Something to Chew On

The online Sunday Times from Britain recently featured this article about an increase in women requesting that their physicians prescribe the anti-lacatation drug cabergoline after delivery.  Women featured in the article cited a variety of reasons for not wanting to breastfeed including physical discomfort or concerns about changes in body shape. 

A breastfeeding counselor quoted in the article summed up a more fundamental issue when she said “A lot of people are rebelling against the pressure.  There is something militant about the breastfeeding movement, where women are harshly judged if they don’t do it. Many are simply opting out.” 

Most pregnant women hear a lot about the benefits of breastfeeding to both baby and mother. Much less is said about the very real barriers - including stigma and guilt - mothers face surrounding the decision about how to feed their babies.  So much is beyond a woman’s control - the policies at a particular hospital that promote distribution of infant formula, the reaction of family members, friends and total strangers, social pressure to maintain a certain body type, the timeline for when she will return to a workplace, the perceived personality and preferences of a particular infant.  While "breast is best" by scientific standards, we all make decisions based on an entire range of factors. Sometimes our chosen actions end up being in conflict with some of our deepest values.

Breastfeeding is a unique experience and very worthy of a committed effort. However, it is quite possible to raise a beautiful, healthy, smart, well-adjusted child on infant formula.  It is possible to start with breastfeeding and transition to infant formula before the six months of exclusive breastfeeding benchmark.  It is possible to feed from both the breast and the bottle.   The essential element to successful infant feeding is having a healthy, hopeful parent who feels informed, equipped and supported to do the best she can for her baby and for herself. Nothing extremist about that. 

In my last post I talked about what the word “organic” means – in this post I will talk a little about who is producing the organic foods that can be found in your local markets.

Where do organic foods come from?  As demand for organic foods have expanded, so has the number of farmers and food companies producing them.   Increasing numbers of small-scale producers are showing up at farmers markets offering locally grown organic fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheese, yogurt and meat. (As an aside - I loved this 2008 New York Times article about young urbanites becoming rural hipster farmers)  Local Harvest provides a wonderful directory of farm stands, family farms and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms across the United States. 

National super market chains and discounters such as Walmart rely on much larger scale commercial producers to stock their shelves with lower priced organic foods. Author turned food activist Michael Pollen calls these producers “Big Organic”  One example is Earthbound Farms which supplies organic spinach, salad greens and other fruits and vegetables in many US supermarkets.  Twenty-five years ago it was a 2.5-acre organic raspberry farm outside San Francisco.  Today, they control about 30,000 acres of organic farm land operated by 150 different growers across the United States and Mexico. 

To get a sense of just how complex Big Organic is, check out these graphics created by Phil Howard at Michigan State University.  It turns out that your Boca Burger is made by Kraft Foods. Cascadian Farms cereal belongs to General Mills while Kashi is owned by Kellogg.  After the Fall and R.W. Knudsen juices are part of the jelly-giant Smuckers.  French yogurt company Dannon is 40% owner of the Stoneyfield Farms which in turns owns Brown Cow (my personal favorite yogurt brand).  

Does big organic mean bad organic?   That depends on who you ask.  Some critics of large scale commercial organic farming say that organic standards are being compromised in order to accommodate these big producers.  Critics also site the fact that foods from large commercial farms can travel thousands of miles to grocery store shelves which costs large amounts of fossil fuels.  On the other hand, large scale farms are making less expensive organic options available to a much larger population.  It’s still a big step forward to have more farm land under organic cultivation.  Regardless of whether the producer was big or small, it’s important to remember that organic foods are not necessarily safer than conventionally produced food in terms of risk of contamination with E. Coli or other bacteria.

