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Health
Mild gastrointestinal illnesses are part of being a toddler. Vomiting and diarrhea, either alone or together, occur commonly in this age group. As a caregiver of a child with a tummy “bug,” what foods to give becomes a big concern. For decades, the...
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Toddler
While the 2000s had carbs, the 2010s diet enemy appears to be gluten. When celebrities and health experts started speaking out about celiac disease and gluten intolerance, some people hopped on the bandwagon and decided to go “gluten-free.” Many of...
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Blog
This summer, I will be wearing a bikini. Not because I lost a lot of weight. I haven’t. Not because I have a burning desire to wear a bikini again. I don’t. The reason is because I have two daughters, and I want to show them that bikinis are ok, no...
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Toddler
Many parents wonder if their children need multivitamins. Some parents are looking for relief in the feeding department, hoping a multivitamin will take the pressure off meals and snacks, while others are looking for an insurance policy to keep...
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Blog
You managed to chug down that super sweet sugary drink sometime around 28 weeks of pregnancy and found out that yes, you have gestational diabetes. You managed it in pregnancy (either with diet or medications), took a test a few weeks after you had...
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Baby
Food has calories, and while adults may wish them away, calories and nutrients are essential to your child’s health. But where do calories come from? Macronutrients — known as protein, fat, and carbohydrate — are the “big three” nutrients that...
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Toddler
With concerns about the way food is processed, along with how and what animals are being fed, a growing number of adults are choosing a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. As a result, more children are exposed to this type of diet. People who follow a...
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Toddler
The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were released a few years ago, summarizing the nutrition areas where Americans need to work a bit harder to reach their health potential. Although the DGAs don’t address the needs of children under...
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Baby
If you’re like many moms, once you’ve given birth, your thoughts quickly turn to losing extra baby weight. In our celebrity-obsessed culture, it seems that every new mom should be able to do that in a matter of weeks. The truth is that notion is...
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Blog
I was raised on beef and potatoes. My kids have seen quite a bit of bacon and ham in their lifetimes, and steak is always requested on birthdays. In fact, my crew would pipe in and tell you bacon is one of their favorite foods. And my husband has a...
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Pregnancy
Research shows that about 10 percent of women struggle with infertility. And while many will turn to science to help them have a baby, some researchers believe that changing your diet and eating certain foods—whole grains, healthy fats, protein,...
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Health
Years ago, managing diarrhea meant eliminating food and focusing on hydrating the child, in the hopes of curtailing stool output. Then the thinking turned to offering foods that were somewhat constipating, such as bananas and rice, while...
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Toddler
About 5 percent of Americans, both children and adults, follow a vegan diet, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group. By definition, vegans eat no flesh foods or products derived from animals. This includes dairy and animal products, such as...
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Blog
Kids are picky. Some are really, really picky. Others are a little bit picky. Most are in between. I recently met a woman who complained about her son who was a picky eater. She was curious about why her twin boys were totally opposite in their...
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Blog
From Halloween to New Year’s Day, there’s no denying that the holiday season is upon us and along with it, sugary treats and indulgent foods. For kids (and their parents), the abundance of sweets and special occasion foods can be overwhelming and a...
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Toddler
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Toddler
About 12 percent of children have a food allergy, with cow’s milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, soy, wheat, fish, and crustacean shellfish being the most common. At this time, there is no known treatment for food allergies other than avoiding the...
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Pregnancy
Thanks to your growing baby’s need for calcium and other minerals, pregnancy and breastfeeding can place some pretty heavy demands on a mom’s bones — not to mention all the other changes going on in your body during pregnancy. Here are five steps...
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Parenting
Your new baby has arrived, and you are eager to get back into shape. However, losing weight after pregnancy takes time and patience, especially because your body is still undergoing many hormonal and metabolic changes. Most women will lose half...
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Baby
A diet that’s rich in fiber has wide-ranging health effects for children. With both short-term and long-lasting benefits, fiber can help your child grow into a healthy young adult. In the short-term, increasing your child’s intake of insoluble...
