Sunday, January 31, 2016
Microcephaly, Spotlighted by Zika Virus, Has Long Afflicted and Mystified
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Stuffed Vegetarian Peppers
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Friday, January 29, 2016
Study Finds Growing Reason to Be Wary of Some Reflux Drugs
Scientists Made a Huge Genetic Discovery About Schizophrenia This Week
Scientists Made a Huge Genetic Discovery About Schizophrenia This Week
In a landmark paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, a team of the nation’s top scientists say they have pried open the “black box” of schizophrenia, pinpointing the genetic root of the disorder.
January 29, 2016 at 07:27AM
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Decorating with Houseplants in Winter
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
Drug-Resistant Bacteria Is No Match For…Clay From Canada?
Drug-Resistant Bacteria Is No Match For…Clay From Canada?
Mineral Canadian clay exhibits antibacterial activity against a group of pathogens that are highly resistant to antibiotics, according to new research from the University of British Columbia.
January 28, 2016 at 10:12PM
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What It's Like to Eat Nothing but This Magical, Healthy Ice Cream for 10 Days
What It's Like to Eat Nothing but This Magical, Healthy Ice Cream for 10 Days
Halo Top is low in calories, low in carbs, and loaded with protein. But is it too good to be true? Our brave guinea pig puts the ice cream of the future to the test
January 28, 2016 at 03:24PM
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Zika Virus ‘Spreading Explosively’ in Americas, W.H.O. Says
Organizing the Wine Cellar, Part Two
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Wednesday, January 27, 2016
What Does Your Labia Color Say About Your Sex Life?
What Does Your Labia Color Say About Your Sex Life?
Last week, Reddit erupted with misinformed debate about whether a woman's labia indicates her sexual experience. Broadly talked to gynecologists to shine a light into this dark cavern of curiosity.
January 27, 2016 at 11:18PM
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Breastfeeding & Iron Supplementation
Hello everyone! I’m back with some important and useful information for those of you who are currently breastfeeding or plan to do so in the future! This blog post actually came about after a recent occurrence and I felt that this was something that needs to be discussed. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power, which is why this bog exists and what I love the most about my job.
Does My Breastfed Baby Need An Iron Supplement?
The answer to this question, more often than not is – no. It was once believed that because there is not an abundance of iron found in the mother’s milk that the baby must not be getting enough, therefore an iron supplement was administered. But with recent and more advanced research we have actually found that mother’s milk is the best source of iron for your little one (or not so little one if you’re nursing a toddler). Yes, it is true that human milk does have very small amounts of iron in it, but it is more easily absorbed than from any other source. With that said, the unnecessary supplementation of iron has decreased tremendously.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, an infant who is being breastfed or is consuming iron fortified formula do not require extra iron, but infants younger than 12 months who only drink cow’s milk are more likely to have an iron deficiency.
Reasons My Baby May Need Iron Supplementation
There are some exceptions as stated in The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding for why your baby may require some extra iron. One – if your baby’s umbilical cord was cut early, causing anemia in the infant, two- the infant was started on solid foods prematurely, causing their iron stores to drop, and three- if your baby was born premature. None of these are definite reasons for needing an iron supplement and should first be checked through a blood test to truly know if it is necessary.
Too Much Iron
Although iron is a necessity to our bodies, it can also be overdone. Although it is a rare occurrence today, iron poisoning can occur if too much iron is ingested. Unless an iron supplement is being given unnecessarily, too much is being administered, or your child is eating vitamins like they’re candy then you should have no reason to worry. Iron poisoning is an easily treatable problem, but if it becomes severe before being caught then some of the symptoms include, but are not limited to:
- Diarrhea
- Liver Damage
- Nausea
- Dehydration
- Fever
- Pale
- Convulsions
Ways To Prevent Iron Deficiency
Dr. Sears offers 8 ways that you can prevent iron deficiency in your infant.
- Breastfeed your baby as long as possible.
- Use iron-fortified formula.
- Delay cow’s milk feeding for infants; limit it for toddlers.
- Combine foods wisely.
- Try prune juice as a regular beverage.
- Cook in iron pots.
