scientists have shown that too much fat/sugar is also not desired. Scientists have shown that the ideal amount of sugar in a drink is 10%. If a drink is more than 10% sugar, it is deemed too sweet.
Eating foods high in sugar and fat makes you want to eat MORE sugar and fat.
Variety makes you eat more. Our body has what is called “taste-specific satiety”, meaning that it can become full from a certain taste but can immediately feel “hunger” if exposed to a different type of food. This helps account for why we eat so much more at a buffet than a sit-down meal.
We become conditioned to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods. In one study, people who did not usually snack mid-morning were given a high-fat, high-sugar snack before lunchtime for five days in a row. For days afterwards, they craved a mid-morning snack, even though they never used to eat at that time!
When we first put a yummy food in our mouths, our taste buds send a signal to the brain that activates our body’s natural opiates. Opiates make us feel pleasure and can also relieve pain or stress and can relax us. No wonder I want to turn to a donut whenever I feel discomfort and anxiety!
Restaurants use this science agains us! Restaurants are in the business to sell food. And what sells? Fat and sugar! So restaurants will stick fat and sugar into everything. If you order vegetables in a restaurant, chances are they have been fried (or sauteed) in oil.
It gets worse. In just one example from the book, a consultant/restaurant insider discusses the Southwestern Eggrolls from Chilis.
Deep-frying the tortilla drives down its water content from 40 percent to about 5 percent and replaces the rest with fat. “The tortilla is really going to absorb a lot of fat”…
“Cooked white meat chicken, binder added, smoke flavor. People really like smoky flavor- it’s the caveman in them.”
“There’s green stuff in there,” he said, noting the spinach. “That makes me feel like I am eating something healthy.”
He believed the chicken had been chopped and formed much like a meat loaf, with binders added, which makes those calories easier to swallow. Ingredients that hold moisture, including autolyzed yeast extract, sodium phosphate, and soy protein concentrate, further soften the food.
I noticed that salt appeared eight times on the label and that sweeteners were there five times, in the form of corn-syrup solids, molasses, honey, brown sugar, and sugar.
“This is highly processed?” I asked.
“Absolutely, yes. All of this has been processed such that you can wolf it down fast… chopped up and made ultrapalatable… Very appealing looking, very high pleasure in the fod, very high calorie density. Rules out all the stuff you have to chew.”
By eliminating the need to chew, modern food processing techniques allow us to eat faster. “When you’re eating these things, you’ve had 500, 600, 800, 900 calories before you know it,” said the consultant. “Literally before you know it.” Refined food simply melts in the mouth.
Restaurants add fat to everything! Why? The fat helps to lubricate the food so it absorbs saliva better and is swallowed more easily. Fat also lingers after food is swallowed, leaving the flavor behind in your mouth. The end result is that you eat so quickly that you don’t realize how much you have consumed. And you still have some flavor in your mouth, keeping you salivating. So what do you do next? You order more!
Restaurants also add lubricants and process foods to eliminate the amount of time spent chewing. According to Gail Civille, in the past Americans typically chewed a mouthful of food twenty-five times before swallowing; now it is only about ten times. Food processing creates a type of “adult baby food” which doesn’t require much effort to eat. Because it goes down so quickly, it easily overrides the body’s signals that should signal fullness.
Did you know that most restaurant food is fried not once, but twice? It’s true! Most chain restaurants use “individually quick-frozen foods”. These foods are partially fried in factories before they are quick-frozen and sent to the restaurant. Once in the restaurant, they can be taken from the package (still frozen) and into the deep fryer before being served. Very few chain restaurants cook the food from scratch. This helps explain why a Chili’s burger tastes the same in New York as it does in Nevada. They are all made in the same factory! Yum… Even the vegetables and lettuce are prepared elsewhere and then either frozen or sealed in vacuum packages.
The book goes on to give lots of other examples of how restaurants manipulate food to get us to eat more quickly and thus eat more. It also goes over lots of different food chains, including Starbucks, Cinnabon’s, Pink’s, McDonalds and more, revealing their techniques to make their food more appealing. I think it is a must-read for every parent. It definitely has made me think twice about eating out!
Joanna Dolgoff MD is a pediatrician who specializes in child and adolescent weight management. She is the creator of Dr. Dolgoff’s Weigh.
Source: http://www.homeschool-articles.com/the-science-of-taste-how-restaurants-use-our-bodies-against-us/
Monday, August 30, 2010
Carolina Kids Sale coming up!
For everyone in my area, just wanted to remind you that the Carolina Kids Sale starts for the public Sept. 2! If you are a consignor, your drop off day is Sept. 1. You can register on line to be a part of this sale! I always do really well at this sale! A great way to sell things your children have outgrown and make money toward their Christmas! Just follow the link below for details!
http://www.carolinakidssale.com/
Want to find a consignment sale in your local area? Below is a link to KCS which lists them by state! I didn't realize how many there were in my state until I saw this!
