FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF JUNE 10, 2001:
During the summer, I'm home during the day but my kids are frequently out and about. To what extent should I be monitoring their comings and goings?
Unless your children are with another trusted adult, you should always know where they are and with whom, says Harriet Shaklee, University of Idaho Extension family development specialist. That's the case whether your kids are 7 or 17.
"You're the mom. It's perfectly reasonable for you to expect your children to keep you informed of their whereabouts," says Shaklee. "Make it clear that you need to know what they plan to do, where they plan to be, who their companions are and when they plan to come back. And, if they change those plans, they should let you know that, too."
Yes, your children will complain that none of their friends' parents watch them as closely as you do, but so what? "Get used to that line," says Shaklee. "It's the basic kid line and you'll be hearing more of it. Give them the basic parent line back, that you're the mom or dad and it's your job to monitor what they're doing."
"Research shows that parental monitoring really makes a difference in children's behavior," she says. "When they know that their behavior is on their parents' minds, children make better choices, take fewer undesirable risks and engage in more behavior that is in line with what parents would approve."
What are the yellow-and-brown flies that are hovering over my flowers? They're between the size of a housefly and a honeybee, but they don't seem to sting.
They're the aptly named hover fly and, you're right, they don't sting, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho Extension entomologist. He calls them "nature's original helicopter" because of their habit of hovering right above flowering plants.
Not only do they pose no threat to you, but hover flies are important beneficials in your garden and landscape. You can find their green to greenish-white larvae--about a quarter- to three-eighths of an inch long--feeding on your aphids. "If you see a lumpy-looking maggot rummaging around in the middle of your aphids, that's a hover fly larva," Stoltz says.
Hover fly larvae are smooth-skinned and sausage-shaped, with a head that's pointy and a tail that looks like it's been cut off flat. Like the black-and-orange, alligator-shaped larvae of the lady beetle, they should be protected from pesticide sprays. Don't even use insecticidal soaps around them, which will dry them out just as it dries out aphids.
What can you tell me about solanines in potatoes? Can they can problems?
Although all potatoes contain very small amounts of naturally occurring toxic alkaloids called solanines, there hasn't been a single case of solanine poisoning attributable to potatoes in the U.S. in more than half a century, says Sandy McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist.
A hundred grams of raw potatoes contain between 2 and13 milligrams of solanine, McCurdy says. Experts believe that doses of 200 milligrams of solanine per 100 grams of raw potatoes--eaten at one sitting--may cause problems. Symptoms can be gastrointestinal (abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting) or neurological (apathy, drowsiness, mental confusion, shortness of breath, weak and rapid pulse).
When raw potatoes turn green--primarily from exposure to light--their solanine levels can reach 80 to 100 milligrams. According to McCurdy, you can keep solanine content under the recommended limit of 20 milligrams by storing your spuds in a cool, dry, dark place--conditions that are not conducive to greening. If your potatoes do green up, peel the skins and shoots in which the solanines concentrate. "You don't need to discard green potatoes," she says. "Just peel them."
I went on one of those high-protein diets about six months ago. I lost about 25 pounds but my LDL cholesterol went up from 140 to 220 mg/dl. Is this unusual?
You're far from the only person whose LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels increased sharply on a high-protein diet, says Martha Raidl, University of Idaho Extension nutrition specialist. In fact, the American Heart Association has drafted an advisory paper that will warn the public about the dangers of these high-protein diets.
One of the reasons LDL-cholesterol levels increase in high-protein dieters is that these diets are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Raidl recommends that you try to bring your LDL-cholesterol down below 130 mg/dl. The AHA also has guidelines for HDL or "good" cholesterol levels: these should be above 35 mg/dl, since the HDL cholesterols actually transport cholesterol out of the bloodstream.
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