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Staff Training – A Necessity in Natural Health Care

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Staff Training – A Necessity in Natural Health Care

by Tim Allen

When it comes to differentiating one retail business from another inside the world of “Natural Health Care,” it’s certain; education and staff training are integral to the process of building a vibrant business. If you are an independent retailer or a small chain operator catering to consumers who are searching for natural and/or alternative health care options, you have to accept that “self-serve” is not going to work for your business.

The old saying “reach out and touch someone” is more powerful now than it has ever been. As consumers, we have more information available to us today than ever before. And with the media and online marketing machines bombarding us 24/7, we are more confused than ever. It is not only important that consumers become educated about product offerings in your store but it is equally important that they become engaged and romanced by the “story.” Why? Simply put, the experts who are working in your store need to be the “messengers of truth”. Once consumers trust in you and your staff, they will be committed to return over and over again.

While natural health care products can be found in just about every retail store across the country, those who truly stand out – time and again – are the ones that offer both a broad range of products and those that present retail staff trained on the products – real people who are committed to a “healthy lifestyle” and want to help others attain extraordinary health. So if you are a retailer with a lacklustre business in the field of natural health care, where do you start?

According to Tim Pernitsch, Buyer and Store Manager of Healthtree in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, “it all starts with hiring the right people.” Healthtree searches for people with a solid background in natural health but more importantly, they are looking for those with a great attitude, someone who can make the consumer feel comfortable and able to discuss their health issues. Typically, people who want to work in a natural food and/or natural health care retail environment come into the role with a keen desire to communicate information to consumers. But not all those people are necessarily qualified to engage and teach – and this is the part that is so important to the overall success of the business. This is why you need to start with a strong interview process. And then follow that up with reference checks. Ask the hard questions so that you know you are hiring someone who will make a difference and set you apart from your competitors.

Once the “right” person has been hired what are the next steps? Onboarding any new staff member is critical. Many independent retail businesses are run by just a couple of staff members including the owner; it may be a challenge to set in motion a proper training program. Obviously, it is key that the new hire understand the flow of the business in functional areas associated with a) responsibility at the cash register, b) merchandising and inventory replenishment, c) promotional offers and loyalty programs, d) suppliers and associations, and of course e) customer service and product knowledge. That’s a lot of “specialties” to pack into one person so how do you do it?

For Jason Sebeslav, General Manager of The Peanut Mill Natural Foods Market located in St. Catharines, ON, his training program consists of “working through a checklist by shift.” His new staff members do not necessarily go through a formal training program; typically, new staff will shadow an experienced employee to understand and ask questions about specific functions related to the role. Most roles in the store become specialized and it is clear that Jason values his employees as he has profiled all of them and their specific role on his corporate web site. This is a great idea and a fabulous resource for his community, attracting new consumers and future employees.

When it comes down to “education” of retail staff members, learning about products and the industry is vital. It is clear that the vendor community recognizes the need for its customers, “the retail and education specialists”, to be trained too. Thankfully, there are a number of companies who value education and training and make it a priority to reach out to their retail partners. In fact, there are so many companies and so many offers to train staff that retailers have to plan very carefully to maximize value. Both Healthtree and The Peanut Mill are committed to hosting regular product trainings for their staff with their vendors.

In the case of Healthtree, the staff attend monthly training sessions, which typically take place after store hours, normally starting at 7 pm and running for a couple of hours. Healthtree encourages all of its staff members – not just those involved with supplements – to join the group in order to learn more about products and the particular company sponsoring the event. Similarly, The Peanut Mill organizes bi-weekly training sessions where a specific morning is reserved for a supplier to visit and train on its products. Because these sessions take place during work hours, Jason finds himself on the floor covering for as many of his staff as possible. These sessions are conducted in a separate room away from the retail floor in order to allow everyone to stay focused on learning.

In speaking with other top performing retailers across the nation, it is clear that stores that are taking advantage of the suppliers’ desire to educate and train, are the stores dominating the natural health products industry.

If you want to distinguish your retail business from the others in your community, it’s time that you take a hard look at training and start adopting some of the strategies the leaders have put into practice. Reach out to the specialists that want to work with you to grow your business. Assistance is available as long as you are committed to the task. When your staff engages in the process of learning and growing, they will attract and help you keep customers returning to your store. At a time when retail is so competitive and the consumer has so many options, passionate engagement as the “messenger of truth” will make all the difference to your business and your community!

Five Top Ingredients for Brain Health

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In the face of alarmist and dire predictions about dementia, millions of Canadian baby boomers are looking for ways to stay vital and active. If you give them a way to proactively maintain and even improve their brain health, you won’t have any trouble selling it.

All that retailers have to do is identify the products that deliver the good and pass along that information to a legion of consumers who are interested in:

  • Increasing their ability to concentrate and focus,
  • improving clarity,
  • Help prevent or alleviate memory loss,
  • Help maintain their mental vitality and improve their capacity to assimilate new concepts,
  • Help deal with the depression that inevitably comes with declining health.

