REPOST: Science compared every diet, and the winner is real food

Because I believe in the value of whole unprocessed foods, I’ve never subscribed to any fad diet. This article from The Atlantic talks about a study where nutritionists weigh in on what they consider to be the best diet.

Researchers asked if one diet could be crowned best in terms of health outcomes. If diet is a set of rigid principles, the answer is a decisive no. In terms of broader guidelines, it's a decisive yes.

Image Source: theatlantic.com

Flailing in the swell of bestselling diet books, infomercials for cleanses, and secret tips in glossy magazines, is the credibility of nutrition science. Watching thoroughly-credentialed medical experts tout the addition or subtraction of one nutrient as deliverance—only to change the channel and hear someone equally-thoroughly-credentialed touting the opposite—it can be tempting to write off nutrition advice altogether. This month we hear something is good, and next we almost expect to hear it’s bad. Why not assume the latest research will all eventually be nullified, and just close our eyes and eat whatever tastes best?

That notion is at once relatable and tragic, in that diet is inextricable from the amount of healthy time we spend on Earth. Improvements in diet are clearly associated with significant lengthening of lifespan and dramatic decreases in risk of most chronic diseases. Combining disease and longevity into the concept of healthspan, the number of healthy years of life—fundamentally more important but less readily quantifiable than lifespan—the data in favor of optimizing our diets are even more compelling. No one is arguing that diet is less than extremely important to health and well-being, but seemingly everyone is arguing as to what constitutes the best diet.

The voices that carry the farthest over the sea of diet recommendations are those of iconoclasts—those who promise the most for the least, and do so with certainty. Amid the clamor, Dr. David Katz is emerging as an iconoclast on the side of reason. At least, that’s how he describes himself. From his throne at Yale University's Prevention Research Center, where he is a practicing physician and researcher, said sea of popular diet media is the institution against which he rebels. It’s not that nutrition science is corrupt, just that the empty promises of memetic, of-the-moment diet crazes are themselves junk food. To Katz they are more than annoying and confusing; they are dangerous injustice.

Scientific publisher Annual Reviews asked Katz to compare the medical evidence for and against every mainstream diet. He says they came to him because of his penchant for dispassionate appraisals. "I don't have a dog in the fight," he told me. “I don’t care which diet is best. I care about the truth."

Katz and Yale colleague Stephanie Meller published their findings in the current issue of the journal in a paper titled, "Can We Say What Diet Is Best for Health?" In it, they compare the major diets of the day: Low carb, low fat, low glycemic, Mediterranean, mixed/balanced (DASH), Paleolithic, vegan, and elements of other diets. Despite the pervasiveness of these diets in culture and media, Katz and Meller write, "There have been no rigorous, long-term studies comparing contenders for best diet laurels using methodology that precludes bias and confounding. For many reasons, such studies are unlikely." They conclude that no diet is clearly best, but there are common elements across eating patterns that are proven to be beneficial to health. "A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention."

Among the salient points of proven health benefits the researchers note, nutritionally-replete plant-based diets are supported by a wide array of favorable health outcomes, including fewer cancers and less heart disease. These diets ideally included not just fruits and vegetables, but whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Katz and Meller found "no decisive evidence" that low-fat diets are better than diets high in healthful fats, like the Mediterranean. Those fats include a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than the typical American diet.

The Mediterranean diet, which is additionally defined by high intake of fiber, moderate alcohol and meat intake, antioxidants, and polyphenols, does have favorable effects on heart disease, cancer risk, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and "is potentially associated with defense against neurodegenerative disease and preservation of cognitive function, reduced inflammation, and defense against asthma."

They also found carbohydrate-selective diets to be better than categorically low-carbohydrate diets, in that incorporating whole grains is associated with lower risks for cancers and better control of body weight. Attention to glycemic load and index is "sensible at the least." Eating foods that have high glycemic loads (which Katz says is much more relevant to health outcomes than glycemic index—in that some quality foods like carrots have very high indices, which could be misleading) is associated with greater risk of heart disease.

Finally, in a notable blow to some interpretations of the Paleo diet, Katz and Meller wrote, "if Paleolithic eating is loosely interpreted to mean a diet based mostly on meat, no meaningful interpretation of health effects is possible." They note that the composition of most meat in today's food supply is not similar to that of mammoth meat, and that most plants available during the Stone Age are today extinct. (Though it wouldn't surprise me to learn that Paleo extremists are crowd-funding a Jurassic Park style experiment to bring them back.)