- Bake with iron-rich grains.
Some or none of these may work for you. Make your decisions based upon your own and your child’s needs and abilities. No one knows your child the way that you do.
You should also know that you cannot increase the amount of iron in your milk by increasing your iron intake because it does not transfer into the milk, therefore in order to increase your baby’s iron intake he or she must ingest it directly, whether through iron-rich foods or a vitamin with iron.
Iron Rich Foods
- Apricots
- Chicken, Turkey, Fish, and Other Meats
- Dried Beans, Lentils, and Soybeans
- Eggs
- Liver
- Molasses
- Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter
- Prune Juice
- Raisins & Prunes
- Spinach, Kale, and Other Leafy Greens
Happy breastfeeding! :)
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
Oatmeal Lactation Cookies
Here is my take on lactation cookies: I am not sure if the COOKIES really work, but i do believe that the key ingredients (Oats, Brewers yeast, Coconut oil, Flax) work. Cookies are just an awesome way to eat all of them together ;). Oatmeal is amazing for helping with milk supply! if you don’t want to eat the cookies, then eat your oatmeal every morning, if you have time to make it every morning lol. Since delivery I feel like I am constantly hungry, like had never been so hungry in my life. Cookies are just easy and quick to grab and eat, especially middle of the night.
Some days its so crazy with Dhyan in the mornings, I don’t eat until 2pm and then I get really sick to my stomach. I feel like babies are energy draining and for survival at night when you are starving, these cookies are the best and quite filling! I have looked at many recipes and this is my own version. I have tried making them healthier.
These would be great gift to a new mom. You can make a batch and freeze the dough so you can make it anytime you want. If you are like me on time crunch, I make a ton together on a weekend and have it for the whole week or two.
Ingredients:
3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
1.5 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp brewers yeast
3 tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup of ghee
1 cup of brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, four, yeast, flax seed powder, soda, and salt.
In a kitchen aid bowl, beat ghee and coconut oil on medium until creamy. Add in the sugar and beat on medium to high until fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until all ingredients are combined. Gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined well. You can add chocolate chips or raisins if you wanted to at this point. Scoop the dough into 1 inch rounds and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are just golden. Let it cool completely before storing in a sealed container.
P.S. You can freeze the dough up to 2 weeks and bake them later if wanted. If you don’t thaw the dough prior baking then you may want to bake for extra 2-3 minutes. You can increase or decrease the sugar as you like.
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Domestic Activists?
Women still do the majority of household caring labour. But not only this, women’s caring labour has expanded to include care not just for families and their needs but also for the environment and sustainability. Some studies frame this as a form of inequality, another example of how the ‘dirty work’ of society gets lumped on to women, especially mothers.
My perspective on this is somewhat different. There is some environmental and sustainability care-work that I would like to do, but cannot, because I am not the person in charge of our everyday family routine. For example, I like to use less damaging cleaning products and clean more often. But if my husband voluntarily cleans something, it is normally with a high-strength product like Jif – sometimes even with evil plastic microbeads. Yet I’m hardly going to make a big fuss if I am not the one doing the shopping or if he is cleaning the bath. Sometimes I find this disempowering, because I can’t manage the household for environmental sustainability. I’ve talked to a few working men as well as women, and this seems to be a common theme. Should we feel sorry for women who spend extra time doing sustainability work, especially if it seems like drudgery? Or should we be understanding their important contributions as a form of environmental activism?
Mostly, I argue for the latter. And I have just drafted a paper developing this idea further.
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Scientists Move Closer to Understanding Schizophrenia’s Cause
Why you might want to think twice about getting your wisdom teeth removed
Why you might want to think twice about getting your wisdom teeth removed
Why do so many people in the US get their wisdom teeth removed when there's no acute issue with them?
January 27, 2016 at 11:38AM
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Breasts? Huh! What are they good for?
If you gave more attention to viral videos than they perhaps deserved, you’d think that men had suddenly stopped being interested in tits. Worse than that, you’d think they actually find them disgusting, to the extent of asking women who are exposing them in public to cover themselves up, and this isn’t even in Tehran or Riyadh.
