Nutrition
Neophobia & the Battle to Try New Foods
Perhaps you have a picky eater at home. Maybe she takes after mom or dad, or maybe this is a quality uniquely her own. Whatever the case, it?s important to recognize that we can change our perception …
Oops. Decreasing iron supplements to every other day.
For years the standard way to give iron supplements was one dose a day. But when iron supplements are given to treat iron deficiency, only a small amount of the iron is actually absorbed -- 2% to 28% …
The Straight Scoop on Grains
Dr. Greene's take on healthy whole grains... What popular kids' food starts to turn to sugar in their mouth and becomes 100% glucose by the time it's absorbed? You guessed it, processed white flour. B…
Recommended Probiotics for Kids
Promoting healthy, diverse gut bacteria appears able to make a big difference in keeping us healthy. That's why I often recommend probiotics for the kids in my pediatric practice. This is especially t…
Antibiotic Scorecard: 1 Easy Way to Change the World for Your Child
Your choice of chain restaurants could help make a profound difference. Thanks to the help of some impressive organizations, we now have an antibiotic Scorecard to help us along the way. Antibiotic ov…
From Omnivorous to Picky Eater – What Changed?
Dr. Greene's take on a picky eater... Ever wonder why a 9-month-old will put anything in her mouth and the same 19-month-old refuses to eat anything new? This activity is so common that there's even a…
Easy Ways to Increase Healthy Omega-3s in Your Child’s Diet
When MsGreene was pregnant with my youngest in 1995, she craved tuna sandwiches. She could tell you where there was a good one within a mile of just about anywhere we normally visited. Her body was tr…
How Vitamins, Sunshine and Antibiotics Have Changed Things for Your Kids
I grew up eating very different food than my children eat. I'm not just talking about different items on the menu, but an apples-to-apples comparison of the same foods shows a substantial difference i…
Get the Goods on Gluten-Free
There's been lots of news (and a good deal of misinformation) about gluten, and in particular the benefits of gluten-free products. As with fat-free, sugar-free, sodium-free, etc. almost always someth…
Giving Kids a Place at the Table
How much does your family spend on groceries? Could you live on $3 a person each day? For many Americans, that's what you might spend on a coffee. But, for the nearly 50 million Americans on the Suppl…
Is Organic Food Really Different?
A 2012 analysis estimates that today's children age 0-5 in the US have lost more than 16 million IQ points from exposure to organophosphate pesticides. They're exposed to these pesticides almost entir…
How People Got Pepsi to Change its Mind: A Recipe
The last chapter of this story starts with one 15-year-old girl named Sarah Kavanagh, a vegetarian who had gotten into the habit of reading foods labels to be sure there weren't any hidden animal prod…
Study Finds People Who Eat More Veggies are Happier
I'm always delighted when studies emerge finding unexpected benefits from eating healthy. As a pediatrician passionate about getting kids and families to adopt healthier eating habits, the more eviden…
Dietary Advice to Address Arsenic Concern
You've heard the news, and in sets panic. Have I been inadvertently poisoning my family with arsenic? We share your concerns and as such created the following to help you where it counts most ? in the…
Early Puberty in Girls
Dr. Greene's take on early puberty: Question: My 8 yr old daughter is showing signs of premature onset of pubery; she has adult-grade underarm odor, blemishes, headaches, and a few hairs under her arm…
Pediatricians’ Trick-or-Treat Bags
Each year thousands of pediatricians gather for a national conference to catch up on the latest science and with each other. There's also a huge exhibit hall, as in so many professional and trade conf…
Food Day: A Great New Holiday
Food Day, my favorite new holiday, is a simple but profound celebration of something all humans share ? we become the food we eat. The first annual Food Day (foodday.org), debuts October 24, sponsored…
Your Baby Knows What You’re Eating … Even Before Birth
Dr. Greene's take on prenatal nutrition... Babies have more taste buds before birth than at any later time. Why would they be designed to form extra taste buds only for them to disappear before they a…
About the WhiteOut Movement
Dr. Greene explains the WhiteOut movement... "Let every child's first grain be a whole grain. There's no good reason not to. They won't mind. They'll thank you." And let every child's first food be a…
Food Allergies A Bigger Problem Than Previously Reported
Dr. Greene's take on the increase in food allergies... If it seems like nowadays there's someone in every school classrooms with a food allergy, that's because almost 1 in 12 kids today have food alle…