Breastfed boys (but not girls) are brainier: Reading, writing and maths skills better than those given bottle

By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 8:24 AM on 20th December 2010

Advantage: Breastfed boys were better at maths, reading, writing and spelling than those who were bottle-fed - but girls were not.

Breastfeeding can make boys – but not girls – brainier, research shows.

A study of ten-year-olds found that breastfed boys were better at maths, reading, writing and spelling than those who were bottle-fed. But breast milk did not appear to have the same brain-boosting effect on girls.
While previous research has credited breastfeeding with boosting IQ, this study is the first to show that one sex benefits more than the other.
Researchers from the University of Western Australia’s Telethon Institute for Child Health Research looked at how well 1,038 boys and girls did on standard school tests given at the age of ten. The analysis took into account social class, the mother’s level of education and the amount of time spent reading to the child. As in UK schools, the girls generally did better than the boys.
But those boys who had been breastfed for at least six months achieved maths and writing scores around 9 per cent higher than those who had been bottle-fed. They also got higher marks on spelling and reading, the journal Pediatrics reports.
In some cases, the improvement was large enough to close the achievement gap between girls and boys.
Any improvement to the girls’ scores was so marginal that it was insignificant.

Breast milk is known to be rich in fatty acids key to brain cell development but the researchers are unsure why it appeared to give only boys a mental boost.

It may be that the girls’ brains are already receiving nourishment from the sex hormone oestrogen, and the healthy fats in mother’s milk help the male brain catch up. Another possibility is that breastfeeding strengthens the mother-child bond.

Healthy: The government advises breastfeeding for six months to help protect babies against obesity, eczema, and ear, chest and stomach infections

Studies show that a mother’s attention is more crucial for the mental development of boys than girls. The Department of Health tells mothers that feeding their babies on breast milk alone for the first six months will protect their baby against obesity, eczema and ear, chest and stomach infections.
New mothers are also told that avoiding formula milk will cut the odds of a child being a fussy eater in later life, as well as reduce the woman’s odds of some cancers and help with weight loss.
Some studies have made a link between breastfeeding and a raised IQ, but others have argued that this can be explained largely by better-educated women being more likely to breastfeed.
Professor Wendy Oddy from the research team said the many health benefits of breast milk make it the best option for both sexes.
Michael Kramer, a paediatrician who has advised Unicef on breastfeeding, said he believes it does boost IQ.
Dr Kramer said some claims about breastfeeding’s benefits were exaggerated, but added that the evidence relating to IQ and lung and stomach infections is so strong that it alone warrants the promotion of breast as best.

 

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1340136/Breastfeeding-makes-boys-brainier.html#ixzz18odhrmrJ

Weight Target Achieved

The last I posted on my weight was about 2 months ago - Losing Weight Fast and Still Losing.

And now, I have already achieved my weight target - 50kg. That took about 2 moths to lose as my appetite has been quite big recently and mind you, I had just taken a whole packet of Cadbury earlier this evening.

But I have to admit that I still do not look fit. This must be due to the reason that I have not been exercising. As my son is reaching 6 months old, I am becoming more and more reluctant to be away from him. I just want to try my best to nurse my son as often and as much as I can before I stop breastfeeding. So, that is the main reason why I have not been exercising.

If you think losing a total 20kg after delivery if my son is good enough, my Hubby is asking me to target for 48 kg. Well, he is just joking but really, 48kg was my weight when I was in Primary 5 and when I was about 5cm shorter than I am now. Will I look healthy at that weight?

My Post-Pregnancy Diet - First 1-2 months

1-2 months after Delivery...

I admit that I had been a little careful as not to eat too much so that I could slim down faster, since I had gained a total of 20kg since pre-pregnancy. However, Mum kept making so much for me that I felt bad if I did not finish my food.

I had chicken with ginger, pork with ginger, vege with ginger, fish with ginger.. in short, all the dishes were with ginger to help expel wind after delivery. The nurse and doctor did advise to take less ginger and so, my Mum had toned down on the volume of ginger used in my diet.

I especially liked the preserved vegetables and pork trotters in black vinegar as they felt so much more appetising than the rest and not as dry. Funny, I hated ginger but food without ginger tasted bland to me and that was also part of the reason I ate less during confinement.