Here are a few other things to consider when thinking about organic purchases:

• For best organic produce prices, stay local and in season –  Small-scale farmers market producers are less likely than big stores to charge a premium price for organics compared to conventionally grown produce.  Fruits and veggies purchased when they are in season will be less expensive and much tastier.
• Plan ahead in order to prioritize your purchases – Read this post for information about which fruits and vegetables are better to buy organic.  Don’t worry about trying to find organic seafood – there are still no USDA organic standards set for seafood. 
• Read those labels – A product high in organic fats and organic sugar is still high in fat and sugar.   Don’t make assumptions about what is in a product just because it has the US Organic label on the front. 
• Continue practicing safe food handling – Wash organic fruits and vegetables well with soap and water, keep uncooked organic meat and poultry separate from other foods, wash your hands before preparing and serving foods, and cook foods well to ensure you kill any micro organisms.  

Organic foods are more or less in the mainstream.  Sales of organic food in the US have increased approximately 20% each year since 1990.  Once only found in strip mall health food shops, organic foods have earned a prominent place on the shelves of many major supermarkets and big box retailers.  

I absolutely love the idea of organic farming – but I’m also cheap and a little weary of trends.  So I can find myself standing in the grocery aisle with conventional canned chicken broth in one hand and a paper-boxed organic brand in the other.   Were the chickens who went into the organic broth really treated better or if I am being swayed by the earth-tone packaging featuring a more Zen-looking bird?  Understanding more about what the organic label means and where organics come from helps me make a more grounded decision about what to actually buy.

What is organic?  Since 2002, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Organic Program has set strict standards for what foods can be labeled organic.   All organic food producers with income greater than $5,000 per year must receive routine official inspections.  Small producers, such as farmers market vendors, do not have to undergo inspections but can still be held accountable for truth in advertising claims. Some producers choose to not label their products as organic because the cost of the certification process is high. 

Organic foods cannot involve use of synthetic pesticides, synthetic hormones or prophylactic antibiotics. (It is acceptable to use antibiotics to treat a sick animal)  Foods labeled as organic cannot include any ingredients produced using genetic engineering, irradiation or sewage sludge.  Animals that provide organic meat or organic milk must be fed only 100% organically produced feeds and meet a minimum time for grazing in open pasture that itself not treated with pesticides. 

If you see the official USDA organic seal on a package you know that at least 95% of ingredients are certified organic. Only two categories of food products can carry the seal:

• 100% organic – Must be made with 100% organic ingredients (except salt and water). Includes single ingredient foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, milk and cheese. 
• Organic – At least 95% of ingredients in food product are organic. 

Other products with less than 95% organic ingredients can still use the term “organic” on their packaging but are NOT allowed to use the USDA seal.

• Made with organic ingredients – At least 70% of the ingredients are organic. Claim can appear on the front of package, naming the specific ingredients.
• Contains organic ingredients - Contains less than 70% organic ingredients. Cannot appear on front of package -only listed under ingredients list on side or back panel. 

Other packaging claims such as “natural” or “authentic” are not strictly defined or regulated.    In my next post I will look at who is producing organic foods and what does that mean for our food choices. 

Many of us were first introduced to sweet potatoes as part of Thanksgiving dinner –coated in sticky syrup or smothered in marshmallows.  Sweet potatoes deserve better treatment than that! This kid-friendly vegetable tops lists of “super foods” and should have a regular spot on your weeknight table. 

Nutrient-packed - One small baked orange-fleshed sweet potato has enough beta-carotene to provide more than twice the daily allowance of vitamin A for an adult. Beta-carotene is also a powerful anti-oxidant.  Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin C and have a good quantity of calcium, iron and manganese.  Pick darker orange sweet potatoes for maximum nutrients. 

Naturally sweet - The natural sweetness of sweet potatoes comes from their high starch content.  Baking sweet potatoes is the best way to bring out the sweet flavor – no marshmallows required.     They are also low in calories and high in fiber (more fiber than a bowl of oatmeal in one small sweet potato)

Not a yam - Sweet potatoes come in all sorts of colors and textures – from white to purple to yellow.  The orange-flesh variety sold in the USA is often labeled as a “yam”. The name is misleading.  Real yams are a totally different variety of plant founds only in the tropics. They have a similar orange color and so the name yam was given to orange-fleshed sweet potatoes when they were introduced to the USA in the mid 1900’s. The potato part of sweet potato is also misleading - they are not related.  Potatoes are tubers but sweet potatoes are roots.

