Why Opt for Brown Rice?

July 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment

There’s a bigger difference between brown and white rice than color and taste. All rice begins in nature as brown rice. In order to get white rice, the brown rice is processed and stripped of its husk-like coating, losing almost all of its nutritional value! Brown rice is unprocessed and therefore contains most if its natural nutritional value. It is a great source of manganese, fiber, selenium, and magnesium, (check my recent post on the value of magnesium.) Brown rice is also an antioxidant, may help women lose weight, and lowers cholesterol.

Basically, brown rice is a much healthier and more nutritious alternative to white rice, and can easily be replaced in most recipes. I am always encouraging my patients and their families to makes simple practical changes to their diets that won’t demand extra work, extra money or extra planning. Substituting brown rice for white rice in your diet will add fiber, decrease preservatives, increase nutrients and is a simple way to increase your family’s health.

Posted by Ms. Annabelle Moore with Dr. Natalie Geary | Filed Under Nutrition 

Pool Safety

July 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental deaths, after motor vehicle accidents, in children under fourteen, and your swimming pool must be treated as a potential danger. Please take your pool seriously!

Here are some pool safety tips to ensure the safety of your child:

  • - Obviously, NEVER leave your child unattended near a pool.
  • - Think about taking a CPR class. They’re offered by most local hospitals for free.
  • - Keep a cell phone or cordless phone near the pool in case of an emergency.
  • - Make sure the supervising adult can swim.
  • - Make sure the area around the pool is a nonslip surface.
  • - Bring all the pool toys into the house once your child is done playing in the pool—he or she should not be tempted to try and reach in.
  • - Just because your child has learned how to swim does not mean she is safe. Although she may be more comfortable in the water, you should not rely on new swimmers to swim to safety.
  • - Make sure the pool chemicals are kept out of your child’s reach.

Most counties require that people construct a fence around the pool. 76% of drowning accidents happen NOT when kids are swimming, but when they are playing or walking around the pool. The fence should be at least four feet high and surround the entire pool, and make sure the latch to enter is too high for your child to reach.

These rules apply for all pools, no matter how shallow the water is. Parents should be as vigilant in respect to pool safety as they are with automobile safety. If your child is particularly interested in exploring the pool on her own, you may want to look into getting a Child Immersion Alarm from safetyturtle.com.

Posted by Ms. Annabelle Moore with Dr. Natalie Geary | Filed Under Dr Geary