Women + Family Health Guide 2016

Women+ Family FEBRUARY 2016

HEALTH GUIDE

a healthy heart PAGE 2

keep homes safer PAGE 4

food allergies PAGE 6

create time for yourself PAGE 8

WOMEN + FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE

The beat goes on...

Eat right and exercise for a healthy heart LY NN U. NICHOLS

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ost likely you know a woman who has heart disease—your mother, aunt, boss or friend.

That’s because one in three women experience heart disease in their lifetime.

According to the World Health Organization, heart disease kills more women in the U.S. than all cancers combined.

And while it mainly strikes after menopause, numbers for young women getting heart disease is on the rise. Now’s the time to start living a heart-healthy lifestyle so you can pass good habits on to your kids.

A major player in heart disease is clogged arteries. Keeping the vessels that lead to the heart clear of plaque is very important to heart health. That’s where eating well and exercise comes in.

EATING FOR HEART-SAKE If you’ve ever looked at bacon grease after it has cooled in a pan you can see how that fatty, greasy, sticky substance could leave residue in our bodies. That’s exactly what plaque is—the sticky substance that lines your arteries and creates strain on your heart. Eating less of these foods—saturated fats like butter, cream and animal fats—will help keep your arteries clean.

A heart healthy diet includes eating high-fiber foods such as whole grains and a lot of fruits and vegetables; choosing low-fat dairy products, lean proteins, and limiting hidden fats found in baked goods and fried foods.

It’s also important to eat foods that are as close to their original state as possible.

A heart healthy diet includes Omega 3s, the essential fatty acids found in fish. Omega 3s have been proven to have clear cardiac benefits as they maintain blood consistency, lower blood pressure and improve the rhythm of the heart. Take a supplement or eat fish twice a week.

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STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART WITH EXERCISE Regular exercise reduces your risk for heart disease. For example, moderate exercise reduces your chance of developing diabetes and high blood pressure. It also improves blood sugar levels, improves blood lipids (lowers bad cholesterol and raises good) and reduces body fat.

The current recommendation is to aerobically exercise 30 minutes most days to keep your heart healthy. If you didn’t start a new exercise habit after New Year’s, do it now. Think about what activities bring you pleasure and start there. If you love being in nature, walk or run the bike paths. If you like basketball, join a gym that offers a casual league. If you love dancing, take

a dance class or sign up for Zumba through the city. Or give something new a try—Fencing? Kettle bells?

Insanity or Crossfit? By adopting the philosophy to “move every day” you will create a new habit and soon enough the day won’t feel right until you’ve gotten up and moved.

This might sway you to start now: we all form what’s called a “fatty streak” in our arteries from a young age, even as children. Once the fatty streak is created it can’t be dissolved.

The fatty streak doesn’t cause problems, per se, but it forms a base for plaque to build on. If you wait, that base grows. That’s why forming good habits now matters.

Get your red on! February is American Heart Month, so use it as an ex-

cuse to buy a little red dress! The American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign raisees awareness on women’s heart disease and defuse myths that it’s a man’s disease.

The top risks for heart disease include having a family history of the disease, smoking, feeling high stress without a plan for relief, sleep problems such as insomnia, diabetes, and of course poor eating and exercise habits. Stroke and heart disease are closely related, and adopting heart healthy habits helps reduce your risk for both.

For more, visit www.goredforwomen.org where you can take a heart checkup to find out your personal risk and learn more about heart healthy habits.

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WOMEN + FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE

Safe at home

Simple tips can help prevent injuries and death

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ach year, more than 3 million kids ages 14 and under get hurt at home– and more than 2,000 children die from unintentional injuries in the home.

Fire, suffocation, drowning, choking, firearm and poisoning are among the top leading causes of unintentional home injury or death for this age group. Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries to children.

“Children spend a lot of time in the home and it’s a parent’s job to make sure that environment is as safe as possible,” says Janet Werst, Safe Kids Larimer County Coordinator. “Safety devices like smoke alarms and window guards are important, but active supervision by an adult is also key to making sure children stay safe. “Baby-proofing” is only the first step. Injury risks change as children grow and develop, and parents should regularly reassess the safety of their home to address the most serious risks.”

Safe Kids Larimer County recommends parents keep these home safety tips in mind: PREVENTING FIRES & BURNS

• Make sure you have working smoke alarms in every level of your home, outside each sleeping area and in every bedroom. Plan how each child in your home would escape in a fire. Practice a family fire drill twice a year. Test batteries monthly and change them once a year.