Just because Katz is not one to abandon his scientific compass under duress of passion does not mean he is without passion, or unmoved by it in his own ways. The subjects of media headlines and popular diet books are dark places for Katz. "It’s not just linguistic, I really at times feel like crying, when I think about that we’re paying for ignorance with human lives," he told me. "At times, I hate the people with alphabet soup after their names who are promising the moon and the stars with certainty. I hate knowing that the next person is already rubbing his or her hands together with the next fad to make it on the bestseller list."

"The evidence that with knowledge already at our disposal, we could eliminate 80 percent of chronic disease is the basis for everything I do," Katz said. Just as he was finishing his residency in internal medicine in 1993, influential research in the Journal of the American Medical Association ("Actual Causes of Death in the United States") put diet on a short list of the lifestyle factors blamed for half of deaths in 1990. "Here we are more than 20 years later and we’ve made just about no progress."

 A nod to the fact that popular media is not totally lost, Katz borrows from the writer Michael Pollan, citing a seminal 2007 New York Times Magazine article on "nutritionism" in concluding that the mantra, "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" is sound. "That’s an excellent idea, and yet somehow it turns out to be extremely radical."

Though Katz also says it isn’t nearly enough. "That doesn't help you pick the most nutritious bread, or the best pasta sauce. A member of the foodie elite might say you shouldn't eat anything from a bag, box, bottle, jar, or can." That's admittedly impractical. "We do need to look at all the details that populate the space between where we are and where we want to be."

The current review is in pursuit of that, as is a system for determining the nutritional value of foods that Katz recently spent two years developing. It's called NuVal, and it offers consumers a single numeric value to determine foods' worth, as opposed to a complex nutritional panel. The number does things like differentiate intrinsic from added nutrients. "If you don’t do that, the best thing in the whole damn food supply is Total cereal. Total is basically a completely vapid flake delivery system for multivitamins. You could skip the cereal and take the multivitamin."

"If you eat food direct from nature," Katz added, "you don’t even need to think about this. You don't have to worry about trans fat or saturated fat or salt—most of our salt comes from processed food, not the salt shaker. If you focus on real food, nutrients tend to take care of themselves."

The ultimate point of this diet review, which is framed like a tournament, is that there is no winner. More than that, antagonistic talk in pursuit of marketing a certain diet, emphasizing mutual exclusivity—similar to arguments against bipartisan political rhetoric—is damaging to the entire system and conversation. Exaggerated emphasis on a single nutrient or food is inadvisable. The result, Katz and Meller write, is a mire of perpetual confusion and doubt. Public health could benefit on a grand scale from a unified front in health media: Endorsement of the basic theme of what we do know to be healthful eating and candid acknowledgement of the many details we do not know.

"I think Bertrand Russell nailed it," Katz told me, "when he said that the whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are so sure, and wise people always have doubts. Something like that."
   

I’m Ava Benedict, M.D., pediatrician by profession, dance instructor and chef by passion. Follow me on Twitter to keep posted on my thoughts and updates.

REPOST: Does microwaving food remove its nutritional value?

Microwaving food removes some of its nutritional value---is this true or false? Get the real score on this CNN report.

Done the right way, microwaving food is one of the best ways to preserve nutritional benefits. | Image source: cnn.com

(upwave.com) -- The rumor: Zapping food in a microwave leaches out key nutrients

We've all heard about how microwaving food removes some nutritional value, but is it true? Is something bad happening to our food behind that microwave glass?

The verdict: If you do it right, cooking food in the microwave is one of the best ways to retain your food's vitamins and minerals

There are dangers to microwaving your food. You could get scalded, for one. If you use the wrong kind of plastic (hint: one that doesn't say "microwave safe"), unhealthy chemicals could seep into your food.

But if you're concerned about getting the most nutrition out of your eats, microwaving is a safe bet. In fact, it's near the top of the list for nutritionally sound food-preparation methods. If you use your microwave with a small amount of water to essentially steam food from the inside, you'll retain more vitamins and minerals than with almost any other cooking method.

"Whenever you cook food, you'll have some loss of nutrients," says registered dietician and certified food scientist Catherine Adams Hutt. "The best cooking method for retaining nutrients is one that cooks quickly, exposes food to heat for the smallest amount of time and uses only a minimal amount of liquid."

Guess what? Microwave cooking does that.

