Sleep

Infant Sleep: What's Normal?

Getting Your Newborn to Sleep Like a Baby
-- By Jenny Sigler, Parenting & Pregnancy Writer

Comment: I like this article because it talks about one of the best remedies for chronic illness - sleep. So often parents are surprised when a child does not do well after a bad night, or a night of play, or a night of just staying up late to watch TV. Children, like everyone else, need REGULAR sleep, and that means getting to bed at the SAME time EVERY night with few exceptions. Children do best in a busy schedule if they go to bed before eight o'clock. Parents may not get the hours they want with kids that way, but the sleep kids get in those hours can make the difference between really good days and really bad days.

Inside the womb, your baby encountered too little light to distinguish night from day. And throughout gestation, your rhythmic movements and sounds also helped lull your little one to sleep. The womb was a warm, safe place for your child. There were no temperature changes, discomforts, loud noises, or sensations that weren't to her liking. Because of these comforts and the changes your baby encounters after birth, infants can't possibly have wake-sleep routines comparable to most adults.

Thrust into a world she isn't familiar with, it can be a complicated task to figure out how to coax her into resting peacefully with a routine that works with your own. Your baby has never been separated from you before, so you can't expect her to adjust quickly to a new set of routines and sleeping rules. As most new parents discover, it usually takes a team effort to lull a baby to sleep--especially as a newborn. But how do you know if your baby's sleeping habits are normal, and what can you do to help your baby get the right amount of sleep that she needs to be healthy?

What Is Normal?
Adults need six to eight hours of continuous rest each night. Babies, on the other hand, have more erratic patterns of sleeping. They usually need between 16 and 18 hours per 24-hour period. Of course, that amount of sleep is not continuous (though most parents would prefer it that way). Typically, those hours are pretty evenly spread over half a dozen naps throughout the day and night. Most newborn babies wake every two to three hours around the clock for a feeding, followed by an hour or two of wakefulness.

"Every baby is different." Are you tired of hearing that yet? Well, it's true! You probably know someone whose baby slept through the night at just six weeks old. But in truth, the majority of babies need at least two feedings per night up until they are about six months old. Some newborns are colicky and can cry for hours without discernable reason. This usually peaks at around six weeks and slowly subsides from there. Others always tend to be on the low end of the spectrum of sleep needs.

Your baby won't even begin to develop a circadian rhythm until she's about six to nine weeks old, and that rhythm doesn't mature until she's at least six months old. Babies will wake up and sleep often because they are made to do so. It is only our perceptions that lead us to believe that these patterns are problematic. Despite the blur of sleep deprivation that all new parents experience, try to persevere by knowing that the chaos usually settles down after baby settles into a more normal pattern when she's several weeks old. Beyond that, it's common for infants to awaken at least once per night until they reach 12 months of age.

Because so much of your newborn's life is spent feeding, it isn't uncommon to see her mimicking a sucking motion in her sleep. She might also twitch, snore, flutter her eyes, show a startle response at times, or make tiny, squeaky noises as she dreams--all of which are normal.

What Isn't Normal?
Sleeping Too Little
If your newborn sleeps less than the expectations outlined above, watch her closely--she may be overtired. Signs of exhaustion might include excessive crying or whining, being very clingy, or being very hyper.

Most infants, when going through a growth spurt (usually around the ages of 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, and 4 months), will nurse or want a bottle more often, and may even sleep less throughout the day. But most babies will sleep noticeably more (overall) during these growth periods because of the intense need to conserve energy.

If your baby isn't sleeping enough, you'll want to rule out other factors that may be preventing her from drifting off to sleep. Here are some things to try:

• White noise. Newborns are used to noise that they could hear in the womb. A house that is too quiet can actually cause stress for some babies. "White noise" from a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner or static on a radio can actually provide womb-like sounds that can help her relax and fall to sleep.
• Swaddling. Before birth, your baby was accustomed to very tight surroundings, which is why swaddling is recommended. If you are not swaddling your little one for sleeping times, or she is not swaddled tightly enough, she could be experiencing stress that prevents her from sleeping.
• Warmth. Your baby is used to living in a 98-degree environment, and is not yet efficient at regulating her own body temperature. Ensure that baby is warm, snug, and cozy enough to sleep. Swaddles will help maintain her body temperature, but in colder weather, make sure she is dressed appropriately to stay warm. Pay particular attention to her feet.

Sleeping Too Much
If your child is getting dramatically more sleep than you feel she should, speak to your pediatrician to see if there is an underlying cause. It is not uncommon for some newborns to sleep a great deal in the initial weeks. But this can become problematic if your baby is sleeping so much that she's not eating enough. If you have a "sleepy baby," you'll have to wake her every few hours for a feeding. Try:

• Changing her diaper before a feeding
• Removing all her clothes (except diaper) so she's not so warm and cozy
• Wiping baby with a cool, wet washcloth
• Rubbing an ice cube on the soles of her feet

If none of these tricks keep your baby awake long enough to consistently take full feedings, contact your health care provider to discuss possible causes of sleepiness. When older babies sleep more, it isn't as much of a concern as long as they are eating well at feeding times.

Creating a Sleep Routine
Children of all ages thrive on consistent routine. It is a good idea to create a nighttime sleep ritual, and possibly an abbreviated version of it for naptime. After a few weeks, your baby will catch on that a certain order of bathing, massage, changing into pajamas, reading a book, and feeding always ends in sleep time. Create your own routine that includes singing songs, rocking, using a pacifier, going for a walk, or something else pleasant and soothing.

During the day, encourage your newborn to distinguish between the light of day and the dark of night by exposing her to sunlight and fresh air. When she naps, don't try to make it too dark or be overly quiet. She will learn to prefer the dark and quiet times for sleeping. Conversely, keep the lights very dim at night to enhance restfulness, and try playing some white noise (like a fan or humidifier) to help lull your baby to sleep. Some babies enjoy drifting off to sleep while listening to soft music or CDs that mimic the sounds they heard while in the womb.

Learn to read your baby's cues and respond (start your sleep routine) at his first signs of tiredness, which may include rubbing his eyes, yawning, looking "glazed", generally slowing down in activity, or becoming disinterested in whatever he was doing. A baby will sleep longer if she falls asleep when she isn't overly tired, which is the opposite of what many parents think. If you miss the early signs, your baby will become overly tired and experience difficulty calming down and falling asleep.

