Herd Immunity: Creating a Shield of Protection from Disease.February 8th, 2010 | By : Dr. Katalenas Ever since the beginning of time mankind and every other animal creature on earth had to learn to defend against predators. Animals kill each other for food and territory and we all battle disease and pain. Human beings don’t kill each other for food and territory any more, at least it doesn’t happen in our civilized, modern society; but we spend lots of money and effort trying to investigate diseases in order to learn how to prevent and treat them. Over the last 100 years the life expectancy for humans has been increased by a couple of decades. During the 19th century, a person of 40 years of age was already considered old, since he/she could expect to have about 20 more years around the mortals, if lucky. Today, a 40 year-old man or woman is in his prime time. We don’t consider a person old until in his 80’s. I can tell you that my personal definition of “old” has changed as I added birthdays to my calendar. One of the biggest success stories of the 20th century includes the discovery and world-wide use of serums that, when injected, stimulates the production of defenses against infectious agents in such a way that, when you are in contact with the infective organism, it reduces the chances of getting sick by it. Very cool, right? That is the way vaccines work. And some vaccines have a double advantage: they protect you against the disease, but they also protect the whole community you live in. Every one of us becomes a vehicle to spread disease when we get sick with an infectious agent. When we are immune to it, we create a shield of protection for those around us, even those who are not immunized. If we all become immunized, the infectious agent will have nowhere to go and it could be eliminated from the face of the earth. This is exactly what happened with Smallpox; when enough people became vaccinated, the virus didn’t have any more susceptible hosts and disappeared. The World Health Organization had the goal of eradicating Polio from the earth by the beginning of the 21st Century. The goal is not going to be met and many countries still suffer from this devastating disease. I just read an article explaining how politicians in some countries in Africa are discouraging their citizens from obtaining the vaccine, brought to them free of charge, because they don’t trust the intentions of those trying to promote it. Sounds familiar? During the yearly flu outbreak many people can’t get vaccinated. It may be because they are allergic to some of the components of the vaccine; it may be because they have some disease of their immune system that keeps them from responding to the vaccine; they may be too young or too old. Some groups are at increased risk of getting sicker with the influenza virus, such as the elderly or pregnant woman. When you immunize a significant number of people, those individuals are more likely to be protected. Immunized individuals are not going to pass the flu along to their 80-year-old neighbor who may have asthma; they are not going to transmit it to the pregnant woman waiting in line next to them at Target; they are less likely to infect the small child on chemotherapy sitting next to them in church. This is HERD immunity. This is the way vaccines protect even those who are not vaccinated, by creating a shield of immune people around those who are susceptible. In order for herd immunity to be effective the majority of the population must be immunized, that is, the number of susceptible persons must be minimized and the number of immunized persons must be maximized. Talk to your doctor about this issues. Get informed. Get the facts. Like Dr. Laura would say: “Go and do the right thing”. Marta Katalenas M.D. Posted in Health Alerts, Influenza (Flu) | No Comments »
Well, I misspoke. I cannot cook without pimenton (Spanish paprika) and saffron, so I always have those two condiments at my fingertips. I strongly advise you to invest in buying them, since they can add the little kick of Mediterranean taste that some dishes need. They are both natural, unprocessed, no additives or chemical added ingredients you are going to love. But this days talking about price is important; I must say that Pimenton is not expensive since a small can of it (2.5 oz) can last months. Saffron, on the other hand, is considered the most precious and expensive spice IN THE WORLD. It comes in small filaments that are only the stigmas of the saffron flower (a member of the Iris family). Since each flower has only 3 stigmas and they must be removed from the flower by hand, it makes this spice one of the most expensive you can find. Luckily, you only need a few filaments to cook a meal! Saffron has been known since ancient times, being mentioned in the Bible. Older civilizations used it for cooking because of its unique aroma and yellow coloring properties. They also used it to make perfumes and for its therapeutic properties. It was used to calm fevers, as a liver tonic and to calm nerves. Anyway, the history is long and vast, since most ancient civilizations used it, including the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians. Today, it is indispensable