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Go Go Bambini Dec 09







East Coast Park - Nov 09

Park opposite my house at PJ, Oct 09

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Excellent book: Diet Therapy for Infant by Ou Yang Ying

How to raise a heathy baby?? This is the answer!

I bought this book by Ou Yang Ying , Diet Theraphy for Infants. Excellent book(http://www.oyoung.com.tw/yellow/5newbooks_view.asp?id=30)

He advocates eating organic, eating raw, vegetarian.

I made the below recipe for Shaun , from Ou Yang Ying’s book.

80g black bean
5 g brown sugar
1 piece of old ginger
500cc of water
cook in electric cooker for 45 minutes. Serves warm.


Other than that, I also give
Korean bamboo salt honey with pearl

lemon and honey

North and south Chinese almonds, chuan bei mu or song bei, dried figs, dried tangerine, brew in 1 litre water for 45 minutes.
brew pear and song bei , with a little bit of rock sugar

Result is: Shaun recovers from phlegmy cough in around 1 week+, all by himself with the help of natural remedies. No cough mixture or medicine. Yeah! Keep it up dear Son.

Toddler Cough natural remedies

I got all these from the web.

• You should not give your child (especially a baby or toddler) OTC cough medicine without first checking with your doctor. (guazi: Even babycenter also says no cough medicine to be given to kids below 4 years old! )


• Run a hot shower bath and let the baby inhale the steam while she is in the bathroom. The congestion will go. Sit in the bathroom with your child for about 20 minutes. The steam should help your child breathe more easily.
  
• A cool-mist humidifier in your child's bedroom might help with sleep.

• Cool beverages like juice can be soothing. But do not give soda or orange juice, as these can hurt a throat that is sore from coughing.
  
• A warm bath can give relief. One can add eucalyptus oil or thyme or perhaps sage oil to the bath water. The vapor form these essential oils clear up the airways of the baby, so that she can breathe easily. Also, it provides relief to a sore throat.
  
• One can give herbal tea made of thyme or sage. One should check out with one’s physician at what age one can give the baby herbal tea.
  
• Licorice tea contains anti- bacterial properties and is a good remedy. It fights the bacteria that cause coughing. It helps in soothing the throat and calming the respiratory tract. The baby can sleep comfortably.
  
• Mix olive oil with essential oils and then apply it on the baby’s back and chest. Small babies should be covered well to build up body heat so that the essential oils vaporize well.
  
• Breast milk is also good to treat a baby’s cough.
  
• Honey + Lemon 1 teaspoon of honey * 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (freshly squeezed) Stir mixture in a little bit of drinking water and drink immediately. Take this 2-3 times a day.



• 
  Restful sleep.
  



• Give plenty of fluids to keep the mucous membrane and throat moist




• Check out home remedies by Ou Yang Ying in my later post.
  
• Gargling with salt water is good. If the child is above 4 let her gargle several times with saline water.

What to do when your kid starts to cough?

I like to jot down all these important reminders I read from the web. It serves the purpose of constantly reminding me not to give medicine if it’s not necessary. Yeah, I want my boy to grow up healthily and doesn’t rely on medicine. I want his immune system to be strong so that he can recover by his own when he is down with fever, flu or cough.

Excerpt from Kidshealth.org
(http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/eyes/childs_cough.html#)

Because most coughs are caused by viruses, doctors usually do not give antibiotics for a cough. If the cough is caused by a virus, it just needs to run its course. A viral infection can last for as long as 2 weeks. Unless a cough won't let your child sleep, cough medicines are not needed.

When to Call the Doctor
Most childhood coughs are nothing to be worried about. However, call your doctor if your child:
· has trouble breathing or is working hard to breathe
· is breathing more quickly than usual
· has a blue or dusky color to the lips, face, or tongue
· has a high fever (especially if your child is coughing but does NOT have a runny or stuffy nose)
· has any fever and is less than 3 months old
· is an infant (3 months old or younger) who has been coughing for more than a few hours
· makes a "whooping" sound when breathing in after coughing
· is coughing up blood
· has stridor (a noisy or musical sound) when breathing in
· has wheezing when breathing out (unless you already have a home asthma care plan from your doctor)
· is weak or cranky

World Health Foods http://whfoods.org/ is my Favourite #1 website. The below are all excerpts from WHF website.

Would like to share with you this page that teaches you “How to Help Avoid the Swine Flu and Seasonal Flu by Strengthening Your Immune System with the World's Healthiest Foods”

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=253&utm_source=daily_click&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_email

Important notes from George Mateljan Foundation:

1. Your body uses a variety of responses to maintain its defense against harmful pathogenic organisms in the environment; therefore, it may not be surprising that nearly all of the vitamins are necessary to maintain and promote some aspect of your immune function. Minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein are also all keys to a healthy immune system.

2. This means eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds, and extra virgin olive oil. Including more fruits and vegetables into your daily menu is a must for a healthy immune system, so this is a particularly important time of year to try and eat the recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

3. The more colorful your meal, the greater likelihood you will receive a rich diversity of phytonutrients. These phytonutrients give carrots and winter squash their rich orange-red color; make beets, berries and red and purple grapes a brilliant red; and provide green leafy vegetables such as spinach with their deep green hue.

