"Don't buy food that comes in packages - they are trying to hide something." My grandma often told me this on our food shopping trips in the neighborhood. I was assigned to carry her packages. It was a loving chore, and as I later discovered, it provided an education into being a wise consumer.
This was in the 1940's and the first supermarket had just recently opened in our neighborhood. Grandma was not a fan of supermarkets and packaged foods. She preferred the local neighborhood stores, where she could meet and develop a relationship with what she was bringing home. She had to touch and feel the vegetables (explaining how to determine what was fresh), and had to look the fish in the eyes (clear eyes mean freshness). She even would ask the butcher to bring meat from the refrigerator in the back and not from the windowed display (they put the items they want to get rid of out on display). Her goal - get the best food available - the family's health depended on it. Having lost one child to the 1918 pandemic influenza (also known as the "Spanish Flu"), she knew keeping the family healthy was a full-time job.
Today, again we recognize making healthier choices is so important - not only in shopping for food but also in making healthcare decisions. Are you informed? Do you know the right questions to ask for yourself and for your children?
One recurring comment we hear from new patients is, "Why did no one ever mention or consider an airway / sleep / breathing problem? Why did I have to wait years to find my hidden airway problem? Why should a child with health, learning or behavioral problems have to wait years and then be in the right place to find an unrecognized airway problem?" Waiting and the lack of treatment allows altered brain development to go on unchecked, learning problems harder to reverse, and behavioral issues more ingrained. What can you do?
Let the Foundation for Airway Health be your wise and experienced grandmother. Use the information on the website to become more informed. Take the free sleep inventory and read the success stories. Be part of the community by sharing your stories and experiences, by asking questions. Support the Foundation with a financial contribution. Help us to continue to grow our airway community.
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