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Advice
Grocery Shopping for Healthy Family Eating
As the mother of three grown children, I know how hard it can be, even with the best of intentions, to eat a healthy diet yourself and make healthy foods for the rest of the family. With just a few simple tips, you can totally change your eating habits for the better. It all starts with grocery shopping, for which you must make like a Boy Scout and “be prepared.” It is best to create a menu for the week with breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks determined for each day before you even make your grocery list. Choose …
Learn to Recognize the Difference between Malnourishment and Mental Disorders in Children
If you’re like me, you’re probably alarmed to hear so much about the prevalence of “mental disorders,” particularly among children. It seems that every year there are more and more disorders are emerging, along with psychotropic medications to treat them. However, as the mother of three grown-up, mentally healthy children and with a strong background and experience in nutritional research, I counsel mothers to be careful before mistaking your children’s odd behavior with a mental illness. It turns out the symptoms of malnourishment and mental disorders are actually quite similar in children. Even just the signs of a …
Creating a Memorable Main Character in Your Children’s Book
As a children’s author, I’m often pleased to find that I’ve inspired children and adults to write children’s stories of their own. A question they wonder is what exactly makes a good children’s book. It’s important that a children’s book have a charming protagonist with whom readers can identify. It seems that children tend to literally identify with characters they love; in their imagination and games, they often pretend they are indeed the beloved protagonists of their favorite movies, TV shows, and books. So what qualities should a children’s story protagonist have? If you study the most popular children’s stories …
Going Blind! by Sandi Star, CCN
I remember using a ton of eye drops and never getting any relief. I was finding pieces of Sclera (the white, dense, fibrous outer coating of the eyeball) inside the lids and I was getting scarring. I was working full time and going to school at night; looking at a computer screen all day and books all night made it much worse! The lights at night were a big blur and I couldn’t focus at all. My eyes were literally drying up. I was having ongoing eye infections. To say the least I was going blind and was petrified. I couldn’t wear contacts to …
A Guide to Personal Goal-Setting
I have found setting goals to be an especially useful tool since my children left the house, leaving me with a lot more time to reconnect with and realize my dreams of being a children’s author and helping others. Whether your children are grown, your children are still young, or you don’t have any children at all, it is vital to establish your goals. So, where do you want to go in life? Get a precise “big picture” of what you want to do in all of the fields of your life. These “big picture” goals should embrace various areas, such …
Keeping Your Celiac Child Safe at School
First of all, you’ll need allies, and who better than your child’s teachers? This means all of his teachers, including his physical education instructor or his home room teacher, with whom some children only meet with periodically. I highly recommend meeting with each teacher individually. Writing a note or e-mail is usually insufficient to communicate the seriousness of the condition and the details of the diet, including crucial issues such as cross-contamination and hidden sources of gluten, such as beauty products, for instance. There are a few things his teachers should know about it in this meeting. First …
Dining Out with Your Celiac Child
First of all, before you start taking your celiac child to restaurants for gluten-free eating, it’s important that you and your child are already familiar with the gluten-free diet, what your child can eat, what he must avoid, and how to protect him from cross-contamination. This way, you’ll know what to order from the menu and what questions to ask the server or chef. Make sure before you take your celiac child out to dinner that the two of you eat a high-protein snack about an hour before you think you’ll be ordering your food. The hungrier you …
Gluten-Free Summer Camp
Summer camp is a cherished summertime tradition for children. Just because your child eats gluten free doesn’t mean he has to suffer without summer camp this year. There are actually some camps that specialize in the gluten-free diet, which you can find online; other camps specialize in other restricted diets, such as for diabetic children. You don’t have to choose a special camp for your child, though, as he may want to go to the same summer camps as his friends. Just as you had to meet with your child’s teachers and school administrators regarding his diet, talk …
Write Your Goals Down
Writing your goals down on paper (or on your computer in this computer age) is essential. A recent study was conducted recently to find what made Harvard’s most successful graduates so successful. It turns out that the common denominator among these prosperous alumni was writing down their goals. Luckily, you don’t need a degree from Harvard to do that. Tina Turbin
Understanding the Link between Osteoporosis and Celiac Disease
Medical researchers have noted for quite some time that osteoporosis and celiac disease commonly appear together. If you have either condition, it’s important to understand this link and to know what symptoms to look for. Being informed on this subject can have priceless health benefits. Osteoporosis is a disease that causes the bones to be less dense than they should be, making them more fragile and more likely to break. Many people with osteoporosis don’t realize they have the condition until they break a bone. Sometimes the fractures are major breaks, or there can be dozens or hundreds …