Consider spinach. Boil it on the stove, and it can lose up to 70% of its folic acid. Microwave it with just a little water, and you'll retain nearly all its folic acid. Cooking bacon on a griddle until it's crispy (yum) can create nitrosamines, while microwaving bacon creates far fewer of these cancer-promoting chemicals.

Of course, you can mess microwaving up. Dump your veggies in a bunch of water and overcook them, and you'll leach out plenty of nutrition. "When you cook food in a microwave, cover it tightly, creating an efficient steam environment," advises Hutt.

Steaming over a stovetop is just as good, though. In some cases, it may even be better: One small study found that steamed broccoli retained more of its cancer-fighting sulforaphane than microwaved broccoli.

But in most cases, using your microwave to cook food, if it's covered tightly in a microwave-safe container with a minimal amount of liquid, is a nutritional win.

In fact, it can even enhance the nutrition of some foods. It makes the carotenoids in tomatoes and carrots more available to our bodies, for example. It makes the biotin in eggs digestible. And heat kills bacteria in food that can make us sick.

"From a safety standpoint," says Hutt, "you don't want to be eating raw chicken."

So go ahead and use that microwave. It's a quick way to essentially steam food from the inside out. You won't get the aromas that baking or roasting provides, but if you do it right, with just a little bit of water in a tightly-closed microwave-safe container, you'll be very well nourished.

Hello there! I am Ava Benedict and cooking is one of my passions. As for microwaving food, well, who doesn’t do so, right? What do you think? Message me on Twitter.

REPOST: Celebrating holidays in hospitals

How do families with sick children cope with the festive holiday season? This article from Delaware Online takes a peek into the lives of young patients who have celebrated Christmas (and may greet the coming year) in their hospital beds.

(Emma Clouse, 3, of Philadelphia, looks at her presents she received from Santa at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Rockland Dec. 13, as part of the annual Delaware State Police and Delaware State Troopers Association holiday visit.) Image Source: delawareonline.com

 We’ve all heard Andy Williams croon the myriad ways that it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

But for those who are homebound, hospitalized or no longer able to share the holiday with loved ones because of infirmities or illness, it can be a lonely, depressing time as well.

An unexpected hospital stay can mean upended holiday plans. An aging parent in a nursing home leaves an empty place at the dinner table. For a caregiver, it can be a painful reminder of just how much life has changed.

It’s not always easy to replace those beloved holiday traditions, but it is important to still find meaning during this time of year, said Linda Wills, a social worker with Delaware Hospice. For some, that can happen by bringing Christmas cheer to a family member in a nursing home or hospital. It might be by volunteering to help other families facing their own obstacles celebrating the holiday. Or it could be spending quiet time in spiritual reflection.

No matter what option you choose, it’s a good bet you’re going to need to change your expectations for what the holiday is supposed to be like, Wills said.

“It’s alright that this year doesn’t look like every other year. We really encourage people to create the new normal,” she said. “It’s about acknowledging something special and something different has happened. You can go back to what you used to do next year or maybe adopt this tradition for the future.”

Family comes first wherever you are

Jason and Rachelle Hafer of Phoenixville, Pa., will spend their second holiday in the cardiac intensive care unit at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. Their nearly 4-month-old daughter, Avery, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome shortly after her birth.

She needed surgery to help correct problems with the left side of her heart that can be life-threatening if not treated. Although she was out of the hospital for a few weeks, she wound up back at Nemours shortly before Thanksgiving. She will be there until she has a second surgery in the new year.

For the family, who also have a 2½-year-old son, Austin, it’s been a challenge juggling the hourlong commute between home and Nemours. The couple, along with their families, have tried to split duties so each can spend time with both Austin and Avery.

But it hasn’t left much time – or energy – to jump into the holiday spirit with buying presents, hanging decorations and taking part in other Christmas traditions. They are grateful to neighbors who decorated the outside of their house, even if they haven’t gotten around to decking the halls inside.

“The time just disappears,” Jason Hafer said. “You don’t realize it when you’re inside the hospital, but you come out and see how much time has passed out here with the rest of the world.”

While this year won’t be a typical Christmas – and certainly not the one they envisioned with two children at home – they are intent on keeping the holiday magic alive. Despite the challenges, Avery’s health crisis has reminded the family of their blessings as well, like the fact she went into cardiac arrest while at the hospital rather than at home.

Hafer said they’ve learned to be patient for Avery’s benefit.

“We’d rather miss this now and have years and years of holidays to spend with them rather than celebrate this one and not have something in the future,” Hafer said. “This is what is important.”