The first video features a woman breastfeeding on a London underground train and being berated by an excitable man who asks her to do it at home or instead to express her milk. He’s jolly cross about it, and won’t stop going on and on at her. The other passengers intervene on the woman’s behalf and tell him to go and sit in another carriage if he doesn’t like it. He tells them to mind their own business apparently unaware of the hypocrisy that he is clearly minding hers. ‘She has a perfect right’ says one passenger. ‘She doesn’t have a perfect right! I have standards and morals!’ he replies. It looks like it is going to get violent. It doesn’t.
The second video is an experiment where a breast-feeding mum and a hottie in a tittie top are remotely filmed (with their agreement) in a shopping mall, to gauge the reaction of passers-by. Naturally enough, the lady with her tits not completely out gets her share of drooling glances from passing men, and at least one is bold enough to ask her name. More surprisingly to me, the woman with a baby at her breast gets a succession of people saying how disgusting it is. Finally, they are both shown together and a nearby loafer is asked why he thinks the one is hot while the other is disgusting.
Both of these videos are baffling in their way. Both of them, in different ways, also are fake. Though widely circulated without the header explaining it, the first video is also a ‘social experiment’ by the youtubers Trollstation: the woman and the angry man are both actors, and the only real people are the members of the public who unanimously tell him to get stuffed, and rather heroically intervene to protect her. The second is up front about being an experiment, but a discerning viewer will probably conclude that the passers-by are actors. Take a look at how she carries on smiling when he says ‘Seriously ma’am? Do you have to do that here? It’s disgusting!’ Listen to how scripted all the responses sound. Draw your own conclusion.
This is a shame. There undoubtedly is a problem with the shaming that women get when breast-feeding, and it could do without things like this that muddy the waters. These videos contrive a polarised response. Naturally, any sane person of reasonable intelligence accepts the current consensus that breast-feeding is an entirely natural and wholesome process, and that doing it in public, with a degree of discretion, should not attract any complaint.
But wait. A degree of discretion? What does that mean? Why shouldn’t breast-feeding be done flamboyantly and wantonly, and with milky nipples shaken and swung out into the sunlight before the child is attached? Why do the breasts need to be kept hidden so far as is humanly possible for the baby to feed? Can’t these women attach a rubber teat to their nipples and then pass them through a hole in their clothes so that they can remain decent throughout? Surely that’s the solution? Conversely, why do breasts need to be covered at all, whether full of milk or not?
In the comment sections of these videos and where they are circulated on social media, it is widely asserted that this is the most natural use of breasts, because that is what they are for. To an extent, that is obviously true. Women lactate because they are mammals, and they feed their young. But whales don’t have breasts, neither, clearly, do cows. Chimpanzees, our closest animal relatives – at least, our closest surviving animal relatives – only have breasts when they are lactating, probably a time when they are at their least sexually attractive.
So though breasts are obviously used for lactation, they are not just for that. Penises are used for pissing more frequently than their other main function, but almost none of their ‘features’ are required for it. Women manage to piss perfectly adequately without – though in a busy toilet queue they may feel otherwise. (Whether women would use a urinal even if they could, is a subject for another day. Maybe.)
Evolution is far from efficient. It certainly has been very little influence on human society, which is only a few thousand years old, far too recent to have been changed by it to any significant extent. Certainly, you can be sure that women had breasts since well before the last Ice Age. And who caused this? Men, pretty much. Quite why the full female breast became attractive to our branch of the family tree does not seem to be widely agreed upon, but like all forms of sexual selection – the peacock’s tail, for example – once established in the gene-pool, it – well – inflated. It goes like this: Ug likes Og because Og has slightly rounder breasts than Eg. Their son Ig inherits his father’s predilection along with carrying in his genes a tendency to round breasts which may be expressed in his daughters. Lots of men liking larger breasts leads to girls with larger breasts reproducing. This virtuous circle continues with the breasts becoming fuller and plumper until they become such a hazard in some way that those girls become less attractive, or less likely to survive.