In The Happiest Baby on the Block, author Harvey Karp recommends "The S's" to help your baby sleep better and longer--swaddling, shushing sounds, swinging, sucking, and more. Almost all babies love to be wrapped tightly in a swaddling blanket, and most parents find it very effective. The womb is a noisy place, so babies love loud, white noises. Try getting close to your baby's ear and making a loud "shh" noise, and note his response. (Most babies love this!)

Realistic Expectations
Some schools of thought are too rigid, calling for strict rules that "break" baby of certain habits until he is on a schedule. Other theories might be too lax, giving a baby too much freedom to make up his own routine. The solution is different for everyone but for most, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Your baby and your intuition are the best guides to getting through the ins and outs of infant sleeping patterns. "Sleeping through the night" is defined as five consecutive hours, but focus your goals on the quality of your baby's rest--not some scientific expectation for quantity.

Above all, set realistic expectations for your baby. A compromise made out of love--not convenience for just the parent(s) or just the baby--must be made so that the needs of each family member are respected. After all, keep in mind that your little one is just as new to living outside the womb as you are to parenting him. It's a process for you to get to know one another, learn each other's language, and learn to respond lovingly.

Green Beans

The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization free of commercial influence, which provides this website for you free of charge. Our purpose is to provide you with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle.

Green beans

Commonly referred to as string beans, the string that once was their trademark can seldom be found in modern varieties. Although these bright green and crunchy beans are available at your local market throughout the year, they are in season from summer through early fall when they are at their best and the least expensive.

Green beans are picked while still immature and the inner bean is just beginning to form. They are one of only a few varieties of beans that are eaten fresh. Although green beans vary in size they average about four inches in length. They are usually deep emerald green in color and come to a slight point at either end. They contain tiny seeds within their thin pods.

• Health Benefits
• Description
• History
• How to Select and Store
• How to Enjoy
• Safety
• Nutritional Profile
• References

Health Benefits

Green beans, while quite low in calories (just 43.75 calories in a whole cup), are loaded with enough nutrients to not only power up the Jolly Green Giant, but to put a big smile on his face. Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. Plus green beans are very good source of vitamin A (notably through their concentration of carotenoids including beta-carotene), dietary fiber, potassium, folate, and iron. And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorous, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin.

Helping You Bone Up

The vitamin K provided by green beans-25% of the daily value in one cup-is important for maintaining strong bones. Vitamin K1 activates osteocalcin, the major non-collagen protein in bone. Osteocalcin anchors calcium molecules inside of the bone. Therefore, without enough vitamin K1, osteocalcin levels are inadequate, and bone mineralization is impaired.

Offer Cardiovascular Protection

For atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease, few foods compare to green beans in their number of helpful nutrients. Green beans are a very good source of vitamin A, notably through their concentration of beta-carotene, and an excellent source of vitamin C. These two nutrients are important antioxidants that work to reduce the amounts of free radicals in the body, vitamin C as a water-soluble antioxidant and beta-carotene as a fat-soluble one. This water-and-fat-soluble antioxidant team helps to prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized. Oxidized cholesterol is able to stick to and build up in blood vessel walls, where it can cause blocked arteries, heart attack or stroke. Getting plenty of beta-carotene and vitamin C can help prevent these complications, and a cup of green beans will provide you with 16.6% of the daily value for vitamin A along with 20.2% of the daily value for vitamin C.

Green beans are also a very good source of fiber, a very good source of potassium and folate, and a good source of magnesium and riboflavin. Each of these nutrients plays a significant cardio-protective role.

Magnesium and potassium work together to help lower high blood pressure, while folate is needed to convert a potentially dangerous molecule called homocysteine into other, benign molecules (the riboflavin in green beans may also serve to protect against the build up of homocysteine in certain individuals). Since homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls if not promptly converted, high levels are associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Lastly, fiber, which is also found in green beans, has been shown to lower high cholesterol levels. A cup of green beans supplies 16.0% of the daily value for fiber, 10.7% of the DV for potassium, 7.8% of the DV for magnesium, and 10.4% of the DV for folate. What this all adds up to is a greatly reduced risk of atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

Promotes Colon Health

Green beans may also help prevent colon cancer. The vitamin C and beta-carotene in green beans help to protect the colon cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Green beans' folate helps to prevent DNA damage and mutations in colon cells, even when they are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. Studies show that people who eat foods high in vitamin C, beta-carotene, and/or folate are at a much lower risk of getting colon cancer than those who don't.

Green beans' fiber can help prevent colon cancer as well, as it has the ability to bind to cancer-causing toxins, removing them from the body before they can harm colon cells.

Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients

Beta-carotene and vitamin C both also have very strong anti-inflammatory effects. This may make green beans helpful for reducing the severity of diseases where inflammation plays a major role, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Green beans are a good source of riboflavin, which has been shown to help reduce the frequency of migraine attacks in people who suffer from them. Riboflavin's protective role in energy production may explain why. The oxygen-containing molecules the body uses to produce energy can be highly reactive and can inadvertently cause damage the mitochondria and even the cells themselves. In the mitochondria, such damage is largely prevented by a small, protein-like molecule called glutathione. Like many "antioxidant" molecules, glutathione must be constantly recycled, and it is vitamin B2 that allows this recycling to take place. (Technically, vitamin B2 is a cofactor for the enzyme glutathione reductase that reduces the oxidized form of glutathione back to its reduced version.) A cup of green beans supplies 7.1% of the DV for riboflavin.

Iron for Energy

Green beans are a very good source of iron, an especially important mineral for menstruating women, who are more at risk for iron deficiency. Boosting iron stores with green beans is a good idea, especially because, in comparison to red meat, a well-known source of iron, green beans provide iron for a lot less calories and are totally fat-free. Iron is an integral component of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, and is also part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. And, if you're pregnant or lactating, your needs for iron increase. Growing children and adolescents also have increased needs for iron. In one cup of green beans, you'll be provided with 8.9% of the daily value for iron.

Rich in Minerals for Energy and Antioxidant Protection

As noted above, green beans are a very good source of iron. Iron is as essential part of hemoglobin, a molecule essential to energy production since it is responsible for transporting and releasing oxygen throughout the body. But hemoglobin synthesis also relies on copper. Without copper, iron cannot be properly utilized in red blood cells. Fortunately, both minerals are supplied in green beans, which also contain 6.5% of the daily value for copper.

