EcoParent Sample Issue - SPRING 2017

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Check out our premiere Bump to Baby guide!

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Books Editor Leigh Symonds, PhD leigh@ecoparent.ca Design & Layout Kris Antonius, cityfolkcreative.ca Advertising Sales Sam Stedman advertising@ecoparent.ca { SUBSCRIPTIONS } Subscribe at www.ecoparent.ca/subscribe OR fill out our mail-in card OR call us at 705.874.9147 OR email us at subscriptions@ecoparent.ca 1 year (4 issues) Canadian subscriptions $25 CAD; U.S. orders $25 USD; International orders $60 CAD. Digital edition available worldwide for $20 CAD. Cover Price: $7.99 CAN/US. Canadian residents add applicable taxes. Cheques payable to EcoParent. Visa, MasterCard and American Express accepted.

{ STUFF } EcoParent magazine is published quarterly by EcoParent - striving every day to make better choices happen ©2017 EcoParent Inc. All rights reserved. Cover photo ©Sarah Tacoma. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including by photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, EcoParent Inc., its staff, and its contributors cannot take responsibility for losses resulting from publishing errors, however caused. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, who accepts no liability of any nature arising out of, or in connection with, the contents of this publication.

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Spring 2017 | issue #20

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ello again! Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring issue! This issue is devoted to Greener Bumps and Babies. Working through this issue has been especially relevant for me as I lived through my pregnancy, birth and now first few months of motherhood this past year - and what a journey it has been!

I’m the girl who dreamt of being a mom her entire life. I imagined being pregnant, rubbing my belly with an envied glow, feeling radiant, strong, and full of boundless excitement. I imagined my birth to be a calm and spiritual journey as I slowly breathed my baby into this world. Thereafter, motherhood would of course be filled with blissful baby snuggles and successful breastfeeding.

REALITY: pregnancy was hard. As a naturopathic doctor, I naively believed that I would be exempt from any pregnancy woes by having an arsenal of natural tools to fight them off. Wrong. No herb was strong enough for the degree of fatigue that besieged me.

No homeopathic was powerful enough to overcome the swelling my body endured. No supplement helped ease me into a restful sleep that lasted the night.

As a birth doula, I felt confident in my ability to birth my baby. I planned a natural homebirth and expected to have everything completed within a few hours.

REALITY: no amount of education and

preparation could change the fact that my baby decided to hold his hands up to his face, resulting in 27 hours of slooowwww descent and endless pushing before he decided it was time to exit his comfortable womb. Had I been in a hospital or unaware of my rights as a laboring woman, I am confident that interventions would have been put in place long before I was able to do what I did - naturally.

As a woman, sister and former nanny, I believed I was totally prepared for the ups and downs of motherhood.

REALITY: nothing could have prepared me for the postpartum realities of worry, sleep deprivation, breastfeeding struggles, and a surge of love so strong that it felt almost scary.

So, I am proud to provide you with an issue that acts like a new parent guide to help make whatever transition you are facing just a little smoother.

Prepare your body for pregnancy with some delicious and nutritious recipes; learn about what nutrients are most important in The Essential Prenatal Nutrient Guide; have an empowered birth by understanding the labour process and your options in The Cascade of Labour; and prepare for your postpartum period with The Fourth Trimester Truths and Surviving the First 48 Hours; and plenty more!

The delighted list-maker in me also loved preparing a Newborn Eco Essential Guide for

summer in the

2017 issue...

you to help you feel confident in acquiring only the safest and eco-friendliest of products for your new bundle of joy.

But of course, I’ve learned you and your baby really only need three essentials: kindness, patience, and endless amounts of love. With that, and a healthy dose of community and/or family support, you can get through anything.

Here’s to wishing all you amazing parents, new and old, an abundance of patience, kindness and love - with some magical sleep dust to top it all off!

Jennifer Keller, Editor-in-Chief

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FEATURES 34 | CIRCUMCISION: WHAT’S THE REAL TAKE-AWAY? Tracey Lothian tackles the controversy of circumcision in this revealing piece you don't want to miss.

8 | BUMP TO BABY GUIDE Our very first guide for pregnancy & infant care, chock full of great information about prenatal nutrients, labour, infant care, cloth diapering, first foods…you name it! Not preggo? Baby’s already walking? Pull it out and give it to the first pregnant person you see!

42 | ONE WOMAN LAUGHING...

Wendy Christensen takes on the mother of all challenges... mastering birth.

58 | PREGNANCY DISCOVERIES The Green Mama is writing another book, and she shares with us her journey into the latest pregnancy research and how our health starts before we are even earthside.

64 | GREEN BABY STUFF! Our very own editor-in-chief – who recently increased the size of her clan by one – shares some of her fave baby finds.

HEALTH & BEAUTY 18 |

THE FAMILY SPRING CLEANSE Spring is a great time to reset and get our health back on track. Make detoxing a family affair with these natural and safe cleansing ideas.

22 |

FOOD AS OUR FUEL Dr. Alex Keller, ND walks you through the dietary needs for the different ages and stages of life.

26 |

KEEPING ON TOP OF ALLERGIES Allergies + Spring = One big sneeze!

Learn the basics of allergies and how you can be more allergy-conscious.

28 | FOURTH TRIMESTER TRUTHS A new baby is pure joy, however not all women may feel so joyous right after pregnancy. Learn about the realities of postpartum and how you can support yourself (or a friend!) for a smoother transition into parenthood.

PARENTING 32 | BABY CARE DIY Conventional baby products can be filled with chemicals. An eco-no no! Learn how to choose the safest products... or even better, make your own!

BOOKS 38 | WHAT WE’RE READING Leigh Symonds is back with another round of great reads for you and your kids.

HOME & GARDEN 46 | SPRING CLEANING Green your spring clean and maintain the air quality in your home. Environmental Defense shares some scary stats and even better tips!

48 | WILD SPRING DETOX One man’s trash is another's treasure... just like the first sprouts of spring can be considered weeds OR a bounty to be harvested! Learn about the healing potential in your own back yard!

52 | LET'S GET GROWING The sprouts of spring are enough to put a smile on all of our faces after a long winter. But why wait? Sprout right in the house and get some plant-power into your diet!

54 | EMBROIDERED FISH CRAFT Kat & Rita are here to guide you through making your own baby toy— keep it or share it, but definitely try it!

FOOD 66 | TILLING THE PRECONCEPTION SOIL You don't plant your spring garden without making sure your soil is as fertile as can be. Well, the same thing goes for growing a baby! Food plays an important role in best preparing the body for a fertile landscape—find out how!

68 | FOODS FOR FERTILITY Culinary alchemist Dr. Heidi Lescanec, ND is putting some extra bounce in your step with these naturally detoxifying and fertilityfriendly recipes.

74 | CHIA PUDDING Dessert diva Lauren Breuer, CNP tells all about her favourite ways to dress up this healthy classic!

KIDS 76 | MUD THERAPY What kid doesn't want to play in mud? Here are some fun activities to encourage your kids to get a little... or a lot...dirty.

78 | POLLINATOR EXPLORATION NatureKids BC is ready for spring exploration with this fun activity about the preferences of our pollinator friends!

Sharing the LOVE of cloth diapering, babywearing, and really, REALLY cute baby toes.

barefoot babies

barefootbabies.ca 164 Ottawa St N, Hamilton 289 389 4154

A Mommy Blog for Green-Living Parents!

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Photo:Steve Smith / shutterstock.com

Lauren

Lesley

is a holistic nutritionist and certified personal trainer in Toronto. She’s also the creator of Shockingly Healthy Brownies and Blondies, which are sold throughout the GTA. Lauren is a big believer that delicious food done right can also be functional and support excellent health.

Lauren Breuer

Lesley Lacny

Heidi

Wendy

Wendy Christensen

strives to be the perfect eco-parent but as a working mom of 3, sometimes this doesn’t go according to plan. By sharing her comedic stories, she hopes to inspire others to find a balance between eco-living and eco-angst. She is an eco-educational consultant,teacher,presenter,birthdoula, and backyard farmer with a Master’s degree in Ecological Education.

is a naturopathic doctor and talented cook who brings her diverse culinary experience and knowledge of food as medicine to the kitchen with zest. She has cooked for backcountry lodges, retreat centers, the movie industry and at Hollyhock on Cortes. She practices at Vancouver’s Sage Clinic.

Heidi Lescanec, ND

Tracey

Manda founded The Green Mama in 2007, bringing

Manda Aufochs Gillespie

15 years of environmental planning and research to the issue of raising healthy children. Known in the media as “the green guru” and “serious, but not absolute.” Her book Green Mama was published in June 2014 by Dundurn. It is the first green parenting book specifically for Canadian parents.

Tracey Lothian

Amitha

Amitha Kalaichandran, MHS, CPH, MD

is a Pediatrics Resident physician with an interest in integrative pediatrics, specifically mindbody medicine and nutrition. She obtained her medical degree at the University of Toronto and her Masters in Global Disease Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

She recently published a children's picture book on childhood stress, entitled "What's Wrong with Sunny."

Dr. Jennifer Kaster, BSc, ND

is a mother of two young women and approaching empty-nesthood. Whether conversing, writing, editing or opining, she is always dabbling and delving into the secret life of words and their power. She dreams of a world populated with critical thinkers and has thoroughly indoctrinated her children into the practice.

Muhannad

Muhannad Malas

Jennifer

is a Naturopathic Doctor in Oakville. She has experience working with all age groups covering a variety of health concerns, but focuses her practice on the treatment of digestive issues and food sensitivities. She strongly believes that digestion and the food we eat play a major role in our vitality and overall wellbeing.

(M.A., C. Psych), is a registered psychologist with over 15 years of experience in the counselling field. She maintains a private practice in Toronto and enjoys working through life’s challenges with children, adolescents, families, couples and individuals. She also keeps herself busy by chasing after her three-year-old twin boys.

holds a master’s degree in public health policy from the University of Toronto, and has developed and implemented chronic disease prevention policies and environmental health frameworks for municipal and provincial governments.

He now promotes awareness about toxic chemicals as Environmental Defence’s Toxics Program Manager.

Stephanie

Dr. Stephanie Peltz, ND

is a licensed naturopathic physician with a family practice in Vancouver, BC. Her expertise is in female and pediatric health, including fertility and pregnancy. She is an advocate for low invasive, natural healing through nutrition, lifestyle, herbs, vitamins, etc. She can often be found on the trails or at the beach with her 5 year old son and black lab mix.

to

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Camp Kawartha Inspiring Outdoor & Environmental Stewardship We are a YEAR-ROUND learning centre

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Curriculum-Linked Outdoor Education Programs

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Two Scenic Locations to Serve You Day & Overnight Summer Camps Leadership & Canoe Tripping Homeshool Programs Facility Rentals for Groups Jessica

Jessica Robertson

owns & operates her company, Wild Craft Permaculture, out of her home in London, ON. A mom hereself, she helps people grow healthy, lowmaintenance food by mimicking the patterns found in natural ecosystems. She believes in empowering people to be more self-reliant so that communities become more resilient.

Jacob is the Executive Director of Camp Kawartha, an

Jacob Rodenburg

award winning residential outdoor education centre, summer camp and innovative environmental centre.

He is co-author of The Big Book of Nature Activities. He is a qualified teacher with a Master’s in Education who has worked in the outdoor education and camping field for 25 years.

Emma is the founder of Green at Home, which helps

Emma Rohmann

families and businesses minimize their exposure to harmful chemicals, reduce their eco footprint, and make responsible food choices. She is also mom to two small children, and an environmental engineer with 9 years’ experience as a green building and sustainability consultant.

Leigh

Leigh Symonds

entered into the wonderful whirlwind that is parenthood four years ago. She is also an archaeologist, a writer and a musician and taught anthropology at Trent University as a part-time lecturer for a number of years. She loves canoeing, gardening and being in the outdoors generally.

Rita & Kat stay busy at The Lunenburg Makery

Rita Van Tassel & Kat Frick Miller

helping crafters of all ages. As artists and life-long craft enthusiasts these ladies are always coming up with new project ideas for new workshops and instructional kits. Whether they’re teaching a class on needle felting with locally sourced roving, or showing someone how to sew their first gathered skirt, you can be sure they’ll be ready to help!

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Health & Beauty

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FAMILY SPRING CLEANSE Photo: © Fortyforks | Dreamstime.com

by dr. jonah lusis, nd

S

pring has sprung. For many, it is a season of new beginnings.

From a healthy living perspective, part of my personal re-setting for the year includes a cleanse.

the blood for ultimate removal via either urine or bowel movements (significantly smaller amounts of waste are removed via the lungs in respiration and the skin via perspiration).

Historically, cleansing has been associated with fasting, often at the spring and autumn equinoxes, a practice observed in many cultures and traditions over the course of history. In Buddhism, fasting may be used as a means of “invigorating” one’s practice (a new beginning of sorts), and indeed, the ending of a period of fasting marked the Buddha’s spiritual awakening (the ultimate new beginning).

For the liver and gut to carry out this important activity, they require energy (i.e. calories) and the nutrients (e.g., amino acids, vitamin C, B-vitamins, magnesium, copper, zinc and others) involved in these metabolic processes.

From a health perspective, Paracelsus, considered a father of Western medicine, considered fasting “the greatest remedy”.

Cleansing in the 21st Century

Cleansing is a complex undertaking that involves managing several physiological processes: » Toxins stored in the body (in body fat) must be mobilized into the blood for “filtering” » The liver and gut must “filter” toxins from the blood and deliver them to the bowels and into the urine

Although many still adhere to cleansing the Paracelsus way, science does not necessarily support absolute abstinence from nutrients as the most effective means of removing toxins from the body.

» The bowels must be functioning efficiently in order for “filtered” toxins to be excreted from the body

The body processes toxins (and naturally occurring metabolic wastes) primarily via the liver and lymphatic tissues in the gut. The process is described as metabolic detoxification, filtering toxins from

It makes sense to minimize exposure to dietary and other toxins during a cleanse to minimize a “two steps forward, one step back” scenario.

18 EcoParent

| Greener Bumps & Babies

Spring 2017

First, do no harm!

Although cleansing is a generally safe activity, and can be of benefit for virtually any person, for some it should only be undertaken under the care of a healthcare professional (in my arguably biased opinion, naturopathic doctors are the most qualified healthcare professionals for this, having training in biochemistry and pathology, as well as clinical nutrition).

Persons who should not participate in cleansing programs without professional supervision include those: » Having a health history of disordered eating (e.g. anorexia nervosa) » Using prescription medications described as having a “narrow therapeutic index” (cleansing will increase the efficiency of drug metabolism, potentially decreasing drug effectiveness) » Having diabetes mellitus (dietary changes and fasting affect blood sugar levels)

Whole grains and chicken are examples of excellent nutrient-rich cleansing foods for rounding out a detoxification diet.

Foods to Avoid While there are many foods that support the body’s efforts to remove toxins, there are also foods that are best avoided.

Foods containing chemicals (processed and packaged foods containing preservatives, flavour-enhancers and artificial colours) and non-organically produced foods sprayed with chemical herbicides and pesticides are prime examples.

Alcoholic and caffeinated beverages are also commonly excluded from the diet when cleansing.

The more ambitious amongst you may also choose to avoid common allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk, eggs, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish), as processing the products of common allergens also contributes to the liver’s detoxification responsibilities.

» Being pregnant (mobilization of stored toxins from fat tissues temporarily increases levels of circulating toxins, which in turn, increase an unborn child’s toxin exposure)

Drinking

» Having constipation (bowel movements are the mechanism by which a majority of toxins are ultimately removed from the body – no bowel movements means “toxin backup”)

Drinking water is an important part of any cleansing protocol. Urine is the vehicle by which the body excretes a portion of toxins removed from the blood. A useful, general guideline for water drinking is to drink two to three liters of water daily, spread over the day. Set a timer if you need to be reminded!

Let's get started.

These are simple things anyone can do to improve soundness of body, mentally and emotionally re-set for a productive coming season, and for those new to the practice, perhaps experience a level of physical wellness previously not achieved.

Certain teas are also an excellent means of increasing water intake during cleansing. “Liver teas”, often having a bitter taste, can be used to flush the liver by stimulating bile production and flow. Examples of

Filtering of toxins from the blood is a two-step process, involving extraction of toxins from the blood, followed by binding of those toxins to amino acids so they can be “held” in the blood until they are transferred to the urine or into bowel movements for final removal from the body.

Certain foods are particularly rich in nutrients that support these biochemical processes.

Non-starchy (i.e. “non-potato”) vegetables, fruit, and whole grains supply the liver and gut with excellent sources of many of the nutrients the body uses in metabolic detoxification. These foods are also rich in fiber, which “holds” toxins in the gut, and promotes regular bowel movements.

Among these, the Brassica (mustard) family of vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts) and other dark-green leafy vegetables are particularly potent cleansing foods.

Bitter-tasting vegetables (rapini, arugula, mustard greens, dandelion greens) are great choices because they stimulate secretion of digestive juices and bile (the liver’s vehicle for moving toxins into the gut for excretion). These can be eaten at the start of meals to “prime” the body for digestion, and to “flush” the liver with bile for movement of toxins into the bowels.

SEEK BALANCE...

As a guideline, whenever you eat, balance your dietary intake in such a way that ½ of the food you eat consists of non-starchy vegetables and fruit, ¼ are whole grains and the final ¼ are clean proteins (e.g. organic chicken, organic fish, lentils, chickpeas, or hemp).

Photo: © Julijadm | Dreamstime.com

Spring 2017

Greener Bumps & Babies

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EcoParent

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“liver tea” herbs are chicory, burdock and dandelion leaf/root (which has the added benefit of acting as a diuretic, stimulating urination).

Bitter-tasting teas should be avoided by persons having gallstones as they may trigger gallstone symptoms.

What about toxins already in the body?

The liver and gut are the organs “filtering” the blood, but toxins stored in the body must first find their way into the bloodstream if they are to be filtered out. Toxins stored in the body are stored in fat tissue. When fat cells are broken down, toxins are released into the bloodstream, and can then be filtered for removal. Two simple ways to bring toxins from fat cells into circulation are aerobic exercise and fasting.

Aerobic exercise is exercise that uses fat for fuel. In order to use fat as exercise fuel, fat cells are broken down. Aerobic exercise is generally described as activity performed at 50 to 90% of a person’s maximal heart rate, but a simple shortcut is that aerobic activity requires “mouth breathing”. Your body does not begin “burning” fat immediately—this only begins after about 15 to 20 minutes of moderate activity. To burn fat, exercise at least 30 minutes at a time at a “mouth breathing intensity”.

A second technique that can be used to stimulate your body to use fat as fuel is fasting. Intermittent fasting is a fasting technique that involves daily, 16 hour abstinence from food. Most people can achieve this by simply not eating after dinner, and having a “brunch” rather than breakfast the following day. Your body will use its stores of energy in approximately 12 hours, turning to fat to fuel itself for the remaining four hours.

minutes with a towel that has been moistened with cold water. The process is repeated on the back.

A final, simple “hack” for flushing the tissues of toxins is to have contrast showers. Shower in hot water as usual (causing skinreddening, but not scalding, 37 to 40 degrees Celsius) for up to five minutes, followed by less than one minute under cold water (uncomfortable, but tolerable, 13 to 18 degrees Celsius). Repeat three times and always end with the cold water. I know it doesn't sound fun, but it is invigorating!

In all these cases, initial exposure to heat followed by cold results in “hemoconcentration”, which simply means an increase in blood concentration and movement of toxins and metabolic wastes.

These temperature-involving techniques should not be used by: » Young children as they may not be able to accurately and quickly communicate “too hot”. Consider contrast showers in children over the age of 7. » Persons having heart disease, cancer, acute infections or nerve conditions that cause reduced ability to be aware of pain (e.g. diabetic neuropathy).

So, to get off to a great start to the season: For one week:

Note: All of the above suggestions are safe for any age. Children will also benefit from a clean diet, optimal hydration with water, and lots of exercise. The exception to this would be intermittent fasting.

Some children may not respond well to skipping breakfast, and, in my opinion, we do not want to impose discomfort on any child.

Focusing on a clean breakfast, free from refined sugars and high in protein is best.

» Ensure you are having daily bowel movements » Eat a home-made, preferably organic, primarily vegetarian diet » Drink approximately three liters daily of water (or “cleansing teas”)

Cleansing with water

» Avoid alcohol and caffeine (coffee and caffeinated tea)

Three other simple techniques that can be used to increase movement of toxins from tissues into the blood, and movement of blood to the liver, guts and kidneys for “filtering” and excretion, are saunas, a technique called constitutional hydrotherapy and contrast showers. These therapies affectionately fall under the healing category of hydrotherapy (healing with water).

» Exercise at a “mouth-breathing intensity” for at least 30 minutes at a time

Each of these therapies are essentially a means of exposing your body to heat, followed by cold. (Sauna is not, as these days it typically involves exposure to hot temperature only. Traditionally though, sauna involves alternating between a hot room and an ice bath…or, better yet, an icy lake!)

Constitutional hydrotherapy involves exposing your body to alternating hot and cold temperatures using moistened towels.

A constitutional hydrotherapy treatment requires the help of an assistant, but simply involves lying down and having the torso covered for five minutes with a towel that has been moistened with hot water, followed by having the torso covered for approximately 10

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If possible, add to the week: » Restrict eating to an eight-hour window (for most, between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. will work best) » Sauna (the European way), have constitutional hydrotherapy treatments, or take contrast showers Continue for up to three weeks if desired and enjoy the improved energy, mood, general wellness and inspiration experienced by countless others who cleanse as a part of their healthy lifestyle.

Have a great season. •

Spring 2017

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Health & Beauty

FOOD as FUEL An ages-and-stages review of dietary needs

by dr. alex keller, nd

F

Photo: © Jackf | Dreamstime.com

ood is our fuel. Without it, we cannot survive for long, and the quality of the food we put in our bodies can have a significant effect on our health. If you put poor quality fuel into your car, the engine will break down sooner. Similarly, if you put poor quality food into your body, it will break sooner and have more problems along the way. These problems are the basis for most chronic or metabolic diseases people suffer from today: diabetes, heart disease, obesity and cancer, to name a few.

How and what we eat can vary based on which stage of life we’re in.

A baby or young child will obviously have a very different diet from an older adult, but what we often overlook is that older adults and younger adults may vary in their dietary needs as well. By optimizing your food intake throughout the different stages of life, you maximize your chances of nutrient absorption, increase energy, and minimize chances of damage and disease.

Let’s explore what optimal nutrition looks like based on age and need.

Infancy

(0-2 years)

The test of time has proven to us that breastmilk, not formula, is the best nutrition for a baby. The World Health Organization confirms that breastmilk should be used exclusively until the age of six months, with continued breastfeeding up to two years and beyond. Of course, breastfeeding is not always possible, and every mother needs to make the best decision for her individual family’s needs.