So we’ve combined a list of the most effective natural products available to improve and maintain brain health. The order of importance is debatable, because, as with all natural health products, different people have different needs. But most of these ingredients are not just good for everyone – but important or even essential in the quest to maintain brain health.

Many of the items on this list fit into more than a single category. For instance: Pycnogenol and vinpocetine are botanicals that contain high levels of antioxidants. And as a water soluble essential nutrient, choline is often grouped with the B Complex vitamins rather than the phospholipids.

Many of the items on this list fit into more than a single category. For instance: Pycnogenol and vinpocetine are botanicals that contain high levels of antioxidants. And as a water soluble essential nutrient, choline is often grouped with the B Complex vitamins rather than the phospholipids.

Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidization and the resulting production of free radicals, that can damage or kill brain cells (and cells in other parts of the body). A recently concluded study that looked at 5,400 people aged 55+ over a period of 14 years identified no difference in risk between people on high-versus-low antioxidant diets.  But as Harvard Instructor of Medicine, Elizabeth Devore, ScD recently told , “The overall message here is it’s the of the antioxidants as opposed to overall levels.”  So simply eating more cranberries and blueberries may not do much good, but taking specific anti-oxidants may be invaluable.

  1. Antioxidants:

    Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidization and the resulting production of free radicals, that can damage or kill brain cells (and cells in other parts of the body). A recently concluded study that looked at 5,400 people aged 55+ over a period of 14 years identified no difference in risk between people on high-versus-low antioxidant diets.  But as Harvard Instructor of Medicine, Elizabeth Devore, ScD recently told Men’s Health Magazine, “The overall message here is it’s the specificityof the antioxidants as opposed to overall levels.”  So simply eating more cranberries and blueberries may not do much good, but taking specific anti-oxidants like Pycnogenol, the carotenoid Astaxanthin or Acteyl-L-carnitine (ACL) may be invaluable.

 

  1. Phospholipids:

    natural sources include soybeans, eggs, liver, beef, milk, and vegetables and the cabbage family. Alpha GPC has high choline content with very effective bioavailability. Cytidine 5-diphosphocholine (also known as citicoline or CDP-choline) is a choline/cytadine compound that boasts excellent absorption. Related products include Phosphatidylcholine and Choline often marketed as “lecithin products” – even though lecithin is not a particularly effective delivery system. The brain actually has another main phospholipid, Phosphatidylserine (PS) – that boosts memory and concentration. Since the quantities of PS available from natural sources, including cereal grains like rye, legumes and fruit juices are very small, supplementation of PS could be quite valuable.

 

  1. Vitamin B Complex:

    B Vitamins are said to suppress the amino acid, homocysteine, high levels of which are blamed for brain shrinkage and increased risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. Vegans and vegetarian diets pose some danger of B12 deficiency, because the main natural sources of B12 (meats and yogurts) have been eliminated from the diet. The biggest problem with vitamin B supplements is that they are generally not well absorbed by the body. All absorption takes place in the small intestine, and as we get older, many people suffer various types of intestinal distress that may result in vitamin B12 deficiency – which can cause a progressive degenerative condition of the spinal cord called Subacute Combined Degeneration (SCD) or a disruption of nerve signals between the spinal cord and different parts of the body called Peripheral Neuropathy. While a causal relationship between vitamin B and those conditions has yet to be firmly established, the relationship between hyperhomocysteinemia and Alzheimer’s disease is more certain – and there is no doubt that vitamin B12 in particular is effective in homocysteine suppression.  Many vitamin B supplements contain cyanocobalamine, in which the B12 is bound to cyanide. Our livers need to convert it to naturally occurring methylcobalamine. Other than giving yourself subcutaneous injections (with a diabetic syringe into the muscle tissue) – the most effective B12 delivery systems are sublingual tablets (which dissolve under the tongue) and skin absorption (via a skin patch). These generally deliver methylcobalamine – so the body doesn’t need to go through the absorption process and your liver doesn’t have to deal with the toxin (cyanide).

  1. Omega-3s:

    – There are three “essential fatty acids” – so named when scientists determined that they are essential to growth in children and animals. Three forms of omega-3 interact with human physiology: Plant-based omega-3s – known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is shorter-chained than the marine-based omega-3s docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) – which are called “long-chained”.  The shorter chained omega-3s are harder for us to synthesize because our bodies must convert them to long-chained fatty acids and as we get older, our bodies gradually lose the ability to do that efficiently. So EPA and especially DHA are considered the more important and more readily usable forms of omega-3. Omega-3s have been shown to relieve depression and anxiety. Preclinical studies indicate that DHA improves memory, and can slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology in mice.

 

  1. Botanicals:

    A wide category that includes Ginkgo Biloba – the oldest and best known of the traditional medicine treatments. There are a number of other ancient/Ayurvedic medicines believed to have positive effects on brain health. These include Bacopa Monnier (also known as Brahmi) which improves memory and concentration, Mucuna Pruriens (velvet bean) which a mood elevator that eases stress and increases alertness, Kanna – which is a mood elevator and mood stabilizer and Rodeola Rosea – which calms the mind and improves focus. Common herbs said to support mental health include rosemary, tumeric and cayenne.