• Set your water heater at 120 degrees and test the bathwater by running your whole hand and wrist throughout the tub before putting your child in it.

• Teach children to stay a safe distance from the stove/oven (minimum of 3 feet) and ALWAYS stay with your food when you are cooking.

AROUND WATER

• Always supervise children near water. Never leave young children alone in the bathtub or pool–a child can drown in a matter of seconds.

• Keep toilet lids closed and lock all doors to bathrooms.

• Hot tubs should be covered and locked when not in use.

• Install protective measures like antientrapment drain covers and safety vacuum

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release systems in your hot tub/pool.

AROUND THE HOME

• Prevent serious falls by keeping furniture away from windows, installing guards or stops on windows that are not emergency exits, and installing safety gates at the top and the bottom of stairs if you have small children. Never use baby walkers.

• Put your baby on his or her back to sleep in a crib that meets all current national safety standards. Remove all pillows, comforters, stuffed toys and other soft products from the crib before putting your baby to sleep.

• Look at a room as your child would; ask yourself what looks interesting and what can be reached. Get rid of small items your child can choke on.

• Keep guns locked, unloaded and where kids cannot reach them. Lock up ammunition in a separate place.

PREVENTING POISONINGS

• Lock up medicine, vitamins, cleaning supplies, and pet food as these can all be poisonous to a child. Read labels and follow directions when giving medicine to children.

• Post the Poison Center Helpline by every phone: 1-800-222-1222.

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• Make sure you have working carbon monoxide detectors in every sleeping area and on each level of your home. Test them every month and make sure heating systems are vented outside and checked each year.

BE PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES

• Call 911 if your child is choking, collapses, can’t breathe or is having a seizure.

• Check your first-aid kit to make sure it is fully stocked.

• Make sure babysitters and other caregivers know how to handle an emergency.

ON THE ROAD

• Buckle up every trip. Use an appropriate car seat for as long as you can. See www. carseatscolorado.com for best practice recommendations and find an inspection station near you to ensure your child is traveling as safely as possible.

For more tips on how to make your home safer for your children, visit www. sklarimer.org Safe Kids Larimer County contributed this article.

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Process of elimination...

Itchy? Runny nose? Maybe it’s a food allergy or sensitivity?

LY NN U. NICHOLS

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ver since he was little, Evan had stomach aches. They didn’t happen often so his mom didn’t give it much thought. Then the spring of fourth grade they began happening on a monthly, then weekly basis. He would have stomach pain and cramps followed by diarrhea.

When it became a daily lament it was time to explore if it was a food allergy or sensitivity. Two weeks off of gluten gave them their answer. His stomach pain got much better. Evan was reacting to gluten —the gummy protein found in wheat, barley and rye. A genetic test confirmed he had a gene associated with Celiac Disease.

His aunt and cousin had recently been diagnosed, so it was already suspected.

While making the switch to a gluten-free life wasn’t easy, it made the stomach pain go away and helped Evan’s gut recover— improving his overall health.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ALLERGY AND A SENSITIVITY Symptom-wise, allergies and sensitivities can be identical. Yet a true allergic reaction is more serious as it involves your child’s immune system. Only 6-8 percent of kids in the U.S. have a true allergy, and some will outgrow that allergy as their body develops. With an intolerance or sensitivity, a child might lack a certain enzyme needed to digest a food, or react to food additives, causing uncomfortable symptoms. The solution to both is identifying the offending food and eliminating it from your child’s diet.

Foods that make up 90 percent of allergies include milk, peanuts, soy, wheat, eggs, fish, tree nuts and shellfish.

SYMPTOMS OF FOOD ALLERGIES Food allergies or intolerances affect three main areas of the body—and cause varying reactions. Your daughter might get a stomach ache from drinking milk while her classmate breaks out in hives.

Reactions usually begin within minutes or a few hours.

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• Stomach/intestines: nausea, cramping, pain, vomiting or diarrhea • Skin: hives, redness, swelling, itching or eczema • Nose/throat/mouth: itchy throat, mouth or eyes, runny or stuffy nose, coughing, wheezing • Lightheadedness or fainting. The most serious reaction is anaphylaxis, where airways swell making it hard to breathe followed by a drop of blood pressure and sometimes loss of consciousness. If your child has a serious allergy, your doctor will likely have you carry an auto-injector to reverse the reaction, like an EpiPen.

compared it to that of people in Westernized nations. They found that the people in undeveloped nations have a much richer variety of bacteria making up their gut flora, and they have fewer allergies, asthma and auto-immune diseases.

