Off to Mexico Dec 9th! Plans for 2010…

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or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

Please note; I will be leaving for Mexico on December 9th and returning at the beginning of January 2010.
Noon tomorrow (12pm Thursday Dec 3) is the deadline for ordering any you require supplements before I leave.
I will still be checking email but not phone messages during this time. Please be patient as I will have limited internet access.

Workshops/Socials for 2010,
any workshop can be booked at your convenience…
377 Sherbrooke West, corner Av Du Parc,
IMPORTANT Access Details:
external door code 0377, then dial 130 on the intercom, when buzzed in go to third floor, suite 303.
If all else fails call 514-564-7847

Meditation Outside the Box
upcoming: Sunday Dec 6, 3pm (probably will be continued every Sunday – starting in January.)
RSVP required.

Meditation without rules or dogma. What do all meditators share regardless of religion or culture? Improvements in health, wellbeing, creativity, mindfulness, self awareness, and the protraction of time. Learn the core method and purpose behind meditation.
30 minute group meditation followed by tea, possibly snacks, and informal discussion.
I hope to make this a regular Sunday event.

$2 – $5 optional donation requested.
Please arrive between 2:45 and 3:15.
You must arrive by 3:15 to participate.
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The SOUP of Life, soup making workshop
Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian versions available
re-book at your convenience

It’s Soup season! Soup is cheap, simple, and healthy! For so many people and cultures around the world Soup is so much more that just an appetizer. A well made soup is a traditional nutritional powerhouse, often able to sum up the flavor profile of a particular region or culinary tradition, and is often essential for survival in the diets of those cultures who have learned to live well in the icier latitudes. Soup is comfort, sustenance, and medicine.
3 hours of Soup:
Learn to build a delicious soup from the ground up with no recipe. Learn the basics of a traditional broth and why its worth the effort. Learn why a good soup is real medicine and how to enhance this aspect. Oh yeah, and we’ll be eating soup too!

$25 per person, minimum 4 people.
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Integrating Superfood: Beans, Lentils, and Whole Grains
a Vegetarian workshop
re-book at your convenience

How to prepare and best enjoy the food combination that sustains humanity. Discover what traditional food-cultures all over the world already know; why legumes and grains together are one of the the most balancing, nourishing food combinations you can choose, and how you can prepare them deliciously, cheaply, and organically to suit your taste. The myth that beans cause farting; why only improperly prepared beans have this noxious effect.

$25 per person, minimum 4 people. 3 hours.
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Transformative Breathwork workshop, gateway to your subconscious.
De-bug your programming. Breathing techniques similar to those used in some modern psychotherapeutic techniques as well as numerous spiritual traditions from around the world, induce an altered state which acts as a path to improved self-awareness, deep introspection, and personal problem solving. Surprising results.

$25 per person, minimum 4 people. 2 hours.
Private breathwork sessions can also be arranged.
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Crazy Winter Hikes on Mount Royal
Jump into Winter! Looking for activity partners for deep winter hikes through the back trails of Mt. Royal. 2-4 hours. Free!

More to come…

Indoor “Green” Air Filtration?

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Airborne pollutants, especially in indoor urban settings, are one of the least discussed causes of respiratory illness and cancer. This from The New Ecologist, a list of the top 10 anti-pollutant houseplants. They rate the best as:

1. The Feston Rose plant

2. Devil’s Ivy

3. Phalaenopsis

4. English Ivy

5. Parlor Ivy

6. African Violets

7. Christmas Cactus

8. Yellow Goddess

9. Garlic Vine

10. Peace Lily

The Feston Rose, Lantana camara

New Chapter’s Supplement Philosophy

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or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

More on why I choose to distribute New Chapter products…
From the New Chapter website:

We Believe In the Power of Whole-Food.
New Chapter supplements and herbs are whole-food complexes, not synthetic chemical isolates like most other supplements. The advantages of a whole-food complex vs. synthetic chemical isolates are significant:

1. Your body accepts New Chapter’s whole food vitamins, minerals and herbs easily and absorbs them readily.
2. New Chapter’s whole food complex vitamins and minerals are rich with naturally occurring phytonutrients that deliver the full spectrum of nature’s benefits.
3. New Chapter’s whole food complex vitamins and minerals work in harmony with your body’s natural chemistries – not on your body, like synthetic chemical isolates.
4. Because our vitamins and minerals are delivered as a recognized food, your body understands what to do with them; a natural life process perfected over thousands of generations. Chemical isolates force their way in, and attempt to “tell” your body what do with them.

