Early Childhood Health Habits and Later Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Pediatricians are becoming increasingly concerned that cardiovascular disease is occurring at a younger and younger age. Cardiovascular disease is now so common at younger ages that it no longer is listed in medical textbooks under the category of “adult onset diseases”. A review article in […]
New Research on Infant Food Allergies Once upon a time, it was customary to advise mom to avoid certain foods in her diet while breastfeeding, especially if there was a family history of food allergies. New research, though still in its infancy, suggests otherwise and has resulted in new peanut allergy guidelines for introducing peanuts […]
A Recent Study of Nearly 500 Adults A July 2017 study looked at the dosing errors adults make when they are providing the medication to a child. Using a randomized study of nearly 500 adults, three different interventions of dosing medicines for children were tested. The three interventions that were used for the study were common […]
The Neuroscience of Nature An exciting field of research, called the neuroscience of nature, validates why movement is the best medicine for our bodies. Remember mom’s medicine for boredom and bad behavior? “Go outside and play!” Dr. Mom was right. Enjoying the health effects of a walk in the woods or playing in the park is […]
How Standing Desks are a Valuable Weight Control Tool At medical conferences I attend one of the main topics is the issue of people who sit all day, or the majority of their day. Those at the conference reference it as “the sitting disease, the new tobacco.” Research shows that prolonged sitting can lead to […]
High Blood Pressure in Kids Linked to Attention and Learning Problems in School New Research Raises Concerns Once upon a time high blood pressure in kids was not something we had concerns about. Articles in pediatric journals are now sounding an alarm: high blood pressure is now affecting more and more children. In a recent article […]
Helping Your Family Understand Poop and Digestion During my 50 years as a doctor, I have spent the most time discussing gut concerns with parents – what goes into the top end (food) and what comes out of the bottom end (poop). There has been a surge of new research about the importance of dietary fibers, […]
Young Athletes Need a Diet Rich in Omega-3s and Antioxidants My friend, Dr. Michael Lewis, Director of the Brain-Health Education and Research Institute, recently publicized what we Little League coaches and parents have long known – heavy training and sports competitions can stress the immune system. Dr. Lewis made the point that athletes tend to have […]
Does Your Family Have Diabetes? The headline on March 10, 2016 in the Los Angeles Times read: “Almost half in the state are at risk for diabetes.” While many have always thought those “granola-fed Californians” are a bunch of health food nuts, researchers from UCLA have recently determined that 55 percent of California adults either have diabetes or pre-diabetes. […]
“Mommy brain” is for real – so is “daddy brain.” A must-read article in Scientific Mind, October 2015, explores the reality that we have always written about, birthing a baby and parenting a child changes all the brains involved in this wonderful process: mommy, daddy, and baby – for the better. Once upon a time […]
What Can Plants Teach Us About Being Healthy? The Importance of Movement. On a recent lecture trip to Singapore, my love of the neuroscience of nature was boosted while visiting what the locals call “the billion dollar garden”: Garden Bay. One of the world’s top WOW! human-made indoor gardens taught us how plant movement has […]
Many times I hear from my patients about the roles they each play at home and ways they are stuck, feeling inefficient and exhausted. With labor and nursing for mom, and overall household for Dad, along with tech and gear purchases we think are “cool”…I try to encourage Dads to look for ways they can […]
