Pediatrics

The Ultra-Damaging Effects of Ultra-Processed Foods

By John Neustadt, ND, Contributing Writer

We hear a lot of talk about ultra-processed foods (UPFs) these days. Though there is no officially recognized definition of “ultra-processed,” the term is widely used, and it has even become something of a political issue in recent months—-and with good reason. UPFs have become a dominant feature of the modern diet, accounting for about […]

New Study Shows US Infants Lack Bifidobacterium

By Janet Gulland, Contributing Writer

Analysis of fecal samples from 412 infants across the US shows that 19% of vaginally-born babies, and 35% of those born via C-section completely lack Bifidobacterium species in their gut microbiomes. A shocking 92% of the infants, regardless of birth mode, lack B. infantis, a predominant beneficial bacterium found in children living in rural non-industrial […]

MAHA Dreams, MAGA Realities

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Early on in the recent MAHA Report on children’s health, its authors unwittingly reveal a glaring contradiction at the heart of the alliance between Robert Kennedy, Jr’s, Make America Healthy Again movement, and Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda. It’s a contradiction that’s even more troublesome, though less headline-grabbing, than the MAHA committee’s carelessness […]

The Melatonin-ification of Childhood Bedtimes

By Michael Schulson, Contributing Writer

(This article was originally published on April 8, 2025 by www.undark.org) Two years ago, at a Stop & Shop in Rhode Island, the Danish neuroscientist and physician Henriette Edemann-Callesen visited an aisle stocked with sleep aids containing melatonin. She looked around in amazement. Then she took out her phone and snapped a photo to send […]

The Uncertain Multigenerational Implications of PFAS

By Nicole Williams

(This article was originally published on January 27, 2025 by www.undark.org) My son was born in late 2019. A few months later, early one morning, I found myself looking into his eyes as he nursed and I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Trying to ignore my nagging worry, I continued nursing him, […]

Maternal Aspartame Consumption Linked to Autism Risk in Children

By Erik Goldman

Women who drink diet soda or consume other aspartame-containing products during pregnancy may be unwittingly putting their male children at risk for autism spectrum disorders. That’s the troubling signal from a new study of more than 350 maternal-child pairs, by Sharon Fowler, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio. […]

Applying Holistic Principles to Optimize Children’s Health

By Madiha Saeed, MD, Contributing Writer

The COVID pandemic is having a huge effect on our children. We need to take it seriously. The Children’s Hospital Association and the American Association of Pediatrics have reported a nearly 20% spike in the number of young people attempting suicide, and more than a 40% increase in behavioral issues in children since the pandemic […]

Antibiotic Overuse Remains A Worldwide Problem

By Erik Goldman, Editor

Globally, there are striking regional variations in per capita antibiotic consumption. A 2018 study of prescription patterns in 31 European countries showed that Greece tops the list in Europe, at roughly 40 doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (Klein E, et al. PNAS 2018). That’s a 4-fold difference from the Netherlands, where use is lowest. […]

Confronting the “Antibiotic Iceberg”

By Erik Goldman

Antimicrobial resistance is just the tip of the iceberg of adverse health consequences caused by antibiotic overuse, according to Martin J. Blaser, MD, director of the Rutgers University Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. The less obvious—and therefore more dangerous—part of the iceberg, he says, is the epidemic of chronic inflammatory diseases driven in large […]

Antibiotics at the Crossroads

By Erik Goldman

Antibiotics can sometimes be almost miraculous in their clinical impact. Over the last 70 years, since their introduction into routine medical practice, they’ve saved countless lives. But in many cases the benefits are much less dramatic or apparent. Further, there is increasing evidence that routine use of antibiotics can have long-term detrimental effects on human […]