SWEET NOTHINGS: ISSUE #23

SWEET NOTHINGS Nourishing Our Children #23

PHOTO: @instagram.com/rachelgray___/

IN THIS ISSUE OF NURTURE:

the nutritional value of touch ANNE THISTLETON

encouraging new foods CRYSTAL HARDSTAFF

baby led weaning GILL RAPLEY & TRACEY MURKETT

parenting Q&A’s NAOMI ALDORT

regular features plus more giveaways & prizes PLUS a showcase of must have products trusted by NURTURE!

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What You Eat & Your Genes

Words Lucia Rivas-Herry Photo Golden Sundays Photography

WHY YOUR GENES HAVE YOU CRAVING HOT CHIPS!

According to the Australian Institute of health and welfare (AIHW), two of the top 8 chronic diseases affecting Australians are cardiovascular disease and diabetes and findings in their report Impact of overweight and obesity as a risk of factor for chronic conditions; Australian Burden of Disease Study found that there was strong evidence linking an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions when individuals were overweight or obese.

With such alarming information on what is causing chronic illness in the population, the question arises: is it all a result of people not eating right or is it a combination of environment, diet and genetics? We often use the phrase “He or she has good genes”, or “it’s all in the genes” but is it?

How much do genes on their own have an impact on our health. We all know that our genes are made up of DNA known as the genetic code, and each gene is made up of a double helix of two strands coded by nucleotides that consist of 4 letters; Agenine, Guanine, Cytosine and thymine. Three nucleotides make a codon which are then strung along in sequence instructed by the genetic code to make each strand of the double helix. Genes act as instructions to make proteins or to instruct the regulation of activity of other genes in the body. The position of a single nucleotide in our DNA and what happens to the nucleotide position during replication can cause slight changes in the gene, and this is termed Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP). This SNP can have no impact, can have a minor impact or can completely change the function of the gene. This is what makes us all unique despite having the same genes; it’s the slight nucleotide changes that can have huge impacts on our health. There are three strong emerging fields of science, nutrition, genetics and environment that are quickly becoming buzz words called “epigenetics”, “nutrigenomics” and “nutrigenetics”. Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in our genome that occur without changes in the genetic code. Epigenetics refers to the turning on or off of our genes in response to our environment. Nutrigenomics is the study of using an individuals’ unique genetic information to understand their risk of developing certain diseases.

Read the full article in #23 of Nurture Parenting Magazine in print or digital eMagazine, by visiting our website, https://www.nurtureparentingmagazine.com.au/subscribe. We'll see you on the inside.

The Nutritional VALUE OF TOUCH

Words Anne Thistleton Photo Ted & Li Photography

Touch is arguably the most important nourishment that all humans need for optimal growth, health and development. With adequate exercise, and a balanced diet, including the right amount of nutrients, we will follow normal developmental patterns, and thrive. If there is a lack of essential nutrients, our emotional and physical development will be impaired. Touch is equally as important as essential vitamins, minerals and proteins. As with diet and exercise, we all need a daily dose of touch. Human touching provides essential nutriment for all babies.

Touch has been referred to as ‘the mother of the senses’ … perhaps because it is the earliest sensory system to develop. The word ‘touch’ has the longest entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, and can be defined as ‘the action, or an act of touching or feeling something with the hand, finger or other part of the body’. The operative word in the definition is feeling. Even though touch is not an emotion, its sensory elements stimulate the neural, glandular, muscular and mental changes which, in combination, we call an emotion. As such, touch is not only experienced as a simple physical modality, as sensation … but also affectively, as emotion.

Touch is inextricably linked to how babies feel and how babies communicate. Every baby’s first sensory input in life, comes from the sense of touch they experience whilst still in the womb, and continues to be the primary means of learning about the world throughout infancy and well into childhood. Touch is more than critical for a baby’s optimal growth, development and health … it is essential to their survival.

THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF A BABY’S FIRST TOUCH: “The touch of the mother is the first event to write itself on the body” (philosopher Jacques Derrida). The way in which babies are touched - or not touched - in utero, during birth, and in the early hours, days, weeks, months and years of life, can have both an immediate and a long-lasting and dramatic impact on their physical health and emotional well-being.

Touch – In Utero Touch is the first of the senses to develop in utero, and is the most developed sense at birth. In the womb, a baby’s needs are constantly met. There is continuity, protection, weightlessness, security, no hunger or thirst, a constant and ideal temperature, constant movement and rocking, and continuous tactile stimulation and feedback from the mother’s heart rate, respiration rate, and other physiological rhythms. A developing fetus receives something akin to a continuous massage during the entire nine months in the womb, from the constant movement of the amniotic fluid, and the constant contact with the mother’s internal organs. In the darkness, warmth and snugness of the womb, life for a fetus is almost perfect. All their needs are provided automatically, and without effort. After birth, this blissful set of circumstances will change at once, and the security of the womb will be left behind. Interactions with the outside world and all its challenges will commence.

Read the full article in #23 of Nurture Parenting Magazine in print or digital eMagazine, by visiting our website, https://www.nurtureparentingmagazine.com.au/subscribe.

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