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  • Would you like some cereal with that bowl of sugar?

    Fruit Loops, Cap’n Crunch, Apple Jacks, Reese’s Puffs- the list could go on and on. All of these cereals boast of their nutritional value by claiming, “now provides fiber”, “made with natural flavors”, or “made from whole grains”, but they all have one thing in common- their shockingly high sugar content. The problem is, these cereals are what many kids crave, thanks to cereal companies who try (and succeed) in luring kids into wanting, NEEDING their sugary cereal product through marketing campaigns that target young children.

  • How the ketogenic diet can help patients with Epilepsy

    In honor of Epilepsy Awareness Month, please welcome our guest contributor, Kelly Urbanik. Kelly is a Registered Dietitian at Arnold Palmer Hospital. She has been working with the Ketogenic Diet Therapy Program for the past 6 years and has worked with over 125 patients for this specialized therapy.

  • The morning after pill: what every parent of a teenager should know

    In the United States, recent news about teenage sexuality is promising. Fewer teens are having sex, and less than half of girls have sex before they graduate high school according to data from the Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Teen pregnancy rates are also falling, probably due to a combination of fewer teens having sex, better long-acting birth control options such as Depo-Provera, and condom use by teens. In spite of this great news, the U.S still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy among developed countries. Nearly 80% of teen pregnancies are unplanned, a result of birth control failure or nonuse, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

  • Exploring the link between autism and illness in pregnant mothers

    Could autism in a child be related to fever or infection in the pregnant mother?

  • Winning the pacifier war

    My daughter has had an intense, rapturous love affair with the pacifier for the past 2 and-a-half years. I’m certain that if the world were ending and she had the choice to keep for herself either Mommy or her bee-bees (her word for pacifier), she would choose the bee-bees any day of the week. I try not to take it personally.

  • Friends can impact your child’s activity level

    “You are who your friends are.” The phrase every parent knows, but no kid, especially teenagers, wants to hear. Parents often use this popular line as a way to encourage their pre-teen or teenager to choose friends who will set a positive example, build their character, and create healthy habits.  But recent studies have shown that this theory can even apply to kids as young as 5 years old. Young kids like to play “follow the leader” and are easily influenced by what those around them are doing, especially when it comes to physical activity (or lack thereof).

  • A Blessing in Disguise: Maleah's Story

    It all started with a simple trip to the nearby walk-in clinic with what they thought was an infection. Maleah’s lymph nodes were swollen and her mom thought all she needed was some antibiotics. A few days later, Maleah’s lymph nodes were getting larger and the antibiotics didn’t seem to be working. It was the weekend, so Maleah’s mom took her to the closest emergency room where they ran a few tests. Her white blood cell count was three times its normal amount, but they were told to keep taking the antibiotics and that the elevated white blood cell count is a result of the infection. That next Monday, Maleah’s mom called their family doctor, concerned that her lymph nodes were still swollen. Her doctor told them to take her to the Arnold Palmer Hospital emergency room, knowing it was probably more than just an infection.  

  • Paula Deen and Diabetes

    In an interview on the Today show, Paula Deen, the Food Network star famous for her indulgent, down-home Southern cooking, divulged that she was diagnosed three years ago with Type 2 diabetes.

  • The 5-Second Rule

    How Much Germ Knowledge do YOU Have?

  • The Secret to Baby Talk: Lip-reading

    There’s something to be envious of babies about: their ability to lip-read. A new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has recently been published to show how babies use lip-reading as a way to learn how to shape their mouths to be able to produce words. It’s the process that takes place when a baby goes from babbling to saying words like “mamma” or “dada”. THIS is the moment where a parent scrambles to find the video camera to capture one of their baby’s first milestones!