Have you ever heard of the hygiene hypothesis? It’s the idea that Westernized nations see more allergies because of an overuse of antibiotics. Because we are not exposed to a wide variety of bacteria and viruses, our immune systems react to things they shouldn’t fight against—such as food or particles in the air.

WHY ON THE RISE? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, food allergy rates in children increased 18 percent in 10 recent years. Peanut allergies, in particular, are becoming more common.

While researches have not identified the exact cause, there are some interesting theories. One is that our guts simply don’t house enough bacteria. A study looked at the gut flora of people in undeveloped nations—who live and farm much closer to the land—and

AVOIDING REACTIONS FROM FOODS If you suspect a food allergy or sensitivity, consider having your child complete an elimination diet. Essentially, you take suspect foods out of her diet for a few weeks, and see if she notices a difference.

You then reintroduce foods one by one to see if she reacts.

Once you’ve identified the culprit.

Steer clear. Get really good at reading labels, packing your child’s lunch and teaching him what foods he can eat and which are questionable.

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WOMEN + FAMILY HEALTH GUIDE

Want to be a better mom?

Create

time for yourself away from the children LY NN U. NICHOLS

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hen young kids take nearly 100 percent of our energy, it feels impossible to squeeze out some personal time each day, let alone each week. Yet in order to be good mothers, it’s a must. We’ve all heard the saying, “If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone else.” The trick is figuring out how to do it—and going alone to work or the grocery store doesn’t count.

Here are some ideas to get you started.

EXPLORE INTERESTS, OLD AND NEW Make a list of what you used to like to do before kids and see if you are still interested and if such activities are still practical. If you’re drawing a blank, thumb through the city recreation guide and circle items of interest. Now, scale it down. If you can’t commit to a book group or a 6-week rock climbing class, do something similar on a much smaller scale: spend time looking through new offerings at the bookstore or take an hour to go to the climbing gym each week.

GET SCHEDULED Putting your family on a schedule makes it easier for you to see available chunks of time. When you see a gap, schedule some me time. How about coffee with an old friend, or a walk through the park? Yes, your spouse has to cover you—but let him add his own outing to the schedule. Also, if you don’t have one already, work to establish a set, early bedtime for your kids. If they get in the routine of falling asleep at 8pm you know you’ve got an hour or two in the evening to connect to your spouse and relax—or go out with girlfriends.

HIRE A HOUSE CLEANER OR A NEIGHBORHOOD KID TO SHOVEL THE DRIVEWAY If you can afford one or two luxuries, why not? Now is the time to indulge, when the kids are young. This goes for stay-at-home moms, too, who 8 | RMPARENT

often feel guilty if they are not making all the meals, running all the errands and keeping the house clean. If that’s not an option, consider lowering your standards. Maybe the toilet can go two weeks without seeing a scrub brush or you can skimp by with just shoveling the walk. A little dirt and dishevelment never hurt anybody.

SET UP A CHILDCARE TRADE Got a best friend with kids? Talk with her about covering each other at least once a month for a date night. Also, attend events that offer babysitting, like those offered by the Mother’s Center in Loveland and Fort Collins (www.motherscenterfc.org).

Or, hire a junior high girl to watch your toddler for an hour twice a week so you can spend time doing an exercise DVD, or reading a good book.

LEAVE WORK EARLY, BUT LEAVE THE KIDS IN DAYCARE While it may seem scandalous, taking an hour at the end of the workday for you is actually the opposite. Remember, the idea is carving out bits of time wherever you can—and if the kids spend an extra hour

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now and then in daycare, that’s okay.

A WORD ON MOMMY GUILT Studies show that self-esteem, life satisfaction and marital bliss drop when parents immerse themselves in their children’s lives, rarely coming up for air. Not taking personal time for hobbies, exercise, or simply to ponder who you are can lead to a sense of feeling lost. Our identities are made up of all the roles we play in life. When those roles are boiled down to just a few—like spouse and mother— women can feel a sense of emptiness.

As far as handling guilt about leaving the baby, start small. Instead of a whole evening out, maybe you and your spouse can have dessert and coffee for an hour. It may feel strange at first—as if you are breaking some law—but keep doing it. You’ll get used to it soon enough.

If you feel a lot of guilt, take a look at its source. Ask yourself whether it is coming from a specific person or a global belief that good moms always put family first.

Finally, replace those thoughts with a new belief that rings true for you, like moms who take time for themselves are better moms. After all, it’s true.

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