The Power of Healing

As I sat around with my cup of coffee, I was pondering over random ideas and thoughts for my next blog. Then an idea struck me, I thought why not I write something about the ways community programs have extended their support to families. In fact, in our seminar when we discussed about community kitchens, it reminded me of my own experiences as a co-facilitator for South Asian Heart health program organized by the Toronto Public Health.

Indeed I noticed similarities between the community kitchen and the program which I took part in. In these programs, mothers get an opportunity to cook healthy food and share recipes with other mothers who are part of the program. They are also allowed to bring their kids to these programs. Usually these programs are targeted towards lower income and middle income families. However, there were slight differences between both these programs. In community kitchens, participants are required to contribute a small amount of money to share the cost of purchasing and preparing healthy meals whereas the “Cooking for your Heart series” sessions are rendered to these families at a free cost. Mostly the community kitchens are usually held thrice a month. But these heart health programs run for 4 sessions each three hours long. At the end of the last session, participants are asked to complete an evaluation form which asks them to identify what they learned in these sessions and the heart healthy changes they intend to make. They are also mailed a certificate saying that they successfully completed the program. The South Asian Cooking “For your Heart series” programs is funded by the Toronto heart Health partnership. On the other hand, the funding for the Community kitchen programs is usually provided by the government. Now that I have given you a general overview of these programs, let me turn my focus towards understanding their power of healing families and communities.

Even though there were slight variations between these programs, but what I commonly noticed in these programs was that their goals and objectives were pretty much the same. These community programs provide an opportunity for these mothers to build their skill set around cooking and allows them to practice food safety techniques at home. By networking with others, individuals also get information about the various support groups which are available in the community. And the best part is these programs help create a sense of belonging. Being part of the program and talking to others helps people to share and discuss their problems and issues thereby creating mutually supportive relationships. Families also learn about affordable and accessible daycares which are available for their kids by interacting with others in these programs.

In our seminar two weeks ago we discussed if community kitchens are beneficial in reducing social/health inequalities. Surprisingly there were a wide variety of mixed responses. Some said yes, while others no and still others both yes/no. Those in favour of these programs felt that they help reduce stigma and provide immediate support for families. On the other hand, those who were not in support of these programs felt that it was just a band-aid solution and only reinforced stereotypes and victim blaming. They also felt that these programs were not effective in solving the major underlying issues like poverty. Yes, although it is true that that these programs only provide short term relief for families but when an individual loses a job what he/she requires is immediate support at that moment and not a long term solution for his problem. Having said this, I feel that these community programs are doing a tremendous job in helping families cope with their crisis. As rightly said in one of the blogs by Daniella, there is definitely no easy solution to the problem of social inequality but these little things can really provide a temporary relief. I fully agree with this statement as I feel that even small steps taken by the community can really help make a difference in the lives of people.

Be it places like Scott Mission or St Francis Table as Daniella mentioned or community kitchens or South Asian Heart Health programs, what I noticed about these programs is their power to heal families.

To read Daniella's blog follow this link http://thinkbreatheeat.blogspot.com/2010/02/lending-helping-hand.html

Is it worth the time & $$$??

During the holiday season, I happened to come across this interesting piece of information which I want to share with u all. Health Canada wants public’s opinion about its unusual proposal to put small amounts of the enzyme asparaginase which happens to be a cancer-fighting drug in foods like potato chips and French fries. With Feb 21st being the last day for public’s comments on this proposal, I thought that why not I choose this topic as my second blog. Now let me explain why they want to do this. The chemical acrylamide found as a cooking by-product in production of foods like French fries and potato chips has been linked to cancer in animals. But you may all wonder what this has to do with the enzyme asparaginase. In fact, research has suggested that asparaginase reduces the production of acrylamide. According to Health Canada, the enzyme is already in use in countries like US, Australia, New Zealand & Denmark. Moreover the enzyme has also been given a favourable evaluation by the joint FAO/WHO expert Committee on Food Additives.