In addition to its role in hemoglobin synthesis, copper may be helpful in reducing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Copper, along with manganese (yet another trace mineral for which green beans are an excellent source), is an essential cofactor of a key oxidative enzyme called superoxide dismutase. Superoxide dismutase disarms free radicals produced within the mitochondria (the energy production factories within our cells). Copper is also necessary for the activity of lysyl oxidase, an enzyme involved in cross-linking collagen and elastin, both of which provide the ground substance and flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints. One cup of green beans provides 18.5% of the DV for manganese.

Vitamins C, A and Zinc for Optimal Immune Function

Green beans' vitamin A (through its concentration of beta-carotene) and vitamin C are part of the sine qua non of a healthy immune system. Beta-carotene and vitamin A are fat-soluble antioxidants, while vitamin C functions as an antioxidant in the water-soluble areas of the body. So, between their beta-carotene and vitamin C content, green beans have all areas covered against damage from oxygen free radicals.

In addition to its antioxidant activity, vitamin C is critical for good immune function. Vitamin C stimulates white cells to fight infection, directly kills many bacteria and viruses, and regenerates vitamin E after it has been inactivated by disarming free radicals.

Description

While green beans are typically referred to as string beans, many varieties no longer actually feature the fibrous 'string' that runs down the length of the earlier varieties. Green beans are also commonly known as snap beans. Haricots verts are French green beans that are very thin and very tender.

Green beans are in the same family as shell beans, such as pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans. Yet unlike their cousins, green beans' entire bean, pod and seed, can be eaten.

Green beans range in size, but they usually average four inches in length. They are usually deep emerald green in color and come to a slight point at either end. They contain tiny seeds within their thin pods.

The scientific name for green beans is Phaseolus vulgaris.

History

Green beans and other beans, such are kidney beans, navy beans and black beans are all known scientifically as Phaseolus vulgaris. They are all referred to as "common beans," probably owing to the fact that they all derived from a common bean ancestor that originated in Peru. From there, they were spread throughout South and Central America by migrating Indian tribes. They were introduced into Europe around the 16h century by Spanish explorers returning from their voyages to the New World, and subsequently were spread through many other parts of the world by Spanish and Portuguese traders. Today, the largest commercial producers of fresh green beans include the United States, China, Japan, Spain, Italy and France.

How to Select and Store

If possible, purchase green beans at a store or farmer's market that sells them loose so that you can sort through them to choose the beans of best quality. Purchase beans that have smooth feel and a vibrant green color, and that are free from brown spots or bruises. They should have a firm texture and 'snap' when broken.

Store unwashed fresh beans pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days.

How to Enjoy

For some of our favorite recipes, click Recipes.

Tips for Preparing Green Beans:

Just prior to using the green beans, wash them under running water. Remove both ends of the beans by either snapping them off or cutting them with a knife.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Green beans are a classic ingredient in Salad Nicoise, a French cold salad dish that combines steamed green beans with tuna fish and potatoes.

Healthy sauté green beans with shiitake mushrooms.

Prepare the perennial favorite, green beans almondine, by sprinking slivered almonds on healthy sautéed beans.

Roast green beans, red peppers and garlic, and combine with olive oil and seasonings to make a delicious salad.

Add chopped green beans to breakfast frittatas.

Safety

Green Beans and Oxalates

Green beans are among a small number of foods that contain measurable amounts of oxalates, naturally-occurring substances found in plants, animals, and human beings. When oxalates become too concentrated in body fluids, they can crystallize and cause health problems. For this reason, individuals with already existing and untreated kidney or gallbladder problems may want to avoid eating green beans. Laboratory studies have shown that oxalates may also interfere with absorption of calcium from the body. Yet, in every peer-reviewed research study we've seen, the ability of oxalates to lower calcium absorption is relatively small and definitely does not outweigh the ability of oxalate-containing foods to contribute calcium to the meal plan. If your digestive tract is healthy, and you do a good job of chewing and relaxing while you enjoy your meals, you will get significant benefits - including absorption of calcium - from calcium-rich foods plant foods that also contain oxalic acid. Ordinarily, a healthcare practitioner would not discourage a person focused on ensuring that they are meeting their calcium requirements from eating these nutrient-rich foods because of their oxalate content. For more on this subject, please see "Can you tell me what oxalates are and in which foods they can be found?"

Nutritional Profile

Green beans are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese. They are also a very good source of vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, folate and iron. In addition, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, copper, calcium, phosphorous, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Green beans.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Green beans is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents; the nutrient density rating; and the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Green beans, boiled 1.00 cup 125.00 grams 43.75 calories Nutrient Amount DV (%) Nutrient Density World's Healthiest Foods Rating vitamin K 20.00 mcg 25.0 10.3 excellent vitamin C 12.13 mg 20.2 8.3 excellent manganese 0.37 mg 18.5 7.6 excellent vitamin A 832.50 IU 16.6 6.9 very good dietary fiber 4.00 g 16.0 6.6 very good potassium 373.75 mg 10.7 4.4 very good folate 41.63 mcg 10.4 4.3 very good tryptophan 0.03 g 9.4 3.9 very good iron 1.60 mg 8.9 3.7 very good magnesium 31.25 mg 7.8 3.2 good vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 0.12 mg 7.1 2.9 good copper 0.13 mg 6.5 2.7 good vitamin B1 (thiamin) 0.09 mg 6.0 2.5 good calcium 57.50 mg 5.8 2.4 good phosphorus 48.75 mg 4.9 2.0 good protein 2.36 g 4.7 1.9 good omega 3 fatty acids 0.11 g 4.4 1.8 good vitamin B3 (niacin) 0.77 mg 3.9 1.6 good World's Healthiest Foods Rating Rule excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10% very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5% good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Green beans

The Garden School Tattler

Good Morning!

I haven't posted in a while because I've been traveling. My husband and I traveled to a small town in Southern Alabama where my daughter lives. She had a minor surgery and Terry and I were there to escort her and make sure she got home safely. As I told Kelly, no matter how old a child gets, she or he is still your baby. I really enjoyed doing this for Katy.