Enjoy!
http://www.carolinakidssale.com/
Want to find a consignment sale in your local area? Below is a link to KCS which lists them by state! I didn't realize how many there were in my state until I saw this!
 |
| http://www.kidsconsignmentsales.com/index.htm |
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 28, 2010
ADHD Children, Sleep Problems, and Melatonin
I recently had to take my son to the doctor because of an infected eye. While I was there, we discussed his on going problems with sleep disturbances and his hyperactivity during the day. She suggested that I start him on 1mg of Melatonin about 20-30 minutes before bedtime. Well last night was the first night that he took one, I hope that every night is not like last night! He was constantly waking me up talking loudly about butterflies,toys,etc. Vivid dreams/nightmares is one of the side effects but that's also one of his problems. I'm wondering how many of you are giving your child Melatonin for sleep disturbances? Below is a link that tells more about it.
ADHD Children, Sleep Problems, and Melatonin
ADHD Children, Sleep Problems, and Melatonin
Friday, August 27, 2010
Nutrition in North Carolina
It seems like nutrition is being discussed by everyone now days! More and more people are realizing that you can't take nutrition lightly. Lately we've been hearing about all types of nutritional concerns from obesity to vitamin D deficiency. What is very concerning is that to some the US is the "land of plenty" but yet we have such huge nutritional concerns. Having an abundant food supply does not necessarily mean that it is a healthy and nutritious food supply!
North Carolina has implemented several programs to help educate not only families but those that care for families. They offer educational programs to teach the basics of nutrition to programs to reimburse childcare providers for serving health meals to the children in their care. I recently heard of a grant that was available this summer for residents of the local town of Mooresville. The grant was given to anyone that was willing to fix healthy cold meals for the citizens of the town. You had to provide all three meals daily. One local woman used a daycare center's kitchen to use the grant to provide 3 meals a day for the families of her neighborhood. Each child that came through also got to take home an additional healthy snack pack with two cartons of milk. This program was one to help the community help its self! I think that this was a wonderful idea but it does take someone willing to give back to the community.
Below is a few informational links to NC websites that offer an interactive nutritional label that teaches you how to read food labels, recipe links, and other helpful information. It seems lots of states have these programs but most citizens don't even know they are there!
Interactive Nutrition Label: http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/NutritionLabel.html
Healthy Recipes: http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/Recipes.html
Of course this varies from state to state but most states have federally funded programs available. ENJOY!
North Carolina has implemented several programs to help educate not only families but those that care for families. They offer educational programs to teach the basics of nutrition to programs to reimburse childcare providers for serving health meals to the children in their care. I recently heard of a grant that was available this summer for residents of the local town of Mooresville. The grant was given to anyone that was willing to fix healthy cold meals for the citizens of the town. You had to provide all three meals daily. One local woman used a daycare center's kitchen to use the grant to provide 3 meals a day for the families of her neighborhood. Each child that came through also got to take home an additional healthy snack pack with two cartons of milk. This program was one to help the community help its self! I think that this was a wonderful idea but it does take someone willing to give back to the community.
Below is a few informational links to NC websites that offer an interactive nutritional label that teaches you how to read food labels, recipe links, and other helpful information. It seems lots of states have these programs but most citizens don't even know they are there!
Interactive Nutrition Label: http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/NutritionLabel.html
Healthy Recipes: http://www.myeatsmartmovemore.com/Recipes.html
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| http://www.fruitsandveggiesnc.com/index.html |
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| http://www.nutritionnc.com/snp/index.htm |
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| http://www.fitfamilync.com/ |
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Resources for Parents with children with chronic illnesses/special needs
I recently had a discussion in class about the need for more resources for parents. Parents who have children with chronic illnesses or special needs are in need of support and resources especially during these economic times. I decided to put together a list of websites that offer help and support for such families. This is just a few sites but I hope this is a help to someone.
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| http://www.bravekids.org/ |
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| http://www.pbs.org/opb/childrenshospital/index.html |
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| http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~lln0n9rmxjPNxJl |
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| http://www.childlife.org/ |
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| http://www.devdelay.org/ |
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| http://www.parentingchildrenwithhealthissues.com/index.html |
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Weekly List of Sites that WOW me!
I have decided to each week showcase a couple websites that just make me go WOW! I am constantly looking for information on new insights on educating my son. I come across a lot of sites that are good but don't have the WOW factor. Those that do make me go WOW will be showcased each week.
The first WOW site of the week is Mom's Homeroom. This site is really organized and jam packed full of information on getting your child ready to succeed in school. This site is run by a panel of....you guessed it MOMS! They have a library of videos that you can watch about getting your child ready. http://momshomeroom.msn.com/
Help your child learn with games, software and educational activities from Owl and Mouse Educational Software. Early reading software—phonics software, alphabet games, and Dolch sight words in a fairy tale story. All of it FREE! Free online USA maps, world maps, map of Europe, map puzzles of the US, Europe, Africa, Asia, and many more. You can build your own castle and coat of arms—free downloads. http://www.yourchildlearns.com/owlmouse.htm
I hope you enjoy these sites as much as I did! ENJOY!
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