Before throwing out the meat and seeds of a carved Halloween pumpkin chew on this:
Pumpkin is an excellent source of vitamins A and C and potassium, and the seeds are high in fiber, vitamin B12 and polyunsaturated fatty acids, one of the so-called good fats.
"The flesh of pumpkin and the seeds are abundant in many essential nutrients," says Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "Pumpkins are low in fat, calories and are loaded with vitamins."
If you are planning to use fresh pumpkin for baking, Sandon says, choose smaller, blemish- and bruise-free pumpkins. Smaller pumpkins have softer and tastier meat. To maintain freshness, pumpkins should be stored in a cool, dry place until ready to use.
And don't forget to oven roast the pumpkin seeds. They are ideal as snacks or as a salad topping.
Check out our Purely Pumpkin Recipe Collection!
(10-20-09)
The end of outdoor swimming and pool season doesn't mean the end of drowning dangers for young children. After pools, more children drown in bathtubs than in any other product in and around the home.
For 2003-2005, CPSC staff received reports of an average of 90 children younger than 5 years of age who drowned in bathtubs (62 percent); baby seats or bathinettes (15 percent); buckets and pails (11 percent); landscaping or yard products (6 percent); and other products (4 percent). There was an annual average of an additional 39 reports of non-fatal submersion incidents for 2005-2007 that were reported for the same products. The majority of drownings and non-fatal submersion incidents involved children younger than 2 years old.
"What parents need to know is that anywhere there is water, there is a potential drowning hazard to children," says Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC Chairman. "Parents shouldn't let their guard down; young children need constant supervision around bathtubs, bath seats and buckets."
Many of the reported incidents involved a lapse in supervision by caregivers, such as leaving the bathroom momentarily while the child was in the bathtub to answer the phone/door or to retrieve an item like a towel. In other incidents, an older sibling was left to watch a younger sibling.
CPSC recommends parents and caregivers follow these safety tips when children are around bathtubs, bath seats, buckets, spas or decorative ponds or fountains:
Never leave young children alone, even for a moment, near any water. Young children can drown quickly in even small amounts of water.
Always keep a young child within arm's reach in a bathtub. If you must leave, take the child with you.
Don't leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child.
Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Don't leave buckets outside where they can collect rainwater.
Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.
(10-20-09)
Breast cancer is predicted to kill more than 40,000 U.S. women this year, while 192,000 more will be diagnosed with the disease. With early detection, however, nearly 90 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer will live at least five years.
The keys to early detection are getting an annual mammogram combined with regular self-exams of the breasts, says Dr. Phil Evans, associate vice president for imaging services at UT Southwestern Medical Center. "We recommend annual mammograms beginning at age 40," Dr Evans says. "For high-risk groups, including women who have a first-degree relative with breast cancer or women who had chest X-rays for Hodgkin's disease when they were younger, we recommend they consult with their doctor to determine if they need to start earlier."
Women whose mothers had breast cancer before they were 40 years old should start getting regular mammograms at age 30, Dr. Evans says.
(10-06-09)
Dr. Margaret Mitchell, DDS, owner of Mitchell Dental Spa, a dental spa facility in Chicago's Water Tower Place, offers the following tips to for protecting your kids' teeth at Halloween:
Avoid sticky candy such as taffy, gummy bears, caramel, etc. Sticky candy adheres to teeth and causes decay.
Kids can eat candy ANYTIME. There is not a good time of day/night to eat candy.
Brush immediately after eating candy, especially sticky candy.
Prior to Halloween, visit your dentist to have sealants put into the child's teeth grooves.
Have your child chew gum with zylitol sweetener, which prevents tooth decay. Orbit and Trident both have zylitol sweetener.
(10-06-09)
The first swine flu vaccinations will start to arrive this week in some parts of the country. Around 600,000 doses of FluMist, a vaccine that is squirted into the nose, will be distributed between 21 states and four larger cities, with more following later in the week. The larger shipments of the vaccine (around 40 million) will start shipping the second week of October.
This year, most people will need two different shots for influenza; one for the "normal" flu and one for H1N1, or the swine flu. Children under the age of 10 will need two doses of H1N1.
Learn more by reading Swine Flu and Pregnancy: How Does the Influenza H1N1 Strain Affect Mom-to-be? and Swine Flu and Babies: Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment for the Swine Flu. (10-06-09)
Women in the national Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) can now buy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and breads, and other proteins like canned beans, with their vouchers. Until now, the vouchers could only be used for cereals, dried beans, peanut butter, milk, cheese, eggs and juice. The new regulations does reduce the amount of cheese, milk and eggs that can be purchased, and requires the participant to buy 1 percent or fat-free milk if they have a child over 2 years of age. WIC is a program for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and moms with children up to age 5 considered low income.
(10-06-09)
Many people who have died from 2009 H1N1 influenza in the United States had co-infections with a common bacteria (
Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus), which likely contributed to their death, according to a report published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC)
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. CDC is reminding people of the importance of being vaccinated against this common bacterium.
"Our influenza season is off to a fast start and unfortunately there will be more cases of bacterial infections in people suffering from influenza," says CDC Epidemiologist Dr. Matthew Moore. "It's really important for people, especially those at high risk for the serious complications from influenza, to check with their provider when they get their influenza vaccine about being vaccinated against pneumococcus."
The CDC report included an analysis of specimens taken from 77 fatal cases of 2009 H1N1. Bacterial co-infections, including some caused by Streptococcus pneumonia, were noted in about a third of those cases. The following are CDC's recommendations for vaccination against Streptococcus pneumonia:
All children under 5 years of age should receive pneumococcal conjugate vaccine according to current recommendations.