So to say the breast is primarily for feeding, and not about anything else is to miss a big part of the question, particularly the part about why people say it’s ‘disgusting’. People say nudity is disgusting, though they are probably themselves nude daily. Concealing the breasts and the genitals is a trick in this fun game called sexual selection. Women want men to notice their breasts, and paradoxically, this is best done if they are concealed. Clothes can be used to enhance, disguise or reshape their forms, and for this reason it has become socially unacceptable, at least in the West, to expose them. It’s ‘disgusting’. That is why the breast, even when being used for its feeding function, must still be concealed. Because we’re all muddled up about what they actually are for.
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
Delicious Breakfast Smoothie
One of the things I struggled with the most in the early days with a new baby was getting time to feed and nourish myself. At the same time, I was being bombarded with advice from everyone that nourishing myself and self-care were the most important things in the world.
The solution to this problem was answered by the trusty nutri-bullet. I asked the Husband to prep a smoothie for me in a nutri-bullet cup while he got ready for work in the morning. That way, at some point in the day all I had to do was add milk, buzz it and drink it down and as simple as that, breakfast was done. That way if I barely had a chance to eat anything else of nutritional value for the rest of the day, at least I had that.
This smoothie is delicious, easy to make and packed with superfoods for an extra nutritional boost. An added bonus is the inclusion of ingredients that are believed to stimulate milk supply. As a breastfeeding mum, supply is also something that is constantly at the forefront of your mind in the early days, so this recipe serves a dual purpose.
Ingredients:
1tsp Cacao nibs
1 heaped tsp of Maca powder
1/2 a scoop of any good quality protein powder(I use unflavoured, flavours will make the smoothie sweeter)
1/3 cup of oats
1/4 tsp of brewer’s yeast
1 banana
200mls of your prefered Milk (I use cow’s milk but you can use any milk you like)
The Cacao nibs give a delicious chocolatey flavour without being too rich and a crunch that is reminiscent of chocolate chips. The combination makes for a decadent, tasty breakfast that is perfectly filling and nutritious.
As far as helping with milk supply, I’m not a health professional and I make no promises. However, all of these ingredients are nutritious in their own right so it can’t hurt to try and I definitely have no problems with supply these days.
Enjoy!
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
Martha Stewart's Wedding Party at New York City's Gotham Hall
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Short Answers to Hard Questions About Postpartum Depression
Man survives 48 straight hours in VR with no reported nausea
Man survives 48 straight hours in VR with no reported nausea
Two straight days in an HTC Vive was like "a controlled drug experience."
January 26, 2016 at 11:05PM
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Is Your Open Office Making You Sick?
Is Your Open Office Making You Sick?
For as long as we’ve had open space offices, we’ve had musings on the downsides of these workplaces. Open offices, it’s told, are making us less productive, less active, and more miserable. But could they also be making us sick?
January 26, 2016 at 09:04PM
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How The Heroin Crisis Is Bleeding Into The Primary
How The Heroin Crisis Is Bleeding Into The Primary
How face-to-face interaction among voters and presidential candidates has brought New Hampshire's debilitating drug epidemic to the forefront of the 2016 campaign.
January 26, 2016 at 05:44PM
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The World Is Freaking Out About Zika Virus, Here's What You Need To Know
The World Is Freaking Out About Zika Virus, Here's What You Need To Know
Officials in El Salvador made headlines as they asked women to delay pregnancies for years until an outbreak in Central and South America of Zika virus — which can cause severe birth defects — is contained. Here's what you should know about the disease and its spread.
January 26, 2016 at 02:53PM
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Panel Calls for Depression Screenings During and After Pregnancy
Why The Calorie Is Broken
Why The Calorie Is Broken
Calories consumed minus calories burned: it’s the simple formula for weight loss or gain. But dieters often find that it doesn’t work. Is the calorie broken as a unit of measurement?
January 26, 2016 at 07:41AM
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The First Winter Storm of 2016
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Monday, January 25, 2016
Monkeys Built to Mimic Autism-Like Behaviors May Help Humans
Power Packed Carrot Lactation Cuppies. (Dairy Free)
I think by now, mummies who have been ordering my stuff knows that I’ve been constantly researching on the possible additional natural food items I can add into my muffins so that they can be even more effective. They can get better quality milk, they can have a better quantity pumped out.
