Eggs, Cigarettes, and More Nutrition Confusion - Articles - LifeTime WeightLoss

Are egg yolks really as dangerous as cigarettes?  Can you really believe all the hype?  This article takes a deeper look at the "study" and shows why it's important to do a little digging past the headlines.
Eggs, Cigarettes, and More Nutrition Confusion - Articles - LifeTime WeightLoss

More Insight into Food Ingredients

Check out this YAHOO! article titled "8 Ingredients You Never Want to See on Your Nutrition Label"

It appears to be an article taken out of Men's Health magazine.  It's nice to see some of this go mainstream, as it makes me feel a little less crazy in my everyday quest to avoid food additives and preservatives.  It would be so much easier if the food we ate was viewed differently by the public. For instance, shouldn't "organic" food be the normal everyday stuff "aka conventional", and the other food be referred as "chemically laced food."  If we called it what it was, it would be a make it much less appealing, don'tcha think?

This article covers BHA, parabens, nitrates, carmel coloring, and a handful of others.  Although the most digusting might very well be a natural ingredient known as castoreum.  Apparently, according to the article "this is one of the many nebulous “natural ingredients” used to flavor food. Though it isn’t harmful, it is unsettling. Castoreum is a substance made from beavers’ castor sacs, or anal scent glands. These glands produce potent secretions that help the animals mark their territory in the wild. In the food industry, however, 1,000 pounds of the unsavory ingredient are used annually to imbue foods—usually vanilla or raspberry flavored—with a distinctive, musky flavor.  You’ll find it in: Potentially any food containing 'natural ingredients.'"

Medical Update

My son had a check up with his allergist today to get our ducks in a row before school starts.  We always have to fill out a scorecard on the asthma symptoms, and today he scored 100% perfect. The doctor wants us to back off of the Flovent, down to one puff in the am and one in the pm.  I know we tried backing off a year ago, but I can't recall at what amount and frequency.  I'm still not convinced that this is the best time of year to try this seeing how school is starting up and heading into the prime virus season.  He also did a breathing test, which was a first for him.  The results were normal.   The doctor did comment that my kid needs to gain some weight and started trying to help me come up with food ideas.  Believe me doc, our world revolves around food and my kid has been eating like a champ.  He can put away a pizza like no tomorrow, but for the most part he eats healthy--lots of veggies, fruit, meat--and never things like soda, Cheetos, or Twinkies.  Bottom line is that we're not big people (my husband graduated highschool at 130 pounds!)  Other than that, we had a couple of medication forms filled out (the ones we keep in his emergency pack), and we were good to go.

We left the allergist's office and headed to the NAET office.  For the last few weeks we've been working on a combination of various hormones and enzymes.  It's been nice since there is nothing to avoid during the treatement timeframe.  We still have yet to get to nuts, but hopefully soon . . .

More DQ news!

We made another stop at DQ yesterday, and this time my son requested to try chocolate & vanilla twist ice cream.  He LOVED it, says it's the best in the world--way better than just vanilla.  Even better, he did great---no allergic reaction of any kind.

Another First--DQ!

I had the pleasure of witnessing another first for my 6-1/4 year old.  After 75 months of being alive on this planet, he was able to enjoy his first vanilla ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.  This was not planned, however, as we had anticipated him ordering a slush.  So when he made it to the front of the line and was told, "Sorry, the slush machine is broken today" my heart sank.  I wrestled with the idea of just leaving, which would be like literally taking candy from a baby.  As I stood there and stared at the menu I knew I couldn't guarantee that anything else would be safe.  So with his emergency pack in hand, I proceeded to order him a vanilla ice cream cone.  I asked for a list of ingredients, which they pointed me to their 'list of allergens.'  It's a start to know that my order has dairy, wheat, and soy but not the same as knowing exactly what goes into making the product.

As I handed my son his first DQ ice cream I tried to bury my anxiety.  He took a small bite, and then another.  No reaction.  As he continued to reassure me that he was doing fine and there was no strange reaction with his lips, mouth, throat, or stomach I was able to relax.  My focus then moved to teaching him how to eat an ice cream cone so it doesn't drip everywhere.  He proceeded to eat the entire cone, heck he may have even ate the paper wrapper that they put around the cone. It was a good day.

I was able to snap this one picture of his cone experience.  My first reaction was,'not the best picture.'  Followed immediately with, "This is the best picture in the world!  Look what he's holding, look what he's eating, look what he's indulging in!"

An Award?

Imagine my amazement when I was contacted by www.healthline.com and informed that my blog has won an award for "Best Skin Disorder Blogs."  That's fabulous and completely unexpected, but the most touching part of it all is the wonderful write up they provided on my blog--it literally brought me to tears:

Extinguishing Eczema

Extinguishing Eczema doesn’t seem like such a challenge when Eczema Mom is in the picture. This beautiful tale of hope, healing, and health follows a loving parent on her journey to care for her young son. Plagued by eczema, food allergies, and asthma, this is one child whose life has truly depended on the goodness of his mother.

Whether this lovely blogger knows it or not, each post she contributes to this fabulous blog convinces readers that eczema is manageable and that life is beautiful not because of the condition of our skin, but because of the condition of our love and relationships.

I'm really touched by such a heartfelt review.  I know my blog is not the fanciest, nor the best written, but I'm thrilled that my love for my son and determination to provide him the best life possible has shone through, and through this journey I may have even been able to help a few others. Thanks healthline.com for the kind write-up.