This week is our finale week. We will swim Tuesday and Wednesday and go up to the lake on Friday. We encourage parents to come on this field trip. It's a sign up only weekend. Please let teachers know if you are going to come for the sake of having enough food. Even if you drive, we need to know because of food. There is no place to buy food there.

We will be having a cookout and make the usual summer stuff. It's a marvelous place to tour and then to swim. We will go up to the Garden of the Gods to see the rock formations and take in the view, and then over to the lake to swim. It's a beautiful sandy beach lake and mostly shallow!

The following week we will be going swimming on Tuesday and Wednesday, but school opens for Warrick County on Thursday, and Friday we will take the other children to Audubon Park and be back early for school pickups. We will try to get to Ellis Park and watch the horses run if possible.

Then the next week, Vanderburgh County schools start and we will probably not swim or travel. It will be our first in school week with testing and getting ready to start school.

Summer seems to be evaporating before my eyes. It's been a great summer. I hope the kids have enjoyed it. So many of them have learned to swim and go off the board.

This summer we were slammed by a grandparent who could not understand why we even bothered with field trips or swimming. "Swimming!," she railed, "What can a child possibly learn by swimming?"

The truth is, our summers are the counter balance of a whole year of pencil pushing. What do swimming and traveling teach children? Traveling and doing teach children about the world around them while they teach them to be a part of it. Swimming says to a child, "I can, and I can do this all by myself. I can accomplish anything I really try to do." At the same time, there is a special bond created with the teacher who teaches swimming. A child looks at that teacher differently. Holding a child in a swimming pool and showing them how to stay parallel in a pool, kick, stroke, and just make their way in the water, or standing at the side watching a child jump from the board saying, "You can do this; you can achieve this huge accomplishment," is about the best "teachable" moment I know of.

My young teachers are skeptical about this at first because in school they learn to teach in small increments, but after a summer of teaching, they realize just how powerful that bridge is, and how much the teacher-student relationship improves and increases. Going back to school after a summer of swimming is a snap.

It's funny how we can always tell the difference between a child we've had all summer and one who is new in the fall. Travel with kids will teach a teacher so much about a child. The child begins to depend on the teacher, open up, and create a traveling bond with jokes, and a rhythm that continues year after year. I see it in all our returnees who come back every summer to continue the special bond for a few weeks. Children who are not allowed to travel with us lose out on this special part of our community.

Do we travel in the fall and winter and spring? You bet, but it's shorter and not so hurried. We can't get very far because our wonderful bus driver, Miss Sandy, needs to do her route and she must always return to the city at 1:00 and that doesn't leave us much time.

The Garden School Tattler

I haven't written a Tattler post for a few days. It's just been such a lovely few days, I've been out side and working on other projects. I have so many irons in the fire, it's hard to touch base with any of them much less than all of them, and this weekend I was able to do some of the things a hectic schedule at school often forbids.

We had a really interesting time at the Louisville Zoo on Friday. We got there and discovered that four of our children were coming down with that fever. Quick calls to moms and a bottle of Motrin saved the day. The big question was do we amend the day or make it through. It was a really tough question. I think we handled it very well.

We had a brisk tour of one side of the zoo before lunch and another brisk tour of the other side after lunch. We ate at "Goose Point" which is my name for the picnic table place. We were inundated with geese. I'm not sure how our guests liked eating with geese, but the children and I loved it. We fed and fed and played and played. "Don't encourage them," said Mrs. St. Louis as I flung them big bits of tortilla.

"Honk, honk, honk," said the geese gobbling up my encouragement.

"I'm the food person, remember?" I said quietly so nobody would hear. Life is so much fun! I love geese and plan to retire someday among a flock of my own.

We saw bats including a nest of vampire bats drinking blood from a bowl. We saw a bat giving itself a bath. We saw penguins swimming and sleeping. We saw the white crock and other crocks who actually yawned at Miss Amy.

We saw the wolf daddy, the polar bear, the puma and mate, we saw the inside snake and frog and spider house, we saw the bald eagle and flamingo pavilions, the jaguar, the baboon sitting regally atop his rock mountain. These were our first sights.

I stayed back with the sick kids while the tour continued after lunch, and they saw camels, rhinos, elephants, and other larger animals.

The Louisville Zoo is well worth the day trip.

The kids were very well behaved and we had a good time.

Our field trip this week will be local. I will be out of town for a couple of days, and they've decided to do a local trip to be posted later.

Then a week from this Friday is our Garden of the Gods and Pounds Hollow trip. This is one of our favorites. Parent are strongly encouraged to come.

Olives

The George Mateljan Foundation is a non-profit organization free of commercial influence, which provides this website for you free of charge. Our purpose is to provide you with unbiased scientific information about how nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods can promote vibrant health and energy and fit your personal needs and busy lifestyle.

Olives

Olives are harvested in September but available year round to make a zesty addition to salads, meat and poultry dishes and, of course, pizza.

Olives cannot be eaten right off of the tree; they require special processing to reduce their intrinsic bitterness. These processing methods vary with the olive variety, region where they are cultivated and the desired taste, texture and color. Some olives are picked green and unripe, while others are allowed to fully ripen on the tree to a black color. Yet, not all of the black olives available begin with a black color. Some processing methods expose unripe greens olives to the air, and the subsequent oxidation turns them a dark color. In addition to the original color of the olive, the color is affected by fermentation and/or curing in oil, water, brine or salt.

• Health Benefits
• Description
• History
• How to Select and Store
• How to Enjoy
• Safety
• Nutritional Profile
• References

Health Benefits

Olives are concentrated in monounsaturated fats and a good source of vitamin E. Because monounsaturated fats are less easily damaged than polyunsaturated fats, it's good to have some in our cells' outer membranes and other cell structures that contain fats, such as the membranes that surround the cell's DNA and each of its energy-producing mitochondria. The stability of monounsaturated fats translates into a protective effect on the cell that, especially when combined with the antioxidant protection offered by vitamin E, can lower the risk of damage and inflammation. In addition to vitamin E, olives contain a variety of beneficial active phytonutrient compounds including polyphenols and flavonoids, which also appear to have significant anti-inflammatory properties.

Cellular Protection Against Free Radicals

Vitamin E is the body's primary fat-soluble antioxidant. It goes after and directly neutralizes free radicals in all the fat-rich areas of the body. In combination, stable monounsaturated fats and vitamin E add a significant safety factor to cellular processes like energy production, a process that generates free radicals even when things are running smoothly.