What mothers consume during this time can have a significant effect on the quality and nutrition of their breastmilk. Maintaining a balanced diet with healthy proteins, fats, carbohydrates and sufficient calories is essential for producing high-quality breastmilk. Note that breastfeeding mothers need to consume more calories than usual: the average is roughly 500 more calories per day than their prepregnant dietary requirements. Also note that although we always encourage a diet high in fruits and vegetables, there are a few that may cause adverse reactions in babies. These include cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, etc.), alliums that contain high amounts of sulphur (onions, garlic, leeks, etc.), and even apples.

If your baby is experiencing tummy discomfort or gas, try removing these foods for a few months (not forever!) for some relief. Colic is no one's friend!

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The six-month mark is typically the recommended time to introduce solid foods. However, not all foods are equal when it comes to baby’s first food, so it’s important to choose wisely at this stage. We recommend starting with safe and (ideally) gut-supportive foods like bone broth, made from organic grass-fed or free-range animals, puréed organic vegetables, healthy oils, or small amounts of wellsourced meat and fish. By providing safe, easily digested options early in life, you prevent the baby from developing intestinal permeability (leaky gut), subsequent food intolerances, and atopic conditions like asthma, eczema and allergies. For more detailed information on food introduction, see Getting a Solid Start in the Bumps to Babies Guide included with this issue.

I also recommend a probiotic supplement and eventual introduction of probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi or yogurt, especially if your baby was born by Caesarian section. The most significant source of beneficial bacterial colonization in early life is from the mother’s vaginal canal. If the baby does not pass through the vaginal canal, its microbiome will be formed from skin-to-skin contact, the surrounding environment and/or probiotic supplements. Breastfeeding mothers can also consume probiotic foods to encourage the transfer of beneficial bacteria, but should remain diligent with monitoring how the baby reacts to various food introductions. Cabbage, for instance, is a cruciferous vegetable used to make sauerkraut and kimchi, but could cause unwanted gas in baby.

Toddler/Child (2-12 years) Toddlers and young children are able to consume almost everything adults consume (though not always willingly!), but it’s important to note that their digestive systems are not yet fully developed. As a result, many young children experience constipation or other forms of digestive imbalance. At this stage, as the microbiome continues to develop, it’s critical that young children get sufficient amounts of fibre (e.g. fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, etc.) and water to ensure optimal digestive function. Movement is also critical to encourage digestive function and motility, so make sure your kids keep active!

Another important factor at this stage is to minimize sugar, artificial chemical and processed food intake. The young child’s palate is very sensitive and exposure to such chemicals (yes, sugar is a chemical) can affect their palate for life. Encourage savory tastes like natural herbs Spring 2017

Publisher's NOTE

and spices, natural sweeteners like plant-based sugars (if necessary), and try to eliminate, as much as possible, artificial flavourings and additives like food colouring, MSG or artificial sweeteners. Starting this early can save you a lot of trouble later on!

I don’t usually interject like this, but I just HAVE to tell this story! I still remember the day my 3 year old son – in a sushi restaurant of all places!

– was offered his first lollipop. He wanted it so badly, and there was no way out without tears.

The day had to arrive eventually, right? Upon putting the sucker in his mouth, the pure sugar and the artificial taste hit his palate and he nearly gagged, saying “Too sweet! Too sweet!”

I’ve seldom been prouder, and though he has since found his sweet tooth, to this day he has a general aversion to artificial flavours and crappy candy that just tastes like processed sugar.

This stage is also the most important for engaging your children in food interest and preparation. One fantastic way to engage young children in food is through colour. We know that a colourful diet of varying fruits and vegetables is good for us, but children don’t. Engage them by encouraging colour-themed meals and certainly get them involved in preparing foods. That can include washing, peeling or cutting, depending on age. If children are engaged in food production early and often, they’re much less likely to resist foods that are good for them.

Going beyond this, it’s even more valuable if children understand where their food comes from. Maintaining a vegetable garden or getting your meat and/ or produce from local sources are both great options. Be aware that knowing about animal sourcing can sometimes lead to aversion in children, which works in a vegetarian family, but can be challenging otherwise. Starting with a vegetable garden may be a good first step!

These habits instill lifelong attitudes about food and help shape an appreciation for our food system and the quality of nutrients we should be eating. This makes it much easier to work with dietary restrictions, fad diets and eating disorders, which may show up in the next stage.

Teen (13-19 years) The teen years can be a complicated time for both the teenager and the family.

The digestive tract can now be considered fully developed, and considering what teenagers can put in their bodies, it may be temporarily made of steel!

Photo: © Jackq | Dreamstime.com

One last tip for this stage is to begin practicing mindfulness and gratitude around food. Mindfulness has to do with being present at meal times, chewing adequately (approximately 20 chews per bite), and spending time with loved ones. It also means no screens - for the whole family! Gratitude is critical to instill at this age so young children are again made aware that their food is not materializing from thin air, but must travel a distance or come at a sacrifice for it to be on their plates.

Bone

BROTHS

I’m not saying all teens eat poorly and have questionable social habits, but some inevitably do, and it’s important to support their detoxification systems during this time. Educating teens about detoxification methods will also bring awareness to the importance of these practices later in life. For a guide to safe, simple cleansing practices, see the article entitled The Family Spring Cleanse in this issue.

Hormone balancing is also crucial and a balanced diet will go a long way to preventing common hormonal conditions like PMS, acne, mood swings, low energy and headaches. One of the most important factors in balancing hormones is to minimize processed sugars and aim to maintain balanced blood sugar levels. A diet composed of high quantities of sugars and processed foods will often lead to teenage obesity, which further contributes to hormonal imbalance. Blood sugar regulation is the single most important dietary choice teens need to be aware about.

Spring 2017

Photo: © Ulianna19970 | Dreamstime.com

As hormones fluctuate and emotions are erratic, the food choices teens make can have a significant impact on their overall health. This is a time when the foundations laid in early childhood will come into play since teens have more autonomy over what they eat. This often translates into more processed junk food, sweets, sodas and fast food, and can also be combined with the ‘exploration’ of vices like smoking, drinking and recreational drugs. All of these components contribute to damage in the teen body and require adequate nutrients to help maintain balance.

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How do we regulate a teen’s blood sugar, optimize detoxification pathways and balance hormones? By minimizing high-carb meals, maximizing vegetable and fibre intake, and ensuring the presence of a healthy protein and a healthy fat at every meal. It is the healthy fats that we see most often missing in this age group, so stock up on your nuts, seeds and avocados! If these components are in place, your teen will have a much smoother transition into adulthood and it will set them up for what’s necessary later in life as well.

Adults (20+ years) As we transition into adulthood, we typically shed the safety nets of our parents’ homes, school schedules, and subsequent easy meal options.

We become consumed with families, careers, social commitments and more, all leading to stress and the all-too-often sacrifice of a good diet.

It’s no wonder that so many people collapse into their 30s burnt out and needing dietary support.

Adulthood is a critical time to find and maintain balance: in diet, in life, and in self. As a parent, you can set the example for your children that meals should not be consumed on the run, balanced nutrition is possible, and stress management comes first. And if you neglect to do these things for yourself, you’ll soon find yourself suffering more than you need to under the pressures of life as a parent.

Older Adults (60+ years) As we enter our older years, our digestive needs start to change. We no longer break down our nutrients as efficiently, meaning we can benefit from some digestive support techniques.

As our bodies begin to slow down, so too does our digestion. Normal changes include decreased stomach acid, decreased enzyme production, and a subsequent decrease in appetite. Although these are all normal parts of aging, when this happens can vary significantly.

In some parts of the world, people only begin to show signs of slowing metabolism in their 90s or later. How we treat ourselves in the earlier stages will determine when this stage begins. Regardless, this stage will come at some point and when it does, common ways of supporting digestion include supplementation with apple cider vinegar in water (to support stomach acid), digestive enzymes and bitter herbal tincture (to stimulate bile flow and to help with nutrient breakdown), and increasing vegetable intake (for adequate fibre).

"Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle throughout adulthood will prevent illness and

prolong life in later years."

Maintaining a well-balanced diet and adequate hydration is the absolute foundation of health at this stage. You’re no longer a teenager somehow able to subsist on junk food for days on end. You need good quality nutrients at every meal, and you’ll feel better when you get them. Most critical is to consume a healthy protein, fat and carbohydrate at every major meal, coupled with balanced snacks (as needed) in between.

This especially means having a healthy protein for breakfast, which people so often skip in favour of a carbohydrate-rich meal. When you don’t have protein in the morning, you set yourself up for a day of irregular blood sugar, resulting in low energy, increased stress, weight gain, and irregular mood. Imagine…all these common issues can be solved (or at least mitigated) by having more protein at breakfast.

Sometimes it really is that simple!

Of equal importance to consuming adequate nutrients at every meal is to consume enough fibre every day. This can be from plants, whole grains, nuts, seeds, or supplements. Without adequate fibre intake, you risk developing preventable colon issues in mid- to lateadulthood.

One common aspect of all Blue Zones – recognized areas around the world where people commonly live to 100 and beyond – is that they maintain a “plant-slant” to their diet.

What this means is they typically maintain a mostly vegetarian diet. From plants we get fibre, minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients and enzymes.

If a high quantity of vegetables is maintained into later years, the need for supplementation and support is typically delayed.

Further supportive techniques at this stage include reducing raw foods (if digestion has truly slowed), increasing soups and broths, and maintaining adequate hydration to prevent constipation.

Regular low-level exercise is also still encouraged to keep bowel function active.

Summary The overall message is consistent throughout the years: consume the major nutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrate) at every major meal, minimize the bad stuff, maximize vegetables, consume enough water or herbal teas per day (3-4 cups/day for ages 1-3, 5-6 cups/day for ages 4-8; 8 cups/day for everyone else), and practice relaxation/ mindfulness around meals. If you do this most of the time, you can certainly afford to “slack off” some of the time. The problems arise when less than optimal habits become the norm, at which point we are at greater risk of developing chronic disease.

Aside from a balanced diet, the mindfulness and chewing we teach our children also goes a long way for our digestion. At this age, we are setting ourselves up for chronic issues and disease later in life. If we digest calmly and well, we will have less digestive issues later. If we digest under stress and poorly, it’s much more likely we will have problems later.

Healthy food introduction and education at early stages will set up the foundation for a healthy adulthood. Maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle throughout adulthood will prevent illness and prolong life in later years. Supporting digestion in later years will encourage further longevity and minimize chronic disease.

In short: ensure you rest and digest around every major meal; ensure you get adequate amounts of healthy proteins, fats and carbohydrates; consume sufficient amounts of fibre; and drink 2-3L of water or herbal tea every day.

The formula is easy. Implementing it may be more challenging, depending on your current dietary habits. If it seems overwhelming, focus on baby steps. Take enough of them, and they add up to a giant leap for the ongoing health of your family! •

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Spring 2017

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Health & Beauty

Keeping on Top E Kids Allergies by amitha kalaichandran, md

Photo: © Kobyakov | Dreamstime.com

S

pring brings about sunshine, melting snow, and…the dreaded pollen: one of the most common allergies affecting children and adults today.

More children have allergies today than ever before. There are many ideas circulating about why this might be. For instance, perhaps we are too “clean” (the “hygiene hypothesis”), or perhaps foods that were formerly introduced earlier (like peanuts) may be identified by the immune system as “foreign” or “harmful” to the body, mounting an allergy response. There may also be a genetic component to allergy: if a parent has allergies, their children may be more likely to have them too.

As scientists are muddling through the causes for allergy, and ways to treat them best in children, here are some facts to keep you in the loop. Remember, knowledge is power! Being an activist for your child with allergies – and sensitive to other children with allergies – can go a long way.

ALLERGIES ARE COMMON & NON-FOOD ALLERGIES MAY BE EASIER TO TREAT

IT’S NOT JUST PEANUTS!

According to Food Allergy Canada, up to 300,000 Canadian children have a food allergy, and kids under 3 are most affected.

This means that, on average, there is a high chance that if your own child doesn’t have a food allergy, a classmate does. According to Health Canada non-food allergies (think pollen!) are one of the most common chronic conditions in Canadians 12 years and older. A non drowsy medication such as cetirizine could help, but parents should discuss this with their child’s doctor, as not all medications have been tested on children. Herbals and alternative treatments like quercetin have shown some benefits in allergy (as it could act as a mast-cell stabilizer), but the evidence isn’t strong enough for kids or adults to recommend broadly. Remembering good hygiene practices and limiting or eliminating exposure are your number one priorities.

» Many of us know someone that has a peanut allergy, but other common allergens (food particles that cause allergies) include eggs, tree nuts, shellfish, milk, and soy. Some foods, such as milk, also cross-react to other foods. This means that if someone has a milk allergy, they may also have a soy allergy that should be tested for.

Cooking foods (e.g. eggs as an ingredient in cookies) can sometimes make a difference, as there may be less “allergen,” but it’s best to discuss this with a doctor that specializes in allergies. You don't want to risk a reaction! Environmental allergies, such as pollen, dust, and pet hair are also common in children, especially if the child has asthma or eczema. Talk to the schools and the parents before your child heads out for a play date so everyone is aware of potential exposures.

»

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Spring 2017

BE CAREFUL WHO YOU HUG (OR KISS!) AND COOK FOR

»

Kids can be affectionate with their friends and classmates. However, a hug or a kiss from someone that has just ingested a high allergy food (e.g. a peanut butter sandwich) can be disastrous for someone with a peanut allergy. Similarly, cooking (or steaming) shellfish in a kitchen might be deadly if a child with a shellfish allergy is in the same room, as the steam can carry the allergen. With environmental allergies, a child with a dog at home could have dog dander or fur on their clothing, which could then elicit an allergic reaction—typically a runny nose or sneezing—in a classmate with an allergy. Again, educating those around you about your family’s allergies and sensitivities can prevent any unwanted reactions and discomfort.

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TESTING IS COMPLEX, AND INTOLERANCE IS DIFFERENT THAN ALLERGY

» Allergy testing is an option, but it isn’t perfect – especially for food where a child could be allergic or intolerant, and for some environmental allergies that present in unique ways. A true allergy, by definition, is a different immunological reaction in the body than an intolerance. Both can cause symptoms and distress, however allergy is what can cause life-threatening issues. If you are concerned that your child has an intolerance or allergy, provided that it is not an anaphylactic reaction (see below), immediately eliminate the food from your child’s diet and discuss the reaction with a medical practitioner. Keep a diary of foods that your child has difficulty with.

Symptoms of intolerance include vomiting, gas, loose stools, or eczema but these can also overlap with allergy. Your doctor may then decide to refer your child to an allergist for further testing. This can involve either blood tests or skin tests, and could also include tests of the gastrointestinal/digestive systems.

KNOW THE SIGNS OF ANAPHYLAXIS, AND HOW TO TREAT IT

»

If there is one thing to remember about allergies, it is how to recognize its most severe manifestation: anaphylaxis. It is a multisystem reaction that can involve the skin (hives, redness, swollen eyes or lips), breathing (shortness of breath, wheezing, tightness of the throat), digestion (vomiting, diarrhea, nausea), heart (fast or slow heartbeat, blue or pale fingers and toes), and brain/mind (anxiety, headache).

Children with an allergy should have at least two epinephrine autoinjector devices – one at school and one at home. They should also have a medic-alert device indicating they have a severe allergy. These auto-injector devices are for “one time use,” and typically have a 12-month window during which they can be used, after which they need to be replaced. Parents should review how to use the device with their physician so that they feel comfortable using it in an emergency.

They should also review with the child’s teacher that the device can be used in school by the teacher without issue.

Allergies are common but they don't have to be a party pooper. Staying informed will help you avoid a reactive situation. Happy Spring! •

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Health & Beauty

The Fourth Trimester truths

Post-Partum adjustment & the reality of life after baby by lesley lacny, ma, c. psych

H

aving a new baby should be all joy and happiness, right? I spent months envisioning this magical time with my new twin babies, suckling effortlessly at the breast and gazing into their eyes. It was to be pure motherhood bliss…

Compared to the focus I gave to the pregnancy, the birthing experience, and preparation for baby’s arrival, I was much less prepared for the postpartum period, also known as the fourth trimester. What I didn’t expect were the effects of sleep deprivation, my heightened anxiety over my new role and trying to get it right, and the challenges of breastfeeding, which were a far cry from “latch them on, and off they go.” Mix that with a cocktail of different hormones and emotions circulating through my system and I found myself caught in the perfect storm.

Given the magnitude of change and completely new challenges it brings, the postpartum period should be treated as a time when mothers are in need of extra care and attention. Although our experiences will vary depending on circumstances, here are a few examples of what many of us experience during the fourth trimester.

The baby blues The emotional ups and downs that many of us experience after giving birth are often referred to as the baby blues. Instead of basking in motherhood bliss, you may find yourself feeling weepy, anxious, and down. You may feel happy one minute and overwhelmed the next. You may cry at the drop of a hat, even at silly commercials.

You may question your ability to care for yourself and your baby. The good news: this can all be a “normal” part of the postpartum experience.

Hormones appear to be one major culprit for the fluctuations in mood as the levels of

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estrogen and progesterone that rose during pregnancy suddenly drop after delivery.

Other contributing factors can include stress, isolation, the sudden increase in responsibility of caring for a child, and of course, exhaustion.

Most women experience at least some of these symptoms within a day or two of giving birth. The symptoms generally peak around one week as hormone levels start to normalize and begin to “taper off by the end of the second week postpartum.”1

Beyond the BABY blues Although many mothers do not experience postpartum depression (PPD), depression during and after pregnancy are more prevalent than most people realize. Given the myriad of changes that take place, the difficulty in adjusting to the tremendous responsibility of becoming a parent and the intensity of the exhaustion, the signs of a serious depression can be difficult to distinguish from the baby blues and the expected challenges of the postpartum period, especially in its early stages.

New motherhood is challenging for all of us but it should not be consistently distressing or miserable. Although the symptoms of PPD are similar to those of the baby blues, they differ in intensity and duration. If by the end of the second week postpartum the symptoms persist or feel more intense, you may be experiencing PPD.2

Physical healing Your body needs time to heal after the great marathon of birth. It may take up to six weeks for postpartum bleeding to stop and up to three months for other systems in the body to return to their “non-pregnant” state.

Whether you had a vaginal or caesarian birth, you will likely experience physical pain and discomfort. Although baby is no longer in your belly, it will not look that way. The uterus takes time to shrink back to its “non-pregnant” state and others may comment on when baby is due… Stretch marks, sagging skin, and extra weight can all be part of the process. And don’t forget the peri-bottle! I strongly encourage you to use it when you go to the bathroom!

LEARNING NEW THINGS Your life will no longer be as you once knew it (which was kind of the point, right?).

Along with baby comes new routines, tasks, and a need to not only figure out how to do these things (changing, bathing, finding time to get yourself a shower, etc.), but also how to adapt to your new lifestyle.

Learning to breastfeed Breastfeeding can seem pretty straightforward, but in reality there is a very real learning curve here. When it is not working smoothly it can be a stressful experience; knowing that this may be your baby’s only source of food adds a distinct urgency. Hang in there! When you and baby get the hang of things, the reward and resulting bond can be immeasurable.

Dealing with emotions Adapting to your new role (even if this is not your first child) can be stressful. The sense of responsibility, the worry over your baby’s health, or not knowing if you are “doing it right” can leave you feeling anxious and overwhelmed. Even if having a child is what you always wanted, the challenges are very real and ever-present. Remember that most mothers deal with moments of doubt, worry, and excessive web searching—you are not alone!

Spring 2017

Symptoms of

Postpartum Depression

PPD can start within four weeks and up to one year after birth. As with the baby blues, you may feel sad, tearful, hopeless, worthless, and/or alone.

You may have some or all of the symptoms listed below. These symptoms may make it feel very hard to enjoy and live your life each day:

» Anger or irritability » Inability to bond well with your baby » Anxiety that prevents you from sleeping (even when baby is) or eating appropriately. » Feeling overwhelmed, like giving up, and that there is no hope in things getting better » Feeling like you are going through the motions of your day without being able to feel happy or interested in things you used to enjoy » Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

What puts you at

increased risk of PPD? Factors typically associated with an increased likelihood of developing PPD include:

Sleep deprivation Sleep deprivation can be tough to deal with and many new parents are taken aback by how exhausted they feel. With good intentions, others may remind you that one day baby will soon “sleep through”, which may give you something to look forward to. Unfortunately these well-meaning comments don’t help much in the present moment when there is no apparent end in sight.

Take the sleep you can get whenever you can get it, regardless of how many dirty dishes are in the sink.

Adjusting to relationships When baby comes along, all relationships will be impacted. An older sibling will have to adjust to another child being in the house and your relationship with your partner will undergo its own changes. Many couples identify the first year after a baby is born as being one of the most difficult times in their relationship. Further, with your hormones out of whack, exhaustion, and the physical changes that you are adapting to, sex is likely to be the furthest thing from your mind. This transition period can be stressful and it will take time to adjust to the new dynamics. Ensuring effective communication around these feelings will be important.

Ideas on how to navigate through the storm

anxiety, or PPD

The postpartum period can certainly take any woman by storm, no matter their birth experience, post-partum mood, or situation.

Preparing for this period with the same gusto that you prepare for labour can set you up with realistic expectations and tools to help you thrive, and not just survive! Consider the following suggestions to help you prepare for your postpartum period:

tragedy, house move, job loss)

» Acknowledge your feelings

» A personal or family history of depression, » Inadequate support in caring for the baby » Financial stress » Relationship stress » A recent major life-altering event (e.g. family » Complications during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding » Parents of multiples » Mothers who have gone through infertility treatments » Thyroid imbalance and other medical conditions

PPD is not just in mothers…

Given the impact of change on a family/couple/ individual, it may not be a surprise that fathers too can experience similar symptoms. According to pediatrician Dr. David Hill, 10% of fathers suffer from paternal postpartum depression. Given low rates of disclosure, the true incidence is likely higher.3

Spring 2017

Recognizing that feeling anxious and overwhelmed is part of the process can help alleviate pressure. Comparing yourself to how “together” all the other mothers in your baby and mom group appear to be will not. Conflicting messages about what motherhood should be can make it difficult to avoid the trap of self-judgment and to share your feelings. Try not to be afraid to talk about the challenges you’re facing, and how they make you feel. Talk to your family, friends and/or your partner. Look for new parents’ groups or counselling support for an opportunity to express how you are feeling. Once you open up, you may find that others share their experiences with you, which can be very comforting.

» Strive for your best, not for perfection Try to keep realistic expectations in mind and be gentle with yourself knowing that it takes time to adjust to your new role and to better understand your baby’s needs (and your own!). You are not alone in feeling that you have no idea what you are doing!

Although nothing can fully prepare you for parenthood, prenatal classes that focus on caring for your child can be a good start.

Prenatal classes also provide an opportunity to develop a support network with other expectant parents.

