Nutrition Medicine & Health Pages
Are Rare Steaks Good For Your Heart?
By Dr. Gifford Jones
“One of these days you’re going to push your luck too far”, my wife often says to me. She’s not complaining that I’m spending too much money on horse races. Or betting the farm on a gold mine in Zimbabwe. Rather, for years I’ve told waiters I want my steak rare. Is this risky or can it fight heart failure?
Friends often say to me, “We don’t eat meat in our family anymore”. But does this make sense? After all, humans have been enjoying meat since the caveman discovered it could keep him alive. And there are still sound reasons for not giving it up.
Famine The Only Cure For ObesityBy Dr. Gifford Jones
“How can the obesity problem be solved in our country?” a U.S. interviewer recently asked me. I hadn’t had too many Martini’s, and wasn’t joking, when I replied, “It would take a famine!” Consider the failures.
The city of Calgary has just proclaimed itself “Number One”. Not because the Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup. Rather, it’s the first city in Canada to have a “bariatric response team”, not an elite anti-terror squad, but trained paramedics with a $30,000 mechanical system to lift morbidly obese patients onto a stretcher.
Yellow Pickerel Will Cure My DepressionBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What would I order for my final meal on this planet? It would be a freshly caught Yellow Pickerel cooked over a roaring camp fire. Years ago I spent one magnificent summer doing fish research in northern Ontario. Since then no fancy white-tablecloth restaurant has offered me a better fish meal. Besides, fish were free of contamination in those long-ago days. So what should we know about the health benefits of eating fish today?
Picky Eaters: The Terror Of Being Invited To DinnerBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What’s the worst fear for some people? It’s not standing before a crowd and giving a major speech. Nor is it the apprehension of being crushed in a crowded elevator or flying. It’s the terror of being invited to dinner at a friend’s home. A report in the Washington Post outlines the overwhelming fears of picky eaters.
Billy Shore is founder and chief executive of the anti-hunger charity Share Our Strength in Washington. So surely he has no hang-ups about food. But that’s not the case. Shore hates the “taste and texture” of all vegetables except spinach and corn on the cob.
How To Fight Cancer With FoodBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Imagine that every day of the year four fully loaded Boeing 747s crashed, killing everyone. This is the number of people who die every year from cancer. Two Montreal reseachers, Drs Richard Beliveau and Denis Gingras, say in their book “Foods That Fight Cancer” that 30 percent of these deaths are caused by poor dietary habits. But that if you’re cancer smart with food you can have a safer flight through life.
Most people believe that cancer is an acute disease that kills within weeks or months. The doctors claim this is a misconception. Rather, cancer must be considered a chronic disease that normally poses no dangers.
Thank God For Prince Edward Island PotatoesBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Hell will freeze over before I stop eating Prince Edward Island potatoes. I admit I love, love potatoes. Any kind, any way! But this isn’t just an irrational addiction on my part. Rather, the lowly and much maligned potato has great nutritional value. Some of my patients say they avoid them like the plague. It’s all because of the recent hulabaloo about the so-called virtues of a “low-carb” diet.
Magnesium Keeps The Undertaker AwayBy Dr. Gifford Jones
A healthy 18-year-old basketball player and health-conscious jogger recently left this world all of a sudden. Why? Because of an initial diagnosis; death from coronary artery disease due to high blood cholesterol. But the cause of death eventually proved to be due to magnesium deficiency. Magnesium has never been a super-star nutrient like calcium. But it’s still crucial in keeping the undertaker away and in fighting several common chronic diseases. So are you getting enough of this mineral?
The Uncensored Hot Dog: What Does It Look Like?By Dr. Gifford Jones
“How much do our kids know about sex?” is a question parents often ponder. But how many ask, “What do our children know about food?” A study conducted by the British Heart Foundation shows it’s appallingly little. And the Foundation is using a shocking approach to change this situation.
The Heart Foundation Study revealed that 40 per cent of 8—to-14 year olds did not know that French fries were made from potatoes! One in 10 believed they were made from oil, eggs, flour or apples. And 33 per cent were unaware that cheese was made from milk. I recall a survey carried out in New York City showing that children thought milk came from the corner store!
President’s Choice Is Helping To Fight HypertensionBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Interested in a simple way to live longer? No, not medication to lower blood cholesterol. But a much easier prescription. Just decrease the amount of salt you consume every day. Incredibly, most people are unaware of the huge amount of salt they’re ingesting, and it’s killing them. Now President’s Choice is helping to educate consumers on ways to prevent a lethal blowout from excess salt. How are they doing it, and why are there no TV ads about the dangers of salt?
Low Carb Diets Now HistoryBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Remember when gold hit 800 dollars an ounce in 1981 and people lined up to buy gold? Or when people said that you were missing the boat if you didn’t buy high tech stocks? Others rushed to lose weight on Atkin’s low carbohydrate diet which never made nutritional sense. History shows it’s always time to run for cover when everybody’s doing it.
Restrictive diets have always been hazardous. It’s amazing that some people believed years ago that just eating grapefruit was the answer for weight loss.
Do You Know What Your Child Is Drinking?By Dr. Gifford Jones
What current lifestyle problem bothers me the most today? It’s seeing obese children guzzling cans of liquid candy. Parents must be totally unaware of the can’s contents. But if they know the health consequences, and do nothing about it, they should see psychiatrists.
Harvard researchers have linked soft drinks to childhood obesity. Today there are over 18 million obese children in North America, a disaster waiting to happen.
The Anti-Inflammatory Diet: A Diet for All AgesBy Dr. Gifford Jones
What is the most prudent diet to follow today? Some swear it’s the Atkin’s high protein diet. Others believe the low fat Ornish diet is the answer. And I’ve often stressed that a high fiber diet promotes health. But what about The Anti-Inflammatory Diet?
A report from Tufts University in Boston has an entirely new twist on nutrition and health. It claims that if we can decrease inflammation in our body we can also decrease the progression of disease.
How Much Water, Potassium and Salt Do We Need?By Dr. Gifford Jones
W.C. Fields, the comedian, joked, “No use for water, water’s for flowing under bridges”. Like Fields I’ve never enjoyed water unless it’s with an occasional scotch. But for years authorities have said we must drink eight glasses of water daily to stay healthy. So who is right? And how much sodium and potassium do we need each day?
The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine recently convened a meeting of distinguished scientists. They concluded it’s a myth that we need eight glasses of water a day. Rather, all fluids must be included in calculating water intake.
The Disease With a Thousand Different FacesBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Why would I want to use a medical story from a publication that reaches only 550 people? Particularly when I have access to international medical journals that reach thousands of doctors. Simply because it’s about a disease that affects many Canadians. Ones that are told they need a psychiatrist when they actually need other medical care. And since it’s Lupus Month in Canada there’s no better time to tell this story.
Chickens Decrease The Risk of Macular DegenerationBy Dr. Gifford Jones
Today seven million North Americans suffer from a devastating disease, macular degeneration. No longer can they enjoy the simple pleasures of reading or watching TV. These unfortunate people have lost their central vision. And although there’s no cure for macular degeneration there are ways to reduce the risk of developing this disability.
The retina of the eye acts like the film of a camera conveying images to the brain. The big picture is sent by detectors present throughout the retina. The small picture, central vision, is sent by the macula. It’s situated directly behind the lens, about the size of this “o”.
Next 15 Columns