 

Bonus Category: Minerals:

Lithium salts have a long and notorious reputation as a treatment for mental illness, but the standard form that was used was lithium carbonate – which is poorly absorbed by the body and has a host of undesirable side effects. Lithium orotate is delivered in smaller, more controllable doses and is much more effectively absorbed. Like calcium and potassium, the body actually requires lithium for good health. Believers are certain that lithium orotate rejuvenates brain cells and modulates mood.

 

The list above is a good reference chart for when people come looking for products to promote brain health. Over the coming years, there will be more and more products that combine the ingredients in inspiring and hopefully effective ways.

Many of the more traditional products like Webber Astaxanthi and Royal Red Omega-3 Krill Oil are being marketed as traditional, all-purpose supplements. While they may not be marketed specifically as brain health products, they certainly deliver some benefit. Products like Alterra’s NeurOmega are specifically being marketed as brain health products – created to target memory, attention and focus. And some of the newest brain health formulations like Ascenta Spark and Orgen Braineed combine a number of the ingredients we’ve told you about – and some we haven’t (yet). It’s a changing and growing market niche, so put on your thinking caps and get ready to help your more mature customers in the quests to stay vital and active in our changing world.

 

 

 

 

 

Retail Opportunities – Growing Out of the Changing Landscape

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Shoppers Drug Mart advertises medical marijuana marketing job

by Dale Sproule

On the surface, Canada has a thriving hemp industry – with over twenty large-scale commercial producers currently growing medical marijuana for a customer base of over 35,000 licensed users. And then there are hundreds and hundreds of aspiring “farmers” with dollar signs in their bloodshot eyes – dreaming of getting in early to take advantage of an industry that is clearly poised to become massive.

Health Canada told the Globe and Mail last summer that they were receiving an average of 25 applications a week (an extremely small percentage of which will ever get licenses to become producers) – and they projected that the number of patients using medical marijuana could easily blossom to over 400,000 within the next ten years.

Then again, instead of becoming massive, the “industry” could well just sink back into the rocky ground from which it sprung – a crop blighted by a frosty political climate. The only thing that’s truly certain about the marijuana industry is its uncertainty. The Conservative government has made no secret of their antipathy towards the entire sector and no one can deny the stigma from decades of illegality and bad press, still floating in the air like a haze after a memorable and unruly rock festival.

Medical marijuana producers are continuing to encounter well-documented difficulties marketing their products, with traditional advertising strictly forbidden – as are most other tried and true marketing methods. The industry is heavily regulated and perpetually scrutinized – so even with the experience, facilities, investors, credentials and a winning business plan, a company could end up falling on their face after a single misstep.

Possibly, the smartest companies and savviest investors are the ones who follow the old adage – “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” In fact – the varieties of different baskets being created may surprise and delight you.

 

Building a Market from the Ground Up

Vancouver’s Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. has made a point of diversity from the beginning. It developed what it calls “an innovative GDERS (grow, dry, extract, refine, sell) strategy spanning the entire industry supply chain from seed to sale.” By operating a number of subsidiaries and working with a wide range of partners, it has put itself in a position where failure in any one area is extremely unlikely to bring down the entire company – but where profits coming from several different streams at the same time can funnel inward to help support the rest of the infrastructure.

“At the end of the day, we know that we only have so much bandwidth,” says Abattis CEO, William (Bill) Fleming. “It’s all about understanding what you have now and how you can monetize it. There’s so much shifting sand in the market that you have to be very careful about where you start building your foundations.”

The company’s current subsidiaries and partnerships include:

BioCube provides controlled cannabis cultivation environments for high yield marijuana growing; North American Bioextracts Inc. plans to use proprietary extraction technologies to develop customized THC extract oils and CBD extract oils;

Phytalab performs testing services under Washington State’s Initiative 502;

Instant Payment Systems enables patients to make payments through electronic means

And those are just a few of its many arms. The company also has subsidiaries awaiting approval to become licensed producers under Canada’s new Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (“MMPR”) program.

But with all that going on, Fleming insists “We believe that botanical is the next new wave of pharmacy. Right now within the industry, you look at the big pharmaceutical companies and everything that they’re doing today has been chemically synthesized, so consequently, they haven’t been doing much on the botanical side.”

One of the best things to come out of the softening of the regulatory environment, is the growing body of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical research that is now able to be done on cannibinoids.

“Since cannabis has always been a schedule one drug, there hasn’t been much research and development, because you weren’t permitted to do it,” says Fleming. “Even now, in order to really get in and be compliant for doing research and development and building an intellectual property around a cannabis based type platform you have to ensure that you conform to the regulations and guidelines (in whatever part of the world you’re operating). For example, in Canada if you’re going to do any kind of research and development with cannabis based products, then you need to have a controlled substance license.”