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» Try to get the logistical

» Keep the lines of

stuff sorted out before baby

communication open with your

arrives

partner

Although there is no way to be even remotely prepared for parenthood, getting the nursery ready, stocking up the freezer, sorting out the logistics of parental leave, having a “support plan” in place of who will help with what, and open discussion with your partner/family about expectations around visitors can all help alleviate stress once baby arrives.

When you are exhausted, communication can feel like the last thing you have energy to do; however, it will likely be one of the most important factors in helping navigate through this transitional period in your relationship. Expressing your needs openly to your partner will help him or her to better understand how to offer support. Communication also provides an opportunity for your partner to express their feelings through this time as your partner is also trying to adapt to their new role.

» Take time to slow down Having a newborn and taking time to slow down? The two don’t necessarily sound like they can co-exist. Nonetheless, a mother’s role should be to rest, recover, bond, and help feed her child. Resist the urge to do much else. Postpone efforts to get ‘back into shape’, to get back to your “regular life”. Take the time needed for your body to heal and to create space for bonding with your new baby. Which brings me to the next point…

» Enlist the village!

Recruit as much support as possible to help care for you, your family, and the baby.

Everyone loves to hold the baby but what you and your family likely need are meals cooked, the house cleaned, and laundry folded. Holding the baby can be reserved for times when parents get to catch a nap or for some much needed time to themselves.

You may consider hiring a mother’s helper to take the baby out for walks in the stroller or contact your local College/University for ECE students who may be looking for credit hours to help care for a new baby or assist your family in what needs to be done.

» A lactation consultant or postpartum doula may just be your new best friend

Lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, and community health nurses can be a great support to guide you through learning how to breastfeed. Knowing that trying to figure it out on your own can lead to further anxiety and frustration, take advantage of services offered through hospitals, your health region, or postpartum doulas for ongoing support.

Find a lactation consultant or breastfeeding meet-up group in your area before your baby is born so you know exactly who to call and where to go if help is needed.

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Getting help for Postpartum Depression Thoughts, feelings, and symptoms associated with PPD can be painful to experience and many women can be overcome with shame, especially when the postpartum period is generally idealized as a time full of happiness.

Women may be reluctant to speak about their experience for fear of being judged and may feel guilty for not feeling “grateful and happy” to have a new baby. PPD can feel like a personal failing when it is in fact a medical condition and a response to a very difficult and stressful period of life.

Do not hesitate to get help! Reaching out for support can decrease feelings of shame and relieve symptoms of depression. The kind of support a woman needs will vary depending on the type and severity of the symptoms.

Although the suggestions in this article are meant to benefit all new mothers, they are particularly important to those experiencing PPD. As these suggestions alone may not be enough to support you through it, do not hesitate to seek professional help.

The postpartum period or fourth trimester will be different for everyone. Check in with yourself daily and seek the support you need.

Even if it's just someone to come over to hold baby while you shower—you deserve it! •

ReFERENCES For article references, please visit www.ecoparent.ca/SPR17-extras

NATURAL THERAPY OPTIONS for PPD

Editors Note: As a Naturopathic Doctor, there are many ways to support mood safely in the postpartum period. Here are some top suggestions to get you started, but as always, we suggest seeking guidance from a health professional for appropriate dosing and products.

1. Balanced whole foods diet » Get all the nutrients you need to support energy, mood, and healthy hormone and neurotransmitter production.

2. Pre-natal vitamin » If you're

still breastfeeding, the nutrient demand is even more now than in pregnancy! Keep up with your pre-natal vitamin every day for optimal energy stores.

4. O mega-3-fa

(fish oil) » Healthy omega-3 fatty acids are integral for mood support. This is one of the top researched supplements for PPD.

5. A daptogen

herbs » These herbs support your adrenal (stress) glands, helping you feel more balanced in energy and more resilient to daily stressors.

Not all are safe while nursing so it is best to seek guidance from a naturopathic doctor.

6. Exercise »

Once you can find time and energy, exercise is the number one treatment for low mood. Even better? Do it outside. Weather permitting, try taking you and your babe out for a walk every day to soak up fresh air, sun, and the mood boosting magic of movement.

Additional Resources Postpartum Support International www.postpartum.net Postpartum Progress www.postpartumprogress.com

Spring 2017

tired of being

tired?

Do you suffer from any of the following?

Fatigue and a lack of appetite?

Pale skin & dark circles under eyes?

Difficulty concentrating?

Chills or catch colds easily?

Brittle hair or fingernails that chip easily?

You may be iron deficient The more questions you answered “yes” to, the higher your risk of being iron deficient.

Feeling tired, Floradix® may be your solution.

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Feel the difference Floradix® makes.

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Spring 2017

VEGETARIAN | NON-GMO | ARTIFICIAL COLOUR & FLAVOUR FREE 1.888.436.6697 | VISIT WWW.FLORAHEALTH.COM TO FIND A STORE NEAR YOU

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EASY DIY

Baby Care by emma rohmann

M

any of us start to think about what goes in and on our bodies when expecting a baby. With good reason, too! Unfortunately, there are a number of not-so-great chemicals used in everyday products. Even worse, many have not been tested thoroughly before being introduced to the market. It’s no secret that what we put on our bodies can end up in them. And it’s worth noting that babies and young children are more susceptible to the harmful impacts of chemicals in our everyday products because their bodies are much smaller and still developing.

To make matters more confusing, packaging terms like “for baby” or “dermatologist tested” are not reliable ways to determine whether a product uses the safest ingredients.

Let’s take a look at how you can reduce your baby’s exposure to harmful ingredients by making your own baby care products with some easy recipes. And even if DIY isn’t your thing, keep reading because I’ve got some great label-reading tips and tools to share too.

Why DIY? As mentioned above, making your own products is the easiest way to truly know what goes into them. Another perk is that homemade products are often more budget-friendly than store-bought natural products. Even if you don’t keep it up, I recommend just trying out one recipe—it’s empowering to know that you can!

Getting Started Once I started dabbling in homemade cleaners and then body care, baby care products came naturally. There is a ton of information out there on recipes and tips—so much so that it is almost too overwhelming to know where to start. But don’t be discouraged! With some internet searching, you’ll find recipes that use recognizable ingredients and don’t require special equipment. You can find many of the ingredients at larger health food stores or through online retailers like Well.ca or New Directions Aromatics.

Baby Wipes

Conventional wipes may contain synthetic fragrance and harmful preservative chemicals. Homemade wipes solution is easy to make, and contains skin soothing ingredients to help prevent diaper rash.

Reduce waste by using reusable cloths for added benefit (and no extra laundry if you’re already cloth diapering!).

» ¼ cup castile soap » 2 cups water » ¼ cup oil (like calendula, sweet almond, apricot kernel, or castor) Mix ingredients in a glass jar. Soak reusable cloths or strong paper towel in solution and apply as needed. Shelf life: 1 month.

TIP: You can buy cloth wipes, or save money and make them by cutting up old t-shirts, soft towels, etc.

Baby Powder In 2016, a judge awarded $72M in damages to the family of a woman who died of ovarian cancer after 35 years using talc-based powder.

The possibility that talc may contribute to ovarian cancer has many parents looking for alternatives to conventional baby powder.

This recipe is great because one batch has 4 uses: baby powder, dry shampoo, body powder, and deodorizer. Here’s how to make and use it for baby powder!

» ¼ cup cornstarch » ¼ cup arrowroot powder » 1 Tbsp white clay (found in health food stores) » Optional: 6 drops essential oil (e.g. 3 drops sweet orange, 2 drops ylang ylang, 1 drop geranium)

Recipes that Work

While ingredients are non-toxic, they can irritate the respiratory tract. Dab onto baby rather than sprinkling to avoid inhalation.

Because I had such great success with her cleaning recipes, I started (and ended) my search for baby care recipes with the David Suzuki Foundation’s Queen of Green (www.queenofgreen.ca). Here are two basic recipes that are great to get you started:

If you’ve been using baby powder out of habit, try your diaper change routine without it to see if it’s actually needed—because even better than making your own is to use nothing!

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Spring 2017

Photo: © Jean Paul Chassenet | Dreamstime.com

Parenting Parenting

If DIY isn’t your thing (it isn’t always mine!), or if you want to have some store-bought products on hand, there are some great tools available to help you read labels. First, it’s important to turn the product around and read what’s in it. The front labels often tell you what the product doesn’t have, making it sound better than it may actually be.

Avoiding undisclosed fragrance ingredients, petrolatum, phthalates, and parabens is a great place to start. But it’s difficult to keep all these ingredients in mind, especially if you’re new to label reading. Luckily, you’ve got some options to help you out!

Apps to Download for On-the-go Help

If you live in Canada: Think Dirty App » An app that allows you to scan product barcodes

PURE & PRETTY GLAMOUR FOR YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS!

and see how they rate on a scale of 0 (safe ingredients) to 10 (potentially harmful ingredients). It provides you with a breakdown of ingredients, what they’re used for, and what the concern is for human and environmental health. It includes baby care products such as shampoo, soap, diaper cream, and wipes.

Eco-friendly, non-toxic formulas are safe for the whole kingdom.

Pure Anada Princess Packs are perfect for special parties, or every-day play makeup.

MADE IN CANADA • MADE WITH CERTIFIED ORGANICS • VEGAN & CRUELTY FREE • GLUTEN FREE

If you live in the United States:

Available in Sunshine Girl (shown), Plum Fairy (Purple), Be Mine (Pink/Red), and Mermaid Mint (Green/Teal).

For a list of retail locations, visit PUREANADA.CA

NATURAL COSMETICS

EWG's Healthy Living App » Includes ratings for about 120,000 personal products and foods, with a scannable barcode system to help you out when out and about.

eucalyptus lavender grapefruit unscented jasmine

Online Help

EWG's Skin Deep Website

» The mother of all product databases.

A detailed, searchable, online database of common body and baby care products and ingredients. Great for doing deeper research into products and/or individual ingredients.

Wallet Guides » The David Suzuki Foundation, Environmental Working Group and Environmental Defense Canada have wallet guides available to help you identify the top 10 – 12 ingredients to avoid in body care products. You can download and print if you prefer a lowtech option.

By consciously choosing to use all-natural, healthier products, you’re reducing your baby’s exposure to chemicals that may contribute to cancer, reproductive health concerns, allergies and asthma. DIY is one option that puts you in the driver’s seat, but know that there are great products out there on store shelves. It just takes some time and effort up front to get familiar with the products and how to read labels. You’ll thank yourself later! •

www.eucalan.com Spring 2017

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Circumcision

Feature

WHAT'S THE REAL TAKE-AWAY? by tracey lothian

Photo: © Jynmeyerdesign | Dreamstime.com

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H

aving been born female and having only raised children sporting the same anatomy, I admit I have had few (if any) conversations referring to male circumcision. I’ll also confess to my ignorance of the nitty-gritty. What – exactly – was removed and how?

And why? I discovered that what I had once judged, in my femalesonly vacuum, a simply gratuitous and unnecessary practice is better contemplated through a more nuanced, though tangled, tension of risk/benefit vs. ethics/values vs. social/personal context.

To explore this, I plucked a few morsels from prevailing health and medical ethics literature, spoke to a friend who had been circumcised as an infant and I had the great fortune to access the very salient insights of Dr. Syed Adnan Hussain, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. Not only does Dr. Hussain specialize in studies of modern Islam in South Asia and North America, he is a Muslim with a non-Muslim spouse and a father to prematurely-born twin boys whose personal experience and observations paint a robust, multi-faceted illustration of the complexity of the topic.

A SNIPPET OF BACKGROUND The word comes from Latin circumcīdere “to cut around” and most dictionaries abruptly define it as “removal of the prepuce or the cutting off of the foreskin.” The foreskin is an extension of the penile shaft and covers the glans, or head, of the penis. The role of the foreskin is not fully understood, but it could be to keep the glans moist, protect the penis in the womb or enhance sexual pleasure – to suit their basic purpose, human genitalia have evolved to work together as harmoniously and comfortably as possible. At birth, the inner surface is adhered to the glans surface and gradually separates. Circumcision was probably practiced as far back as 4th millennium BCE, and there are tomb-carving depictions from earlier than 2000 BCE. It is not known whether original practitioners did so for hygienic, sacrificial or rite-of-passage reasons, but it has long been a significant marker of group cultural and religious identity.

Although males can be circumcised at any age, it is simplest and the least risky when performed on very young, full-term infants with no significant medical issues. There are four methods used, with the Gomco clamp being the most common method in Canada and the US. In infants and very young children, anaesthesia is minimal and healing is normally complete within a week with very little bleeding (using the clamp method) involved. In older children and adults, the procedure is more complex and requires either local or general anaesthesia, suturing and greater surgical skill. Complications can include pain, excessive bleeding and bruising, sepsis, poor cosmetic effect, lacerations of the skin and injury to the glans. When performed in a clinical setting under sterile conditions, complications are normally few and typically minor.

When performed as a ritual, circumcision may happen in a non-clinical setting (though less and less so) performed by a surgically trained practitioner and is widely considered safe and acceptable.

WHO, WHERE AND WHY? The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 30-33% “…of the world’s males aged 15 years or older are circumcised.”

As a cultural event, it is often an initiation rite, a deeply entrenched expression of belonging or a means of social conformity. The WHO reports, “In the majority of these cultures, circumcision is an integral part of a rite of passage to manhood, although originally it may have been a test of bravery and endurance. Circumcision is also associated with factors such as masculinity, social cohesion with boys of the Spring 2017

same age who become circumcised at the same time, self-identity and spirituality.” A WHO survey done in Denver, Colorado, showed that 90% of circumcised fathers chose to have their sons circumcised. In the Philippines, boys are typically circumcised between 10 and 14 years of age with “two thirds of boys choosing to be circumcised simply ‘to avoid being uncircumcised’, and 41% stating that it was ‘part of the tradition’.”

In the Republic of Korea, 61% of respondents feared being ridiculed if they avoided the procedure. Degree of education completed and socioeconomic status also correlate with increased rates of circumcision. Many perceive that circumcised men are preferred by female partners and that it improves sexual pleasure, however, no robust evidence supports this.

Two religious groups especially favour the practice. In Judaism, the traditional practitioner is referred to as a mohel and the ceremony is called a Bris Milah. It is an outward symbol of the covenant between Abraham and God, and described as such in the Torah. In Arabic culture, practitioners are called motaher. Though not mentioned in the Qur’an, Islam may regard it as either a confirmation of the relationship with Allah (God) or an emulation of the Prophet Muhammed where it falls into the category of Sunnah, the traditions of Muhammed. Dr. Hussain explains, “…it is generally thought that he was born without a foreskin. Some accounts state that it was cut on the seventh day after his birth. Muslims do not worship Muhammad, but rather, many consider him the ‘best of men’ and as such if he did something it may be worthy of respect.”

Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism are largely neutral on the matter.

In western culture, a different story. By the late 1800s, it became common as a procedure especially to discourage masturbation, perceived as the “cause” of many physiological and psychological disturbances, and it followed as a “cure” for other ailments such as paralysis and motor problems, presumed to be exacerbated by excessive genital stimulation (much eye-rolling as I write this). A slightly more rational (if not entirely iron-clad) correlation was recognized between circumcision – presumed to be more hygienic – and a lower prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), even then not known to be caused by masturbation!

By the mid-1900s, a majority of Canadian male infants were circumcised, but since 1996, the Canadian Paediatric Society’s position has been that routine circumcision is not advised and in recent years, the average has reduced to 32%. In 2015, based on a review of 1596 medical articles, CPA published a revised position that circumcision may benefit some individuals who bear some risk factors – there is some convincing evidence that urinary tract infections (UTIs) are less common in circumcised males – but in Canada, these factors are not always terribly compelling. As such, it is not regarded as a necessary medical procedure and therefore provincial and territorial plans do not typically cover the cost. To date, the most persuasive evidence in its favour has been a correlation between male circumcision and reduced HIV/AIDS presence among males in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where these diseases are prevalent. But even this evidence is fraught.

CLEAN CUT, CLEAN CONSCIENCE? The presence of the foreskin means that there is an inner mucosal surface which is conducive to microorganisms that could result in reproductive tract and other infections, possibly related to poor hygiene, which has all proven difficult to measure and ascertain. It may help to keep in mind that the female genital/reproductive surface is similar in also being a thin, mucosal surface designed to be moist under normal, healthy circumstances. Those who observe stricter practices of hygiene might expect to see lower rates of STIs and urinary and reproductive tract infections, though again, the evidence is not incontrovertible. The risks Greener Bumps & Babies

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of these conditions in developed countries are arguably low and may favour treatment by more conservative means such as antibiotics.

The thinness of the inner surface could present a greater opportunity for ulceration, making the body more susceptible to contracting HIV. Indeed, a study found that this location had a higher risk of HIV infection than the cervix, the primary site of HIV infection in women, but this opportunity might be outweighed by the other purported protective properties of the foreskin. Furthermore, let us not forget that one of the most powerful tools against HIV (and other infections) is condom use. ‘Nuff said.

The hygiene element would also lend itself as compatible with religious doctrine. Think, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” (not actually phrased this way in the Christian Bible but implied liberally).

Dr. Hussain explains that, in Islam, … the tradition discusses it in terms of fitra, or acts necessary for cleanliness and being refined, which include the following: clipping the mustache, letting the beard grow, using toothpicks, snuffing water to wash the nose, cutting nails, washing the finger joints, plucking hair under the armpits, shaving pubic hair and washing one’s private parts with water (and perhaps washing the mouth with water).

There is no denying that hygiene is widely regarded as a social, even moral, virtue and there are valid health benefits. The burning question is: why can’t an uncircumcised person be expected to achieve it without surgery?

CUTS BOTH WAYS The war wages on about both the science and the medical ethics.

Two recent articles in The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, one entitled “Circumcision with Parental Consent, as Stated in the AAP Circumcision Policy Statement, Is Both Legal and Ethical” by Michael T. Brady and a direct reply, “Circumcision Is Unethical and Unlawful”, by J. Steven Svoboda et al., illustrate the polarization in few uncertain terms. In 2007, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Task Force on Circumcision attempted to address the earlier “lukewarm” position on neonatal circumcision by assembling a committee comprised of a wide range of experts. Brady, a board member, asserts that based on this diverse expertise and the findings from a comprehensive survey of 1031 well-designed studies, the benefits of early circumcision outweigh the small risks. Stopping short of recommending the procedure, it comes out clearly in support of respecting parental preference so long as there are no obvious contra-indications. Above all else, the AAP rests its case on the potential for future risk reduction as the studies showed “… clear evidence of significant health benefits, particularly relating to reduction in urinary tract infections, HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections, specifically HPV, HSV and syphilis, penile cancer [and] phimosis….”

Svoboda argues the AAP’s position and science is flawed, and mounts a case that renders circumcision tantamount to child abuse, saying “the circumcision of healthy boys occupies an anomalous position that is inconsistent with the norms of medical practice” whose ethics bar “proxy consent to surgery that is not medically necessary” and that “few things are less reasonable than for physicians to make medical decisions as to whether a procedure will be performed on the basis of non-medical factors such as the religion, culture, or

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personal beliefs of their patients’ parents.”

While Brady contends that the function of the foreskin is unknown, Svoboda counters that there is ample evidence suggesting that this highly enervated tissue has several functions, not the least of which is a protective one. One might also ask if not knowing the function of a normal piece of anatomy, and even if there were no function, justifies removing it (ask your doctor about male nipples). Furthermore, while the AAP feels that the benefits outweigh the risks, “…the risk/benefit structure the AAP invokes is inapplicable to male circumcision as it [the risk/benefit structure] was created for therapeutic procedures…” which newborn circumcision, typically, is not.

The two articles hotly dispute the most compelling argument that circumcision may be justifiable. Brady says that the HIV/AIDS study done in 3 African countries “…clearly defined the role of circumcision in the reduction of HIV acquisition in heterosexual males.” However, its soundness is precarious in some respects.

• N o studies have demonstrated that circumcision protects men who have sex with men.

• The study found that the male-to-female incidence of transmission actually increased when men were circumcised.

• The opposite result has been found in other countries.

• As the African study was conducted in poverty-stricken areas, it did not take into account populations who would have access to clean water and better hygiene.

Svoboda maintains that, given the rarity of UTIs in male children and penile cancer in general, the practice is unjustified – “European experts also note that performing 100 circumcisions in an effort to prevent one UTI will cause two ‘cases of hemorrhage, infection, or in rare instances, more severe outcomes such as death.’” And he notes that it is not logical to remove a healthy foreskin “…any more than any other part of the body that might one day fall prey to disease.”

Phimosis, when the foreskin opening prevents it from being retracted to expose the glans, is the most common condition requiring therapeutic circumcision but even this is currently suspected of being over-diagnosed and other viable solutions (topical medication and stretching exercises) are available.

THE CUT-OFF POINT: WHOSE DECISION IS IT ANYWAY? A more contemporary concern is that of informed consent and agency. The decision is exclusively made by the parent or caregiver (or some other authority), but would the child have chosen this as an adult? Brady says, “Opponents of circumcision recommend that any decision about male circumcision be deferred until age 18 years... However, many of the health benefits that can be achieved by circumcision are lost if the procedure is deferred to age 18 years.”

Most of us, to some degree or other, do not question the rightness of making decisions for our dependents, without their consultation, that will impact their future well-being. From expecting them to uphold our religious or social values like church-going or arranged marriages, to ear-piercing, spanking or demanding that they give old, creepy uncle Fester a hug out of politeness, we don’t always agree on or practice the same things. But many of us have a degree of sometimes shaky respect for other parents’ right to make sometimes

Spring 2017

vastly different choices on behalf of their children, so long as we judge, at worst, it does little to no harm, or at best, it’s “for their own good”. Lately, though, this “right” has come under scrutiny (often for very good reason) and often due to the sometimes hard-to-naildown concept of “autonomy” as it applies to young children.

The debate is poignantly illustrated in Dr. Hussain’s journey with his twin boys. Born and raised a Muslim, he never questioned the certainty that any male children of his would be circumcised.

I was compelled to revisit the issue after the boys were born into a state of considerable prematurity (~27 weeks) and as such it was not an option till they returned home. Generally, it seems that the medical establishment has dispensed with the practice in Halifax and we were forced to evaluate it not as a simple practice at birth, but one that would now require general anesthetic (which bears its own risks).

Faced with this, he began studying the history of circumcision within the Muslim community. In doing so, he affirmed that though it is recommended and encouraged, it is not based in scripture but rather practised in homage to the Prophet Mohammed, so therefore not required as such. Though drawn to respect his religious values, he hesitates based not only on health implications, but, since becoming a father, the growing awareness that valuing his children as agents of their own lives and bodies is deeply important. “I am still emotionally connected to the idea that we should circumcise them, but as their age increases, their agency compounds and the choice is simply not mine alone.” Despite being an accomplished and openminded academic, his emotional motivation for circumcision and his ambivalence about it has been a source of a good deal of anguish.

