NUTRITION ADVOCATE

Breastfeeding is the feeding of babies with milk from a woman's breast. This takes place immediately after delivery. The primary benefit of breast milk is nutritional. Breast milk contains just the right amount of lactose; water; essential fatty acids; and amino acids for brain development, growth, and digestion. No babies are allergic to their mother’s milk, although they may have reactions to something their mother eats. Human milk contains at least 100 ingredients not found in the formula. Sucking at the breast promotes good jaw development because it is harder work to get milk out of a breast than a bottle, and the exercise strengthens the jaws and encourages the growth of straight, healthy teeth.  Breastfeeding facilitates bonding between mother and child. The skin-to-skin contact helps a baby feel safe, secure and loved. Pediatricians encourage mothers of premature babies to hold their babies on their chests—skin to skin. This is called “kangaroo care,” which has been shown ...

All living things need food to survive. It gives us energy for everything that we do. It also gives the body what it needs to repair muscles, organs and skin. Food helps us fight off dangerous diseases. Food has nutrients in it— substances that give our body many important things that we need. They provide us with energy and also help control the way our body grows.  Before nutrients can go to work food must be broken down so that they can pass into our body. This is called digestion. It starts when we chew the food that we eat. When we swallow it it travels on to the stomach where it is mixed together with water and other fluids. Then the food is passed on to the intestine. Nutrients escape through the walls of the intestine into our blood. From there they are carried to all parts of the body. Most food leaves waste that the body cannot use. Some of it goes to the kidneys and turns into urine. The liver also filters out waste. What is left over passes through the large intestine a...