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Showing posts from September, 2010

On the Nature of Taste and Whether It Can Be Learned

At some point, most people encounter someone whose sense of style, fashion, or decor feels consistently off. At first, this is easy to dismiss as a matter of preference. Taste is subjective, we tell ourselves. But when poor taste recurs across different contexts, it raises a more unsettling question. What exactly is taste? How does good taste develop? Why do some people seem unable to acquire it? Good taste is often misunderstood as trend awareness or personal expression. In reality, it is something far more restrained and disciplined. Good taste is the ability to recognize proportion, coherence, and intention within a given context. It reflects an understanding of relationships between elements rather than attachment to any single element. People with good taste notice balance, scale, rhythm, and absence. They sense when something is excessive, distracts from its purpose, or draws attention to itself unnecessarily. Most importantly, they adapt their choices to context. What works in o...

Food Allergies and Preferences: Working Fearlessly with your Picky Eater.

I have searched for food allergy information through CDC (Center for Disease Control), FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network), FAI (Food Allergy Initiative), NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), AAAAI (American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology), and many other sites. Honestly of all the research I have done this one seems to have the most variance. I couldn't find government issued statistics on food allergies. It seems that the science of food allergies is still progressing and is timid of making bold generalizations. In general 4% to 8% of all children have a food allergy. 90% of these allergies are from the big 7: Milk, Eggs, Soy, Wheat, Peanut, Tree Nut, and Seafood. Around 70% of children grow out of their food allergies before age 5. These foods should be avoided before the age of 1. Of the 350 million people in America only 100 die each year of food allergies. Although food allergies are not much of a death risk, the connection to Ast...

Bubbly Baby & the Benign Bathwater: The Truth about the Dangers of Drinking Bathwater

I have read 50 websites of moms arguing over whether drinking bathwater is bad for their child or not. The overall consensus is that it is gross but is it really bad for them. A lot of opinions and misplaced facts seem to be curculating about drinking bathwater and diarrhea. Hopefully this will set your mind at ease. According to the Dr. Sadloer, bathwater has too many unknown chemicals. Soap doesn't seem to be a huge concern but the chemicals from the diaper area could be of concern. [ http://www.babyzone.com/askanexpert/drinking-bath-water ]. Dr Altmann recommends discouraging this behavior, but says you don't need to be too concerned about it. Drinking soapy water could cause an upset tummy. But this is unlikely, most kids spit water out if it has that unpleasant soapy taste. And the amount of soap your child would actually ingest is pretty small considering how much water it's diluted with in a typical bathtub. As far as cleaning products, the amount of chemicals used ...