Dental X-Rays?

Dental X-Rays and Brain Tumors

Have you heard about limiting exposure to radiation?  It's something we can do to protect ourselves from CANCER.  Then there are those routine dental x-rays. I am normally all for preventative health practices, but this one was always a struggle for me.  Until now!  I was happily surprised to learn that even the American Dental Association does NOT recommend ROUTINE (every 6 months or every year) x-rays.  American Dental Association updated their recommendations on dental x-rays last year (Dec 2012).  Here it is:

The ADA’s "Dental Radiograph Examinations: Recommendations for Patient Selection and Limiting Radiation Exposure" are intended to be used in conjunction with dentists’ professional judgment to determine whether and when dental X-rays are needed. Dental X-rays help dentists evaluate and diagnose oral diseases and conditions, but the ADA recommends that dentists weigh the benefits of taking dental X-rays against the possible risk of exposing patients to the radiation from X-rays, the effects of which can accumulate from multiple sources over time.

"As doctors of oral health, dentists are in the best position to make decisions on whether to prescribe dental X-rays after an oral examination and with consideration of the patient’s health history. Prescribing dental X-rays should be an individualized process," said ADA President Robert A. Faiella, D.M.D., M.M.Sc. Since 1989, the ADA has recommended the ALARA principle in relation to dental X-rays—that radiation exposure to patients is "as low as reasonably achievable."

Here Dr Greger has a quick and informative video reviewing research on dental x-rays and brain tumors.

So if you pretty much have healthy oral hygiene and healthy teeth, I AND the AMERICAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION, recommend you pass on x-rays at your next check up!  SAVE YOUR BRAIN, and you might even save some money! There is a time and place when a dental x-ray may be helpful, so when you need one, be sure that there is a THYROID COVER (like the usual chest cover).

COMMENTS: Do you like to go to the dentist?  We actually don't mind it all in my house!  The kids go to a pediatric dentist, Rebecca Robbins, and everything about the visit is fun, fun, fun!  When we left the house yesterday morning, my son said after I brushed his teeth, "Is Dr Robbins going to be proud?".  The office that takes care of my hubby and I, Klineman Group, is very welcoming, friendly, gentle, and respectful!  We all look forward to our visits.  It probably also helps that we are a cavity-free family :)

Chocolate Milk = White Milk + CANDY

The message is simple.

Kids love CHOCOLATE MILK.  Who doesn't?  Unfortunately, when your child chooses chocolate instead of white milk (at school lunch for example), he or she is actually choosing white milk PLUS lots of added sugar (13g)!

This sugar adds and extra 60 CALORIES or so!

That amount of sugar (13g) equals any of the following:

A TABLESPOON of sugar (12g)
13 Skittles (1g each)
Nearly half a cup of chocolate ice cream (15g) Ben and Jerry's is transitioning ALL of their products to be used by fair trade ingredients by the end of 2013
2 rolls of Smarties (6g each)
2 or 3 small Laffy Taffy bars ~ the 2 inch kind (5g each)
1 and a half or so small boxes of Nerds! (9g each)
9 Gobstoppers (14g)
1 Fruit Roll-Up (14g)
4 Hershey's Bliss Dark Chocolate squares (13g) OR Divine Dark Chocolates!
7 Dark Chocolate-Covered pretzel Crisps (13g)

Similarly, it takes up to four oranges to make one cup of orange juice.  The whole fruit (or whole candy even!) are much more satisfying!  So you can eat less, a square or two of dark chocolate, and get more satisfaction!  SAVOR YOUR SWEETS

I am not recommending your child eat a box of Nerds every day. When he or she chooses chocolate milk, that child is in fact having the extra sugar of more than a small box of Nerds!

Show and explain this to your kids!  What do they think?

It makes my kids lick their lips and know why they love chocolate milk!  Since my oldest started kindergarten, we've had a "chocolate milk on Fridays" plan.  Often she has given in to the yumminess, AND peer pressure ("My friend was having it, and wanted me to have it too!), having chocolate milk lots of other days!  Now I have another kindergartener, I am actually showing both of them that if they have chocolate milk it's like having that candy.  They know that candy is a treat, not something we always have every day.  I'm giving them a square of dark chocolate or some other piece of candy more often than I have in the past, and they are coming home telling me "I had white milk today!".  That chocolate ice cream comparison is pretty wild, eh?  I served them a scoop one afternoon last week after school!  SO much more satisfying and fun!