Santa finds hospital rooms, too

(Santa hands Caitlyn Cook, 11, of Bear, a monkey during his Dec. 13 visit at Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. / EMILY VARISCO/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL) Image Source: delawareonline.com

Nobody wants to be in the hospital for the holidays, but local health care agencies and their volunteers work hard during this time to make sure sick and hospitalized patients don’t miss out on holiday fun.

That includes simple gestures like donating poinsettias to patients at Christiana and Wilmington hospitals, something the Junior Board of Christiana Care has done for 50 years.

At Nemours, teams of volunteers help Santa delivering gifts for kids who won’t be home on Christmas. And thanks to the magic of iPads and virtual technology, Santa had video chats with some bedridden patients who couldn’t muster an in-person visit, said Beth Carlough, manager of the child life department at Nemours.

Younger kids who are in the hospital often worry Santa will forget about them, and so child life specialists work to make sure the magic of the season isn’t lost because of sickness. In the days leading to Christmas, the big elf makes several trips down the hospital hallways, posing for pictures and taking wish lists.

“We try to normalize the days of the kids who are here,” Carlough said. “We tell them he will find them.”

It’s not just the little ones who are surprised by a visit from old St. Nick.

“It’s a great surprise to families, especially for parents because it’s the last thing they’re expecting,” Carlough said. “During something like this, parents are overwhelmed. They are so surprised a hospital is able to give great medical care but also think about their children’s emotional needs.”

Dec. 25 isn't only date that matters

Sometimes it’s the chance to give back that spreads the warmth of the holiday. At least that was the hope of Carole Breitkeitz, wellness center coordinator at Lake Forest High School in Felton. She worked with the school’s culinary arts students to put together a meal for families sitting vigil with loved ones staying at Delaware Hospice in Milford.

Breitkeitz said she was motivated to help families, who understandably put their own needs aside to care for their sick loved one. She also knew Lake Forest students would appreciate the volunteer opportunity.

Students cooked the meals in class with food donated by the Food Bank of Delaware and the student council. They then took it to the hospice and helped serve. She hopes to make it a recurring event for students as a way to support the hospice.

“Their loved ones are touched by this. Part of doing this is to help them to see what hospice is and what it does,” Breitkeitz said. “Everybody has got their hand in doing this. This is a way to make a win-win-win for everyone.”

Wills said however families decide to celebrate the holidays, it’s important to avoid strict rules and drop the fixation on a date on a calendar.

She recounted the story of a boy who was likely to die before Christmas, and the questions it posed for his family. Should they celebrate? Buy him presents even if he wasn’t going to be able to play with them?

With input from Wills, the family opted to celebrate Christmas before the date on the calendar.

As it turned out, the child died before Dec. 25, but his family, including his older sister, were left with beautiful memories of their time together.

“We don’t always have the luxury of things happening on a certain date,” she said. “The date isn’t important. It’s important they are together.”  


Pediatrician Ava Benedict keeps herself updated on the latest news and updates in the healthcare industry to better serve her patients.  Subscribe to this Facebook page for more discussions on health and wellness.

A budding kitchen goddess’ favorite Latin American dishes

It’s probably not news to my regular readers, but I, apart from being a doctor and a lifelong dancer, fancy myself a bit of a kitchen goddess. See, I like trying different dishes out and then replicating them at home. For me there’s really nothing quite like spending the weekend making a meal out of your refrigerator’s contents and baking some sweet goodies from scratch.

These days, I’m really into Latin American dishes. I’m just discovering so many different types of food from various Latin American cultures, and so far, I’ve narrowed down a list of three recipes that I want to try cooking at home.

Image Source: www.longislandpress.com

Topping my list is the Mexican entrée of quail in rose petal sauce which is perfect for a fancy dinner. Cooking with roses sounds like an interesting experience since I’ve never used flowers as an ingredient before. I can just imagine how fragrant this dish would be, with the rose petals, butter, and garlic.

Image Source: www.dealsmagazine.com

Having a good cookie recipe is essential to me because cookies make great pick-me-uppers and excellent gifts. These are why I’d love to perfect the alfajores, a Latin American sandwich cookie which consists of two round biscuits with a spread of creamy dulce de leche between them. Some variations are coated with chocolate or dusted with powdered sugar.

Image Source: www.chow.com

For a quick one-handed meal, I’d love to learn how to create the Argentinian choripan. This is basically a sandwich made with crusty bread and a grilled sausage called the chorizo. Of course, then I’d have to learn how to make the chimichurri sauce so I have something to serve with my sandwich.

