National Nutrition Month: Embracing personal preferences and cultural traditions with healthy eating
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One of the great advantages of using MyPlate as a guide to healthy eating is the ability to personalize your plate to enjoy healthy food and beverage choices that reflect your personal preferences and cultural traditions. A healthy diet can benefit all individuals regardless of age, race, ethnicity or current health status. Nutrient-dense, culturally-relevant foods and beverages are part of all food groups. Below are five useful tips to help you and your family personalize your plate to meet your individual needs and preferences, while embracing the diversity that makes you and your family most...
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As manager of Texas Children’s Center for Childhood Injury Prevention, I look forward to National Poison Prevention Week. It’s a time when we come together to raise community awareness about the dangers of unintentional poisonings and encourage everyone’s participation in poison prevention efforts.
Approximately 40 children per year die from unintentional ingestion of poisonous substances in their homes. These include medications, household cleaning products and aerosol sprays, mouthwash, car supplies (antifreeze, windshield washer fluid) and gardening products (fertilizer, bug repellent...
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I'm going to do something completely taboo and not discuss politics for a hot second. I'm here to talk about something vital to our children's learning, mental health and overall well-being: sleep.
As a child neurology resident physician, I have seen all too well the impact of sleep deprivation or poor quality sleep on the exacerbation of chronic medical conditions, mental health and behavioral problems among children in our Houston communities. Research shows toddlers who don’t get adequate amounts of sleep are more likely to struggle with obesity, even into adulthood. We know poor sleep...
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As a cardiologist and medical director of Texas Children’s Cardiology Transition Medicine Program, I provide care to pediatric and adolescent patients living with congenital heart disease (CHD). Thanks to the groundbreaking medical and surgical advances in CHD care, more and more children with CHD are thriving into adulthood.
When I first met my patient, Joseph Lindsey, he was around 11 or 12-years-old at the time. He was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart defect in which...
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Like many people, I was told to eat oranges daily or take a vitamin C supplement during seasonal illnesses to help boost my immune system. While this is great advice, there is more we can do to achieve this goal. The immune system is multi-layered and complex – which makes it hard for a single food or vitamin to meet the demands required to keep our immunity strong.
While eating a balanced diet is one way to support a healthy immune system, other important factors include:
- Consistent physical activity
- Getting enough sleep
- Lowering mental stress
- ...