UPDATE: NO ONE IN MY HOUSE even drinks WHITE COW'S MILK NOW, and the kids have been drinking almond milk INSTEAD for the last few years, and my husband has been drinking almond milk instead for the past year (since Feb 2016). This message comparing white and chocolate ALMOND milk still applies. Chocolate Almond Milk is a treat!! Enjoy :)

If we are honest with our kids and teach them about how different foods may help and harm us, they can learn to make better decisions ON THEIR OWN that can last a lifetime!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats

I finally gave these overnight oats a try, and when last night I made them for the third time in a week, I thought I should share! If you don't want to wait until tomorrow to eat them, just cook them up on the stove! Here is the recipe for two hearty servings.

Pumpkin Overnight Oats
1.5 c rolled oats
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 tsp cinnamon (more or less depending on your taste buds!) or some pumpkin pie spice
1-1.5 c water (I used 1.25 for thick oatmeal)
1/2 c Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Laraball crumbs

Stir it all up, put it in the fridge, and go to bed.  Enjoy a nice breakfast with no work in the morning!

NOTES

If you don't have any Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough handy, just chop up some walnuts and dates, and add a dash of salt!

Pumpkin puree: I got a HUGE can at Gordon Food Service and divided it into 1 cup servings (a dozen or so!) for easy use in the future!

Instead of water, you can use any type of milk for a creamier version.

Try other Laraball flavors as well (minus the pumpkin most likely :).

Please omit salt :)

COMMENTS

What is your favorite activity for fall?  I really love apple picking, and it's getting cold, and we haven't done it!  Fingers crossed for one more nice day when we aren't busy!

Fair Trade Chocolate

While until very recently I knew very little about the subject of Fair Trade Chocolate. Now that I know more, it is clear that the MAJORITY of the chocolate across the whole world is a result of terrible injustice. I suspect that if you watch this documentary called Chocolate the Bitter Truth you may think twice about buying another bag of chocolate.  I know I am! Here is the first part of the documentary. If this link stops working, just look up "Chocolate the Bitter Truth" or "The Dark Side of Chocolate" on www.youtube.com

For an awesome introduction to this terrifying topic, check out this wonderful article by Tsh of Simplemom.net which informed me of this heartbreaking injustice.  Thank you Katy for the link!

Also, Divine Chocolates are among the many great options available which are produced by means of FAIR TRADE and ~ OWNED by cocoa farmers!  It's Chocolate Week :)

COMMENTS: What do you think?  Are you shocked?  Numb to it?  Would you show your kids?

Three Things My Kids are Loving Lately!

I love that nutrition and wellness is popping up everywhere for adults (Dr Oz Show, for example), and especially for kids!

YUMMILOO is an ipad game that my kids (3, 5, and 7 years old) love which teaches them to pick all the colorful produce from their garden, fuel themselves with quality so they can run properly, and even shows them about composting!

This Sesame Street song by Common and Colbie Caillat with Elmo, called BELLY BREATHE, teaches kids to calm themselves down.  I've pressed play and put my camera right in front of my daughter, right in the moment and actually cooled off heated situations with my 7-yr-old, very cool.

FIZZY'S LUNCH LAB is a PBS Kids show that my kids came across ON THEIR OWN while spending some time on www.pbskids.org; I kept hearing awesome nutrition buzz words over at the ipad until I came over and saw what they were all gathered around watching, having fun, and learning!  Looks like it was introduced in 2009 and it's still around  four years later, so other kids besides mine must also enjoy it :)

BONUS APP: Toca Boca is an awesome music app for kids, unrelated to nutrition; video isn't explanatory like the Yummiloo video, but it shows the game in action.  Kids just pick different characters to be on stage and they each have different instruments and beats, and it all sounds (to me) pretty good together :)

BONUS CLIP: It's Halloween Night by Fizzy's Lunch Lab Band (~1 min)