A study presented to the American Heart Association revealed that many obese teenagers, pre-teenagers and children have stiff and thick arteries, the same condition found in 45 year olds.  This means that these young boys and girls could suffer from serious heart disease as early as in their 20’s and 30’s.  Nope, this is not natural.  Heart attacks and strokes at this age will not only shorten their life-spans, their productivity levels as living adults will be seriously altered.  In addition, the cost of caring for this generation of cardiovascular disease candidates will be staggering.  Why not just lose the weight instead of losing your life.  

This is serious stuff.  WIth over 16 percent of kids being obese and an additional almost 16 percent overweight, we are looking at about one in five kids with old sick arteries - maybe more.

There are simple solutions, beginning with giving up the white carbs, junk foods and bad fats, and, start moving.  Please, wake up and help reverse this trend.

… for the health of families,
ellen

Most do not know that there is a bill that has been passed which contributes to why food prices are higher. This bill is not going away so you can expect that this added expense passed on to you is here to stay.  Government intervention costs money, usually.

The newly accepted Farm Bill includes specific Country of Origin labeling.  As of Sept 30th of this year, all products that are not processed have to display a label that tells you where it came from.  When you buy meat, you will know whether it came from the US or not.  When you buy fruit and vegetables, you will know where they were grown and harvested.  I am looking at an acorn squash sitting in a basket on my kitchen table.  It has a label that says, “Acorn Squash, Product of Canada.” 

The cost of labeling every product is expensive, I have heard up to a half a billion per year for retailers.  They have to pay for paper, printing and application of these labels.  Someone has to be hired to manage this process. In addition, labeling programs have to be run to maintain and report this bill’s requirements  Before the retailer receives the products, there is an additional cost to the suppliers who have to monitor and verify the country of origin for each one. Alot of extra time and paperwork is involved; each costs money.  Who do you think pays for this new requirement?  You, the consumer.  Both the supplier and the retailer pass the added expenses on to you. 

Now I know it is fun to know where you food is coming from, and, it is important to know where imported foods were grown and harvested.   However, I cannot understand why those products with a United States of America origin have to be labeled.  Why couldn’t this requirement be limited to imports and save us consumers some money? This would also encourage consumers to buy US products - good for the economy.

The reason processed foods do not fall into the labeling requirement is that is too difficult to list the country of origins for all the ingredients.  They skate.  Now you are looking at frozen entrees that may contain imported produce, meat or fish, and you won’t know it.  If the fact that it came from a country such as China is a concern for you. .. well, you lose out here. 

Some where the balance between the need to know and common sense solutions has been lost here.  Still, you get more for your money when you buy fresh produce, meat and fish!

… for the health of your family,
ellen

I know Halloween is over, thank goodness, however I still want to introduce you to the “Switch Witch.”  Keri Marshall, ND, our recent guest on the Better Food Choices blog talk radio said the “Switch Witch” comes to her house on Halloween.  “Who is the ‘Switch Witch’?”, I asked. After her kids return from trick or treating carrying bags of candy, they are asked to pick out 5 candies that they want to keep.  Then they go to bed, leaving the remainder of the candy-filled bags out in a special place.  During the night the “Switch Witch” comes in and switches the bags of candy for a present for each child.  The “Switch Witch” gets to keep the candy - it disappears into the garbage, and the kids wake up in the morning to be surprised with their new gift, usually a toy.  Everyone is happy.  This is a win/win solution.  Kids get to have fun trick or treating, they get to have a little of their favorite candy, and they get a present.  What they don’t get is a belly-ache, a giant sugar rush, some mental chaos, added cavaties and fat-producing calories.  I love this idea!  Don’t you?

… for the health of your family,
Ellen

We just returned from the Expo East Natural Products Trade Show in Boston.  At each trade show I seek out and choose the latest and greatest new product or brand among the thousands of foods on display.  This year’s winner is:

Plum Organics Kids Meals and Plum Organics Baby Food

All meals are frozen which means there are NO Preservatives!
All meals are Organic!

