CONTENTS
1) Editorial
2) Feature: Turning Resolutions in Reality
3) Issue Updates
--DuPont Fined for Teflon Cover-Up
--Human Waste and the Environment: Solid Waste in Canada
--Canadian Study: Divorce and the Mental Health of Children
4) Media Watch
--Half of Canadians Trust Scientific Experts
--Fines DuPont for Poisoning Consumers with Teflon Cookware
--No GMO Ban for PEI
--Canadian Professor Provides Overview on the Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods
--GM Food Labelling Law in India Soon
--Arctic People Seek UN Help to Slow Warming
--Activists to Canada: Warming Threatens Hockey
--Thousands March in Montreal to Urge Climate Action
--Report Says 2005 Warmest, Stormiest Year on Record Likely Due to Global Warming
--Canadian Environmentalists Demand Protection for Owls
--Smart [Drug] Regulations: Will the Government’s Strategy Work?
--Liver: Acetaminophen Overdose a Growing Threat
--Judge Declares Mistrial in Vioxx Trial
--The Hidden Chemicals in Splenda
--Artificial Sweetener Indicted: Will New Mexico Be First to Ban Aspartame?
--TV Ads Push Junk Food, Harm Kids’ Diets
--Commercial Alert vs. USDA: How One Non-Profit is Fighting to Eliminate Junk Foods from America’s Schools
--Omega Oils Could Improve Children’s Behavior, Learning
--Kids Exercise to Feel Good, Not Lose Weight
--Exercise Your Brain and Body to Improve Memory
--Yoga May Soothe Chronic Back Pain
--Gardener on the Roof: On Green Roofs
--Topical Comfrey Quells Pain, Swelling
--Crushed and Ground Flax Seeds More Bioavailable
--Sunflower Seeds, Pistachios Found to Reduce Cholesterol
--Mercury Levels in Fish Harmful – Mercury Experts
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1) Editorial
Hello HANS Members & Friends;
The other day, I had a phone call from M.A., a friend and member. He just wanted me to know that more than four years ago, HANS had given him the names of several health practitioners who work with cancer patients in the Vancouver area. The father of MA’s friend, who had prostate cancer, went to one of these people. These days, the father is well and thriving, and attributes the success of his recovery to the practitioner he went to.
I’m not mentioning names because of privacy issues, but I want to make a point. Without HANS, where would people to go for this kind of information?
So when you wonder how to make a difference with charitable giving, I ask you to kindly consider Health Action Network Society. If you haven’t already, we invite you to join many other wonderful members who understand our mission to help others.
One such person is Kevin Reilly of Able Copiers. Kevin recognized a number of years ago that HANS is a unique charity, and he continues to stand beside HANS and support us with very much-needed copier service.
There are more people in the wings like Kevin. Our entire organization is laced with dedicated volunteers and good Samaritans.
Thank you all for your support. You’re a wonderful group to be involved with.
Warm regards,
Lorna Hancock
Founding Member & Director
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2) Turning Resolutions in Reality
by Michelle Hancock
It’s New Years and you’re going to get in shape and lose weight--never mind that you’ve told yourself the same thing for the past five years.
Losing weight is the most popular New Year’s resolution and also the one broken most often. Sometime after day one, we lose motivation, give a mental shrug, and fall back into unhealthy habits. Why?
“The biggest mistake people make is acting prematurely,” reports Michelle Biton, Vancouver-based health coach (www.mbcoaching.com). “There are five steps in any kind of change. People jump way too fast into action--and, of course, set themselves up for failure. To really actualize a goal, you need to think, prepare, commit and then act on it.”
Biton recommends stepping back and asking yourself what exactly you want and why. Then figure out how to do it before beginning your journey.
“If resolutions are to be taken seriously and involve true change, they should be chosen after serious consideration,” agrees Sandra Tonn, registered holistic nutritionist (www.sandratonn.com). “We didn’t form our habits or extra weight overnight, so we can’t expect change it overnight. Change is a process, not an event.”
In other words, don’t bite off more than you can chew, another common mistake for would-be weight-loss fanatics. “For example,” relates Biton, “People go from a couch potato to training in the gym seven days a week. This is what I call ‘all or nothing’ and it won’t last more than a couple of weeks or months.”
The takeaway? Even small fitness improvements are good, and necessary. Half of Canadians aged 12 and up are physically inactive. Twenty-four per cent of us are only moderately active.
Experts recommend at least 60 minutes of exercise daily, which could mean anything from one hour of pumping hard at the gym, to six 10-minute dates with the new vacuum you’ve bought for resolution No. 2: Clean more. Doesn’t matter how you exercise--so long as you’re moving!
