Cowspiracy Movie

Cowspiracy Movie Review

As often is the case, things are just not as they seem.  This movie highlights the "elephant in the room" by demonstrating the devastating impact of modern day agricultural on our world.  Environmental and government agencies are seldom targeting animal agricultural practices that ultimately are causing climate change, huge water loss and destruction of the rainforests.  So why the silence?  This movie proposes a conspiracy with cows at the forefront.

Overall this movie highlights many important considerations despite its underlying goal of promoting strict vegetarianism.  However, to the movie's discredit, two major separate issues appear to be consolidated and presented as just one:

1.  Destroying the planet
2.  Feeding the planet

Destroying the planet by conventional animal agriculture is a huge legitimate concern.  Feeding the planet is a separate but equally legitimate concern that needs different solutions.  A strict vegan diet would extend the years that our planet could sustain its exponential population growth but the conclusion is still the same - we build houses over agricultural land until we run out of space to grow food.  Growing up on a farm where we had a large produce garden, I'm not convinced that a roof top garden on nearly every house in the mega cities of the future will feed our planet.

Feeding the planet is an economic problem where, at least in Canada, we encourage population growth and our economic development almost entirely hinges on the population growth of cities.  We indirectly encourage other countries to grow too beyond their means by opening our arms to immigration (our population doesn't grow fast enough on its own to continue economic growth so we import in from others' excess).

When both destroying the planet and feeding the planet are not distinguished as two separate issues, the strict vegetarian diet conclusion of Cowspiricy works.  When separated, what remains is yet another oversimplified answer to a complex problem.

Furthermore, Cowspiracy argues some other premises that need to be exposed.  First of all, the calculations the movie makes are made on the current USA average meat consumption which certainly needs to go down, and this would make space again for grass feed meat as a viable option.  More importantly though, comparisons between animal and vegetable agriculture are represented as a weight of food per acre.  This is quite problematic as 10 lbs of meat is significantly more protein and calorie dense than 10 lbs of any vegetable and 10 lbs of meat would feed a starving person for a lot longer period of time.  Calculating this way I suspect would put meat from grass fed animals significantly more comparable to vegetable produce on most aspects.

On this point of grass fed animals, the movie does not consider a land-food matching process either.  Some places can grow grass to feed cows but the soil constitution, including volume of stones in the topsoil, makes vegetable produce farming unsuitable.  Grassed sod is also a carbon sink and significant producer of oxygen just as forests are whereas vegetable agriculture has to be cultivated.

Finally, as a Naturopathic Doctor, I realize that most people eat significantly too much meat and meat from the wrong sources.  On a daily basis I am encouraging people to eat more vegetables and fruits.  At the same time, grass fed meat can be a very important medical food for many of my patients.

I'm not saying I agree with New Zealand professors Brenda and Robert Vale who propose it is time to "eat our pets" as we're all basically competing for the same land to grow our food.   However, strict veganism is not the answer for everyone either. 

Where are Alberta's priorities?

My grade 8 patients learn about ecosystems and their importance not only to the environment and wildlife but our health too.  In the real world in Alberta, it seems these grade 8 lessons are long forgotten.  As such, this brings to the surface the increasingly popular question of, "can we be healthy in a sick world?"

This example is highlighted right at the end of our street (click to enlarge photo below - taken March 1, 2015) where our town puts more priority on having 3 new houses built rather than preserving this aquatic habitat despite a research study that demonstrated its importance.  You can see the barrier wall of earth that was started last year dissecting the wetland shortly to be filled with earth.

On a similar note, how are we planning to feed a growing world with so much of Alberta's farmland for sale? I took these photos below last year as I was alarmed at the volume of agricultural land for sale.

Alberta is changing and I cannot see how we are heading in the right direction.  This will be a public health issue sometime in the near future if not addressed quickly.

Long Term Survival

Awareness has become a larger part of my practice than I expected and I fully embrace the magnitude of what it can, on occasion, involve.  Many times, I am reminded that despite having a strong commitment to evidence based practice, I can still be far from mainstream thought.  For example,  several years ago a public health nurse in Calgary was asked on the radio if there were any need to eat organic.  Her answer in summary was to the effect of, "in the last several years, I have only seen maybe one or two cases of acute toxicity from consuming pesticides or herbicides on fruits or vegetables.  So, there isn't really a safety issue."  My reply would have been, knowing how smoking causes cancer, how may times have you seen acute toxicity of cigarette smoking in the last several years?  So, is there a safety issue with smoking?