When cellular processes such as mitochondrial energy production are not well protected, the free radicals produced can interact with and damage any nearby molecules—a process called oxidation. When a cell's mitochondria become damaged, the cell cannot produce enough energy to supply its needs and dies. If a cell's DNA becomes damaged, the cell may mutate and become cancerous.

Protection From Heart Disease

Free radical damage can lead to numerous ailments. For example, when free radicals cause the oxidation of cholesterol, the oxidized cholesterol damages blood vessels and builds up in arteries, and can eventually lead to heart attack or stroke. So, by preventing the oxidation of cholesterol, the nutrients in olives help to prevent heart disease.

Support Gastrointestinal Health

If free radicals damage the cellular DNA in colon cells, the cells can mutate into cancer cells. By neutralizing free radicals, the nutrients in olives help prevent colon cancer. A higher intake of both vitamin E and the monounsaturated fats in olives is actually associated with lower rates of colon cancer.

Beneficial Anti-Inflammatory Effects

The anti-inflammatory actions of the monounsaturated fats, vitamin E and polyphenols in olives may also help reduce the severity of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, three conditions where most of the damage is caused by high levels of free radicals. The vitamin E in olives may even help to reduce the frequency and/or intensity of hot flashes in women going through menopause.

Description

Olives are fruits of the tree known as Olea europaea. "Olea" is the Latin word for "oil," reflecting the olives very high fat content, of which 75% is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels. "Europaea" reminds us that olives are native to the Mediterranean region of Europe.

Olives cannot be eaten right off of the tree; they require special processing to reduce their intrinsic bitterness, caused by the glycoside oleuropein, which is concentrated in their skin. These processing methods vary with the olive variety, cultivation region, and the desired taste, texture and color to be created.

Some olives are picked green and unripe, while others are allowed to fully ripen on the tree to a black color. Yet, not all of the black olives available begin with a black color. Some processing methods expose unripe greens olives to the air, and the subsequent oxidation turns them a dark color.

In addition to the original color of the olive determining its finished characteristics, the color is affected by a variety of processing methods that olives undergo including fermentation and/or curing in oil, water, brine or salt. These methods may not only cause the olives to turn black, purple, brown, red, or yellow, but they also affect the skin texture, causing it to be smooth and shiny or wrinkled.

Some of the many available delicious varieties of olives include Moroccan oil-cured, Kalamata, Nicoise, Picholine and Manzanilla. In addition to varying in size and appearance, the flavor of olives spans the range from sour to smoky to bitter to acidic. In addition to whole olives, you can often find them pitted.

Olive oil is available in a variety of grades that reflects the degree to which it has been processed. Extra-virgin is the initial unrefined oil from the first pressing. Virgin olive oil is also derived from the first pressing but has a higher acidity level than extra virgin olive oil (as well as less phytonutrients and a less delicate taste). Chemically, the difference bewtween an extra virgin oil and a virgin oil involves the amount of free oleic acid, which is a marker for overall acidity. According to the standards adopted by the International Olive Oil Council, "virgin" can contain up to 2% free oleic acid, while "extra virgin" can contain up to 0.8% of free oleic acid. Pure olive oil usually means a lower-quality oil produced from subsequent pressings.

History

Olives, one of the oldest foods known, are thought to have originated in Crete between five and seven thousand years ago. Their use quickly spread throughout Egypt, Greece, Palestine and Asia Minor.

Olives are mentioned in the Bible, depicted in ancient Egyptian art, and played an important role in Greek mythology. Since ancient times, the olive tree has provided food, fuel, timber and medicine for many civilizations. It has also been regarded as a symbol of peace and wisdom. Olive oil has been consumed since 3000 BC.

Olives were brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the 15th and 16th century. Franciscan missinariesw introduced olives into California in the late 18th century. Today, much of the commercial cultivation of olives occurs in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

How to Select and Store

While olives have been traditionally sold in jars and cans, many stores are now offering them in bulk in large barrels. Buying bulk olives will allow you to experiment with many different types with which you may be unfamiliar and to purchase only as many as you need at one time.

While whole olives are very common, you may also find ones that have been pitted, as well as olives that have been stuffed with either peppers, garlic or almonds. If you purchase olives in bulk, make sure that the store has a good turnover and keeps their olives immersed in brine for freshness and to retain moistness.

Olives will keep freshest if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

How to Enjoy

Tips for Preparing Olives:

To pit olives, press them with the flat side of a broad bladed knife. This will help break the flesh so that you can easily remove the pit with your fingers or the knife. The brine in which olives are packed can be used as a replacement for salted water in recipes.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Olive tapenade is a delicious and easy-to-make spread that you can use as a dip, sandwich spread, or topping for fish and poultry. To make it, put pitted olives in a food processor with olive oil, garlic, and your favorite seasonings.

Toss pasta with chopped olives, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and fresh herbs of your choice.

Marinate olives in olive oil, lemon zest, coriander seeds and cumin seeds.

Add chopped olives to your favorite tuna or chicken salad recipe.

Set out a small plate of olives on the dinner table along with some vegetable crudités for your family to enjoy with the meal.

Safety

Olives are not a commonly allergenic food, are not known to contain measurable amounts of goitrogens, oxalates, or purines, and are also not included in the Environmental Working Group's 2006 report "Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce" as one of the 12 foods most frequently containing pesticide residues.

Nutritional Profile

Olives are a very good source of monounsaturated fat and a good source of iron, vitamin E, copper, and dietary fiber.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Olives.

In-Depth Nutritional Profile

In addition to the nutrients highlighted in our ratings chart, an in-depth nutritional profile for Olives is also available. This profile includes information on a full array of nutrients, including carbohydrates, sugar, soluble and insoluble fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more.

Introduction to Food Rating System Chart

The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents; the nutrient density rating; and the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.

Olives 1.00 cup 134.40 grams 154.56 calories Nutrient Amount DV (%) Nutrient Density World's Healthiest Foods Rating iron 4.44 mg 24.7 2.9 good vitamin E 4.03 mg 20.1 2.3 good dietary fiber 4.30 g 17.2 2.0 good copper 0.34 mg 17.0 2.0 good World's Healthiest Foods Rating Rule excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10% very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5% good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%

In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Olives

Praise

The Right Way to Praise Your Child
Greeley Tribune - Greeley, Colorado

Comment: this sounds a little Alfie Kohn. Not my favorite, but none the less worth reading. I think the question is: do we simply knee jerk our responses, or do we carefully make compliments that mean something. And for that matter, what's the rest of our language skill like?

