Natural Family News

What: Organicfest 2005 ~ celebrating everything organic!

When: Saturday, September 10 from 10:00 am ~ 6:00 pm

Where: Pack Square, Asheville NC

Producers: Pure Food Partners and co-sponsored by Asheville Parks & Recreation, local and national businesses & organizations (see list)

Why: Organicfest 2005 is a celebration of everything organic! A FUNtastic day of live music, dancing, drawings for baskets of fabulous organic goodies and gift certificates, free organic samples and giveaways, an Organicfest Market on the Square featuring the finest organic: food and refreshments, clothing, herbs, flowers and natural arts and crafts. Environmental organizations will share informative conversation and help with organic living, organic gardening, farming and other earthcare matters. Fun activities for kids including the Organicfest Garden Parade at 1pm. Join the celebration on Saturday, September 10th from 10am to 6pm in Pack Square, downtown Asheville!

Special Note: The Organicfest is presented in September to celebrate natitional organic month. The organic industry is one of the fastest growing, consumer driven industries in the United States. This special event, (co-sponsored by Asheville Parks & Recreation and other local businesses and organizations) is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, highlight and promotethe pure, organic food and products available in our community, create a connection to the people who grow and supply organic, and find out why organic is good for people and the planet

For more information, including entertainment schedules, visit www.organicfest.org.

For the first time, personal care products will carry the “official” organic green seal. Manufacturers, such as Dr. Bronner’s soaps, have been given permission to use the seal if they meet the guidelines. In the past, the seal was only used for foods. You can read more here.

A recent study showed that a large percentage of hospitalizations for stomach bleeds are a result of taking aspirin or anti-inflammatory medications. If a natural substance caused this many problems, there would be a call for the substance to be banned. You can read more here.

Cell phone towers are going up all over the place– churches, schools, even one near Old Faithful. But do you really want one in your neighborhood? There have been no studies that have provided concrete risks from cell phone towers, but we haven’t had the technology that long? Is this going to be a case like Teflon where 20 years from now we’re going to have cell phone towers all over the place, only to discover that, oops!, they probably can cause cancer? You can read an article here about a community that rejected the building of a cell phone tower in their area, only to be overruled by the courts.

I was flipping channels a couple of days ago, and I came across an infomercial for a book about natural cures– I think it was on one of the health channels. Since I’m interested in that sort of thing, I watched for a couple of minutes. I didn’t see anything on the talk that made me want to run out and buy the book, but I thought the idea that there are natural cures for almost anything was probably pretty sound. It lines up with my personal beliefs, anyway. So, it was interesting that today while I was searching for articles to blog about, I came across this article. Apparently, this book has become a best seller, which may be a problem for Kevin Trudeau, since the FTC has been carefully watching him after accusing him of fraud in the past. Supposedly, he is banned from doing infomercials, so I’m not sure why he was on the one I saw yesterday. Anyway, it made me think about the question of who can we trust when it comes to our healthcare. Do we trust the drug companies, give the recent discoveries about Merck’s Vioxx? Do we trust the FDA, given the number of drugs they later have to pull off the market? Authors with no medical background who claim to have the cures for all the world’s ills? Web sites? It is a quandry. Let me know what you think.

A recent study found that if oxytocin receptors were blocked during pregnancy, the offspring (in this case animals) gained less weight in the weeks after birth. The results of this study are being considered for helping mothers nurse longer. Some mothers do seem to have a problem with their children gaining weight, but it seems to me in most cases, they receive horrible advice about what to do about that. From the very beginning the doctors will recommend supplementing with formula, rather than attempting to increase the mother’s milk supply. So, given this study’s results, does that mean that the lack of oxytocin receptors is causing the mothers to make less milk? Does it somehow change the quality of the milk? The study doesn’t say. But if it helps more mothers nurse more successfully, I’m all for it. Read more here.

A recent study of American nurses suggests that there may be a correlation between regular consumption of french fries as a young child and breast cancer. The study reported a 27% increased risk of breast cancer for each weekly serving of french fries eaten between the ages of 3 and 5. I’ve heard of french fries being related to cancer before, so that wouldn’t be surprising. But the design of the study is also pretty weak in my opinion, as the researchers were asking the mothers of grown women to recall their diet as preschoolers. Read more here

I don’t suppose this comes as any surprise to anyone, but apparently children are picking up bad language in school. I found it particularly interesting that one teenager who was interviewed called it “a little bit of a problem” and then went on to say that it was “only among, like, half the students.” If half of the students cursing is a “little” problem, I’d hate to see a big one. This reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw at a homeschooling convention recently that said: “Public school? Aren’t you worried about socialization?”