Then we now have John Schadan vice president of Sherritt Coal.  Recently one of Sherritt Coal's tailing ponds broke and spilled heavy metals into the surrounding streams west of Edmonton and now the toxic waste is entering the Athabasca River.  To my surprise, the vice president tells the reporter that he wanted to prove a point to himself so drank water directly from the contaminated stream (Click to watch CBC Sherritt Coal Tailing Pond Spill Interview).  I'll leave it to you to decide what point he just proved!

It is not just the world we are leaving for our children that matters but we need to empower our children with the survival skills to last for generations or the state of the world that we leave them will not matter.

Naturopathic Lawn Care

For many suburbanites, social pressure regarding those bright yellow flowers which relentlessly pop up in their yards drives people to spend a lot of time, effort and unfortunately resort to risky pollutants to eradicate them.

Recently, a salesperson from a popular "lawn care" company knocked on my door and informed me that there were some terrible plants growing in my yard and that he had the cure.  When I asked him to point out which plants he was referring to, he walked me over and pointed, "see this terrible broad leaf plant, we need to get rid of those."  "Taraxacum officinale" I asked?  "You mean Dandelions?"

Yes, it seems like Dandelions are the bane of some people's assistance!  And, the cure according to this salesperson was 2,4D (2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyactic acid) which he didn't know much about other than his company was 28 years old and they would not be able to sell anything that wasn't safe for the public - including his young daughter who he reportedly lets play on the lawn after applying 2,4D. 

Unfortunately, as with most lawn pesticides and herbicides, the track record for 2,4D is not so clear.  In addition to being a major ingredient in Agent Orange, there are several studies indicating cancer risk as well as ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

The Dandelion may be better utilized as a barometer for the internal health of your lawn.  When present, they indicate that your soil is not sick, you are not polluting the groundwater and it is safe to enjoy walking on and touching the grass.  Otherwise, artificial turf seems to become a better option than chemically induced fields of green.

Or, if you really detest the Dandelions, how about eating them?!  After all, they are a tremendously healthy vegetable.  The young leaves in the spring, included in a salad, are part of an excellent cleanse that I often recommend to my patients.  Less healthy, but more tasty, how about Dandelion syrup made from the flowers?

Here is a Recipe:

Start by washing 250grams to 280grams (about two heaped double handfuls) of Dandelion flowers and cut their base to help detach the yellow petals from the green leaves.

In a saucepan, cover the dandelion petals with water 1 Litre of water. Mix well until all petals are covered. Bring slowly to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let infuse in the fridge overnight.

The next day, filter the mixture using a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a pot – be sure to get as much of the liquid as possible.  Add 1kg of raw sugar into the liquid and place the pot on the stove without a lid to simmer on low heat.  Simmer until the liquid is slightly thinner than maple syrup at approximately 219 degrees Fahrenheit (which when cooled will be the same consistency as maple syrup).  Half a sliced lemon may be added when the liquid is nearing the desired consistency.

Remove from heat and store in a glass bottle until the next occasion for use.

Enjoy!

Do Ion Footbaths Detox?

With spring approaching here in Airdrie, patients are already talking about detoxification.  And, of any time of year, spring is the most opportune time to kick-start the body's already functioning purification systems after a long winter.  Unfortunately, many popular "detoxifications" are either completely ineffective or only create temporary diarrhea thereby "cleansing the bowels."  Worse, several times last year I saw the effects of an "herbal detox" that was absolutely dangerous. 

Today I'm going to highlight a popular product recently shown to be under the completely ineffective category.  Two years ago, a very well ran study assessed the effectiveness of the IonCleanse footbath.  The conclusion?  "Contrary to claims made for the machine, there does not appear to be any specific induction of toxic element release through the feet when running the machine according to specifications."  Yes, the water usually changes colour (this study tracked potentially toxic elements not just colour change) whether your feet are in the water or not!