Promises for Children Promise #7: We promise to help parents learn positive parenting skills in our community.

We hear it all the time -- we need to provide positive reinforcement and praise to our children, so they grow up possessing good self- esteem. But did you know that some praise actually makes children uncomfortable? And some can even inspire children to act out in a negative way --even as pre-schoolers?

How Does Praise Affect You?

How do you react when someone says you're a great cook? Or tells you how smart you are? Or makes a remark about how handsome, or pretty you are? Do you deny the compliment? Do you feel threatened? Do you doubt the truth of the person? These are actually quite normal reactions to what's known as positive judgment. You're not responding to the positive nature of the compliment. It's the judgment that bothers you. And it can really do a number on your kids.

The Negative Power of Positive Judgment.

It's normal for parents to think their child is the brightest, most talented and cutest thing on the planet. But praise like, "you're great...terrific...incredible" can be too much for anybody, even small children. Extravagant praise is hard to take. And if you're like most people, you probably get uncomfortable whenever someone evaluates you. When someone tells you how pretty you are, most of us have an inner voice that reminds us of a time when we felt ugly. Children are no different. They often push away praise that evaluates, and sometime will act out in a negative manner. For example, if you tell a child what a great artist she is, she might tell you that her friend is better at drawing. If you tell your son he's a terrific pitcher, he might become embarrassed by your bragging.

Evaluative praise can also make a child come to depend on the approval of others.

Ask yourself, "Does my praise make my child more dependent upon me and my approval? Do my words help her see her strengths and abilities?" And while it's easy to toss out phrases like "Good Job! Wonderful! That's Great!," it's a form of praise that gets children to conform to our wishes. It leads children to measure their worth in terms of what will make us smile and offer the words of praise they want.

Descriptive Praise Works Wonders.

Instead of evaluating your child in praise, try descriptive praise. Start by describing exactly what your child did. "Aidan, you did a great job striking out those two batters." By doing this, your child will probably recognize the truth in your statement and feel comfortable accepting it. Oftentimes, the child will then accept his or her accomplishment, and praise himself. "Wow, I really am pitching better."

It's true that descriptive praise takes more time and thought, but the payoff is very much worth it. It offers unconditional love, rather than love that is conditional upon your approval. Descriptive praise has positive results:

» Children become independent and creative thinkers.

» They don't look to others for approval.

» They grow up to trust themselves and their own judgment.

» They develop the confidence to determine if they're happy with their actions or not.

» They learn how to make changes in their behavior based on their own evaluations.

Positive Judgment Descriptive Praise

Old habits can be hard to break. Don't beat yourself up if you praise with positive judgment from time to time. But to help your child development that all-important positive sense of self, try to remember: Describe what you see and hear. And then describe what you feel. It will make a difference.

Linda Neigherbauer is the Director of Monfort Early Childhood Center on the Greeley campus of Aims Community College. She serves on the Coordinating Council for Promises for children and has been in the field of early childhood education for 35 years.

Flax Seed

Flaxseed: A Plant Powerhouse

Comment: this is a wonderful substance and well worth using. It has a nutty taste and is a great additive to doughs and salads and even Parmesan cheese as a "shake on." Anything to make us better...

This Tiny Seed Has Big Benefits
-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Flaxseed has been a part of human and animal diets for thousands of years. Even in the days of Hippocrates, flaxseed was eaten for its health benefits. Recently, however, flaxseed has gained popularity among health conscious Americans.

A Nutritional Plant Powerhouse
Flaxseed is the best plant source of omega-3 fatty acids (a healthy type of polyunsaturated fat). It also contains both soluble and insoluble fiber in addition to being one of the best plant sources for lignans, a type of phytoestrogen. These little seeds pack a big nutritional punch! One tablespoon of flaxseed contains:

• Calories: 40
• Protein: 1.6 grams
• Carbohydrate: 2.8 grams
• Fat: 2.8 grams (including .3 grams saturated, .6 grams monounsaturated, and 1.8 grams polyunsaturated)
• Fiber: 2.5-8 grams
• Sodium: 3 milligrams

Health Benefits
Research shows that flaxseed may have the ability to:

• Prevent cancer and reduce tumor growth in the breast, prostate and colon.
• Decrease the risks of developing heart disease, blood clots, strokes, and cardiac arrhythmia by lowering total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure.
• Regulate bowel functions and prevent constipation.
• Relieve breast pain related to a woman's hormonal cycle.
• Possibly improve blood glucose control in diabetics.
• Help reduce inflammation associated with arthritis, Parkinson's disease and asthma.
• Promote eye and brain development in utero.

Flaxseed Types
Most grocery stores do sell packaged flaxseed on their shelves, but natural foods stores tend to also offer it in bulk form. There are two "types" of flaxseed: brown and golden. Although the color and price differ, the nutritional benefits are the same. The brown flaxseed is less expensive than the golden, but because golden flaxseed is lighter in color, it's easier to hide in a variety of foods.

The Grind
To receive all the wonderful benefits of flaxseed, it MUST be ground. Flaxseed grinders are available at kitchen stores and online, but an electric coffee grinder or manual pepper grinder will work just as well. For convenience, you can purchase ground flaxseed (sometimes called flaxseed "meal"), but it will cost more. Be sure to check the date on the package for freshness.

Ground flaxseed is naturally exposed to air and light, both of which can cause rancidity and nutrient loss. To prevent this, store your ground flaxseed in an opaque, airtight container placed in the freezer.

Serving Suggestions
More studies are needed to determine flaxseed's effects in Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women, but most researchers feel that 1 Tablespoon daily is safe. Check with your physician first. It is possible to get too much flaxseed. Some studies have shown nutrient and drug interactions with the consumption of 1/4 a cup daily, so discuss this with your doctor and pharmacist. A small number of people may have an allergic reaction to flaxseed; therefore start with 1/2 teaspoon to see if an allergic reaction occurs.

Studies have also shown that lignans in flaxseed antagonize the action of some drugs (including tamoxifen) used by breast cancer patients.