I needed to shed many tears over the issue. Emotionally there was a desire to have my body shared by my sons and there was a concern that later in life they may blame me for failing in my duty.

Ultimately, although I still think that it is important, it will fall to my sons to decide if they elect to the practice. At what age they will have sufficient ability to choose remains to be seen, but I have spoken about it with them during a family bath time.

have their kids' aesthetic birth defects “corrected” without their kids' consent – harelips, birthmarks, unsightly but benign tumours, that kind of thing. Strictly speaking, those things aren't therapeutic either – if “therapeutic” means necessary for normal organic function and not, say, to conform to societal norms about how kids should look…I think some parents who opt for circumcision believe they're doing something for the benefit of their child – they're doing it in (however misplaced) good faith… I never talked directly with my folks about my circumcision (that is completely unimaginable in my family) but I do remember my mom talking about circumcision, and saying it was a matter of health & hygiene… So in a way, regardless of how misinformed, she was doing it with my interests in mind… In a nutshell, my feelings: I have no ill will about it at all.

Circumcision is neither necessarily nor even primarily done in the name of health, nor is it always given rigorously researched and soul-searching scrutiny, as Dr. Hussain did. It doesn’t have to be.

How do we measure the weight of sincere values against that of medical ethics when the procedure done well in ideal conditions poses such a small threat and may mean a great deal to individual families, including the “circumcisee”? Or, as in the case of my friend, it may have no actual emotional impact at all. Should a voluntaryby-proxy medical procedure ever be governed by personal, social or spiritual convictions, deeply held though they may be? Consider the opposite case where a therapeutically urgent procedure may be denied a person for these same reasons. And, finally, whose choice is it really? When parents make such a decision, they are bound in two senses: bound to the responsibility of choosing in a thoughtful and informed way, and bound to be judged – in either case – by society at large, by closer friends and family, and/or even by themselves, if they experience ambivalence. Parents are entitled to and obliged to obtain the best information available so that they can consider thoroughly their willingness and capacity to bear the potential and proven consequences for, second-most, themselves and, more importantly, their children.

When asked if he feels reconciled to the outcome and whether the matter may be reconsidered, he remains philosophical, It always remains a possibility. But my responsibility as a parent is to educate them about the practice in my religious community, which is not shared by their mother, and to give them the pros and cons. For many, circumcision comes down to an issue of “changing that which is already perfect” and perhaps as a parent when the choice was taken from me…I should not now deny a choice that is owed them.

Photo: © Zouzi | Dreamstime.com

I also asked a long-been-circumcised friend what feelings he harboured, if any, about never having had any say in the matter.

In his thoughtful response, he wrestled with an ethical/logical vs. reality/feelings dichotomy.

I've given thought to having had the procedure without consent, and whether my parents had the right to do it (I won't say “consent to it” - they didn't consent to it; they instigated it) and ultimately, I find myself saying “no, they didn't have the right”. That's from an a priori, ethical point of view. The idea of parents altering their kids' bodies to conform with their beliefs – that's really dangerous territory. Although – and here I've played devil's advocate with myself – lots of parents

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t We're a h W

Books

reading reviews by leigh symonds

The Journey Colin and Lee, Carrot and Pea

By Francesca Sanna Flying Eye Books, 2016; Ages 8-99

By Morag Hood Two Hoots, 2016; Ages 2-7

Lee is pea. Colin is not. Lee is round, green and bounces very well. Colin does not. Colin is orange, tall and rectangular.

But despite these differences, Colin and Lee are great friends.

While Colin doesn’t play hide and seek very well (orange is rather obvious in a sea of small green peas), he does make a great slide, a fantastic bridge and very tall tower.

This book celebrates friendships and differences. It uses the very stark differences between a carrot and a pea to open a discussion on how each of us has our own distinguishing features and abilities. Right now, the world is struggling with the concept of difference. We’re not doing a very a good job of it either. This book targets that difficulty in a simple, straightforward manner. It espouses acceptance and promotes equality. It is a good reminder that differences should be celebrated, be it in ability, sex, ethnicity or wherever else we find it. Colin and Lee promotes the basic ideal that everyone is worth knowing, liking and enjoying as much because they are different as because they are the same.

Kids don’t get a lot of the extra politics we adults seem to throw on simple things. But they do keenly feel when they are different from others. This book is a great starting point to cultivate the idea that we are all special in our own unique ways.

Colin and Lee was a runner-up for the MacMillan Prize. Morag Hood is an author/illustrator living in Edinburgh, U.K. This is her first book!

38 EcoParent

| Greener Bumps & Babies

This is a story that must be told, especially in today’s unsettled world. It is haunting. It is frightening. It is full of hope. It is the story of a refugee family who flees their country after their father is killed. It is told from the perspective of the young children, though there is additional commentary in the illustrations.

The illustrations are very carefully orchestrated to tell their own tale. The book begins in reds and blacks. As they escape, other colours begin to creep in, dark at first and then, as the book ends, there are light blue skies. Animals loom in the imaginations of the children: stories they have been told about the deer, bears and foxes that live in the land to which they are travelling. While the words proclaim that the children’s mother is not afraid, the pictures clearly show her tears after her children are asleep.

What do you do when there is something terrible in the world? You write a story about it, bring it into the light. ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ we tell each other. And it is true. One might say this is not a children’s book. But it is. So many children have lived this: not only refugees, but children who lived in abusive families all over the world. This is their story as well. A flight from fear to salvation. These stories need to be explored by children, though at what age and what context will vary depending on their experiences. This is an excellent book for schools or other groups discussing refugees.

Spring 2017

Raising Resilience: Take the stress out of feeding your family and love your life.

What Colour is the Wind?

By Ann Herbauts, trans. Claudia Zoe Beddrick Enchanted Lion Books 2016 (English language translation), Casterman 2011; Ages 3-7 Winner of the Prix Sorcieres 2012

What colour is the wind?, asks the little giant, De quelle couleur est le vent?. It is the dark smell of the forest. Il a la couleur du soleil. It is the colour of time. This is a beautiful and delightful story of a young boy who asks the mountains, the bees, the dog and even an apple he eats: ‘what is the colour of the wind’.

Everything has a different answer. Finally, the boy stumbles up against a pair of dark boots, le trés grand Géant. What colour is the wind? It is everything at once.

This book is available in both French and English. The words in both languages are playful. There is a lyrical cadence in the question and answer sequences. The art, however, takes on a life of its own. The textures and colours bring another dimension to the storytelling. This dedication to the senses is further seen in the braille ‘wind’ on the cover of the book. It would have been brilliant if the braille had carried on throughout the book, especially considering the other textures within the art.

However, this acknowledgement of storytelling through touch is extremely encouraging.

Ann Herbauts has written numerous children's books and graphic novels. As writer and illustrator, she says of herself: “I am in the words and the images at the same time. The realm in which I work is the space between the two.” Her books have been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

Spring 2017

By Jess Sherman, M.Ed, RHN IC Publishing, 2016

Resilience. Yes, that’s what I want for my family. And the happiness that comes from leading a healthy life. It can be hard to figure out, especially when you’re chronically short of sleep, running from one thing to the next and you don’t have time to sit down and read, much less take a quiet breath or two. Well, sit down and read this book.

We are what we eat. Jess Sherman, a practicing nutritionist specializing in children’s diets, dives into the latest research on how food affects our bodies. She highlights the importance of diet in overcoming stress and fighting colds and leading happy, healthy lives. She focuses on three key strategies: maximizing your nutrient density, controlling blood sugar and supporting digestion. She offers advice on how to encourage picky eaters to widen their horizons. She further emphasizes how small changes can yield great results. We’re not going to be perfect eaters all the time, but if we can eat healthier more of the time, our bodies will be more resilient to the times when we don’t quite manage it. Her book ends on an upbeat note, providing a number of appendices and delicious recipes.

What I really appreciated about this book was how much current research was packed into it. Gut bacteria, a big new idea currently revolutionizing medicine, is a core issue. Fat isn’t the big bad anymore (except if it’s trans fat). Changing lifestyles (including diet) can be an alternative to medication in some instances. If you’re wondering how to eat better, read this book.

If your child is having mood swings or other issues, read this book. Read this book even if you think you eat well. It’s so upbeat and helpful that you’ll be sure to take a few tips away. I did. • Greener Bumps & Babies

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by dr jennifer keller, nd

Photo: © Conejota | Dreamstime.com

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ost women are in agreement that when it comes to pregnancy, the most important thing is to have a healthy pregnancy and baby.

Engaging in preconception and prenatal health care is the best way to ensure a smooth and optimal journey.

A healthy pregnancy starts before conception. With the basics of a well balanced, whole-food based diet and exercise regime in place (always start with the basics!), our next step is to ensure you have adequate levels of the top nutrients researched to be important for the health of both mom and growing baby.

Read on to see what I recommend for my patients to ensure fantastic health through pregnancy and beyond!

FOLATE Folate (folic acid, Vitamin B9) is a vitamin important for DNA synthesis and the growth and protection of cells in our body. We have an increased need for folate when our cells are growing and dividing rapidly, as is the case before pregnancy. It is, therefore, important to ensure adequate folate levels before conception. Many physicians and naturopathic doctors will advocate for all women of childbearing age to take a vitamin B complex in cases of unplanned pregnancy. Adequate folate levels are important for supporting the neural development of the baby. It is known to prevent spina bifida, neural tube defects and other birth abnormalities (cleft lip and palate, limb defects, etc.).

The best food sources of folate include dark leafy green vegetables, whole grains and citrus fruits. An easy way to remember that folate is present in dark leafy greens is to think of foliage, from which the term folate is derived.

Supplementation of folate is recommended during the preconception and pregnancy period. A good pre-natal vitamin should have the minimum daily requirement of 400 mcg. Be mindful of the form found in your prenatal. Most pre-natal supplements will list folic acid. Folic acid has to undergo a few chemical and enzymatic reactions before it becomes absorbable and usable by the body.

Current medical research is finding that almost 40% of the population has a genetic enzyme defect that prevents the necessary enzymatic conversion of folic acid into its active form. For this reason, it is advisable to look for folate in the form of methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF, or methyl-folate), the active form of folate immediately usable by the body, to avoid any deficiencies.

OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS (EPA & DHA) Omega-3 fatty acids play an important role in both the development of a healthy baby and in the health of the mother. Omega 3 fatty acids (FAs) are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found mainly in cold water fish. They are commonly called Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) because they are essential to our health and development.

These cannot be made by the body, and therefore must be obtained through our diet or supplementation. The most important omega-3 FAs are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). EPA is known to be important for our heart, immune system, and management of inflammation. DHA is known to be important for our brain, eyes and central nervous system.

Adequate levels of EPA and DHA during conception and pregnancy are vital to the neurological development of the fetus, notably positive effects on neurological and visual development. Studies also show a reduced risk of allergies, asthma, and eczema. And the health benefits do not stop with baby! It also seems that women with higher intake of omega-3 FAs have a decreased risk of pre-term labour, preeclampsia and low birth weight. There is also a correlationbetween low omega-3 levels and postpartum depression.

Health Canada has an excellent page detailing the health benefits of omega-3 FAs, as well as a chart of fish safe for consumption, outlining nutrient profiles, including the breakdown of EPA and DHA per fish. In pregnancy, you want to aim to get a minimum of 1 gram of EPA and 400 mg of DHA per day. This can be done through diet or a high quality fish oil supplement

Tip: Take fish oil supplements with food (in the middle of your meal) to avoid any fishy burps or aftertaste.

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VITAMIN D Vitamin D, affectionately known as the sunshine vitamin, is another important nutrient for conception and pregnancy. It is estimated that approximately 50% of the Canadian population is deficient in Vitamin D. The reasons for this are many. For one, there are few foods that contain Vitamin D. There are also a variety of factors that influence our ability to make or absorb Vitamin D. In Canada, the northern latitude means we are exposed to very little sun in the winter months. Vitamin D requires a certain amount and level of sunlight on our skin for the body to produce it. When the skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, it naturally produces a usable form of Vitamin D. Considering we cover up much of our skin for the majority of the year, we are generally at risk of not producing sufficient Vitamin D. The best way to find out if you are deficient is to get a blood test with your MD. Deficiency or not, it is recommended that women who are conceiving and/or pregnant supplement with Vitamin D. Numerous studies have been conducted around the health benefits of Vitamin D supplementation compared to non-supplementation and inadequate levels in pregnancy. These studies have found that women who supplement with Vitamin D have a decreased risk of developing gestational diabetes, pregnancy related high-blood pressure, and preeclampsia. It has also been shown to decrease the risk of premature labour and delivery. Of note for the baby, we have also seen a reduction of risk in the development of type-1 diabetes, allergies, and asthma when Vitamin D is found in adequate levels in the mother.

The amount of Vitamin D in most prenatal vitamins is often insufficient, requiring extra supplementation. When looking for a supplement, you want Vitamin D3 in a liquid form of medium chain fatty acids. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, and therefore best absorbed in liquid oil form with food. The minimum requirement is heavily debated. Currently the minimum requirement is suggested at 400 IU per day. Most studies are done with a dose of 4000 IU per day.

Consult with a naturopathic doctor or functional medicine doctor to discuss what levels would be most appropriate for you.

iron, so additional supplementation is not typically necessary. To prevent the need for further supplementation, you can focus on including iron rich foods in your diet. Dark leafy greens, liver, red meat and blackstrap molasses are some examples of foods that are high in iron.

Tip: Consume iron rich foods with foods high in vitamin C to increase absorption.

PROBIOTICS Probiotics and our gut flora are the health rage these days, and for good reason. Research is exploding with how vital these live microorganisms are to our health, on multiple levels. The right balance and strains of beneficial bacteria promote a healthy digestive tract, strengthen the immune system, prevent and help manage atopic conditions, and help combat illness. Benefits in conception and pregnancy are no exception.

Probiotics are often used to treat a variety of digestive complaints that can plague pregnant women, including constipation, diarrhea, heartburn and indigestion. Preventatively, exposure to good probiotics in mom and baby help to stimulate the growth of the immune system and prevent the development of allergies. Mom's can kick-start this early exposure by supplementing with probiotic rich foods and supplements in pregnancy. This ensures a diverse microflora in the mother's gut, womb, and vaginal tract. One of the best and biggest "doses" of probiotics for baby is from their mother’s vaginal tract during a vaginal birth. Babies born via C-section have been tested and found to have a completely different colonization of bacteria compared to those born via vaginal birth. Some hospitals are adopting vaginal smears for babies born via C-section to introduce the mother’s vaginal flora to the baby and impart the many benefits known from that inoculation process. When babies are exposed early to a diverse colonization of their mother’s bacteria, we see a decrease in atopic conditions, such as eczema, allergies, and asthma, as well as a more robust immune system with fewer incidences of colds and sickness.

During pregnancy, mothers who have a healthy gut flora also have decreased risk of being positive for Group-B-Strep.

IRON Iron is required for the production of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells. Pregnancy increases our need for iron, due to the baby developing its own blood supply and consuming a large amount of the mother’s oxygen! A deficiency in iron can lead to iron-deficiency anemia, causing a host of different symptoms, the most notable of which would be extreme fatigue. The good news is that checking your ferritin levels (the protein that stores iron in our bodies) is a routine procedure in all pre-natal visits. If you are found to be low in ferritin or anemic, your health care provider will advise you on the best supplemental forms. Most women find that certain forms of iron will cause cramping and constipation. To avoid this, ensure you choose iron in the form of iron glycinate (or bisglycinate).

Beyond prevention of anemia, we also know that adequate iron is associated with decreased risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Iron deficiency is associated with poor placental development and increased risk of miscarriage.

A good pre-natal supplement should contain a sufficient amount of

Probiotics are best obtained from high quality supplements and fermented foods. Including a diverse selection of fermented foods throughout your pregnancy will help create and maintain a vibrant gut-flora profile. Options for fermented foods include sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir (either milk or water for those who are intolerant to dairy), yogurt, and kombucha.

Tip: If supplementing with probiotics, take it with food to ensure best absorption and colonization.

The benefits of taking the time to master a healthy regime throughout your pregnancy are numerous! Not only will you prevent many pregnancy related complications, you will feel more energetic, clear of mind and ready to start this exciting new journey. Aiming to get the right amounts of these nutrients through diet also starts wonderfully healthy habits you can maintain for the rest of your life. If and when supplementation becomes necessary, please consult with a qualified health care provider to ensure you are taking the correct amounts and forms. •

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The

C labour Of

Understanding labour Interventions & how to prepare for an all-natural birth

by dr rachel schwartzman nd

Photo: © Jbrown777 | Dreamstime.com

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regnancy can be such a wonderful time. Whether it took some work to get pregnant or it happened quickly, the excitement of welcoming a new baby is felt by all. For pregnant women and their partners there is a lot of focus on the labour process. Couples want the best birth experience with positive birth outcomes. For this to happen, I believe couples need to be educated on the interventions they may encounter to enable and empower them to make the best choices. In this article I will discuss some common interventions that arise in labour and the possible cascade of interventions that can result.

Cervical Expectations Early in the process, I like to educate my birth doula clients about the different stages the cervix has to go through to allow a baby to pass through the birth canal. The cervix has to go from posterior to anterior, from super thick to thin (effacement), and from closed to open (dilation). These stages happen over the course of a pregnancy, especially as the due date approaches.

My hope is that women can go through labour un-medicated, but as we know this is not always the case. To keep medical intervention to a minimum I recommend women get to about 5cm dilated before seeking pain management. The longest part of labour is getting to about 5 cm; this is when most of the work happens, but it is also the “easier” part of labour. For a first delivery it can take many hours for the cervix to thin and dilate. Going from 6-10 cm is a very intense part of labour, but also the shortest part, and this is when the cervix can melt away in no time. With good labour support, if women get to this active labour stage, a drug-free labour is often possible.

Understanding the interventions Another idea I discuss in pre-natal sessions is the concept of a “cascade of interventions”. In some cases one intervention leads to another, which can lead to another, and so on. Some common interventions include prostaglandin gel, amniotomy, Pitocin and an epidural.

Prostaglandin gel is used to induce labour when the cervix is still quite thick, not sufficiently effaced and still needs some help thinning out. The gel is often applied to a woman’s cervix and she is sent home. After several hours mild cramps will signal the start of the labour process.

An Amniotomy is when the bag of waters is broken either to induce labour or when labour is not progressing well on its own. It can really pick up a slow-to-start labour, but also brings with it big contractions, so women need to be prepared for big surges.

Pitocin is a drug made to mimic a female’s natural oxytocin production. It produces strong contractions and can help the cervix dilate. It is used to induce labour or to support a labour that is not progressing well. It will squeeze the baby more intensely than the body’s natural oxytocin and not all babies like it. If the baby’s heart rate dips, a C-section can result.

An Epidural is used for pain management. It is a spinal injection administered by an anesthesiologist. It works at reducing pain sensations but can require the labouring woman to remain on her back for the rest of labour. It can also slow down contractions, requiring the administration of Pitocin.

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Cascading Interventions Epidural Let’s take the example of pain management with an epidural. With an early epidural, women are on their backs for the majority of labour, thus not utilizing gravity. In the early stages of labour it can be very useful for women to be changing body positions frequently, swiveling their hips, and squatting down into those contractions (why a birth ball can be so helpful!). All these movements help bring the baby down into the birth canal and help the cervix dilate.

An early epidural means no gravity. Without gravity, it’s hard for the baby’s head to sit nicely on that cervix, which helps bring on contractions. With weak or infrequent contractions, Pitocin is administered to pick up the pace. Now the cascade has begun.

Oxytocin is a natural hormone a labouring woman’s body makes, but it makes it differently than the synthetic form. The natural flow of Oxytocin comes in waves of intensity and duration, ideally dilating the cervix. Pitocin is administered by a machine, pumping it at a set interval which is increased every 30 minutes. It squeezes the baby intensely, which babies don’t always like. The baby’s heart rate dips, monitors start to beep, and we may be off to the operating room.

Post-date delivery It is quite common for women to deliver after their due dates. The general rule with obstetricians is for the induction process to happen by 10 days post due date. The research shows that at 14 days after the due date the placenta can start to degrade, not functioning as well for the baby. If the ultrasounds are normal, midwives will often allow women a few extra days, up to 14 days post due date.

So, let’s imagine a woman 10 days past her due date. The recommendation is an induction. When a woman is induced, her body does not make oxytocin naturally – it needs to be administered.

A prostaglandin gel may be applied to the cervix first to help soften it and then an IV drip of Pitocin will be given. Pitocin will be increased at steady intervals, ideally dilating the cervix. Sometimes no matter how much Pitocin you give, the cervix will not dilate. Other times the baby does not tolerate the contractions caused by the medication and it has to be stopped. In these situations a c-section will result.

Pitocin often results in tough labours. While I have seen some women deliver their babies with Pitocin and not have an epidural, in my experience as a birth doula this is not common practice.

These women tend to have unusually fast first labours or have had a previous baby, which often results in a faster labour. Women can typically only tolerate Pitocin for so long before they want pain relief.

Now you have a medicated induction, with Pitocin and an epidural.

With each intervention your risk of a c-section statistically increases.

One intervention leads to another and so we have another cascade of interventions.

Most women I deal with as a doula don’t want C-sections. They spend 9 months building a team that will support their desire for a vaginal birth. They hope for a “natural” birth, may contemplate an epidural, but want to avoid a C-section. Some women can have early interventions and have the vaginal delivery they hope for. For others the “progress” stalls and the baby is delivered via a C-section. The concept of holding off with interventions sounds good in theory,

in the absence of pain, but during the process things change and support is needed. Trying to stay calm, focusing on breath, using water, and having labour support are all things that can help labour to progress naturally.

I don’t know why one woman can labour naturally to full dilation, and another needs surgery. But what I do know is that both stories end the same: women becoming mothers, holding their babies skin to skin, gazing into each other’s eyes for the first time. •

Natural Ways to Prepare the Body for Labour

As a naturopathic doctor I typically discuss with pregnant women some natural ways to prepare the body for labour.

The goal is for the body to go into labour on its own, avoiding an induction. The other goal is for the body in labour to produce good contractions, avoiding medical interventions. I am sharing with you here some of my recommendations to help with this:

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: From the 3rd trimester

you can begin by drinking 1 cup of steeped tea daily.

This herb is one of the best known and most widely used uterine tonics. The leaf contains an alkaloid called fragine, which tonifies and strengthens the uterine muscles and pelvic region. This plant is also extremely nourishing, rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C & E, calcium, iron and potassium. By tonifying the uterine muscles, the contracting uterus works more effectively, aiding in a quicker and more efficient labour.

Walking: I am a big fan of getting women to walk when pregnant. The goal is an hour per day, which can be divided into smaller segments, especially towards the end of pregnancy when the body can be sore. One of the best things you can do in your pregnancy is to keep active.