Another of the Abattis subsidiaries – and the one that has been getting the most press for the last six months – is called BioCell Labs Inc. and is involved with research and development of nutraceutical products. They have been developing a line of phytocannabinoid formulas which include ECS Supreme, a functional beverage rich in phytocannabinoids. ECS Supreme is based in Canadian saskatoon berries and contains Abattis’ patented nitric oxide blend. Bio-cell simultaneously introduced seven other condition-specific cannabinoid formulas to address everything from nausea to anxiety to traumatic brain injury.

There are over 150 compounds – including at least 85 different cannabinoids – which exhibit a vast range of properties and effects – that can be isolated from cannabis – and only one of them is renowned for its psychoactive properties. “But it’s the THC that is the issue,” Fleming admits, “because one of those 150 compounds just happens to be THC.”

While most of the Abattis/Biocell products are still in development and as yet unavailable to buyers or retailers, it is just one of dozens of Canadian companies with at least one foot in the cannabis patch.

The Marijuana Market is Looking Good

Easton Pharmaceuticals is an established and successful specialty pharmaceutical company that previously owned an FDA approved wound healing drug and currently produces topically-delivered drugs and therapeutic/cosmetic healthcare products focused on cancer and other health issues geared towards female sexual dysfunction, wound healing, pain, motion sickness and other conditions that are all in various stages of development. Easton designs, develops and markets a range of premium therapeutic health care products. Using a proprietary gel formulation, their transdermal delivery system allows for the targeted delivery of active ingredients – vitamins, herbs and homeopathic remedies – through the skin to the underlying tissue. They have products that help with various conditions including: female sexual dysfunction, scars, stretch marks, cellulite and varicose veins.

Easton Pharmaceuticals has ventured into the potentially lucrative medical marijuana industry through an investment into AMFIL Technologies and their groZONE anti-bacterial system and the exclusive option to purchase up to 50% in a medical marijuana grow-op business / facility which has received a letter to build from Health Canada. The company’s gel formulation is thought to be an innovative and unique transdermal delivery system that can in the future be adaptable in the delivery of Cannabidiol extracts.

The push to look better, feel better and live longer healthier lives has helped Easton Pharmaceuticals Inc. execute a distribution and intellectual property agreement for its full range of OTC therapeutic and specialty products with NutraShop Global Stores, Inc. currently serving thousands of trusting online customers looking for Quality Life Wellness Products.

In addition to distributing Easton’s OTC proprietary therapeutic products – including a cosmetic grade anti-aging serum, pain relief gel and a female health product, Nutrashop has acquired rights and access to Easton’s transdermal delivery system and formulations that are to be utilized in new products being jointly developed, one of which includes a new children’s topical product containing exotic active ingredients to treat certain skin conditions.

Hemp is Not the Same as Marijuana

For decades, the stigma of marijuana tightened the regulatory environment across North America to the point where growing hemp for food, fabric or any other purpose became next to impossible. When Robert Rae and Wally Venechuk founded Canada Hemp Foods in 2006 they did some research and discovered that industrial hemp had once been one of the largest and most important crops on the planet. It was only when leaders of competing industries like lumber and plastics decided, as a marketing tactic, to demonize the plant by associating it with its distant cousin, marijuana, that hemp fell out of favour. When laws were enacted to prevent the cultivation and use of marijuana, the same laws applied to industrial hemp despite the fact that it contained no psychotropic substances. Ostensibly, the concern was that growing hemp could conceal a much more nefarious crop being grown on the same land.

But the two men were so enamoured with the healing properties that they had unearthed in hemp that they were ready to run the gauntlet to make their dream happen.

Nine years later, Canada Hemp Foods is expanding their presence in grocery stores and specialty shops with a new distributor for their Canadian hemp hearts and oils products. Dovre Import & Exports, based in Richmond BC. Currently delivering award-winning specialty foods to restaurants, specialty grocers and grocery chains across Western Canada, the distributorship brings Canada Hemp Foods products into a growing list of locations.

“Hemp hearts and oils are a foundational nutritional source of Super Omega-3 and Super Omega-6, are GMO Free and 100% THC free, and offer a rich source of digestible protein, perfect for the vegan diet,” explains Canada Hemp Foods co-founder Robert Rae, who is very happy with the new distributorship. “Not only does this agreement get our products into a wonderful group of stores and specialty shops, it also carries a social return, one of our key values as a company.”

Dovre supports causes such as the Vancouver Union Gospel Mission, Food Banks and the United Way.

Canada Hemp Foods products can be purchased online via their e-commerce store, and full information on the benefits of hemp can be found in the Hemp 101 section.

Crossing Borders, Boundaries and the Ts on All the Contracts

Just a few short months ago, Naturally Splendid announced strengthened relationships with Full Spectrum Laboratories (FSL) and Boreal Technologies, with a recent application to the U.S. Patent Office for co-ownership of HempOmega™ patents that will give Naturally Splendid their own omega technology.