Here is the entire study for those interested in seeing the detail to which the authors thoroughly tested the IonCleanse machines.  Objective Assessment of an Ionic Footbath (IonCleanse): Testing Its Ability to Remove Potentially Toxic Elements from the Body

As Detox has become mainstream culture, so has the opportunities to take advantage of your time and money.  Please ensure you are doing a safe and effective detoxification this spring.  Even the necessity for all people to do a full-fledged detox is certainly a matter of debate.  As a naturopathic doctor with a keen interest in environmental medicine, I evaluate each patient on a case by case basis: there is no one size fits all approach. 

Naturopathic Immunity

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post.  I am pleasantly surprised at how many people are looking at this blog despite my lack of recent posts - thank-you!

Today's topic: immunity.

As of yet, I have never had a runny nose, sore throat, nor an arm with eczema walk into my office.  There is always a person attached!  Obvious as this sounds, too often patients come to see me after months of being treated as such.  I believe this is partly due to our overburdened social health care system in Canada which doesn't afford Medical Doctors enough time to dig beyond the obvious.  It is also likely due to nearly 100 years of the conventional medical paradigm being applied directly to chronic conditions.  Yes, the conventional medical system is excellent and I thank God for its acute life saving ability.  However, your immunity is one of those systems that often requires more than a "band aid" solution.  If you have ever found yourself on continual prescriptions of antibiotics or corticosteriods, maybe it is time to look beyond the symptom and investigate the root of the problem.

Your body works and so does nature!

Two things I have been pondering the past few weeks are the disconnect people have with the amazing capabilities of our bodies and also the natural functioning of nature.

New patients at my clinic are instructed to bring all their medications and natural supplements or botanicals on their first visit so I can ensure there are no interactions.  Additionally, I evaluate each item's indication for that particular patient.  It is not rare for some patients to bring in shopping bags full of regimens of vitamins, herbs and specific nutrients intended to assist, upregulate and support nearly every system in the body.  Then, when I explain that the body has an amazingly brilliant, built in capacity to maintain (homeostasis) the optimal functioning of these organ systems and they most likely do not need to take half of their regimen, some patients think I am being almost sacrilegious! Certainly there is an appropriate time, dose and indication for supplementation but will a grocery cart of items, that are not indicated, add any healthy years to someone's life?

My second observation stems from having my own city lawn for the first time (I grew up on a farm).  How did urban society get to such a place of disconnect from nature where people use their lawn mowers to collect all the grass clippings, send this to the landfill site, and then pay a chemical company to put back on their lawns an inferior synthetic fertilizer replica of what they just sent away?!  And then there are all the chemicals and water required to keep that artificial induced carpet of dark green!

It all comes down to education.  Education about what we do directly to our bodies and indirectly through how we treat the world around us.  I believe teaching is the most important aspect of being an ND.  It takes time but is so worth it!

If you follow our Mountain Health Team Facebook we'll show you some interesting ways to utilize those yellow dandelion flowers (Taraxicum officinalis) in the next few weeks.

Be in the know

I always seem to be amazed that it is the end of the day, and the end of another week or month.  Proof that I am in the right profession!  Now it has already been 2 months since my last blog post.

Well, after practicing for 5 months and having my own clinic since January here in Airdrie, I have noticed several common trends in Canadian health care.  Here is one: No news is not necessarily good news.  That is in regards to your blood work and test results anyways.  I frequently hear this from my patients who have had recent blood work performed by their MD.  "Well I haven't heard anything back so all must be ok."  Unfortunately, Medical Doctors are in massive short supply in my area which results in these professionals being severely overworked. 

As such, I have learned to have my patients release a copy of their recent records to me so we can take a look together.  And unfortunately, I often find values that are not just low-normal or high-normal but values that are even flagged by the lab as out of normal ranges.  Most importantly, these abnormal results confirm a clinical suspicion I had regarding the symptoms and presentation of my patient.

So, these labs are your property and do not feel shy to ask to have a copy.  Your MD is within his/her right to ask that you pay a photocopy fee but they cannot prevent you from seeing your results.  Be in the know! 

Village on a Diet

I wonder if twenty years ago we would have predicted that in 2011 people would be so fascinated with a television show about one of life's most basic physiological processes - losing weight?!  Village on a Diet has fascinated me by its simplicity.  Yet, despite a basic premise, the solutions for the town of Taylor, British Columbia are a matter of life and death for many of its citizens.

