Holiday Survival Tips From Dietitians Of Canada

The holiday season is here, and along with it can come lots of festivities and indulgences. However, there are still ways to enjoy get-togethers and not totally lose track of your healthy living goals. The holidays are a time for socializing with friends and family - focus on the occasion, not on the over-abundance of rich foods. Dietitians have the following 10 tips to help you and your family make healthy choices as a guest or host.

1. Keep your eye on portion sizes - it's often not what you eat, but how much that can lead to overindulgence at any time of the year. Use Canada's Food Guide as your guide to serving sizes. For those extra treats that are not considered part of the Guide, enjoy a small portion, such as one piece of shortbread or a small portion of the mince meat pie.

2. Make health and road safety a priority when serving or consuming holiday beverages. Nonalcoholic lower fat eggnogs, "virgin" Caesars, sparkling water and cranberry juice spritzers are great choices in keeping with the season. If you do drink alcohol, do so in moderation. Plan to have water or soda water with a slice of lemon or lime between each drink to pace your intake.

3. Use fresh zucchini or cucumber sticks, broccoli flowerets, carrot curls, red and green peppers with a low fat dip or spread such as hummus, yogurt with herbs, fat-free sour cream, or fresh salsa, rather than chips and cream-laden dips.

4. Serve crispy pita triangles, flatbread and Melba toast as alternatives to salty, high fat snack crackers. Check out the calorie content of some holiday foods and beverages here.

5. A beautiful array of exotic fresh fruits is a wonderful and refreshing end to any meal - pineapple, kiwi, mango, pomegranate, blood oranges and grapes are a colourful feast for the eyes and taste buds.

6. Let the holiday spirit move you! Enjoy regular activity during the holidays - strive for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate activity a day. Regular exercise not only will give you more energy to cope with the stress of the holiday bustle, but it can also help to compensate for some of your food over-indulgences! No time to get to the gym? How about walking to the grocery store when you only have a few items to pick up, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work? Carry your groceries as a substitute for lifting weights. Every bit of physical activity you can sneak in counts. If you can't get out of the house, do indoor exercise while watching your favorite TV show or chatting on the phone - squats, stretches, legwork, sit-ups, push-ups, treadmill…. the possibilities are endless.

7. Make physical activity part of the holiday fun to provide a balance to eating. Plan a cross-country ski afternoon, skating or a hike combined with a potluck.

8. Maintain your weight throughout the holidays by being careful about your choices. Have breakfast and several small meals throughout the day so you are not tempted to overeat later in the day. Limit the number of appetizers you eat, especially if you are planning to have a full meal later. If you are having a buffet, choose the smaller size plate, survey the choices before you start filling your plate and take only what you need to feel satisfied.

9. Give a gift of health that will last the whole year - an exercise ball is great for stretching; a yoga video and mat; golf lessons; some light weights for strength training; pedometer for someone who enjoys walking.

10. Track your eating and activity level over the holiday season to help you stay on track. Dietitians of Canada EATracker at http://www.dietitians.ca/eatracker is a convenient and easy to use tool.

Make these healthy living tips part of your routine the whole year round - not just for the holidays. When it comes time to write those New Year's resolutions, instead of adding "losing weight" among them, aim to make small changes over time for the greatest impact on your health. Dietitians of Canada cookbook, Simply Great Food, is an ideal gift for everyday chefs who enjoy the pleasures of healthy eating. Available in book stores and at http://www.dietitians.ca.

To learn more healthy living tips for the holidays and the whole year contact a registered dietitian in your area at http://www.dietitians.ca/find.

Dietitians of Canada represents over 5 600 dietitians across Canada. DC is committed to promoting the health and well-being of consumers through food and nutrition. For further information on nutrition and healthy eating, visit Dietitians of Canada award-winning website at www.dietitians.ca. Register to receive regular healthy eating messages from dietitians - food and nutrition information you can trust at http://www.dietitians.ca/eatwell.