Walking is a great way to help the baby get engaged and apply some pressure on the cervix, helping it to soften and dilate.

Drop & Squat!: Squatting increases pressure on the

cervix, helping it to thin and dilate. Periodically, throughout the day, just drop down and squat. It’s a great way to prepare the body for labour to happen on its own.

Remember that at the end of the day, no matter how your birth results, you are amazing. Rejoice in the power of the female body, your inner warrior and your new bundle of joy.

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SURVIVING

the first

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with your baby by lesley everest

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Photo: © Hilllander | Dreamstime.com

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hen we are pregnant, many things occupy our minds, from how we will get through birth, to what life at home with baby will be like, to how much larger our breasts can possibly get. What we often don’t think much about are the first 48 hours after baby’s arrival.

Being prepared for this amazing and tumultuous time can help you ease into parenthood more smoothly.

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Expectations

Let’s start with the first minutes after birth. Very often we’re told that as soon as the baby is born, violins will play, angels will sing, and we will fall madly in love with our bundle of joy. For most, this is the truth. But it’s not the case for everyone.

With the best of intentions, brand spankin’ newborns are often placed directly onto new mothers with enthusiastic cries of, “Take your baby!” to initiate critical skin-to-skin bonding. For some women, this is one of their favourite memories of birth. For others, it is a shock. Some women need time and quiet to come back from such an intense journey. So having space to breathe themselves back into their bodies, letting them claim their babies in their own good time, can be important for optimal bonding.

I have heard a lot of moms express feelings of shock and unreadiness for connected presence with their babies just seconds after birth.

Some have even felt guilt, as if they were somehow lacking.

Know this: you are an awesome mom whether it took two seconds, two minutes, or two hours to feel ready to meet your new little one.

It is normal to need some time.

speaking of

Presence

It is also normal to feel worried about your new baby when she arrives. But instead of getting caught up in thinking worried thoughts immediately after the baby is born, such as, “What are the APGARs,” or “Am I bleeding? Did I tear?” try to kick back and relax. Whatever may be going on with you or baby, your care provider will inform you as things unfold. They will not withhold concerns from you. If the tone of the room seems calm, generally all is well, and you can just let your worries go. Oxytocin is the hormone which promotes bonding and contracts your uterus to prevent bleeding. It tends to flow better when your mind and body are relaxed.

Since the advent of personal mobile devices and social media, I have noticed a lot more people reaching out in the precious moments following birth to notify the world of the new arrival instead of living it as fully as possible in real time. There will be plenty of time to share baby. You never get these moments back. Savour them. Live them to their fullest. Think about sharing the news with others AFTER you’ve had time to revel in those little fingers and toes, baby has had some quality time at the breast, and you’ve had a snack. Or, if instant sharing is important to you, delegate social media duties to a friend.

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Feeding

Whether you gave birth vaginally or by Cesarean, at some point your baby will be interested and you will be ready (if this is your plan) to give breastfeeding a try. You may have taken breastfeeding classes in preparation. But here’s the thing: babies are so much squirmier than the dolls they had you hold in class. Your first few feeds will likely feel very awkward.

The Official EcoParent Bump to Baby Guide!

You may be tempted to sit up for greater ease of vision. Remember, though, that the part of you that just birthed a baby, either your bottom or your lower abdomen, will be tender. Sitting up can put pressure on these sore areas. I highly recommend the “biological nurturing” position, which has you lying comfortably back, with your baby lying between your breasts to either “crawl” to your breasts and latch himself, or curled in the crook of your arm (with a pillow supporting your arm) so he is already in the vicinity of your breast when he starts smacking his lips.

If baby hasn’t latched on within the first 30 to 60 minutes, squeeze some drops of colostrum out of your breasts and rub it on his lips.

His tummy is literally the size of a cherry pit, so he doesn’t need much. Keep trying as he shows interest, and trust that while it all seems very new and overwhelming, you’re both usually designed to do this. Ask a nurse, midwife, or doula to help if you want.

Be patient with yourself and your baby. You are both learning how to do this! If you are experiencing problems or pain, contacting a breastfeeding support person as soon as possible is important.

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Use

After a vaginal birth, the idea of using the bathroom can be daunting.

Take a squeeze bottle filled with warm water. Squirt yourself gently (aim for your urethra) while sitting on the toilet before you begin urinating. Continue squeezing warm water onto yourself while you pee, and after for cleaning. The warm water helps to dilute the urine so it doesn’t sting delicate tissue.

In both Cesarean and vaginal birth, the idea of moving one’s bowels afterwards can be downright terrifying because of tenderness in your bottom or your belly. If you’re on narcotic pain medication, this can cause constipation, making matters feel even scarier. You will likely be offered a stool softener. Ensuring you eat foods that are warm, nourishing, hydrating, and high in good fats can keep everything moving smoothly. Drink lots of temperate to warm water. Don’t strain! If you’ve birthed surgically, keeping a pillow over your tummy and exerting a small amount of compression can be comforting.

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Sleep

the second

Babies are so cute, and often appear quite mellow in the first 24 hours of life, eating a minimum of eight times per day. But night two may be a different story!

In a mad struggle to get his milk supply in, your little one may seem to only want to be at your breast, suck angrily, yell, fall asleep, then protest loudly when you try to put him down. Please know this is normal. It is not the cardinal sign that you’re starving your baby and that he needs supplementation. Warm skin and the familiar sound of a heartbeat (yours or your partner’s) will keep him calmer, helping him burn less calories. The closeness also produces milk producing hormones. You are not doing anything wrong because he is fussing.

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Health

Within a couple of days after birth, your hormone levels shift radically.

You may feel hot flashes, sweat, and have to pee like crazy. For those who are sensitive, these hormonal shenanigans can cause some feelings of jitteriness. All good, as long as you feel well otherwise.

If you feel emotionally strange or unwell, please don’t hesitate to let your care provider know. This is NOT your fault or a sign you’re not cut out for parenting. Perinatal anxiety and depression related concerns are the most common complications of childbirth, and nothing to feel ashamed about! The great news is these things are absolutely treatable. With help and support, you WILL be well.

and of course...

Enjoy!

Those first hours and days of being enraptured by the sweet little love are what bonding is all about. Whenever possible, be fed and be nurtured while you feed and nurture. Breathe. Feel. Take it slow. It’s a crazy ride.

May you look back upon these first 48 hours, even if things don’t go as expected, with pride in yourself for all you have done to bring this child into the world. Even if it’s a bumpy ride, you have what it takes, and as things normalize, it will go more smoothly. You’ve got this! •

Photo: Sarah Tacoma Photography

Within the first couple of days, you may find it more difficult to sleep than you expect. Birth is a big deal, and the adrenaline coursing through your body may make you feel jangled. If you birth at a hospital, well-meaning but frequent interruptions can make it hard to settle and rest.

Keeping your baby skin to skin with you as much as possible and breastfeeding can help you to feel sleepy. With a partner or loved one gently keeping an eye on both of you, feel free to drift off deliciously if you can. A Sleep Belt can ensure you feel secure knowing your baby won’t slide off you if you both fall asleep. Quiet and TLC are what you deserve right now. Unless it makes you feel reassured and happy, keep visitors to a minimum.

Night

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Cloth Diapering 101: Your Questions Answered!

by lindsay gallimore

Photo: © Kirsten Adamson | Dreamstime.com

Why choose cloth diapers?

It should only take a little bit of math for me to convince you to choose cloth diapers. Let’s make a very modest estimate of six diapers per day, for a modest two and a half years. (My son was in diapers until three and a half, by the way!) That’s nearly 5500 diapers that will hit the landfill, unlikely to biodegrade much for at least half a millennium. You’re making a difference even if you only choose cloth diapers half the time! But I know there are a lot of naysayers around you, probably telling you that cloth diapers are gross and you’ll never stick with them.

I had my share of funny looks when I told people four years ago that I was going the cloth route. I get it. Cloth seems like a lot of work. The lingo seems like an impossibleto-crack code. It seems like you’ll have to touch a lot of poop. It seems like it will be really expensive. But I promise you won’t regret it!

How much does it cost?

You can equip yourself with everything you need to cloth diaper from newborn to potty-training for under $500.

How much work is it?

You can count on about three extra loads of laundry each week. I wash my children’s clothes with our cloth diapers (after they’ve gone through a rinse cycle by themselves), so I don’t find it to be much more laundry.

How gross is it?

If you’re not prepared to handle poop and pee, using disposables isn’t going to save you from parenthood! In some ways, I find using cloth to be less disgusting. Disposables smell terrible in the trashcan. (That’s why they make those products that indi-

vidually seal each dirty diaper in plastic!)

Since you are flushing the poop from your cloth diapers down the toilet, the nursery doesn’t smell like dirty diapers, and even cloth diapers filled with urine don’t stink the same way disposable diapers do. There are many products out there to help take the ick-factor out of cloth, from diaper sprayers and splatter shields to biodegradable liners.

Does it actually save money?

Yes! Even if you buy higher priced cloth diapers, you’ll still be spending less than if you purchase disposables for three years. When you think about cost, it’s also important to remember that you can use your cloth diapers on more than one child. I am using cloth diapers on my daughter that I also used on my son, and have resold some of our diapers that we don’t need. I don’t think I need to tell you that you can’t “hand down” a used disposable and you definitely can’t put it up on Craigslist. In terms of the cost of extra laundry, you’re looking at pennies per load.

damentally, a very simple contraption. No matter what fancy name it bears, a complete cloth diaper has a waterproof exterior and an absorbent inner. The way in which these two parts are combined leads you to the three most common styles of diapers.

All-in-Ones (AIOs) have a waterproof outer and absorbent inner that are sewn together in ONE piece. All-in-Twos (AI2s) have a waterproof outer (called a cover) that is separate from the absorbent inner. You put them together before use, and often reuse the cover for a couple of diaper changes. Pocket diapers are waterproof covers that have an inner pocket, and into that pocket you slide your absorbent portion (called an insert). Cloth diaper trial kits are available both online and in-store from many retailers: for $100 or so, you can really get to know the different styles of diapers and decide what works for you. Shops typically then offer you credit towards purchasing your diapers at the end of your trial.

What do I need to get started?

Is it complicated to wash them?

No soaking required! You get as much of the solids into the toilet as possible, then store your diapers in a pail or wet bag until wash day. When you wash, you’ll run a quick, cold wash with detergent first. Then, add in some other laundry if you want and run a heavy, hot wash with enough detergent for a heavily soiled load. Diapers can be dried on low or hung to dry.

What’s with all this lingo?

If you start researching cloth diapers online, it’s easy to get turned off by the sheer volume of choice and the superfluous abbreviations. What you need to keep clearly in your mind is that a cloth diaper is, fun-

The Official EcoParent Bump to Baby Guide!

I recommend a bare minimum of 24 diapers. The more diapers you have, the less frequently each diaper is washed, so the longer each one will last. You will also want to buy a few wet bags, used to transport dirty diapers when you’re out and about, and a pail or large wet bag to store all your dirty diapers between washings.

Where do I find more information?

If you have a cloth diaper retailer local to you, check if they offer information sessions or trial kits. Consider joining online cloth diaper communities on Facebook, or search Pinterest and cloth diaper blogs for more specific help. •

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Expectations by pam larouche and elisa costanza-reyes

Photo: © Vadimgozhda | Dreamstime.com

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h to sleep... perchance to dream! Being a new parent means hearing everyone’s tidbit of advice, whether asked for or not, especially when it comes to sleep. It can be overwhelming and confusing! So let's set the record straight with the top five sleep questions we regularly hear.

Can you really spoil a newborn?

Absolutely not! You may have heard from your parents or others not to hold your newborn all of the time or they will get used to it. Or not to let them fall asleep on you because then you will never have a healthy sleeper. The truth is, your baby needs you and the first few months are really just about survival. Their only way of communicating is by crying, so it's our job as their care providers to listen attentively and respond to their needs: whatever that may look like.

Newborns need the warmth of someone’s body. They need to be held close and they need soothing movement. It's important to remember that your little one has just come from the womb where there is constant noise, constant movement, and the sound of your heartbeat 24/7 as they are snuggled up within the walls of the uterus.

Imagine the shock when they come out! All of sudden their environment is completely different. This is why recreating the sounds and feelings of being in the womb (warmth, rocking, hushing) is so comforting to your new baby.

How much, and how often, should they be sleeping Newborns need to sleep a lot. We’re talking 16+ hours in a 24 hour period, varying from baby to baby. It may vary from day to day, as things such as gas or irritability will inevitably get in their way. However, it's a good guideline to ensure that you are giving them the opportunity to be able to sleep by not keeping them awake for too long.

A brand new baby should only really be awake for 45-60 minutes at a time. Some babies will naturally fall asleep within that time frame, while others need more help and encouragement falling asleep. As your baby grows, their happy awake times should also increase.

Watch for signs of tiredness to prevent an overtired, cranky baby!

one just will not sleep regardless of how much you are helping. This is normal. You are not doing anything wrong.

Sleep expectations - what can you realistically expect?

Sleep in the first 4 months is quite unpredictable. There may seem like there is no rhyme or reason to how they are sleeping...because there really isn’t! They may have wonderful long naps one day and short naps the next. The unpredictability may cause extra stress, but we can assure you that as they get older and with healthy sleep habits in place, their sleep will start to become a little more predictable (and pretty soon you’ll be predictably prying your teen out of bed to get to school!)

Sleep associations - why you do not need to worry about creating bad habits in your infant Newborns do not have the ability to self-soothe, therefore they will need your help and support, especially in those first few months.

Having your little one sleep in arms, on you, in the carrier or in your bed is to be expected as they adjust to their new life ‘on the outside’.

As they grow and their brain develops they become a little more ready for independent sleep. This is when you can start working on any less than desirable sleep associations that may have developed, if need be. As always, if what you are doing is working for your family, there is no need to change anything.

Should my baby be on a schedule?

Predictable schedules are not something we generally see until closer to 6 months of age. In the first 4 months you will be focusing more on the amount of time your baby is awake in between sleep periods.

This means that although you may know your 3 month old is going to be going back to sleep after roughly 75 minutes of awake time, the days will still be unpredictable with the timing of the naps.

When you are working on more predictability, ensuring that your child is awake at relatively the same time every morning will get that ball rolling. •

Note: There will be times throughout the day or night that your little

The Official EcoParent Bump to Baby Guide!

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by dr. leslie solomonian, nd & stephanie fairborn

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aving a newborn is a very exciting time for parents. However, infant illnesses such as coughs, colds, and diarrhea can create worry. As a parent or caregiver, you want to feel confident in how you are handling these situations, ultimately making sure your child is comfortable and safe. Here are some strategies for appropriately navigating common illnesses and tools to help your child feel better sooner.

Understanding FEVERS One of the most common symptoms of infant illnesses is fever. While understandably worrisome for parents, fevers are one of the many ways the body protects itself against viruses and bacteria. Fevers create an environment that is toxic to infectious organisms, and are associated with a boost in white blood cell count (the “soldiers” of the immune system), increased heart rate (helpful to circulate those soldiers), and the fatigue and lethargy that prompt your child to rest and recover. A fever is a sign that the body is doing exactly what it needs to do. Fevers due to infection do not typically get high enough to cause neurological damage. Some children will be susceptible to febrile seizures (a seizure caused by a rapid increase in body heat) however incidence is low and even these have not been shown to cause damage.

While the fever itself should not cause worry, a higher fever may be an indicator of a more serious cause of illness. Most common childhood illnesses are viral. They cause low fevers and are generally benign and self-limiting, although they certainly can cause distress (think ear infections and croup). A bacterial infection may be more dangerous; a higher fever may indicate the need for medical care, particularly if there are other concerning symptoms (see below).

There is no need to suppress a fever! When acetaminophen and ibuprofen are used to reduce fever and alleviate discomfort, the entire immune response is suppressed, potentially prolonging the illness. By allowing the body to do its work – marked by the fever running its course – you may be helping to promote recovery.

There are many ways to help an ill child feel more comfortable without using a fever suppressing medication. Read on!

When to WORRY So if fever alone shouldn’t cause worry, what should? Assessing your child overall is more important than the number on the thermometer (although an infant under three months of age with a fever should seek immediate medical care).

Infant Illness Risk Guide CONCERN

FEVER

• Skin, lips and tongue are pink and plump • Responds to you normally • Stays awake or is able to easily waken • Cries normally • Mouth and eyes are moist and plump • Less active than usual

• Pale complexion • Doesn’t respond normally; takes a while to wake up; lethargic • Increased breath rate • Increased heart rate • Mouth is dry • Not nursing/eating/drinking well • Fever for over 5 days • Signs of swelling or pain • Skin rash

The Official EcoParent Bump to Baby Guide!

• Less than 3 months of age • Pale, blue or grey complexion • Not responding; does not wake or stay awake • Weak, high-pitched or continuous cry • Grunting or sounds of distress • Struggling for breath • Decrease in urination • Bulging or sunken fontanelle • Neck stiffness • Neurological changes or seizures

So what do I do?

Barring signs of serious infection that requires medical attention, the goal is to help your child be as comfortable as possible while allowing her body to take care of the illness on its own. Here are some tools to help you appropriately treat common concerns:

TREATMENT

REASONS FOR USE

Baby should be dressed comfortably in lightweight, breathable clothing

TLC

Sick little ones are uncomfortable, cranky and need a lot of extra love. Cuddling, story-reading, and backtickling occupy them while their bodies rest. Make sure their clothes and bedding allow them to regulate their temperature well.

FLUIDS

Infants typically have a decrease in appetite when not feeling well, and lose more fluids when they have a fever or diarrhea, so it is important to ensure they are getting appropriate nutrition and hydration.

Continue to offer age-appropriate fluids - breast milk, water, homemade vegetable or bone broth, smoothies or soups.

Herbal teas contribute therapeutic benefits too!

Helps promote circulation, allowing the white blood cells to target the cause of infection.

Put cold, wet socks on child’s feet. Cover with dry thermal (wool or fleece) socks or booties. Tuck them into bed. The socks will be warm and dry by morning.

Helps to clear a stuffy nose.

Salt water helps dilute mucus to make it easier to clear.

Breastmilk does the same, and is rich in antibodies that help target the infection. Irrigation products designed for infants can be purchased at the pharmacy and/or a few drops of breastmilk can be dripped into the child’s nose. Diluted or not, mucus can be removed using a simple bulb syringe found in any pharmacy.

Helps to clear the nose and sinuses; may alleviate a cough.

Turn on shower to hottest setting; close door to create a steam filled room; bring infant into the room for approximately 10 minutes.

Teas made from plants such as Elderberry, Chamomile, Catnip, Lemon balm and Peppermint are antimicrobial, calming and support the immune system, and allow a fever to run its course in a healthy way.

Pour 1L boiling water over 3 heaping Tbsp of dry herb. Steep until cool enough to drink or touch. Add to bath water, soups, or give to child directly as a tea.

Even infants can safely take these teas from a cup or using a dropper (dose of 1-2 eye droppers every few hours to children under 1, 1/4-1 cup every few hours to toddlers and older children).

The digestive tract is richly supplied with lymphatic tissue – a key part of the immune system. Castor oil is absorbed across an infant’s skin and promotes immune activity.

Warm a small amount of cold-pressed castor oil in your hands; gently massage baby’s tummy, moving your hands in a clockwise direction; leave the oil on when you dress him. Rub it into the chest as well if there is also a cough.

If there are no concerning symptoms, but the fever is higher than your comfort level, this can help bring the temperature down without suppressing the rest of the immune response.

Using lukewarm water use washcloth to slowly bathe child; adding strong herbal teas to the bath water can add therapeutic benefit!

MAGIC SOCKS

Nasal or breastmilk irrigation & bulb syringe

Steam Inhalation

Herbal teas

Castor oil belly rubs

Sponge bath

HOW TO USE

Note: Essential oils such as eucalyptus should not be used with infants as they can be toxic. Honey also is not recommended to be ingested by infants until approximately one year of age.

It is natural to feel concerned about your child getting sick. Knowing when to worry, and having some tricks up your sleeve, will enable you and your infant to sail through the most common childhood illnesses. • The Official EcoParent Bump to Baby Guide!

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Kris Antonius, cityfolkcreative.ca

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guide contributors

Lesley Everest is a mother of four and active doula for almost a quarter of a century. She is the founder and head trainer of MotherWit Doula Training. As a seminary trained interspiritual minister and hospice volunteer, she also supports those at the end of life. Her mission is to provide insightful support for extraordinary transformation.

Stephanie Fairborn is a fourth year medical student at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. She completed her Hon. BA in Kinesiology at Wilfrid Laurier University. She is very excited about educating others about wellness and the mind body connection. Upon graduating this spring she looks forward to practicing in the Toronto area.

Lindsay Gallimore is a teacher-turned-blogger living in Calgary with her husband and two young children. Passionate about helping families make the switch to reusable products, she is a cloth diaper advocate and ready to teach people that cloth is cool (and kind of addictive).

Besides all things cloth diapers, her blog—Maman Loup's Den—also covers a wide variety of parenting topics with humour and candor.

Pam Larouche and Elisa Costanza-Reyes are the founders of Restful Parenting — Holistic Infant and Child Sleep Consultants, offering classes and workshops across Ontario as well as private consultations across Canada. They are both early childhood educators and certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultants and have extensive experience in early childhood development. Between the two of them, they have 6 healthy, rambunctious children ranging in age from 4 months to 10 years.

Dr. Rachel Schwartzman is a naturopathic doctor, acupuncturist and birth doula. She maintains a general family practice in Toronto where she has a special interest in women`s health, fertility, pregnancy and pediatrics. She's inspired daily by her 3 young children, and together they keep active outdoors and create healthy family meals in the kitchen.

Jess Sherman is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist who helps busy parents raise healthy kids. Jess offers dietary support for symptoms and conditions common to infants, children and mothers including digestive disorders, food intolerance and allergy, picky eating, ADD/ ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, anxiety, eating disorders, eczema, fatigue and overwhelm, and postpartum adjustment struggles. Learn more at www.jesssherman.com.

Dr. Leslie Solomonian, ND is Associate Professor at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, and maintains a private naturopathic practice in Toronto with a strong interest in pediatric wellness. Leslie sits on the board of the CNME and is a Director of the Pediatric Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Leslie is currently writing a textbook on Naturopathic and Integrative Pediatrics.

©2017 EcoParent Inc. All rights reserved. Guide cover photo ©Marchibas | Dreamstime.com. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including by photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval, without permission in writing from the publisher. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, EcoParent Inc., its staff, and its contributors cannot take responsibility for losses resulting from publishing errors, however caused. The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher, who accepts no liability of any nature arising out of, or in connection with, the contents of this publication.

