Should I Give My Kids Sports Drinks by Dr. Mozhgan Kimble, Dentist

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“Sports drinks, such as Gatorade and Powerade, are meant to rapidly replenish electrolytes lost through sweating during prolonged, vigorous physical activity.”

American Academy of Pediatrics

Even then, water should be the main source of hydration. Sports drinks have considerable amounts of sugar, which leads to higher risk of weight gain and cavities. An 8oz serving of a sports drink can have as much as 14 grams of sugar. However, even the lower calorie versions still have a high acidic concentration. Tooth enamel dissolves at a pH of 5.5. Water is neutral at a pH of 7, but Gatorade has a pH of 3.3. In other words, sipping on Gatorade exposes their beautiful smile to a sugary, acidic environment which dissolves enamel and causes cavities. So, if your child is having a great day running around the playground, the best way to keep them hydrated and healthy is simply refreshing water. Remember, skip the sports drink, keep the smile.

Check out these few tips for reducing sports drink consumption for your child.
1. Encourage your child to drink low fat milk or water with their lunch.
2. Avoid sending Gatorade or Powerade in their lunches.
3. Drink water in between meals.
4. If your child must have a sports drink after a long (over an hour), vigorous and sweaty workout, have them drink the sports drink quickly, and then follow it with water.

Have you scheduled your bi-annual dental hygiene apt. yet? Call 480-882-4545 today!

Winter Skin Care Tips

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It’s that time of year again when uncomfortable dryness takes over the skin of the face, hands and feet. For some, the problem is worse than just a general tight, dry feeling. Skin can get so dry that it results in flaking, cracking, burning, and even eczema can occur which is when the skin becomes inflamed.

Here are some expert tips to tell the difference between dry and dehydrated skin and solutions to get your skin back to feeling its best.

Is Your Skin Dry, Dehydrated, or Both?

Dry Skin

  • Smaller pore sizes
  • Feels dry all over the face, scalp and body


Dehydrated Skin

  • Lacks water
  • Affects any skin type
  • May feel oily and dry at the same time


Both Dry and Dehydrated Skin

  • Itchy
  • Tight feeling
  • Flaky
  • Dull looking
  • Sensitive
  • Products may sting/burn
  • Rough texture
  • Fine lines may appear larger or darker

Healthy Tips for Your Skin


Moisturize

Find an ointment moisturizer that is oil-based rather than water-based as the oil will create a layer on top of the skin to protect it and help retain more moisture than a cream or lotion.


Don’t Forget Your Hands

The skin on your hands is thinner than skin on most other parts of the body and has fewer oil glands so your hands may be the first to show signs of winter. Wear gloves when it’s cold and dry outside to prevent skin irritation. Also, be sure to keep your hands moist and prevent itching and cracking by applying an ointment throughout the day. It’s a good idea to also moisturize at night by applying a thick layer of ointment on your hands before going to bed. Even better, sleep with loose cotton gloves or even socks on your hands after moisturizing for extra hydration and to keep ointment from getting on your sheets.

Use a Humidifier

Most people think about using a humidifier when someone is sick. Humidifiers are also excellent tools to add moisture back into the air (and into your skin) in the dry winter months. Try using one daily.

Hydrate

Not only is water good for your overall health, it helps your skin stay hydrated. Drink at least 8-12 glasses of water every day. You may want to increase your water intake if you consume a lot of caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea, cola, or energy drinks which can act as a diuretic.

Grease Those Feet

Daily exfoliation of (or gently scrubbing) your feet is important all year long. Exfoliation removes the dead skin cells so your lotion will sink in faster and repair the skin deeper. You should also be moisturizing your feet daily. During the winter months, swap out your usual moisturizer for a petroleum-based lotion instead. Try applying your petroleum-based moisturizer or event plain petroleum jelly to your feet before bed and cover with a pair of loose fitting socks. Your feet will feel amazing in the morning!

If you find that these tips just aren’t doing the trick and your symptoms are worsening, schedule an appointment to rule out other skin conditions and talk about other options you can try to heal your skin.

Social Media and Healthy Weight by Mina Goodman, RDN

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For social media users, do you ever find yourself in an unusual mood after scrolling through your Instagram feed and coming across thin bodies, tiny recommended serving sizes, or another tip to shed some extra weight? Just like magazines and television showing thin or “perfect” bodies can affect how we see our own bodies, so can social media. In celebration of healthy weight week and maintaining a healthy weight, I invite you to try expanding your ideals of body positivity, decreasing weight stigma, and gaining a healthier relationship with food.