I really can’t wait to have a chance to hunker down and get started with these three Latin American dishes. Hopefully I could also find time to do some salsa dancing to offset all the eating I’ll be doing.  

Follow Ava Benedict on Twitter to learn more about her other interests aside from cooking.

REPOST: Our Favorite Accessories Straight from the Spring 2014 Runways

Accessories have been to known make or break an outfit, so their selection must be well thought out.  This photo blog on Vogue lists editor Rickie De Sole's picks from the Spring 2014 shows.

While she’s busy attending countless shows a day during fashion month, Senior Accessories Editor Rickie De Sole is always on the lookout for the next must-have bag or shoe that will inevitably end up on the top of everyone’s wish list come spring. Here, she shares her finds straight from the runways—check back daily for updates.

Image source: Vogue  

Marni

A knockout bag with major personality at Marni.

Image source: Vogue

Bottega Veneta

The new embellishment: jewels to match the bag, as
seen at Bottega.

Image source: Vogue 

Tod’s

I love this textured Sella bag at Tod’s first runway
show!

Image source: Vogue  

Prada

Sporty meets sparkly at Prada.

Image source: Vogue    

Gucci

Purple reigns at Gucci’s spring 2014 show.

Image source: Vogue

Tom Ford

You can’t be missed wearing this ombré-feathered  

Tom Ford hobo bag! 

Image source: Vogue

 

Manolo Blahnik

A festive Manolo—what’s not to love?!

Image source: Vogue

Marc Jacobs

Spring’s must-have kicks get an upgrade at Marc
Jacobs. 

Image source: Vogue

Proenza Schouler

Love that the fringe we’ve seen throughout New York
Fashion Week has made its way onto accessories
at Proenza! 

Image source: Vogue

Narciso Rodriguez

Fringe added a playful touch to an otherwise serious
sandal at Narciso Rodriguez. 

Image source: Vogue

The Row

At The Row the hands-free bag has never looked
so good! 

Image source: Vogue 

Derek Lam

I loved the texture on this cream fringe scarf at
Derek Lam.

Image source: Vogue

Alexander Wang

Bags are getting bigger—at Alexander Wang in
pastel pink. 

Image source: Vogue  

Jason Wu

This oversize weekender bag from Jason Wu is the
ultimate luxe travel companion. Love the natural tones!

Image source: Vogue

Creatures of the Wind

I loved Creatures of the Wind’s sexy-meets-ugly flat

with a hint of python that came out with nearly

every look. Made in collaboration with

Tabitha Simmons,  they felt just as right with

pants as they did with the many skirts and

dresses. Guess the menswear flat is here to stay!

Ava Benedict enjoys observing each new season's designs and blogging about them.  Read more of her insights on high fashion by following this Tumblog.

REPOST: Pediatricians: Most medications safe during breast-feeding

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports through CBS that many medicines are considered safe during breastfeeding and that the health benefits of breastfeeding outweigh most harms associated to babies' exposure to various medications.

          Video Source: cbsnews.com

Nursing moms may worry medications they need for their own well-being may harm their newborns through their breast milk, but a leading medical society wants to ease those fears.

In a new report released Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics says most medications won't harm a baby through breast milk, and many mothers are being wrongfully advised to stop taking necessary medications when nursing or avoid breast-feeding altogether.

"This cautious approach may be unnecessary in many cases, because only a small proportion of medications are contraindicated in breastfeeding mothers or associated with adverse effects on their infants," wrote report's authors, led Dr. Hari Cheryl Sachs, a Maryland-based pediatrician who is a pediatrician and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Breast-feeding has been linked to protective health benefits for both newborn babies and their mothers.

"Before assuming that you need to stop breast-feeding, there may be information that lets you know whether that really is advisable," Sachs added to the Wall Street Journal.

About 77 percent of new moms breast-feed their babies, according to an August report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And almost half of them continue to do so for at least the Academy-recommended first six months of a newborn's life. Moms are also asked to breast-feed to give supplemental breast milk until a child is aged 1-year-old or older.

Sachs, and the academy's Committee on Drugs, said advice to skip breast-feeding due to medication is often not evidence-based.

For the academy' first policy update on the subject since 2001, the committee reviewed new evidence for any potential effects from taking medications including increasingly popular drugs like antidepressants or prescription painkillers, while breast-feeding.