4. Traditional ways of cooking vegetables can destroy from 50-80% of nutrients. Don't overcook. Steaming and healhy sauté preserves most nutrients.

5. What Not to Eat May Be Just as Important as What You Do Eat
Avoid:
1. Refined grain products, white bread, cookies, pastries, and processed foods that deplete the body of vitamins and minerals necessary for promoting immunity

2. Refined sugar which reduces the responsiveness of your immune cells and lowers your immune defenses

3. Cooking with oils exposed to high heat (such as frying), which can produce immune-damaging substances

4. Excessive consumption of calories and saturated fats from dairy and commercial beef, which can weaken the strength of your immune system

Ok since my whole family, including Shaun , are vegetarians, I had taken out non-veg items from WHFoods’s list.

Spinach, Swiss chard, carrots,yellow squash, broccoli,kale, apricots, cantaloupe
Vitamin A, E and K Enhances the function of white blood cells; increases the response of antibodies to antigens; has anti-viral activity

Lemons, limes, citrus fruits, Swiss chard, spinach, cabbage, romaine lettuce, red bell peppers, broccoli, cantaloupe
Vitamin C and other antioxidants Powerful antioxidant; reduces time and length of respiratory viral infections

Cauliflower, broccoli, collard greens, romaine lettuce, legumes/beans, asparagus, spinach, Swiss chard
B-vitamins (folate, B1, B2, B5, B6, B12) Promotes the production and release of antibodies; ensures healthy immune cell function; deficiency impairs white blood cell functioning

Spinach, Swiss chard, broccoli

zinc, copper, manganese, iron Potent immunostimulant; deficiency can result in profound suppression of immune function

Onions, garlic
Sulfur-containing and flavonoid phytonutrients Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties; kills germs

Shiitake mushrooms
Lentian. Enhances immune system function including strengthening its ability to fight infection

Olive oil

Monounsaturated fats. Promotes healthy gastrointestinal membrane essential for a healthy immune system

walnuts, flaxseeds
Omega-3 fatty acids. Precursors to compounds that regulate immune system

Eggs ( Angie: Look for free range eggs!!)
Vitamin D. Regulate immune system activity by preventing excessive or prolonged inflammatory response

Brazil nuts
Selenium. Supports healing from inflammation and may be an immunostimulant

legumes/beans
Protein. Source of immune-stimulating amino acids;deficiency can result in depletion of immune cells and the ability of the body to produce antibodies

===============================================
Getting inspiration from this website, I’m going to make this tonight

Green Bean dish from WHFoods. Nice!!

Ingredients:
· 1 lb green beans
· 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
· 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
· 3 TBS extra vigin olive oil
· sea salt and pepper to taste
· Optional:
· 3 TBS goat cheese
· 2 TBS sliced almonds
· 4-5 drops tamari soy sauce
· 1 TBS sliced sun dried tomatoes
· 2 TBS roasted red bell peppers
· 1 TBS chopped basil

Spinach from WHFoods. Yummy!

· 1 pound fresh spinach
· 1 tsp lemon juice
· 1 medium fresh garlic, pressed or chopped
· 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
· salt and cracked black pepper to taste
· Optional: chopped tomato

Food that help boost immune system

I just wanna blog on foods that can boost immune system for vegetarian toddler:-

These nutrients can be obtained from an organic whole-foods diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.

Let our toddler eat about 10 tablespoon of fruits and veg per day.

1. orange veg – sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin. Vit A is important for our skin, first line of defense for our immune system.
2. mushroom , like shitake– help in production of white blood cells to act against foreign bacteria
3. Lemon – ideal food for restoring acid-alkali balance.
4. broccoli, spinach, green leafs veg like kailan, green beans
5. Yoghurt – important food, especially after taking antibiotics.Antibiotics destroy most of the bacteria in our body. It destroys beneficial bacteria as well. So got to take yoghurt or prebiotics rich food like asparagus, bananas, yoghurt, to restore them back , for our stomach.
6. Eliminating sugar intake! Can take raw sugar, or molasses in cooking or baking. Excessive sugar ( refined white sugar) suppresses immune system.
7. seaweed, algae
8. blueberries ,orange, strawberry, kiwi, apple, papaya, banana,
9. flaxseed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, almond, walnuts, cashew – I add grinded flaxseed, wheatgerm, lecithin, ground almond, into his plain yoghurt
10. protein rich food like soy, tofu, miso, tempeh, eggs, lentils
11. healthy fats- olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocados
12. alkaline based grains – millet, quinoe.
13. fruit and veggie juices- include carrot, beetroot, apple
14. drink lots of water! Ok I’m not sure whether the stuff I added into his plain water helps boost his immune, other than purely plain water with sea mineral, sometimes I add aloe vera , prune extract into his water and let him drink in cup. He likes it, so I just continue to do it la.
15. wholegrain, wholemeal
16 zinc rich food – beans, yoghurt, eggs, milk