Superstition, Updated

CluelessThere’s nothing new about the notion of wrapping food in myth or taboo, but our species can be inventive when it comes to finding new ways to do it:

The Copenhagen Post reports:

Diets low in fat, carbohydrates and sugar have become more and more popular for people who want to live healthily and lose weight, but the trend may be dangerous for children.

Experts from the national association against eating disorders, LMS, warn that a growing number of children, primarily girls aged 8-10, are malnourished due to strict bans in their homes against certain foods.

“The girls who consult me are literally afraid to eat butter, white bread or pasta. It’s poison to them,” eating disorder therapist Pernille Ungermann told Berlingske.

Meanwhile, here’s Alicia Silverstone, adding a little technophobia into the mix:

Alicia Silverstone has revealed that her two-year-old son Bear has never been vaccinated for the usual run of childhood diseases including chickenpox and measles or had a ‘drop of medicine’ because she prefers a natural approach.

The 39-year-old vegan actress writes in her new parenting guide The Kind Mama that she believes a ‘plant-based diet’ is an ‘essential part of well-being’ and works with a doctor who shares these views.In an interview with People magazine Ms Silverstone, who is married to musician Christopher Jarecki, says that she feeds her son a light miso soup for breakfast and he has ‘never been sick.’

…If Bear has a snuffly nose she uses eucalyptus oil to help him breathe more easily and feeds him cooled Japanese ‘ume kuzu tea’ if his temperature runs high. Another thing she recommends is to soak a child’s socks in vinegar or cold water and wrap them around the feet to ‘bring down the fever.’

A ‘cooled cabbage leaf on the back of a baby’s head’ is another suggestion…For earache Ms Silverstone says squeezing ‘a few drops of breast milk’ into an infant’s ear will ‘help alleviate discomfort and clear the tubes.’

Okey dokey.

And the vaccine thing is not cool, not cool at all.

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