Another big mistake people make about weight loss, warns Biton, is falling prey to the latest diet or quick-fix gimmick: “Permanent weight loss takes time. If anything promises quick weight loss, it will only bring about temporary results.”
This is good advice for the one in three Canadians 18 and up who is overweight, and the 15 per cent who are obese--especially when you consider how carrying extra pounds is linked to future health problems including heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes.
You need more motivation? Bathing suit season is seven months away, and counting along with the New Year’s clock! 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Now it’s time to turn those resolutions into reality.
Reprinted with author’s permission from Canada’s Healthy Living Guide, January 2005.
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3) ISSUE UPDATES
DuPont Fined for Teflon Cover-Up
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will fine Teflon maker DuPont $16.5 million for two decades’ worth of covering up studies that showed it was polluting drinking water and newborn babies with an indestructible chemical. It was the Environmental Working Group’s petition that sparked EPA’s lawsuit against DuPont.
The fine is the largest administrative fine the EPA has ever levied under a weak toxic chemical law. However, the $16.5 million fine is less than half of one per cent of DuPont’s profits from Teflon from this time period, and a fraction of the $313 million the agency could have imposed.
More at http://www.ewg.org/newsletter/20051215/dupont/
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Human Waste and the Environment: Solid Waste in Canada
Canadian households continue to generate more solid waste, and the majority of it ends up in landfill sites.
Each Canadian generated about 383 kilograms of solid waste on average in 2002, of which about one-fifth was recycled or otherwise diverted, according to a report in the 2005 edition of Human Activity and the Environment, the annual compendium of information on how Canadians interact with their environment.
In 2002, the residential component of Canada’s waste was estimated at just over 12 million tonnes, a 6.8 per cent increase from 2000. The total was equivalent to about 383 kg per person, or around 30 green garbage bags.
More at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051202/d051202b....
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Canadian Study: Divorce and the Mental Health of Children
Even before a marital breakup, young children of parents heading for divorce tend to develop mental health problems, according to a new study originating from the Research Data Centre program and published recently in the Journal of Marriage and Family.
The study found that children whose parents eventually divorce show higher levels of depression, as well as higher levels of anti-social behaviour, than children whose parents remain married.
Parental divorce is an increasingly common experience in childhood, with nearly one in two divorces in Canada involving dependent children.
More at http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/051213/d051213c....
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4) MEDIA WATCH
Half of Canadians Trust Scientific Experts
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseactio...
EPA Fines DuPont for Poisoning Consumers with Teflon Cookware
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=8095
No GMO Ban for PEI
http://www.checkbiotech.org/root/index.cfm?fuseactio...
Canadian Professor Provides Overview on the Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=8055
GM Food Labelling Law in India Soon
http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_articl...
Arctic People Seek UN Help to Slow Warming
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/3...
Activists to Canada: Warming Threatens Hockey
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/3...
Thousands March in Montreal to Urge Climate Action
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/3...
Report Says 2005 Warmest, Stormiest Year on Record Likely Due to Global Warming
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9406
Canadian Environmentalists Demand Protection for Owls
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=9403
Smart [Drug] Regulations: Will the Government’s Strategy Work?
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/173/12/1469?etoc...
Liver: Acetaminophen Overdose a Growing Threat
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?artic...
Judge Declares Mistrial in Vioxx Trial
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=2&u=...
The Hidden Chemicals in Splenda
http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/1205/the_hidden_...
Artificial Sweetener Indicted: Will New Mexico Be First to Ban Aspartame?
http://healthy.net/scr/news.asp?Id=8056
TV Ads Push Junk Food, Harm Kids’ Diets
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=2&u=...
Commercial Alert vs. USDA: How One Non-Profit is Fighting to Eliminate Junk Foods from America’s Schools
http://www.newstarget.com/015407.html
Omega Oils Could Improve Children’s Behavior, Learning
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=64...
Kids Exercise to Feel Good, Not Lose Weight
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=2&u=...
Exercise Your Brain and Body to Improve Memory
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=1&u=...
Yoga May Soothe Chronic Back Pain
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=571&e=1&u=...
Gardener on the Roof: On Green Roofs
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2005/12/05/greenroof...
Topical Comfrey Quells Pain, Swelling
http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/hotnews/5bh291...
Crushed and Ground Flax Seeds More Bioavailable
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=64...
Sunflower Seeds, Pistachios Found to Reduce Cholesterol
http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/newsmaker_article.as...
Mercury Levels in Fish Harmful – Mercury Experts
http://www.nutritionhorizon.com/newsmaker_article.as...
For more current stories, check out “News” at www.hans.org.
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Founded in 1984, Health Action Network Society is a membership-based, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to gathering and disseminating health promotion information.