THE MANY FACES OF DIETS
Follow the Food Pyramid (US)or Canada's Food Guide for Healthy Eating to choose your foods in the amounts that is suggested for your body-type and weight.
There is no such thing as a fool-proof 'diet' without exercise to lose weight, fight fat, & get heart-healthy.
This survey, done in 1997, is indicative of the amount of interest that people are taking regarding the kind of foods they eat.
Be an informed consumer and take charge of your health. Be sure that the 'organic' foods are really 'organic' and check out the resellers brand name and read labels.
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOOD IS NOT GOOD MEDICINEThomas Walkom-Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition
Avoid Heart Disease
Let's take a look at diet: It's almost universally accepted by nutritionists that we eat too few fruits and vegetables; on average 3.4 portions per day. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend 5 to 9 servings per day. Canadians recommend 5 to 10 servings per day.
15 SUPER FOODS
In the good-for-you category of foods there exists an elite squad of real superstars -- foods that go the distance in giving you VITAMINS, MINERALS and possible protection from health problems. Pick a few that you like and seek them out at salad bars or slip them into favorite recipes. They keep on giving:
LET YOUR MEDICINE BE YOUR FOOD
Cartoon Quips Weight-Wise:
I have a friend who's a constant dieter. One day, after bemoaning her lack of success, she asked her husband, "Which would you rather have? A skinny, grouchy wife, or a fat, jolly one?"
He replied, "Just how fat do you have to get before you become jolly?"
Points To Ponder:
We all have dreams and there is no question that one of life's great tragedies is that so few of us fulfill them. Often it is because we are so locked into our daily routine that we cannot see our way clear. More fundamentally, though, it's a lack of nerve, an unwillingness to take the necessary risks. But at some moment of your life -- no matter how successful you become -- there comes a glimmer, an idea, a fresh conclusion, a dream. And it will haunt you for the rest of your life unless you act on it.
People cannot learn by having information pressed into their brains. Knowledge has to be sucked in, not pushed in. First, one must create a state of mind that craves knowledge, interest and wonder. You can teach only by creating an urge to know. --
The list of GE crops planted in Canada as of May 2002 includes:
US 'green' grocers ban GM food- Private brands to contain natural ingredients only
Whole Foods Market Inc. and Wild Oats Markets Inc., the two largest natural-food store chains in the United States, plan to ban genetically modified ingredients from their hundreds of private-label products.
The two grocers would be the largest U.S. food retailers to ban genetically modified ingredients. The Austin-based Whole Foods operates 103 stores in 32 states and Washington, D.C., and has more than 600 products carrying its brand name. Boulder, Colorado-based Wild Oats operates 110 stores in 22 states and British Columbia(Canada). It has about 700 products under its own brand.
The move follows similar bans by major European supermarket chains, reacting to consumer concerns over the foods' safety. Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has deemed genetically modified foods to be safe and essentially no different than conventionally grown foods, the grocers' decision could influence public opinion, an analyst said.
"You're seeing more and more examples of this," said Frank Mitsch, an analyst with Deutsche Banc Alex Brown. "I would not be surprised to see labelling at some point."
Concerns about Monsanto's agriculture business have contributed to a 25 per cent decline in its share prices this year. The St. Louis-based maker of drugs, farm chemicals and seeds is planning to merge with Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. to strengthen its pharmaceutical business. It also plans to spin off 20 per cent of the agricultural business.
Major supermarket chains show no signs they're considering any ban on gene-modified ingredients, said a spokesperson for major food processors.
"We don't think it's something we have to worry about for the large retailers," said Gene Grabowski, of Grocery Manufacturers of America, which represents large brand-name food companies.
An estimated 60 per cent of U.S. grocery products contain ingredients derived from genetically modified crops such as corn and soybeans. These include products from such well-known companies and Kellogg Co., Nestle SA and Pepsi-Cola Inc.
The natural-food grocers say they're acting on customer demand.
"It's really not my position to say genetically engineered is a good thing or a bad thing," said Jim Lee, president and chief operating officer of Wild Oats. "It's a matter of having a shopping choice. A high percentage of our customers are opposed to anything artificially introduced into their food."
Lee said he hoped to begin changing the labels for Wild Oats products sometime next year to say the foods had no genetically modified ingredients.
The natural-food companies "who want to get their message to consumers are doing so," said Mitsch. "People are starting to pay more attention."
Nick Redfield, an analyst with Banc One Investment Advisors, which holds shares in Monsanto and DuPont, said the two natural-food stores are niche players and that some of their customers would never have embraced genetically modified food.
"Most people in this country don't give a second thought about the safety of their food," said Redfield.
It's unlikely that either Whole Foods or Wild Oats can assure no trace of altered ingredients will be found in their products, which makes the labelling issue difficult.
Whole Foods has arranged for lab testing of ingredients that might have been genetically modified, while Wild Oats said it would take the word of its suppliers. Genetically modified seeds were planted this year on more than half of the U.S. soybeans acres and more than a third of U. S. corn acres.
Margaret Wittenberg, vice-president of governmental and public affairs for Whole Foods, said all but a handful of Whole Foods products are already free of genetically engineered ingredients. The grocer hasn't labelled the products, but has distributed brochures in stores about the plan.
