Top Five Myths About Children’s Vitamins – MYTH # 2: If you take vitamins, you can eat whatever you want.
Posted Monday, August 15th, 2011 Fay
photo by: nuchylee
MYTH #2: If you take vitamins, you can eat whatever you want.
FACT: Vitamins are meant to support and enhance a balanced diet, not replace it.
The vast majority of Americans are now (unfortunately) classified as either overweight or obese. And childhood obesity in recent years has skyrocketed.
The finger pointing on this issue ranges from blaming individual responsibility on the subject of food intake, to the hypothesis that man-made chemicals are the culprit
Whatever the reason, carrying an unhealthy weight around has become the norm in the United States, not the exception.
What does this have to do with vitamins? We’re glad you asked.
We believe that too many people use vitamins as a magic bullet to cover for poor nutritional habits. They think they can live on fast food and pop a pill and magically have a balanced, healthy diet and life.
In the real world, a vitamin is meant to enhance a balanced diet, not replace it. A well rounded multi-vitamin can be your insurance policy against a poor nutritional meal once in a while. But it will never make you healthy all by itself.
Top Five Myths About Children’s Vitamins – MYTH # 1: Everything in my Children’s Vitamin is Good for my Child.
Posted Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 FayA couple of years ago when we set out to find the best multi-vitamin option for our own children, we ran into a lot of myths and mis-information about the quality of ingredients, the quantities of individual components, and even the need for children’s vitamins in the first place. To help you cut through some of the clutter and questionable information available on the Internet from so-called health blogs and nutrition experts (many of whom are simply paid shills for big corporate interests), we’ve dug a little deeper into these subjects and are giving you our opinion on these widely misunderstood areas of children’s health.
We encourage you to do your own research into these subjects as well, we believe that as with most things, the more you dig into these issues, the more you will able to separate fact from carefully manufactured marketing gimmicks and outright fictions.
MYTH # 1: Everything in my children’s vitamin is good for my child.
FACT: The vast majority of children’s vitamins contain ingredients that have very questionable safety records.
You would think in a product like a vitamin, which is ideally meant to help your child grow and thrive, you would find wholesome and quality ingredients that do nothing detrimental to your child’s health. So why are most vitamin companies putting genetically modified-derived ingredients into their children’s vitamins?
That’s right, if you take a look at the label on your children’s vitamin and you see corn syrup, glucose syrup from corn, high-fructose corn syrup, soybean oil or soy lecithin, the odds are these ingredients have been derived from genetically modified corn and soy. Over 90% of the soy in the US and over 80% of the corn in the US are now produced using genetically modified seeds.
Why does this matter?
Good question.
This matters because the manner in which these two crops are now being genetically modified. In the past, certain strains of crops were chosen for their superior yield, their flavors and colors, and for their ability to produce an overall superior end result at harvest. Or crops were mixed to create hybrids, for instance plums were mixed with apricots to produce pluots.
All that has changed.
Today, a “genetically modified crop” does not refer to a more colorful ear of corn or a larger soybean.
Today, genetically modified means the crops have been infected with a strain of bacteria (Bt) that causes the plant to internally produce pesticide. Another formula for genetically modified crops creates a plant that can be exposed to unlimited drenching of Round-Up herbicide with no ill effects.
Did you know some corn and soy are now required to be registered with the EPA as insecticides? Don’t believe us? Here is the Environmental Protection Agency’s website listing the current crops that are registered as pesticides
In other words, corn and soy are now being manipulated to become immune to the highest levels pesticide exposure ever seen in the history of agriculture.
Unfortunately, our children are not immune to these high levels of pesticides.
Study after study has shown that exposure to pesticides, especially in young bodies, can affect neurodevelopment, cause respiratory illness and interfere with normal growth . Which means the more pesticide your child is exposed to, the more potential damage is done to your child’s brain, lungs and overall growth potential.
So if you’re still giving your children a multi-vitamin that contains the common genetically modified corn and soy derivatives (corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, glucose syrup, soybean oil, soy lecithin), you are putting the most highly chemically compromised foods in the history of human food cultivation into your child.
And then we have the synthetic sweetener alternatives.
Are you aware that sucralose (Splenda), which is a man-made synthetic chemical cleverly named to sound like sucrose (table sugar), is actually closer in chemical composition to DDT than it is to sugar?
It’s true. Sucralose is an organochlorine, which means chlorine is covalently bonded to a sugar molecule. The manufacturer Tate and Lyle say this on their own website . While this process doesn’t sound that bad, and the manufacturer assures you of the quality and purity of the end result, the fact remains that organic materials in nature are only very rarely bound to chlorine, and the most common uses for organochlorines are chemical warfare (mustard gas or phosgene) and in pest eradication (DDT, aldrin, mirex).
In other words, organochlorines are not created to enhance health. They are created to compromise it. And we’re not putting a known organochlorine into our children.
