Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids? Where do healthy kids really start?

This week I came across a depressing number of studies, all completely missing the point in their desire to improve the health of the next generation. I really wonder what rock these researchers have been hiding under when for example the Healthy Parents, Healthy Kids study is “recruiting women in their second trimester (14 - 25 weeks) of pregnancy, so that they can participate in the study from the beginning of their third trimester (week 26), through to 4 weeks after their babies are born.”

In the same breath and from the same article I learn of the "Barwon Infant Study (BIS) - a major birth cohort study being conducted by the Child Health Research Unit (CHRU) at Barwon Health in collaboration with the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and Deakin University. The overarching objective of the BIS is to generate new knowledge on the best way to provide babies and children with a healthy start to life. More than 1000 pregnant women from the Barwon region of Victoria, Australia were recruited between 2010 – 2013, and their children are now part of the invaluable BIS cohort." 

Then there’s the “The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Families research program, which focuses on what can be done in pregnancy and the early postnatal period to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes.” 

Enough said - every one of these studies is closing the door after the horse has bolted! 

It’s a fact people! Excellent preconception diets (with robust supplementation), supported by toxicity and stress-free lifestyles (both his and hers), backed up by an excellent maternal diet during pregnancy, profoundly and positively impact the developing foetus and increase the likelihood that individual will live a life free of chronic degenerative disease. The effects carry across generations too! Conversely, poor preconception health (his and hers) and compromised pregnancy nutrient intake in addition to lifestyle and environmental toxicity contribute to poorer reproductive outcomes, increasing the chance of a child who will suffer a life-time of less than robust physical and mental health. Ditto for epigenetic effects. This is fact - not supposition!

So here’s an idea for researchers … how do we get the general population to listen up and take responsibility for the health of the next generation and generations beyond? Maybe we could start with a wellness-focused model of healthcare? Maybe we could reward practitioners for keeping their clients well, for keeping them out of the clinic and out of hospital? Maybe medical insurers could reward their members for never making a claim?  Wow, now there are some novel ideas! What would it take for scientists to get behind such novel ideas instead of constantly re-inventing the wheel (or in re-inventing just a part of the wheel in the case of the foregoing studies)?

I've been singing the preconception song for thirty five years, The Natural Way to Better Babies - Preconception Healthcare for Prospective Parents, my first book with Francesca Naish, just turned twenty (and it's still in print). As well as being a bible for hundreds of thousands of prospective parents, it's used as a reference tool by integrative practitioners around the world - maybe those researchers would like a copy? More on all of the above when you join my free webinar.

 

Another reason to “go organic”

This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about the potentially disastrous health effects of Monsanto’s Roundup (e.g. blocking the body’s detoxification pathways). But now new evidence links Roundup - to male infertility. This effect and the many others which include male reproductive malformations such as undescended testes, have been found at levels of Roundup considered safe by US Environmental Protection Agency food safety levels!

Yet Roundup continues to be much used. Yes, I’ve even found it in friends’ tool sheds and garages, which mean they use it on their kitchen garden...Time for a rethink people. This stuff is toxic and even though organic may cost more initially, the savings you can expect to make long-term by avoiding spending on compromised health are not only beyond calculation but beyond price!

I’m on my personal soapbox here, but in my 66 years on the planet, I’ve been hospitalised for one night (shattered my patella) and in the last 12 years I’ve never used my Medicare card (until the patella incident). My sons (now 28 and 24) have visited a doctor a total number of six times in their combined 52 years (the same number of visits the average child makes to a GP in thir first year of life).

Organic, in season, whole, fresh, low food miles, healthy food from healthy soil, whatever descriptor you like, it all starts with what you put into your mouth and if you want to give the next generation a better health legacy, get started before conception. Right now, couples spend more time, energy and money on preparing for their wedding day than they spend on preparing for the conception of a baby! Give your baby something better - a lifetime of better physical and mental health!

