Raising Happy Healthy Children…Naturally!
Many of us already know to look for the “9″ on produce stickers that indicates ORGANIC! But what I didn’t realize is that we can also use this sticker to know if the item is Genetically Modified. Instead of a 9, GMO foods are prefaced with an “8″. Here is an example of what to look for;
For example, a conventionally grown banana would be: 4011
an organic banana would be: 94011
a genetically engineered (GE or GMO) banana would be: 84011
I saw that recently and just loved it. So if you need a daily fix of eco warrior here’s a site for you;
Have you heard? Monks and nuns in Burma embarked on a peaceful protest after decades of brutal dictatorship. Thousands upon thousands of ordinary people are joining in. Yesterday, the Burma military started shooting into the unarmed crowd, killing monks and journalists.
There is a petition about that is aimed at the United Nations and calling the world to stand alongside the Burmese people. We should not let this happen and something as small as your name on a piece of paper CAN make a difference.
The last peaceful demonstration in Burma in 1988 ended with thousands dead. Let us NOT let this happen again.
Yikes…a MAJOR crib recall. About a million Simplicity cribs have been recalled (voluntarily). There are 2 known deaths and 1 under investigation, 7 infant entrapments and 55 “incidents” involving this crib. Apparently, its very easy to install one of the rails upside down.
Here’s the CPSC press release.
We have never used a crib but I thought it important to pass this on. Please share it with all your friends and family who use cribs.
What the heck is this?
It looks like a HUGE fly but look at it against a quarter! Thankfully its on the outside.
Does anyone remember that turtle doing a shimmy in our flower bed months ago? I blogged on it; http://healthyparenting.net/blog/2007/05/12/banner-week/
So last weekend our neighbor across the street came running over (his kids were over our house) with a container full of baby snapping turtles. I didn’t get any photos of them but they look just like regular turtles except for a long tail sticking out of the shell. Snapping turtles can mess you up so avoid them. BUT the turtles got us thinking about the shimmy we were graced with and wondering if those eggs made it. It was about time incubation wise so we did a little digging and sure enough, we had baby turtles hatched.
Not sure they would have made it without us digging them up. With the drought, the dirt was so dry and hard, they probably couldn’t get out. A few eggs didn’t hatch and we weren’t able to find Ms Turtle’s 2nd egg batch (she laid in two places that we know of).
The babies were collected and all the kids and the dads drove them to a wet woodsy area and released them. Though thinking about a mama snapping turtle that shimmied somewhere around here 90 days ago is not a good thought. At least now the kids know what they look like so to avoid them.
I try to keep politics out of my blog/site but being human its not always easy and I find myself biting my tongue. So the truth is I am not a fan of our current administration IN THE LEAST.
This is a big week in DC, lots of action going on. Let’s see what happens since the administration has already tried to disallow impeachment press releases.
Remember when this first hit a few years ago? You’d think something would have been done about it by now. Think again. Toy jewelry purchased by investigators in MA found items with lead levels 1800 times higher than is considered safe.
Yep, they’ve done it. A new study financed by Britain’s Food Standards
Agency and published by The Lancet, shows that a wide range of children are affected by various food additives (mostly food dyes but also sodium benzoate). Its about time!
Here’s the Times article;
From: New York Times, Sept. 6, 2007
SOME FOOD ADDITIVES RAISE HYPERACTIVITY, STUDY FINDS
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior
in a broad range of children, a study being released today found.
It was the first time researchers conclusively and scientifically
confirmed a link that had long been suspected by many parents.
Numerous support groups for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
have for years recommended removing such ingredients from diets,
although experts have continued to debate the evidence.
But the new, carefully controlled study shows that some artificial
additives increase hyperactivity and decrease attention span in a wide
range of children, not just those for whom overactivity has been
diagnosed as a learning problem.
The new research, which was financed by Britain’s Food Standards
Agency and published online by the British medical journal The Lancet,
presents regulators with a number of issues: Should foods containing
preservatives and artificial colors carry warning labels? Should some
additives be prohibited entirely? Should school cafeterias remove
foods with additives?
After all, the researchers note that overactivity makes learning more
difficult for children.
“A mix of additives commonly found in children’s foods increases the
mean level of hyperactivity,” wrote the researchers, led by Jim
Stevenson, a professor of psychology at the University of Southampton.
“The finding lends strong support for the case that food additives
exacerbate hyperactive behaviors (inattention, impulsivity and
overactivity) at least into middle childhood.” Continue reading ‘New Study: Children Affected by Food Additives’
Today my 5 year old was talking with his grandmother on the phone. While his brother started 3rd grade last Monday, he doesn’t start Kindergarten until next week. Grandmom asked him to call her when he had been at school a few days to share with her how he liked it.
My 5 year old replied, “But Grandmom, I don’t have a cell phone”. :)