VP of Operations, Bryan Carson states, “We are most fortunate that the technologies developed by Boreal Technologies, are multi-dimensional in that the omega extraction and formulation technology is similar to the cannabinoid extraction and formulation technology. This allows Naturally Splendid to penetrate the lucrative global omega market (estimated at $35 billion annually) where there are no regulatory issues, while the regulatory environment for cannabinoid technologies and products continues to evolve.”

Naturally Splendid’s 100% owned NATERA™ line of hemp-based superfood products includes natural and flavored shelled hemp seeds as well as natural and flavored hemp protein powders and is carried nationwide by leading health food distributors and a network of retail stores across Canada.

Naturally Splendid has an exclusive sales agreement to market and distribute, in North America, the full complement of patent pending, plant-based omega products created by Boreal Technologies including HempOmega™, H2Omega™, FlaxOmega™, CanolaOmega™ and ChiaOmega™. They have also signed an agreement with Alberta’s Food Science and Technology Center to develop pet superfoods fortified with HempOmega™. But these weren’t the only opportunities to emerge from the recently acquired access to FSL technologies.

Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin reports, “One of the opportunities in front of us is the potential to biosynthetically produce pharmaceutical grade cannabinoids without having to grow a single plant – thus potentially lowering the cost of production significantly, creating a competitive advantage over traditional extraction and formulation technologies. This technology may be applied in the development of food, beverage and nutraceutical/cosmetic products and eventually for pharmaceutical applications.”

Katie Schmitt, who came to Naturally Splendid through Boreal Technologies, will be directly involved in the transfer of technological expertise obtained under the agreement from FSL and implementation of commercialization strategies. She says, “FSL has filed a patent application covering the organic and enzymatic synthesis of cannabinoids. This technology will allow for industrial scale production of cannabinoids catalyzed from Cannbigerolic acid (CBGa) without the requirement to grow large quantities of plants. The process mimics the natural synthesis that occurs in the plant’s bio-pathway. Cannabinoids produced in the bioreactor are pharmaceutical grade purity and devoid of by-products and impurities. The largest advantages with this technology over existing methods of cannabinoid production (natural and synthetic) are: its low price per unit manufacturing costs (potentially 1/10th to 1/3rd the cost of existing methods); its ability to produce a diversity of products from a single manufacturing line; and commercial scalability. It also creates access to lesser known cannabinoids for research and analysis of their potential therapeutic applications.

NSP will identify licensed partners in legal jurisdictions that it can collaborate with to develop safe and efficacious cannabinoid therapies utilizing this technology. Potential therapeutic applications include: analgesic to relieve pain; antibacterial to slow bacterial growth; anti-inflammatory to reduce inflammation systemically; and anti-proliferative – which may inhibit cancer cell growth through apoptosis.

 

All Fats are Not the Same

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All Fats are Not the Same

By Dale Sproule

Imagine an inch thick T-bone steak the size of a dinner plate. Now try to imagine eating the whole thing in a single sitting. Sounds incomprehensible to me now, but as a teenager growing up in Alberta in the 70s, that was a typical Saturday dinner. How was that even possible?

Aaron Skelton, a slender young man with a ready smile, explains. “With most beef these days, you wouldn’t do it because you’d feel so full and boated. But that’s the corn in the beef. The feed for almost all cattle these days is concentrated dried corn – a huge energy source – but nutritionally void. But if the beef is grass fed, the fats are in balance, there are more nutrients and your body can absorb them quickly. It’s much easier to digest.”

As VP, Brands and Business Development at Greenspace Brands, Skelton is clearly not as young as he looks (a natural perk – one supposes – of eating well). With over 10 years experience coming up through the ranks in the health food category at Loblaws, he has a keen awareness of consumer preferences as well as changing health and dietary trends. That insight is apparent as he explains, how “truths” once held by science are now being challenged – like fats causing cholesterol, which ultimately leads to heart attacks.

“The science that’s coming out now is saying completely the opposite. You need fats – the trick is – the quality of the fats. When you look at omega and the benefits that omega has on brain function inflammation – those all need to be discussed when you talk about fats – so it’s not a single entity that you can just say you need a certain per cent of, you have to talk about the quality of it and that’s when we get to talk about how animals are fed and what the effect of that feed is on the products.

Their modest office in the basement of a heritage house in downtown Toronto feels more like a farmhouse than an urban space. There’s natural brick and rustic signage, plus a small kitchen, whose refrigerator is undoubtedly chock full of things like grass fed milk, butter and beef – after all, these are Canada’s two new gurus of grass-fed food.

They may seem new, but they’ve been around for awhile, says Matthew von Teichman, the founder and CEO of Greenspace Brands. “Our original brand was Life Choices Natural Foods. It’s been around for 13 years now.”

With a kind of Matthew-Perry-guy-next-door affability that makes him feel like an old friend that you just met, von Teichman seems genuinely excited to explain the evolution of his company. “The Life Choices brand started off as a frozen food company, but it’s morphed into a clean meat company – so it’s now kind of the Applegate of Canada. Better sourced meat and just fewer ingredients basically. Familiar family favourites – but healthier versions with simple ingredients. We have a breaded line that includes chicken nuggets and fish sticks and stuff like that. We have frozen burgers. We have Life Choices Fresh Hot Dogs.”