To us, it’s a simple whole truth: we prefer the real thing to a synthetic version of the real thing.

The Milligram Myth
You might assume 200 mg of a nutrient are always better than 50 mg, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because the milligram count is a measure of weight, not usefulness.

Take, for example, Vitamin C. As a whole-food complex transformed through fermentation it’s far more useful to the human body than the chemically isolated ascorbic acid found in synthetic supplements and multivitamins. Why? Because your body won’t fully recognize and absorb all of the synthetic Vitamin C.

So, in conventional supplements, many of the ingredient “milligrams” listed on the back label may pass right through your body, potentially reducing their benefit.

When it comes to New Chapter vs. chemical isolates, we find that Nature’s “less” is almost always more.

We Deliver The Whole, not just the part.
Most supplements, even many that claim to be ‘natural’, isolate out a single vitamin or nutrient and then create a synthetic version of it – a ‘homeless molecule’ that’s missing the beneficial, powerful, natural chemistries found in the whole of nature’s source.

At New Chapter, you get the full benefit of the ‘whole’ natural source. It’s all about how the nutrients are delivered, and we deliver them in a whole-food complex.

Our commitment to organic ingredients is unwavering.
New Chapter is the first brand in the world, which we know of, to deliver a full line of whole-food complex vitamins, minerals and herbs certified to be made with organic ingredients.

Why?

1. We believe the natural purity of organic ingredients is better for you.
2. We believe organically grown ingredients are better for the environment.

Many New Chapter products are certified organic, and most contain organic ingredients — grown without genetic engineering, added chemical pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.

In fact, we grow organic turmeric and ginger on our very own certified organic and biodynamic farm in Costa Rica.

We use organic ingredients as often as possible, and source only from farms and growers who meet our rigid standards. We work with organizations like The Organic Center and also look to increasingly promote organic sustainability in the world’s agricultural practices.

We think your body will benefit from the difference organic makes. And we’re proud of our place within a re-emerging organic world.

Cultured in Probiotics
Our vitamins and nutrients are cultured in probiotics — the healthy, beneficial, naturally occurring bacteria that every body requires for life. Some “fermented” foods and beverages you may be familiar with, such as yogurt, kefir, red wine and sauerkraut, exist because of the presence of probiotics.

We live in an increasingly “anti-biotic” culture, where we attempt to kill off all that may potentially harm us (with antibiotics applied broadly to our daily medicines, to our poultry, to our dairy cows, and to our farm animals). While antibiotics can save us when we’re sick, they’re also highly effective at killing many of the organisms our bodies need to survive.

Probiotics, on the other hand, promote life. They are the beneficial bacteria that not only transform basic nutrients into powerful, life-giving nourishment, but also activate the body’s natural chemistries that support our health. The problem is, most [of us] don’t consume nearly enough probiotic-rich, whole food.

New Chapter nutrients are a probiotic powerhouse
Appreciating the importance of probiotics, the life-enhancing power inherent in New Chapter nutrients becomes more clear. When you consider that New Chapter is one of the very few supplement companies in the world to actively culture its nutrients in probiotics, the New Chapter difference becomes obvious.

Chemical-Free Herbal Extraction
When it comes to herbal therapeutics, New Chapter is committed to producing extracts without the use of chemicals. Unfortunately, many supplement makers extract their herbs using high heat and harsh industrial solvents like hexane and acetone. We’ve never done this, and we never will.

We have several issues with chemical extraction:

1. Chemical extraction literally strips away the beneficial wholeness of nature, reducing the effectiveness and intelligence of the herb.
2. You’re ingesting something that’s been awash in industrial chemicals used in dry cleaning, and to make things like varnish, paint thinner, nail polish remover and glue (we only wish we were kidding).
3. The use of high heat reduces the vitamin, mineral and nutrient content of the healing herb, just as it does when food is overcooked.
4. Do we all really need more chemicals impacting our foods?

The entire New Chapter product line can be ordered through me.


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or book an appointment at 514-564-7847.

Pesticides, Health, and Weak Cancer Criteria.