Certain drugs or herbal supplements could pose safety risks for developing newborns because high levels may accumulate in breast milk or any amount of the drug could cause problems, according to the report.

The committee found no concerns associated with taking medications except for the following classes of drugs: pain medications, antidepressants, and drugs to treat substance or alcohol abuse, or to help women quit smoking.

People taking these medications may want to speak with their doctor about potential risks.

According to the report, much remains unknown about how drugs taken by a mother for depression, anxiety or other behavioral or mental health problems may affect a baby in the long term. The authors pointed out many anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants and mood stabilizers appear in a mother's milk in low concentrations, and data on drug excretion in human milk are lacking for up to one-third of drugs used for psychological treatments. The policy update concludes that moms who want to breast-feed while taking these medications should be counseled about both the benefits of breast-feeding and the unknown health risks, before deciding how to proceed. They may also want to monitor their infant's growth and brain development if they decide to take these pills.

Prescription painkillers like codeine or hydrocodone (Vicodin) are not recommended for nursing mothers because both them and some children may be "rapid metabolizers" of the drugs, due to a pathway in the body that causes the drug to be converted to higher-than-normal levels of opiates

Other narcotics including oxycodone (Oxycontin), pentazocine, propoxyphene, and meperidine should be avoided by lactating moms, according to the academy, for reasons including a risk high levels could be excreted in breast milk, potentially leading to problems including breathing difficulties in infants.

The authors also note that some women may be taking medications to help them stave off substance abuse during pregnancy, like methadone for narcotic abuse or pills for smoking cessation. Studies have shown drug, alcohol and tobacco use may harm a developing baby.

The report says methadone levels in breast milk are low despite some side effect reports in infants, and women enrolled in methadone-treatment programs are still encouraged to breast-feed.

Women taking nicotine-replacement therapy can also breast-feed as long as the amount of nicotine they are taking in is less than the amount they had previously smoked, due to how the drugs are absorbed.

Vaccines that are recommended for a mother won't interfere with the infant's immune system development during breast-feeding, the report's authors added, and may even protect against fever in the child.

An up-to-date list for hundreds of medications, and whether there are safety concerns for nursing moms, can be found at LactMed, a website from the National Institutes of Health.

Even though most of these drugs are safe, the academy says that doctors should make sure they obtain the most current information on any drug a breast-feeding mom may be taking.

Thomas Hale, director of the InfantRisk Center at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, told HealthDay that it's bothered him that most drug labels have blanket statements that caution against taking the pill when pregnant, even if the evidence of risk isn't there.

"If you pick up any package insert, you see the same language: 'There are no data available on this drug. Do not use in breast-feeding mothers,'" Hale said. But, he added, "We now know the risk of untreated depression is far, far worse than the risk of taking a drug," he said.

Hale called for better safety labels, and added that doctors can make educated guesses about whether drugs will pass through breast milk, based on the pharmaceutical's molecule size and chemical properties.

The Academy's new guidance on medications during breast-feeding was published Aug. 26 in its journal, Pediatrics.

Dr. Ava Benedict is a pediatrician based in Los Angeles, California. Visit this Facebook page for the latest medical and lifestyle news.

REPOST: Another couture mythbuster

Designer Bouchra Jarrar claims she doesn’t subscribe to any of haute couture’s myths. Cathy Horyn validates this in her article.

Image Source: nytimes.com

Bouchra Jarrar belongs to the modern couture camp. Her day clothes tend to be masculine-influenced, with long, sleeveless jackets and Perfectos with black trousers, while she returns again and again to sparingly cut dresses in silk. The refinement showed this season in dresses that beautifully combined blush pink, ivory and beige, and skimmed over the body. What perhaps isn’t obvious is the texture of her original fabrics, like a heavy silk woven from multiple shades of cream and ivory for her jackets. A black-and-white silk weave, used for sharp jackets, suggests an industrial material. Her clothes demand that you look close — at the amount of asymmetry in her designs, at the careful way she sets a zipper, so that the silver teeth become the merest line of decoration.


Ms. Jarrar is not into couture’s myths, but she does everything on a high level. Tucked into the front of a Perfecto, raised just enough to set it apart from the fabric, is a rounded swath of black Lesage embroidery. The designer is gradually finding bread-and-butter success with her ready-to-wear. Her line is sold at Louis Boston, Bergdorf Goodman and Capitol in Charlotte, N.C.

Ava Benedict is all set for the upcoming New York Fashion Week. Visit this blog to learn what she expects from the incoming high-street and couture collections.