Once, my Mum made me half boiled eggs at 9am, and then rice wine vermicelli at 11am and then... by 1pm, she prepared lunch for me, rice with fish! I had to finish them up.

During the Full Moon party, my Mum complained to my relatives that I ate alot during confinement! Goodness.. I was just finishing up the food she made for me, knowing that I would not have chance to be at home for a whole month until my next baby :p

Cabbage - Can a breastfeeding Mummy take that?

Oh, goodness, I have been taking fried noodles with cabbage for lunch yesterday and cabbage soup the night before. I thought that was the end of the cabbage (*laugh*) but this afternoon, I had cabbage soup for lunch again.

I had to tell my mother-in-law that I could not take anymore cabbage as it may cause problems to our little boy. Cabbage is said to cause gassiness or flatulence in babies through breastmilk. She asked me if it might be due to the fact that cabbage is a 'cooling' food. Well, I really had no idea.

Found the below from femail.com.au:

There is technically no foods that breastfeeding woman must avoid. However some foods can cause mild reaction such as spicy foods, cabbage, chocolate and foods high in C concentrate. It will depend on your own body and the sensitivity of your baby.

Foods such as cabbage, garlic, chilli & curry may cause your baby to experience discomfort with wind. Although there is no research to support this, centuries of mothers will agree that keep these foods to a minimum if you want a good nights sleep. Some strongly flavoured foods may change the taste of your milk, although babies enjoy a variety of breast milk flavours, if you baby suddenly becomes fussy at the breast after you eat particular foods (for example garlic) you be best to avoid or tone down that food while breastfeeding. However you baby's tolerance may improve as he/she gets older so you may be able to re-introduce that food.

It really depends on individuals as everyone's tolerance level is different. Nonetheless, I had been limiting my intake of cabbage, just to avoid from having my son to wake up howling at night due to the pain in his llittle tummy.  (*wink*).

Oh ya... so far, my son has not shown any signs of food allergies through breastmilk.. good for him.

Losing weight fast and still losing...

Right after delivery of my son, I was too tired to be bothered about my weight, but  I did care about how my tummy looked. It was still bulging and sort of loose.

1 month later...

I finally got hold of a weighing scale to check on my weight - 56kg. I lost a whooping 14kg in the first month! Well.. my son was 3.65kg at birth and so, that meant I lost about 10kg myself. I never expected myself to lose so much within 30 days but I must thank my dear little son for that.

He was a big drinker since Day 0 as he could already gulp down 2-3oz at one go. The nurse in the nursery was teasing him as 'Gemuk' and they warned me that he had a big appetite as he was rather huge for a newborn. I had to pump up my efforts in order to meet his appetite, in within 2 weeks, I was already 100% feeding him with expressed breast milk (EBM).

2 months later...

This time, I stood on the scale hoping that I would have returned to my actual weight before pregnancy. Unfortunately, I was a 54-kg. About 2kg more to go, which seemed like a lifetime to lose. By this time, my son was already consistently taking about 3oz at every feedings.

Now, 3 1/2 months later...

Just few weeks ago, the scale was still showing 54kg and just few days ago, my weight reduced further to only 51kg! I am very close to my target - 50kg!

By this time, my son is already taking about 4-4.5oz at each feeding and he feeds every 2-3 hours, still exclusively feeding on breastmilk.

Being Heaviest During Pregnancy!

Throughout my life, I have never been called fat, as in really fat...fat... but the thought of a friend who told me something years ago reminded me further on the downside of being an obese person.

She told me, "...unless you have been fat and teased by friends badly before, you will never know how bad it really feels to be overweight." And, during that time, she was having asthma and due to the medication, she had no control over her weight. Poor her.. no wonder taking care of her own diet is her utmost priority.

I have always been a big eater, I eat what I like and when I want to. Guess the reason why I do not put on much weight is due to the fact that I have a better metabolism than the rest of the people at my age. During pregnancy, matters got worse, I felt hungry almost immediately after meals i.e. lunch or dinner and I had to eat or else, I would suffer from gastric. So, as to not trigger my gastric juices and starve my son, I ate and ate. I put on weight from 50kg to 70kg by the end of 10 months. That was a huge 20kg!

I prayed so hard that I would not be left with this extra weight after pregnancy as I was already feeling lethargic and fat due to the extra kilos. Not willing to feel that way for the next few years...