ingredient in Spanish cuisine and used in all Mediterranean countries. Going back to the fish stew. Say it is Monday evening and you are driving home from work, exhausted and hungry. Let say you already have 4 potatoes, ½ onion, 2 garlic cloves, ¼ of a green bell pepper and some olive oil at home. Well, all you have to do is pay a quick visit to your friendly HEB store and pick up some white fish. You can choose between basa, cod, halibut…it goes well with any white fish. You need about 1 ½ lb. When you get home, before you change, cut the potatoes in pieces and set aside. Mince the onions, the garlic and bell pepper and cook it all in about 4 tablespoons of olive oil, until the onions are transparent. At this point you add the potatoes, in cubes, and add water to barely cover the potatoes. Add 2 teaspoons of Pimenton and 1 envelop of saffron. Cook over medium-low for 20 minutes. Now you can go and change. You also have time to check out the evening news. Now you are ready to cut the fish in small pieces, about 1×1” and add the fish to the cooking mixture. The fish will cook fast; you may need an additional 15 minutes. While you set the table and put together a salad, your fish stew will rest and absorb all the flavorings of its ingredients. Ah! I forgot to mention 1bay leaf. You should add it to the stew when you add the fish. Look in the back of your pantry, you may have some. By now you may be aware of the many studies praising the benefits of Omega 3 oils. Well, here you have them. Fish stew provides a balanced mixture of carbohydrates and protein, together with the vitamins and soothing effect of the herbs and vegetables. Perfect for dinner. Your family will be able to enjoy from the door, the minute they step into the house. I still remember the complaints of my kids when they were small. Those of you with kids know exactly what I am talking about. I had to mash everything with a fork before they would agree to eat it; they didn’t want to feel the fish, or the pepper, and blah, blah, blah. I also remember doing the exact same thing to my mother. Now we all enjoy this very simple and nutritious dish. It is time for you to create traditions and memories. The best ones will come from your efforts, when you try to teach your children to enjoy good food. Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes | No Comments » We have received a new shipment of the Influenza H1N1 Vaccine and are ready to administer it to all our patients who need it. All children over the age of 6 months of age should get the vaccine; those who are between 6 months and 9 years need two doses at least 1 month apart. At this time we have only the injectable form of the vaccine. We are also administering the Seasonal Flu vaccine as well. We give vaccines during the week by appointment only. Please call (512) 733-5437 to schedule an appointment. Pediatric Center of Round Rock. Posted in Health Alerts, Influenza (Flu) | No Comments » High blood pressure in children is not as rare as you might think. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has found that about 5% of children have blood pressure that’s higher than normal. Less than 1% of children have blood pressure that’s high enough to be classified as medically significant, but whenever a child’s blood pressure is higher than normal, it’s cause for concern. Those children face a much higher risk of developing dangerously high blood pressure as they age. One of the main contributing factors in high blood pressure for people of any age is too much salt. Salt should be used very sparingly and, in most cases, not at all. What can parents do? The fastest and most effective change you can make is to stop serving your child processed foods. Most of the sodium in our diets comes from processed foods. For example, when you make a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese, one serving has 580 milligrams of sodium. Weigh that against the recommended daily allowance of sodium for adults, 1500-2400 milligrams, then adjust for your child’s age and size. On the other hand, if you use a bag of pre-shredded cheddar cheese to make macaroni and cheese from scratch – skip the salt, which is unnecessary – it will take about the same amount of time but will cut the sodium by 25%! Even better, make it with low-fat cheese and a healthier alternative to butter, and serve it with a small salad to help fill up your child’s tummy.
Honestly, healthy cooking doesn’t have to take any longer than putting together a prepackaged meal. One kitchen tool that I highly recommend is a steamer. You can throw a few frozen chicken breasts into the steamer basket along with the vegetables, turn on the steamer, and then walk away. Give the kids a bath and, by the time you’re finished, dinner is cooked. Sprinkle on some salt-free seasoning when the food is done. Nothing could be easier than that. Fast food restaurants are notorious for using packaged foods, and like all packaged foods, they’re heavily laden with salt. Limit your trips to a fast food restaurant to no more than once a month. If you must eat out more often than that, choose a local restaurant where the food is cooked fresh. Want to learn more about healthy eating for kids?