More on trans-generational effects

When will we finally connect the dots? The trans-generational effects of modern diets, lifestyles and environments (include current vaccination schedules in this last category) are clear for anyone with half a brain to see. They’re all around is in the epidemic of chronic degenerative conditions, but also in the plethora of metabolic, immune, digestive and neurological disturbances that are affecting our children. A recent edition of The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry tells us that 6.4 million US children aged between four and seventeen have been diagnosed with ADHD (attention-deficit, hyperactivity disorder). What’s even more concerning is the fact that more than 70 percent of those children are taking Ritalin - a powerful stimulant whose long-term effects on mental and emotional function are really unknown. 

I will accept that a lot of these diagnoses are probably little more than busy, preoccupied parents wanting a label on a particularly exuberant or boisterous child, one who might need nothing more than plenty of time running free in fresh air and sunshine rather than being cooped up in a classroom or in front of a computer screen. But even if half of those diagnoses are for real, the prognoses for those to successfully complete education and career training and then to enjoy gainful employment and relationships, not to mention true health and wellbeing are far from ideal.

Reversing this dismal picture will take generations, even if everyone who might ever become a Mum or a Dad were to get with the Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby program right now. But I firmly believe in that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness! You can help by lighting your own candle. Starts here...

        

Eat a bigger, better breakfast

Eating a bigger breakfast in the morning, and cutting back on large meals in the evening, could help to assist women in overcoming reproductive difficulties, say researchers. They suggest that more calories first thing and fewer at night can aid conception, especially if you suffer from PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), which affects up to 10 percent of women. 

Remember the old adage, breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper...Seems that this manner of eating helps control insulin response, and improves ovulation rates. I’d add to that recommendation by saying that the right balance of protein carbohydrate and fat at breakfast (a balance which is all too frequently disregarded in favour of all carbs) is also vitally important. For all the tastiest recipes that will give you exactly the right balance, look no further than Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby.

Getting with the program

I’ve always said that my Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby preconception program is about exactly that ... truly healthy parents and truly healthy babies! In other words it’s about a great deal more than fertility. Sadly, when there’s so much publicity given to those increasing numbers TTC (trying to conceive) in vain, when marketing of ART (assisted reproductive technology) as the answer to the baby prayers of anyone over thirty floods the media, it’s a wonderful endorsement of my work when the preconception workup works, just like it’s supposed to.

There’s nothing to beat the wonderful excitement of an easy conception and a first trimester free of morning sickness! Add to that a GP who advises no scan until post 16 weeks (of course I’d ask why scan at all if everything is proceeding normally, but hooray for a medical voice of caution) and I like the chances of a normal, unmedicated birth and successful breastfeeding.  Just as exciting are the words and actions of a young mum in my local wholefood market this morning, endorsing baby-wearing and co-sleeping as the reasons for her secure, confident, adventurous toddler! Hooray for another sane voice and may there be more of you...

Look beyond obesity, the problem is more fundamental

Professor Robert Lustig says it’s time to change the conversation about obesity and to focus on all the metabolic syndromes that the world now suffers from. Hear, hear Prof Lustig! But let’s look beyond sugar as the poison that I agree it is, and get down to the basis of undoing the  effects of several generations eating “white” foods (sugar, refined flour etc.)

It’s almost eighty years since Dr. Weston Price’s studies of native communities around the world resulted in the publication of his seminal work -  Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. It’s eighty years since this enlightened dentist demonstrated the direct link between compromised reproductive outcomes and a host of chronic conditions (including diabetes), to the change from a traditional wholefood diet to one containing refined sugars and flour and hydrogenated fats. 

Sadly, only a few were listening to Weston Price’s message, so it’s now been a long time and a lot of generations. As he predicted, we now have massively compromised reproductive health (beginning with infertility and going all the way through to the epidemic of kids with metabolic, immune, neurological and digestive disorders) and chronic degenerative disease that occurs at younger and younger ages. 

By all means move away from the obesity focus, it’s just the tip of a massive iceberg. But let’s move to where the most effective solution can be found - with the health of prospective parents before conception. Then, even if every prospective parent were to modify their diet and lifestyle right now, it will be many generations before we have a hope of redressing the damage. But begin we must ... it’s entirely in our hands! The next generation deserves a whole lot better than their current unhealthy legacy!

 

Check recent blogs for my new mini ebooks, designed for the time poor, financially stretched, or for those who want more authoritative information than what's just a Google away.

