Healthy Living by Lori

Take some time on Thursday September 9th to watch Urban Rush. Line up includes a power house of amazing women! Fall interior décor trends from JANETTE EWAN, fashion trends by JACOB, musical guest KIM KUZMA, registered dietitian LORI PETRYK tackles your lunch box, and from the new “Lost Girl” TV series on Showcase, actress ANNA SILK.

First the Environmental Working Groups identified 12 most pesticide ridden fruits and vegetables, then the David Suzuki foundation listed the 12 cosmetic chemicals to avoid and just this week Consumer Reports followed suit by identifying 12 dietary supplements, which they refer to as their “dirty dozen”. It isn’t a surprise that Consumer Reports would choose to review herbal dietary supplements, as they are estimated to be worth more than 5 billion in sales, and continue to increase in popularity. With that much money to be made, one would think that there would be regulations in place to ensure safely to consumers. We have laws around the sales of over the counter pharmaceutical drugs and alcohol, as most of us know too much of a good thing, is never a good thing! Currently however, Health Canada does not regulate supplements as strictly as drugs, and there is a war raging between producers of the supplements and health regulators on whether they should be able to do so. Supplements do not have to undergo safety or efficacy tests prior to being sold and it’s not illegal to market supplements as a treatment, preventive measure, or cure for disease to anyone of any age. It is with that in mind that the popular Consumer Reports Magazine scrutinized nearly 1,100 ingredients found in the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. They examined supplements that have ingredients that may have potential health risks, possibly leading to cancer, kidney and liver damage, cardiovascular problems, and death. The report states that out of the products they studied, only about a third have any scientific evidence to support some level of safety and effectiveness. Many consumer however feel that they don’t need the research to know if something is working for them, and would like nothing more then for the government to stay clear of supplement regulations. While the debate rages on, my suggestion is simple.  Just like you head to your medical doctor to obtain drugs that require a prescription, so should you head to see your Naturopathic Doctor and/or registered dietitian before heading to the supplement counter. Having health professionals help you choose the product that will work for you, with the least amount of harm takes the guess work out of the rows of pills that line the shelves.  For those of us that are not Consumer report subscribers, Medical News Today, featured an excellent article on the report which can be found here.

Last month, the American President’s Cancer Panel annual report, “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What Can We Do Now”, was released. This year’s report focused on environmental carcinogens. A key message in the report is that out of the approximately 80,000 chemicals in our environment, including pesticides and food additives, very little of these chemicals have been tested to see how they affect our long-term health. The report goes on to state that current research may likely have underestimated these chemicals affect on our cancer risk. In order to help reduce cancer risk, the report suggests individuals choose foods that have been grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers and eat meat that has been raised free of exposure to growth hormones and antibiotics.
One way a person can follow the reports suggestions is to eat organic foods. To be classified as an organic farm in Canada, pesticides, chemicals, growth hormones, or antibiotics cannot be used. As a result, there are many beneficial effects on the environment, which indirectly benefit human health. For example, organic farming uses natural methods for maintaining and improving soil health. Healthier soil decreases run off pollution into water ways, and increases the soils ability to sequester excess carbon from the air. These environmental benefits of healthy soil have been widely recognized by organizations such as US Food and Agricultural Organization. The Fosterbauer Family Natural Food Farm, in Chilliwack, BC, is an example of how one local farm proves it can be done.
Fosterbauer Family Natural Food Farm, began in 1977, selling blueberries and has quickly grown to provide a range of vegetables, blueberries, strawberries, eggs, and beef. A unique feature of this farm is that it uses a method called “biodynamic farming”. This method values the importance of soil health so that healthier plants are grown and higher quality food is produced, with out the use of pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers. You can find Fosterbauer Family Natural Food Farm products at many different farmers markets throughout the Lower Mainland, and throughout BC

People have already started to think more seriously about how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what effects it has on the environment. The release and press coverage of the President’s Cancer Panel report, is another large step towards increasing public awareness and demand for organic produce. By supporting local food producers, such as Fosterbauer Family Natural Food Farm, it builds a “give-and-take” relationship with our surroundings, where we can work towards reducing our impact and overall, create a healthier living environment.

Written in collaboration with Jill McDowell and Nicole O’Byrne, of the UBC Dietetic Program

Many people are wondering how to be sure a product really is organic when it claims it is organic. As of June 30, 2009, the Organic Products Regulations require mandatory certification to the revised National Organic Standard for agricultural products represented as organic in international and inter-provincial trade, or that bear the federal organic agricultural product legend (or federal logo). This means if a products states it is Certified Organic- it has to contain at least 95% organic ingredients.  One way to be sure is to look for the new organic logo pictured above. If you are still unsure, you can click here to find a list certified organic bodies providing services under the Canadian Organic Regime. Bottom line: if a product does not carry the logo or is not listed, then they do not meet the Canadian standards.

