The media is promoting the “good bacteria” in our guts - it is a great selling point for yoghurt however does not apply to most factory yoghurt. Still, “good bacteria” is important.Besides all the organisms you can see, from fruit flies to elephants, there are thousands too small to see. These, the micro-organisms, are bacteria, protozoa, viruses, yeasts, and so on. They are one-celled creatures and fully alive: they absorb nutrition, expel waste, and grow and reproduce according to their own internal DNA. Micro-organisms are essential to us. They make all our fermented foods like wine, beer, cheese, yoghurt and more, and they make our bread rise. They also live on us and inside us; they help digest food and make vitamins. If you are healthy, about ten pounds of your weight is actually your micro-biome, (also called “biota”) the collection of millions of invisible (to the naked eye) micro-organisms that call your body home. Most of them are in your gut or on your skin. You can’t be healthy without them.They were first discovered in the 1600’s when the microscope was invented. Recently, our knowledge about the micro-biome has been exploding.Now, what is your gut? The digestive tract or ‘alimentary tract’ is essentially a long tube - around 30 feet long if you straightened it out. It starts with the mouth and includes the esophagus (in the throat), stomach, small intestine, large intestine, colon, and rectum. Like the hole in a doughnut or a bagel, it goes through but actually not into. The surface of the outside continues as the surface of the tube. In fact, the skin and the gut are formed from the same type of cell—epithelial cells. They both offer hospitality to micro-organisms. Of course, these are not all good. “Germs” are disease-causing biota, and when our immune system can not control them, we use “antibiotics.” When we support the immune system, we can minimize our dependence on antibiotics. That is best because otherwise the germs adapt to survive and antibiotics also kill friendly essential bacteria. Sometimes yoghurt is recommended after a series of antibiotics to repair the microbiome. Most commercial yoghurt has no live bacteria plus added sugar; that stuff won’t help you much.The good microbes on your skin help keep disease out. I seriously question those hand “sanitizers” that are everywhere now because some studies suggest that instead of protecting us, they do more harm by killing good bacteria. The micro-biome and our relationship with it are huge topics. Maybe keep this introduction handy for further explorations. How we replenish it (probiotics), how we nourish it (prebiotics), its role in physical and mental health and chronic illness. For those interested, my workshop on micro-biome in January is at Torrance Health in Markham, far from Downsview, but it’s free and you are welcome. The date is not confirmed - please email me if you want details.Comments or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.com. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.CA.
Bruise news - potatoes
I think we are all familiar with bruises, especially on our knees and on our kids. On our bodies, bruises show the rupture of the tiny blood vessels called “capillaries” due to injury. The bruise fits right into the body’s self-repair project, which includes temporary blood clots and reconstruction. Usually, there is nothing to worry about and not much to do. An ice pack early in the injury can move the process along.It is not exactly the same with bruised potatoes (or apples, etc.). A potato, once bruised, does not heal. Although there is some slow movement of fluids inside a vegetable, there is no blood and no repair mechanism. A plant can seal off the injured area and just work around the injury. A bruised potato gets a black spot and before we eat the potato, we instinctively cut the bruise off. And that’s the smart thing to do. Although the bruise does not make the potato sick, eating the bruise could make you sick. The bruised spot on the potato collects toxins and pathogens (germs). They are bacteria feasting on the injured potato tissue, and you don’t want to eat that or them.Dr. Caius Rommens, Ph. D., is a scientist who was working in genetic engineering (GMO) with a company in Idaho - Idaho is famous for American potatoes like PEI for Canadian potatoes. He is my hero today. Dr. Rommens blew the whistle and quit his job. His team created a potato that does not change color when bruised. The bruise stays white—but it still collects the toxins and pathogens. The company, called Simplot, sells these potatoes as “bruise-resistant” or “russet-white.” However, they are not bruise resistant: they just conceal the toxins so you are more likely to consume the pathogens. In an interview, Dr. Rommens explained how good scientists get involved in bad work and why the government approval process fails to intervene. You can read it at www.gmwatch.org . He wrote a book about these issues, Pandora’s Potatoes: The Worst GMO’s.I am fully convinced that we should avoid GMO foods. They do not solve any problems. The evidence of their harm is increasing. Comments or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.com. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.CA.