GETTING a

Solid Start Your guide to starting solid foods & avoiding allergies by jessica sherman, rhn Photo: © Dusanzidar | Dreamstime.com

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ondering if it’s time to start solids? There are a lot of conflicting messages flying around about when to start, and what to start with, in order to give your child the best health advantages. How can you figure out what’s right for your baby?

Current Health Canada guidelines suggest starting solids no earlier than 4 months and no later than 7 months. Introducing potentially allergy-provoking foods earlier is also suggested to give them the best chance of avoiding allergy. However, your child is unique and only by tuning in to their needs can you determine how and when it’s best to start solids.

Here are three questions to ask yourself as you get ready for the transition to solids.

Are Your Child’s Digestion And Motor Skills Ready?

Current research suggests that the digestive system of most babies becomes mature enough to digest solids at some point between 4 and 8 months of age. With little scientific proof, this is our best guess based on what experts know about typical development and health outcomes.

BELLY BUG

BUILDERS When it’s time to start solids, here are 6 ways to build your baby’s belly bugs and support their gut-immune health:

Some signs to suggest your child’s digestive system is likely ready for solids are: • • • • •

They express interest in food and are ready and willing to chew They accept food without pushing it out with their tongue Their first few teeth are starting to poke through They can sit up unassisted Early skin conditions, constipation and reflux have cleared up

If your child had reflux, colic, skin conditions, or persistent constipation or diarrhea as an infant, it’s more likely that they will struggle to digest certain foods later on. Getting support to resolve these digestive-related issues first can make the transition to solids more seamless.

How Can You Meet Your Child’s Changing Nutritional Needs?

Some studies suggest that while the nutritional quality of breastmilk is perfect for infants, by the time baby is about six months old it struggles to keep up with their expanding nutritional needs. This makes six months an appropriate time to start offering easy-todigest, nutrient dense foods like fruits, vegetables and healthy fats to complement the amazing health enhancing properties of breastmilk.

Most health agencies now agree that a baby will get the most health benefits from being exclusively breastfed for six months, at which point complementary foods can be added. For parents who are using formula, I often suggest carefully starting solids a bit earlier because healthy whole foods expand your ability to nourish your baby’s immune system.

How Can You Support Your Child’s Immune System Development?

Researchers learned recently that our body’s most densely populated area of immune cells is in our gut lining. Since one in two of us adults struggle with an immune-related health condition, this discovery spawned a huge interest in understanding how we can influence the immune system by focusing on the health of the gut.

Currently, we know that poor mucosal integrity along with a lack of microbial diversity contribute to the development of immunerelated conditions like asthma, eczema, allergy, and autoimmune disease. Furthermore, it seems that the first two years of life represent a programming period for our gut ecosystem—a time where our microbes organize themselves and settle into a pattern that might persist throughout our lives. This theory has become known as “microbial programming”. Wild! These good bacteria need our love and attention right from the start.

• Start with fruits and vegetables like banana and pumpkin. Fruits and vegetables provide fibre that help those microbes grow healthy and colonize.

• O ffer your baby fermented vegetables like fermented carrots and cucumbers to introduce more beneficial bacteria. You can give these to your baby to suck on after 7 months of age, once hydrochloric acid levels in the stomach stabilize.

• Kefir, a fermented dairy product, can be introduced once your child is ready for dairy, around 7-9 months.

This will provide even more beneficial bacteria and yeast. Keep in mind that fermented dairy is easier to digest than milk so it may be started earlier than whole milk, which may be better introduced around 12 months.

• B roth made by simmering animal meat/bones offers an easy-to-digest form of protein, essential minerals, gelatin, and the amino acids glycine and glutamine. These nourish the digestive lining so that the bacteria have a healthy place to colonize. Broth can be offered as early as 5 months as it is very easy to digest.

• A good quality probiotic supplement for babies can be helpful, particularly if birth was via cesarean, you are using formula, you used antibiotics during birth or you have a history of family immune, neurological or gastrointestinal related illness. Probiotics have been shown to be a safe and effective way to reduce the risk of allergy and asthma by up to 54%.

• U se coconut oil. This healthy tropical oil contains fatty acids which help nourish the digestive lining, keep pathogenic microbes at bay and support immune cell functioning. Melt it and mix it into purees, soups and smoothies, and use it to sauté fun finger foods.

Our understanding of how and when we should transition our babies to solids is still evolving. What is clear is that early childhood nutrition plays an important role in the development of health and disease later in life. Consider the six ways outlined here to support digestive and immune function for a solid start!

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Feature

One Woman ...and mastering birth wendy christensen strives to be the perfect eco-parent, but as a working mother of three, sometimes this does not go according to plan

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hen I first got pregnant, I had no idea how much fun it would be to give birth. Really. Ignoring the slaughtering of your private parts, and the somehow strange way that it is acceptable to have an audience of 10 when you are essentially having a VERY large uterine movement... it can be kind of fun.

For example, when else can a woman have full access to a support team that just wants to look after her no matter what she says or does. Sure it might involve some probing and yelling, but the whole birth process gives the overworked woman an opportunity to be looked after before she takes on the biggest marathon of her life.

When else can she sit in the bath for hours and not have anyone tell her to get out? Or have her partner rub her feet just because they can't handle having no control over the situation and somehow oils and toes make it all better. And believe me when I say, a woman can say anything during birth and it's completely forgivable. “GET...OUT...

NOW!!!” is actually celebrated and adored. Potentially frustrating for the woman, but not so much for the doctor or midwife that wants to go home and knows the end is near.

But really...I also understand the struggles of birth and the power a woman gains when she works to overcome them.

There is nothing like surrendering your body to another force, like when your body takes on the work of pushing out a very large foreign body. I often laugh at the saying that men are the stronger sex, when really the uterus is the strongest muscle in the human body. Think about it. Just by contracting it can push out, with such a force, an explosion of…well…pretty much anything along the way, including a human. And it’s not like intentionally flexing your pecs to get attention. It has a mind all of its own PLUS it is connected to ancient animal forces. How cool is that? I once heard a story that a woman was pushing out her baby and it was coming out face first (normally the back of the head is seen first). A doctor-in-training was tending the birth, and saw what appeared to be an alien creature emerging. The terrified look on his face caused the woman's body to go into flight mode. That baby was sucked back in so fast that she had to get a caesarian to get the baby out. That is an insane amount of power that is contained in a woman. Forget “he didn't have the balls to do it.” It should be “he didn't have the uterus to do it.”

42 EcoParent

| Greener Bumps & Babies

With my first birth, I didn't understand the power I had within me.

I went in trusting the medical professionals to tell me what to do.

Little did I know...they aren't me. And although they have experience with many different women, each woman's experience of birth is so different that there is no way you can use any kind of formula to predict a birth outcome. That was a big mistake on my part...or shall I say a very big life lesson learned instead.

After an unnecessary induction, my first labour sped out of control and I was scared out of my mind. Left in a room to cope, the only thing I could do was surrender. With hours of heavy back labour, eventually I assumed a position based purely on instinct: I went on my hands and knees. The TV births I watched never showed this position. I knew nothing about my natural ability to birth. However, assuming that position and based only on instinct, I gave my baby the space to turn and was ready to push within the hour. Unfortunately, the doctors were not ready for how fast I could push. Consulting their textbooks, they casually called the doctor but my baby was out in 10 minutes flat.

Explosions and chaos everywhere. The power of the uterus.

From that experience, I saw that my body was in charge of my birth.

I could delegate the who and why but it was going to do what it needed to do. So with my second, I let it. Having a doula by my side and ensuring I lived near a hospital that had the atmosphere I wanted, my daughter was born. Peacefully and powerfully, I moved through the positions that felt natural, removing all fear, and zoning into that place of power that resides in every woman. I laboured for some hours and pushed out my baby in 5 minutes. But I still received a little unnecessary interference from a doctor that later told me “he didn't need to do that.” So I made the decision that he was right. He didn't need to do that...or be there for the next one.

Okay... now you might be thinking that she is just having babies at this point to master birth. Well, in a way you are right. I couldn't fathom giving up when I was so close to having complete control over the most natural, oldest skill known to humanity. Really. And I am obviously a little OCD. For my third birth I decided that I was going to get a midwife. Being between homes, I was still delivering in a hospital, but in a section closed down to regular patients due to short staffing. I had my

Spring 2017

Photo: © Rosedarc | Dreamstime.com

That is an insane amount of power that is contained in a woman. Forget “he didn't have the balls to do it.” It should be “he didn't have the uterus to do it.” midwife with me the entire time so I could stay there and rock the most amazing experience of my life. In preparation, I went to the local college and trained, at 9 months pregnant, to be my own doula.

Forget birthing courses! This course taught me everything I needed to know. Like showing me videos of women completely owning their births, and not frantically screaming as Hollywood portrays it. One video was filmed in a huge water tank in Germany with the woman's husband and son watching from the other side. Standing up to her shoulders in the warm water, she proceeded to birth her baby. The second was a homebirth in a large tub, surrounded by family. In both cases the women were amazing. Trained up, I then invited my close family and friends. Why not make it a party? My genitalia was now for everyone to observe. My friend the photographer definitely preserved that moment for eternity. After having three children, I honestly didn't care at that point. The more the merrier.

I did not let my midwife break my water for this birth. I had read that all it did was make the contractions more painful. So why bother?

I also learned not to call them contractions but to call them “Rushes”.

Labeling them in a less painful way actually helped. The best way

Spring 2017

to birth is to relax... not contract. I had fun hiding my “rushes” from my family and went walking in the local park, had dinner and then finally decided to call the midwife. My contractions were 10 minutes apart, 1 minute long. Totally different than the textbook but when she arrived I was already 7 cm dilated. Confident and still smiling, moving around the beautiful room, I dimmed the lights, kicked the party out for the last bit and stayed in the zone... feeling the rushes and experiencing them fully without any fear. Emptying my bladder every few minutes to give the baby room to move, I was soon on the toilet and ready to push. Just like the good ole days...the new birthing stool is unfortunately now the toilet.

On my side, I pushed. Friends and family watching. After 3 minutes of pushing there was a different kind of explosion as my baby slipped out with the most gentle splash. Clean and over 8 pounds, the only explosion this time was my water breaking into my midwife’s face.

Laughing and waiting for the cord to stop pulsating, I lifted my baby out and onto my naked body. It was beautiful, fun and one of the most amazing moments of my life. The power of a woman. Laughing. •

Greener Bumps & Babies

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Home & Garden

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by muhannad malas, toxics program manager, environmental defence

Photo: © Kitti Bowornphatnon | Dreamstime.com

O

ur children will inherit the Earth, but keeping our small part of the planet healthy and clean for them while we bring up that next generation can be hard work. When it comes to green products, many parents have to balance environmental concerns with pocketbook challenges. Especially now that spring cleaning season is upon us, the slippery subject of cleaning products and whether they do more harm than good may be weighing on the minds of parents.

Some of Canada’s most popular cleaning products contain harsh chemicals and fragrance ingredients that can harm your health.

Environmental Defence staff tested the homes of volunteers and found that indoor air quality quickly deteriorates when some conventional cleaning products are applied. For parents, this is even more alarming, since kids are more sensitive to many pollutants than adults. The good news is that safer options are widely available. Even better, DIY alternatives for many cleaning items are not only easy to make, they can provide significant cost savings over store brands.

Indoor air pollution: a very Canadian problem Outdoor air pollution is a serious health concern, and not just for people with asthma or lung disease. The World Health Organization has declared that air pollution is a cause of cancer. While it is important to heed air quality warnings from meteorologists and local radio alerts, indoor air pollution is also a health concern. Canadians spend so much time indoors with our long winters and wild weather that toxic substances lurking in building materials, furniture, and cleaning products can have a significant impact on our health.

Kids are especially sensitive to the effects of pollution. Pound for pound, their developing bodies are not able to metabolize toxic substances as efficiently as adult bodies, and exposures to toxic substances can have greater consequences. When it comes to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (substances that can mimic or impact human hormones) like phthalates added to cleaning product

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fragrances, kids and babies are more vulnerable than adults. And phthalates aren’t the only potential pollutant in cleaning products.

Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs for short, are a common type of air pollutant. VOCs are a broad category of chemicals, some of which are linked to asthma and other health conditions, including cancer. A key concern with VOCs is that some of them can react with other pollutants present in the air, and form other contaminants that are even more toxic. For example, limonene, a common fragrance ingredient, can react with ozone to form the carcinogen formaldehyde. Ozone is a common ground level air pollutant, especially on smoggy days.

Cleaning and indoor air pollution Of course, kids love to make a mess, leaving parents with a lot of cleaning to do. So how concerned should parents be about the impacts of cleaning product chemicals on indoor air?

To investigate the impact of cleaning products on indoor air quality, my colleagues and I at Environmental Defence donned rubber gloves and tested indoor air while our friends and supporters cleaned their kitchens. We tested for VOCs to see how levels of these contaminants changed during cleaning.

For our tests, we gave 14 volunteers a set of cleaning products to clean their kitchens. We provided nine volunteers with a selection of Canada’s most popular conventional cleaning products (based on sales and retail shelf space) from different cleaning categories – wipes, sprays, and liquids. For comparison, we provided three volunteers with certified green products and two volunteers with products that had non-verifiable green claims on the label (no disclosure or partial disclosure of ingredients on the label).

We then sampled the air in the volunteers’ homes while they cleaned

Spring 2017

their kitchens for half an hour. CASSEN Testing Laboratories, an accredited laboratory, then checked the samples for VOCs. As no standard for indoor VOC levels exists in Canada, we compared the results to the German AGÖF institute’s standard for indoor VOC levels. It suggests that a healthy home should have no more than 1,000 micrograms/m3 of VOCs in the air. So, what did we find?

» After cleaning, the air quality in 12 of the 14 tested households exceeded the German recommended level for indoor VOC levels.

A Green Spring Clean DIY What You Will Need: baking soda, vinegar, vegetable oil, lemon juice

All-purpose cleaner » Dissolve 4 Tbsp baking soda in one quart warm water, or use baking soda on a damp sponge.

Surface cleaner » Mix together vinegar and salt.

» For eight households, air quality went from decent to poor during the cleaning (four of those households had relatively poor indoor air to begin with, but the cleaning made it worse).

Floor cleaner » A few drops of vinegar in a bucket of hot water. Wood floors: mix a 1:1 ratio of vegetable oil and vinegar into a solution and apply a thin coat. Rub in well.

» VOC increases for conventional products were three times higher

Carpet cleaner » Sprinkle baking soda liberally over dry

compared to the green products.

carpet, wait at least 15 minutes before vacuuming.

» For the nine homes where conventional cleaners were used, total VOCs increased by an average of 120%.

» For the three homes cleaned with certified green products with full disclosure labels, the increase averaged only 35%.

For the full study, check out www.environmentaldefence.ca/dirtytruth

Quick tips for healthy indoor air What do these study results mean for your spring cleaning? Here are some handy tips to keep your indoor air quality in good shape while getting the job done:

» Choose green products that list their ingredients in full » Avoid heavily fragranced products » Keep rooms ventilated by opening windows or turning on fans during and after cleaning

Finding safer alternatives Green products release significantly less VOCs into indoor air. But don’t fall for products that claim they are green on the label. Make sure to choose products with ingredients fully disclosed, or products that feature a certified green label like EcoLogo or Cradle to Cradle.

Companies are not currently required to fully list their ingredients, but some forward thinking businesses offer this information to customers voluntarily.

How to make your own cleaners For alternatives that are simple, cheap, and planet-friendly, a few ingredients found at most grocery stores will go a very long way.

Baking soda is a great deodorizer that is safe for kids and pets, and vinegar is a handy and cheap ingredient to use in making your own cleaning products.

With a few simple ingredients that are easy on kids and the environment, you can take care of many of your spring cleaning needs.

Spring 2017

PRO TIP: we know kids delight in mixing baking soda and vinegar to make science fair “volcanoes.” Making homemade cleaners with parents is a fun and safe way for older kids, who can handle the ingredients safely, to engage with doing chores. They might not even think of it as a chore! Even the most environmentally-conscious parents will find themselves pressed for time – or under pocket book pressures – that might mean choosing an item that is less than green.

Whatever you do, do it safely No matter what you use to clean your home, always follow product labels carefully, keep kids away from cleaning products and off of freshly cleaned floors, and make sure you ventilate the room thoroughly.

Labels can be tricky to read, but they are crucial. Cleaning products can contain corrosive chemicals and pose hazards to skin and eyes.

Unfortunately, sometimes warnings about contents can be hidden in the fine print. In our study of cleaning products, we found some instructions on labels that stated safe use required diluting the product, but this was printed in a small font that was hard to see. Always double check to be sure you use the product in the approved way.

Ventilation can be as easy as opening a window, or turning on a fan, and can have big impact on your home’s air quality. Always keep windows open or ventilation fans running during and after cleaning (for 30 minutes to an hour), if the fans vent to the outdoors. This is especially important if you live in a condo or an apartment. Better air circulation will keep harmful VOC levels from building up.

Having older kids help with chores, or even mix vinegar and water for DIY sprays, is a good idea. But it’s important to keep children, especially babies, out of the room when using most cleaning products. Crawling children have their mouths closer to the floor, so they will inhale more VOCs if emissions are released from products used in mopping surfaces.

Following these tips, and choosing green products, or making your own when possible, are great, kid-safe ways to get your spring cleaning done without dirtying the planet. •

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Home & Garden

wild

tox e D g n i r p S hy weeds

ealt Meet the h d! n backyar w o r u o y in

by permaculture rock star jessica robertson

It seems almost as though Mother Nature planned that the first greens of spring popping up after the snow melts would be great cleansers. After a long winter of heavy foods our bodies can use some help resetting themselves.

Wild herbs are usually up long before annual greens are available from our local farmers. As a bonus, perennial wild herbs are more nutritionally dense than cultivated annuals, providing healthboosting trace minerals and phytonutrients. There’s also the added

benefit of getting you outdoors in nature (or even just your own backyard) while you hunt for these nutritious morsels. Let's meet some of these wild players!

Remember to always follow good foraging practices (see my ‘Wild Crafting Wisdom’ sidebar) by respecting the plants and ensuring the quality of what you pick. Borrow a couple of plant identification books from the library to help you find these in your yard or wild spaces nearby.

Photo: © Atide15 | Dreamstime.com

strong a diuretic so make it last!). It can also be made into a warm tea.

The straight juice may cause contact dermatitis but could be mixed with other greens (and fruit) for a nutritive boost.

s r e v a e l C

HARVEST TIPS: Cleavers has little hooks all over the stem that make it stick to your clothing when you touch it but it is not difficult to remove. The leaves are gathered in whorls of 6-9 around the stem and there are small whitish flowers on stalks along the stem. Make a clean cut or break along the stem roughly a third of the way down, leaving enough growth below so that the plant can regenerate.

(Galium aparine)

Dandelions,

Cleavers is a great spring detox plant because it is a diuretic that cleanses the lymphatic system and urinary tract. Its bitter properties strengthen the liver and cleanse the blood and intestines. Cleavers is also anti-inflammatory and lowers blood pressure.

according to Katrina Blair, author of The Wild Wisdom of Weeds, have been used as a spring tonic since before the written word. They were used across Europe, Asia and the Middle East and then brought to this continent by settlers as precious food and medicine. Dandelion was quickly adopted as a useful medicine by various indigenous tribes in Canada and the United States and continues to be used today.

This herb can be eaten fresh or steamed but is nicest in a cold infusion because of its ‘sticky’ nature. To make this, pack a jar full of rinsed cleavers stems and leaves and then fill the jar with filtered water. Let it sit on the counter overnight. Strain out the water in the morning and sip on it throughout the day (more than ½ a cup at a time may be too

Dandelion is a more bitter green than the others here—an indication of its ability to tone our internal organs. Most of us could use a lot more bitters and less sweets in our diet. Even the vegetables and fruit we cultivate these days contain more sugars than in the past. Your palate will soon adjust to eating more wild foods by slowly increasing

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HARVEST TIPS:

The greens are best before the flowers bloom.

Harvesting just the inner leaves of a rosette will give you a less bitter product as well. Add the fresh leaves to salads, smoothies, juices and pesto. If you are new to bitter foods, chop the leaves very finely and mix them in well with other greens so they don’t overpower your salad. There are different varieties with slightly different flavours so taste the leaves before harvesting in quantity to find the ones most palatable to you.

Boiling for 5 to 8 minutes and then tossing with olive oil and lemon will remove a lot of the bitterness but you then lose some of the cleansing qualities that the bitter provides.

Chickweed

has a mild green taste and makes a delicious salad or juice. It can be used externally to tone the skin (used as a salve), and internally to remove excess toxins and reduce weight. Chickweed is a demulcent—soothing inflammation by forming a protective film over mucous membranes while simultaneously drawing out toxins to be eliminated! Eaten fresh, it can help to remove congestion and infection in the body. The fresh juice and tea from the leaves and stems help to eliminate gas and indigestion. The flowers and seeds may be eaten as well. Chickweed is high in vitamin C, iron, zinc and potassium and is a strong antioxidant.

HARVEST TIPS: Chickweed spreads out as a ground cover when given the chance and seems to weave back and forth over itself into a big mass. It is available almost all year long—even peeping out green and strong from under snow cover. It takes off in the spring as soon as the temperatures are above freezing. At that time you can harvest the entire above ground portion for fresh eating or juicing. Later in the season it gets more fibrous and you will want to focus on the newer 1-2” of growth at the stem tips for salads. The older parts can be juiced. Each plant only lives 6-7 weeks and then it reseeds itself so make sure to leave some seed pods. Chickweed growth will slow down in dry hot weather but have another growth spurt in the cooler, wetter fall. Be careful not to confuse chickweed with Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis). Though it can also be used medicinally it is not as benign a plant. Chickweed has fine hairs on one side of the stem and a white flower. Mouse Ear Chickweed (Cerastium vulgatum) has hairs all over it and is therefore less palatable raw but can still be cooked or juiced.

I eagerly await the first edible greens of spring every year and it's probably when the largest proportion of our household diet is comprised of wild foods. That first chickweed green emerging in spring has become almost as exciting as the crocuses and daffodils that are close to follow. Hopefully it will for you too. Why not harvest an abundance of free, nutritious greens long before annual crops are ready and flush out all that internal gunk built up over the winter for a fresh and energetic start to the warm season! •

Spring 2017

Photo: © Elenathewise | Dreamstime.com

Dandelions also cleanse the blood, aid the digestion of proteins and fats, tone the internal organs, and assist with circulation. They stimulate the secretion of bile and can be used to treat liver imbalances. Dandelion is an excellent diuretic that helps to flush out toxins while at the same time increasing nutrient levels in the body (notably potassium, which can be depleted with other diuretics). Consuming dandelion fills us with trace minerals that can bind to and replace metals that cause toxicity.

(Taraxacum officinale)

ed e w k c i h C Photo: © Pipa100 | Dreamstime.com

your intake. Personally, I have found that many commercial foods are overly sweet for me now that my palate has changed and I not only don’t crave them, but actually don’t enjoy them!

on i l e d n a D

(Stellaria media)

WILD CRAFTING WISDOM

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

sk permission first and thank the plants for A their generosity.