Change is difficult, especially lifestyle changes, and we can see this resistance in many of the people on the show.  What makes matters worse is a bombardment of advertising giving people the impression that they need to "ask their doctor" for something they can take that will make their life better, instead of what they need to change. 

Although the experts sent into Taylor seem to make up an effective team (despite the "suck-it-up" military style work-outs which may be required to get their weight loss goal in one month), it is very unfortunate that a naturopathic doctor was not part of the group to ensure long term diet and lifestyle changes.  This is important because living a longer, healthier life is not quite as simple as "eat less and move more" - although this formula certainly does contribute to weight loss in the short term (and many people have a serious food excess combined with a movement deficiency).  What is most important though is addressing the multifaceted root causes of obesity (beyond calories in and calories out).

The show does have many positives, and I have to say, I do love the community approach; that's a first for a weight loss show.  Finally, I realize that having a psychologist on the team was a great addition and I hope that her added help is enough to compensate for the physical shock some of the participants undoubtedly endured.  I hope this show is an indication that the general population is becoming aware that quick fixes and fad diets are not a long term solution.

Slow Down!

Three years ago my wife flew into Toronto from Calgary (while I was finishing my undergraduate degree) and she picked the apartment we would be living at during the next 4 years of school at CCNM. On arriving a month later, I was so impressed with her choice as she selected a location with the beautiful Don Valley literally off our balcony. The Don Valley has hiking trails, mature maple forests and the Don rivers. It could be the most beautiful place except the high traffic brings in unappreciative guests. My wife and I spent many of our first hikes with a garbage bag in hand just attempting to clean up our little area. However, the Don Valley was still my temporary substitute for the wilderness I enjoy.
Recently though, my wilderness substitute seems to be mirroring my cumulative impressions of the largest city in Canada. Even nature seems to be telling me it is time to move on as the Black Swallow Wort (a predator invasive species) has multiplied beyond control choking out the indigenous plant species and my enjoyment of the valley at the same time. Also, the poison ivy proliferated exceptionally well this year and seems to be telling me that my time in the Don Valley is over.

The city of Toronto has many forms of exceptional entertainment including cultural & educational experiences. While living here, I have tried to take in as many of these things as possible. Too often though, I find people are in a rush. What's worse is it is often an angry rush! This was highlighted in recent research that demonstrated the traffic conditions in Toronto are negatively contributing to people's health.

If you are beginning to notice the rush, I want to tell you about the Evergreen Brickworks Slow Food Picnic. This event pairs local producers with Toronto's healthy minded food retailers & restaurants. Chefs cook gourmet food right in front of you to sample in a savory environment of appreciation for good food (Watch for this event next year and be sure to get a ticket). Below is a picture of me representing Mountain Lake Bison Range with Chef Maxine and Dave & Mario of the Healthy Butcher. This event reminded me that it doesn't matter where you are, where there are good people and a good cause, there can be moments of solace even in the largest city in Canada.

Choosing the ND Generalist

Naturopathic Doctors in Canada (and the States where ND’s are a regulated practice) have worked hard to maintain a large scope of practice that includes extensive training in conventional biomedical sciences as well as alternative medical techniques. Until recently I have always wondered why someone would want to give up that freedom for a focused discipline that often requires the same years of post secondary schooling, like a registered dietitian or a chiropractor, when these modalities and corresponding scope of practice are already included within naturopathic medicine.

I realize that there are many good reasons (too many to write about here) why people choose to become a focused health care practitioner, not least of which is a positive personal experience with a certain health care professional or the goal of helping people with specific health concerns. Also, many students may not know their options including the fact that most just do not know what naturopathic doctors are trained to do. Although I am very proud of the ND’s scope of practice, and recognize the privilege to have my training, I now perceive one potential advantage to being a focused specialist... Might the patient’s problems be simpler?

This may not be the case at all but in the last month I have developed a small degree of wishful envy for practitioners who see patients that are presenting with concerns associated with a particular health focus, be it dietary, musculoskeletal problems or emotional issues. It just seems like it might not be as messy! Maybe that is part of the appeal?