In fact, many organochlorines have been banned from use in many countries. Dioxin, for instance, along with DDT are organochlorines that are subject to the Stockholm Convention (which was created to ban or severely restrict the production of the most dangerous environmental pollutants).
So when you’re putting sucralose (Splenda) into your child’s body, you’re trusting that a substance chemically similar to DDT and Dioxin is harmless. Of course, the manufacturer has studies proving their organochlorine is safe, but who funds the studies proving this? A disinterested third-party laboratory? Or scientists on the payroll of the manufacturer?
We encourage you to dig deeper yourself into this controversial sweetener.
And then there’s aspartame. Which is classified as an “excitotoxin”. Meaning it has the ability to over stimulate the cells it comes into contact with, until they die.
Aspartame has been linked to neurological problems, nerve damage, brain tumors and cancer. So how is an artificial sweetener able to do all this damage?
Aspartame is produced by isolating two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, which once again sounds rather harmless, until you consider that these amino acids when found in nature are proportionately bonded with a full range of other amino acids, in the proper balance.
The problems begin once you isolate these two amino acids and combine them in an unnatural, synthetic way. For a complete overview of the science behind the danger of excitotoxins in general, see this groundbreaking work by Russell Blaylock
Aspartame has also been called the most controversial food additive every approved by the FDA, and if you research the amount of times the FDA actually rejected aspartame for use in humans, as well as the now infamous Bressler Report outlining the shocking scientific half-truths and lies presented during the approval process at the FDA, we think you’ll be shocked to uncover the true facts surrounding aspartame’s approval for use in food and drinks.
And vitamins.
Lastly, we’re only going to mention that after years of scientific studies linking ADD and ADHD to synthetic dyes and artificial coloring, the UK has banned synthetic dyes and colors from products marketed to children
We’re not waiting around for the US FDA to follow suit. We’re keeping these controversial dyes and colors out of our children’s vitamin and out of our children. And you can too by insisting no artificial dyes and colors are in your children’s vitamin.
SmartyPants & Calcium
Posted Monday, May 16th, 2011 Courtney N
We have received a few customer questions about why we don’t include Calcium in our product. I thought I would share my answer here as I am sure it’s not uncommon:
1) When choosing which nutrients to include we decided to focus on those most difficult to get from food without concerns over things like mercury, allergies, sunburns etc. So we made sure we had fish oil and Vitamin D. Unfortunately, fish oil and calcium cant live together in a supplement gummy (though it can in a liquid in small amounts) and calcium is more accessible in fortified OJ etc.
2)The reason you find most calcium supplements sold separately is that calcium can actually inhibit the absorption of other nutrients (dangerously so if taken in excess) and why some, though not all, pediatricians don’t recommend calcium supplements.
3) There is a concern related to lead with calcium supplements and since younger folks are at risk at any level of lead exposure, we didn’t consider this an option. You would be able to find a high grade calcium supplement that had been tested and verified as lead-free, I am guessing.
Hope that helps and keep the questions coming!
SmartyPants & Vitamin Angels Declare Valentine’s Day as ‘Vitamin Day’
Posted Thursday, February 10th, 2011 Fay
Be My Valentine=Be My SmartyPants Angel
SmartyPants Vitamins Launches Partnership with Vitamin Angels on ‘Vitamin Day’
Access to essential nutrients is a cost-effective and efficient method to reduce child mortality globally
Venice, CA-(February 9, 2011)-Together, SmartyPants and Vitamin Angels are working to provide multivitamins and prenatal vitamins to children and mothers in the United States and around the world who may not otherwise have access to these nutrients. Every year, approximately a third of deaths of children under five are a result of undernutrition. Vitamin Angels reduces child mortality by connecting infants and children under five with vital nutrients. Now, we are declaring Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2011, ‘Vitamin Day’ to officially launch our partnership with Vitamin Angels and share our goal of providing vital nutrients to children in need around the world.
“We wanted to make sure we used the company as a way to help kids who need micronutrients the most, so we are pleased to announce that for every bottle of SmartyPants sold, we will make a matching nutrient grant to a child in need through our partners Vitamin Angels,” said SmartyPants Co-Founder Courtney Nichols. Starting Valentine’s Day, Feb 14, 2011, for every bottle of SmartyPants Vitamins sold, Smarty Pants will donate vital nutrients thru Vitamin Angels to a child in need. All founders share a firm belief that every child has the right to basic nutrition and no child should suffer from a lack of nutrients. Here is a message from Vitamin Angels Founder Howard Schiffer about the partnership.
In 2010, Vitamin Angels provided 24 million children with the essential nutrients their young bodies need to ward off infection and disease giving them the opportunity to lead a healthy and productive lives. ‘Thrive to Five’ is their global multivitamin campaign providing children under five and new and expecting mothers with vital nutrients to help provide a good foundation for mother and child.