I’ve been reading quite a bit on lactogenic food groups, and have been toying with the idea of adding as many stuff as I can in the muffins so that it doesn’t taste weird, mummies can enjoy the moist muffins I’ve been producing, and best of all, to see results whilst giving in to their dessert desire.
So I have decided on trying out carrot muffins because it seemed like the only muffin that allows me to throw a whole bunch of stuff inside without it turning oh so weird. The mummies who have had a trial run on these thought that these would turn out weird, with a funny carrot smell. Surprisingly, these turned out to be quite a hit among them, because firstly, it does not smell odd, and secondly, it is not all that sweet, though mind you, they are quite filling, considering the amount and types of things I’ve added in there. Thirdly, a few of them experienced a slightly increased incremental milk supply pumped out as compared to when they were having the chocolate chip lactation muffins. It’s an all win situation. To top it off, these are dairy free and soy free. Suitable for the mummies who have been asking me to come out with dairy free products.
So on top of the usual milk producing stuff that I throw in, I’m now introducing
- Carrots
- Nuts
- Coconut oil
which have been believed to help with the quality and quantity of milk produced. Hopefully with these, mummies will be able to have a better time with producing milks for their tiny little ones.
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
Lactation Update
At the start of the weekend I noticed that I was passing up the 1oz mark on my storage containers. This is just over 1 oz per day, not per pump. Although I still have a long way to go, I am so beyond thankful that I am seeing progress in producing milk. I have been pumping for 12 weeks and on medication and pumping (Reglan, to be specific) for almost 5 weeks. Currently I am pumping every 3/4 hours, when the baby gets here in March, I will change that to every two hours.
Last week I tried to stop taking the Reglan to see if I could produce on my own, but the answer was quickly given, NO!!!! My milk decreased to almost nothing after stopping for only two days. I am unsure if/when I’ll be able to stop and just rely on my own body, but until then, I’ll keep you posted!!
Enjoy the week!
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article sponsered by Northern Michigan certified lactation consulting and Mother Hubbards Country Cupboard
Do You Know How To Perform CPR On A Dog?
Do You Know How To Perform CPR On A Dog?
If you own a dog, you probably ought to.
January 25, 2016 at 02:03PM
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Coming to Terms With Sexsomnia
Coming to Terms With Sexsomnia
I’d never heard of it before. I never even knew it was a thing, let alone an official medical diagnosis. I only knew that occasionally I got frisky with my wife while I was dead asleep. It’s definitely not normal. But nothing about my sleep ever was.
January 25, 2016 at 08:37AM
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Expanding the Peafowl Pen
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Sunday, January 24, 2016
Why Snow Shoveling is an Unusually Deadly Type of Exercise
Why Snow Shoveling is an Unusually Deadly Type of Exercise
This was a big snow weekend for the east coast, and now people are breaking out their shovels. But at least 6 people have died already from the activity, reminding us that it can be dangerous. Here's why shoveling can be deadly.
January 24, 2016 at 08:37PM
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Why Morphological Freedom Is a Fantasy: Your Body Isn't Just Your Own
Why Morphological Freedom Is a Fantasy: Your Body Isn't Just Your Own
While it follows that if it's your body it's your choice, things get trickier when dealing with children who have none.
January 24, 2016 at 05:35PM
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The making of a hangover: the true impact of one night out
The making of a hangover: the true impact of one night out
Six reporters in city centers across the UK report on one night of British drinking — and its impact on the National Health Service.
January 24, 2016 at 01:27PM
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Saturday, January 23, 2016
Making Warm Winter Soups on Facebook
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Friday, January 22, 2016
C.D.C. Issues Travel Alert for 8 More Locations Over Zika Virus
The Weekly Health Quiz: Foods for Him, Foods for Her and Living to 100
A Peek Inside a Dead Football Player’s Brain
A Peek Inside a Dead Football Player’s Brain
The brains that come through Ann McKee’s lab don’t lie. But they are only the beginning of the story about head trauma and its role in neurodegenerative disease.
January 22, 2016 at 04:27PM
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