In addition, the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) should be administered to all persons 2 to 64 years with high-risk conditions and everyone 65 years and older.
The entire MMWR report can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr.
Read the following for more information:
Pregnant Women Urged to Get Swine Flu Vaccine
Swine Flu and Pregnancy: How Does the Influenza H1N1 Strain Affect Mom-to-be?
Swine Flu and Babies: Symptoms, Prevention and Treatment for the Swine Flu
Swine Flu Vaccine: One Shot or Two? (10-06-09)
Most high school students are not getting their recommended daily amounts of fruits and vegetables, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The government agency reports that less than 10 percent eat enough veggies and fruit each day. Thirteen percent do get at least three servings of vegetables a day, and only 32 percent get two servings of fruit. Less than one student in 10 got enough combined.
(9-29-09)
For young children, the home is a playground, and while many parents childproof to ensure that their home is a safe place, some may not be aware that unsecured TVs, furniture and appliances are hidden hazards lurking in every room. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents once again to take simple, low-cost steps to prevent deaths and injuries associated with furniture, TV and appliance tip-overs.
CPSC staff estimates that in 2006, 16,300 children 5 years old and younger were treated in emergency rooms because of injuries associated with TV, furniture and appliance tip-overs, and between 2000 and 2006, CPSC staff received reports of 134 tip-over related deaths. Additionally, CPSC staff is aware of at least 30 media reports of tip-over deaths since January 2007 involving this same age group.
"Many parents are unaware of the deadly danger of this hidden hazard. I urge parents to include securing TVs, furniture and appliances in their childproofing efforts," says CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "Taking a few moments now can prevent a tip-over tragedy later."
"You may think your home is safe, but everyday things like a television can hurt your child. I was right there and it happened," says Sylvia Santiago, of West Haven, Conn., who lost her 2-year-old daughter in 2008.
Typically, injuries and deaths occur when children climb onto, fall against or pull themselves up on television stands, shelves, bookcases, dressers, desks, chests and appliances. In some cases, televisions placed on top of furniture tip over and cause a child to suffer traumatic and sometimes fatal injuries. "The most devastating injuries that we see resulting from furniture tipping on children are injuries to the brain and when a child is trapped under a heavy piece of furniture and suffocates," says Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Recent revisions to the voluntary safety standards for clothes storage units provide for the inclusion of warning labels and additional hardware to secure the furniture to the floor or wall. To help prevent tip-over hazards, CPSC offers the following safety tips:
Furniture should be stable on its own. For added security, anchor chests or dressers, TV stands, bookcases and entertainment units to the floor or attach them to a wall.
Place TVs on a sturdy, low-rise base. Avoid flimsy shelves.
Push the TV as far back as possible.
Place electrical cords out of a child's reach, and teach kids not to play with them.
Keep remote controls and other attractive items off the TV stand so kids won't be tempted to grab for them and risk knocking the TV over.
Make sure free-standing ranges and stoves are installed with anti-tip brackets.
Learn more by reading Toppling Televisions: Taking Precautions to Keep Babies Safe Around TVs.
(9-29-09)
A new national survey reveals that, while almost all mothers recognize the importance and benefits of breastfeeding both for themselves and their babies, a large majority of moms want the right to make their own infant feeding decision, based on all available information and to best suit their own family's needs.
The survey, conducted by the bipartisan team of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (GQRR) and Public Opinion Strategies (POS), also shows that regardless of how they fed their own baby, many moms believe infant formula is a safe alternative to breast milk.
"Mothers in the United States know what is best for their babies," says Anna Greenberg, senior vice president at GQRR. "But many moms report having to balance the needs of their baby along with competing needs of work or school, other family members and maintaining an adequate milk supply. The reality is that most moms don't choose either exclusive breastfeeding or exclusive formula feeding – they use a combination of both."
The nationally representative survey sampled opinions from 876 mothers of children aged 12 months and younger throughout the country. Eight out of 10 mothers (84 percent) believe breastfeeding is healthier for their babies, and a similar percentage (79 percent) believe it is healthier for themselves. Most mothers (83 percent) made their infant feeding decision prior to going to the hospital to give birth. The vast majority (82 percent) breastfed at some point during the first year; however, over half of the moms changed their baby's diet during the first year.
Mothers also identified a number of barriers that either prevented them from initiating or continuing breastfeeding, the most common of which include the inability to produce enough milk, returning to work and problems associated with breastfeeding (e.g., sore or cracked nipples, engorged or leaking breasts, breasts infected or abscessed).
"Many mothers want to breastfeed," says Nicole McCleskey, partner at POS, "but oftentimes they realize that when it's time to go back to work, continuing to exclusively breastfeed and maintain their milk supply can be difficult without adequate support."
When asked what government actions could help increase breastfeeding in the United States, mothers recommend support after leaving the hospital, including guaranteed paid or longer maternity leave, increased assistance from health care professionals, breastfeeding support in the workplace and access to a breast pump. "It seems like these are areas where the government could support increased breastfeeding initiation and duration," Greenberg adds.
A key finding of the survey is that mothers want access to information on infant feeding. Three out of four moms believe new mothers should receive information on breastfeeding as well as infant formula so they can make an informed choice. Most mothers agree infant formula provides flexibility and choice, as well as a means of supplementing breastfeeding, when necessary.
"This survey underscores the reality that when it comes to infant feeding, mothers want full information, flexibility and choices," says Greenberg. "Mothers know what is best for their baby; but they also know that infant feeding is complex and they want the right to make their decision based on all available information and in an environment where mothers' choice is supported."
Learn more at www.MomsFeedingFreedom.com.
(9-22-09)
See parents helping parents in action! 