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I am constantly surprised to still often run into basically health-conscious, intelligent people who seem to have no concern about pesticides. I’m always reading on this subject and trying to stay up to date and am a strong proponent of organic food. Recent reading from MyEnvironmentalHealth.org, an excellent mainstream medical source of research and advice on cancer prevention :

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services publication “Cancer and the Environment,” there are approximately 900 registered pesticides in the U.S. today. Of those 900 pesticides, 20 active ingredients are known to cause cancer. It is also important to note that pesticides registered by the EPA do not indicate that they are safe to use, but that there are particular handling methods to ensure user safety…

(“The Center for Environmental Oncology (CEO) was established in 2004 by the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) as the first program of its kind in the nation. The CEO focuses on developing strategies to reduce cancer by translating scientific findings about avoidable, environmental causes of cancer into effective ways to minimize risks.”)

What is important to note is that the criteria for determining cancer risk from an agri-chemical is rather loose. Safety testing for the approval is much less stringent than one might expect having more to do with its short-term effect, not causing instant death, in a few lab animals. Cancer takes longer to show up, often 10 to 20 years, as we have seen with numerous other chemicals, medications, and as we are beginning to notice with cellphone radiation. So the pesticides that are listed as known carcinogens are generally those that have, over many years and extensive involuntary human testing, been observed to be cancer causing. Another consideration is that risk to health is assessed on a chemical-by-chemical basis, not combinations of chemicals, effecting cumulatively; like say all those 900 pesticides, plus all the other thousands of evolutionarily novel chemical compounds we are imbued with from other sources, all floating around in our unsuspecting bodies. The epidemic of new cancers we are seeing, which is for the most part claimed to be idiopathic, ie; of unknown origin, by the medical establishment, I think has a fairly likely, yet almost un-researchable broadly multiferous cause.
What can we do? We can’t avoid all potentially harmful chemicals.
Simple things I’m always ranting about: Organic food, natural cleaning products and cosmetics go a long way, and these are things you have direct control over. Beyond that, get informed, support safer food and products with your dollars. You the consumer moves the market and creates change with how you spend. You may also want to support good research and maybe even write a few letters to companies or government. It does have an effect, especially with companies who are motivated by the needs and desires of you the consumer.

Delicious Healthy Fish turned into Industrial Pork?

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“Fish doesn’t just feed humans. Millions of tons of fish are fed every year to chickens, pigs, and even farmed fish even in the midst of rising concerns over fish stocks collapses around the world. Finding an alternative to fish as livestock feed would go a long way toward preventing the collapse of fish populations worldwide according to a new paper in Oryx. ….” read more. From Mongabay.com, one of the world’s most popular environmental science and conservation news sites.

When is the last time you saw a pig go fishing? I’m pretty sure that pigs should not eat fish, usually. (See photo) Just like feeding cows grain instead of grass, or feeding chickens other chickens, these unnatural practices make sick animals. Beyond the risk of directly encouraging the evolution of mutant bacteria and viruses, eating sick animals is not very good for us, period.

Anchovies, along with sardines and other similar fish at the bottom of the food chain and still fairly abundant in our oceans, also happen to be precisely the kind of fish we should be eating for both health and sustainability.

What are the best fish to eat? Sea Choice is a straightforward look at what’s sustainable. Environmental Working Group has a bunch of great articles covering both health concerns regarding certain fish and sustainable choices.

Swine Flu mania! My view…

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This excellent article prompted me to sit down and have a good look at the Swine-mania that is sweeping the nation and the world. What initially struck me is that it is one of the most balanced articles I have seen! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Honestly, i’m tired of hearing about it. In reality, this is just another flu, and the vaccine risks and/or advantages are really nothing new either. So what’s all the hubbub?

I feel like in theory I’m supposed to lean more to the side of being passionately anti-vaccine along with so many of my alternative minded colleagues. I get all the emails and links from the natural medicine side of the fence, and sorry, but I have to say that most come off as kooks. Bad writing, paranoia, silly graphics, and little evidence or decent references. And then we have to deal with the fact that some people who do excellent work and thorough research, somehow manage to position themselves to sound like complete kooks. (More on that in a moment.) It’s embarrassing.

I have to date, seen no solid evidence or solid science that this vaccine is more dangerous than other vaccines or that there is any kind of great conspiracy to kill us all with vaccines.

Good researchers that manage to sound like kooks: My favorite example here is Dr. Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com which claims to be the “World’s most popular natural health newsletter”. Sadly most of the headlines are often fearmongering, and most of the doctor’s own writing is at once meandering, rhetorical, and hyperbolic. (There also tends to be a lot of pitch for various products.) Hidden here, however, is a mother lode of serious studies, media articles, and other references, which when carefully sifted through make a powerfully informative source. There is a lot to look at HERE regarding the Swinedemic on this site. I recommend sticking to the references rather than the editorial.