You can read the article here

The latest in a long line of warnings about over the counter drugs, this study about Tylenol is yet another reason to avoid pharmaceuticals, if at all possible. I knew ibuprofen could cause problems with blood pressure from personal experience, but the information about Tylenol was news to me. The study focused on women, so I’m not sure if that means there were no problems for men or whether they just weren’t the focus of this study. In the study, women aged 34-77 who took the equivalent of one extra strength Tylenol per day over a period of time had double the risk of developing high blood pressure within 3 years. The rates for users of ibuprofen were even higher. I don’t think this study affects those who take the occasional Tylenol or ibuprofen, but, obviously if you are experiencing chronic pain issues, you might want to look for a different solution. Read more…

July 27, 2005

LEAWOOD, Kan. – Updating its 1995 policy, the American Academy of Family Physicians today released an updated clinical practice guideline on trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC). Key updates to the guideline include recommendations that prostaglandins should not be used for cervical ripening or induction and that TOLAC should not be restricted only to facilities with available surgical teams present throughout labor. The guideline does state, however, that a management plan should be in place for each woman undergoing TOLAC in case of uterine rupture or other potential emergencies requiring rapid cesarean section.

The objective of the guideline is to provide an evidence-based clinical practice guideline for pregnant women and their families, maternity care professionals, facilities and policy-makers. The updated guideline is published as a supplement to the online version of the July/August issue of Annals of Family Medicine.

With births by cesarean accounting for approximately 28 percent of all births, the AAFP’s TOLAC guideline offers pregnant women giving birth in facilities that follow the guideline, especially those in rural areas, the option of attempting vaginal birth without mandating the presence of a surgical team. Often, women in rural areas are not given the option of TOLAC because of previous assumptions that a surgical team must be present for these women to attempt to deliver vaginally. The guideline states that TOLAC should not be restricted only to facilities with available surgical teams present throughout labor since there are no studies that show these additional resources result in improved outcomes. This recommendation differs from that of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in that the ACOG guideline states patients attempting vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) should have “physicians immediately available to provide emergency care.”

“The AAFP’s TOLAC guideline reflects family medicine’s patient-centered approach to care, while continuing the AAFP’s dedication to promoting evidence-based medical practices,” said Dr. Mary Frank, AAFP President. “This will better inform the discussion a pregnant woman has with her family physician.”

To develop the updated guideline, the AAFP’s Commission on Clinical Policies and Research convened a panel of family physicians with particular expertise in this area of maternity care to review the available evidence on TOLAC using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality “Evidence Report on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC).” The panel also conducted a systematic review of articles published since the evidence report was released.

American Academy of Family Physicians: Founded in 1947, the American Academy of Family Physicians represents more than 94,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical specialty society devoted solely to primary care. Please visit www.aafp.org for more information about AAFP.

Editor’s Note: A complete copy of the guideline “Trial of Labor After Cesarean (TOLAC), Formerly Trial of Labor Versus Elective Repeat Cesarean Section for the Woman With a Previous Cesarean Section” can be accessed at http://www.aafp.org/tolac.xml

Apparently the lack of clear-cut laws in Massachusetts has made for mixed messages from local ball parks. Some moms are told they can stay in their seats to breastfeed, and others are shooed off into bathrooms and first aid stations. Sigh.

You can read more here

A new study out of England investigated how mothers who chose to formula feed their babies felt about that choice. They were looking for feelings of guilt, etc. in relation to not breastfeeding. I found several things in the piece disturbing. First, they kept calling it “formula milk”. Perhaps that is an appropriate term, but it just seems wrong to me. Formula is NOT milk. It is a milk replacer, a milk substitute, but not milk. Second, only 39% of women agreed with the statement that “breastfeeding is natural, all women can do it”. While I suppose that some would take issue with the “all women can do it” part, since there are a rare few that can not, it is still sad that such a large percentage of women sees breastfeeding as difficult and unattainable. Finally, I am concerned about this whole idea of how a baby is fed being “moralised”. The authors seem to think that we need to find ways of being more supportive of bottle-feeding mothers and stop making them feel guilty for their choice. While I certainly wouldn’t advocate running around pointing a finger at all moms who formula feed and telling them they are making bad choices for their babies, I find nothing wrong with continuing to be honest about the risks of choosing not to breastfeed and encouraging moms to make informed choices. Perhaps things are different in England, but my experience here in the US is that breastfeeding moms are also made to feel guilty – for “depriving” the father or other family members of the joy of feeding the baby, for choosing to stay out of the workplace to care for the baby, and for having the audacity to do such a thing in a public place.

You can read the article here