We all know that milk is rich in vitamin D and great for growing bones, but there are new reasons why we should get our kids gulping down the white elixir.
According to researchers at McMaster University, milk is a "more effective way of countering dehydration than a sports drink or water itself".
This nugget is especially important to note during hot summer weather or when children are being active.
"Children become dehydrated during exercise," said Brian Timmons, research director of the Child Health and Exercise Medicine Program at McMaster and principal investigator of the study.
"It's important they get enough fluids, particularly before going into a second round of a game. Milk is better than either a sports drink or water because it is a source of high quality protein, carbohydrates, calcium and electrolytes."
Milk also replaces sodium lost in sweat and helps the body retain fluid better, not to mention providing much-needed protein for muscle development and growth -- none of which is not found in the other drinks studied.
The eight to 10 year olds involved in the study exercised in a climate chamber, were given a drink, then measured for hydration levels.
Timmons claimed a staggering amount of active adults and children don't drink enough to stay hydrated during exercise, which can lead to an increased risk of heat-related illness such as heat stroke.
So there you have it. Milk isn't just a vessel in which to dunk cookies. The next time your kids come rushing through the door, all sweaty and breathless, hand over a tall cold glass of the white stuff before sending them on their way.
Oscar-nominated Mark Ruffalo has joined the band of Hollywood eco-activists in opposing Alberta's oilsands.
In a YouTube clip he urged Americans to participate in a series of sit-ins outside the White House until September 3rd to "put your principles into action".
"Up north where the tarsands are located, native people's homelands have already been wrecked," said Ruffalo, who also opposes a sketchy natural gas extraction technique known as 'fracking' in upstate New York, where the actor has a home.
He will join other actors, such as Danny Glover and Canadian, Margot Kidder of Superman fame, and Canadian Avatar director, James Cameron, in contesting our environmental crimes in Alberta, where there is "basically no governmental control... over the oil and gas industry".
The stars are hoping the sit-ins would persuade President Obama to axe Tran-Canada Corp's plans to run a $7billion pipeline of crude oil from Alberta through the heart of America to a Texas refinery.
So far around 1,500 people have signed up to participate in the protests over the next two weeks. That's people from all 50 states coming to "get arrested". God bless, America, and God bless Mark Ruffalo for making environmentalism sexy.
"
Move over Doogie Howser, there's another medical prodigy in town.
While most 12-year-olds are out riding their bikes and soaking up the last lazy days of summer, not so for Gaelan Edwards, the eldest of five siblings, who now has a unique set of bragging rights for his back-to-school reunion.
He delivered his baby brother singlehandedly.
The Campbell River, B.C. resident had been up late watching TV when his mom, 30-year-old Danielle Edwards went into labour and cried out to him.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he told his mother, seeing the baby's head.
Gaelan went into action, pulling the baby out by the shoulders and even cutting the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors and a paper-bag clamp. It was only after he'd helped his mom deliver the placenta and wrapped his crying baby brother in a blanket that he called a friend of his mother’s, and washed up. The whole ordeal took 20 minutes.
Incredibly, the seventh grader wasn't squeamish, and insisted he'd learned what to do "from reading medical books, and watching hospital shows on TV". For someone who wants to be a doctor one day, it seems Gaelan already has a bit of a head start.
“You know, when a baby is born, they’re supposed to cry,” he said matter-of-factly. “It means they’re a healthy baby.”
His new brother, Caynan, is a healthy 7 pounds 9 ounces. There was no mention of a father or any other adult present at the time of delivery.
Gaelan now admits that the experience was “pretty gross. The room smelled funny and the baby was squishy. I washed my hands with an entire bar of soap.” Would he do it all over again if he had to? Of course, he said, although "next time, I’m wearing a plastic glove.”
Image Credit: The Globe and Mail
Printer-friendly version