We must consider the track record of vaccines in the past, and consider that the widespread collateral damage (acceptable level of adverse events) involved in mass vaccination, and the possibility that it may not in our interest to avoid every new bug that comes our way.

I am very suspicious of squalene and thimerosal (ethylmercury), two adjuvants (effect boosters) used in most versions of the H1N1 vaccine. The adverse event rate with this vaccine is supposedly very low and falls within “acceptable limits”Although I think there is evidence that the adverse events with vaccines, thought to be related to adjuvants rather than the virus-specific component of the vaccine, tend to be particularly sad, chronic, and destructive to quality of life.

Why take any such a risk at all, you may ask? The argument for why the fairly low risk of personal harm from the Swine-shot is worth it, is that the more average people getting vaccinated the more we protect at-risk populations; the old, young, the pregnant, or the already sick. This is the only reason to get the vaccine. This is, in reality, just another flu, with a similar complication and death rate to other flus.

Should we accept a small risk of personal harm to be responsible to your community at large? I am still not sure myself, so I definitely can’t answer that for you.

Will I personally be getting the vaccine this year? Absolutely not.

What am I doing to stay flu free?
For many years now I can honestly say I have never been surprised by an illness. I get colds and flus when I am not taking care of myself properly or allow myself to get run down. This even applies to “travelers ailments” that famously affect the gastrointestinal tract. It’s rarely just luck, but more a question of keeping the right balance, and in some cases taking the right herbal and supplement preventives.

The basic rule of thumb would be to not co-mingle any of the following factors: extreme stress, overwork, inadequate sleep, inadequate nutrition, very sedentary lifestyle, alcohol (or drug) intoxication/abuse, refined sugar consumption, or a lot of low quality pro-inflammatory foods. These all directly suppress immunity. The unavoidable presence of one or two of these factors can be balanced out by strictly avoiding the others.

If you find you are always getting sick, picking up every bug that’s going around, you may want to take a good look at how you are living. No vaccine is the right answer to a chronically depressed immune system. It may be time for a life overhaul – something I find myself addressing often with clients.

Beyond the other factors I mentioned; a seasonal diet, probiotics, seasonal preventive herbs, and being sure to get adequate amounts of well assimilated (food sourced) vitamins A, E, C, D, Zinc, Iodine, and Selenium. The last 4 are chronically and markedly deficient in most Canadians. Don’t rely on your drug store multi-vitamin for these either, the small amounts of chemically isolated nutrients they proffer are not well absorbed. A high quality food-sourced and co-factored supplement regimen or multi is key, or a carefully examined approach to a nutrient dense seasonal diet. In addition, the hygiene advice offered in the article mentioned at the top is also excellent advice.

And finally, as I have said before, worry is terrible for the immune system. Choose the path you feel most comfortable with, take those actions, and relax. Statistically, vaccine or not, we are all likely to get through this unscathed.

Sustainable “Virgin” Fish Oil from New Chapter

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New Chapter is my primary supplement supplier for a reason…

“To us, sustainability begins with intention – and from the start, our intention has been to produce the most environmentally conscious product possible. This is why we are excited to introduce our newest product to the New Chapter family, WholemegaTM, extra-virgin whole fish oil.”

See more on this product and others from New Chapter.

Soup Workshop review…

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“Just got home from the Soup of Life Workshop and am so glad I went. Tons in information about nutrition and food shopping, inspiring ideas for spicing up my own soups, and a chance to spend some time with Pierre – Thank you for a great evening Pierre !”
KW, Montreal

Pierre Black’s Soup of Life Workshop
Learn to build a delicious soup from the ground up with no recipe. Learn the basics of a traditional broth and why its worth the effort. Learn why a good soup is real medicine and how to enhance this aspect.
Book your own workshop with me! 4 person minimum, available in vegetarian or non-veg versions, at your home or in my kitchen.

Not Yet Convinced to Go Organic?

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For at least a decade now I have favored organic foods. Fortunately in that time I have seen the availability of organic food increase dramatically and the prices of organic food drop considerably. Some organic foods are now the same price as their industrially farmed counterparts. Good news for those on the organic bandwagon.

