Here we go again, on to the next single-vitamin bandwagon. This time, the flavour of the month is Vitamin D. Everyday new research touts the benefits of Vitamin D: for MS, Cancer, Osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease. Personally, I have no doubts that Vitamin D can help with these conditions. However, by applying the ‘single-vitamin’ law we are simply mimicking the problematic one-magic-pill paradigm embedded deeply in Western society’s psyche.

Last week, the Globe and Mail ran an article called "Cheese puffs, with added vitamin D', which discussed the potential Health Canada policy that would allow manufacturers to fortify certain foods as a method of increasing 'access to certain vitamins and minerals'. They went on to say that health experts believe that the 'move could exacerbate unhealthy eating habits'.

 There's a problem with the anti-nut campaign that goes beyond creating a society that has gone ‘nutty’! (for those truly allergic, ignore this posting)

Two of Canada's largest food banks, MoissonMontreal (Mtl) and FoodShare (TO) are now focussing on recession-hit families to provide them with access to fresh fruits and veggies. Bravo! When I volunteered at a foodbank, I was horrified at first by the 'junk' people donate. As if the homeless/poor really needed another Mac&Cheese Dinner! On the flip side ~ it was great to see how many tins of Mackerel and Sardines (yes, the cheap tins) were also donated.

Globe and Mail reported on recent research proving that 'trivial' pharma handouts to med students influence their choice of drug brands.

There's a fantastic resource for people who have a teen with mental illness.   This guy who had schizophrenia and was hospitalized in a mental institution - till he recovered using orthomolecular medicine - created an amazing comic book about his experience.   Check out:    Josh Wapp’s Jumping the Fence: A True Story of Breaking Free From the Psychiatric Industry. Comic Book. 2006.    Sample thumbnails:   

There was talk today in the paper about how ‘healthy brain’ people are ab/using Ritalin in order to increase their cognitive performance, despite not having ADD, ADHD (conditions for which Ritalin is intended and prescribed).

 Hey! Yesterday was the 54th anniversary of Linus Pauling receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry. He got it for his research into the nature of the chemical bond. Only later on (1968), did he coin the term 'Orthomolecular' and become a Vitamin C advocate.

 Today’s Globe printed the article “Brain Scans May Detect MS Before Symptoms Appear.”  Wow! Now that’s newsworthy. Well, ok, perhaps not. The use of an MRI, a scan, or any technology for that matter, to expose disease prior to symptom development, isn’t ‘new’.