A good place to start is at www.HealthyChildren.org, a website developed by AAP to teach parents about all health issues facing your children. It’s your job to educate your children, and the first step is to educate yourself. Posted in Healthy Eating | No Comments »
Here I am again, thinking up goals to accomplish in 2010. My list this year is long and diverse: I want to learn how to play baseball and dance flamenco. I am going to exercise in the morning at least 2 days per week and I am going to resume pilates and yoga, but this time I am not going to find excuses as regularly as I did during the old 2009. We are going to have “ board game night” with the kids on Friday night and I am going to take the dogs for a walk twice a day. By having all of those projects I can be sure to accomplish at least one of them, you see. I’m not the only one making a wish list at this time of the year. I can see television commercials advertising exercise plans, gym memberships and diet plans every time I tune in. We are all ready to go. We feel energized. We need to start over. It gives us a good feeling to talk to people and find out their special projects and wishes for the new year. I can sense the energy flowing from person to person and the positive thinking that makes anything possible running through the days during this very first part of the year. I love it. I know I’m not going to meet all my goals but, you know what? I’m sure going to try. Last week I was trying to explain to one of my adolescent patients how easy it is to lose 10 lbs in one year without a lot of pain and sacrifice. Imagine you have the habit of coming home in the evening and drinking a can of soda before dinner. Every can/bottle of soda has about 140 calories, but we are going to imagine it contains just 100 calories, to make the numbers easier to calculate. By giving up that evening soda alone you are going to miss 36,500 calories by the end of the year. Since every 3,500 calories translates into 1 lb, by December 2010 you can be 10.4 lb lighter, without even trying hard; just by giving up a small part of your day. Can you imagine how much weight loss you can add to the equation by going for a walk around the block instead of sitting down to drink the soda? How about running around the block instead of walking? It would take just a couple of minutes! You get the picture. Yes, it is not that difficult. But, like everything in life, you must be consistent and keep going. Don’t give up. Stick to your plan even when you don’t see immediate results. We live in a society that claims instant gratification and we seldom recognize the value of persistence and stamina when it comes to accomplishing a goal. Remember, the journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step. Happy, Healthy 2010 to y’all! Marta Katalenas M.D. Posted in Healthy Eating | No Comments »
When I go to Spain she cooks for me. She doesn’t get tired and she never makes excuses to avoid cooking. Everyday I spend there she asks me in the morning: “ What do you want to eat today?” On Christmas Eve I wanted to know what she was making. She told me she was going to cook light, since they had been overeating for a few days and she doesn’t like going to bed while still digesting heavy food. She made white fish with shrimp, saffron rice and spinach with garlic. I’ve tried this recipe before and I am going to adopt it for New Year’s Eve. This is how it goes: You take 2 white fish fillets; it can be any kind of white fish, from pangessius to cod. You place them in an oven-safe dish, applying olive oil to the bottom part, in contact with the dish. Then you take about ¾ lb of uncooked shrimp, cut them in very small pieces and place them over the fish, covering the whole surface. Then apply mayonnaise on top, being careful not to disrupt the shrimp on top of the fish. A good way to apply the mayonnaise is by using a rubber spatula, which allows you to make the surface smooth. How much mayonnaise to apply? I don’t know, enough to have the shrimp completely covered. Be generous! Then you only have to place in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until you observe the mayonnaise is turning brown. The saffron rice is prepared just the way you would prepare white rice, but adding saffron. Take 1 cup of rice, ½ onion and 1 garlic clove. Warm up 2 ½ cups of water and in the mean time start sautéing the onion and garlic in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When the water is about to boil, add the rice to the onions and garlic and, immediately, cover it all with the boiling water. Add 1 envelope or 1 tsp of saffron and allow cooking for about 20 minutes. Add salt while it is cooking. The spinach part of the meal adds even more color and texture. In a wok, place 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 garlic cloves. When the garlic starts to get golden, add the spinach, stirring until they are done; it takes a couple of minutes. Be aware, spinach reduces in size a lot when you cook them. Plan to use a large amount if you are feeding 4 people or more. I usually buy a big tub containing 16 oz of spinach at the grocery store. If we don’t eat it all at one meal, no problem, it tastes good if you microwave it the next day. This will be my New Year’s Eve dinner. This year my family and I decide to create a new tradition for Christmas Eve. We decided to cook something humble and easy, since we are celebrating the birth of He who was Humble and Modest. We made fried potatoes, eggs and Spanish chorizo. This combination constitutes the typical Spanish meal for when you don’t have anything else ready. If you visit friends or relatives unannounced at mealtime and they don’t have enough food prepared to share, they will make you a good plate of fried potatoes with eggs and chorizo. All fried in abundant olive oil. It is not calorie-free, as no food is, but it is natural and simple. From now on, fried potatoes with eggs and chorizo are going to be my family’s Christmas Eve meal. A tradition I hope my kids would continue for years to come in their own houses (if they ever move out of mine, that is). Note: if interested in buying good Spanish chorizo, visit www.latienda.com. Happy 2010 to you all! Marta Katalenas M.D. Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes | No Comments » The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has issued information about certain lots of the new H1N1 vaccine that need to be recalled. The recall has nothing to be with the safety of the vaccine; on-going post delivery testing shows that certain lots don’t show the strength they should at stimulating antibody production by the body.
