Better Health: Smart Health Commentary

Featured

From Mayo Clinic’s Transform 2010 Conference: How Sick Are Our “Healthy” School Lunches?

September 14th, 2010 by Maria Gifford in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Interviews, Research, True Stories
No Comments »

Appearing as a Second Life 3D virtual-world avatar at Mayo Clinic’s “Transform 2010” symposium (watch the video here), Mrs. Q — a teacher and the anonymous author of the blog “Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project” — told the story of how her unique health mission has come to be. She’s determined to help people understand just how sick our “healthy” school lunches really are.

Mrs. Q has sparked the interest of child health advocates around the country. Thanks to programs like First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Initiative” and Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution,” the nation is paying more attention to childhood obesity and school lunch reform.

Mrs. Q’s blog was started because of her own experiences with school meals after she ate the food prepared at school because she forgot her lunch at home. She keeps her identity a secret due to fear of losing her teaching job. Read more »

“Laxative Tantrums” In Kids?

August 7th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor
No Comments »

This “Fletchers Castoria” ad from 1941 is priceless. And as someone who spends his days working with bound-up grumps like Mary, I was reassured to know that horrific constipation is not a me-generation problem born of chicken fingers and Goldfish. ”Laxative tantrums,” however, are new to me. I seem to have pretty good luck with Miralax and Kristalose in my office. Your mileage (or tantrums) may vary.

*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*