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Baby
Constipation is one of the leading causes of concern for parents of young children. And it’s no wonder! There’s so much going on with eating, development, and toilet habits at this time. Children are learning to eat new foods, rejecting once...
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Toddler
Anemia is a condition that causes the body to produce insufficient amounts of healthy red blood cells, which are needed to bring oxygen to body tissues. An estimated 20 percent of American children will have anemia at some point in their childhood....
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Toddler
Iron is an important nutrient for growth and development. During the first two years of life, when the brain is growing at an accelerated rate, iron is critical. Deficiencies of iron at this crucial time may cause adverse effects in brain...
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Health
Everyone gets constipated at some point, even toddlers. When parents are juggling toilet training and picky or erratic eating, panic over a toddler not producing poo can set in. Don’t worry too much, though. A change in your toddler’s diet may be...
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Baby
From your diet to feeding issues, there are lots of reasons your baby might experience gas. Here are the top ten things you should know about infant gas (and a word of advice: don’t skip #9!).
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Toddler
If you ask a toddler what a “superfood” is, you might end up hearing a lot about macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, pizza, and pasta. Just like babies, however, toddlers need a healthy and varied diet to fuel their development...
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Toddler
What you choose to offer your toddler to drink plays an important role in his or her overall health. After all, beverages provide nutrition and hydration, both of which help keep your toddler healthy and nourished. Beverages, especially water, are...
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Blog
This week, one mom has her twin routine down pat, but her husband wants to change it up and show them off. Another mom wants to know if it’s safe to give her child pollen since her husband and she already take bee pollen. See what our...
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Blog
Giving birth is wonderful, but it also means big changes when you get home with that baby and you’re wearing enormous pads, you’re bleeding, your baby is crying, you’re crying, and everybody is running around. In this Facebook Live event, supported...
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Toddler
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Toddler
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a processed food superstar. Found in everything from cookies and cakes to ketchup, salad dressing, canned soup, and even infant formula, it’s most prevalent in soft drinks and fruit juices. But should HFCS play a...
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Baby
When you’re ready to introduce solid food, the goal is to increase food exposure so that by one year of age, your baby has eaten a wide variety of food and his or her dinner plate looks like yours: filled with the food everyone else is eating, with...
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Baby
In the first year of your baby’s life there will be many changes. By the first year, many babies will have made the transition from sitting to crawling and maybe even walking. Sleep becomes more regular with predictable naps and sleeping through...
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Baby
If you are breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, you may have been told there are certain foods you should avoid while nursing. Foods that often seem to top the list include spicy foods, citrus fruits, and “gassy” foods (like broccoli). Here’s...
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Baby
Broccoli, beans, cabbage, oh my! These are foods known to cause gas in an adult digestive tract. So it may not come as a surprise that babies have food triggers that cause gas as well, even if they don’t actually eat the foods in question. Foods...
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Toddler
You’ve read about “superfoods” for babies — these are the foods like berries and sweet potatoes that give an extra nutritional boost. Here are the “anti-superfoods,” the bad food for kids. The foods on this list have been shown to have little to no...
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Pregnancy
Your heart is working overtime during pregnancy, supporting healthy circulation for you and your baby, so it makes good sense to take a few precautions to protect your heart health. At its most basic level, your heart is a pump that responds to the...
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Toddler
Did you know your baby’s brain triples in size within the first year of life? This rapid brain growth is undeniable and requires important nutrients, including the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), among others. In the brain, DHA is...
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Pregnancy
While you’re pregnant, it is important to follow a healthy diet and choose a variety of foods that will provide you with all the nutrients you and your baby need. This is certainly possible if you’re a vegetarian, but you’ll have to be mindful of...
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Toddler
Whether you’re buying store-brand baby food or making your own, it’s never too early to start teaching your baby to enjoy healthy foods. “Moms and dads need to make eating nutritious foods a regular part of life,” said Dian Griesel,...