A way to move toward this ideal would be to unfollow or stop looking at accounts that often feature smaller bodies or lack diversity. Next follow some of the following accounts that instead focus on inclusivity, diversity, and of course healthy weight!
• Dietitiananna
• Foodpeacedietitian
• I_weigh
• Chr1styharrison
• Hannahrdn
• Rebeccascritchfield
• Yourhappyhealthyrd
• Therdnutritionist
• Hgoodrichrd
• Themindfuldietitian
• Streetsmart.rd
• Gaudianiclinic
• Emilyfonnesbeck_rd
• Body_peace_liberation
• Trustyourbodyproject
• benourishedpdx

Our Care Team at NOAH are here to help you create & manage your #healthy #lifestyle #habits. Need help setting or sticking to your goals? Call 480-882-4545 today!

group of people doing yoga in studio

Relax and Take Time for You

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By Stephanie Olzinski, MS | Registered Dietitian

While eating well and exercising can be helpful in maintaining a healthy weight, relaxing is just as important to rejuvenate and rid your body of stress. Stress can attribute to negative physical symptoms, such as headaches, anxiety or depression, high blood pressure, and much more. Starting today, take at least 10 minutes every day to do something special for yourself:

Take deep breaths/practice mindful breathing.

  • Journal your feelings
  • Practice meditation or yoga
  • Do a puzzle or brain teaser
  • Go for a walk
  • Sketch or draw
  • Drink hot tea
  • Listen to music

Get into the habit of doing anything that allows you to unwind and clear your mind. Along with practicing mindful eating and tuning into your body, you will begin to feel more relaxed. Your NOAH Care Team is here to help you create and manage your healthy lifestyle habits. Need help setting or sticking to your goals? Schedule an appointment with a registered dietitian or counselor today.

Practice Mindful Eating and Tune into Your Body by Brandon Bolton, RDN

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One healthy habit is to practice mindful eating to rediscover your body’s idea of normal eating. Mindful eating is eating with the intention of caring for yourself, while also eating with the attention necessary for noticing and enjoying food and the effect that your food has on your body! It’s important to tune in and listen to your body while eating the foods that you enjoy.

Here are some ways to practice mindful eating:


• Tune into and listen to your body – eat when hungry and stop when full and satisfied.
• Eating when your body tells you to eat (stomach growling, low energy).
• Eat foods that are nutritionally healthy.
• Eat with others at a set time and place.
• When eating, avoid multitasking and try to just eat without distractions.
• Connect with your food and consider where it comes from.
• Choose food for both enjoyment and nourishment.


Most importantly, love yourself and love your food! At NOAH, we’ll work with you and your #child to choose the best path for their overall #health and #wellness. Please call for an appt. at 480-882-4545. #gethealthy #nutrition

What is Body Positivity? by Mina Goodman, RDN

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Body positivity is a celebration of all body types and sizes, accepting your body, appreciating all that your body does, and loving yourself. Some also see this as a focus inward on a person’s strengths, thoughts, and actions, instead of what they look like and how much they weigh. Body positivity is also a social movement which has effected:

  • The way beauty competitions are run (removing bikini contests).
  • The way magazine covers are written (no more language like “drop two sizes”).
  • Even a change in modeling photography (less airbrushing).

How are some ways you can become more body positive? Many have found that encouraging one another, telling yourself that you are awesome, and healthy eating and fitness are all ways to promote body positivity. It is an individualized approach so each person should take the steps toward body positivity that make the most sense for them!

Every morning when you wake up and get ready for your day, tell yourself any or all of the following and be mindful about these words.

  • I’m Awesome.
  • I’m Pretty.
  • I’m Healthy.
  • I’m Beautiful.
  • I Love Myself.

There may be moments when you need to tell yourself these positive sayings throughout your day, and that’s okay. Just say them with meaning. Believe them and others will see you the same way! At NOAH, we’ll work with you and your #child to choose the best path for their overall #health and #wellness. Please call for an appt. at 480-882-4545.

What is Healthy Weight Week?

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Healthy Weight Week (January 15-21) is a week to celebrate making healthy lifestyle choices by eating nutritious foods, living actively and embracing body positivity. Diets aren’t beneficial in creating lifelong habits that lead to overall improved health. This week is about ditching diets and creating healthy habits instead. During Healthy Weight Week, hide your scale and avoid other measurements like calorie counting. Love yourself and love your body. Change your thinking this week and focus on these goals instead: 


• Set realistic health guidelines for yourself.
• Accept your weight and embrace who you are.
• Focus on positive lifestyle changes.
• Change your thoughts. Erase negative thoughts and begin positive self-talk: “I am beautiful” “I am strong.”
• Do not diet or obsess on food, weight, or calories.
• Eat Mindfully. Eat when hungry, stop when full.
• Move your body in a fun way, not because you feel like you have to.
• Relax. Take time out for yourself.


Change your thinking and follow our goals instead! At NOAH, we’ll work with you and your child to choose the best path for their overall health and wellness. Please call for an appointment at 480-882-4545.

Halloween Safety Tips by Amit Jain, MD, FAAP, MBA

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It’s that time of year again! Halloween is right around the corner. With it comes lots of fun, elaborate costumes, tricks, and treats! Have your children thought of the costume they’d like to wear this year? We here at NOAH want to make sure they stay safe while out trick or treating this year. With assistance from the American Academy of Pediatrics, have provided some great safety tips below to keep them safe while they’re out.

Fun / elaborate costumes can be an exciting part of Halloween. One of the most effective but most easily forgotten ways to help make your child’s Halloween a safe one is with costume safety.