But so many are still skeptical. Are pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides really bad for us? Wouldn’t the government protect us?
Well, the answer is, probably not. There and many interests at work and the history of industrial farming and its rise to power is a long and complex one. At one time it may have been necessary and the ill effects were difficult to forsee. Now, however, it’s more an issue of corporate interests on a large scale, and simple habit on a smaller scale – individual farmers and other food producers. The behind the scenes story is crystal clear and wonderfully readable in two books I’ve been reading lately by Michael Pollan; The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food – An Eaters Manifesto. (Pollan also appears in the worthwhile documentary Food Inc.)The science is unequivocal, many agrochemicals are bad for us, but how bad and how to regulate them is the issue. And like any consumer issue it is moderated by huge financial interests. A great source for the latest on agrochemicals, scientific studies, and regulatory back-and-forth is the Environmental Working Group website.

With or without the pesticide argument, the more recent news is that organics, both vegetable and animal, contain higher levels of most nutrients. This was heavily disputed in the past from both sides of the fence since, well, the exact chemical composition of a given natural food is highly variable and the essentiality of certain nutrients was at issue. For example polyphenols, polysaccharides, EFA’s including omega3’s; just some of the nutrients whose great importance have been only recently brought to light. Many small scale comparisons had been done and the anecdotal and empirical evidence was strong. Historically, communities changing to industrially farmed foods for reasons other that food shortage or famine consistently suffer radical health consequences. Not to mention the common opinion that organic food is simply more color, flavor, and texture dense – a good general indicator of superior nutritional value.

With a recently completed $25million European Community study the preponderance or good evidence lies firmly with the organic side. And here are a few other good articles revealed with a very quick internet search. 1/
2/3/4

Lastly, it’s up to all of us to ask for more organic food options. Educating others by example and making organics more available in stores improves everyone’s health and improves the environment.

Sugar: Sweet Poison?

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Sugar is poison.

Okay, a little dramatic maybe? Not really.

A poison is defined by dictionary.com as
1. (n.) a substance with an inherent property that tends to destroy life or impair health.
I firmly believe that sugar fits this description.

A lot of people think they only have to worry about sugar if they are on a diet or have diabetes in their family. Actually, sugar is too refined for the human body to deal with effectively and is harmful, on some level, to everyone. Sugar and other high glycemic index sweeteners like the now infamous high-fructose corn syrup, create physiological conditions which directly support all the major diseases of degeneration and aging through immune suppression, inflammation, glycemic stress, acidification, mineral loss, and more. And even if you try to avoid it, it’s hidden everywhere – even in many products marketed as “health foods”.

The reasons you may want to reduce or eliminate sugar in your diet are countless. Refined sugars are a factor in numerous disorders including hypoglycemia, chronic fatigue, addictions, obesity, diabetes, skin conditions, dandruff, fungal infections, malnutrition, tooth decay, difficulty losing weight, ADD/ADHD, problems concentrating, headaches, sleep disturbances, indigestion, acid reflux, yeast infections, candidiasis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, mineral deficiency, acidosis, gallstones, arthritis, depression, anxiety, numerous digestive disorders, osteoporosis, osteopenia, mood-imbalances, slow healing of injuries, herpes outbreaks, chronic infections, chronic colds, asthma, and many others.

However, even the healthiest person will benefit from the reduction of refined sugars in their diet. Sugar directly limits the absorption of vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, copper, and other nutrients in the digestive system and puts much greater stress on the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and other organs due to its unnaturally concentrated chemical nature. Sugar, even one serving, immediately lowers immunity following ingestion, and damages micro-vessels like those found in the eyes, ears, and brain. Regular use essentially trashes your immune system.

Hidden sugars are a major concern. In order to be successful in reducing or eliminating sugars, you must start reading ingredient lists on food products you buy. You may be surprised at what you’ll find in your food. Many products where you may not expect to find sugar, actually have a lot of sugar in them. Also many sugars are concealed in everyday foods by using chemical names or names that make the ingredient sound healthier. Examples: “Glucose-Fructose” (white sugar!), “organic cane sugar” (organic white sugar!), “brown sugar” (white sugar dyed beige with molasses!).

One of the services I most commonly provide to my clients is to help them integrate the healthiest sweeteners without depriving themselves of sweets, snacks, and desserts. It is possible, and for most people its quite easy with the right knowledge and a little experimentation. Many people have seen radical health transformations with just this one dietary change. A good start is understanding the glycemic index and a shift from a calorie- or fat-fearing mindset like so many have been indoctrinated with, to a high-nutrition, low glycemic index, less-refined food approach.

Watch for more articles and links on good and bad sugars coming soon.