by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

Want to give your baby the best?  Feed him/her only mother’s milk for the first 12 months.  An added incentive is it helps the mother’s health, also.  I thought everybody knew breastfeeding was the ideal until a woman asked me if the new report from the Annals of Internal Medicine , which reiterates this, was accurate.  October’s Annals updates previous recommendations by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force that health-care providers should do all they can to actively support breast feeding.

Why do they feel the need to call for more support?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

The new miracle vitamin is D.  I have read study after study lately touting the positive effects (decrease cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, etc.)  of an adequate amount.  The problem is that no one knows how much is adequate.  Most agree that current recommendations are too low.  You can get it from the sun, but at the increased risk of skin cancer.  It is very difficult to get enough in your diet, even with added supplementation in food, such as milk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAD) agrees that kids need more and has changed its daily recommendations from 200 IU to 400 IU.  Why do they think more is needed?

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by James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.

If you haven’t heard of bisphenol A, you will.  A study coming out in the September 17 JAMA shows an association of bisphenol A (BPA) with heart disease, diabetes and lab abnormalities of the liver.

Bisphenol A is a very common chemical found in some plastics like certain children’s toys, baby bottles, the resin lining of cans and dental sealants. Although we can absorb it through the skin and inhale it, our main exposure is diet.

At JHMFD we’ve written about companies eliminating polyvinylchoride (PVC), which can contain BPA.  I’ve blogged about the NIH being concerned about exposure in children. It’s a hot topic, and everyone is exposed.  So what do we do?

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Bisphenol A is a chemical found in plastics, toys, bottles, etc.  The NIH has accumulated all it knows about bisphenol A into a report. The conclusion?  There is “some concern” that it could cause developmental toxicity for fetuses, infants and children (effects on the brain, behavior and prostate gland).   That is code for they really don’t know, but better safe than sorry.  On a scale of 1 to 5, it’s a 3.   They say more studies are needed for better conclusions.

So what is a person to do?

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