One of the current millennium policy goals of United Nations is to reduce the under five mortality rate by the year 2015. According to Jared Rosenberg in an article in International Family Planning Perspective Journal, “Micronutrient fortification, measles immunization, case management of pneumonia and oral rehydration therapy for diarrhea are the most cost-effective interventions developing countries can use to achieve the millennium development goal of reducing mortality in young children by two-thirds by 2015.” Micronutrient supplementation was also deemed the number one most cost effective solution for combating global malnutrition by the Copenhagen Consensus in 2008.
According to research, effects of undernutrition are often shown in symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, dizziness, frequent headaches, frequent colds and infections, and difficulty concentrating[i]. Even mild under nutrition (seen in the US) which is often experienced by young children during critical periods of growth impacts the behavior of the child, their school performance, and their overall cognitive development[ii]. It can also have an adverse effect on physical health, mental health, behavior and school readiness and achievement. Add to that that the reality that soil the world over is greatly depleted of nutrients(a can of spinach today has 50% less nutrient value than one from 20 years ago). Well-nourished children are better able to take advantage of available educational opportunities.
About SmartyPants*: Created by parents and health care practitioners, SmartyPants solves the “picky-eater” problem by putting the best of everything (with none of the bad stuff) in a gummy treat that has everyone begging to take their vitamins! Made in California, pediatrician-approved SmartyPants contains a unique combination of eco-friendly Omega3’s, 100 percent of flu fighting Vitamin D, and a full multivitamin. Because we care what goes into our kids bodies, these treats are lower in sugar, use Organic and Natural ingredients and contain NO high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes or sweeteners. On a delicious mission to help kids (and grown up kids!) everywhere be healthy and happy. Log on to http://wearesmartypants.com and find us on Facebook and Twitter @SmartyPantsKids.
About Vitamin Angels: Vitamin Angels is dedicated to reducing child mortality worldwide by advancing availability, access and use of essential micronutrients, especially Vitamin A, to newborns, infants and children under five. In 2010, Vitamin Angels will connect over 20,000,000 children in 40 countries, including the US, with the vital nutrients they need as a foundation for good health. To learn more about global malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and Vitamin Angels’ solution for change, visit www.vitaminangels.org.
[1] Wehler CA, Scott RI, & Anderson JJ. Community Childhood Hunger Identification Project: A survey of childhood hunger in the United States. Washington DC: Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), July 1995, p.22.
[11] The Links Between Nutrition and Cognitive Development of Children, 1998, Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Tip #1 – 10 Ways to Nurture Creativity
Posted Thursday, December 16th, 2010 Fay
Photo: Louisa Stokes
Support. Empower. Take your kids seriously. Respect their feelings.
When my older daughter was just under five, a friend of my mother’s presented her with a small toy. It was made of a velvety fabric; it used to hang on a string of a crib mobile at some point, way before it became my daughter’s best friend, something she held on to at all times.
Then, one very sad day, the toy vanished. My daughter was devastated, grief-stricken. She would not let go of the memory. I tried to find a replacement in stores. However, it was out of production and not available anywhere.
I could not bear to see my daughter mourn her loss so deeply. Determined to turn this awfully painful experience into a learning opportunity, I was able to demonstrate how much my daughter’s feelings mattered to me.
I decided to sew one for her; after all, I had some experience in stuffed-animal-making at a summer camp when I was seven. Armed with a tiny image of the lost treasure — a photograph of my daughter holding on to it — I designed a simple pattern.
I went to a fabric store and picked out yellow plush material. My daughter knew nothing of this project — I just did not want to get her hopes up. When I sat down to sew, it only took a couple of hours. Actually, all these years later, I remember doing it very clearly. I remember hoping beyond hope that my daughter would not reject such unskilled, crude and down-right ugly interpretation of her irreplaceable “transitional object.”
I put much care and love into it. I even added a special detail: made the eyes out of amber beads from a necklace. It worked. She was very happy; she did not mind the un-professional appearance! She gave the new toy the same name: Macaroni.
My daughter is in college by now, yet, when she makes her bed every morning, Macaroni is still placed next to the pillow.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alla Kazovsky, an award-winning architect and experienced creativity coach is no stranger to creative repression; she grew up in the Soviet Union. Having immigrated to the United States, she was able to uncover her own creative potential and has dedicated her life to helping others do the same.
Viscerally knowing the importance of nurturing imagination in all phases of life, Alla invented and directed Children’s Architecture Workshops held at SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture). In addition, she has been invited to design curricula and teach workshops for children and educators at various museums, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and Skirball Cultural Center. Kazovsky’s unique site-specific Discovery Carts helped thousands of families to gain greater understanding and enjoyment of The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens.
Check out Alla’s Huffington Post blog.