Via Medicalnewstoday

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Fluoride in tap water may help older teeth too

NEW YORK - The added fluoride in many Americans' drinking water may be protecting older adults' teeth from decay, a study suggests.

Fluoridated drinking water has been credited with cutting rates of tooth decay among Americans, but the benefit is often thought of as being largely for children.

However, older adults may stand to gain as much or more, researchers report in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry.

In a study looking at dental care costs among nearly 52,000 members of one insurance plan, researchers found that those living in areas with fluoridated drinking water spent less on dental fillings than those without fluoridated water supplies.

When the researchers looked at plan members by age, however, it turned out that the benefit was seen in children and, to an even greater extent, in adults older than age 58.

"Our finding that fluoridated water lowered the number of dental fillings confirms studies on younger people but breaks new ground on older individuals," lead researcher Dr. Gerardo Maupome said in a statement.

"While those we studied had dental insurance, many older adults, who are often retired, don't have dental insurance and so prevention of decay is very important," added Maupome, of the Indiana University School of Dentistry in Indianapolis.

Much of the research on fluoridated drinking water has focused on children, the researcher noted, but more attention should go toward the potential benefits among adults.

"Community water fluoridation is a sound public health investment for people of all ages," he said.

SOURCE: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Fall 2007.


Via Reuters

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Apple Cider Vinegar

Over the centuries, vinegar has been used for countless purposes: making pickles, killing weeds, cleaning coffee makers, polishing armor, and dressing salads. It's also an ancient folk remedy, touted to relieve just about any ailment you can think of.

In recent years, apple cider vinegar has been singled out as an especially helpful health tonic. So it's now sold in both the condiment and the health supplement aisles of your grocery store. While many of the folk medicine uses of vinegar are unproven (or were disproved), a few do have a medical research backing them up. Some small studies have hinted that apple cider vinegar could help with several conditions, such as diabetes and obesity.

So does consuming apple cider vinegar make sense for your health? Or is vinegar best used for cleaning stains and dyeing Easter eggs? Here's a rundown of the facts.
What Is Apple Cider Vinegar?

Vinegar is a product of fermentation. This is a process in which sugars in a food are broken down by bacteria and yeast. In the first stage of fermentation, the sugars are turned into alcohol. Then, if the alcohol ferments further, you get vinegar. The word comes from the French, meaning "sour wine." While vinegar can be made from all sorts of things -- like many fruits, vegetables, and grains -- apple cider vinegar comes from pulverized apples.

The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar, is acetic acid. However, vinegars also have other acids, vitamins, mineral salts, and amino acids.
Apple Cider Vinegar: Cure for Everything?

While long used as a folk remedy, apple cider vinegar became well known in the U.S. in the late 1950s, when it was promoted in the best-selling book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health by D. C. Jarvis. During the alternative medicine boom of recent years, apple cider vinegar pills have become a popular dietary supplement.

Look on the back of a box of supplements -- or on the Internet or in the pages of any one of the many books on vinegar and health -- and you'll find some amazing claims. Apple cider vinegar is purported to treat numerous diseases, health conditions, and annoyances. To name a few, it's supposed to kill head lice, reverse aging, ease digestion, and wash "toxins" from the body.

Most of these claims have no evidence backing them up. Some -- like vinegar's supposed ability to treat lice or warts -- have actually been studied, and researchers turned up nothing to support their use. Other claims have been backed up by studies, but with a catch: vinegar may work, but not as well as other treatments. For instance, while vinegar is a disinfectant, it doesn't kill as many germs as common cleaners. And while vinegar does seem to help with jelly fish stings -- an old folk remedy -- hot water works better.

Scientific Evidence of Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits

But there are some medical uses of vinegar that do have promise, at least according to a few studies. Here's a rundown of some more recent ones.

