Women’s Health Blog

When the holidays arrive, many people forget all
about their diets and healthy eating. Weight
gains of 7 – 10 pounds are common between
Halloween and Christmas. To make the holidays
easier, these tips will help you with healthy
eating through the season and not gaining weight.

Most traditional foods can be made low fat.
Turkey is very lean without the skin, and gravy
can be made without any fat. Potatoes that are
served without butter can be very healthy. The
beloved pumpkin pie is nutritious, although it
can be made into a fatty dessert with the adding
of whipped cream.

Even though the holidays are in, don’t forget
about the exercise. Keeping weight off during
the holiday season is burning off the extra
calories. You should plan a walk after meals,
park farther from stores when you shop, and
take a few walks around the mall before you
begin shopping.

During holiday parties and at family dinners,
feel free to sample foods although you shouldn’t
splurge. Decide on what you plan to eat in
advance, then stick to your plan. Eat plenty
of vegetables, fruit, low fat dressings, and
slices of lean meats. Before you go to a party,
eat a small snack to help curb your appetite.

If at all possible, avoid alcohol. Having too
many drinks can cripple your will power, and
also add excess calories to your diet. In the
place of alcohol, drink water with lemon. Water
can help to limit your appetite and keep you
from binging. Also make sure to avoid eggnog,
as each glass can have up to 300 calories.

Be flexible with your healthy eating, as one bad
meal won’t ruin your diet. Try to balance your
calories over a few days and don’t just look at
one meal or day.

(word count 300)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Sometimes, a baby that is breast fed may suddenly
decide to refuse breast feeding. The baby will
pull away from the breast, then toss his head from
side to side. This can happen at anytime, so there
really is no way to predict it happening.

Reasons why
Refusal to feed from the breast could occur when the
baby is in pain. Normally, this can be due to an
ear infection, sore head from vacuum delivery,
thrush in the baby’s mouth, or teething.

The use of dummies, teats or nipple shields may also
contribute to refusal. Some babies actually find
it difficult to feed from the breast and bottle as
the sucking action is very different. Some become
confused, therefore it’s always best to avoid using
any type of teats or dummies.

Sometimes, the milk just takes bitter. This can
be due to antibiotics, if you starting or in the
middle of your period, or nipple creams. If the
milk tastes bitter, your baby will normally not
want to feed.

Solving the problems
First, you should always try to identify what may
have caused the breast refusal then begin to treat
the cause. Always remain patient and gentle with
your baby. Be sure to hold your baby next to you,
skin to skin, so that he can take the breast when
he wants to, so that he begins to realize that
breast feeding is both enjoyable and comfortable.

Older babies may suddenly take shorter and fewer
breast feeds, although this can be normal with
some babies. Therefore, it’s always best not to
try and make the baby feed longer, but instead let
the baby decide how often and also how long each
individual feeding will last.

(word count 285)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Healthy eating is a way of balancing the food you
eat to keep your body in great health. With healthy
eating, you’ll have energy all day, get the vitamins
and minerals you need, stay strong for activities
you enjoy, and maintain a healthy weight.

Below, you’ll find tips designed to help you with
healthy eating.

1. Don’t skip any meals
Eating 3 meals with snacks in between is the ideal
way to maintain both energy and a healthy weight.
When you skip meals and get hungry, you’re more
than likely to choose foods that aren’t very good
for you.

If you are eating away from home, take food with
you or know where you can buy healthy food from.

2. Learn about how to prepare foods
Instead of deep frying, try grilling, stir frying,
microwaving, baking, and even boiling. You should
also try fresh or even dried herbs and spices to
add flavor to your food. Before you eat any type
of meat, be sure to trim the fat and skin off of
it.

3. Avoid a lot of sugar
Drinks that contain sugar are a major source of
empty energy. What this means, is that the drinks
contain a lot of energy that your body may not
need, and it doesn’t contain any vitamins or
minerals. If you plan to drink sugary drinks,
don’t go overboard – limit yourself to 1 a day.

4. Avoid thinking about diets
There are no good food nor any bad foods. All
food can be a part of a healthy diet, when eaten
in moderation. You don’t need to buy any low
carb, fat free, or even diet foods, as these foods
normally have lots of other added ingredients
to replaces the carbohydrates or fat.

(word count 292)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

For many years, scientists have been playing out
the ingredients that make breast milk the perfect
food for babies. They’ve discovered to day over
200 close compounds to fight infection, help the
immune system mature, aid in digestion, and support
brain growth – nature made properties that science
simply cannot copy.

The important long term benefits of breast feeding
include reduced risk of asthma, allergies, obesity,
and some forms of childhood cancer. The more that
scientists continue to learn, the better breast
milk looks.