Saving children’s lives -  Improving the Vitamin A status of infants and young children who are deficient decreases their risk of death from measles by about 50%, death from diarrhea by about 40%, and overall risk of death from any cause by 25-35%.  Farmers in several rural communities in Mozambique, a country of more than 18 million people in Southern Africa, have introduced a specially selected variety of orange-fleshed sweet potato that grows quickly and is very high in Vitamin A.  Children in households who produce this sweet potato have higher intakes of Vitamin A and better nutritional status than children in households who do not grow it.  Learn more about this project here. 

Let’s eat!  - Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, grilled, wrapped in foil and stuck in the campfire, pan fried, deep fried or even microwaved with excellent results.   Cooked sweet potatoes keep in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.  Unlike white potatoes, many sweet potato dishes do freeze well.  You can even freeze whole cooked sweet potatoes by wrapping them well in plastic after they cool.   Store uncooked sweet potatoes in a cool dry cabinet – not in the fridge or they might get tough.  Check out these family-friendly recipes.

Microwave sweet potatoes

Oven-baked sweet potato fries

Carrot-sweet potato mash

Microwave mashed sweet potatoes

Sweet potato curry

Southern tureen (you can substitute black beans and spinach)

Sweet potato muffins

Sweet potato biscuits

Baked sweet potato with cinnamon butter

Sweet potato pudding (a recipe for kids to prepare)

Relative to their size, toddlers (1-2 years) and preschoolers (3-4 years) have a higher requirement for dietary fats than older children or adults (but less than infants).  Dietary fats provide energy needed for development of bones, muscle and teeth and are a key source of essential fatty acids (omega-3, omega-6, linoleic acid) needed for healthy development of the skin, brain and retina.  Fat is also needed to metabolize fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, K).

With the rise in childhood obesity, there has been a lot more attention given to the question of when children should be transitioned from moderate fat to low fat diets.  There is a general consensus, supported by American Academy of Pediatrics, that fat intake should not be limited any earlier than age 2.  Before age 2, children need to get about 40% of their calories from fat.  A fully breastfed children may get up to 50- 60%.   

When after age 2 to start limiting fat intake is more controversial. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2005) recommend that children ages 2-3 years get 30-35% of calories from fat compared to 25-35% for children age 4 and older.  The American Heart Association recommends switching children to lower fat diets at age 2 to protect against heart disease in adulthood.  Other researchers suggest that slightly higher dietary fat consumption is beneficial for kids up to age 5.

How can your family meet the higher dietary fat needs of toddlers and preschoolers while respecting the recommendations for low-fat diets for older children and adults? 

• Put fat-rich spreads and sauces on the table - At meal times, give your toddler or preschooler free access to butter, salad dressing, gravies and other condiments that add energy and improve the taste of the of foods you are serving.  It's easy to add a little ranch dressing or an extra bit of butter to your child's portion while keeping your portion less adorned. 
• Serve milk at snack and meal times - Milk is an excellent source of fat, protein, calcium, and vitamins A and D.  Generally it is best to wait until age 2 to transition a child from whole to reduced fat milk.  You can add 1 T of half and half to each 4 ounces of reduced or skim milk to bring the fat density up to whole milk. 
• Serve quality fats – The entire family will benefit from increased use of plant-based liquid fats such olive oil and canola oil in cooking rather than shortening or other hard fats. Processed trans fats should be avoided at any age - particularly those found in sweets that are high in sugar and low in other nutrients. 
• Know what your child is eating - More important than following specific rules about what age to transition between certain foods, is for you to be aware of how your child is growing and what your child is actually eating.  It’s fine for a child who is consuming a decent quantity of cheese, yogurt or animal foods during the day to switch to low fat milk a bit earlier than age 2.  However, if you have a picky 2-year old and you are concerned about their overall energy intake, keep serving whole milk until they eat a wider variety of foods.