Archive for February 2012
Getting baby (and parents!) ready for solids – a case for baby led weaning
February 29, 2012 | 
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If you’re at all familiar with my practice, you’ll know that I’m a huge advocate of baby led weaning (BLW). For the past year I’ve been offering workshops at Nurtured Products for Parenting and Fiddleheads Kids Shop in addition to counseling patients and families in my office on the ins and out of BLW for the past several years.
My interest in BLW was piqued after we my first daughter was born, 4.5 years ago. We had such success with it that we subsequently used it to introduce food to our twins, who are now almost 2! When asked about the benefits of BLW, I tend to be a little emphatic! I think it encourages family time at the table, requires less prep and care (don’t have to worry about running out of baby food!), introduces new flavours and tastes and encourages self-control. And, a recent study echoes these sentiments – kids weaned using BLW were leaner and enjoyed a greater variety of foods than those fed traditional purees.
What is BLW?
In a nutshell, BLW is a method of introducing solids that generally doesn’t involve purees or spoon feeding. By providing developmentally appropriate foods (right size and texture), spoon feeding becomes unnecessary as baby is capable of feeding him/herself! It’s quite amazing really. That’s not to say it has to be all or nothing, but it can be a stand-alone method of introducing “real” food to babies.
What’s wrong with rice cereal and purees?
Rice cereal is suggested as a “first food” because it is fortified with iron, and breastfed babies need a reliable source of iron by 6-9 months of age as the stores of iron they’d gotten from Mom will start to run out. But, if iron is the concern, why not offer great sources of iron such as meat and fish, both of which are recommended first foods? The other concern is that white rice, in particular, isn’t very nutritionally dense. We recommend a whole-grain diet for adults, why not babies? And finally, the other concern I have with rice cereal is that I often see babies suffering from terrible constipation, especially if they’re already receiving iron fortified formula. While not advocating BLW per se, Dr. Greene has launched a “White Out” campaign which encourages whole grains (vs. white rice cereal) as a first food. It’s a start!
Purees, if made from whole foods (ie just fruits and vegetables) are healthy. But, why not introduce baby to foods that the whole family is eating? BLW is cheap and easy compared to buying/preparing jarred foods! Purees were introduced at a time when infant feeding guidelines were recommending a much earlier introduction of solids foods (ie 3 months old). We know better now, and most babies are perfectly capable of feeding themselves by approximately 6 months of age. There’s nothing special about purees, and if baby is showing signs of readiness (able to sit up, loss of tongue thrust reflex, etc) then they can feed themselves!
But what about choking?
Gill Rapley, author of the ‘Baby Led Weaning‘ book sums it up nicely:
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. The ability to pick up very small things develops later still. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth. Spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely.
It appears that a baby’s general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to ‘help’ the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid foods takes place at the right pace for him, while keeping the risk of choking to a minimum.
Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. This ensures that food that he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth.
Getting Started with BLW
Do your research! Read sites such as www.babyledweaning.com, and pick up a copy of Gill Rapley’s ‘Baby Led Weaning’. If you think BLW is right for you and your baby, join me for a workshop at Nurtured, or schedule a BLW consult in our Dartmouth office.
Here are a couple pictures of my kids loving food!
Personal Care Products: Are they making us sick?
There has been a flurry of news attention recently on the potential dangers of toxic ingredients in personal care products. Certain ingredients have been linked to respiratory conditions, endocrine disruption, and even cancer. Avoiding potentially harmful additives can be challenging as products often contain long lists of chemicals that can be hard to decipher. I often encourage my patients to start by avoiding phthalates. Phthalates help lotions to penetrate skin and help synthetic fragrances to last longer. Unfortunately, they also disrupt hormones and have been linked to PMS, infertility, and breast cancer. Phthalates are not usually listed in the ingredients but whenever you see fragrance, perfume, or parfum you can assume they are present. That means choosing non-scented products and those scented with essential oils.
Avoiding phthalates is a great start. Other ingredients to watch out for include parabens, triclosan, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Environmental Defence Canada has put together a pocket shopping guide of Toxic Ten Ingredients as part of their Just Beautiful campaign that you can download from justbeautiful.ca. You can also visit lesstoxicguide.ca for lists of non-toxic products that you can find in Nova Scotia.
Posted in Environmental Medicine, Infertility, Naturopathic Medicine, PMS, fertility, hormone health, womens health | 
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Treating inflammation – the root of heart disease
As we learn more about how heart disease develops, we see that the usual suspects – cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension – aren’t the only factors at play. And, some research is suggesting that our attack on cholesterol may be especially unfounded, given the relative ineffectiveness of statins in most healthy adults (ie no history of heart attacks) and the myriad of side effects they come with. Inflammation is emerging as the root cause of heart disease.
How does inflammation cause heart disease?
