children health Archives

Children, Parenting 101, Tips and Tricks

Children: How to Help Sick Kids Sleep Better

December 22, 2020 No Comments

As many parents are well aware, it’s already often a challenge to get little ones to go to bed even when they’re perfectly healthy. When they’re coughing, sneezing or just feeling under the weather, however, it’s an entirely different story. It might feel like a challenge to help your child actually manage to fall asleep and get a good night’s rest when they’ve been sick even if you’ve stocked up on Wellements children’s cough and mucus syrup or Wellements nighttime cough syrup, but thankfully, there are some tips and tricks it’s likely you may not have tried yet. For a good night’s rest for both you and your child, consider using these ideas the next time your little one isn’t feeling their best at bedtime.

Help Kids To Unwind Before Bedtime and Turn Energy Levels Down

Even a sick child can still be full of energy and restlessness, making bedtime even tougher. A good way to help turn the energy down and start preparing your child for bed is to go through a relaxing routine to help them unwind. For example, a warm bath followed by a little aromatherapy or a bedtime story could potentially work wonders. If you’ve been scrolling through Wellements reviews, you could also ask your doctor whether adding holistic supplements would be helpful, too.

Children, health

Health: Talcum Baby Powder Products May Contain Asbestos

May 15, 2019 No Comments

Baby products, like baby powder, have long been considered to be gentle and safe, but new information and a slew of lawsuits are proving your favorite talcum powder may be anything but. Moms and anyone who uses talcum powder need to know that some of these products have tested positive for traces of the carcinogenic mineral asbestos.

What is Talc and Asbestos?

Talc and asbestos are both minerals that can be mined and used in a variety of products and materials. Talc is ground down into a fine powder that provides protection against friction and moisture absorption, which has made it a desirable material for body powders and baby powders.

Asbestos is now heavily regulated and restricted, but it was once used extensively in a variety of industries, especially construction, manufacturing, and shipbuilding. It was found to be carcinogenic and to be linked to several health problems, especially the deadly and rare cancer known as pleural mesothelioma.

When fibers of asbestos are inhaled or ingested they pierce tissues in the body and may cause cellular damage that leads to cancer. Asbestos can cause pleural mesothelioma around the lungs, peritoneal mesothelioma in the abdomen, lung cancer, and a respiratory disease called asbestosis.

Is There Asbestos in Talcum Powder?

It is well known that talc deposits in the earth are often contaminated with asbestos. Manufacturers are supposed to ensure that their talcum powder products have been purified, that there is no longer any asbestos lurking in them by the time they get to consumers. And yet there is evidence that talcum powder products you buy at the store may contain asbestos. In fact, one study actually tested several different products made with talc and found that many baby powders did have asbestos fibers.

Talcum Powder and Ovarian Cancer

Children, food, health, Parenting 101, Tips and Tricks

Food: Do You Fall Into #MalnutritionTraps?

April 2, 2019 No Comments

Is your child eating well enough and growing just fine? Is he too fond of eating rice or meat? Are you giving him well-balanced meal or are you falling into malnutrition traps? As they say everything must be taken in moderation and a little too much of something might be bad for our children’s health. Read on for more details on how to beat these malnutrition traps and for dibs on where to get healthy, well-balanced recipes you can prepare for your family.

The Pinggang Pinoy® Campaign

Our country has been facing the rise on the number of underweight and overweight Filipinos for more than 20 years. The World Health Organization {WHO} defined this phenomenon as the “Double Burden of Malnutrition” or the “prevalence of both under-nutrition and overweight in the same community, nation, or region.”

To address this problem, our government launched the Pinggang Pinoy® campaign in 2014. Pinggang Pinoy® is an easy-to-understand food guide showing proper food group portioning on a per-meal basis. This reflects the principles of MOderation, VAriety and BAlance {MOVABA} to promote healthier eating habits.

Solving the Philippines’ Double Burden of Malnutrition should be a collaborative effort between the public and private sectors. With this, Ajinomoto Philippines Corporation partnered with government agencies to conduct education programs to raise awareness and promote the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® in malnutrition hotspots, where incidences of Double Burden Malnutrition are high. This training was given to homemakers/mothers who have malnourished {underweight, stunting, wasting, overweight and obese} school-aged children.

The pilot run resulted to improvements of the knowledge and attitudes of households related to the practice of Pinggang Pinoy® within target areas. However, behavior changes towards healthier eating habits remains to be a challenge. The program uncovered a number #MalnutritionTraps that some Pinoy households easily fall into.

The following #MalnutritionTraps provide a picture of how unhealthy eating habits may lead to Double Burden of Malnutrition

Overconsumption of carbohydrates ~ Voracious rice eaters can easily fill half of their plates with rice. Others have pandesal and noodles as regular meal deprived of other nutrients derived from a well-balanced meal.
Under consumption of vegetables and/fruits ~ It is common for some to be content with rice & meat to satisfy their hunger and skip/take insufficient amount of vegetables/fruits. Fact is, the variety of colors found in Glow foods are important sources of vitamins and minerals. They help us to sustain our energy and keep us from getting sick.
Overconsumption of protein ~ Typical Filipino “SILOG” meals include double serving of proteins {e.g. Tapa+Itlog, Tocino+Itlog, Longanisa+Itlog, Bangus+Itlog}. Eating different kinds of protein is fine for as long as they are taken in moderation. We must also avoid protein dishes served high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium.