Thursday, November 3, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
THE FIRST 1000 DAYS CAN CHANGE YOUR BABY'S LIFE.
THE FIRST 1000 DAYS CAN CHANGE YOUR BABY'S LIFE.
By Dr. Alan Koslow M.D.
What would you say if I told you could increase your baby's I.Q. by 20 points, have her/him be 2 inches taller and be more likely to be successful in school and life? Well, science has shown that you can have this effect on your child and there are only a few things you need to do to accomplish this. These results were described at the recent World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue held here in Des Moines Iowa. This is the equivalent of the Noble Prize for food with an accompanying week of scientific presentations.
Because of these findings, the goal of the Aid agencies, governments and non-profits, is to ensure that the first 1000 days of a baby's life are optimized from a health and nutritional point of view. Well, we can take a lesson from this research and experience. The first 1000 days are defined as from the moment of conception till the baby's second birthday (don't write in - I know that is only 930 days).
This means that you have to be thinking about your child's whole future when you are thinking about becoming pregnant. A major portion of the baby's growth and development will happen before you are even sure you are pregnant. Try to get down to your ideal weight before becoming pregnant. There is evidence that overweight and obesity in mom can adversely affect the baby. Do not drink or smoke. Take 1000 mg of folic acid daily. Eat well but go easy, you only need about 10% more calories than before; you are not eating for two. Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. The two most important things are not drinking alcohol and not smoking, especially in the first 90 days of pregnancy.
As soon as you suspect you are pregnant you need to see an obstetrician. Even if you are planning on using a midwife you should see the obstetrician several times during the pregnancy. She can diagnose potential problems with you or your baby in time to be corrected which a midwife cannot. It is very important to follow the recommendations of the obstetrician. She has nine years of training to keep you and your baby healthy and increase the chances of having that perfect baby we all want, at least until they become the teenager from hell and we want to give them back. The good news is that that teenager from hell goes away most of the time and becomes a loving adult.
Once the baby is born you can do a lot to ensure the maximal potential from your child. Breast feeding, breast feeding, breast feeding - did I say it enough? Your breast milk is the perfect nutrition for your baby. That is, if you are having a good and varied healthy diet. You should breast feed until at least 6 months and longer if you can. The La Leche Society and your pediatrician can help you with accomplishing this. However, if for some reason you cannot breast feed, formulas work but they just are not as good.
Besides nutrition the single most important thing for your baby’s health and development is avoidance of smoking in the house the baby lives in and spends time in. This does not mean just not smoking around the baby but your house and that of any care giver for your baby should be smoke free. The residual smoke is just as bad. Smoke will lead to many developmental and health problems, the worst being the explosion of childhood asthma that has occurred.
The American Academy of Pediatrics just this week has come out with recommendations that no infant under two years of age watch any television or videos. There is overwhelming and convincing evidence that the baby does not learn socialization skills acquires language slower and has slower neuron development with any and increasing television watching. Yes it has been used as a good baby sitter but it is damaging to your child.
So in conclusion what you do to your body while pregnant you are doing to your baby. What you baby encounters during those first hundred days influence the development of every part of their mind and body and you can for very little cost except your time and effort have a child who will be much more successful, healthier and happier throughout life.
By Dr. Alan Koslow M.D.
What would you say if I told you could increase your baby's I.Q. by 20 points, have her/him be 2 inches taller and be more likely to be successful in school and life? Well, science has shown that you can have this effect on your child and there are only a few things you need to do to accomplish this. These results were described at the recent World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue held here in Des Moines Iowa. This is the equivalent of the Noble Prize for food with an accompanying week of scientific presentations.
Because of these findings, the goal of the Aid agencies, governments and non-profits, is to ensure that the first 1000 days of a baby's life are optimized from a health and nutritional point of view. Well, we can take a lesson from this research and experience. The first 1000 days are defined as from the moment of conception till the baby's second birthday (don't write in - I know that is only 930 days).
This means that you have to be thinking about your child's whole future when you are thinking about becoming pregnant. A major portion of the baby's growth and development will happen before you are even sure you are pregnant. Try to get down to your ideal weight before becoming pregnant. There is evidence that overweight and obesity in mom can adversely affect the baby. Do not drink or smoke. Take 1000 mg of folic acid daily. Eat well but go easy, you only need about 10% more calories than before; you are not eating for two. Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. The two most important things are not drinking alcohol and not smoking, especially in the first 90 days of pregnancy.
As soon as you suspect you are pregnant you need to see an obstetrician. Even if you are planning on using a midwife you should see the obstetrician several times during the pregnancy. She can diagnose potential problems with you or your baby in time to be corrected which a midwife cannot. It is very important to follow the recommendations of the obstetrician. She has nine years of training to keep you and your baby healthy and increase the chances of having that perfect baby we all want, at least until they become the teenager from hell and we want to give them back. The good news is that that teenager from hell goes away most of the time and becomes a loving adult.
Once the baby is born you can do a lot to ensure the maximal potential from your child. Breast feeding, breast feeding, breast feeding - did I say it enough? Your breast milk is the perfect nutrition for your baby. That is, if you are having a good and varied healthy diet. You should breast feed until at least 6 months and longer if you can. The La Leche Society and your pediatrician can help you with accomplishing this. However, if for some reason you cannot breast feed, formulas work but they just are not as good.
Besides nutrition the single most important thing for your baby’s health and development is avoidance of smoking in the house the baby lives in and spends time in. This does not mean just not smoking around the baby but your house and that of any care giver for your baby should be smoke free. The residual smoke is just as bad. Smoke will lead to many developmental and health problems, the worst being the explosion of childhood asthma that has occurred.
The American Academy of Pediatrics just this week has come out with recommendations that no infant under two years of age watch any television or videos. There is overwhelming and convincing evidence that the baby does not learn socialization skills acquires language slower and has slower neuron development with any and increasing television watching. Yes it has been used as a good baby sitter but it is damaging to your child.
So in conclusion what you do to your body while pregnant you are doing to your baby. What you baby encounters during those first hundred days influence the development of every part of their mind and body and you can for very little cost except your time and effort have a child who will be much more successful, healthier and happier throughout life.
The Affordable Care Act: What It Does for You.
The Affordable Care Act: What It Does for You.
By Dr. Alan Koslow
In May of 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act or as some call it Obama Care. There has been much said about this but very little about how you will benefit from the plan as individuals. Many have heard that there are Death Panels in this plan (there aren't) and you will be forced to change your insurance or doctor (you won't). This article will review the benefits you will get from this plan.
First I want to state some facts that many Americans don't realize. We essentially have national health insurance but it is not universal. About half of all people in the USA have government funded health insurance. This includes all those on Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, Active Military and Social Security Disability. Private companies pay 34% of the nation’s insurance, and 15% of the people are uninsured. The average private insurance company pays 30% toward overhead and only 70% towards caring for patients. The most cost effective health insurance is Medicare which has a 3% overhead. The best financially run hospital system in the USA are the Veterans Hospital system and the Military Medical System. We spend $17 out of every hundred on health care, while the country spending the next most spends only $13. Despite spending more per person and as a fraction of GDP we are in the middle of the pack in terms of outcome. Would you go to the most expensive auto repair shop if their results were only mediocre? Finally, sixty-six percent of all bankruptcies in the USA are due to medical bills. These are facts and facts are non-partisan.
Among the greatest fears of Americans about their health insurance is losing it, not being able to get or afford it because of pre-existing conditions and having an uncovered condition. The Affordable Care Act eliminates all of these concerns by making it against the law for you to be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. It bans a lifetime maximum on most benefits so if you have a condition that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat you cannot be cut off in the middle of your treatment, as happens often now. If you lose your insurance from an employer you can easily get it from the medical insurance exchange that the Act forms in each state. These laws already apply to children under 19 and as of 2014 they will be protections all Americans will have. If you have a child under 26, even if that child doesn't live with you and is married, he/she must be covered by your insurance carrier if your policy was issued after March 23, 2010 and by all policies after 2014.
Another big concern of many is what to do if payment for your care is denied. The Act mandates that your appeal is reviewed and acted on within 72 hours for an urgent care issue and 30 days for a non-urgent issue. Your insurer must also provide translation services if you need them and want to appeal.
Insurance providers are already required to cover many preventive services including cancer screening, counseling on quitting smoking, weight loss, eating healthy, treating depression and reducing alcohol use. Routine vaccines, flu and pneumonia shots must be covered. All well baby and well child care up to age 21 must be covered. These and other benefits may not need to be covered until 2014, by your insurer if your policy was issued before March 23, 2010. Any policy issued after that date must have all these features.
To make insurance more affordable the Act mandates that 80% of premiums be spent on your benefits and any rate increase of more than 10% must be approved. The Dept of Health and Human Services this week announced the removal of over 500 regulations which will save the entire system billions of dollars.
The major complaint against the Act has been that it mandates that everyone get insurance. This is not an editorial so I will not get into this debate in this column. However, it is important to know what benefits you will obtain under this Act. These benefits will go to all Americans whether you have government insurance, private insurance from your employer, individual insurance or ultimately buy insurance from the exchange.
By Dr. Alan Koslow
In May of 2010, Congress passed the Affordable Care Act or as some call it Obama Care. There has been much said about this but very little about how you will benefit from the plan as individuals. Many have heard that there are Death Panels in this plan (there aren't) and you will be forced to change your insurance or doctor (you won't). This article will review the benefits you will get from this plan.
First I want to state some facts that many Americans don't realize. We essentially have national health insurance but it is not universal. About half of all people in the USA have government funded health insurance. This includes all those on Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans, Active Military and Social Security Disability. Private companies pay 34% of the nation’s insurance, and 15% of the people are uninsured. The average private insurance company pays 30% toward overhead and only 70% towards caring for patients. The most cost effective health insurance is Medicare which has a 3% overhead. The best financially run hospital system in the USA are the Veterans Hospital system and the Military Medical System. We spend $17 out of every hundred on health care, while the country spending the next most spends only $13. Despite spending more per person and as a fraction of GDP we are in the middle of the pack in terms of outcome. Would you go to the most expensive auto repair shop if their results were only mediocre? Finally, sixty-six percent of all bankruptcies in the USA are due to medical bills. These are facts and facts are non-partisan.
Among the greatest fears of Americans about their health insurance is losing it, not being able to get or afford it because of pre-existing conditions and having an uncovered condition. The Affordable Care Act eliminates all of these concerns by making it against the law for you to be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions. It bans a lifetime maximum on most benefits so if you have a condition that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat you cannot be cut off in the middle of your treatment, as happens often now. If you lose your insurance from an employer you can easily get it from the medical insurance exchange that the Act forms in each state. These laws already apply to children under 19 and as of 2014 they will be protections all Americans will have. If you have a child under 26, even if that child doesn't live with you and is married, he/she must be covered by your insurance carrier if your policy was issued after March 23, 2010 and by all policies after 2014.
Another big concern of many is what to do if payment for your care is denied. The Act mandates that your appeal is reviewed and acted on within 72 hours for an urgent care issue and 30 days for a non-urgent issue. Your insurer must also provide translation services if you need them and want to appeal.
Insurance providers are already required to cover many preventive services including cancer screening, counseling on quitting smoking, weight loss, eating healthy, treating depression and reducing alcohol use. Routine vaccines, flu and pneumonia shots must be covered. All well baby and well child care up to age 21 must be covered. These and other benefits may not need to be covered until 2014, by your insurer if your policy was issued before March 23, 2010. Any policy issued after that date must have all these features.
To make insurance more affordable the Act mandates that 80% of premiums be spent on your benefits and any rate increase of more than 10% must be approved. The Dept of Health and Human Services this week announced the removal of over 500 regulations which will save the entire system billions of dollars.
The major complaint against the Act has been that it mandates that everyone get insurance. This is not an editorial so I will not get into this debate in this column. However, it is important to know what benefits you will obtain under this Act. These benefits will go to all Americans whether you have government insurance, private insurance from your employer, individual insurance or ultimately buy insurance from the exchange.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Medical Marijuana, I’m Skeptical About A Ban Submitted By Dr. Alan Koslow M.D August 12, 2009
Thia was an article I wrote 2 years ago.
Medical Marijuana, I’m
Skeptical About A Ban
Submitted By Dr. Alan Koslow M.D.
One week from today the State Board of Pharmacy of Iowa
will hold a public hearing on medicinal use of marijuana. This
is an issue that has vexed me for many years. As a physician who
treats patients with severe pain syndromes I have seen many a
patient get addicted to legal prescription pain medication while
still suffering. This is because the legal pain medication is not
the best medication to treat a pain syndrome called neuropathic
pain. How I explain it to my patients is that narcotic pain
medications will knock you out and as your drifting off you are
still experiencing pain. There are multiple studies which have
documented good pain relief with smoking marijuana for neuropathic
pain syndromes. There are many other proven uses for
medical marijuana. However, our prejudices prevent use from
using a proven remedy.
Marijuana has a history that is a mixture of myths and
falsehoods that make it problematic for opponents to change
their attitude. If you haven’t seen the film ‘Reefer Madness’ you
should. It is available free on the web if you look for it. This is
the beginning of many of the myths. Regardless of how you feel
about those myths, and I’m not going to debunk them in this
piece, it is important to put marijuana in perspective to both legal
over the counter products (alcohol and tobacco) and prescription
products (Morphine, Vicodin, Methadone, and many others).
Marijuana has shown no adverse health effects when compared
to either alcohol or tobacco. I think you all know the
terrible health effects of both alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and
alcoholism causes 85,000 deaths each year from a combination
of direct medical problems or traffic related deaths. Tobacco
causes 430,000 deaths each year. In Britain, official government
statistics listed five deaths from cannabis in the period 1993-
1995. “Tetrahydrocannabinol is a very safe drug. Laboratory
animals (rats, mice, dogs, monkeys) can tolerate doses about
5,000 times more than is required to produce a high.” (from a
British government report). When compared to tobacco there
are equal or less effect on the lungs.
Alcohol and tobacco are two of the most addictive products
in our society. Millions of people are addicted to both. There
are questions about the true physical addiction potential of
marijuana but most experts agree it is less then either of the two
legal products. So if it is purely the addictive potential alcohol
and tobacco should be banned and medical marijuana should be
approved. Now the real question is, since we are only talking
about medical marijuana, how addictive is it compared to
prescription pain and anti-nausea medication. All the evidence
points to marijuana is far less addictive then almost all prescription
pain medication.
So let us get over our paranoia and allow our patients to have
the best treatment available for certain conditions.
Dr. Alan Koslow is a vascular surgeon, former Iowa State
Legislature candidate and a regular on the Deace Group Round
Table on WHO 1040 AM Fridays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Medical Marijuana, I’m
Skeptical About A Ban
Submitted By Dr. Alan Koslow M.D.
One week from today the State Board of Pharmacy of Iowa
will hold a public hearing on medicinal use of marijuana. This
is an issue that has vexed me for many years. As a physician who
treats patients with severe pain syndromes I have seen many a
patient get addicted to legal prescription pain medication while
still suffering. This is because the legal pain medication is not
the best medication to treat a pain syndrome called neuropathic
pain. How I explain it to my patients is that narcotic pain
medications will knock you out and as your drifting off you are
still experiencing pain. There are multiple studies which have
documented good pain relief with smoking marijuana for neuropathic
pain syndromes. There are many other proven uses for
medical marijuana. However, our prejudices prevent use from
using a proven remedy.
Marijuana has a history that is a mixture of myths and
falsehoods that make it problematic for opponents to change
their attitude. If you haven’t seen the film ‘Reefer Madness’ you
should. It is available free on the web if you look for it. This is
the beginning of many of the myths. Regardless of how you feel
about those myths, and I’m not going to debunk them in this
piece, it is important to put marijuana in perspective to both legal
over the counter products (alcohol and tobacco) and prescription
products (Morphine, Vicodin, Methadone, and many others).
Marijuana has shown no adverse health effects when compared
to either alcohol or tobacco. I think you all know the
terrible health effects of both alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and
alcoholism causes 85,000 deaths each year from a combination
of direct medical problems or traffic related deaths. Tobacco
causes 430,000 deaths each year. In Britain, official government
statistics listed five deaths from cannabis in the period 1993-
1995. “Tetrahydrocannabinol is a very safe drug. Laboratory
animals (rats, mice, dogs, monkeys) can tolerate doses about
5,000 times more than is required to produce a high.” (from a
British government report). When compared to tobacco there
are equal or less effect on the lungs.
Alcohol and tobacco are two of the most addictive products
in our society. Millions of people are addicted to both. There
are questions about the true physical addiction potential of
marijuana but most experts agree it is less then either of the two
legal products. So if it is purely the addictive potential alcohol
and tobacco should be banned and medical marijuana should be
approved. Now the real question is, since we are only talking
about medical marijuana, how addictive is it compared to
prescription pain and anti-nausea medication. All the evidence
points to marijuana is far less addictive then almost all prescription
pain medication.
So let us get over our paranoia and allow our patients to have
the best treatment available for certain conditions.
Dr. Alan Koslow is a vascular surgeon, former Iowa State
Legislature candidate and a regular on the Deace Group Round
Table on WHO 1040 AM Fridays from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Koslow joins Iowa Bystander staff as Health Coordinator
Koslow joins Iowa
Bystander staff
Health Coordinator
Dr. Alan R Koslow M.D. FACS, CIME has been practicing Vascular Surgery
for 21 years, since finishing his 11 years of specialty training after Medical
School. He is unusual as a specialist in that he feels he needs to look at the entire
patient and not just the small component that the patient comes to see him for.
To this end he tries to keep up with the entire field of medicine reviewing the titles
of over 1000 articles each week reading over 100 abstracts and 30 full articles
each week in almost every field of medicine. He attends national medical
conferences in fields from Diabetes, Heart disease, hunger and others.
He was Chairperson in HS of a medical conference for HS students research. He
attended SUNY Buffalo for undergraduate and Medical School and did his
General, Trauma and Vascular Surgery training at Stanford University, UMDNJ
at Newark and University of Rochester. He has been on the faculty of Albany
Medical College, Loma Linda University, Univ. of Rochester and adjunct
f a c u l t y o f D e s M o i n e s U n i v e r s i t y .
He has been fortunate to be involved in many medical firsts. As a HS student he
worked on the development of the Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump with the inventor
of the pacemaker. He assisted in Heart transplant research in 1967-68. He was
the first person to ever use MAST trouser to try to save a person in civilian realm.
He was in the operating room for the first ever combined heart-lung transplant.
He was involved and was awarded a medal of valor for saving two lives during
the first ever use of the Go Team from Baltimore Shock-Trauma Hospital.
Despite being a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Koslow’s real passion is making a
difference outside the field of medicine.
When asked to be specific about what he does Dr. Koslow stated “I am a
community activist who supports himself by being a Vascular surgeon.” He feels
this puts into perspective his priorities and what he gets the most satisfaction
from.
While maintaining a full time Vascular surgical practice he is on several local
boards and community organizations including The American diabetes Association and the ACLU and is in a leadership position in many others. His
Community efforts began in Junior High and High School being one of ten who
conceived of and organized the first ever March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon in NYC
which has led to all those walks/runs that raise money. He conceivedof/proposed
and got implemented the first program in the U.S.A. where HS students can get
academic credit by doing community service instead of one day of school each
week. In HS he was the only causcasian student in the Queens chapter of the
NAACP.