In contrast, and without going into specific details, people visiting naturopathic doctors may have anything wrong with them - anything; and it may be somewhat illusive even to conventional medicine. Dr. Bernard Lown, MD writes in his book The Lost Art of Healing; Practicing Compassion in Medicine, “At present, about 25 percent of patients who visit an American doctor are successfully treated. The other 75 percent have problems that scientific medicine finds difficult to resolve. After being shuffled among a bevy of specialists and subjected to costly and invasive technologies, many patients, frustrated, turn away from conventional medicine.”

There is certainly an important place for every practitioner and every patient deserves the opportunity to be treated in the way that is best for them. Coincidentally, I am beginning to understand that with a large scope of practice comes the potential for patients with a greater degree of complicated health problems. This is the challenge of helping these people that puts those brief moments of wishful envy into perspective. Thank God I love reading because I certainly spend a lot of time researching for my patients! And, sometimes simple solutions do work even for the complicated problems.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with a health issue, do not wait until conventional medicine becomes frustrating to see a naturopathic doctor. It is important for ND’s to be able to work with conventional medicine where appropriate to the best benefit of the patient. It doesn’t matter how complicated your case might seem, ND’s will take the time investigate your concerns including asking the right questions and listening to your answers.

Schooled by an MD!

I recently watched a debate on the effectiveness, safety and merits of complementary medicine. The panel included a medical doctor and a scientific sceptic on the con side, and two naturopathic doctors for the pro side. It was apparent to me early into the debate that the conventional medical community has a serious lack of understanding of what ND's actually do. ND's know what MD's do, and for the most part are familiar with the conventional medical school of thought, but so much of the time MD's really misunderstand what naturopathic doctors do.

There are some explanations for this. Certainly, there are some naturopathic doctors who muddy the waters and represent the profession in a way not typical of the profession as a whole. But, what makes naturopathic medicine most complicated is that the scope of practice is so large that some ND's may have an entirely talk-therapy based practice and on the other end of the extreme, some ND's may do primarily a sports medicine based practice.

One interesting point made by one of the naturopathic doctors was that, currently (because of the relatively few ND's by comparison), the largest population of doctors that practice natural medicines and therapies are actually medical doctors. This hit home when Dr. Lawrence Palevsky, MD came up from New York and gave a guest lecture on Pediatrics at CCNM earlier this week. It was fascinating to hear his perspective on the antecedents to conventional medical thought and its methodology for the treatment of childhood diseases. It was almost shocking to hear a Medical Doctor use every naturopathic tactic possible to avoid prescriptions of antibiotics, acetaminophen (Tylenol) and even present an informed choice on vaccines. I was reminded of the necessity of childhood fevers and shown, in tremendous detail, the great harm in handing out fever suppressing drugs like candy - and I learned this from a medical doctor! There is hope for much more integration of conventional and naturopathic medicine in the near future.

Who Owns the Podium?

I absolutely love the Olympics. My wife and I personally know several Olympic athletes and know first hand the dedication and perseverance it takes to struggle through many hardships in order to realize their dreams. Additionally, as an exercise physiologist and coach, I have tremendous appreciation for what the human mind and body can do in sports.

Although I certainly realize the necessity for their funding, one thing that slightly taints my experience of watching the games is the irony of the largest sponsors: Coca-Cola and McDonald's. What is problematic, from a public health perspective, is that these sponsors are much more than indirectly associated with the sports (like cigarette brands were to car racing). Rather, the perception portrayed is that they are directly a part of the athletes lives. It would seem that a McDonald's breakfast, lunch and supper contributes to gold medals. The athletes appear to be eating there every day and they even bring their parents! Are Coca-Cola and McDonald's really the meals of champions? Unfortunately, I do realize that the answer is yes for some athletes (along with Kraft Dinner and other nutrient void foods) because Canada's athletes are often not able to afford the quality of foods they would like to purchase. And that is an entirely different topic...

But, it is not the athletes I am worried about since they do enough exercise to negate many of the side effects of a fast food diet (Also, it is highly unlikely their diet constitutes fast food to the degree that we are led to believe by the commercials). Instead, the youth are the real targets here. The movie, "Supersize Me" highlights some of the psychology behind fast food marketing - it's quite amazing.

Check your provincial association for Naturopathic Doctors who work with performance athletes for a thorough investigation of nutritional measures for competition, recovery and rehabilitation.

