elnathan Blog

Should Caesarean-section babies be smeared with a sample of their mother's vaginal fluids as soon as they are born? "Vaginal seeding" is not mainstream medicine, but it is  growing in popularity . The idea is to give these newborns something they missed when they emerged into the world - the good bacteria that live in their mother's vagina. A swab is taken of mum's vaginal fluid, which is then rubbed on to her child's skin and mouth. The hope is this microbial gift will boost their child's long-term health - particularly by reducing their risk of immune disorders. It is a crucial time. We might have been sterile in the womb, but in our first few moments of life an invisible bond is being established between baby and bacteria. It's a relationship that will last a lifetime, and the first contact is as important as a first date. "The first time a baby's own immune system has to respond are to those first few bacteria," says ...

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Physical and mental exercise has been found to be beneficial for our brains, but scientists have now found it could also improve the learning ability of our children . In a mouse study , researchers found the benefits gained from these activities were passed on to their offspring, despite not altering their DNA. Further research is needed to see if this replicates in humans. The German study is being published in the journal  Cell Reports. Exercise is recommended to keep the mind sharp in the over-50s and doing puzzles and brain training exercises has been found to delay the onset of dementia and reduce the risk of diseases such as Alzheimer's . Researchers from the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) found that when they exposed mice to a stimulating environment in which they also had plenty of exercise, their offspring which they had later also benefitted. The younger mice achieved better results in tests that evaluat...

New research reveals the extraordinary impact that your mother's diet at the time of your conception has on the rest of your life, writes Michael Mosley . A couple of months ago, I found myself in a small village in Keneba , in The Gambia , chatting to a perky 90-year-old, Karamo Touray , surrounded by his many children and grandchildren. Apart from a sore toe, he said he was in good shape and he attributed the fact he had enjoyed such a long and healthy life to the will of Allah . I suspect that the time of year when he was conceived may also have played a role. A team from Britain's Medical Research Council , which has been collecting data on births, marriages and deaths in Keneba since the 1940s, discovered some years ago that in this part of The Gambia when you are conceived makes a huge difference to your chances of dying prematurely. If you are conceived in, say, January and born in September then, as an adult, you are seven times more likely to die in a...

Feeding our children is so much more than just filling their bellies. It’s about providing nourishing food that will help fuel their growing bodies, brains and even emotional selves. They need the proper nutrients to perform well, maintain health, fight disease and become healthy adults. Most school-aged children must follow a diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and low in both sodium and saturated fats. Approximately 18 percent of school-aged children are overweight and an additional 15 percent were categorized as at risk of becoming overweight.Diet that is low in vegetable and fruits leads to the risk of becoming overweight. This type of diet can lead to a variety of health problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, liver disease, stroke, asthma, cardiovascular disease and even cancer.Many of the pesticides that cover our foods also contribute to health problems among children.  The Environmental Protection Age...