For many years heart disease was seen as a kind of plumbing problem—that is, as merely a matter of plaque building up in the walls of blood vessels and clogging them. But it is more complicated than that. Blood vessels are nothing like pipes—they are active tissue that absorbs cholesterol from the blood, and this may result in damage to the vessel walls. In trying to heal this damage, inflammatory cells come into the vessel walls. They then release many chemicals that may cause further damage. Smoking, high blood pressure, poor diet, etc. may hasten this process. Inflammation may also contribute to the rupturing of plaque, which in turn triggers a blood clot, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
How is inflammation measured?
There is an easy way to test for inflammation, since it can prompt the liver to produce a protein in the blood known as C-reactive protein (CRP). Elevated levels of CRP often accompany or signal an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. This may help explain why many people who get heart attacks have normal blood cholesterol levels and no other identifiable risk factors.
The link between elevated CRP levels and heart disease has been found in several studies, and there is some evidence that CRP may be a more important indicator of heart disease risk than high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. In an eight-year study involving 27,939 women more than half of the women who eventually developed heart disease had high CRP levels even though their LDL levels were not considered high. This is such a key finding, as so much of our treatments which focus on “prevention” single out cholesterol, when in fact cholesterol may not even be a major player!
How to treat inflammation
As always, naturopathic medicine focuses on the whole person, and not just the symptoms. If inflammation is occurring in one area of the body (joints, heart, etc) it’s likely to be affecting other areas as well. Some believe that inflammation may be the root of many chronic diseases, including cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc.
1. Get plenty of good fats. I’m always talking about the benefits of omega-3-fatty acids, namely DHA and EPA. If there’s one supplement that most people can benefit from, it’s a good quality fish oil. Omega-3 fats can be found in cold water fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines and tuna. Many people struggle to get the recommended 3+ servings a week though, and opt to take a supplement. If you do supplement, please make sure you take an omega-3 supplement, and not a 3-6-9 version. Most people get plenty of omega 6 and 9, and too much of these essential fats can lead to a pro-inflammatory response as the following diagram suggests.
When looking for a fish oil supplement, look for one that is molecularely distilled to remove impurities. Quality matters when it comes to fish oil – you get what you pay for. And, make sure you are getting enough – aim for a minimum of 1.5 grams of EPA/DHA per day. If you take medications such as aspirin and warfarin, you should consult with your health care practitioner first as high doses of fish oil can cause further thinning of the blood.
2. Get lots of greens! Make sure you are getting a minimum of 2.5 cups of green veggies/day – kale, spinach, boy choy, swiss chard, etc. Don’t skimp when it comes to these veggies! Also, have a look at Dr. Weil’s “Anti-Inflammatory” pyramid” – it’s a good place to start!
3. Choose grass-fed meat over grain fed meat. Grass fed meats contain higher amounts of omega-6 fatty acids, which can be pro-inflammatory. Grass fed beef is actually a good source of omega-3 fats! Local and free-range farmers are easily found at farmer’s markets in the area.
4. Avoid exposures to chemicals whenever possible. The link between chemical exposure and inflammation is based on the theory that these chemicals require a high antioxidant load to neutralize them. Don’t waste your antioxidants on chemicals!
5. See a Naturopathic Doctor. Treating inflammation is not quick fix. It requires an in-depth assessment into diet, lifestyle and risk factors.
Stroke and Neck Adjustments – Understanding the Risk
When I explain the risk of stroke to my patients, I get one of three reactions:
1. Shock- they have never heard of this risk.
2. Fear – Well-meaning friends and family have told them a little bit about it- just enough to scare them.
3. Ambivalence – Just fix the pain, please!
The risk of stroke associated with neck adjustments is 1 in 5.85 million. In an article in Spine (Jan 08), researchers looked at whether or not there was an increased association between chiropractic care and stroke using nine years of data from Ontario health records. They found that the risk was the same as the risk of seeing one’s GP. The conclusion was that the risk exists because people who are having symptoms (likely due to a circulatory issue in the head and neck) seek care, whether it is from their GP or their chiropractor.
So, if you have concerns about neck adjustments and chiropractic care, talk to your chiropractor about it or book an appointment to see if your are a candidate for chiropractic care.
Spine 33(4S):S176-S183. Feb 15, 2008.
Keep your heart healthy with massage therapy!
It is hard to believe that we are already into February but here we are! February brings about Valentine’s Day as well as ‘Heart Health’ awareness month, so it seems appropriate to talk about our hearts.
The heart sits behind a protective layer of muscle, bone, and connective tissue. It is the size of a closed fist and beats to a steady rhythm. When the heart beats ,it pushes blood through the arteries of the body to supply it with fresh oxygenated blood. This blood being pushed through arteries is where we get blood pressure, and blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood pushed out combined in relation to the resistance it encounters.
One major lifestyle factor that affects blood pressure is stress. When the body is under stress, either physical or psychological, the heart responds by increasing muscle tension, heart rate and therefore blood pressure. This is where massage therapy can be of great help. A massage therapist uses Swedish massage techniques such as petrissage to help decrease muscle tension and any pain associated with the stress. This decrease of muscle tension and pain will allow the body to reduce the stress response and therefore the heart rate and blood pressure.
If you are a little overwhelmed this month and under some stress, give your massage therapist a call and book an appointment to start your body on the path of recovery.