Since arriving in Iowa in 1995 he has run for School Board once and the Iowa
Legislature twice, though not winning.
He has won two major National Awards from both the March of Dimes and
The American Diabetes Association as the National Advocacy Volunteer of the
Year. These were for his work in organizing volunteers to get the organizations’
message to the presidential candidates, lobbying for and getting passed an
ambitious legislative agenda. He wrote the initial forms of three major legislation, 1) expansion of birth defect testing, 2) Iowa Farm to School Bill, and 3)
Iowa healthy Kids Bill.
He has gone on nine humanitarian medical missions including two to Haiti and
one to El Salvador for the earthquakes and is now a member of Team Rubicon,
an elite group comprised of specialist to respond to critical medical emergancies
around the world
Bystander staff
Health Coordinator
Dr. Alan R Koslow M.D. FACS, CIME has been practicing Vascular Surgery
for 21 years, since finishing his 11 years of specialty training after Medical
School. He is unusual as a specialist in that he feels he needs to look at the entire
patient and not just the small component that the patient comes to see him for.
To this end he tries to keep up with the entire field of medicine reviewing the titles
of over 1000 articles each week reading over 100 abstracts and 30 full articles
each week in almost every field of medicine. He attends national medical
conferences in fields from Diabetes, Heart disease, hunger and others.
He was Chairperson in HS of a medical conference for HS students research. He
attended SUNY Buffalo for undergraduate and Medical School and did his
General, Trauma and Vascular Surgery training at Stanford University, UMDNJ
at Newark and University of Rochester. He has been on the faculty of Albany
Medical College, Loma Linda University, Univ. of Rochester and adjunct
f a c u l t y o f D e s M o i n e s U n i v e r s i t y .
He has been fortunate to be involved in many medical firsts. As a HS student he
worked on the development of the Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump with the inventor
of the pacemaker. He assisted in Heart transplant research in 1967-68. He was
the first person to ever use MAST trouser to try to save a person in civilian realm.
He was in the operating room for the first ever combined heart-lung transplant.
He was involved and was awarded a medal of valor for saving two lives during
the first ever use of the Go Team from Baltimore Shock-Trauma Hospital.
Despite being a brilliant surgeon, Dr. Koslow’s real passion is making a
difference outside the field of medicine.
When asked to be specific about what he does Dr. Koslow stated “I am a
community activist who supports himself by being a Vascular surgeon.” He feels
this puts into perspective his priorities and what he gets the most satisfaction
from.
While maintaining a full time Vascular surgical practice he is on several local
boards and community organizations including The American diabetes Association and the ACLU and is in a leadership position in many others. His
Community efforts began in Junior High and High School being one of ten who
conceived of and organized the first ever March of Dimes Walk-A-Thon in NYC
which has led to all those walks/runs that raise money. He conceivedof/proposed
and got implemented the first program in the U.S.A. where HS students can get
academic credit by doing community service instead of one day of school each
week. In HS he was the only causcasian student in the Queens chapter of the
NAACP.
Since arriving in Iowa in 1995 he has run for School Board once and the Iowa
Legislature twice, though not winning.
He has won two major National Awards from both the March of Dimes and
The American Diabetes Association as the National Advocacy Volunteer of the
Year. These were for his work in organizing volunteers to get the organizations’
message to the presidential candidates, lobbying for and getting passed an
ambitious legislative agenda. He wrote the initial forms of three major legislation, 1) expansion of birth defect testing, 2) Iowa Farm to School Bill, and 3)
Iowa healthy Kids Bill.
He has gone on nine humanitarian medical missions including two to Haiti and
one to El Salvador for the earthquakes and is now a member of Team Rubicon,
an elite group comprised of specialist to respond to critical medical emergancies
around the world
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