Omega-3s - research confirms the importance during pregnancy

600mg of DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) daily will reduce the incidence of babies born before 34 weeks and those born under normal weight according to this new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And the study is only at the half-way point - five years into the 10 year double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial.

350 women are participating and those on the supplement are demonstrating longer period of gestation, increased birth weight, and their babies are longer and have bigger head circumferences. A bigger head is not surprising since DHA is intimately involved in foetal brain development, accumulating most readily in the brain during pregnancy (as opposed to post-natally). 

It’s proposed that this study will also look at the child up to the age of 6, assessing intelligence and school-readiness, with further, longer term assessments of markers and milestones for overall health and wellbeing. No doubt about the importance of robust and comprehensive supplementation during your pregnancy. 

But this study also raises a question ... does the supplement differ substantially if the DHA is sourced from fish, krill, squid, salmon or algae? Given the burgeoning size of the omega-3 supplement market, which source of DHA is truly sustainable? Watch this space and click here if you want all the reasons for supplementing before and during pregnancy? 

Get rid of cling wrap ... glass is good!

Another study that should steer you away from plastic water bottles and PVC cling wrap and send you off to the kitchen store for glass storage containers. Maybe you've already got a kitchen cupboard full of hoarded glass jars - well use them! 

First it was phthalates, then Bisphenol A (BPA), now it’s something called tributyltin (TBT), which is non-intentionally added substance (NIAS) found in PVC plastics. Researchers have found that exposure during pregnancy will cause obesity in three subsequent generations of mice. It seems that TBT exposure modulates critical steps in fat-building and that prenatal TBT exposure predisposes certain mouse stem cells to become fat cells. As if that’s not enough, the effects are still seen three generations along. 

Just another reason for reducing plastic exposure before conception and during pregnancy. Remember this mnemonic to help you through the plastic minefield.

4 5 1 and 2 - all the rest are bad 4U (Annie Murphy Paul - ‘Origins’)

More on plastics in both my books. Click on the images to read sample chapters.

Ironing out iron deficiency ... and more

Iron deficiency is a global problem, no doubt about it. The fall-out from gross iron deficiency (anaemia) and more subtle “insufficiencies” affects all strata of society, impacts economies and most significantly, crosses generations. Apart from the statistics revealing the extent of nutrient malnutrition (which includes iron deficiency and is estimated to affect at least one third of the world’s population) a recent report also refers to the influential Cochrane review. Recommending against ‘established knowledge’ which has led to routine supplementation with iron during pregnancy, Cochrane suggests supplementing with iron on 3 days per week might be sufficient. 

With due respects to Cochrane, I’d go a step further and suggest that establishing iron status prior to conception is the only safe way to go. Optimal serum ferritin levels in the preconception period will ensure iron status is maintained during pregnancy and will also ensure that those daily, inorganic iron supplements, so beloved of the medical profession do not interfere with all important zinc status. 

Which brings me to the fact that zinc insufficiency is also a global problem affecting billions. It also has massive and far-reaching consequences given that zinc is widely considered the most important trace element for the woman about to become pregnant, but is destroyed or depleted by everything from non-sustainable farming and refining of grains, to alcohol, stress and growth. There’s an easy way to check your zinc status and set it right - click here.

Get a little dirt on your hands...

Well, I might have finished lambasting poor old David Koch over his misplaced breastfeeding comments, but can’t stop about those good gut microbes. Great advice from Dr. Mercola who suggests that working in your garden and opening your windows to let the fresh air in are simple measures to enhance the health of the gut microbiota. 

Read the article in its entirety, its a goodie and Mercola’s recommendations are absolutely spot on and do-able. Who can say that they consume 30-40 different species of plants in a week??? Now that’s really something to aim for! 

Good place to start would be half a dozen different varieties of leaf lettuce in your backyard garden along with herbs like mint, parsley, coriander, basil, thyme and dill. Then pick them fresh and make them part of as many meals as you possibly can. 

Last night I managed mignonette, butter and cos lettuces (thanks Dave and Pauline), rocket, radicchio, cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum, mushroom, carrot, cucumber, tomato, Spanish onion, mint and parsley. Night before that it was potatoes, kumera, pumpkin, aubergine, fennel, brown onion, capsicum, tomato and rosemary - that’s 22 different ones already. A fruit salad for breakfast tomorrow will bring it close to 30. Then the challenge will be 10 more ... asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach ...  I’m going very easy on the grains, but they count too ... couscous, quinoa, barley ... getting close to 40! What’s your score? Need some great recipes and the dirt on starting a garden?