Adding Flaxseed to Your Diet
Flaxseed can add flavor and texture to almost any food:

• Sprinkle on cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, salads, and coleslaw
• Mix into meatloaf and meatballs
• Add to pancake, muffin, cookie batter and other baked goods
• Add to fish or chicken coating and oven-fry
• Sprinkle on casseroles, sauces, soups and stews

The Garden School Tattler

We had some graduations yesterday from different parts of the pool. Hannah and Morgan and Jasmin went off the board yesterday for the first time. They absolutely loved it. Having full freedom to go anywhere in the pool really makes these girls summers special.

Stoggy and Bryce and Jackson also graduated to the deep end. In another week, we'll try them on the board! It's so exciting to witness fear of water in the face to going off the board. It makes the whole of swimming worth while.

Nearly every child is getting into to pool and going under. We still have some children who are trying to always touch the bottom and not explore the swimming part of swimming. One has to be parallel to the surface not perpendicular to swim.

I'm really proud of all of them.

The Garden School Tattler

It was a great slow day yesterday at school. We worked on making beads to paint and string from earth clay. The children enjoyed just hanging out.

We had a barbecued chicken lunch with corn on the cob, baked biscuits and fresh nectarines and a green salad with garden grown tomatoes.

Our garden is producing blackberries, cucumbers and tomatoes and basil which we are using in our homemade sourdough bread. We are expecting peppers, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes and beans.

Today is launch day for several kids at the pool. We're going to see who is swimming and who is ready to take the big plunge in the deep end. Nearly every child is going under - even Bill! It's going to be hot, so we're going to be tired! You have to save your energy with lounge days at school.

I got this little movie from Susie E - just click here!

The Garden School Tattler

We had an outstanding time at the cave on Friday. The kids were so well behaved and the trip seemed to go quickly. We left a little late, and I worried that it would all come out with enough time to do what we needed to do.

We made our way through the beautiful state of Kentucky and the children found friendship on the bus and the passing of farms and bridges and trucks enough to keep them occupied. We saw several deer and a wild turkey who crossed the path of the bus.

We arrived on time, thanks to Sandy, and had a very quick lunch of the usual salads and cold cuts and cookies and fruit and vegetables and milk, and then we took right off for the tour.

The tour started with Mr. Richard Howell separating our group from a group of adults. I was hoping this would happen, because our youngest, Devin, has very short legs, and he can't keep up with a lot of adults. So Mr. Richard let us take our time and we moseyed through the cave in child time and he' d leisurely stop here and there and point out something.

At one point I was crawling on my hands and knees - it was about 350 feet down on level five. The ground was slick and the little snaky paths cut ions ago in the floor of the cave was something someone should duplicate for playground use.

I was delighted with the bathroom on level four! We saw bats, cave creepers and lots of rocks. At one point William had near heart failure as the lights went out and Mr. Richard had to run ahead and turn them on while he left us in the dark. It was all fun and we learned a lot about absolute darkness!

We walked two miles underground, climbing a final tower that went at least 50 feet up a cave shaft and opened onto level three. We climbed and climbed across bottomless pits and old cave river bottoms. "Here's where it floods when it rains," said Mr. Richard. "This whole section is under water to here," and he raised his hand to a ribbon that had been tied to a pole. It was very reassuring that it wasn't raining at that moment - or was it? You can't tell 300 feet underground.

It was a very exciting trip and I think the kids really enjoyed it. Mammoth Cave is the largest cave in the world and because this is so close, we think the kids should enjoy it.

Next week - the Louisville Zoo!

Exercise

Comment: I always grieve for children who leave us to go on to public school where they will spend hours at a desk each day and only minutes running. It's a time when a lot of kids put on weight. Exercise habits begin in youth. Active children become active adults. Inactive children become children with type II diabetes.

Heart Healthy Benefits of Exercise

Your Body Benefits from Your Hard Work
-- By Jen Mueller, Certified Personal Trainer

"Exercise improves your health." You hear it all the time, but what does that really mean? How much of a difference can exercise make in your life, and how much do you really need to do? You’ll be happy to know that you don’t need to spend countless hours in the gym to achieve the heart-health benefits of getting active.

Lower Blood Pressure

• A study by the National Institutes of Health showed that regular exercise (30+ minutes of moderate activity, 5+ days a week) reduced blood pressure in 75% of subjects who had high blood pressure. The reductions were approximately 10 mmHg for both systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
• According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the blood pressure lowering effects of exercise can be observed as soon as one to three hours after a single 30- 45 minute workout! This response can linger for up to nine hours post-exercise. Permanent blood pressure changes can be seen as early as three weeks to three months after beginning an exercise program.

Improve Cholesterol Levels

• A 2001 review involving patients with high cholesterol demonstrated a change in HDL (good cholesterol) and LDL (bad cholesterol) levels after a 12-week exercise program. On average, subjects experienced a 4.6% increase in HDL, a 5.0% decrease in LDL, and a 3.7% decrease in triglycerides.
• Other studies show widespread improvements in cholesterol levels are related to the amount of activity and not the intensity of exercise. The more minutes you exercise per week, the more your cholesterol levels will improve, even if accompanied by a minimal weight change.

Prevent Type II Diabetes

• The combination of physical activity and weight loss has a powerful effect on preventing the onset of Type II diabetes in high-risk individuals. In a recent study by the Diabetes Prevention Program, participants who exercised and lost excess weight had a 58% reduction in the onset of Type II diabetes over 2.8 years, compared to the control group.

Most of these health benefits can be achieved through moderate-intensity physical activity. Experts recommend at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Moderate-intensity activity causes a slightly increased rate of breathing and heart rate. It can be described as feeling "light" to "somewhat hard".

There are easy ways to add this type of activity to your daily routine:

• Park the car farther away from your destination.
• Get on or off the bus several blocks away.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
• Take fitness breaks instead of cigarette or coffee breaks. Walk, stretch or do some office exercises.
• Perform gardening, yard work, heavy house cleaning, or home-repair activities.
• Avoid labor-saving devices; turn off the self-propel option on your lawn mower or vacuum cleaner, and hide all of your TV remotes.
• Exercise while watching TV. For example, use hand weights, a stationary bike or treadmill, stretch, or perform body-weight exercises such as crunches, push ups and squats.
• Keep a pair of comfortable walking or running shoes in your car and office. You'll be ready for activity wherever you go!
• Walk while doing errands.

