It looks like Health Canada is close to regulating bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in some plastics. Major retailers like the Hudson's Bay Company, Canadian Tire, Forzani Group (which operates Sport Chek, Athlete's World and Coast Mountain Sports), Lululemon & Mountain Equipment Co-op have pulled products containing bpa off its shelves. BPA is the main component in polycarbonate, a shatter-proof plastic that is used in food and drink containers. It is also found in household items like CDs, electronic products & baby bottles. It is also used to line the inside of metal food and soda cans. Acidic substances such as tomatoes, citrus fruits & sodas release the BPA.
Bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor, meaning that it can mimic or wreak havoc on the hormones in your body. Bpa is linked to breast & prostate cancer, obesity, early puberty attention deficit disorder and a host of other developmental problems.
The general rule of thumb for plastics is that it should not be heated or come in contact with hot foods or drinks. That includes leaving your water bottle in the car during the hot summer months.
Have you ever bought bottled water and stored it away from the sun and heat sources? I have and in a few months time, this water had an odd taste to it. I assumed that something was leeching out of the plastic into the water. I'd be curious to know if any tests/studies have been done on this?
Some plastics don't contain BPA and are considered microwave/dishwasher safe, but this naturopath's opinion is that nothing should be microwaved in plastic. Stick with glass!
There are times when glass isn't as convenient to carry like when you're hiking on a trail so you can use stainless steel water bottles which I've seen at Walmart & Mountain Equipment Co-op.
If you have trouble finding glass baby bottles, here's a Canadian web company to help you out: http://www.justbabybottles.com
Showing posts with label heatlh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heatlh. Show all posts
Traditional ways of eating is best - A look at a controversial diet.
Sometimes the best way to learn is to look to the past and re-discover history. Yesterday, I saw an interesting documentary on CBC Newsworld entitled "My Big, Fat Diet". As soon as I saw this diet, it reminded me of the Atkins diet (ie. high protein, low carbs) and sure enough, comparisons were made later on in the show.
The premise behind this diet was to turn back the clock and return the First Nations people back to their old ways of eating. It should be noted that many aboriginals suffer from diabetes and obesity related conditions. A goal of the diet was to see how an ancestral diet would impact their health. This ancestral diet included eating lots and lots of fish and cutting out carbohydrates from packaged & processed foods (ie. cookies), as well as high starch vegetables like potatoes. There were some experts who objected to this, but I for one thought that it was a good idea for this group of people. Why? Because evolutionarily, the physiology of the First Nations were not meant to eat the way people in Western societies eat. As a matter of fact, none of us are adapted to eat highly processed, sugary foods. The points of contention in this diet were the high amounts of fats consumed and the high protein intake.
Now, I certainly wouldn't recommend this diet for the majority of the population, but for the First Nations people, who have eaten this way for centuries, I think there are benefits to be had. Although this diet is high in fats, most of the fats consumed come from fish oil. Fish oil has numerous benefits and it's been shown that First Nations people who consume large quantities of this omega 3 fatty acid suffer the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease. Most people would benefit by eating more fish or supplementing with a good quality fish oil as this will optimize their omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. However, please check with your naturopathic doctor to ensure a safe dose as certain complications or interactions can arise from supplementation.
The second point of contention is the high protein intake which can adversely affect the kidneys and cause other complications. I am definitely not in favour of a high protein diet. Although, results seem to favour this particular subset of the population, I still feel that most people's food intake should be from fruits and veggies, although there certain caveats with diabetics. I often recommend that a dinner plate consist of 1/4 meats, 1/2 veggies & 1/4 grains. However, I do believe that you can cut out the grains altogether and increase the veggie portion to 3/4. My ideal diet is a blend of the Mediterranean & Asian diet, with lots of fruits & vegetables, small meat portions, more fish consumption and healthy fats like olive oil.
Another airing of "My Big, Fat Diet" is scheduled for Sat March 15/08 at 10pm.
http://www.cbc.ca/thelens/bigfatdiet/
The premise behind this diet was to turn back the clock and return the First Nations people back to their old ways of eating. It should be noted that many aboriginals suffer from diabetes and obesity related conditions. A goal of the diet was to see how an ancestral diet would impact their health. This ancestral diet included eating lots and lots of fish and cutting out carbohydrates from packaged & processed foods (ie. cookies), as well as high starch vegetables like potatoes. There were some experts who objected to this, but I for one thought that it was a good idea for this group of people. Why? Because evolutionarily, the physiology of the First Nations were not meant to eat the way people in Western societies eat. As a matter of fact, none of us are adapted to eat highly processed, sugary foods. The points of contention in this diet were the high amounts of fats consumed and the high protein intake.
Now, I certainly wouldn't recommend this diet for the majority of the population, but for the First Nations people, who have eaten this way for centuries, I think there are benefits to be had. Although this diet is high in fats, most of the fats consumed come from fish oil. Fish oil has numerous benefits and it's been shown that First Nations people who consume large quantities of this omega 3 fatty acid suffer the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease. Most people would benefit by eating more fish or supplementing with a good quality fish oil as this will optimize their omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. However, please check with your naturopathic doctor to ensure a safe dose as certain complications or interactions can arise from supplementation.
The second point of contention is the high protein intake which can adversely affect the kidneys and cause other complications. I am definitely not in favour of a high protein diet. Although, results seem to favour this particular subset of the population, I still feel that most people's food intake should be from fruits and veggies, although there certain caveats with diabetics. I often recommend that a dinner plate consist of 1/4 meats, 1/2 veggies & 1/4 grains. However, I do believe that you can cut out the grains altogether and increase the veggie portion to 3/4. My ideal diet is a blend of the Mediterranean & Asian diet, with lots of fruits & vegetables, small meat portions, more fish consumption and healthy fats like olive oil.
Another airing of "My Big, Fat Diet" is scheduled for Sat March 15/08 at 10pm.
http://www.cbc.ca/thelens/bigfatdiet/
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