Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Six Super Foods for Women

The six super foods that every woman needs:
With all of the books, radio, and internet advertisements, it is hard to find out which foods are actually nutritional and not just an advertisement ploy. Thus, this blog will use a well-known website, namely WebMD, with the aim of ensuring that women gain a proper understanding of the most important and basic foods to eat.
To start, it is essential to be given facts about foods which can scam women into thinking they are more nutritional than they actually are. For example, low fat cookies make women forget about calories and sway us to notice one healthy aspect, while undermining the other attributes. A product may advertise itself as “no cholesterol” but can still be loaded with bad fats or tons of calories. It is imperative to look at the food as whole, look at all the ingredients, and also at the portion size.

The six super foods necessary to stay healthy for women:

1. Low-fat yoghurt (3-5 servings per week): This contains probiotics which is a bacteria that has power to protect our bodies and immune systems in several ways. This can also reduce irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory digestive tract disorders, and possibly even the risk of breast cancer. This is due to the fact that it is loaded with calcium.
2. Fatty fish- like salmon, sardines, and mackerel (2-3 servings per week): The omega -3 fatty acids are the most important part about this food product, especially DHA and EPA. It also plays a role in the membrane of every cell in the body, as well as protecting us from a number of health threats such as heart disease, stroke and depression.
3. Beans (3-4 servings per week): These are a good source of protein and fiber and are low in fat. They have protective agents against heart disease and breast cancer. They also have the potential role in stabilizing female hormones. One example of the appropriate beans is lentils. Also, if you are in the stage of trying to become pregnant, beans provide a steady supply of folic acid. Lastly this helps against PMS symptoms and the prevention of cell division in cancerous cells.
4. Tomatoes- or watermelon, red grapefruit, or red navel oranges (3-5 servings each week): The powerhouse nutrient in all of these fruits is lycopene, which is a healthy carotene pigment. This is also a powerful antioxidant that can help a women fight heart disease. Lastly, this helps protecting against UV damage from the sun, allowing women to look younger longer.
5. Vitamin D fortified low fat milk or orange juice (at least 400 IUs (international unit) of vitamin D daily): This is very important in order to help the bones absorb calcium from the gut and to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, risk of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and tumors of the breast, colon, and ovary.
6. Berries- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries (3-4 servings per week): Protects body with powerful anti-cancer nutrients known as anthocyans, which supposedly play a role in cell repair. This also decreases the chance of several different types of cancers. These berries are also high in vitamin C and folic acids, which is very important during childbearing years. These antioxidants not only protect the heart but also the skin from aging. Also, lutein, a powerful agent, is found in each of these berries listed, which can help protect vision. 

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Combating Transmission of HIV through Breastfeeding

Transmission of HIV from mother to child is very common during pregnancy whether it is at the time of delivery or through breastfeeding. Breastfeeding accounts for nearly 40% of mother to child transmission cases, and because of this, nearly 200,000 babies obtain HIV annually through breastfeeding.


The World Health Organization states that “
when replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe, avoidance of all breastfeeding by HIV-infected mothers is recommended (2).” At the same time, the use replacement feeding, such as a formula, in a low resource setting has been shown to increase infant mortality due to malnutrition and diarrhea, even given the risk of HIV infection. Consequently, several mothers are only left with one alternative – to breastfeed and risk transmission of the virus.


Therefore, this nipple shield has been tested to combat mother to child HIV transmission. It is a shield worn by mothers on their nipple when complications arise from their breastfeeding. At the same time, the shield is designed to prevent infections by delivering compounds during feeding. Likewise, this shield is hoped to also be able to deliver antiretroviral drugs from mother to infant against infection, or to release an edible microbicide into breastmilk that reduces HIV infectivity in the milk.


References:

1: Chasela C.S., Hudgens M.G., Jamieson D.J., et al. (2010) Maternal or infant antiretroviral drugs to reduce HIV-1 transmission. New England Journal of Medicine 362:2271-81.

2: WHO, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF. (2010) Guidelines on HIV and infant feeding. 
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241599535_eng.pdf

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Women's Health in FLDS and polygamous communities

Polygamous communities are not a thing of the past in North American communities.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ-Latter Day Saints (FDLS) has widespread communities living Colorado, Utah, Texas, and British Columbia, Canada. The FDLS is one of the original mormon branches, while the Mormon religion no longer accepts plural marriages, polygamous communities are still a fundamental aspect of the FDLS religion. 


Details:
FDLS:
-Prophet or community leader who overseas all the communities. 
-Marriages can only happen within the community, Inter-family marriages are very common. 
-Male status increases in these communities in correspondence to the # of wives he has. 
- Women are expected to provide their husband with as many children as possible.  
-No forms of birth control
Since 2008 children are not allowed to receive public school education and must be home schooled. 
-Women have no say in marriage arrangements, of themselves or their children.
-Not uncommon for girls as young as the age of 12, have been married off to the older men in their 40's or 50's.
- Women must obey a strict dress code. Recognizable with their long hair, and long peasant dresses. 
-Everyone in the community must follow the strict code, or they risk being banished from the community. 
-Since outside marriages are forbidden, there are not enough women for each male to have one or more wives, with most of the arranged marriages going to the elders of the community, many males in the younger generations are being banished from the community. Being banished or leaving the community is the worst situation for individuals in these communities.
-Since intermarriages are common these communities have the highest rates of fumarase deficiency which an extremely rare genetic disease that most often only occurs when one marries close to kin.




At the moment in Canada, these plural marriages are legal, because under the charter of rights and freedoms denying this right, also denies ones right to ones religious practices. However, this very controversial law, is currently under review because the living conditions for women and children in these communities are horrendous. Given the circumstances of the marriages, women have no entitlement to property, welfare, or income.Escaping or leaving these communities is exceptionally difficult, as the authority is all controlled by the community Prophets.  
Review of the law was ordered as there has been increased trafficking of young girls to the USA for child marriages.  Status established in these communities is directly correlated with the number of wives a male has. A recent Globe and Mail article Prof. Grossbard discussed the conditions of women's right in these communities. "Polygamy is associated with teenage brides, arranged and forced marriages, payments to brides’ fathers, little emphasis on “romantic” love and poor access to education or the work force – all designed to restrict the ability of women to choose who they marry" (Grossbard 2011)










Should Canada revise this law? How could this affect communities in the United States?  


Links:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/polygamy-is-bad-but-religious-polygamy-is-worse-government-lawyer-says/article1963577/
http://www2.macleans.ca/2011/03/30/on-polygamy-child-brides-and-why-the-stakes-in-b-c-are-so-high/
http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Polygamist+leaders+unlikely+quickly+grant+women+children+rights/4099972/story.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-02-24-jeffs-church_N.htm