The good news is that it's never too late to start an active lifestyle. No matter how old you are, how unfit you feel, or how long you've been inactive, research shows that starting a more active lifestyle now—through consistent, moderate-intensity activity—can make you healthier and improve your quality of life.

The Miracle of Green Tea

"Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

Comment: Lots of people have been talking about green tea. Here's an article to keep parents in the best possible shape. Judy

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

• cancer
• rheumatoid arthritis
• high cholesterol levels
• cariovascular disease
• infection

• impaired immune function

What makes green tea so special?

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

From a Mountain Hollow

Comment: I found this teaching site called From a Mountain Hollow. It's the best thing I've read on education in ages. This teacher is retired - BRING HER BACK and thousands like her. The one thing I'd like to ask those professionals who push the basal (should be banal) reading approach is, "What happens when you take the book away. Will the teacher following a script know what to do?" Answer -- in most cases, NO!
Judy

Saturday is the day my website's weekly log report is available. I keep a running record of the visitors to some pages in Excel. The most popular pages have always been the article on math speed tests and the article on using poetry to teach reading. But I have noticed a large increase recently in the number of visitors to my article on the classroom library. In this week's report, "classroom library" was the most frequent search phrase that brought people to the site. Is it possible that the "powers that be" in education are again realizing that if you want kids to read, you have to give them good books and the time to read them?

When I retired, I could see the trend going back to using the basal reader as the only source of reading instruction. I know the next school year the teachers were all teaching reading at the same time of day in a very structured format. The fact that I saw this coming was one of the contributing factors to my retirement. Just plain old burnout was the most pressing factor, but I knew that going back to this type of teaching was only going to increase that feeling. I taught using a basal reader for much of my teaching career. I hated to teach reading.

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I love to read. Books have been a part of my life since early childhood. I was reading before I started school. I always find some time to read for pleasure, even when I am very busy. Since my semi-retirement gives me more free time, I usually have a couple of books in progress in the house and an audio book for the car, plus magazines and articles on the web. So how could a person who loves to read hate to teach reading? Teaching "by the book" when the book is a basal reader is boring for both teacher and students.

Basal readers did improve over the thirty years I was teaching. The stories changed from those written for the basal with a very controlled vocabulary to using stories by published children's authors, including some of the illustrations from the original book. This worked fairly well at the lower levels, but the basals for older children often had excerpts or condensed versions of the story.

But when using a basal, you don't just read and discuss a story. Basals come with teacher's manuals, so the whole thing is very scripted. First, you do some type of vocabulary exercise to introduce new vocabulary. Then you do guided reading where the students read X number of pages with some question they should answer. The manual has all the teacher's questions written out and the expected answers. The faster readers sit there and wait for the slowest one to finish. If it is a good story, they want to go on to see what happens next. But they can't because that might mess up the question the teacher is going to ask for the next section. You discuss that part of the story and then read another section, etc. Then you do the dreaded workbook pages. This process takes several days.

After a few stories with workbook pages, there is a test. If the student does not pass the test, there are remedial exercises. When you look at the time spent doing all this stuff, there is very little time actually spent reading stories. But you can see where this fits right in with the current test, test, test mentality.

The whole language movement grew up in protest to this approach of teaching reading. But like many things that happen in education, some people carried it to an extreme. Their idea was that if you just read stories, children would intuitively learn to read and write. (That is a bit of simplification, but basically the idea.) Anyone with any common sense should have known that would not work with most children. The term "whole language" came to be associated with this idea and, by the time I retired, it had become a naughty word. So anything that hinted at whole language was being discouraged in some areas.

One thing I learned in thirty years of teaching reading is that what works for one child may not work at all for the child that sits beside him. For some reason, the gurus of education have never seemed to grasp this. They keep looking for the one method that that will work for everyone. Someone finds something that works well. It gets hyped. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon to use that method. While it works for many kids, there are still some who don't learn to read. So it is declared a failure. The method is abandoned just as the teachers are getting comfortable using it.

The whole language movement gave me a chance to teach reading the way I wanted. I read a lot of professional books on the subject and went to conferences, most of which I paid for myself. I quickly decided the "pure" method was a bunch of horse hockey. You can't abandon the teaching of skills. There are a few students who might learn that way, but the majority need some direction. But what I did get from my research was to start with the story. If you got the students hooked on the story, then it could lead to other activities. As time went on, this was called literature-based instruction to distinguish it from the "pure" whole language philosophy.

The supervisors and principals I worked under at this period of time were very supportive of this new style of teaching. Many teachers kept using the basal reader, but we were encouraged to try other things. I was chosen to help with the inservices to encourage others to try some of the new strategies.

I surprised many of my colleagues by embracing the change because I was one of the "old" teachers by this time. "Old" teachers are supposed to keep doing things the way they always have, but I spent 30 years trying to find a better way. If something worked, I kept it as a teaching strategy. If it didn't, I kept searching for something that did work. A good teacher can never stop learning.

I gradually weaned myself from the basal by having the reading group read an occasional novel, or as the younger set refers to them, chapter books. But the real fun started when I gave up reading groups all together. I did most reading instruction with the entire class, whole group instruction. I always started the book to be used for instruction by reading the story aloud. Over a period of days, we read the book together, chorally and as a Readers' Theater. We talked about the characters, identified the parts of story, learned about authors. Skills were taught with words and passages from the story. We found nouns and verbs, homophones, synonyms, and antonyms. We did ABC order, syllables, and all the other things, including phonics.

I read a lot of other books to the class, too, including the daily chapter of a novel. The students read books independently. We were engaged in some type of reading activity for much of the day.

If you remember, this reminiscence (or rant, depending on your view) started with a mention of a classroom library. With this new way to teach reading, the classroom library became the heart of my classroom. I had always had a classroom library where children could chose a book to read when they had free time. It was a choice that children seldom made. After I gave up using the basal reader, it was always in use. The children were eager to see the new books I brought in. When we went to the library, they wanted books by certain authors or poets. If I read a book to the class, the students were eager to have a chance to reread it themselves. The children enjoyed reading and I enjoyed teaching them.

The Garden School Tattler

Creation
On the first day, God created the dog and said:

"Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

"Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."

The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"
And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:
"You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves an d give milk to support the farmer's family for this; I will give you a life span of sixty Years."

The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:
"Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you...