health

Mixed Signals

What happens when commuters are packed like sardines on buses, trains and
elevators, all talking on their cellphones? Havoc in the airwaves, according
to physicist Tsuyoshi Hondou of Tohoku University, Japan, who found that the
resulting electromagnetic field can exceed international limits. Much like
the light of several small lamps combining to increase the illumination in a
room, the microwaves from cellphones reflect off enclosed spaces to create a
stronger electromagnetic field. Many studies have linked cellphone radiation
to altered brain physiology, tumours and DNA damage.

New Scientist, May 2, 2002

Health Byte

When it comes to our health, Canadians are getting more Web-savvy than ever.
Two-thirds of all online Canadians have visited a health Web site-up 55 per
cent from 2000. For Canada's largest interactive natural health Web site,
visit alive.com.

Ipsos-Reid, Dec. 17, 2002

Five Ways to Get your Fruits and Veggies

According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, just one extra
serving of fruits or vegetables a day can cut the risk of heart disease by
four per cent. An added daily orange or serving of broccoli also helps
reduce the risk of type II diabetes, which can lead to heart disease in the
first place. Try these tips for incorporating fruits and veggies into your
diet:

1. Keep a bowl of fresh fruit or cut-up veggies and dip at the ready
   for quick, healthy snacks.
   
2. Ladle up some vegetable soup. Health food stores have a great selection
   of natural soups if you have no time to prepare your own. Add some extra
   chopped tomato or garnish with green onions.
   
3. For salads, be creative with colours, textures and flavours. Try some
   spicy arugula or fresh dandelion greens, or mix in a bag of organic spring
   mix. Try fruit toppers such as pear or strawberries, and add some bright
   nasturtiums or calendula petals from the garden.
   
4. For dinner, add a few more veggies to pastas and stir-fries. Use pur?
   vegetables instead of cream or white flour to thicken sauces.
   
5. Make zucchini bread, banana-walnut bread or carrot muffins. Warm out of
   the oven with a little fresh butter, they can tempt even the most finicky of
   palates.

Supersize Dilemma

North Americans are becoming more obese because our food portions are
getting heftier-at fast food and other restaurants, and at home. Researchers
at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed national US data of
63,380 people aged two and older. They found that between 1977 and 1996,
portion sizes of unhealthy foods such as salty snacks, desserts, soft
drinks, fruit drinks, French fries, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, grew
markedly. Mexican food grew the largest by portion, increasing an average
1.7 ounces, or 133 calories, followed by hamburgers (1.3 oz/97 calories) and
French fries (0.5 oz/68 calories). Recent findings from the university also
show that all age groups eat more restaurant food-including fast food-than a
generation ago.

When combined with less physical activity than in decades past, greater
energy consumption significantly raises the risk of heart disease, stroke,
hypertension, diabetes and other health threats, says the study's co-author,
Dr. Barry M. Popkin.