A lot of people wonder whether they should be taking a daily multivitamin.  Any health professional that has been following the research on multivitamins over the years, will not be able to give you a straight answer to that, and for good reason. There has been conflicting research, some of it stating multivitamins help to prevent certain diseases, some of it concluding it makes things worse. Medscape Medical News outlined two conflicting studies, one showing a 33% decrease in breast cancer risk associated with multivitamin use and yet another observed a 19% increased risk of breast cancer associated with multivitamin use. While the debate rages on, I recommend not worrying about taking a pill as there is no one multivitamin that will give you all the 10,000-100, 00 phytochemicals that you receive from eating whole foods. 1000′s of studies have shown that a diet of unprocessed whole foods when eaten in moderation helps to prevent cancer and other chronic disease. That you can be sure of!

Treehugger, a leading online one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information in honor of Earth Month and the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day, introduce their second annual Best of Green Awards, which highlight the individuals and organizations that are pushing the green movement forward. Click out this year winners for the Best of Green 2010 Food and Health!

Take some time today, to watch the Urban Rush EarthDay show that includes Vancouver’s Mayor Robertson , ‘Carbon Nation’ Director Peter Byck, David Suzuki Foundation’s “Queen of Green” Lindsay Coulter and yours truly, speaking about my favorite Vancouver local green food producers.

Often when you hear about the Dirty Dozen, it relates to the top 12 fruits or vegetables that have high pestiside residue. The David Suzuki Foundation has just come out with a new dirty dozen list, pertaining to personal care products. These products contain industrial chemicals including carcinogens, pesticides, reproductive toxins, endocrine disruptors, plasticizers, degreasers, and surfactants. The products not only affect your health directly, they affect us indirectly when they wash away our dirt.. the chemicals also wash down the drain, making there way into our food (fish) and water systems!

Check out your favorite  RD on the Urban Rush ‘Earth Day’ episode today. I will be talking about local nutritious “low food footprint” choices. Tune into Urban Rush at 5PM, 7PM, 11PM and noon or on line tomorrow

So you thought the best thing you could do to reduce your output of CO2 emissions was to ride your bike? Well, that’s a great start; however, if you really want to reduce the amount of CO2 we produce, you need to start with what you put in your mouth.  When you account for all the emissions from seed, to plate, to landfill, the food we eat accounts for as much as 31% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. That’s a gigantic Food Footprint!

Top choices that are ‘Good for You & Good for Our Earth’

1. Eat less red meat and dairy
Research shows that a diet high in red meat increases the risk of colorectal cancer. The raising of livestock for human consumption is also responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. On average, red meat is around 150% more greenhouse-gas intensive than chicken or fish.

When eating red meat and dairy:
⇒    Buy organic, local or grass-fed meat and dairy whenever possible and choose the leanest meat and trim any visible fat before cooking
⇒    Limit the amount of red meat you eat each week to 3 servings. A serving is 85 grams (3 ounces) when cooked – this is smaller than   a   deck of cards
⇒    Choose  low or fat-free dairy products

2. Reduce your intake of processed and packaged foods

The majority of processed foods are filled with additives, high in sugar, fat, salt, and stripped of nutrients. Processed meats have a high level of sodium nitrate (salt), considered by many to be carcinogenic (causes cancer). Not only that, packaged food is extremely resource intense. Snack foods, most juices, even veggie burgers (prepared, boxed, frozen and transported) often consume much more energy through processing and packaging than non-packaged foods.

3. Pass on the air miles

Often we think ‘Eating Local’ is the best thing we can do for the environment. In reality 80 per cent of the energy used to get food from the farm to the table occurs during food production. Transportation accounts for 10% -15 %. The best thing about eating local is actually the quality of the food and supporting your local economy. Even when the highest post-harvest handling standards are met, foods grown far away spend significant time on the road, and therefore, have more time to lose nutrients before reaching the marketplace.  When shopping for foods that perish quickly, look for sustainable locally grown foods — your body and the earth will thank you for it.

4.  Say NO to supersize

The more food you pile on your plate, the more likely you are to eat it. Ordering larger portion sizes often causes over-consumption of food, and this can have a negative impact on weight. In addition, every time a person takes more then he or she can eat, what is left on the plate causes our landfills to also grow in size. As this wasted food rots in landfills, it generates methane gas that contributes to global warming. Worldwide, 1/2 of the food produced is wasted. Wasted food is wasted energy. Warm your heart, not the earth. Eat whole food and think twice before asking for that second helping.