World Health Organization calls for the elimination of trans fats in foods
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global strategy called “REPLACE” that will guide countries on how to remove artificial trans fats from their food supply by 2023. “This initiative is meant to lead countries in establishing legislation to eliminate the trans fats,” as stated by the director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the WHO, Dr. Francesco Branca. REPLACE stands for Review dietary sources, Promote use of healthier fats, Legislate, Assess changes, Create awareness and Enforce. The REPLACE plan is the first time the WHO is proposing a call-to-action on the removal of a chronic disease factor.Chronic diseases, or non-communicable diseases, are a combined result of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural factors such as dietary intake. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide.Artificial trans fats are made when vegetable oil hardens in a process called partial hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenated oils have been added to foods since the early twentieth century. They prolong shelf life and enhance the flavour and texture of many foods, including commercial baked goods, fried foods and snack foods, and are used in products such as vegetable shortening, stick margarine, coffee creamer and ready-to-use frostings. The intake of trans fats raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad cholesterol” and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.Industry produced trans fats differ from naturally occurring trans fats found in dairy and beef. No evidence of harmful effects has been identified from these food sources.Last year, the Minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, announced the final step to phase out the production of partially hydrogenated oils in all foods sold in Canada. The ban will come into effect September 12, 2018 to allow enough time for food manufacturers to find suitable alternatives.
Graves’ Uncertainties
Last fall, we ran a short article about the thyroid. Just in case you still don’t have that issue on your coffee table, the thyroid gland, about one ounce, is in your throat, hugging your voice box. Thyroid hormones control how fast you burn fat, regulate temperature, and influence the general energy level of your metabolism. Previously we discussed how producing too little thyroid hormone (hypothyroidism) can affect your health; the condition is not rare and has pretty good treatment options. Now we’ll discuss the effects of too much thyroid (hyperthyroidism). This condition, fairly rare — less than two people in 100 — results from Graves’ disease. Graves’ disease is an autoimmune process where our immune system attacks its own thyroid gland and often other tissues including the eyes. Genes play a role, but so do lifestyle and the environment. Symptoms of hyperthyroidism can include nervousness, weight loss, irregular menstruation, rapid heart beat, and more.Medical treatments include surgical procedures to remove or reduce the enlarged thyroid gland, radiation therapy to inactivate the gland, and taking medications that nobody, I guarantee, takes for fun. But are there less invasive alternatives? Quite likely but not always. If we want to reason scientifically, we must consider uncertainty. If the results are positive, we cannot guarantee how long they will stay effective. Last year, I worked with three clients who had received medical diagnoses of Graves’ disease from their family doctors or specialists. They wanted to avoid surgery, radiation and medication. And hey have been able to: two of the clients have succeeded for more than a year.A modern naturopath will understand the enlarged thyroid as inflammation and will treat it accordingly. In these three cases, I had reasons to suspect that the inflammation was rooted in dietary sensitivities. In recent years, blood tests became available for a category of food reactions mediated by immune cells called IgA (this is different from allergies where the culprit is IgE). These tests have proved very helpful. Unlike allergies, reactions via IgA are often “invisible to the naked eye” but have insidious, long term consequences. With data from these tests as a starting point, we were able to work out a nutritional program that included adequate supplements that calmed down the autoimmune reaction, and lifestyle changes — mainly reducing stress. When these clients returned to their specialists, the diagnosis of Graves’ disease was withdrawn. Much is uncertain in health, but we must always look to rectify it through improving our lifestyles.Comments or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.ca. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.ca.
