Exceptional Products III

5. Saugeen Country Yogurt: www.saugeencountrydairy.com

This yogurt is real! Made from whole milk unprocessed straight from the cow. For a plain yogurt, it has an amazing, soft flavour. Furthermore, it is organic (I like to mix it with fruit and a little maple syrup!). I toured the facility many years ago and was impressed by the simplicity of it and their philosophy. Interestingly, some Naturopaths believe that yogurt is the key to the health of the traditional Hindu diet.

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Exceptional Products II

If you choose to eat meat (for a complete protein source, vitamin B12 and Iron) then eating grass fed, free range or organic meat ensures that your selection will be free of the hormones and the subtherapeutic antibiotics required to grow conventional meat animals.

My favourite meat is Buffalo (Bison) which is very lean and unlike beef, does not marble. Buffalo are more efficient eaters than beef cattle and produce a healthier meat (slightly higher in protien, lower in cholesterol, lower in saturated fat and higher in Omega fatty acids). However, grass fed organic beef will also be leaner than conventional beef.

3. Mountain Lake Bison Range: www.mountainbison.com

4. Hoven Farms Organic Beef: www.hovenfarms.com

For a list of healthy meats close to you, check out The Eat Well Guide.

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BIOMERIDIAN Machine

Recently, at a conference, I had myself checked via the BIOMERIDIAN machine. This machine measures the electrical impedance corresponding to 14 organs/systems in the body. Of all the machines that I had researched, this one made the most sense to me. The representative was a very personable lady and performed a simple procedure of checking my Acupoints (on both hands and feet) with a noninvasive wand-like tool.

My results? According to the machine, I presented with normal values for 6 of the 14 organs/systems. The remainder showed that I was either Excess or Deficient to some degree. Most curious to me was a 65% deficient (Mid) respiratory system. Now after a year of extensive studying, with little time to exercise, I could have believed a massively deficient cardiovascular system, but respiratory? I realize that Toronto air quality is poor, but this seems extreme for a young, apparently healthy person!





Click image to enlarge

Even patient care in conventional medicine is suffering from the overuse of scientifically proven diagnostic machines.  Take a look at this inspiring TED video on the value of a doctor's touch presented by Dr. Abraham Verghese.

 I'll end with this quote that sums up this issue very well.  "The childish faith in the magic of technology is one reason the American public has tolerated inhumane doctoring."  The Lost Art of Healing: practicing compassion in medicine by Dr. Bernard Lown, MD.

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Hamilton Health Symposium II

Although waist circumference (WC) does not distinguish between subcutaneous and visceral fat (or a person's frame size), research shows that WC is highly correlated with visceral fat. Furthermore, Kuk et al. (2006) showed that "Visceral fat is an independent predictor of all cause mortality in men." Accordingly, WC should be taken very seriously and become another target of health promotion and disease prevention.

However, when a person is put on an exercise program, we must be careful not to put too much emphasis on weight loss. It may be surprising to know that a "fit" overweight person may have a lower risk of disease than an "unfit" normal weight person. Research has shown that, "low cardiorespiratory fitness was a strong and independent predictor of CVD and all-cause mortality and of comparable importance with that of diabetes mellitus and other CVD risk factors." (1)

The key here (from a Kinesiologists perspective) is the benefits of attaining some cardiovascular fitness. If you are interested, look up Dr. Robert Ross (from Queens University) who has recently published many papers on the necessity of exercise/physical activity for the prevention or management (in the case of diabetes) of many diseases far beyond what diet alone can do.

1. Wei et al. Relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and mortality in normal-weight, overweight, and obese men. JAMA 1999; 282:1547-53.

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Hamilton Health Symposium

Sprint interval training or High Intensity Training (HIT) is very applicable for cardiac patients. It is similar preparation for activities of daily living (e.g. Climbing stairs) and psychologically, the shorter term duration may help adherence.

Research shows HIT exercise is very comparable to endurance exercise in regards to cardiovascular benefits (the newest research is done by Dr. Gibala at McMaster in Hamilton):

1. Gibala et al. Similar metabolic adaptations during exercise after low volume sprint interval and traditional endurance training in humans. J Physiol. 2008 Jan 1;586(1):151-60. Epub 2007 Nov 8.

2. Warburton et al. Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training for the rehabilitation of patients with coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol. 2005 May 1;95(9):1080-4.

3. Gibala et al. Metabolic adaptations to short-term high-intensity interval training: a little pain for a lot of gain? Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2008 Apr;36(2):58-63.

4. Gibala et al. High-intensity interval training: a time-efficient strategy for health promotion? Curr Sports Med Rep. 2007 Jul;6(4):211-3.

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Naturopathic Movies III

Here are some animated movies/commentaries that are humorously educational:

1. The Story of Stuff www.storyofstuff.com
2. The Meatrix www.themeatrix.com

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Principles

These principles were formally codified in 1989 and form a framework by which naturopathic medicine operates:

1. First Do No Harm
2. Identify and treat the cause of disease
3. Teach the principles of healthy living
4. Heal the whole person through individualized treatment
5. Emphasize health promotion and disease prevention
6. Support the healing power of nature

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