* Diabetes. The effect of vinegar on blood glucose levels is perhaps the best-researched and the most promising of apple cider vinegar's possible health benefits. Several studies have found that vinegar may help lower glucose levels. For instance, one 2007 study of 11 people with type 2 diabetes found that taking two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before bed lowered glucose levels in the morning by 4%-6%.
However, the study was done in rats, so it's too early to know how it might work in people.
* High cholesterol . A 2006 study found evidence that vinegar could lower cholesterol.
* Blood pressure and heart health. Another study in rats found that vinegar could lower high blood pressure. A large epidemiological study also found that people who ate oil and vinegar dressing on salads five to six times a week had lower rates of heart disease than people who didn't. However, it's far from clear that the vinegar was the reason.
* Cancer . A few laboratory studies have found that vinegar may be able to kill cancer cells or slow their growth. Epidemiological studies of people have been confusing. One found that eating vinegar was associated with a decreased risk of esophageal cancer. Another associated it with an increased risk of bladder cancer.
* Weight Loss . For thousands of years, vinegar has been used for weight loss. White vinegar (and perhaps other types) might help people feel full. A 2005 study of 12 people found that those who ate a piece of bread along with small amounts of white vinegar felt fuller and more satisfied than those who just ate the bread.

While the results of these studies are promising, they are all preliminary. Many were done on animals or on cells in a lab. The human studies have been small. Before we will truly know whether vinegar has any health benefits, much larger studies are needed.
How Should Apple Cider Vinegar Be Used?

Since apple cider vinegar is an unproven treatment, there are no official recommendations on how to use it. Some people take two teaspoons a day (mixed in a cup of water or juice.) A tablet of 285 milligrams is another common dosage.

Apple cider vinegar is also sometimes applied to the skin or used in enemas. The safety of these treatments is unknown.
What Are the Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar?

On the whole, the risks of taking occasional, small amounts of apple cider vinegar seem low. But using apple cider vinegar over the long term, or in larger amounts, could have risks. Here are some things to keep in mind.

* Apple cider vinegar is highly acidic. The main ingredient of apple cider vinegar is acetic acid. As the name suggests, it's quite harsh. Apple cider vinegar should always be diluted with water or juice before swallowed. Pure apple cider vinegar could damage the tooth enamel and the tissues in your throat and mouth. One study found a woman who got an apple cider vinegar supplement stuck in her throat. She seemed to have suffered lasting damage to her esophagus. Vinegar has been known to cause contact burns to the skin.

* Long-term use of apple cider vinegar could cause low potassium levels and lower bone density. If you already have low potassium or osteoporosis, talk to your doctor before using apple cider vinegar.

* Apple cider vinegar could theoretically interact with diuretics, laxatives, and medicines for diabetes and heart disease.

* If you have diabetes, check with your doctor before using apple cider vinegar. Vinegar contains chromium, which can alter your insulin levels.

What Are the Risks of Apple Cider Vinegar? continued...

Using apple cider vinegar supplements -- instead of the liquid itself -- adds another layer of risk. You just can't be sure what you're really getting. Unlike medicines, supplements are not regulated by the FDA. They aren't routinely tested for effectiveness or even basic safety. A 2005 study looked at the ingredients of eight different brands of apple cider vinegar supplements. The researchers found that:

* The ingredients listed on the box did not reflect the actual ingredients.
* The ingredients varied a great deal between different brands.
* The recommended dosages varied a great deal between brands.

Most disturbing, the chemical analysis of these samples led the researchers to doubt whether any of these brands actually contained any apple cider vinegar at all.
Should I Use Apple Cider Vinegar?

The answer depends on how you want to use apple cider vinegar. As a salad dressing, you should be fine. But taken as a daily medical treatment, it could be a little more risky. Yes, some studies of applecider vinegar are intriguing. But a lot more research needs to be done. Right now, there is not enough evidence that apple cider vinegar -- or any vinegar -- has any health benefit for any condition. Since the benefits are unknown, so are the risks.

If you're thinking about trying apple cider vinegar, talk to your doctor first. It's always worth getting an expert's advice. Your doctor can also make sure that the apple cider vinegar won't affect other health conditions or the effectiveness of the medicines you take. Trying to control a serious medical condition on your own with an unproven treatment is both unwise and dangerous.


Via Webmd

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4 Natural Cold Remedies: Do They Work?

Experts share their views of some popular cold treatments.
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

You're sneezing. You're sniffling. You're miserable with the cold that won't go away.

And nearly everyone within arm's length is suddenly describing their ''miracle'' cold remedy. They want to tell you all about how you can squash that cold -- maybe overnight! -- if you just (fill in the blank) pop some vitamin C, take echinacea or zinc, or heat up some chicken soup. And they may mention that taking their secret remedy before the first sniffle may have helped you avoid the cold altogether.

Never mind the fervor with which these cold remedies are offered. Do they actually work? WebMD turned to three top experts who have studied the cold virus for decades.

First, the really bad news: "You can't cure a cold," says David A. Blandino, MD, chairman of family and community medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh.

But you may be able to shorten one. Here's the scorecard on whether natural cold remedies such as vitamins and supplements get a thumbs up or thumbs down.
Natural Cold Remedies: The Rundown

1. Zinc. The mineral zinc, available in over-the-counter lozenges, nasal sprays, and gels, may work by preventing the formation of proteins needed by a cold virus to reproduce.

Despite the hoopla about zinc for treatment of colds, scientific studies are scarce, says Jack M. Gwaltney, MD, professor emeritus of internal medicine at the University of Virginia and a longtime cold researcher. Gwaltney tells WebMD that he and his colleagues could find only 14 published studies that looked at zinc the scientific way, with both placebo and treatment groups. Zinc lozenges, they conclude, have no effect. One well-designed study reported a positive effect on treating a cold with zinc nasal gel. But the study results have not yet been replicated, Gwaltney says.

2. Vitamin C. For decades, believers in vitamin C have said taking this vitamin supplement can nip a cold in the bud. The claim is partially triggered by lab studies that find vitamin C affects resistance to virus in animal studies.

But in people? Experts disagree on this slightly but lean toward the negative. Some, including Blandino, say vitamin C has not been proven to shorten the duration of a cold. One 2007 study showed that if vitamin C is taken after a cold begins, it doesn't shorten the cold or make it less severe. But when it is taken daily as a preventive treatment -- not just after that first sniffle -- it can very slightly shorten cold duration, by about 8% in adults and by about 14% in children.

Very highly fit people -- marathon runners, for instance -- might cut their risk of a cold in half by taking the vitamin, the study also showed.

But Gwaltney does not agree. "The weight of scientific evidence and the well-done studies indicate vitamin C does not prevent colds," says Gwaltney. "It may have some mild effect on treating colds."

3. Echinacea. The herbal supplement echinacea, like Vitamin C, sparks controversy among cold experts. Advocates say it's an immune booster with antiviral properties and other benefits, so it's good at preventing colds. However, two recent studies on the natural remedy have yielded conflicting conclusions. In one 2007 study, University of Connecticut researchers concluded that echinacea decreases the odds of developing a cold by 58% and reduces its duration by 1.4 days. But a previous study, conducted by Gwaltney's colleagues at the University of Virginia and published in 2005 in The New England Journal of Medicine, showed no benefit from the herb in either reducing the severity of a cold infection or preventing a cold.

Echinacea drew a "no" vote from our three experts -- Gwaltney, Blandino, and Owen Hendley, MD, professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Virginia, Charlottesvile.

4. Chicken Soup. Advocates of hot chicken soup, long offered as a cold remedy, say it may help soothe inflammation that can make the symptoms worse.