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Baby
Frequency of bowel movements can be added to the long list of things we never dreamed we’d worry about before becoming parents. And yet, from the first day of our baby’s life, we are concerned with their poop, whether it’s the color, issues...
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Toddler
Food groups may be confusing, but once you get the hang of them, they are your secret weapon for planning balanced, nutritious meals and snacks for your child. What are food groups? Food groups are categories of food that are similar in nutrients....
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Pregnancy
If you’re one of those moms who didn’t exactly expect to get pregnant, this is right around the time you will probably suspect that those odd symptoms you’ve experienced over the past few weeks might be pregnancy related—especially after you miss...
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Blog
It’s the New Year, and many men and women are gearing up to make (and hopefully keep) their New Year’s resolutions. However, if you are pregnant, here are some resolutions you should probably skip. 1. Getting healthy by trying a juice cleanse or...
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Pregnancy
You’ve no doubt heard the old saying that “Pregnancy means eating for two,” but it’s a good idea to keep in mind that one of you is very small. While you’re pregnant, it is important to follow a nutritious meal plan. However, your overall diet...
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Pregnancy
Calcium is an essential mineral for pregnant women. As your baby develops, your body will supply between 50 and 330 mg of calcium every day to the fetus to help develop strong bones and teeth. That calcium will come from your own internal stores...
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Toddler
Raising a good eater may feel like a rollercoaster at times—sometimes your child will enthusiastically try new healthy foods, and sometimes he or she will refuse to eat anything. And naturally, if your child isn’t eating, the worry and desire to...
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Pregnancy
Did you know that about one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect? Although not all birth defects are preventable, a woman can take steps to increase her chances of having a healthy baby. One of these steps for all women of childbearing...
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Toddler
Our bodies process food into three sources of energy: protein, carbohydrate and fat. A low glycemic index (GI) food is one that releases glucose—a carbohydrate—slowly into the bloodstream. In general, a slow release of energy into the blood stream...
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Pregnancy
Change tends to be gradual over a pregnancy—you’re gaining weight steadily and slowly, but it’s not like everything happens all at once. Then one day, maybe right around Week 19, you stand sideways in front of the mirror and wow! You’re looking...
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Toddler
Your baby’s sense of smell and taste begins to develop in the womb, as early as the first trimester. By the time your baby is delivered, his or her sense of taste and smell is fully mature and rivals that of an older child or adult. This early...
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Baby
At nine months of age, your baby is gaining more experience with solid foods, which means it’s about time to begin introducing “finger foods” — little diced bites of soft food — that your baby can attempt to pick up and eat. If you haven’t already,...
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Toddler
Dietary fat is a critical part of a child’s health—as long as it’s the right kind of fat and in the right proportion. In the body, fats perform a number of important functions, including: Providing essential fatty acids (those not made by the...
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Toddler
Whole grains have been getting a lot of attention as an important food source for maintaining a healthy weight and preventing long-term illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Whole grain foods such as whole wheat bread,...
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Pregnancy
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Baby
In older babies, constipation generally occurs when the muscles at the end of the large intestine tighten, preventing the stool from leaving the body. The longer the stool stays inside, the firmer and drier it becomes, making it even more difficult...
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Toddler
DHA is a vital brain-boosting and eye health nutrient. In the first year of life, babies need adequate DHA to support healthy development and growth. Mothers who are pregnant or breastfeeding are advised to consume the equivalent of 300 mg DHA per...
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Toddler
If you’re struggling with a hard-headed toddler who won’t eat what’s best or a preschooler who is on a peanut butter jag, you might worry that your child’s diet is deficient and think you should provide vitamin supplements or a multivitamin....
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Toddler
Food coloring is everywhere, from colorful candies and snack foods to healthy yogurt, cheese, and juice. But how safe is it? Should parents worry about the safety of food coloring? It’s important to understand that the Food and Drug Administration...
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Toddler
The messaging on snacking is changing. The negative publicity on snacks does have some merit — many children are getting too many snacks and the wrong kind, putting a heavy dent in their calorie budgets. The 2008 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study...