Below is the list of their products:

KIDS MEALS: Bowties Pasta with Creamy Sweet Potato
                    Cheese filled Spinach Tortellini with Marinara Sauce
                    Rainbow Pasta Shells with Creamy Parmesan Sauce
                    Italian Sausage Marinara Suace over Multigrain Pasta
All include a Veggie Delight mix

 - 100% organic ingredients
 - Fortified with Omega-3 - brain food!
 - No artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors
 - Og trans fat, low fat
 - Convenient 2-item frozen meals
 - Biodegradable Tray

BABY FOODS: Pumpkin Banana
                      Mango Muesli
                      Black Bean Tomato Tagout
                      Harvest Vegetables with Turkey
                      Pears and Apples
                      Sweet Potatoes
                      Super Greens
                      Super Greens Multigrain
                      Red Lentil Veggie
                      Pasta with Veggies and Chicken
                      Banana Peach Rice Pudding
                      Vegetable Stew with Beef
 - No Added Sugar
 - No Added Salt
 - No Artificial Ingredients

As usual, good ideas spring from a need and desire to do a better job.  I met and talked with the founder of this new company.  As a young mom, she looked at herself and said, “There has to be a better way to feed babies and kids.”  She began by feeding her baby son and now has developed a wonderful line of foods for young ones starting at 6 months.  If you recall from our interview with pediatrician, Dr. Ocampo, the recommendation is to not start by feeding your babies sweet foods.  Plum Organics line for babies offers many non-sweet, vegetable and other healthy options.  Bravo! 

We encourage you to look for this line and weave it into your current food choices.  Plum Organics is a new bright light in the food industry.  It’s a win/win for all.

… for the health of families,
ellen

Kids

Keri Marshall, ND, NS

Join host Criss Bertling and Family Food Expert Ellen Briggs as we interview Keri Marshall, NS, ND, of Nordic Naturals, manufacturer of “Pure and Great Tasting Omega Oils.”

Dr. Marshall is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in holistic pediatrics and women’s medicine. She has published several scientific papers and magazine articles, written a book on proteins and amino acids, appears regularly on nationally syndicated radio shows, and most recently, appeared on ABC’s “A View from the Bay.” She is a writer and blogger for KIWI Magazine, a natural family living magazine.

Devoted to children’s health and wellness, Dr. Marshall also serves as a nutrition expert on the Wellness Committee in the Oyster River School District, helping to change the school lunch program by integrating healthier options. Dr. Marshall received her Naturopathic Medical degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon, a Masters Degree in Social and Preventive Medicine from S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo, and a Bachelors of Science from the George Washington University.

Call in with your questions and get your information from the source! Dial 914-803-4091 or directly from the Internet at http://BetterFoodChoicesRadio.com.

$2 Billion - that’s how much money shoppers are expected to spend on candy for Halloween.  That’s 2 with nine zeros following it - $2,000,000,000!  How much of this is going on credit cards adding to debt?  How many credit cards will be used to pay for the medicine purchased for all the kids who will eat this candy and then get sick?  How much money will be spent paying for dentist bills afterwards?  Halloween is a costly holiday and no one even gets presents - just candy full of fake dyes, flavors, and sugar. 

What’s the solution?  Since we are warned not to give out or receive anything thing that is not packaged, why not some small bags of trail mix, crackers (Cheddar Bunnies), and even cookies (Late July) that kids love - the ones that meet our Better Food Choices standards? Joseph’s Lite Cookies has some little snack paks of cookies that have been Kid Kritics Approved.  This is money better spent.  I also like the idea of having parties with home-cooked treats, especially those using fruit.  Serve a good ice cream made with real cane sugar and cream topped with frozen berries and nuts (for those not allergic) - yum!   If you use chocolate syrup, make sure it is Ah! Laska.  Let’s Go Organic has some sprinkles made with natural food colors that are fun. 

As a child years ago, I loved running around our village in a home-made costume going from house to house for treats.  There was one house always to be avoided because they always made you do a trick first- sing a song or something - before they gave you anything.  I am afraid that those days of fun innocent trick or treating are over - too many real scary possibilites in today’s world of “crazies”.  Unfortunately, this holiday tends to lend itself to bad experiences.  

Please spend your portion of this $2 billion on good healther food and fun.

Here’s a good one.  A friend of mine’s daughter wanted to go to Taco Bell - her favorite fast-food place.  When they got there, they were told that they could not order some items on the menu because “The meat hose was broken!”  A meat hose?  That is the way Taco Bell puts their “meat” into their tacos, burritos and who knows what else. Even her daughter said, “I’ll pass.”