The spice rack is the medicine cabinet of your kitchen

With many of us eating more and more processed foods, a very neglected part of cooking is the use of herbs and spices.  In countries such as India and Thailand, spices are used every day adding wonderful flavours and colours to the food.

But did you know that there are many health benefits that have been associated with spices?  A recent article in the AARP magazine talked about just a few examples:

• Turmeric (a component of curries) contains curcumin which has been shown to break up the amyloid plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease
• Saffron has been shown to help decrease depression
• Ginger, when combined with feverfew, seems to stave off migraine headaches
• Garlic has anti-cancer properties in the brain in addition to the many well-documented benefits for the heart
• Cinnamon helps to regulate blood sugar levels which may contribute to increased brain processing of visual cues

So why don’t you try adding more spices to your cooking?  It’ll make your meals taste great and do your body some good too!

Video games are making kids obese

If you’re like me, the term “exergaming” sounds very weird.  Well, Nintendo is marketing the idea that video games can be good exercise and the Nintendo Wii gaming system now has the American Heart Association’s Healthy Check logo to prove it.

Yep, this sounds VERY, VERY, WEIRD!!!

I’ve already ranted about the ridiculous nature of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Health Check program. Well, this just shows that our American neighbours are taking things one step further.  While research has demonstrated that video games actually contribute to childhood obesity, the Wii is getting the stamp of approval from the AHA.  So instead of promoting skipping ropes and basketballs to encourage kids to go outdoors and participate in physical activity, the AHA says the Wii deserves the Healthy Check logo (for a mere $1.5 million donation, of course).

Are cell phones a cause of brain tumours?

After studying more than 10,000 people across 13 countries for 12 years at a total cost of more than $24 million, researchers have concluded that links between cell phones and cancer are inconclusive.

According to the study by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, using cell phones for more than 30 minutes per day could increase one’s risk of glioma, a form of tumor in the brain or spine.  However, the research authors added that flaws in their research methods prevented them from directly blaming cell phone radiation for causing tumors.

How is it that so much time, energy, and money can be spent on a study that is not designed to provide an answer to the original question?  Is the study totally useless?  Well, maybe not.  You see, the authors did find some interesting results.  The study results suggest a “40 percent higher risk of glioma in those who were in the top 10 percent for the longest cumulative call time” and that the “risk was greatest in people with brain cancer who reported that they often held their phones on the same side of their head as their gliomas developed”.

Even though the researchers were unable to make a causal link between cell phone use and cancer, the fact that there is any direct association between the two is significant.  Cell phones emit radio waves in similar forms to those in microwave ovens but at low levels.  However, usage of cell phones in the world today has become commonplace.  People are talking on cell phones more often, for longer durations, and they are starting at younger and younger ages.  Because cancer is a physiological breakdown in the cells of the body that can be initiated from cumulative stressors, it might take 20 years or more to see the development of cancer from use of cell phones.

The bottom line?  Moderation, moderation, moderation.

A stretch exercise program can prevent injuries

Not everyone’s idea of an exercise program will involve running 5km or lifting weights for 1 hour every day.  Everybody’s different.   For example, many of my patients have injured joints or have limited mobility due to pain.  Well, even though these things may restrict physical activity, stretching is a form of exercise that can be done by most people regardless of pain or injury.

Sure, you might think to yourself that stretching is just a warm-up or cool-down from actual exercise.  However, stretching increases flexibility and can be good for joints and muscles.  This is especially important for patients who experience chronic pain because a stretching exercise regimen can be critical to improving overall function and quality of life.  Best of all, you don’t need a lot of money or equipment and everyone can do it.

A good way to start incorporating stretching into your health routine is to plan a 15-20 minute stretching regimen that includes holding stretches for 5-10 seconds and repeating each stretch at least once.  As you progress, you can extended the length of your stretching regimen by holding your stretches for a longer period of time and incorporating more stretches overall.  There are many books and charts with stretches to get you started.  I recommend “Stretching Anatomy” by Nelson & Kokkonen.

Work your way up and you will see how stretching improves your flexibility and strength while decreasing your pain and preventing injuries.  Start stretching today!

This is a glass of apple juice!

Many of us are familiar with the infamous “Friends” episode where we learned about how a little tinkle may help relieve the effects of a jellyfish sting.  Well, I think it’s safe to say that for most of us, the idea of one’s own pee is probably a bit repulsive.  After all, “number one” is something that is usually reserved for the bathroom and we associate it with a  certain colour, temperature, and of course SMELL!  However, are we thumbing our noses at something that has healing properties?

Urine therapy (or auto-urine therapy, urotherapy) has ancient origins.  There are traditional uses for one’s own urine both as a topical remedy as well as a remedy taken internally – yes, that means DRINKING it.  There are many examples throughout history of urine being used to improve one’s health in Anceint Rome and China as well as for Ayurvedic practices in India.  Some have gone so far as to espouse urine therapy as being beneficial in the treatment of certain cancers, although there is no scientific evidence to back up these claims.

Of course, high-performance athletes are always willing to try all legal means to stimulate the body’s natural ability to heal itself.  When American downhill ski racer Lindsey Vonn suffered a bad shin bruise prior to her races at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, she resorted to some unconventional remedies for her recovery.  and wound up winning two medals.  More recently, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida has talked several times about his daily practice of drinking his own urine and how it has greatly improved his physical health.  Unfortunately, for Machida, he was unsuccessful in defending his UFC light heavyweight championship against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 113 this past Saturday in Montreal.  However, he does have a number of injuries as a result of getting knocked out during the fight so maybe he’ll drink his way back to good health!

People have been killed.  Wildlife is dying.  Fisherman are unemployed.  And somehow the oil industry executives responsible for it all still get to sleep in the comfort of their own beds at night.

Well, when it comes to food and human health, there is one corporation that has more control over all of us than any other – Monsanto.  Find out what lengths this corporation goes to in order to protect its interests… SCARY!

Chicken pox lasts about one week

My niece got the chicken pox a couple of weeks ago.  She was pretty bummed out about it and her mom (my little sister) was wondering what to do about the other two kids at home.  My advice?  Have them all sleep together and throw a chicken pox party.  That’s certainly a different approach than what she was suggested before!

A couple of years earlier, my sister took the kids to the pediatrician.  The doctor advised that the kids should be getting the chicken pox vaccine.  Now, prior to this, I had educated my sister about the potential risks versus potential benefits about the vaccine.  So, when the pediatrician suggested getting the kids vaccinated against chicken pox, my sister felt confident about refusing.  That is until the pediatrician’s tone changed drastically.  “I can’t understand why you don’t want to do this!  Why would you want your kids to suffer needlessly?  Chicken pox can be very serious!”  It wasn’t long before my sister was in tears and burdened with guilt, but she managed to stick to her guns anyway – much to the pediatrician’s disapproval.  Total lack of professionalism from the doctor, to say the least.

Well, happy to report that my oldest niece has recovered quickly and without consequence except for a few remaining little brown spots on her face and arms.  Now, her little sister and little brother are sporting pink little dots all over their bodies as of a couple days ago.  They’ll be perfectly fine too in a week or so and won’t ever have to worry about chicken pox again.  Problem solved.

The rules for eating healthy food are simple

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I believe at least 80% of my patients’ health conditions would resolve if they ate a healthy diet.  The thing is, it’s easy for people to get confused about what foods are healthy and what foods aren’t because of marketing by food manufacturers (you know, misleading phrases such as “natural”, “light”, “fat-free”, “vitamin water”, etc).

The good news is that knowing how to eat healthy is SIMPLE.  Michael Pollan’s new book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual, is a great little common sense pocket-guide to healthy eating.  The 64 food rules are based on the overall conclusion that, in order to be healthy, humans should:

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants… instead of edible, food-like substances.”

Some of the simple, yet brilliant, rules that I particularly like include:

• “Shop the perimeter of the grocery store where food is fresh and unprocessed.”
• “Avoid food products advertised on television”
• “If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple – you’re not hungry.”
• “Stop eating before you’re full and try to eat only 67 to 80 percent capacity”
• “Break the rules once in a while”

Go pick up a copy of the book and teach your family to eat healthy.  It’s really an easy thing to do.

Learn how to perform CPR and use an AED

When a person suddenly collapses on the floor from cardiac arrest, time is of the essence.

Without an effective heart to pump blood, the amount of oxygen being supplied to the heart muscle and the brain begins decreasing rapidly. After about 4 minutes without oxygen, brain and heart cells begin to experience irreversible damage. Here in the Greater Vancouver Region, however, the average time it takes for an ambulance to reach you after calling 911 is about 12 minutes. Doesn’t sound very good, does it?

Well, there are two very important things that any of us can greatly improve the chances for that collapsed person to recover intact while the ambulance is on its way:

1. Start and continue effective CPR chest compressions
2. Attach an AED to the collapsed individual and operate it as directed

The CPR is vital as effective chest compressions can keep blood perfusion to the the heart and brain going.  The proper use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), however, can re-establish a more normal electrical rhythm to will allow the heart to beat efficiently on its own.

For more information on AEDs, visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada website.

Many pro athletes don't eat meat

A recent ad featuring Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields caught my attention.  Not only did the talented mixed martial artist recently successfully defend his championship, but he did so without any meat in his diet – Shields has been a vegetarian his entire life.

Eating meat was very important to me growing up in Alberta as a kid who liked to compete in sports such as hockey, baseball, and wrestling.  In my mind, I just assumed that I needed the protein in meat to build muscle and help me perform well athletically.  Even years later, despite learning about how different amino acids from foods help make up protein I still somehow couldn’t fathom how it could be possible to be vegetarian and be a good athlete.

The truth is, however, that a meat-free diet can definitely provide the elite athlete with everything that they need to not only build lean muscle but all of the macronutrients and micronutrients for optimal performance.  Some notable superstar vegetarian athletes include:

• Carl Lewis – Olympic sprinter
• Edwin Moses – Olympic hurdler
• Martina Navratilova – Tennis
• John Salley – Basketball
• Joe Namath – Football
• Hank Aaron – Baseball
• Georges Laraque – Hockey