Harvest only what you need and will use. eave Grandmother (the biggest and best L plants).

I f there are 20 plants it is generally okay to harvest 1.

Harvest ¹⁄³ or less of an individual plant. arvest with a clean cut so the plant will H heal well.

Avoid polluted areas.

Never put anything in your mouth unless you are 100% sure. aste test every time. Plants taste different T at different times and places. Listen to your body’s response.

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2017 APRIL 7- 9

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Home & Garden

Growing LET'S GET

dr. jennifer kaster, nd

W

atching a plant grow from a tiny seed is nothing short of magical. Even as an adult, I’m still amazed by this process and get excited to witness new plant growth.

In this age of one-stop shopping and buying all foods at a large grocery store, we’ve created a big disconnect between where we buy food and where the food actually comes from. As a naturopathic doctor I feel it’s really important to teach kids about food production and show them firsthand how food grows. Even if you live in the city with a small yard and no room for a veggie garden, you can still grow some of your own produce right inside your home year round using a simple technique called sprouting.

Sprouting is essentially the germination of seeds. It’s a great way to grow your own nutrient dense foods that are tasty additions to salads, smoothies, hummus, run them through the juicer or my favourite—eat them as is!

Sprouting doesn’t require any fancy equipment or a plot of land. All you need is a glass jar with a lid (a spaghetti sauce or mason jar will work), cheesecloth, an elastic band, water and seeds. You will find a variety of sprouting seeds at your local health food store and can choose ones to match your specific taste. You’ll find you can sprout just about anything: broccoli, radish, barley, chickpeas, cabbage, fennel, kale and so many more! The variety of flavours is virtually endless. Yum!

How to do it: » Place a layer of seeds in the bottom of your glass jar (around 1 Tbsp). » Cover with water and soak overnight. The soaking activates the enzymes in the sprouts and makes them more easily digestible.

» In the morning, drain out the water and add fresh water and rinse the seeds by swirling them around. Drain water again.

» Cover the jar with cheesecloth and secure with an elastic band or the outer ring of a mason jar lid.

» Lay the jar on its side on the counter to allow seeds to spread out. » At night, rinse seeds with water again, drain and leave jar on its side overnight.

» Repeat in the morning, rinsing your seeds a couple times a day until they are ready to eat!

Photo: © Aboikis69 | Dreamstime.com

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Spring 2017

Super-sprouts

Photo: © Anoucketbenoit | Dreamstime.com

You will start to see growth from your seeds within 24 hours and they will be ready to consume within 3-7 days. Larger seeds may take longer. You will know they are ready to eat when a tail has sprouted and they boast a healthy green colour. There may even be tiny leaves. Keep your finished sprouts in the fridge and eat within a few days. ALWAYS thoroughly rinse your sprouts before eating to remove any unwanted and unhealthy bacteria.

Sprouts are bursting with amino acids (protein), minerals, trace minerals and also packed with chlorophyll. They contain an unusually high number of enzymes, which make them great support for digestion and detoxification. If you find you or your little one frequently experiencing excess gas, start adding raw sprouts to your daily meals. Their enzymes will help to more thoroughly break down the foods you eat, resulting in less gas and digestive upset and greater absorption of nutrients. The high fibre content of sprouts helps the bowels to create well-formed and easy to pass stool on a regular basis. Sprouts are also very alkalizing to the body and are rich in antioxidants. Really, what don’t they do??

Here are some examples of the benefits you get from some specific sprouts to help kickstart you on your sprouting journey:

Broccoli Sprouts

are linked to reducing allergic reactions and asthma by increasing anti-inflammatory enzymes in the upper airways. Broccoli sprouts contain sulforaphane, a compound that increases antioxidant enzymes that counteract cell damage from air pollution and environmental allergies. Sulforaphane also allows these sprouts to be highly effective detoxifiers by supporting phase-2 liver detoxification (In phase-1 the liver converts a toxin into a less harmful chemical. In phase-2 a substance is added to this toxin to make it safer, water soluble and ready for excretion.). Broccoli sprouts contain 10-100 times the amount of phase-2 inducers when compared to mature broccoli plants!

Mung Bean Sprouts

support healthy blood sugar balance by improving glucose tolerance in the body. Blood sugar balancing is important for everyone’s health, not just those diagnosed with diabetes. When we keep our blood sugar levels balanced, we have more steady energy, mood and mental focus.

Mung bean sprouts also contain a large amount of vitamin K, which is essential for growing and maintaining strong bones and protective to the cardiovascular system. Folate is a B vitamin also found in abundance in mung bean sprouts, essential for the body to create DNA and develop new cells. It is also vitally important for proper growth of kids from conception through their adolescent years.

Spring 2017

Photo: © Catarii | Dreamstime.com

All sprouted seeds are living superfoods. Nutrients are in their highest concentration in sprouted form, even more so than the full grown version of the same plant! When a plant is in the sprouting phase of its life cycle, it requires a ton of energy and nutrients in order to grow.

When we eat plants in this phase, we are consuming their massive nutrient content in tiny little packages. All of the nutrients found in sprouts are vital for the healthy growth and development of kids.

Daikon Radish Sprouts

are a rich source of vitamin C which we all know is an important component to a healthy immune system. Vitamin C also helps with wound healing, protects the sensitive tissues of the eye and helps keep the blood vessels open. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in this little sprout as well! This fat is an integral part of a healthy functioning nervous system, keeping us feeling positive and able to focus and learn.

Sprouting is a great way to get your kids more involved in the kitchen.

Have them choose which type of plant they’d like to sprout and put them in charge of rinsing the seeds daily. They will be amazed as they watch their little seeds quickly grow. By including kids in the process of choosing and growing their own food, they become more willing to try new things and experiment beyond their food comfort zone. You can even challenge other family members to a sprouting race to see which sprouts grow the fastest!

Have them try the sprouts directly from the jar to experience the full flavour. I find sprouts are bursting with flavour compared to eating the fully grown version of the same plant. If this isn’t to your child’s liking, sprouts are easily mixed into tomato sauce after cooking, chopped up on top of meatloaf, or blended into smoothies. To gain the most value from eating your sprouts eat them raw. Cooking or heating them will destroy most of their nutrients.

Happy Sprouting! •

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Home & Garden

SO FT E

ED

e

M

BROIDER

y o t y b ba

by kat frick miller & rita van tassel Photos courtesy of the authors

This gentle stuffed fish is the perfect size for a baby’s small hands, and the embroidered stitches are a unique texture that infants will love to explore. You can choose to embroider this fish with simple running stitches or challenge yourself with the more detailed backstitches and French knots for raised textures.

Embroidery Stitch Instructions Back Stitch A backstitch creates one beautiful continuous line of stitches.

Bring your needle up through 1 and make a simple stitch back to 2.

Bring your needle up along the same line but a stitch length ahead at 3. Create another simple stitch back to 1 ending this second stitch at the same point as the first.

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What You Need: • Scissors • Cotton fabric scraps, solid & patterned • Embroidery needle • Small embroidery hoop • Multiple colours of embroidery floss • Stuffing • Paper for your cut out

French Knot Starting with a full length of thread pull your needle and thread up through the fabric. Using both hands, wrap the thread around the end of your needle twice, from top to bottom, keeping the floss tension tight with your needle-free hand.

Push the tip of your needle into the fabric just beside point 1. Tighten the coil and pull it down your needle to the fabric. Now push your needle and free thread all the way through the fabric.

Spring 2017

Instructions Step 1 » Cut out your paper pattern.

You can download our fish pattern here: ecoparent.ca/fishpattern.pdf.

If designing your own shape, draw the pattern ¼” larger all around than your finished size. Plan your stitched pattern on the paper cut out.

Step 2 » Starting with the solid coloured fabric, trace the fish pattern (or original design) onto the centre of the fabric with pencil. Copy the basic lines of your embroidery stitch pattern (the funky designs on the fish) onto the right side of the fabric with chalk.

Step 3 » Stretch your fabric over your embroidery hoop, centering the fish shape on the top of the hoop.

Step 4 » Knot the thread on the underside of the cloth, and follow your stitch pattern with the embroidery stitches shown in the illustrations.

Be sure to keep all of your knots and stitches within the fish pattern, otherwise they will be cut off when your cut out your fish, resulting in loose stitches.

If you are using a smaller embroidery hoop, reposition your fish when necessary so that you can stitch the whole pattern.

Step 5 » Remove your embroidery from the hoop and press it flat with a cool iron.

Step 6 » Cut out the embroidered fish shape, being careful not to cut through any embroidery stitches. Trace the fish pattern on your patterned fabric for your fish backing and cut out.

Step 7 » Pin your fish front and back right sides together (so that the fish is inside out) and sew around the edge using a 1/4” seam allowance (area between the edge and your stitching line) and leaving open a 1” gap. Cut notches along the curves of the seam allowance. Flip your fish right side out and press.

Step 8 » Stuff your fish using small clumps of filling until it is full. Hand sew the remaining edge closed.

Spring 2017

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Feature

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n es e G

and Grey

Ma tt

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Three revolutionary things to know about pregnancy

by manda aufochs gillespie

Photo: Š Lephotography | Dreamstime.com

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I

t’s an exciting time to be having a baby, even if you, yourself, are not producing one. I discovered this over the last year as I was writing my newest book, Green Mama-to-Be: Creating a Happy, Healthy, and Toxin-Free Pregnancy (to be published July 2017 by Dundurn). I had gone into it with a “let’s just get this over with” attitude. After all, I am done having babies (I hope), so what more did I really need to know about those months? Happily – I found out – lots!

and the fetus’ intestines, and that the microbiome that begins to develop in the womb is also influenced by the mother’s health and diet. It is suspected that some pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, could be the result of infections that develop from an unbalanced or deficient microbiota and that consuming probiotics may inhibit pathogens and reduce inflammation associated with preterm birth.

I learned about three things that we can all benefit from knowing and sharing. These are ideas where the research is so new that the studies are literally just now being published and they are changing the very idea of what we thought to be true about the nature of human life – within the belly and without. They are also fundamentally hopeful concepts: perhaps a healthy constitution – or lack thereof – is not as set in stone as we once believed.

We also know that the gut microbiome has been changing over the generations: namely, becoming less diverse. This is assumed to be a bad thing, much like how a lack of diversity and invasive species cause problems in nature. The likely culprits include our modern diet – which is higher in fats and simple carbohydrates and lower in fibre than traditional diets – and our current practice of using household antibacterial products, as well as an overuse of antibiotics. Infertility treatment has often introduced antibiotics into the uterus in an effort to improve the chances of implantation, however, a 2012 review found no correlation between successful implantation and such treatment. In short, we must have bacteria and other microbes – and lots of them! – for human life to exist and we need them in good balance to be healthy.

The womb is more fruitful than you thought!

Not just a haven for humans, it is also a harbour for other small organisms. Until very recently, scientists and doctors believed that the uterus was a sterile environment and a child’s first exposure to bacteria was during the passage through the birth canal and right after. The baby’s microbiome – an ecological community of microorganisms that share our body space – is dramatically affected by what happens during and immediately after delivery.

Although there is still a lot we don’t understand about our microbiome and its role over generations, what is clear is that a mother can help ensure the best future microbiome even before she conceives and onward through the child’s life by focusing on eating a whole-foodsbased diet with lots of good fats, vegetables and other nutrient-dense foods. A diet is further enhanced through adding probiotic-rich foods and drinks such as sauerkraut, beet kvass, kimchi and kefir. It also means avoiding antibiotics unless medically necessary and forgoing antibacterial products such as Triclosan (found in most hand soaps, many cleaning products and even toothpaste). Chlorine and fluoride in water can also have an antibacterial effect, so filtering your tap water is a great way to continue to get the benefits of water without harming the microbiome.

Factors such as having a vaginal birth, skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding are all extremely important in seeding the baby’s microbiome. In fact, some researchers can tell the difference years later between the microbiome of babies born vaginally and those born

by C-section. Some birth providers are starting to use this science in hospitals by swabbing babies born by C-section with the mother’s vaginal secretions to help mimic the superior bacterial exposure of a vaginal birth. There is research to indicate that the baby’s microbiome will also be affected by his weight at birth as well as the mother’s weight, dental health and her own antibiotic use during pregnancy, and that aspects of the mother’s microbiome can be passed down to the child and then on to the grandchild and great-grandchild and so on through each birth process. As we shall see later, even genetics are not immune to the influence of the mighty microbiome!

The big news is that in the last few years, scientists have established that there are also bacteria in the amniotic fluid, placenta, meconium Spring 2017

Photo: © Oksana Kiian | Dreamstime.com

To begin to understand the importance of this, it’s essential to appreciate that humans are composed of trillions of bacteria. We are made of as much bacteria and other microbes as we are our own human cells. At least some of this bacterial life – such as what lines our gastrointestinal (GI) tracts – has coevolved uniquely with us and is essential to human health, most especially the functioning of the immune system. In other words, to be in a state of complete health, the full complement of a harmonious microbiome will include all the human cells as well as organisms that might be classified as viruses, parasites and other as-yet-unidentified microbes. A healthy human gut will be different from that of a healthy rat gut, and the microbiome of one healthy human’s gut might be quite different from that of another healthy human. We have similarly unique microbiomes in our mouths, vaginal tracts and on our skin, and, interestingly, the microbial composition of the uterus is said to resemble that of the oral cavity more than the vaginal canal, despite their proximity.

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Nature versus nurture: no longer two solitudes Most people are aware of the basic nature versus nurture question: How much of “us” is determined by genetics and how much by environment? And for many, many years, most of us – including scientists – thought they were in two distinct categories: both important but very different.

Photo: © Itsmejust | Dreamstime.com

Enter the world of epigenetics, the study of environmental factors that turn genes “on” or “off”, determining whether and how genes are expressed. Epigenetic changes don’t affect a person’s fundamental DNA, but are, to some extent, altered by our present choices. Research shows that the influence of the womb can begin as early as conception and it is thought that what happens there, particularly in relationship to nutrition, stress and environmental contaminants such as smoking, can impact the expression of the growing child’s genetics.

One of the early research pioneers in nutrition’s generational effects was Dr. Francis Pottenger. From the stories I’ve read, Pottenger sounds like one of those really smart, eccentric men who didn’t let much stand between him and “just figuring it out.” In the 1930s, Pottenger studied the health of 900 cats over four generations.

He fed one group cooked meat or pasteurized dairy, typical of the ingredients in dried cat food. He fed the other group a diet closer to what they might find in nature including raw organs and meats, and raw milk. Then he examined the health, weight, calcium and phosphorus levels, skeletal structures and dispositions of the cats for ten years. Within three months, the first group started experiencing dental degeneration. Things got worse from there: miscarriages, higher infant and maternal mortality, a dramatic increase in skin diseases and allergies, bone deterioration, hypothyroidism and personality changes. This group died out completely by the fourth generation. Meanwhile, the second group, which ate the raw diet thrived generation after generation. Pottenger then tried to restore cats of the first group back to optimal health with diets of raw milk and meat. In restoring the health of the second generation (since the original third generation died before they could reproduce), he found that the next third-generation offspring generally, though not completely, showed improved health which in turn was passed on to the following generation. Pottenger’s observations were an early experiment in epigenetics: each new generation was not a clean slate, but seemed to inherit the physical degeneration caused by the nutritionally inadequate diets of the generations before. Much research is being done in the field of reversing epigenetic changes as this new understanding emerges.

Babies born to mothers who smoke have long shown impairment in such things as lung function and other birth defects and are more likely to suffer from asthma and later substance abuse. These children tend to show epigenetic changes not present in the DNA of non-smokers’ children, exhibiting an altered DNA methylation profile.

DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that impacts the gene expression vital to healthy growth and development, and research is

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Photo: © Monkeybusinessimages | Dreamstime.com

It doesn’t stop, or start, there. The changes in those genes can be passed on through the generations. The Overkalix study, a Swedish study of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance published in 2002, looked at the members of an isolated community in Sweden born between 1890 and 1920. It showed how poor food supply could influence mortality, obesity, and diabetes in grandchildren.

starting to suggest that prenatal folate and B-vitamin intake has good potential to contribute to this mechanism.

While epigenetics sheds light on possible problems, it also gives us hope. Which generation of Pottenger’s cats are you? Almost certainly we aren’t the lucky recipients of four generations of great, wholesome eating. I grew up poor and spent my early childhood eating processed food from a box supplied by the government. My mother fared a bit better because she grew up middle class and at a time when there were far fewer contaminants in our air, water, and food. My grandmother’s family had the closest to an optimal diet, raising most of what they ate themselves and with ready access to fresh eggs, real milk and almost nothing processed. So, I am the “revival generation”, working towards restoring better health for me and my children, and consciously aiming towards optimal health for my children’s potential descendants.

Spring 2017

The incredible expanding/ shrinking brain!

That mushy feeling and all the underlying emotions that seem to go along with pregnancy are real and they serve a good purpose.

Mothers’ brains both gain and lose grey matter and undergo rewiring.

It’s as if the brain is indeed being turned to mush with the help of all those pregnancy and postpartum hormones – including oxytocin, estrogen, and prolactin – so that it can be reconstructed for the work of being a mother. Indeed, many of those so-called pregnancy and postpartum emotions, including love, protectiveness and even worry, begin in the brain. Like so many other aspects of human biology and pregnancy, scientific understanding of what happens to the brain in pregnancy is undergoing massive breakthroughs and science is beginning to catch up to what mothers already know: the brain changes aren’t just “in our heads”.

The changes in a mother’s brain are most dramatic with her first child, and it isn’t clear whether all the changes ever fully return to their pre-pregnancy state, but there is evidence of the decreased-volume effects lasting at least two years. Some researchers explain that it is as if all women have the blueprint inside their brains for motherhood.

It’s not all about the mothers, however! Despite never experiencing pregnancy, research shows that even dads have the capacity for brain changes driven not by oxytocin, but directly tied with caregiving. The more involved the father, the more he is supported by a feedback loop that helps wire his brain for that involvement.

In December of 2016 a new study came out and the headlines all read some version of: “Pregnancy shrinks brains!” I found this particularly interesting because a few years before, studies had come out and the headlines all screamed, “Pregnant moms grow new brain!” What gives, I wondered?

Of particular interest to many researchers is what happens in the amygdala, a part that the older study above said ought to grow and which helps process memory and govern emotional reactions such as aggression, anxiety, and fear. In most mothers’ brains, this area continues to increase in the weeks and months after giving birth and is full of receptors for that cocktail of hormones that help feed the love, attachment and care between mom and babe. It’s the part of the brain that lights up when the mother stares at her baby or elicits one of those early smiles. If that part of the brain is damaged or not growing normally, the results in the mother are noticeable and linked to higher levels of depression and greater anxiety. In the child, a damaged amygdala may affect whether he can distinguish between his mother and anybody else. This part of the brain is also particularly sensitive to oxytocin – the love hormone responsible for maternal-infant bonding. Oxytocin dramatically increases in pregnancy, the postpartum period and with breastfeeding. The more the mother is involved with her child, the greater the increase in oxytocin.

Spring 2017

Photo: © Mocker | Dreamstime.com

Both studies showed that first-time mothers consistently demonstrated a notable difference in grey matter volume, but in different parts of the brain. Mystery solved! The older study showed an increase in grey matter in areas including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and the hypothalamus – all connected to emotional regulation, survival instincts and hormone production, and associated with a well-adjusted new mom. Conversely, if these areas shrank, it correlated with more stress, anxiety and poorer experiences of mothering. The newer study showed that moms with the best mother-to-child attachments (such as feelings of empathy and pleasure toward the child) had a decrease in the medial frontal and posterior cortex lines involved in social cognition – how we process, store and apply information about other people and social situations. The researchers surmise that this period is one of great synaptic pruning, similar to what happens in a young child and again in adolescents, where underutilized neurological pathways – synapses – are eliminated to make way for new neural networks. The researchers found no corresponding changes in memory or other cognitive functions. So…the baby doesn’t eat your brain?

It's an exciting time to be parenting, pregnant or just interested in the human body. A bit of understanding about the diversity of microbes, the powerful role of epigenetics and our amazing, changing brains demonstrates that our health and the health of future generations can be positively and profoundly influenced in many ways. These are just three of the hundreds of discoveries which, while exciting, are still curiously new – who hasn’t wondered about the mysterious and miraculous goings-on that pregnancy effects? The science of the pregnant body and brain is, well, still in its infancy, but growing dramatically with promises to pursue and beget more discoveries in the field of pregnancy research earnestly pledged in the conclusions of each study. Whether you’re a parent-to-be or any other type of amazing human, such knowledge can benefit anyone seeking insight into human health – reproductive or otherwise. •

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Festival homesteaderFEST.CA

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Feature

Ultimate Newborn Eco Essentials

1

Being a first time mom, I went on a serious nine month hunt for the best eco-products for my baby. I read a million reviews, I studied ingredient lists, and once my sweet guy arrived, I tested them out. So voila: I give you our favourite eco-essentials for your baby.

We are focusing on products that you don’t have to use, but you will WANT to use.

For details on the ‘big ticket’ items, like car seats and strollers, check out: www.ecoparent.ca/green-baby-gear-guide.

2 1 Lotus Everywhere Travel Crib

4 Nneka Nursing Pillow

First off, the official stuff. This travel crib is free of everything—flame-retardants, PVC, phthalates, lead and is even certified GREENGUARD GOLD. So, safety? Check.

Secondly, the fun stuff. 15 second set up, side zippered panel so baby and parent alike can get in at will. Packs up small enough to be a carry-on for air travel. It really is the everywhere crib! We love that we can bring a familiar world with us for our babe wherever we go! Great for sleeping, dream feeds and playing galore.

2 Oko Creations Hooded Baby

What is not to love about the Nneka nursing pillow? Filled with 100% buckwheat hulls, this pillow molds perfectly to your baby and body. Baby feels snuggled up, but is still well supported. It can easily be used in all breastfeeding positions, and its weight helps it stay in place so that you can do what you need to do to be comfortable!

Also works great as a pregnancy support pillow!

4 5 Snuggle Me Organic This co-sleeping bed and infant lounger is a must-have! Baby is safe, secure, and cuddled by the all-around cushions, while still laying flat due to the creative hammock effect in the centre. Great for safe co-sleeping, and handy to take around the whole house for safe and comfortable naps for babe. Also works beautifully as a lounger or tummy time pillow! Your baby will love it (as well as your cat—be warned)! Hand crafted in the USA with hypo-allergenic fill and 100% organic cotton.

Bath Towel & Face Cloths

I love wrapping my babe up in this soft towel after bath time. Beyond how stinkin’ adorable he looks all wrapped up, hood and all, he is instantly warm and dry. The organic cotton terry is thick and super absorbent, making post-bath time cuddles a pure delight. The accompanying organic cotton face cloths are great for lathering, washing, or as an alternative to disposable baby wipes.