The problem with proving scientifically that chicken soup works, says Gwaltney, is finding a legitimate placebo food to study against it in a scientific way. "We were contacted by a soup manufacturer to do a study on chicken soup," he tells WebMD. "We thought we could use another hot beverage" for placebo, he says. "But it's got to look, smell, and taste [like chicken soup]." They didn't find anything that measured up. Gwaltney calls chicken soup "a waste of time."

That's despite the well-publicized report published in 2000 in which researchers reported that chicken soup, which they studied in the laboratory, may have an anti-inflammatory effect on easing symptoms of upper respiratory infections. But the report doesn't prove chicken soup does anything for cold symptoms, Gwaltney says, because it didn't include a test of people nor include a placebo for comparison.

Although chicken soup may not actively fight a cold, it can help fight dehydration that can occur when you have a cold or the flu.
Preventing a Cold: Does Anything Really Work?

Hand washing has long been touted as a way to prevent a cold during cold and flu season, and experts agree that is wise.

But here's the newest twist: Paying attention to where you put your hands -- and scheduling your hand washing around where your hands have been, rather than the clock -- appear to be important, too. That's because cold viruses may linger on surfaces longer then suspected, Hendley and his colleagues have discovered.

Hendley and other University of Virginia researchers did a study published in 2007 of people with a cold who stayed overnight in a hotel. "We went in the next day and swabbed 10 sites they had touched," Hendley says.

"We found about 30% or 40% of the sites had virus on them." He's talking about surfaces such as light switches and TV remote controls. "A third of the time, the virus was still there," Hendley says of the site samples. "Now we are trying to figure out, is it still infectious?" The hotel study didn't go there, but that study is under way.

Until more research is in, Gwaltney suggests hand washing after touching potentially germy surfaces, rather than adhering to the often-suggested advice of hand washing throughout the day no matter what you've touched.

Rhinoviruses cause about half of all colds in adults, Hendley says. You acquire the virus by getting it on your hand and then touching your nose or eyes, he says. "The virus doesn't usually go through the air," Hendley says. "You usually get it on the finger and you inoculate yourself. Just being in the air space [with an infected person or the virus] is not enough."

Preventing a Cold: Does Anything Really Work? continued...

Besides hand washing, breathing in humidified air and increasing your fluid intake may also help, Blandino says.

Whatever natural remedy you use, the effects on the cold will be minimal, cautions Gwaltney. Of natural cold remedies, he says: "They're not as effective as commercial cold remedies" such as decongestant, antihistamines, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Patience could pay off, too, Blandino says. "You can't cure the cold," he says. "But most of them are gone within 10 days."


Via Webmd

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Nostrums: Tame a Childâ s Cough With a Touch of Honey

A spoonful of honey might quiet a child's cough more effectively and safely than the most common over-the-counter cough medicine.

Researchers tested 105 children 2 to 18 with coughs from upper-respiratory infections, dividing them randomly into three groups. One received no treatment. The others received a remedy, but the researchers, parents and children did not know which it was: one or two teaspoons of buckwheat honey, depending on age, or an age-appropriate dose of honey-flavored dextromethorphan. The study was supported by a grant from the National Honey Board, an industry-backed agency of the Department of Agriculture.

Using questionnaires filled out by the parents, the scientists measured cough frequency and severity, and the effect on the children's and parents' sleep. By all measures, honey provided the greatest relief.

Honey, the authors wrote in the December issue of The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, has well-established antioxidant and antimicrobial effects, and it might be that sweet substances of any kind help dissolve mucus in the airways and soothe the back of the throat.

In October, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recommended a ban on over-the-counter cold medicine, including some brands containing dextromethorphan, intended for children under age 6.

Dr. Ian M. Paul, the lead author and an associate professor of pediatrics at Penn State, said that parents should consider honey "as an alternative to cough medicine for children over age 1." In rare cases, honey can cause infantile botulism in children under 1.




Via Nytimes

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Fertility falls with weight gain

An overweight woman's chance of getting pregnant steadily falls as her weight increases, a major study has found.

Among 3,000 women with fertility problems, there was a 4% drop in the chance of pregnancy for every body mass unit (BMI) rise above a certain point.

Dutch scientists, writing for the journal Human Reproduction, said that very obese women fared the worst.

The British Fertility Society says some women weight should be barred from IVF on account of their weight.

The level of obesity among would-be mothers is increasing in the UK faster than in almost any other country in the world.

Doctors know that this affects a woman's chances of getting pregnant naturally, but are more worried by the increased risks to her health - and the health of her baby - that the extra weight poses.

The study by researchers at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam is the first to follow a large group of women trying for a baby, and to see directly what effect their body mass had on the outcome.

The standard unit of weight is body mass index (BMI), which is the weight in kilograms divided by the height squared.

Anything above 25 is considered overweight, while exceeding 30 is defined as "obese".

All the women in the study had come to see fertility doctors, but there was no obvious reason for their failure to conceive, as they were still ovulating normally.

Some women with "unexplained infertility" do go on to become pregnant naturally.

Steady fall

The study found that there was a clear relationship between their BMI and their likelihood of achieving this.

Compared with women with a BMI between 21 and 29, for every BMI point between 30 and 35 there was a 4% drop in conception rates.

Severely obese women, with a BMI of over 35, were between 26% and 49% less likely to conceive compared with a BMI between 21 and 29.

Dr Jan Willem van der Steeg, who led the study, said: "Given the increased prevalence of obesity, this is a worrying finding.

"We think that women should be informed about their lower pregnancy chances due to their overweight.

"We hypothesise that losing weight will increase the chance to conceive without treatment."

Ban recommended

This position is shared by the British Fertility Society, which issued guidelines to its members last month urging them to withhold fertility treatment from obese women until they lost weight.

Mr Tony Rutherford, who helped draw up the guidance, said: "Over the last few years there has been evidence that obesity can harm the fertility of women.

"It decreases the chances of getting pregnant, and increases the risks of pregnancy - to both mother and child.

"Sometimes there are difficult balances to be made, and obviously we do feel for couples who are trying to have a baby."


Via News

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Buying Safe Toys for the Holidays

At a time when children are compiling their holiday wish lists, parents are fretting over another one: the safe toy list.

Barbie. Batman. Dora. Razor Scooters. Thomas the Tank Engine. All top contenders for space under the Christmas tree -- until they hit the toy recall list for safety violations. The dangers range from lead paint and choking hazards to faulty construction.

According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), toy-related injuries sent almost 73,000 children under the age of 5 to emergency rooms in 2005. Twenty children also died from toy-related injuries that same year.

More than 170 million units of jewelry -- most made in China and marketed to children in this country -- have been recalled since 2004, according to Scott Wolfson of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). And 31.7 million other units of toys were recalled during the past 14 months.

''For many parents, the more immediate concern is which toys could -- or should -- be recalled that are still sitting on shelves, waiting to be purchased. Several consumer interest groups such as PIRG have found that while most toys on store shelves are safe, some still pose hazards. Among the dangers: lead paint, choking and strangulation hazards, magnets, toys that are too loud, and those containing other toxic chemicals.
Safe Toys: Not Just Lead -- and Not Just From China

The situation has many parents asking where they can find safe toys this holiday season.

"I'm kind of worried about the lead paint," says Blair Comacho, 25, a Southern California resident and mother of two. "We had several of the things that were recalled. I had to throw them out."

Camacho, whose children are four and 22 months of age, said she isn't buying anything made in China.

"I'm not even going into the stores. I'm probably going to find a 'Made in America' web site," she says.

John F. Rosen, MD, a professor of pediatrics and childhood lead poisoning specialist at Montefiore Children's Hospital in New York, says that it's not who makes the toys that matters. It's where they are manufactured.

"Where it's made is critical," he says. "There are safe toys made in the U.S. and the European Union."

Wolfson wants parents to understand that the dangers aren't just limited to lead poisoning, however -- or toys made in China.

Magnets are an especially urgent concern for Wolfson because of their immediate, life-threatening danger -- and because they're so popular.

If a child swallows more than one magnet, they can fuse in the intestine, causing a blockage that usually requires surgery. "If doctors do not take an X-ray quickly enough and see that there is a need for surgery, you have a very, very, very serious health emergency that often results in death," Wolfson says.

The magnet problem is not limited to young children. Ten of the 22 cases brought to the attention of the CPSC involved children aged 6 to 11.
Safe Toys: Buyer Beware

Experts interviewed by WebMD urge parents to pay careful attention to the CPSC's recall list and follow manufacturers' remedies for replacement or reimbursement.

Safe Toys: Buyer Beware continued...

They also offer the following tips on toys to avoid:

1. Brightly-painted toys (wood, plastic, and metal) made in Pacific Rim countries, particularly China, because of lead paint dangers. Parents may even want to shun brightly-colored plastic toys made from molds, which have been a problem in previous years. Children mouthing the toys for extended periods can get lead poisoning, which can cause irreversible neurological damage.
2. Ceramic or pottery toys manufactured outside the U.S. and Europe, because of lead dangers. If children drink tea from a ceramic tea set, for example, the lead from the ceramic can leach into the tea.
3. Many products from any countries outside the U.S. and Europe. Mexican pottery and candy, for example, have tested for high levels of lead.
4. Soft vinyl toys can also contain toxins, including lead.
5. Toys with small parts can pose a choking hazard for young children. Government regulations specify that toys for children under age 3 cannot have parts less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches long.
6. Pull toys with strings that are more than 12 inches in length, which can be a strangulation hazard for babies.
7. Magnetic toys, which can be swallowed by young children.
8. All jewelry, especially metal jewelry, for children of all ages. Many jewelry pieces -- even some marked "lead-free" -- have contained dangerous levels of lead.
9. Items that contain "phthalates," or toxic chemicals, such as xylene, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, and benzene, which can cause health problems in children.
10. Toys that are not age-appropriate. Toys intended for older children can harm younger ones. And older children who play with toys intended for younger ones can be injured when, out of boredom, they seek unintended uses for the toys.

Experts also caution that parents should pay attention to warning labels, which mean the toy can be dangerous. At the same time, they shouldn't be deceived by manufacturers' labels, which are voluntary and not always factual. This includes labels that say "toxic-free" and "lead-free," among others.
Safe Toys: Widely Available

The good news is that plenty of safe toys are widely available both here and abroad.

You can find a list of companies that report selling American-made toys and products at toysmadeinamerica. This site provides 136 links to toy companies, many of which are small, family-owned businesses. Some are eco-friendly as well.

For information about buying other products reported to be made in America, visit www.howtobuyamerican.com.

For a self-reported list of products made in Europe, visit www.moolka.com or www.maukilo.com, two online retailers that boast an extensive selection of European-made products for children of all ages, including a variety of jewelry.

Fun suggestions for older kids include acoustic guitars and instruments, scooters, and a wide selection of purses, bags, and wallets.
Safe Toys: Reason for the Season?

What can parents do if their child is wailing for last month's "it" toy, when that item may pose a danger?

Family psychologist John Rosemond, author of Parenting by the Book, says that parents should simply tell kids the truth -- that the toy they want can hurt them.

"Make it simple," he says. "Today's parents explain things in too wordy a fashion."

Rosemond also believes that most families have far too many toys, anyway -- and most are the wrong kind.

He suggests that parents use this opportunity to get rid of dangerous toys and superfluous ones. Ideally, kids should have no more than 10 toys at a time -- and as many as possible should be toys that require imagination and creativity.

"I've been telling parents to get rid of 80% of their children's toys long before this controversy started," he says. "They play much more creatively and imaginatively, the fewer toys they have. There is also less sibling conflict and more family, and the kids play for longer periods of time, which means they bug the parents less."


Via Webmd

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