A 2008 government sponsored study revealed that 75% of children and adult participants had evidence of Triclosan in their urine.  In mice studies the chemical showed that it destroyed heart and skeletal muscle.  That may be enough information to conclude that this product has adverse event and even life threatening potential within our bodies. Unfortunately, used as a pesticide since 1969, many consumer–based healthcare products like soaps, toothpaste, deodorants, cosmetics and hand sanitizers contain this chemical! Triclosan may destroy your endocrine system including your thyroid gland. Triclosan may cause immunodeficiency and put you at risk for serious infections that can kill you. It may even put you at higher risk for developing allergies and hay fever.  Beware of the consequences and consider not purchasing product that expose you to dangerous outcomes.

http://www.productscontainingtriclosan.com/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21062687/

It is a sad but a true fact that many conversations with patients focus on bowel function irregularity and pain, even in children?  We as physicians hear constantly about frequent belly aches, bloating and excessive gas passage associate with this so-called “irritable bowel syndrome” (ie. IBS). To help avoid a belly aches and constipated stooling patterns (Type 1 and 2) on the Bristol stool chart, institute more fiber into your diet through plant-based nutrition (i.e. beans, fruits, and vegetables). Bristol Type 4 is normal. Current western diets, animal-based nutrition, includes very little dietary fiber, and approximately 1/5 the amount of dietary fiber provided by a plant-based diet. We drink way too little water that is necessary to help form and lubricate our stools for easier passage. Other tips to help with these distressing symptoms of an unsettled stomach or IBS is to decrease our dairy and meat consumption, your body does not need either food group. Consider almond milk as a healthier alternative to dairy, and not too worry as your calcium needs are met exclusively with a plant-based diet. Well as I tell all of my patients, dairy has fats that are “saturated” and cause excessive weight gain, the sugars of lactose and galactose in milk are poorly digestible and cause bowel distress symptoms, and the casein protein is “inflammatory” to our bodies leading to chronic health concerns including heart disease and autoimmune conditions that includes cancer. Feel good and feel at ease with these simple tips!

http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/dairy.html

Cold weather actually allows the “cold virus” to actually make symptoms worse through spreading virus that suppresses the immune system.  Don’t forget to use those saline nasal rinses to help eliminate the virus.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/837552

A new study shows that using a moisturizer from birth resulted in fewer infants developing subsequent skin problems compared to those infants who did not receive moisturizer by 32 weeks of age.  Larger controlled trials will hopefully help to confirm these findings.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/836495

Chikungunya means “that what bends up” in the Makonde African dialect.  Over 800,000 case in the Caribbean and Americas have occured since 2013.  It is an illness with fever that causes terrible joint pains and rash.  It is caused by a virus that is transmitted through a mosquito bite. The pains are in the large joints of the knees, elbows, and ankles as well as the small joints. Use of window screens, insect repellents, minimize standing water or from buckets are essential to minimize infection risk. Chikungunya is more severe in the very young, elderly, pregant women, and those with chronic illnesses. Vaccines and other therapies are desperately needed.  Seek medical help from a physician if you are experiencing these symptoms.

http://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/

It is not complicated to obtain the healthy lifestyle benefits that you seek without starting down a dangerous path that could lead to an untimely death.  Many people realize the urgency to change their unhealthy habits now to avoid a terrible outcome. Did you know that in our country food manufacturers admit to employing food biochemists to manipulate food product manufacturing and, as a result, addict us by tricking our own bodies into thinking that we are still hungry, resulting in the consumption of excessive calories. You have to be responsible for your own wellness through education to be a smart consumer when it comes to healthy food choices.

A failure to take the necessary steps toward a healthy lifestyle may end your life early. Did you know that the rate of childhood obesity exceeds 30% in the United States.  As a result, the complicating factors of cardiac disease and diabetes are piling up and contribute to poor quality of life and earlier death for generations to come. It is no wonder that there is a frenetic pace from industry to capitalize on this obesity crisis with the opening of weight loss clinics everywhere. Did you know that many of these programs are not even based on real clinical research data and can cost you your life? Watch out for the doctor-prescribed, heart stimulating injectable drugs that claim to assist in weight loss as they can directly kill you by unnecessarily straining your heart or in combination with severe calorie restriction imposed by many weight loss programs.

The marketing promise from these weight loss clinics is to promote an “easy and quick fix” is both interesting, but in reality, scientifically appalling. The emotional rollercoaster ride can be avoided by choosing the right path to health.

Four life-saving steps:

1. Rid dairy products from diet to decrease the risk of additional calories and help alleviate body inflammation that leads to early cardiac disease and cancer.

2. Avoid added sugars from sauces, sweetened drinks, and cereals that lead to obesity and physiological addiction of foods through biochemical modification.

3. Eat plant based nutrition versus animal based nutrition that provides higher quality nutrition and promotes lean body mass.  Help alleviate “irritable bowel” symptoms through more pure food intake.

4. Exercise regularly to promote fat burning and maintenance of weight.

Late talkers are children 18–35 months old who acquire language at a slower rate than their typically developing peers. Communicative gestures and symbolic play usually occur at 10-12 months of age, while specific words usually begin at age 12-15 months, on average. Behavioral and socio-emotional development improves by age 4-5 for most of these toddlers that are delayed in expressive language only. “It seems that parents of children with expressive language deficits are more likely to adapt their communication style, and this exacerbates the child’s language difficulties and is less than optimal for language acquisition”. Tannock and Giralametto (1992). Two year-old late talking toddlers are characterized by limited vocabulary and lack of production of combined words. Research suggests that no later than school age the majority of these children will show significant improvement on expressive language skills and reach the age appropriate levels (Rescorla, 2009; Roos & Weismer, 2008)

TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Do not be overly concerned if your toddler is a late talker, ie solitary expressive language delay. If there are additional developmental delays such as receptive language delays or motor skill delays, one would consider a full developmental assessment after a discussion with your pediatrician.

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/speechandlanguage.aspx

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/pages/speechandlanguage.aspx

“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.”

We need to train pediatricians and health care providers on how to screen toddler and children for autistic behaviors by using various questionnaires or other screening tools.  It is usually premature to make a formal diagnosis of ASD in a child less than 5 years old as many of these individuals may improve with early intervention.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm