RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

This time marketing a pill as a supplement has gone too far. A pill called Obecalp (placebo spelled backwards) was released in March of this year targeted at our smallest generation, our children. It is designed to “treat the pain children have when medicine is not really needed”, but the idea that children put in their heads is that mommy is giving them a “pill” to make them feel better. The pill is essentially a placebo and is not designed to do anything at all at $6.00 a bottle for 50 pills.

When children eat quality foods, i.e fruits, vegetables, whole grains, instead of fat laden foods and empty calorie foods, i.e. luncheon meats, cookies, fruit snacks, they are much less likely to have a weight problem regardless of the amount of exercise that they get.

A story outlined in the Washington Post recently outlined the health travesty awaiting our country in just one generation. With one in three children now overweight or obese, the clock is ticking on irreversible health consequences. Doctors are seeing children in elementary schools with gallstones, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

This article focuses on a report released in the May journal of Pediatrics, 2008, on the limited indications and contraindications of soy formula. The article also reviews the potential harmful effects of soy protein-based formulas and the phytoestrogens and isoflavones contained in these formulas. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is committed to the use of human milk as the ideal source of nutrition for infants. Despite this stance, soy formulas account for 20% of the formula market in the US. What do we need to know about this potentially harmful infant feeding choice?

A symposium at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual meeting at Experimental Biology was held recently where infant feeding practices as it related to obesity in childhood were explored. Utilizing randomized clinical trials (inclusive of breastfeeding promotion) and sibling pairs analysis, new insights were gained into possible associations between infant feeding and health outcomes such as obesity.

There have been a rash of food recalls in the past year bringing to light questions that are taking on a new urgency. Just recently, millions of pounds of ground beef were recalled. On January 18, there was a nationwide recall of green beans and garbanzo beans (#10 size cans, 6-7 pounds).On January 21 the Deli Chef Tri-Bean Salad was recalled from some Kroger stores. The list could go on.

Malnutrition during pregnancy and infancy can be responsible for more than a third of child deaths and may be at the root of disease on a global basis. More than 1/4 of lives could be saved by enforcing the importance of vitamin supplements (especially folic acid) and breastfeeding initiation programs. The most important interval for the effect of good nutrition is between pregnancy and the age of two years.