Formula has Risks

The slogan , "Breast is Best" over the last several years has formula companies comparatively recommending their product as a close second. Why anybody would choose to start their child on second best is interesting (I certainly understand those who are physically unable to breast feed). As Naturopathic Doctors promote patient education, informed choice in cases like this is what is important. I was surprised to learn in Maternal/Newborn Care today that most Medical schools have no training (zero hours) in their curriculum on breastfeeding. What was possibly even more surprising was the statistics on the percent of mothers who breastfed in Canada. In some provinces, only 65% of mothers attempted to initiate breastfeeding and only 20% exclusively breastfed until their child was 1 month old (BC is doing something right here as it's rates are substantially higher than this).

Research negating the benefits of breast feeding may include babies who have ever breastfed (even for a week) instead of comparing those who exclusively breastfed with those who were bottle fed. However, the evidence is now confirming what advocates have maintained for years that bottle feeding has risks. There is a growing body of research demonstrating increased rates of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes and even ulcerative colitis.

Note: Here in Toronto, as a result of the recent H1N1 pandemonium, the public breastfeeding support clinics were taken over as flu screening or vaccination clinics leaving new mothers who would access those clinics without any support. Certainly a situation without a perfect solution.

Book Review 8

The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis

With the 7th annual, 8th annual, 10th annual (depending on the city) weekend walk to end breast cancer, the topic of this book is currently quite counter to the popular culture. However, Dr. Devra Davis is one of a growing number of writers and health experts to point out that there needs to be a refocus in our effort in regards to cancer research. The breast cancer campaigns have due concern since the Generation X women are twice as likely to develop breast cancer as their mothers were. Interestingly, Dr. Davis states that the aging population does not explain this increased rate nor the increase in childhood cancers.

This book is a thoroughly detailed account of the History of contemporary thoughts on scientific direction and public policy surrounding cancer. Dr. Davis shows what happened to derail programs intended to reduce cancer and how so much effort is spent on treating cancer ($100 billion a year is spent in direct cancer treatment costs) and finding a cure, instead of preventing it in the first place. For example, more than 80,000 chemicals are in use and complete toxicity tests are available on fewer than 1000.

Our society has been led to believe by cancer researchers that science will find a cure and money is wisely spent toward this effort. Unfortunately, the public is not made aware that cancers are highly preventable diseases. This is certainly an important and sensitive issue to all of us.

For more information: www.devradavis.com

B.C. will set a precedent for Naturopathic Doctors

It's nearly official: British Columbia's Naturopathic Doctors will expand their roles as primary care providers as they attain prescribing rights and the ability to work with pharmacists. What may be more important is that Naturopaths will maintain access to certain botanicals, supplements, amino acids and other treatments that fall under the area restricted to a prescription. In regards to prescribing pharmaceuticals, Naturopathic Doctors are not limited to 9-12 minutes a patient and can spend the time determining the best way to deal with every presenting issue (and they have a wide array of treatment options). I'm certain there will be very judicious use of this privilege.

The British Columbia Naturopathic Association website is an excellent resource.

Wild or Farmed Salmon?

With the tremendous health benefits offered by eating cold water fish, it is important to consider where the fish come from. Unfortunately, there are some major differences between Wild and Farmed Salmon. The arguments for Wild versus Farmed Salmon are somewhat analogous to that of Free-range versus Feedlot beef. However, the consequences with the fish may be greater. Both the Wild Atlantic and Wild Pacific Salmon are in danger from fish farms. As a David Suzuki Foundation Brochure points out, we are not saving wild salmon by eating farmed.

Below are links to some of the most important issues on the topic:

1. Cross breeding of farmed genetics with wild
2. Contaminants in farmed Salmon
3. Spreading Diseases from farmed to wild (Sea Lice and Parasites)
4. Chemicals used and Effect on the Sea bed
5. Excellent overview of all fishing practices

Running Children

Beginning habits at an early age that will lead to a lifelong interest in physical activity is very important. As a relatively new parent, nearly every day I am reminded of how influential a child's brain is and the responsibility that comes with that.

There are certainly psychological risks when parents pressure their children to be excessively competitive. Accordingly, the meaning associated with exercise is pivotal with children.

As I finished my undergraduate degree in Calgary, legislation was being passed to ensure that Alberta children would have increased amounts of physical education (PE) classes. Although the idea was excellent, we were given reports of some unforeseen side effects as teachers without PE training attempted to meet the new exercise quota. Military style exercises may possibly have some short term physical gains but, will not establish a positive experience with physical activity and as such will be quite detrimental in the long term. Similarly, exercise should never, ever, be used as a punishment.