Now the question arises is it worth the time & $$$?? I happened to read some of the comments posted by public on this matter in the CP24 news website. To me, it did appear that not many were interested with this proposal. As one person rightly said, such a proposal would only cause the general public to think that junk foods are a healthier option when in fact, they are not. She feels that although the enzyme may or may not have an effect on the cancer forming cells, but these junk foods would still be potential contributors of obesity, diabetes and other health issues. Some also feel that adequate testing needs to be done before adding the enzyme as they fear of the possible side effects which may be caused.

Like the two sides to a coin, I only feel that implementation of this plan is going to benefit some and harm others. Food manufacturers & marketers will be able to boost their profits with increased sales. On the flip side, it is going to prove detrimental to consumers who are going to consider junk foods to be a healthier choice. According to the American Dietetic Association, there are no good or bad foods. All food can be eaten as long as it eaten in moderation and in appropriate amounts. The addition of asparaginase is only going to make these foods to sound like a good food. Another potential problem with its addition is that, some consumers may stop eating French fries/chips altogether for the risk they fear may be associated with the enzyme. I strongly believe that people should not be deprived of these small pleasures, which they get when they eat these comfort foods. This reminds me of one of the posts on emotional eating which talks about how we find it hard to resist certain foods in a social situation. I agree with this point as I feel that when we watch a movie with our friends, we usually prefer to munch on a bag of chips or fries rather than having a salad. Although these may not be the healthiest options, but it is these foods which usually unite people together. Having said this, I feel that it is okay to have these foods one in a while in appropriate portion sizes and in moderation. It is only when we make it a regular routine, it becomes a problem.

In one of our lectures, we discussed how the funding is increasingly being allocated to downstream strategies such as physicians and hospitals. We also learnt about how there has been an increased interest on treatment (downstream) vs health promotion and prevention (upstream strategies) with only 5% of the total health care funding going to the public health. Although I do agree that asparaginase being an anti-cancer drug can help fight cancer. But instead of spending billions of dollars on these anti-cancer drugs, why not spend $$ on cancer prevention programs such as the Tobacco control and National level- Cancer Prevention.

While I am not against Health Canada’s proposal, but it does appear to me that the harm associated with the addition of the enzyme outweighs its benefits. Since Health Canada wants our opinion on this proposal, it is now in our hands to decide whether it is worth the time and $$$??

What does Vegetarianism mean to you?

I was not sure what topic to choose for my first blog. But finally, I felt the need to discuss this issue as it has been disturbing me for quite sometime. Usually in the winter months, I prefer the PC canned soups like tomato, vegetable. Although I must admit that I am not a fan of canned and processed foods because of their high salt content. But on a hectic day, I prefer making these soups because of their ease of preparation. Like any other day, once I happened to make PC vegetable soup for my family. After relishing the soup, I just happened to look at the ingredients of the soup. To my utter disgust, it read ‘beef broth’. Being a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for religious reasons, I felt that I had committed a sin. What was quite surprising was that it said vegetable soup in the label but had beef broth in it. My dad shared a similar incident with me which happened to him when he had gone to Russia on a business trip. When he ordered for vegetarian soup, the person in charge pushed the meat pieces aside and gave him the clear Borsch soup. My dad recounts how all this happened in front of his eyes.

My intention of writing this blog is not to promote vegetarianism. But however, I feel that since some of us do choose to exclude meat from diet due to ethical, religious reasons, it is important that we address this issue. Being a nutrition student, my parents always rely on me to check the food labels. However my question is what if a person forgets to read the label for a vegetarian soup and ends up eating meat which is against his ethics. Although we do focus a lot on nutrition labelling and so on, we tend to ignore these concerns.

I do agree that the term’ vegetarianism’ can have different meanings for everyone. In fact, I remember reading in 1^st year in one of nutrition courses about lacto-ovo-vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, vegans and vegetarians. However, I just hope that we have clear and standardized definitions for these terms in food labels so that the consumer can be sure of what he is eating. Having said this, I am eager to know what vegetarianism means to you??