Garcinia Cambogia and Cambogia Extract

Garcinia cambogia, also known as malabar tamarind and brindle berry, is a relatively small purple fruit that contains a chemical compound called Hydroxycitric acid (HCA). HCA is much like a derivative of the same citric acid that can be found in many other citric fruits whose chemical make up is only slightly different. Studies indicate that HCA may assist in weight loss because of its ability to regulate metabolism.

Specifically, hydroxycitric acid is a competitive inhibitor of adenosine triphosphate-citrate. In the cytosol, ATP citrate lyase catalyzes the conversion of citrate and coenzyme A to oxaloacetate and acetyl coenzyme A (commonly referred to as acetyl CoA). Acetyl CoA is required for the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and triglycerides.

Oxaloacetate may enter the gluconeogenic pathway, which can lead to the production of glucose and glycogen. Many researchers and experts assert that the putative antiobesity effect of hydroxycitric acid is due to suppression of fatty acid and fat synthesis. Additionally, hydroxycitric acid is believed to suppress food intake via an anorectic effect, which also supports the belief that HCA may assist in weight loss.

Studies suggest that garcinia cambogia may assist in weight loss for the following reasons:

• HCA appears to block the conversion of sugars and starches into fats, that this, HCA is believed to help inhibit fat production.
• HCA may suppress appetite by raising levels of certain brain chemicals such as serotonin, a key stimulator of appetite.

However, there is no concrete evidence that supports the conclusion that garcinia cambogia can in fact cause weight loss. However, in a study of 60 overweight participants who took the supplement for 2 months, HCA appeared to help participants lose weight when compared with other study participants who were given a placebo.

Supporting LiteratureConte AA. A non-prescription alternative in weight reduction therapy. 1993; Summer:17-19.
Greenwood MR, Cleary MP, Gruen R. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on development of obesity in the Zucker obese rat. Am J Physiol. 1981; 240:E72-E78.
Kriketos AD, Greene H, Thompson HR, Hill JO. (-)-Hydroxycitric acid does not affect energy expenditure and substrate oxidation in adult males in a post-absorptive state. 1999; 23:867-873.
Lowenstein JM. Effect of (-)-hydroxycitrate on fatty acid synthesis by rat liver in vivo. J Biol Chem 1971;246:629-632.
Triscari J, Sullivan AC. Comparative effects of (-)-hydroxycitrate and (-)-allo-hydroxycitrate on acetyl CoA carboxylase and fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis in vivo. Lipids 1977;12:357-363.

- Extracted from Nutrasanus website -

Fiber - Preventing Certain Diseases

Do you know that getting enough fiber in the diet can lower the risk of developing certain conditions? Read on...

• Heart disease. Evidence is now growing to support the notion that foods containing soluble fiber (such as oats, rye barley, and beans) can have a positive influence on cholesterol, triglycerides, and other particles in the blood that affect the development of heart disease. Some fruits and vegetables (such as citrus fruits and carrots) have been shown to have the same effect.

• Cancer. The passage of food through the body is speeded up when fiber is eaten. Some experts believe this may prevent harmful substances found in some foods from affecting the colon and may protect against colon cancer. (However, a recent study conducted by Harvard University concluded that eating high-fiber food did not appear to protect people from colon cancer.) Other types of cancer that are linked with overnutrition and may be prevented by a fiber-rich diet include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer.

• Diabetes. Adding fiber to the diet helps regulate blood sugar levels, which is important in avoiding diabetes. In addition, some people with diabetes can achieve a significant reduction in their blood sugar levels and may find they can reduce their medication.

• Diverticular disease. Diverticular disease is a condition in which small pouches, called diverticula, develop in the wall of the colon. In a small percentage of people, these diverticula become inflamed or infected, a condition known as diverticulitis. Diverticular disease can cause pain, diarrhea, constipation, and other problems.

• Gallstones and kidney stones. Rapid digestion leads to a rapid release of glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream. To cope with this, the body has to release large amounts of insulin into the bloodstream, and this can make a person more likely to develop gallstones and kidney stones (in addition to diabetes and high cholesterol).

- http://www.ehealthmd.com -

To increase your daily fiber intake, you may want to try i famosa Venus Fiber White Coffee.

For price and packaging information, please refer to my Catalogue.
For more information on the product, please refer to Product Information.