In addition to making your baby healthier, breast
feeding may also make him smarter. Many studies
have proved that breast fed babies tend to be
more smarter than babies who were fed with formula
or other methods. Breast feeding does help with
nutrients and the support of brain growth, which
is something every mother should think about.

The benefits for the nursing mom are just as
good as they are for the baby. The hormones that
are released during breast feeding will curb
blood loss post delivery and help to shrink the
uterus back to it’s normal size.

Long term, the breast feeding mom will have a
lower risk for premenopausal breast cancer,
which is the kind that strikes before the age
of 50. The benefits will begin to show with
three to six months of breast feeding and increase
the longer that breast feeding continues.

By now, you should realize that breast milk is
one power packed liquid. It offers more for your
baby than formula, or any other scientific
creation for that matter. As you begin to plan
for the future of your baby, make a commitment
to breast feeding him for as long as you possibly
can – as it will do both your bodies good.

(word count 293)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Vegetables, fruits, and grains are normally low in
fat and have no cholesterol. Most are great sources
of dietary fiber, complex carbs, and vitamins.
The American Heart Association recommends that you
eat foods that are high in complex carbs and fiber.

Below are some tips for making healthy food choices:

- Coconut is high in saturated fat, while olives
are high in monounsaturated fats and calories. You
should use these items sparingly to avoid getting
too many calories from fat.

- When vegetable grains are cooked, saturated fat
or cholesterol is often added. For example, egg
yolks may be added to bread or even pasta.

- Processed, canned, or preserved vegetables may
also contain added sodium. With some people, too
much sodium (salt) may lead to high blood pressure.
There are some food companies that are actually
canning vegetables with less salt. You can look
for these in the market area or choose fresh and
even frozen vegetables.

- Nuts and seeds tend to be high in calories and
fat, although a majority of the fat is polyunsaturated
or monounsaturated. There are some varieties,
macadamie nuts for example, that are also high in
saturated fat.

Foods that are high in soluble fiber are a great
choice as well. Examples include oat bran,
oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, and
even apple pulp.

Whenever you are looking for healthy food choices,
always make sure you read the nutrition label
or information about the food. You can then
determine what the food contains and how healthy
it truly is for your body. By taking your time
and making your healthy food choices wisely,
you’ll have a lifetime to enjoy the foods that
will take care of you.

(word count 285)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Breast milk is actually the only food your baby
will need until 4 months of age, although most
babies do well on breast milk alone for 6 months
or better. There is really no advantage to
adding other foods or milks before 4 – 6 months,
except under unusual circumstances.

Water
Breast milk is over 90% water. Even in the
hottest days of summer, a baby won’t require any
extra water. If a baby isn’t feeding well, they
still don’t require any extra water – although
they will need the breast feeding problems to
be fixed.

Vitamin D
Although breast milk doesn’t contain much vitamin
D, it does have a little. The baby will store up
vitamin D during pregnancy, and remain healthy
without any vitamin D supplementation, unless you
yourself had a problem with vitamin D deficiency
when pregnant.

Exposure to the outside will give your baby
vitamin D, even in winter and when the sky is
covered. An hour or more exposure during the
week will give your baby more than enough vitamin
D.

Iron
Breast milk contains less iron than formulas do,
especially those that are iron enriched. Iron
will give the baby added protection against
infections, as many bacteria need iron in order
to multiply.

The iron found in breast milk is utilized well
by the baby, while not being available to
bacteria. The introduction of iron should
never be delayed beyond the age of 6 months.

Breast milk is the best that your can feed
your baby, as it provides everything he will
need for probably the first 6 months. After
the first 6 months, you can introduce solid
foods to your baby if he is taking an interest
to them.

(word count 286)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Almost all mothers who breast feed go through a
period of questioning whether or not their supply
of milk is adequate. Some mothers simply aren’t
able to produce enough milk to meet the needs of
her baby. According to many experts, true
insufficiencies of milk are very rare.

A lot of women think their milk supply is low when
it actually isn’t. Thinking this can happen if
you lose the feeling of fullness in your breasts
or if the milk stops leaking from your nipples.
Babies that go through growth spurts may want
more milk than usual, and these more frequent
feedings may leave your breasts less than full.

Causes of it
A mother’s milk supply may diminish for a brief
period of time if she isn’t feeding her baby
often enough due to nipple pain, or a poor latch
on technique. Illnesses or estrogen containing
birth control pills may also affect the production
of milk.

What you should do
The best way to handle a low supply of breast
milk is through a doctor’s care. You should
make sure that your baby gets frequent feedings
and that nothing is wrong with your nipples or
your milk ducts. Doctors are the best ones to
ask, as they can run tests to see if everything
is fine within your body.