3 Aden + Anais Organic

Muslin Blankets

It would not be an essentials list without the ever-popular muslin blankets from Aden + Anais. Offered in many delightful patterns, these cloths become your goto for everything: sleep, stroller cover, swaddle, play-mat, and breastfeeding cover. Stock up! You can’t really have too many.

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6 Nuna Leaf

| Greener Bumps & Babies

The “carefree float of a leaf” inspires this stylish swing chair made with Oeko-Tex certified fabrics. Great for playtime or naptime, the Leaf provides a comfortable, safe space for baby when not in mama’s arms. Non-electric, this chair moves only when you push it or baby’s kicks are strong enough to get it going. Tested for up to 60 kg, it grows with your child to be a comfy toddler seat for daydreaming the day away. Fun accessories include a toy bar and The Wind (battery powered, offering constant swaying movement…

Leaf…Wind…get it??).

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6

Spring 2017

7

7 Kushies Contoured

Change Pad and Organic Sheet

8

This eco-friendly contoured change pad is well suited to both change tables and dressers. The top is made from super soft bamboo, and the waterproof bottom is phthalate free. Pair it with the organic cotton sheet and you have a rockin’ ecobum changing station!

8 Pillobebe’s CorkiMat We were extra excited about this find.

I wanted an alternative to the toxinfilled foam mats that make up most play spaces and we sure hit the nail on the head! CorkiMats are non-toxic, made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton and organic cork for an innovative and safe play area for your babes. The mats are multifunctional and can be used as a play-mat, tunnel, toy bin and even yoga mat! With so many fun prints it will be hard to choose, but the choice to use them—easy. You won’t be disappointed.

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We love using this 100% organic baby balm on our babe’s bottom. Their blend of all natural ingredients helps protect and sooth their delicate skin. Completely cloth diaper safe, this product is a win for everyone. Their balms come in a choice of unscented, lavender or lavender and tea tree and are free of all the bad stuff.

We approve!

11 Les Produits de MaYa

Oleo-Calcaerous Ointment The idea of cleansing milk was new to me before testing out Les Produits de MaYa’s liniments, and now I am a convert!

Inspired by an ancestral recipe from France, these creamy ointments both clean and nourish the skin. Use with cloth wipes as a natural and eco-friendly alternative to disposable wipes at all diaper changes.

And it doesn’t stop there! You can use it as make-up remover, after sun lotion and more! All ingredients are certified organic and vegan, so you know your babe is only getting le best!

9 CaaOcho Bath &

Teething Toys

CaaOcho’s toys are 100% non toxic and 100% fun. Made from pure natural rubber, you can feel good about your baby getting these all up in their mouths. From teethers (Mia the Lamb), to bath toys (Nalu the Seahorse) and developmental play (Rainbow Sensory Ball) they have you covered! A great feature we love is the hermetic design, which seals the toys to prevent mold and bacteria growth.

12 11

10 Reese & Luke Bum Balm

12 Kin Organics Bath Products Confession: I may be obsessed with all Kin products. Everything in their line is non-toxic and au natural. Their baby line of products has been well-loved in our household from day one. We especially love the bath-time line up: Baby Tub Tea, made from sweet herbs to soothe and calm the skin, followed by the Baby Wash, a natural foaming soap that smells divine, ending with the Baby Oil blend of moisturizing oils infused with floral herbs for a relaxing baby massage. And a tip from one mama to another — their nipple balm is heaven.

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Food

Tilling 7Soil

Supporting preconception healthcare with nutrition dr. stephanie peltz, nd

1 2 3

Did you know:

our health before getting pregnant impacts Y your ease of conception, pregnancy, delivery, and the health of your future baby?

Significant healthy fetal development occurs in the first 2-8 weeks of pregnancy?

Some of this time typically occurs before a woman knows she is pregnant.

In Canada 1 in 6 couples experience fertility concerns? It is taking longer than expected to conceive, and there is an increased reliance on medication and technology.

This may be surprising to some, but it is very much a reality. These facts highlight the need for preconception health care (PCHC).

Women have all their eggs by the time they are born. However, four months prior to conception, the egg released in that cycle is being recruited and matures.

In this same time frame a man’s sperm is regenerated. This four month period is therefore a crucial window to support prenatal health and improve the chance of having a strong and healthy baby.

Photo: © stockcreations | Dreamstime.com

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Factors affecting fertility Preconception health care is multifaceted. First and foremost, hormonal imbalances are assessed and addressed. Then comes identification and treatment of nutrient deficiencies, infections, chronic health concerns, excess stress, and more. PCHC programs are individualized and are recommended for both men and women.

They include a combination of nutritional advice, detoxification, stress management, lifestyle coaching, the prescription of natural remedies, traditional Chinese medicine (including acupuncture), and menstrual cycle tracking.

Meet one of the main players These days, both subtle and overt hormonal imbalances are widespread. One of the most common patterns I see in practice is called estrogen dominance. This refers to an estrogen level that is too high in relation to progesterone. Symptoms include:

» Irregular menstrual periods » Bloating » Breast tenderness » PMS » Headaches » Mood swings » Fatigue » Insomnia » Issues with conception In this case, estrogen is either truly in excess, or a relative excess due to a progesterone deficiency. Estrogen is normally conjugated and broken down by the liver. It is fat-soluble and therefore excreted through the stool. The estrogen dominant pattern has complex causes including chemical exposure, ineffective detoxification and elimination, and imbalances of other hormones like cortisol, thyroid, or insulin. Estrogen dominance can negatively impact fertility making it a natural focus during preconception care.

Preconception preparation So what can you do? First, work on limiting exposure to plastics, conventional household cleaners, cosmetics, pesticides, dry cleaned fabrics, mercury, and other harmful chemicals. Then, open the channels of elimination and detoxification by supporting the liver, kidneys, skin and colon. This will lower your toxic burden and decrease excess estrogen.

Your daily diet is perhaps the most powerful way to treat hormonal imbalance and prepare the body for pregnancy. Here are some important nutritional considerations during your preconception health period:

» Fresh produce: Learn the dirty dozen, known to have high levels of pesticides. Either choose organic varieties, or omit them altogether.

» Animal products (i.e. meat, fish, eggs, or dairy): The safest choices are wild, organic, local, free-range, or grass-fed. The key is to avoid animal products containing synthetic hormones and chemicals acting as xenoestrogens.

» Include protein and healthy fats in every meal: This keeps blood sugar stable and provides starting materials for hormones that may be deficient.

regular allowing for proper elimination of toxins and unwanted excess hormones.

» When in doubt: increase greens, and brightly coloured fruit and veggies on every plate. These foods help the liver detoxify, and provide antioxidants. This is vital because detoxification actually increases the release of potentially harmful oxidative compounds that must be then neutralized by antioxidants.

» Skip the sweets: They spike blood sugar and have a widespread impact on insulin, stress hormones, and reproductive hormones leading to further imbalances.

There are of course many specific healthy foods to incorporate in a detoxifying, hormone balancing diet that you can explore in Dr. Heidi's recipes on the following pages.

In the four months leading up to your ideal conception date, all parents are encouraged to clean up the diet and optimize overall health to build the healthiest foundation for themselves and their future babies. Take that first step today!

Why detoxification?

In this day and age, even with extreme caution, we are exposed to a wide array of toxins. They are found in the food we eat, the water we drink, the medications we may take, and the air we breathe. These toxins can accumulate in the body and lead to multiple issues. Some, known as xenoestrogens, mimic reproductive hormones and cause imbalances. Toxins can also be passed on to a growing baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding, making it important to decrease the toxic load in advance.

Nutritional Highlight on Cruciferous Vegetables

This is a group of vegetables including arugula, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, and more. They are very nutrient dense, high in vitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber.

They also contain protein and omega 3 fats. Cruciferous veggies are also well known to contain a unique group of sulfur containing phytonutrients called glucosinolates.

Glucosinolates stimulate liver detoxification and the production of antioxidants. One of the breakdown products of these is called Indole 3 Carbinol (I3C), which helps with estrogen metabolism in the body.

Cruciferous veggies are considered anticancer, antioxidant, and supportive to detoxification. They are an extremely healthy group of veggies. See Dr. Heidi Lescanec’s recipes for new and creative ways to fill your diet with these nutritional powerhouses.

» Choose whole grains versus refined: This also keeps blood sugar stable and increases fiber. More fiber keeps bowel movements

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Food

fertility FARE

by dr. heidi lescanec, nd

Brussels Sprout & Kale Salad with Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette Photo: © Mustipan | Dreamstime.com

Photo: © Merc67 | Dreamstime.com

This lemony crunchy salad marries the umami-flavoured satisfaction of Caesar salad and pesto (garlic, parmesan, lemon juice) with the nutritional benefits of our star cruciferous vegetables (Brussels sprouts and kale), and the highest omega-3 nut around (toasted walnuts). An excellent side dish or feature salad when topped with salmon or chicken, it is sure to satisfy and – surprisingly – delight even the biggest Brussels skeptic.

powerhouse that it truly is.

If Brussels sprouts conjure up less than appealing olfactory memories, you may have been tainted by a common culinary practice of times past. In my own lifetime, many well-meaning parents or loved ones overcooked these sulfur containing cruciferous vegetables and thus reinforced the much maligned smelly stereotype only grudgingly invited to the table on rare holiday occasions. This recipe brings the fresh raw crunchy sprout into the light to feature it as the tasty, hearty nutritional

It’s interesting to note that Brussels sprouts boast even more nutritional potency than broccoli, kale and cabbage.

These densely layered globes of green are packed full of the compounds called glucosinolates. While these compounds can give off a sulfurous odour (when overcooked), the silver lining here is actually gold for our reproductive and preconception health. Indole-3-carbinol is one of the many wellresearched glucosinolate derivatives you may have heard of. These compounds clear xenoestrogens (helping with hormone balance), and activate cancer-fighting enzymes in the body, particularly those that prevent breast and ovarian cancer. Lastly they support phase two of liver detoxification—a fundamental way we eliminate toxins from the body, and also incredibly important for optimal fertility.

Dressing Ingredients

Instructions

1/4

1 Combine olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and a pinch of pepper in small bowl. Stir to blend and set aside.

cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp grainy or Dijon mustard 1 clove garlic, minced 1 dash sea salt & freshly ground black pepper 1 dash tabasco, optional

Salad Ingredients 1 bunch kale (lacinato or dinosaur is most tender)

2 Toast walnuts in a dry skillet on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Chop into small pieces.

3 De-stem kale, wash, dry and thinly slice.

4 Cut Brussels sprouts in half, trim off base and discard blemished outer leaves. Wash and chop/shred in food processor (very quick!), or cut into slivers with a sharp knife.

5 Place vegetables in a large bowl.

6 Add enough dressing to cover vegetables, toss to coat and add cheese, tossing again.

7 Just before serving, stir in walnuts, reserving some for garnish.

1 cup (about 250 grams) Brussels sprouts 2 Tbsp walnuts, toasted 1/2

cup finely grated parmesan cheese

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Makes about 6 cups, and can be easily doubled for leftovers/lunch the next day. The walnuts are best if toasted fresh before serving, but the rest holds up very well.

Spring 2017

Eat Mindfully Weekly home delivery of farm fresh organic fruit & veg

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Food

Get Your Greens SOUP

Photo: GreenArt Photography / shutterstock.com

Photo: © Vicuschka | Dreamstime.com

Get a great dose of nutrient dense leafy greens in this simple yet tasty creamy soup made with no dairy or other “cream”. Just like a green drink but in a warm soothing form — even better for digestion and absorption! Excellent for those needing to increase their intake of easy to eat greens for the increased nutrition demands of pre-conception planning, pregnancy and beyond. Many parents have told me this recipe is “Trojan horse soup” — similar to a sneaky smoothie where you can pack so many nutrient dense ingredients into one unassuming serving!

The significant amount of green vegetables you consume in just one cup of this soup would, in their pre-cooked form, be

a rather overwhelming pile on a plate and take quite a while to chew!

Sauce Ingredients

Instructions

1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

1 In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic in your oil.

1 cup onion or leek, diced

2 Add the dried basil, vegetables and water/broth.

2 cloves garlic 1/2

The addition of a splash of vinegar like ume plum vinegar or citrus juice to cooked greens makes the minerals in these plants even more bioavailable!

3 Simmer until greens are tender.

4 Add your choice of fresh herbs.

tsp dried basil

6 cups water or broth 3 cups greens – kale, dandelion, beet, chard, spinach – any assortment 1/2

You can use any assortment of leafy greens you have in the fridge or new greens you are curious to try out from the farmers market. These vegetables are rich in vitamins like folic acid (important for reproductive health), vitamin K (critical for bone building) and key minerals like iron and calcium.

cup fresh herbs – basil or cilantro or parsley

5 Blend all together with a hand held blender for a creamy smooth consistency.

6 Return to pot and simmer more to thicken, deepening the flavours.

7 Add ume plum vinegar or lemon juice/salt and add pepper to taste.

1 Tbsp ume plum vinegar (or 1 tsp each lemon juice & sea salt) fresh ground black pepper to taste 70 EcoParent

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Learn to Change Lives and Raise Happy, Healthy Children

What Can a CSNN Graduate Do for You? Meredith Deasley, R.H.N., is working hard in her community to put an end to the epidemic of children reacting to food. She has helped hundreds of families solve their health challenges through consultations and nutrition seminars, and has been featured in a number of articles, educational and informative videos, and television and radio shows. Learn more about Meredith and her books, “The Resourceful Mother’s Secrets to Healthy Kids” and “The Resourceful Mother’s Secrets to Emotional Health”, at theresourcefulmother.com.

Why is it crucial to find out if your child is adversely affected by food? Meredith shares that “kids with food allergies may have challenges with sleeping, behaving well, or concentrating in school, each of which are necessary for reaching their optimal potential. They may experience colic, constipation, recurrent ear infections, eczema, asthma, or ADD, to give a few examples. All adverse reactions to foods cause inflammation in the body, and inflammation is behind all illness.” Uncover how you may help your child prevent, manage and eliminate food allergies at csnn.ca/articles/kids-with-food-allergies.

13 Classroom Locations Coast-to-Coast, plus Online Distance Education Natural Nutrition Program Advanced Holistic Nutrition Workshops and Certificates csnn.ca/holistic-family

@csnn

Food

STIR-FRIED Ginger Broccolini with Shiitake Mushrooms Photo: © Robyn Mackenzie | Dreamstime.com

Photo: © Iofoto | Dreamstime.com

If you are looking for some veggie inspiration, this recipe is for you! This tangy ginger sauce elevates the requisite vegetable accompaniment to a higher level than your typical side dish.

The vegetables featured here are also a step above their more conventional siblings, broccoli and white mushrooms, offering an interesting twist that will be sure to please.

Shiitake mushrooms add a delightfully ‘meaty’ and earthy element to this dish. Shiitakes have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine for supporting the immune system. They are also high in B vitamins, which are key for “preparing the soil” for pre-conception, and supporting the adrenals for improved energy and hormone health.

Broccolini is actually a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale.

It has all the nutritional benefits of the cruciferous vegetable family, assisting with liver detoxification, hormone balance and cancer prevention. The texture and flavour of this elegant hybrid also blends the best of all worlds, slightly sweet and peppery and the crowns remain crunchy even after cooking.

Ginger is a warming, anti-inflammatory herb that eases nausea and assists digestion. The sesame seeds provide a nice contrast, and some added calcium and toasty crunch!

Sauce Ingredients

Instructions

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

2 Tbsp tamari

2 Steam the broccolini until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Then cool down by rinsing under water and set aside to drain.

2 cloves garlic, minced 1 inch of fresh ginger, finely grated 1/2

tsp sriracha or crushed red pepper (optional)

The sauce can be made ahead of time and doubled for future use to allow for super quick prep when you need an easy, tasty vegetable dish.

3 Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a large pan.

4 Add the mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes or until tender.

5 Add the cooked broccolini, and cook for one minute.

Stirfry Ingredients

6 Reduce the heat to low and add the sauce, tossing the vegetables and cook for 1-2 minutes.

1 Tbsp coconut or sesame oil

7 Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and season with salt and pepper as desired.

2 bunches broccolini, trimmed 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems trimmed, cut in half 1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted (optional) freshly ground black pepper, to taste 72 EcoParent

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Purifying Power

Lunch

Find this recipe

Just fruit

Organic Apple Sauce

Organic

vegetable spirals

at edenfoods.com

N

N many free recipes edenfoods.com

Š 2016 Eden Foods 08718

MĂźesli

Organic whole grain, dried fruit & seeds

Food Chia seeds are such a great superfood!

They are an amazing source of fiber, sustained energy and antioxidants! You can make so many variations, and eat this pudding in so many ways—breakfast, for a snack, dessert, or even instead of an energy drink. I like to start with a basic recipe, and then dress it up when serving depending on what I am craving that day. This recipe makes five servings that are each ¹⁄³ of a cup. Depending how much you add to them, you may get more or fewer servings.

PUDDING by healthy dessert diva lauren breuer, cnp

I made this batch using cashew milk, but you could certainly change it up.

Coconut milk would be lovely for a richer dessert.

Basic Ingredients 1

1/3

1/3

cups milk or dairy alternative of choice

cup chia seeds

2 Tbsp maple syrup (or to taste)

Instructions Mix together and set in the fridge overnight. It helps to stir it a couple of times in the first hour or two to ensure a consistent texture.

C

Now you can flavour this base however you desire! I like to start with ¹⁄³ cup of the pudding and add in different flavour combinations. Feel free to adjust however you like. For a smoother texture you can puree the fruit. Here are 4 options we've enjoyed in our home. Have fun with it!

Photos courtesy of the author

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Âź cup cherries & a small handful of chopped almonds

1-2 tsp lemon juice, 1-2 Tbsp coconut, 1 extra tsp maple syrup

2 Matilda Street, Toronto, ON merchantsofgreencoffee.com

Âź cup raspberries & 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

C

Spring 2017

2 Tbsp of pomegranate seeds & 1 Tbsp of chopped pistachios

Greener Bumps & Babies

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EcoParent

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Kids

MU DILIC I O US Photo: © Seenad | Dreamstime.com

by jacob rodenburg

76 EcoParent

| Greener Bumps & Babies

Spring 2017

It turns out that soil contains a bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae, which serves to boost the level of serotonin in our brains. Serotonin is a chemical that helps us feel positive, relaxed and happy. At the same time, playing in mud strengthens our immune system and helps build resiliency. So delight in the gifts of the earth and make mud pies, mud bricks and a mud pit with your children. Go so far as to build them a mud kitchen. Head to ecoparent.ca and search "mud kitchen" for more ideas! If they see you floundering with a smile in puddles of mud, they too will find mud, well… mudilicious.

Photo: © Lookslikelisa | Dreamstime.com

E

ver wonder why kids delight in playing in the mud? More than one exasperated parent has hosed down their child, murmuring “why, why, why oh why?” There is a good reason why kids like mud and kids seem to know this instinctively. Mud makes us happier.

Take an aluminum pie plate and fill this with gooey mud. Decorate the top with flowers, twigs, leaves and stones. Make imprints by pressing something with texture into the soft mud and carefully removing it. Try using shells and leaves. Leave to dry and admire your work!

Making Mud Bricks

Make a simple mud brick mold by hammering a form together out of 2 x 6’s. Make the form about 6 inches wide and one foot long.

Mix water, soil and grasses together until you have a solid goop that keeps its shape. Grasses act like a binding agent. Try experimenting with different ratios of mud, grass or any other natural binding agent.

What recipe makes the best bricks? Press your goop into the mold and gently ease it out. Make a series of bricks and allow these to dry completely in the sun. This usually takes at least two days in direct sunlight. Use your bricks to make a simple fire pit, an adobe fort or anything else you can dream up!

Mud Pit

Take an old wading pool and fill this with a mixture of soil and water until you have a fine slurry. Watch the kids wallow. Have a hose handy and give them a good wash before allowing them back in the house! You can also use a wheel barrow for a more controlled mud experience.

Photo: © Txking | Dreamstime.com

Mud PieS

Photo: © Vladislav Jirousek | Dreamstime.com

Here are some fun suggestions to let the mess begin:

Place a number of stumps against a fence and place an old plywood sheet on top to create the support structure and counter top. Simply cut away part of the counter and insert an old sink or wash basin.

Glue on smaller sections of trees to simulate the elements of a stove.

Use old pots, pans, baking trays, pie tins or whatever else is gathering dust in the basement and create a whimsical outdoor kitchen.

Get out there and have a mudlicious time connecting your children to the very ground that nurtures and sustains us all—Mother Earth.

Spring 2017

Photo: Kris Antonius

Mud kitchen

Greener Bumps & Babies

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EcoParent

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Kids

Photo: © Spetenfia | Dreamstime.com

How do Insects Choose Which Flower to Visit?

Colour Experiment

Insects go to flowers in search of their food, nectar and pollen: but how do insects choose which flower to go to? They are attracted to flowers by their bright colours and smells. In these experiments, you can be a nature detective and test how colours and scents attract different insects.

SCENT Experiment

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

•C ardboard

• Colour cards from the first experiment

• Poster paints

•S cissors or box-cutter (get your parents to help you)

• Honey and other scents you want to try

• Nature

Notebook for recording your observations

• Nature Notebook

WHAT TO DO:

WHAT TO DO:

1. Make 7 cardboard squares, 30cm X 30cm, and paint them different

Insects are also attracted by scent. Pick the least visited card from the colour experiment, and add on a smear of honey or another scent you think may attract insects.

See if insects will now visit this colour card, attracted by smell. Record your observations in your nature notebook.

Which are the most popular colours? Do you notice any flowers nearby with the same colours?

colours: white, yellow, red, blue, green, purple and black.

2. Let them dry completely.

3. Lay the card squares on the grass on a warm sunny day and watch to see which insects come!

Which are the most popular colours? Do you notice any flowers nearby with the same colours?

TO THINK ABOUT AND WONDER: Scientists think that one out of every three bites of food we eat is made possible because of the help of insects and other animal pollinators!

How does pollination work? While gathering their food, pollinators (like insects, butterflies, bees and moths) rub up against a flower’s reproductive parts leaving behind pollen it has picked up from a different flower. The plant then uses this pollen to make a fruit or seed. Many species of plants could not produce their fruit or seed without the help of animal pollinators bringing pollen from a different flower. How do you think the shape of a flower might help a plant share its pollen with others?

The Exploration Club for Families... NatureKids BC helps children get outdoors to play, imagine and explore in nearby nature. Join a family nature club near you or become a freerange member. Find out more at: www.naturekidsbc.ca. If you are already a member you can use this activity as part of your Action Awards Quest!

78 EcoParent

| Greener Bumps & Babies

Spring 2017

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