The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health |
| Posted: 03 Aug 2011 04:24 AM PDT Healthy food choices start young, and it is up to parents to start them off on the right track. DO you know that kids one year and older only need 2% of their total energy intake to grow? Do you also know that babies don't need to take glucose for brain growth, even as generations of mothers have been unwittingly feeding babies glucose water? According to Prof Peter Davies, director for Children's Nutrition Research Centre at the University of Queensland in Australia, the concept of kids needing a lot of energy to grow is false. Babies up to a year old do need that extra boost, but from one year and above, very little is needed. As for kids needing glucose for brain growth, Davies explained that our body has the capability to get whatever glucose our brain needs from our bloodstream, therefore there is no need for additional glucose. Davies was speaking at a recent media workshop on sugar intake in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, organised by Fonterra Brands, the New Zealand-based company that produces Anmum, Anlene and Fernleaf in Malaysia. Also present were Dr John Monro, principal scientist of the Institute for Plant and Food Research in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and David Ross, Fonterra Brands Malaysia general manager. Ross said the company is dedicated to improving its products based on the latest developments in scientific research and in response to the Health Ministry's call to action under its Sugar Reduction Campaign. In line with that, Fonterra recently introduced Anmum Essential, touted as "the only growing up milk powder with no added sugars". Growing up milk powder has always been a source of controversy. Some people, especially Asian mothers, are all for it, liking that the milk powder is fortified with all the nutrients that their children need. Milk powder companies, meanwhile, often play up the brain growth factor – added DHA for producing mini Einsteins (docosahexaenoic acid or DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid essential for brain-building). As is commonly seen in TV commercials, a mother is awed by her child's cleverness in solving mathematical or scientific equations, followed by the not-so-subtle message that they are this way because they drink X brand, which has super-high DHA levels. There are parties who don't advocate growing up milk at all, preferring the more natural alternative of fresh milk, usually in Western countries where fresh milk supplies are abundant. This could be another factor Asian mothers have chosen growing up milk powder; they don't have access to high quality and affordable fresh milk here. Those who are against growing up milk powder have another point of contention – growing up milk powder contains sugar, which fresh milk doesn't. Are we feeding our babies sugar that their little bodies don't need? The issue of overweight and obese children is also very close to home, with childhood obesity on the rise everywhere. As adults, we find it easy to consume juices, sodas or any sweetened beverage. It also means it's easy to take in more calories than we need very quickly, calories that will be very difficult to use up. This leads to energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Imagine the same scenario applied to children. Kids love sweet drinks and foods, and will almost always choose those over anything else. Therefore, parents who do not control their children's sugar intake could very well find themselves battling with their kids' food choices as they grow, and with that the issue of weight gain. But what if the culprit is in their growing up milk powder? The World Health Organisation limits the intake of all forms of added or free sugars to 10% of total calorie intake, which is around 38g per day (about seven teaspoons) for preschool children. Think about feeding your child seven teaspoons of sugar. Even this recommendation is a lot! Carbohydrates and sugars Carbohydrates are part of our diet, and more so in children as they grow. But take note that these should be from natural food sources high in complex carbohydrates like grains, fruits, vegetables and milk. They shouldn't come from added sugars such as sucrose, corn syrup solids, glucose syrup solids and more. Now, read this next part very carefully. In a typical serving of milk (200ml), there is about 11g to 12g of carbohydrates. This carbohydrate is all lactose, or "natural milk sugar", a naturally occurring healthy sugar level in milk. Under the Malaysian Food Labelling Regulations, the term "carbohydrate" on milk powder labels consists of only sugars – natural lactose and added sugars. Even though fibre is a carbohydrate, it is not included under the term "total carbohydrate". It's declared separately. Therefore, in growing up milk powders, carbohydrates mean lactose and sugars. So when you read the Nutrition Information Panel, which is basically the label that accompanies all foods and lists down the ingredients within, look for "carbohydrates per serve". Anything above the 12g of natural lactose level is added sugars! Monro urges all parents to read ingredient lists diligently, and to remember the names of added sugars: sucrose, corn syrup solids, glucose syrup solids. He also points out that the list is always in descending order, so the ingredients listed first are the most and those at the bottom are the least. If you spot any of the added sugars in your kid's milk powder or food, there is added sugar. If the name appears at the top of the list, or there is more than one name present, that means the added sugar level is high. Davies points out that growing up milk powder is not necessary once a child is five years old and above, as long as he or she is consuming a mixed and balanced diet. There is no harm in kids continuing beyond age five, of course, but it's not crucial anymore. "As for kids drinking fresh milk between the ages of one and five, the only drawback is fresh milk fills