Raising girls? ... or raising boys? ... same challenges? ... or different?

Steve Biddulph says that raising girls has never been more challenging. Steve’s a guru in my book, wonderfully insightful, compassionate Dad and hugely successful author. Millions have read his “Raising Boys” and now he’s turned his attention to girls. He says that girls are growing up totally conflicted with a plethora of diverse messages selling heightened sexuality and the importance of body image, alongside exhortations for them to be anything they want to be and successful in any field that floats their boat - even if that boat sails into the battlefield it appears!

Mixed messages indeed and while I am a fan of Steve’s work with no experience of raising girls I think there’s something fundamental that should never be forgotten. Our work as parents is to raise children (and I make no distinction between boys and girls) who can resist the crowd, ignore the tribal mind and most importantly, be true to their own heart’s longing and soul’s delight. 

Not an easy task in a day when the media is more powerful and more pervasive than ever before and when too much of the parenting work is “off-loaded” to nannies, day and vacation carers and teachers. But raising kids with high self-esteem, who are resilient and resistant to media and peer group pressure has never been more important and is the main responsibility of their parents, not carers, grandparents, day-care, schools or other institutions. It’s a full time job that means a full time commitment, it’s not something to undertake lightly. Are you up for the job? Find out what’s involved in the sort of parenting that today’s boys and girls need ...  

Click on the covers for sample chapters

TTC? All you need to know, and some of it is ancient history

Three months of coenzyme Q10 supplementation may improve the morphology and motility of sperm in infertile men, according to new data.

Well not so sure how “new” that data really is ... my co-author and I have included a specialty product for men “CoQ10 Lipoic” in our NFM range (for fertility, preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding) for several years. But researchers reinventing the wheel is nothing new. Just like the whole preconception/fertility story really.

No doubt that both partners actively preparing for conception has never been more important, but it’s not a new idea – even the Ancient Greeks and Romans knew that alcohol, drunk before and around the time of conception, was damaging to the fetus. They banned the drinking of alcohol by young women and newlyweds! Many tribal societies fed special diets to their young women (and young men) of child-bearing age. Back in the 1930s, Dr Weston Price (a dentist) studied communities from around the world and clearly established the link between consumption of a refined Western diet and compromised reproductive outcomes. 

The Great Dutch Famine or Hunger Winter as it was known, which lasted from October 1944 to May 1945 provides us with some fascinating insights. Studies have shown that women exposed to the food shortages before and around the time of conception, had poorer reproductive outcomes than the women who were subjected only to food shortages during their pregnancy. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The next generation was shown to be prejudiced if the mother was in utero during the first trimester when her mother was exposed to food shortage. Those early observations became later research in the field of epigenetics and is what makes active preparation of both prospective parents in the time before conception so incredibly exciting and worthwhile! 

All the details of what to do, what to eat, what to avoid and best products to support your combined efforts in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby and for those who want even more detail and the research behind the recommendations, you’ll enjoy my first book The Natural Way to Better Babies, which was inspired by my own very positive experiences! Conceived in the first cycle of TTC at 37, wonderful healthy pregnancy, three hour labour, successful long-term breastfeeding and repeat experience when I was 42. Best of all, my boys now 27 and 23 years old have always enjoyed the most robust physical and mental health! 

Never too soon to get started - the health of your children is in your hands!

Still can't beat storage in glass

Scientists have disputed a study associating food contact material Bisphenol A (BPA) consumption to higher risk of heart and kidney disease in children and adolescents.

Well I’m still not convinced that BPA is safe and plenty of research points to the fact that trace amounts, particularly in a child’s body, are the greatest issue. 

Remember this mnemonic to help you through the plastic minefield, be aware too that a great deal of exposure to Bisphenol A comes from the linings of cans. 

4 5 1 and 2 - all the rest are bad 4U (Annie Murphy Paul - ‘Origins’)

So organically grown, fresh whole food, prepared from scratch and stored in glass is the healthiest and safest whichever way you cut it :) More on plastic products in both my books. Click here to read sample chapters.

Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby - Your Guide to Preconception and Pregnancy

Healthy Parents, Healthy Toddler - Your Guide to Birth, Breastfeeding and the Toddler Years

2000 year old food supplements!

"Italian researchers have uncovered zinc food supplements aimed to treat eye problems from a shipwreck off the coast of Tuscany."

Wow, what an astounding finding...and even more interesting, the zinc carbonate was blended with animal and plant lipids and pine resin, and sealed in an oxygen-free container. The researchers know the reason for the supplement because of its shape, which corresponded with writings of the time and that additives and sealants were designed to improve efficacy and stability. Interesting that the tradition of zinc for ophthalmic and dermatological conditions is very old as well as knowledge of how to make it work better and last longer!

Zinc’s long been a favourite supplement of mine. Considered the most important trace element for the woman about to become pregnant, zinc is involved in every aspect of reproduction. Ensuring optimal zinc status before conception and maintaining it throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding will pay big dividends - from improving fertility, through preventing stretch marks and post-natal depression to optimal immunity, brain and eye function and skin integrity in your baby. But zinc deficiency is also the most widespread in the Western world, luckily there’s a cheap and simple test that you can do yourself and you can read all about it in Healthy Parents, Healthy Baby. 

Wonder if the Tuscan’s had a way to suss out zinc deficiency?

Which brings me to deficiency of another sort... George The Airedale has done it again. He's in disgrace! Alerted by his consumption of items (see post January 02), I moved all apparel to the second bedroom and closed the door. Undeterred, he wormed his way through the 10 cm opening from the balcony and jumped up on the bed. I reckon this is the desperate act of a nutrient deficient dog. Given that his usual demeanour is totally indolent, undemonstrative, horizontal and non-athletic, but also given that his most recent appetite took the crutch out of my brand new swimsuit, destroyed a sports bra and another pair of knickers I am convinced he needs fresh meat! Noting that only intimate items, those in close contact with flesh, or that once were part of something living, in the case of shoes and sandals, have been to his taste. 

No doubt in my mind that a dog eating nothing but canned food is just as deficient as the humans who eat only processed and refined and the Tuscans knew it too!  Whole, fresh, grown on healthy soil and boosted by probiotics and robust nutritional support. Yep, I know it’s my soapbox again, and yep found a way to insert my message into the most esoteric and the most prosaic...sigh

Give us our daily bread

Good grief, now we have bread that will stay mould-free for 60 days! This "innovation" is the work of a research team looking to prevent food-borne illness. Apparently 48 million Americans become ill every year from eating contaminated food. The sterilisation process that can extend the shelf life of bread into the never-never is also being touted as a solution to the highly resistant bugs (e.g. Staph aureus) that inhabit hospitals. At the risk of sounding like a record stuck in a crack, I wonder if better gut health prevailed, would such large numbers fall ill from eating crook food? And another question? If the mould won't flourish on the sterilised bread, how would we fare? Commercially baked bread is already a victim of reduced protein content, refining, additives, preservatives and "extenders" - why anyone would want all of that then save it for 60 days is beyond me. I'm sticking to my freshly baked artisan loaf - organic, whole grain, all that good stuff. 

If you want to go one better, my son and beautiful daughter-in-law give you a recipe for Pauline’s Bread for Beginners

Nothing smells better and more appetising than freshly baked bread. If you’ve always thought bread making required the hand of an expert or at least a special bread-making machine, you’ll love this easy recipe that allows you to experiment with different flours and to add yummy seeds to the mix. You can find that recipe and lots more in Healthy Parents Healthy Baby. Click here, then click on Open the Book for a sample chapter

Healthy Parents Healthy Baby

This is an indispensable guide for prospective parents wishing to optimise their wellbeing and significantly increase their chances of conceiving and birthing a healthy child. Roberts has spent over 40 years in the healthcare industry and has worked closely with the legendary Francesca Naish, co-authoring several books with her. There is a comprehensive section on pre-conception health – Roberts recommends you follow her program for four months before even trying to conceive - and the following chapters cover pregnancy diet, exercise, mental health and reducing your exposure to toxins.