Here are some great safety tips:

  • As most of the trick or treating happens after dusk, make sure costumes are bright and colorful and / or have some reflective surfaces that can be easily seen by drivers and others. You can even consider adding some reflective tape or striping to the costumes and trick-or-treat bags with such tape. It can even help for a cool effect the children would love.
  • Make sure the costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, and are clearly labeled as flame-resistant.
  • Along with this, make sure your children have shoes that fit well and are comfortable for walking long distances.
  • Masks can obscure a child’s vision, especially to the sides (peripheral vision) as the mask moves around their face. Consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as fun and safe alternatives to masks.
  • Any swords or other sticks / canes that are a part of the costume should not be sharp or too long that they could hurt your child if they trip and stumble over these objects.
  • Make sure all children and their escorts have flashlights with a fresh set of batteries.
  • Before leaving for trick or treating, make sure your children know how to call 9-1-1 or their local police department in case they get lost or separated or in an emergency. Have a safety plan in place for the chance that a child gets separated from the group, which should include having the child stay where they are in a safe location if they do get separated from the group. The non-emergency number for the Phoenix Police Department is: 602-262-6151.
  • Also, make sure they have a good meal prior to going trick or treating, and bring a water bottle for each child and the children’s escorts to stay hydrated while out.
  • A parent or responsible adult should be with and watching children at all times while out. Instruct children to always stay in a group and close to the parent / responsible adult. Also instruct them to remain on well-lit streets, always use the sidewalks (or as close to the edge of the road as safe if no sidewalk is available, facing traffic), and use designated crosswalks to cross the street.  Don’t assume you have the right of way – it is much more difficult to see the road and pedestrians at night! While out trick-or-treating, only go to homes with a porch light that is on. Remember to never enter homes or cars for a treat.
  • If your older children are going alone, plan and review a route that is acceptable to you beforehand – and ensure they will stay on that route. Plan and agree upon a time that they should arrive home by. Remember curfews – Phoenix juvenile curfew hours are 10 p.m. for children 15 and younger and midnight for 16- and 17-year-old children. If possible, give them a cell phone for emergency contact use.
  • Finally, after the fun night of trick-or-treating, sort and check all treats before the child eats any of them (including ones they eat while still out trick-or-treating). Throw away any spoiled, unwrapped, or suspicious looking treats. Ration out treats for the weeks and months following Halloween. They should not eat any of these treats immediately before bedtime. Along with this, remind your children that the rules don’t change from a normal day – remember to have your children brush their teeth before bedtime to get all of that stuck-on candy out of their teeth.
  • Also, don’t forget to have regular check-ups with our wonderful Pediatric Dentists here at NOAH!

Please check the American Academy of Pediatrics website for some more awesome safety tips here:

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Pages/Halloween-Safety-Tips.aspx

Have a fun, safe, and Happy Halloween from your friends at NOAH!

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

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For many of us, home is a place of comfort and love. Though for millions of others, home is anything but a refuge. “The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are victims of physical violence by a partner every year.” Join us in breaking the silence about #DomesticViolence. At NOAH, we’ll work with you and your #child to choose the best path for their overall #health and #wellness. Please call 480-882-4545.

Mental Health in Teenagers by Dr. Debbie Bauer, Pediatrician

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Adolescence is a very difficult time for everybody, kids and parents alike. Teenagers are going through all kinds of changes such as: physical, emotional, intellectual and social. It can be hard to keep up with the way their feeling and finding ways to communicate with them. It’s a big challenge to try and not feel overwhelmed during these transitions. It’s very normal for a teen to feel moody, sad, or anxious, but when these feelings take over their life and start to affect how they think and act, it can become a serious problem. Mental health issues are much more common than you may think, about 1 out of every 5 adolescents has had a serious mental health disorder at some point in their life.

What parents need to know:

  • A mental health issue isn’t anybody’s fault. Just like with any other health complication, this is not a choice, it’s an actual problem with how the brain functions. The reason these issues develop is incredibly complicated and involves both genetic and environmental factors.
  • Mental health problems are common and treatable. There are many people and resources that are available to help your teenager. From pediatricians, to school guidance counselors, to mental health professionals – we’re all here to help. The sooner a concern is raised, the more time we have to address the issue, and get your teen the assistance they need. If you have any doubts, reach out!
  • It’s important to stay involved. Try to build a trusting relationship between yourself and your teenager. They should feel comfortable sharing information with you without fear of always being punished for bad choices. It can be helpful to share decisions that you have made or lessons you have learned from the past. Remember, they are still learning.

Signs of mental illness to look out for:

  • Loss of interest in past favorite activities
  • Sudden personality shifts that seem out of character
  • A sudden and/or dramatic change in grades
  • Isolation from friends and family
  • Big changes in sleep habits (more or less sleep then usual)
  • Dramatic changes in eating habits
  • Anything else that you think is concerning about their behavior

If you have any concerns about your teen’s mental health, talk to them. From there, you can schedule an appointment with their pediatrician. At NOAH, we address all aspects of your child’s health including their initial medical assessment. Other services that are available to you and your child include counseling and nutrition.

For more information, please visit:

www.healthychildren.org