“Ideally, we should be drinking milk and eating meat and vegetables right off the farm. The gold standard is to cook, but that’s not realistic for everybody – at least not all the time. When the parents are both working and don’t have time to cook –we provide the next best option, it’s an excellent product – great sourced meat that’s as minimally processed as possible. When you’re pushed and you can’t make the best choice because of time, commitment whatever it happens to be … that’s what Life Choices is there for – so you can make the best choice possible. “

“Every product we have, adds Skelton, “is antibiotic and hormone free.”

Recent viral videos have helped galvanize the growing trend against the horrors of factory farming – and that in itself is a good enough reason to buy only free-range meat – but there are a lot more reasons to switch than simply feeling bad for the cows and pigs.

“People are more inquisitive about what they’re eating,” says von Teichman. “There’s always a cost.”

Sometimes the cost is moral, like giving yourself permission yourself to not think about pigs raised in tiny pens as you eat your bacon. There’s most definitely a nutritional cost – when you opt for corn-fed meat over pasture-raised, free-range meats. Beef from Greenspace’s Grandview Farms has been tested by U of T nutritionists, and shown to be 300 per cent healthier than commodity beef, with an Omega 6 to 3 ratio of 4.9:1.  But usually, the cost is purely monetary – because meat that is more delicious, healthy and well marbled for tenderness will almost certainly be more expensive (although all their products are less expensive than “organic”).

Greenspace Brands are seeing evidence everyday that people would rather pay the monetary costs than the moral or nutritional ones. This was most obvious when they launched their Rolling Meadow Dairy products. The grass-fed milk is sourced from just a handful of farms (mostly Mennonite) in Southern Ontario.

 

“The higher fat skus tend to sell better,” says Skelton. “Even better than the lower fat – which is contrary to what you see in conventional milk. Our customers seem to know that it’s the quality of calories that count – that all calories aren’t the same.”

“The Grass-fed butter is probably the biggest hit we’ve launched,” says von Teichman.

Skelton becomes quite animated illustrating his delight at the consumer reaction. “Grass fed butter is crazy. It’s a crazy market. People will kill each other to go get it in the stores. Grass-fed butter is part of that diet – the bulletproof diet – it speaks to the fact that people are opening their eyes to quality fats.

The Bulletproof Diet, which counts Oprah Winfrey among its fans, advocates putting a tablespoon of grass fed butter in your coffee. You blend it with coconut oil (or specially formulated substitutes to create a kind of creamy, fatty caffeinated beverage. One Bulletproof diet page (Nextshark) claims: The short-chain fatty acid Butyrate, once thought to be bad for you, has been linked to preventing neurodegenerative diseases, increased energy expenditure, and is also anti-inflammatory, further preventing heart disease.)

Greenspace Brands has grown to encompass so many product lines that touching on all of them is a challenge, like Holistic Choice – the only non-rendered, antibiotic free, hormone free pet food line that’s Canadian made.

Skelton says, “Our goal coming into the market was to simply do pet food better. And now we’re raising the bar – using human grade, certified meat. And we’re going to use MSC certified fish – not like the leftovers from the fishing expedition. Putting this great food into a kibbled product and making it accessible to consumers.”

And they never did get around to talking about their Aussie Style Yamba Yogourt – which is made with Canadian grass-fed milk and sweetened with honey – it even comes in double serving containers so it’s easy to mix with granola.

So where do you find these Greenspace Brands?

The anchor brand, Life Choices, is in about 600 stores. Rolling Meadow is in about 200, Holistic Choice is easier to find in Loblaws than in pet food stores – but it’s in about 350 stores altogether. Grandview Farms Meats are becoming more and more well-known and popular. With Canada’s growing awareness of quality fats and growing appetite for grass-fed, this is a green space that may never stop growing.

 

 

 

 

New Cancer Care Program and Facilities in Northern Florida

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The risk of cancer increases almost exponentially with age. And Florida has the largest population of retirees in America. Clearly – it’s the perfect nexus for cancer treatment and research.

Baptist Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have signed a partnership agreement designed to transform oncology care in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

The institutions have agreed to create a joint cancer program to enhance patient access to MD Anderson’s treatment protocols and translational research. Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center is anticipated to open in the fall of 2015, providing a single destination for highly coordinated, multidisciplinary cancer care for adults in the region.

Initially, the program will be housed in the Baptist Outpatient Center, on the campus of Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, where the Hill Breast Center is currently located. This temporary home will be replaced by a new cancer care building which will begin the design and build process in the coming months, with an expected opening date of 2017. This dedicated facility will be designed to serve a full continuum of cancer care needs, from screening and diagnosis to treatment and survivorship.

