Apr 1, 2012

by Allan Lawry   • To understand how osteoporisis is a healing mechanism and not a disease, a brief history of the term “osteoporosis” is necessary. In 1830, French pathologist Jean Lobstein observed there were holes in the bones of some of the cadavers he was studying. And around that time, various researchers began to combine two Latin...

Apr 1, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on prescription drugs • Why is more money going towards drug discovery research than drug safety research? Because that’s what the government of Canada is paying for. Today's fortune-tellers, horoscope writers and other modern soothsayers are very compelling figures. They are magnets for...

Apr 1, 2012

by Phil Howard, Michigan State University   • I started studying consolidation in food industries when I was a graduate student at the University of Missouri. When I moved to California where this trend was rapidly occurring – despite the fact that many of the pioneering companies set out to be alternatives to the mainstream food system –...

Apr 1, 2012

  by Dr. Eldon Dahl, ND • Ever wondered if you could bottle that sleepy feeling you get after eating a big turkey dinner, for future use on one of those long, restless nights? Well, last December, the Canadian health food industry was overjoyed when L-tryptophan, along with nine other products, was released from *Schedule F restriction. Until then,...

Apr 1, 2012

SCIENCE MATTERS by David Suzuki Cities cover just two percent of the world’s land area, yet they account for about 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. According to the United Nations, 59 percent of us now live in cities; in developing countries, 81 percent of people are urbanites. And those figures are rising every day. Even though cities are a major...

Apr 1, 2012

ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot Don’t eat anything your grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. – Michael Pollan Mindful eating and consumption can change the world, a practice referred to as eco-gastronomy by the “Slow Movement.” When we aspire to rightful living, we need to be aware of our food miles and whether the food...

Apr 1, 2012

NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis, RDs In the quest for health and vitality, in the realm of food we have enemies and allies. Our food enemies entice us from every corner and it takes a little planning to surround ourselves with food allies that support our physical and mental health. (Raw plant foods are definitely allies.) Below is a list of food...

Mar 1, 2012

by Helen Papaconstantinos BA, CNP, RNCP • Could Canada’s younger generations be expected to live shorter lives than their parents because of obesity? It is a chilling thought, but over the last 25 years, Statistics Canada reports have shown a considerable increase in the percentage of children and adolescents who are overweight and obese. At the root...

Mar 1, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on prescription drugs • Psst. Hey kid, try one of these. It’s really good stuff. Thus goes the standard pitch of the schoolyard pusher, selling the benefits of the product – so to speak – and expanding his market. What he seeks is a happy client who will hopefully come back for more....

Mar 1, 2012

ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot According to Carolyn Steel, author of Hungry City: How Food Shapes our Lives, supplying cities with food is one of the most important issues on the planet. Her TED lecture starts off showing how people living in cities in the past used to feed themselves and what happened when cities expanded. As cities grew, food production...