Q: I can't get my 9-year-old to eat vegetables - and we set a good example, sneak them into smoothies, give them funny names, all the stuff that people suggest. Nothing works. Any new suggestions? - Doreen J., Fort Lee, New Jersey
A: When Popeye the sailor appeared on television and in color in the 1950s singing, "I'm strong to the finich, 'cause I eats me spinach," he convinced a lot of kids that spinach was super-cool. It turns out that wasn't just a flash in the pan. A new study from Washington State University found that you can effectively influence your child's food choices if you tie a previously rejected tid-bit to some benefit your child values. The researchers' example: Tell them, "Eat your lentils if you want to grow bigger and run faster." After all, what kid doesn't want to run faster?
The researchers worked with 87 kids ages 3-5 for six weeks and discovered that the kids ate twice as much healthy food when they were told how it would benefit them. Here's the key: They were told in terms they could understand. Say the researchers, your sales pitch should be based in solid science.
Now, you'll have to do a bit of research, Mom, to discover all the benefits, but here are a few you can use:
1. "Salmon makes you smarter, and your homework easier." (That's because of the healthy fats, omega-3s.)
2. "Spinach helps you avoid getting hurt on the playground." (It contains calcium that builds strong bones.)
3. "Carrots can help you see farther." (Vitamin A boosts eye health.)
So get creative at the table, and if your child is more into books than sports, talk about broccoli as a great way to outsmart the Grinch! Or lentils as a way to help Winnie the Pooh find his way through the Hundred Acre Wood. In a couple of weeks, you'll be surprised at the changes you see.
Q: I'm about 70 pounds overweight, and my doctor has cleared me for Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. I'm also diabetic, and he says that there's a good chance that the surgery will send my diabetes into remission. How does that work? - Jason P., Nashville, Tennessee
A: Roux-en-Y laparoscopic bypass surgery reroutes food passage through your gut, bypassing most of the stomach, so food goes more directly into the small intestine. This produces a change in gut hormones, and scientists believe this is a big part of promoting the remission of Type 2 diabetes. This surgery also changes your gut biome, and we think this is also a significant part of the remission.
Whatever the exact mechanism, it certainly works for many people. A recent Danish study published in Diabetologia found that gastric bypass surgery led to a remission in 74% of all diabetes cases. And 73% of the participants they tracked were still in remission five years later. In the long term, this also means reductions in diabetic retinopathy, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, and amputations.
One of the other points the researchers made was that this procedure is underutilized for the treatment of diabetes. We have all this data, and yet many people don't understand how it is an effective option for hard-to-control Type 2 diabetes. Most insurance companies and Medicare cover the cost if you meet the criteria. The guidelines for recommending this surgery are chronic hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and a BMI of 35 or higher; and it can be considered for anyone with a BMI of 30 or higher who has chronic hyperglycemia.
Remember, Jason, some people have seen their blood sugars return to normal even before leaving the hospital, which is usually just a two-day stay. But whatever happens, post-surgery, you'll need to make lifestyle changes, such as a controlled diet and an exercise regimen to keep you healthy while reducing your weight. Although surgery is a start, you have to change to get this do-over.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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