MIND diet could reduce cognitive decline in stroke survivors
The MIND diet (short for Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets. Both diets have been found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, hypertension and stroke. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center created the diet, and according to preliminary findings, the diet may help slow the cognitive decline in stroke survivors. The discovery is significant since stroke survivors are twice as likely to develop dementia when compared to the general population.“The foods that promote brain health, including vegetables, berries, fish and olive oil, are included in the MIND diet,” said Dr. Laurel J. Cherian, a vascular neurologist and the lead author of the study. The MIND diet has 15 dietary elements, including ten brain-healthy food groups, and five unhealthy groups which include red meat, butter, cheese, pastries and sweets, and fried and fast food.From 2004 to 2017, Cherian and colleagues studied 106 participants for the Rush Memory and Aging Project who had a history of stroke associated with a decline in their ability to think, reason and remember. Participants were assessed every year for an average of 5.9 years, and their eating habits were monitored using food journals.The researchers grouped participants into three groups: (1) those who were highly adherent to the MIND diet; (2) those who were moderately adherent; and (3) those who were least adherent. Participants whose diets scored highest on the MIND diet grading scheme had substantially slower rates of cognitive decline than those who scored lowest. “The Mediterranean and DASH diets have been shown to be protective against coronary artery disease and stroke, but it seems that the nutrients emphasized in the MIND diet may be better suited to overall brain health and preserving cognition,” Cherian said. According to Cherian, studies have found that folate, vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids, carotenoids and flavonoids are associated with slower rates of cognitive decline, while substances such as saturated and hydrogenated fats have been linked with dementia.To adhere to the MIND diet, you need to eat at least three servings of whole grains and two portions of vegetables every day, one of which must be a leafy green; you must also snack most days on nuts, have beans every other day, eat poultry and berries at least twice a week and eat fish once a week.Cherian cautions that the study had a relatively small number of participants and its findings cannot be interpreted as a cause-and-effect relationship. Although further research is needed to understand the link between this style of eating and its positive effects on the brain, “For now, I think there is enough information to encourage stroke patients to view food as an important tool to optimize their brain health,” says Cherian.
Giving Ourselves WHO’s Gift of Health
Who is WHO? WHO is the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ agency for international health. The 1948 Charter of WHO defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." April 2018 will bring us the 70th anniversary of WHO. Though I often write about food and nutrition, they are not the only basis for good health. As the WHO definition of health tells us, we must broaden our focus to include physical, mental and social well-being. Physical activity at work or during leisure is equally important as nutrition. Mental health depends on our relationships with other people, with our community and with the environment. We’re not health hermits! Research shows that people who find something to be grateful for every day live happier, healthier and longer lives. Social well-being equals interdependence. Safety of our water, quality of our food and the relative cleanliness of our air reflect collective commitments.Social well-being also includes the protection and development of children and the communal support of the persons who nurture and educate them. Social well-being means taking good care of people who are exposed to potential hardships by age, frailty, economic stress, physical or mental challenges, or for any other reasons. Social well-being requires our readiness to correct abuse. All of that is part of individual and community health. At the heart of the WHO definition is “community.” This word doesn’t appear in the definition, but the concept is foundational for all three components (physical, mental, and social). To be healthy, we need to be connected and compassionate toward one another.Speaking of connectivity, we in Downsview just got a boost. The subway extension means improved connectivity with friends, with family members, with our uptown and downtown universities and hospitals. Our social fabric will be tighter and our professional performance will be enhanced and will become more efficient. Health and transportation are intimately connected. For the 75th anniversary of WHO, our present will be the Finch LRT, bringing a game-changing Arts Centre and Community Hub at Jane-Finch. It will be an uplift—a health uplift.Ever since my early years in Canada, the WHO definition of health has been an inspiration for me. I am grateful that individual health and community health coincide in my professional career. Opinions or questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.ca. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.ca.
Consumption of ultra-processed foods is at an all-time high in Canada
The Heart and Stroke Foundation has released new reports indicating that almost half of our daily caloric intake is in the form of ultra-processed foods. The study analyzed the dietary patterns of Canadians by focusing on processed food intake using a food classification system. Food is not deemed healthy or unhealthy simply due to ‘processing’. In this study, the leading method used to classify diets according to food processing was the NOVA system. The NOVA system involves physical, biological and chemical processes applied to foods after their separation from nature. NOVA classifies all foods and drinks into four distinct groups, which include:
- Unprocessed or minimally processed foods (fresh/dry/frozen vegetables; grains; legumes; fruits; nuts; meat; eggs; milk);
- Processed culinary ingredients (fats; sugars; oils; salt);
- Processed foods (bread; cheese; salted/pickled/cured meats; vegetables, legumes, fruits preserved in oil/brine/syrup);
- Ultra-processed foods (fast food; sugary drinks; chips; candies; sweetened milk products; sweetened cereals; industrialized breads/desserts; packaged soups; partial hydrogenation of oils).