A low supply of breast milk can affect your
baby, although it’s more of a mental condition
than anything else. If your baby isn’t gaining
any weight or if he is losing weight, you
should call a doctor immediately. Improved
techniques for breast feeding will normally
help, although in some cases weight gain or
weight loss will indicate a serious concern.

In most cases, you can still nurse with a
temporary decrease in milk supply, although
frequent breast feeding is the key to boosting
your production of milk.

(word count 307)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

Grocery shopping is something we all have to do, even
though choosing the right foods can be very hard
indeed. To assist you with your healthy grocery
shopping, the tips below can indeed help make things
easier than ever before:

1. Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

2. Select canned fruits and tuna that are packed in
water, not oil or syrup.

3. Look at the labels for the words “hydrogenated”
or “partially hydrogenated”. The earlier you see
them appear on the list, the higher the amount of
unhealthy trans fatty acids the food will contain.

4. Don’t buy turkey with the skin on it, and if
you plan to buy chicken – buy a chicken breast
meal.

5. When you select frozen dinners, select those
that are not only low in fat, but low in sodium
and cholesterol as well.

6. If you aren’t consuming enough dairy products,
go with calcium fortified orange juice instead.

7. Go for whole grain breads, cereals, and rolls.

8. Give cantaloupe a try. With just 95 calories,
half of the melon will provide more than a day’s
supply of Vitamin C and beta carotene.

9. Don’t be tricked into buying yogurt covered
by nuts or raisins, as the coating is normally
made of sugar and partially hydrogenated oils.

10. Get some of the low fat treats, such as
pretzels, ginger snaps, and angel food cake.

By following the above tips when grocery shopping,
you’ll avoid the bad foods and get those that you
need. There are many different healthy foods at
the grocery store, all it takes is the will power
to go past the bad foods and on to the good ones.

(word count 282)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

The milk production in the breasts, much like so many
other things, work on the shear principal of supply
and demand. The more breast milk your baby consumes,
the more your body will need to make.

Breast pumps are generally used to insure continued
production of breast milk when you cannot feed your
baby – whether you are back to work, traveling, taking
medication, or just out of town.

Basic types of pumps
Breast pumps can either be battery operated, hand
operated, semi automatic electric, or even self cycling
electric.

Hand pumps
Manual hand pumps are designed to use the strength
of your hand or arm muscles for pumping one breast at
a time. You can also get pumps that will use the leg
and foot muscles for pumping both breasts at one
time. Mothers that with carpal tunnel syndrome may
want to consider using a pump designed for the arm
or leg muscles or even an automatic model.

Battery operated pumps
Pumps with battery operation are the best for women
who have an established supply of milk and want to
pump once or even twice a day. These pumps use
batteries to create suction, minimizing any type of
muscle fatigue. Most battery type pumps are designed
for pumping one breast at a time and are recommended
for occasional usage.

Electric pumps
Even though electric pumps are more efficient than
hand or even battery operated pumps, they also tend
to be more expensive. You can however, rent them if
you need to. Electric pumps can normally plug
directly into an outlet and are designed for pumping
both breasts at a time and even frequent use. Hospital
grade pumps are the most efficient for initiating and
maintaining milk supply, and are available for rent
or purchase.

(word count 295)

PPPPP

read comments (0)

This information is aimed at helping you to
reduce your fat intake. The average individual
eats too much fat, a factor that’s linked to
a variety of health problems, including cancer.
Diets that are high in fat are associated with
breast and colon cancer, with some studies
linking high fat to prostate cancer as well.

A majority of people can bring their fat intakes
down to a healthy range by making a few adjustments
in the way they shop, cook, and prepare the foods
they eat.

Now days, it’s getting easier and easier to control
the amount of fat you consume. The fat content of
foods are now available through the nutrition label
and through brochures distributed by food companies
and even fast food restaurants.

You can use this information on nutrition to choose
lower fat foods by comparing products and food
brands. Once you have a rough idea of what a healthy
intake of fat is, you’ll know what you can and what
you can’t have.

From day to day, the amount of fat you eat will
vary. Some meals and some days will be higher in
fat than others. Even high fat meals can be kept
in line with healthy eating as long as you balance
those days accordingly. The average fat intake over
the course of weeks and months is important, not the
fat intake of every meal and food you consume.

Younger adults and high active adults who have
higher calorie needs can probably eat a little more
fat. Older adults and those that aren’t very active
should aim for a lower fat intake. This way, you
can control your fat intake and avoid the many
problems that fat is associated with.

(word count 286)

PPPPP

read comments (0)