the child up quickly, and without the added benefit of fortified nutrients. Again, it comes down to a varied diet. If the child is eating well and consuming various types of healthy and fresh food, fresh milk is fine," he says. To foster healthy eating habits from young, parents need to have the upper hand. They have to make good food choices for their children and the best way to do this is to be well-informed. Learn to read and decode food labels. As kids eat little and often, make every meal and snack count. Where possible, choose things packed with nutrients, and forgo those that are just empty calories. For example, instead of giving kids biscuits and chips to bring to school for snacktime, give them raisins, dried cranberries and nuts, or put together a sandwich of tuna spread of wholemeal bread. They are literally what they eat. The food choices you make for them today will be the basis for their own food choices in life, when they're old enough to know. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Posted: 03 Aug 2011 03:24 AM PDT High blood sugar levels during pregnancy can occur because of the hormonal changes that a woman goes through. I HAVE been pregnant since January this year. During my most recent medical check-up, the doctor told me that I have high blood sugar levels. I am naturally very frightened for the baby. Do I have diabetes? What you have is gestational diabetes. This is a disease characterised by high blood sugar (glucose, specifically) that is first diagnosed when you are pregnant. It occurs in 4% of all pregnancies. There is a difference between having impaired glucose tolerance and gestational diabetes. Almost all pregnant women have some degree of impaired glucose tolerance due to the hormonal changes that occur. But this does not mean they have gestational diabetes yet. In impaired glucose tolerance, your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It is during the third trimester (last three months) of pregnancy that a woman is most at risk of gestational diabetes. How do my hormones induce this impaired glucose tolerance? During pregnancy, your placenta makes certain hormones. The placenta is the organ that connects your baby via the umbilical cord to your womb. This placenta produces certain hormones that help prevent you, the mother, from developing low blood sugar, because at this crucial time, you need to feed your baby. These hormones act by retarding the actions of insulin, the hormone produced by your body that works to store sugar, proteins, fats, etc. This also means you have higher blood sugar levels during pregnancy. This in turn stimulates your pancreas to produce even more insulin. During pregnancy, your pancreas works overtime and is able to produce three times its normal amount of insulin to combat these hormones produced by the placenta. However, if your pancreas should in any way fail to produce enough insulin during your pregnancy to overcome the placental hormones, this leads to gestational diabetes. Why am I among the 4% of pregnant women who get gestational diabetes? Is it because of something I did, something I ate? Many mothers who get gestational diabetes have no known risk factors. However, there are some factors that make you more at risk of developing gestational diabetes than other women. Being Asian is one of them. Other factors include being overweight before you got pregnant, or having impaired glucose tolerance diagnosed earlier in your pregnancy. If your mother or sister had diabetes during pregnancy, you are more likely to have it as well. If this is not your first pregnancy, then you have to recall what happened during your previous pregnancies. In your last pregnancy, did you have gestational diabetes? Did you have a baby over nine pounds? Have you ever given birth to a stillborn baby? All these are factors that will indicate you are very likely to have gestational diabetes during this pregnancy as well. How will I know if I have gestational diabetes? Will I feel dizzy? Sick? Will I vomit more than normal? Very likely, you will have no symptoms. This is usually a diagnosis by blood screening. That is why it is so important to have regular medical check-ups with your obstetrician from the 24th week of pregnancy and henceforth. If you have any of those risk factors I mentioned above, your obstetrician will ask you to screen regularly even earlier during your pregnancy. You need to screen for high blood pressure and high blood sugar, and to make sure the baby is growing normally and that you are gaining weight normally. Is having gestational diabetes dangerous for my baby? Yes. In the first trimester of your pregnancy, having diabetes carries a risk of miscarriage and giving your baby certain birth defects involving his heart and brain. During the second and third trimester, diabetes can lead to excess growth of your baby because of too much sugar flowing through the placenta. Large babies are difficult to deliver normally, and often require a Caesarean section. When these babies are delivered, the baby's blood sugar can also drop to very low levels. This is because your poor baby has all this time been producing very high insulin for himself in the womb to combat the high sugars flowing into him, and when this supply of sugar is suddenly cut off after birth, his insulin causes his blood sugar levels to drop. Will I have to inject insulin if I have gestational diabetes? This depends on your blood sugar levels. You will have to monitor your blood sugar levels three to four times a day, and that means pricking your fingertips and testing your blood on a glucometer. You will have to watch your diet very strictly as instructed by your doctor, and to eat more frequently and less each meal. And you will have to take insulin if necessary, as no oral hypoglycaemic drugs will be allowed during pregnancy. Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health advice, computers and entertainment. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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