Here is some information about children and competition:

1. Children are not miniature adults. It is recommended that children do not specialize in one sport too early but develop a variety of skills.

2. Aerobic exercise is very important in children although there is debate about how much a child's aerobic ability can be increased with training. However, Nieman (2003) stated, "Aerobic (heart and lung) fitness is lower than recommended for many young people. About half of girls ages 6-17 and 60% of boys ages 6-12 cannot run a mile in less than 10 minutes." As such, there is some room for improvement!

3. Children are quite capable of Calisthenics (body weight exercises) and higher repetition, lower intensity weight lifting workouts (Heyward, 2006; Nieman, 2003).

4. Because of the surface area to body mass ratio, children are not physiologically well equipped to dissipate body heat. Therefore, it is not recommended for children to compete in adult marathons until they are 18 years old.

For detailed reading on the subject here are some links:

I. American College of Sports Medicine Youth Activity Guidelines

II. Endurance training and aerobic fitness in young people

III. IMMDA Advisory Statement on Children and Marathoning

VI. Nutritional considerations for the child athlete

David C. Nieman, 2003. Exercise Testing and Prescription: A health related Approach, 5th ed. p.16.
Vivian H. Heyward, 2006. Advanced Fitness Assessment and Exercise Prescription, 5th ed.

The Food of Champions

In addition to the millions of dollars in bonuses Michael Phelps received for winning his 8 Olympic gold medals, his pictures will also appear on the boxes of Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes. I don't know if Michael Phelps begins his day with either of these breakfast cereals but the association will now certainly be there.

McDonalds has also capitalized on the Olympics with a commercial showing athletes eating a breakfast chicken sandwich, "a new gold standard" according to the commercial.

Similarly, I saw an interview with Jamie Oliver who was irritated by many of the professional football (soccer) players in England who were endorsed by a fast food company or some other junk food.

There are many more multinational companies than Kelloggs and McDonalds that do this. I understand, especially in Canada, that an athlete may be forced to accept sponsorship from whom ever offers because Canadian athletes receive so little Government funding. However, the example these heroes of sport display to the youth, in regards to what food they eat, is unfortunate.

Jamie Oliver's campaign is inline with Naturopathic medicine. Nutrition forms the basis of health and a massive re-education of parents and children is necessary to build healthy people.

Antiobiotic Resistance

I was first confronted with the reality of antibiotic resistance during the prenatal class my wife and I attended in Toronto. The nurse told us not to touch anything! Not the doorknobs, elevator buttons or railings as hospitals are a breeding ground for antibiotic resistant bacteria. Even in the small town of Invermere BC, there was a case of flesh eating disease last year and people were discussing how serious the problem of antibiotic resistance really was.

Now, as my wife is nearing the end of her maternity leave, we have to make decisions about putting our son in daycare, etc. and this reality has resurfaced.

According to Dr. Gladwin, M.D. and Dr. Trattler, M.D. (authors of Clinical Microbiology made ridiculously simple, Edition 4, 2006) the reasons stated for the development of antibiotic resistance were:

1. Widespread and inappropriate use of broad spectrum antibiotics, especially in daycare centers and intensive care units.

2. Use of antibiotics in animal and fish farming to prevent infections and increase growth (which is a desired side effect of antibiotic use. For more information on the use of antibiotics to promote the growth of animals in Canada, check out the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food's excellent website).

3. Excessive use of antimicrobial preparations such as soaps and cleaning solutions in non-health care facilities (An article on WebMD, states that antibacterial products account for a billion dollars in sales annually. Accordingly, the public may not be made aware of the risks).

4. Increased numbers of immunocompromised patients requiring prolonged courses of antibiotics.

5. Debilitated patients which survive longer.

6. International travel which promotes the movement of resistant bacteria.

7. Inability to afford expensive antibiotic therapy (poverty situation).

*Be wary when an ad states that a product will kill 99.9% of bacteria. The surviving 0.1% may end up being the entire population bacteria in a very short time! For practical ways to combat the progression of antibiotic resistance, bring some questions to your next Naturopathic appointment.