Baptist Health and MD Anderson are working together to recruit a dedicated team of medical oncologists and other medical and surgical experts to join the existing cancer care staff. The goal is to replicate the MD Anderson model of care, so that cancer patients and their families receive the highest level of care close to home.

“The final approval of this agreement brings us one step closer toward the realization of our partnership with an international leader in cancer care,” said Hugh Greene, president and CEO of Baptist Health. “We look forward to bringing Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center to operational and clinical reality over the coming months.”

As part of the agreement, Baptist Health will become a partner member of MD Anderson Cancer Network®, the institution’s program to elevate the quality of cancer care in communities throughout the nation and world. This means the Baptist Health cancer program will be operationally and clinically integrated with MD Anderson, so that patients at Baptist MD Anderson will benefit from the same full range of multidisciplinary care options as available in Houston, including access to ongoing cancer research and select clinical trials.

Based in Houston, MD Anderson is the largest freestanding cancer center in the world. Since its inception in 1941, nearly one million patients have sought the innovative cancer care and prevention services that have made MD Anderson so widely respected. The institution consistently has been ranked as one of the top two hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey. MD Anderson also ranks first in the total amount of grant dollars from the National Cancer Institute. MD Anderson employs more than 20,000 people, including more than 1,800 physicians and scientists.

Baptist Health includes five hospitals with 1,129-licensed beds, 1,644 medical staff and more than 250 outpatient facilities throughout North Florida and South Georgia. Baptist Jacksonville and Baptist South are ranked among America’s Best Regional Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report and Baptist Cancer Institute is one of the region’s leading providers of cancer prevention, screening, diagnostic and treatment services. All four of Baptist Health’s adult hospitals have NAPBC-accredited breast centers, including Hill Breast Center, which is the only dedicated breast center of its size in the region.

Causes of Dementia: White Matter Disease

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Memory and language problems, difficulty performing everyday tasks – when we think of dementia, we default to Alzheimer’s, but its far from the only form of dementia that can cause problems of this nature. But most of these brain problems have several things in common: their causes are not well understood and good treatments are not readily available – if any treatments are available at all.

At the Toronto Western Research Institute’s Krembil Neuroscience Centre (TWRI is one the principal research institutes of the University Health Network of academic teaching hospitals associated with the University of Toronto), researchers have made a discovery that may lead to effective treatment for more than one form of dementia. Our brains have thin layers of grey matter on the outside, but inside, they are filled with white matter consisting of at least 100,000 kilometres of nerve fibres that connect grey matter with the spinal cord and the rest of the body.

The emergence of technologies like CT and MRI scanning in the 1980s, have enabled doctors to see that that the white matter of the brain commonly tends to degenerate as we get older. More than half of the population show signs of this degeneration (which makes the white tissue spongy) by age 60.
While this change was originally considered simply a fact of aging, medical experts have realized that large areas of white matter disease contributes greatly to the development of dementia.

Neuroradiologist, Dr. Daniel Mandell, from the Joint Department of Medical Imaging (JDMI) at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre, led a team of researchers in a search for the causes white matter disease. This led them to look into the repeated occurrence of tiny, undiagnosed strokes While such strokes would cause an unnoticable loss of brain function on its own, they might actually accumulate over the years, eventually causing enough damage to cause dementia.

The team tested their theory on a group of 57 to 79 patients who had histories of moderate-to-severe white matter disease and without any evidence of previous strokes. By taking MRI scans of their brains every week for 16 weeks, the researchers saw many new, micro strokes in the white matter. These strokes presented no obvious stroke symptoms like weakness or interference with vision or speech.

Investigators were surprised to see strokes occurring in most of study participants. “But even more interesting,” said Mandell, “we noticed that over the course of the study, the damage from these tiny strokes became indistinguishable from the participants’ existing white matter disease.

“If the study participants had only had two MRIs, once at the beginning of the study and again 16 weeks later, it would have been impossible to tell that their worsening white matter disease was caused by strokes.”

Published in the journal Annals of Neurology, Dr. Mandell’s research gives us important new insights into the understanding of dementia and the aging brain.

Edmonton Fights Toxic Mosquito Spraying Near Homes and Parks

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New details emerged last week after a Canadian volunteer group, Pesticide Free Alberta (PFA), received records from the City of Edmonton regarding ground and aerial application of Dursban 2.5, a restricted insecticide (in both Canada and the US), in close proximity to residential areas to kill off mosquito larvae. The coordinator of PFA, Sheryl McCumsey, fought for months for the data to be released.

Health Canada does not recommend using Dursban in areas where children will be exposed, such as homes, parks, school grounds or playing fields, but the City of Edmonton justifies the use of the product by its label language, citing that it can be used in industrial areas. These areas often end up bordering residential neighborhoods and natural lands, such as parks.

The active ingredient in Dursban is chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic insecticide that has been linked to many detrimental health and environmental effects, such as endocrine disruption, reproductive and birth effects, toxicity to birds, bees and aquatic wildlife.In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Dow AgroSciences restricted the sale and use of most home, lawn and garden product due to its health risks for children. However, it is still used agriculturally and for mosquito management.