This report examined new Canadian data obtained from the Canadian Community Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2015. Among Canadians aged 2 years and above, 38.9% of dietary energy was from unprocessed foods, 6.3% from processed culinary ingredients, 6.5% from processed foods and 48.3% from ultra-processed foods. Overall, total dietary energy of ultra-processed foods was found to be highest among children aged 9 to 13, at 57.2%, and adolescents aged 14 to 18, at 54.7%. “Ultra-processed foods displace all other food groups. They are usually branded assertively, packaged attractively, and marketed intensively, especially to our children,” the lead researcher, Dr. Moubarac, stated. There was an interesting variation in total dietary energy from ultra-processed foods among immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts at 37.8% and 51.6% respectively. The nutritional quality of the four food groups, as classified by the NOVA system, were also compared in the study. The unprocessed, processed culinary ingredients and processed foods were grouped as one and were then compared to the ultra-processed foods group. Ultra-processed foods had almost half the amount of protein at 11.6% compared with 21.3%; more carbohydrates at 52.3% compared with 46.6%; and more total fat at 35.8% compared with 31.8%. Furthermore, free sugars were three times higher in ultra-processed foods, sodium density was almost twice as high, and dietary fibre was much lower.A large number of population-based studies from Canada, the United States and Europe support these findings. All the evidence indicates that diets based on freshly prepared meals are healthy, and those that contain large amounts of ultra-processed foods are unhealthy. This is a universal rule.
OMG...Omega!
Last month, The Downsview Advocate featured an excellent article by Anna Porretta about the new Canada Food Guide. Read it. The new Guide is a big improvement!The benefits of a plant-based diet are recognized without hostility to meat. Even before the new Guide, Health Canada took a big leap forward by proposing to ban trans fats. Trans fats are not natural oils; they result from heat and processing. In the new Guide, the general trend away from animal fat to vegetable oil is a positive step, but here is one catch: in animals (primarily fish) omega-3 oil is more readily available than in vegetable oil.For good health, good oils are super important. The Guide says nothing about the types and qualities of vegetable oils that we use for cooking and dressing salads. Oil nutrition is complex. As with proteins and amino acids, our bodies make many of the nutrients we need, but some are essential in our diet because we can not make them on our own. The essential oils which our bodies need but cannot produce are in two families: omega-3’s and omega-6’s. Both are poly-unsaturated and therefore very delicate, easy to spoil with heat and light. Another valuable family consists of the omega-9’s, abundant in olive oil and avocados. Theoretically, in the right conditions, we can make our own omega-9, but only when omega-3 and 6 are in balance. Processed oils keep these two way, way out of balance.Omega-6 is everywhere. The amount we eat overwhelms the omega-3 which is quite scarce. If a food product is advertised as a good source of omega-6, that is like saying, “Buy this car! It comes with four wheels!” This is not an oversimplification, but a good source of omega-6 translates to a bad source of omega-3. It would be great if we could just eat the nut, the seed, the olive, the sardine and forget about what’s in the bottles.Consider canola oil. Although canola seeds start out with a respectable proportion of omega-3, the extracted oil, like others, is so easily damaged in processing that the benefits get lost. In Canada, canola oil is a source of pride. Canada exported almost 3,000,000 tons of canola last year, more than half to the USA and almost a quarter of it to China. But if it is heat processed or hydrogenated or cooked, the omega-3 is partially converted to. . . guess what? . . . trans fat. Heat processing keeps the price down at a cost to health. That is part of the reason why in general, cheap oil is not healthful. On this matter, the Guide is silent.Comments? Questions? Write to Nicole@IndividualCare.ca. Nicole Constant is a registered Doctor of Naturopathy. Her website is: www.IndividualCare.ca.*To read Anna Porretta’s article on new changes to Canada’s Food Guide, visit: https://www.downsviewadvocate.ca/2018/01/new-changes-canadas-food-guide-benefits-plant-based-diet/
New Changes to Canada’s Food Guide and the Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet
The federal government is preparing to unveil its long-awaited update to Canada’s Food Guide, the first such overhaul in ten years. The new guide is expected to place greater emphasis on plant-based foods, not only for their health benefits, but also for the sake of environmental sustainability. Most notable is the downgrading of animal products such as red meat, and the removal of milk and dairy products as a separate category which the guidelines suggest must be limited due to their high fat, sugar and/or salt content.The current guide has been criticized by researchers and dietitians alike on a number of fronts:
- The inclusion of dairy products as a distinct food group;
- Counting juices as servings of fruits and vegetables;
- The reliance on serving sizes that can be difficult for people to interpret and measure;
- Its failure to reflect Canada’s diverse cultural landscape.
During the process of re-drafting the Food Guide, industry-commissioned reports were excluded for consideration. Instead, a series of public consultations were organized across the country and Canadians were encouraged to provide feedback on the draft guidelines. A plant-based diet places greater emphasis on plant sources such as vegetables and fruit, whole grains, nuts and legumes. This being said, limited amounts of lean meats and low-fat dairy products are still recommended. Numerous studies have linked plant-based diets to decreased risks of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and a reduction in LDL cholesterol. Why? A diet rich in plant foods is naturally low in saturated fat, high in fibre and low in sodium and added sugar.Not only are plant-based foods a key determinant to human health, they also contribute to biodiversity conservation and environmental sustainability. The new guidelines acknowledge that our current food system places stress on the environment, particularly the consumption of meats and animal by-products. The draft states, “Diets higher in plant-based foods and lower in animal-based foods are associated with a lesser environmental impact.”A shift towards more plant-based foods is achievable and here’s how:
- Begin by eating more plant-based meals you already eat.
- Change one meal at a time or one ingredient at a time.
- Initiate a 50/50 switch and replace some of the meats with legumes - for example, only add half the amount of beef you normally would to a recipe and top up with lentils.
- Eliminate animal-foods you don’t eat often.
- Choose whole grains over white varieties - e.g. brown rice or spelt pasta.
- Replace foods that contain mostly saturated fat (e.g. ice cream, high fat cheeses and butter) with foods that contain mostly unsaturated fat (e.g. nuts, seeds, and avocado).
- Consume a variety of differently coloured vegetables and fruits, and buy season-specific produce.
- Stock your kitchen with plant-based foods you want to eat.
- Don’t forget, canned and frozen vegetables are nutritious too, but be sure to choose options that are low in sodium and sugar.
The Opioid Crisis: It's time to rethink our national strategy
Within the last several years, many cities and towns across the country have found themselves plagued by what we have come to call the ‘opioid crisis’. Most evidently, this crisis is typified by the surge in fentanyl-related overdoses.The stats are simply shattering. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 16 Canadians were admitted to hospital for opioid toxicity per day within the last year. In just one weekend in the summer of 2016, fentanyl claimed the lives of 36 people in Surrey, British Columbia – the province which has been hit the hardest by the opioid epidemic. According to the BC Coroners Service, fentanyl took the lives of 368 British Columbians between January and April of this year. In 2016 alone, more than 2800 Canadians lost their lives to opioid-related overdoses, and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) estimates that there will at least be 3000 more opioid-related fatalities by the end of 2017.Despite the Prime Minister calling the opioid scourge a ‘national health crisis’, many are criticizing the federal government for not doing enough to address the situation. The government’s most vocal critics are found amongst the ranks of Canada’s New Democrats who are urging the federal Liberals to declare the opioid crisis a national public health emergency under the Emergencies Act, authorizing the government to take “special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies and to amend other Acts in consequence thereof.” Don Davies, the NDP health critic, believes that enacting the Emergencies Act would allow the federal government to more easily and more swiftly fund measures to combat the opioid crisis.Although stats on opioid-related fatalities are readily available for Canada’s western provinces, no official figures have come out of Ontario within the last two years, making it difficult to assess the full impact of the opioid crisis in the province. This being said, we must not forget that our neighbourhoods could be the next victims of this crisis. It is equally important to realize the need for a reorientation of our national strategy to tackle drug addiction.