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Toddler
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Pregnancy
Welcome to the end of the first trimester! Week 13 is officially the last week of the first trimester, and your baby is really growing now. For many moms, the second trimester is the “happy trimester” when they enjoy glowing skin, a noticeable...
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Pregnancy
Ideally, all women who are planning for pregnancy should have a preconception check-up to make sure they are in good health and have all the information they need to get their pregnancy off to a good start. However, if that is not possible, it is...
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Parenting
Every parent makes mistakes (we’re all human, right?), but some mistakes and behaviors have longer-term repercussions than others on your child. You are the most important person in your child’s life, so what you say and do has a huge impact on...
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Health
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder present at birth that results in a number of physical, mental, and behavioral problems, most notably a constant sense of hunger that usually begins at about 2 years of age. PWS is the most...
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Baby
Parents and caregivers often worry about the frequency and amount of stool that their baby is producing. In the first couple months of life, a breastfed baby may stool after every feed. Formula fed babies tend to stool less often but still have...
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Baby
Now that your baby has more experience with solid foods, you might wonder which foods are “good” to introduce at this age and when it’s OK to introduce treats and snacks. First, it’s important to offer an increasing variety of soft table and finger...
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Toddler
A sip of daddy’s soda, a gulp of mommy’s latte, and a taste of sister’s ice cream are more commonplace than many of us would like to admit. In an ideal world, babies and young toddlers would not eat any junk food, but that’s not the world we...
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Toddler
Healthy eating habits start early—that’s the conclusion of a November 2014 study by University at Buffalo pediatrics researchers. The scientists studied how different parenting styles affected a toddler’s eating habits. They found that parents with...
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Toddler
If you spend any amount of time searching online for health information, you will no doubt discover sites claiming that you have “hidden” food allergies or intolerances. Name your favorite chronic ailment, i.e. headaches, bloating, acne, even brain...
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Pregnancy
Week 7 is a big week for your baby: a typically developing baby will go through a growth spurt right around this time, doubling in size and beginning to develop the structures that will become arms, legs, and major internal organs. At this time,...
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Toddler
During the first two years of life, your child’s brain grows faster than it will at any other time during his or her life. To maintain this very rapid growth, the brain needs certain nutrients, including healthy fats, DHA, iron, and certain...
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Baby
Sushi is considered a healthy eating option and its popularity is growing in the US. Many parents wonder if it is safe for their young child to eat sushi and when they can safely introduce it in the diet. According to the American Academy of...
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Pregnancy
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Toddler
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Pregnancy
When you have Gestational Diabetes, making healthy food choices is one of the best ways you can manage your blood glucose while providing enough nutrients to you and your growing baby. This doesn’t mean you have to go on a boring,...
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Toddler
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Toddler
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Toddler
Fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet for all of us, including children. Yet the fiber intakes of most American children are lower than what’s recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The recommended daily fiber intake for...
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Baby
Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to introducing solid food to your baby that skips the step of traditional spoon-feeding. Throughout the US and Europe, BLW is becoming a popular “first food” approach to feeding babies. Baby-led weaning was...
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Toddler
Toddlerhood can be a landmine of food jags, food refusal, and general picky eating, making parents even more intent on getting their toddlers to eat well. To this end, some parents will use food as a reward to get their children to eat. After all,...
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Toddler
From European brands to Greek style and everything in between, finding a good yogurt can be a challenge, if not a confusing prospect! I’ve broken the task down to four simple rules: 1. Keep it short on sugar In general, yogurt can be a healthy...
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Pregnancy
During pregnancy, many women focus on their health and nutrition like never before, and rightly so: you want to feed your baby the very best nutrients possible! However, there are some foods you stay away from as they can carry an increased risk to...
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Toddler
Do you find yourself getting anxious as the dinner hour approaches? Planning for World War III? Wondering how you’ll get this one to eat vegetables and that one to eat more than just pasta? You’re not the only one. Parents today report using all...