I want to inform our patients that the Pediatric Center of Round Rock DOES NOT have any of the H1N1 recall lots. The vaccine administered at our office remains safe and strong at inducing immunity. This news does indicate the commitment of the CDC to the ongoing monitoring of the safety and efficacy of the vaccine by health authorities. Click here to read the full article from the Centers for Disease Control. Posted in Health Alerts, Influenza (Flu) | No Comments »
Studies cited by the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org) find that “obese children have lower self esteem and self confidence than their thinner peers.” No big surprise. Kids haven’t learned to separate their sense of “self” from their body image, so when they perceive themselves to be less attractive than other kids, they believe they have less value, too. Unfortunately, this belief is reinforced by everything they see on TV and in magazines, which trumpet beauty as the most important asset a person can have. We know better, but our kids don’t. The other kids your children are around don’t know better, either, which means that overweight children get more than their fair share of teasing, and they have a harder time making friends. Remember how important your friends were when you were a child? Imagine getting through one hour on the playground without friends to play with, watching the other kids from a distance. Inside the classroom, your child’s schoolwork can suffer because of a lack of self esteem. Then poor grades make them feel even worse about themselves creating a downward spiral. What you can do The first and most important piece of advice is: Don’t become part of the problem. Don’t try to tease your child into changing their eating habits. Making fun of your child’s weight is not the way to help them lose a few pounds. Instead of positioning yourself as the enemy, become part of your child’s support system. Reinforce everything you love about this special person, every unique and wonderful quality. Let your home be a haven from the stresses of the world. At the same time, do encourage healthier eating by setting a positive example. Be honest with yourself. Do you prepare healthy meals for your kids? Do you make healthy choices when grocery shopping? Start by creating a more active life for your family by getting involved in fun activities with your child. Even taking a brisk walk around the neighborhood can be fun, and it can give you and your kids a chance to chat about your day. Being fit and healthy physically increases your child’s chance to be happy. Next time you reach for an unhealthy snack, think about the cost to your child’s long-term happiness. By Dr. Marta Katalenas Posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes | No Comments »
You may be thinking that you don’t want to ruin the wonder of Christmas for your kids by depriving them of holiday goodies. However, think about what allowing your kids to overindulge does to them. Childhood obesity causes joint pain, high blood pressure, and diabetes, as well as a host of other ailments associated more often with middle-aged adults. Here are some practical suggestions to keep Christmas fun and merry, while also encouraging your children toward better health. As a bonus gift to you, you might even lose a couple of pounds over the holidays, too. Walk more.
Eat less.
Have a wonderful – and healthy – holiday season! Dr. Marta Katalenas Posted in Healthy Eating | No Comments » We are scheduling a Flu Clinic on Wednesday, December 16th at our office. Due to the high volume of requests for both the Seasonal and the H1N1 vaccine for our patients, we will be able to immunize a larger number of patients with both the Seasonal and H1N1 vaccines during this clinic. Pediatric Center of Round Rock Posted in Health Alerts, Influenza (Flu) | No Comments » |
  |
Making a delicious meal for the family should not be difficult. It should be easy and painless. If you ever want to impress and at the same time start training your kid’s taste buds in the right direction, try this fish stew recipe that is not complicated. It does require some planning ahead, but no more time consuming that a quick stop at HEB on your way home from work to buy some fresh fish. The rest of the ingredients you may already have at home.
Macaroni and cheese isn’t the only meal that comes from a box. Whenever you’re tempted to pick up a boxed type meal, at the very least, take a moment to look at the nutrition information provided. Do this in the grocery store, before you decide whether you really want to bring this food into your home. Once it’s home, you will make it, and your child will eat it. But if you read the nutrition information in the store and see that one serving has more sodium than your child should eat in a day, you will be more likely to return the box to the shelf and look for healthier alternatives. Soon, you may skip the packaged meal aisle altogether.
Everybody has good intentions at the beginning of a new year. We promise to be good, to eat right and to exercise regularly; even when those were the old, un-met goals for the year that just ended. I know, because I do it every year too.
Have I ever mentioned my mother is the best cook in the whole wide world? Well, she is. All I know about healthy eating I learned from her, even when my trials to emulate her are not that successful. My kids notice the difference first, and I don’t know why, since I follow her teachings to the smallest detail! This is what they tell me: “It is good, but Aya’s taste better”. We call her Aya.
As a pediatrician, I care about more than just your children’s physical health. Mental and emotional wellbeing are equally important. Sadly, the greatest preventable threat to your child’s physical health also threatens their mental and emotional health. I’m talking, of course, about childhood obesity.
Santa Claus is magic in a red velvet suit. Only he can get away with being fat without facing consequences. When our stomachs are like a bowl full of jelly, we face health problems, some quite serious. There are ways that you and your kids can enjoy the holiday season without gaining weight.