After the City of Winnipeg voted to phase out Dursban in 2005, Edmonton spent $79, 600 on the city’s remaining supply. As for phasing out the toxic chemical in Edmonton, “someone has to be the last person to use it,” said David Aitken, branch manager for community standards. “It’s about increasing livability in Edmonton so we can enjoy our summers.”

However, there are many options that don’t involve the use of dangerous pesticides in order to manage mosquitos and “increase livability to enjoy summers.” The city of Calgary, Alberta has been using a bacterial product for the last 15 years that is environmentally friendly and specific just to mosquitos. Winnipeg followed suit, using the same product to manage their mosquitos after Dursban was phased out.

In Sarasota County, Florida, their mosquito control has been breeding mosquito-eating fish, called Gambusia Holbrooki, the first of their kind in the state. These fish feed off of mosquito larvae, so if there is a problem area with mosquitos, the fish are brought out to manage them. The mosquito control technicians are also equipped with high tech tools that emit powerful sound waves that cause mosquito larvae to explode.

In 2012, one county in New Jersey began using 10,000 tiny shrimp-like crustaceans to eat through mosquito larvae in the county’s swamps. The crustaceans, known as copepods, are cousins to crayfish and water fleas, and do not get much bigger than two millimeters. They are voracious predators of mosquito larvae.

Toxic chemicals like chlorpyrifos should never be part of a responsible mosquito management program. Beyond Pesticides can provide alternatives. For more information on safe and effective mosquito management strategies, see Beyond Pesticides’ page on Mosquitoes and Insect Borne Diseases, or contact us at info@Beyondpesticides.org

Canada Ahead of the Curve – Banning Speed in Weight Loss Products

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A new study south of the border strongly suggests that a number of weight loss and workout supplements that continue to be sold in US health shops contain an amphetamine-like chemical that endangers the health of users.

In a December 2014 advisory, Health Canada announced that the product Jetfuel Superburn had recalled because it contained “amphetamine-like drug substances” that posed “serious health risks.” Their e-mailed statement said, “These stimulants can increase blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature; lead to serious cardiovascular complications (including stroke) at high doses; suppress sleep and appetite, and be addictive.” When caffiene is combined with beta-methylphenethylamine and phenylpropylmethylamine. It can seriously increase these effects.

Health Canada said that the substances wouldn’t be permitted “in natural health products because they are not naturally derived and therefore do not meet the definition of natural health product substance” under the agency’s applicable regulations.

Dutch scientist, Bastiaan Venhuis, compared BMPEA to DMAA, an stimulant known to cause heart attacks and strokes. Supplements that contain DMAA were banned from US military bases after being implicated in the deaths of two soldiers.

Despite two year old documentation about the dangers of BMPEA, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recalled the products nor issued a health alert to consumers.

Pointing to the fact that two top FDA officials tasked with overseeing supplements were once leaders of major trade and lobbying groups in the industry, which has led to accusations of conflicts of interest.


“To have former officials in the supplement industry become the chief regulators of that industry at the FDA is like the fox guarding the hen house,” says consumer advocate, Michael Jacobson.

Supplements listed in the study as containing BMPEA include JetFuel Superburn, JetFuel T-300, Jetfuel MX-LS7, Aro Black Series Burn, Black Widow, Dexaprine XR, Fastin-XR, Lipodrene Hardcore, Lipodrene Xtreme, Stimerex-ES and Yellow Scorpion. A number of these products are available at US locations of the Vitamin Shoppe – which has refused to comment.

Watch it. Lose it.

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Watch it. Lose it.

Lose It! the comprehensive app-based weight-loss program, has released Lose It! for Apple Watch. The new offering provides members with detailed personal insights, quick-tap logging, and easy meal tracking to enhance members’ abilities to live healthier lives.

“Weight loss that fits your wrist is now a reality,” says Charles Teague, CEO of Lose It!. “Weight loss is a highly personal journey, one that we believe begins with small day-to-day choices and builds to complete lifelong change. Apple Watch is an exciting extension of the Lose It! weight-loss program and will make wellness as easy as glancing at your wrist to receive daily health alerts and as simple as tapping a screen to log nutrition for the day.”

Lose It! for Apple Watch, likeLose It!, for smartphones, tablets, and PCs, is free and is available in the Apple store. Images, press resources, and a video of the app in action can be viewed at www.loseit.com/applewatch.

 

Business Crowdfunding Still a Head-in-the-Clouds Idea?

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Business Crowdfunding Still a Head-in-the-Clouds Idea?

The success of crowdfunding in supporting music, publishing and other artistic projects has begun migrating into the business world – as start-ups and established companies alike test the waters for this funding source.

Now, Scientific Nutrition Products, Inc., a company dedicated to addressing health conditions with scientifically sound nutritional formulations, has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for its first product, Food for Sleep. The company is aiming to raise over $20,000 to improve the formulation and increase awareness of its product, obtain NSF Sports certification and gain market availability.

Food for Sleep is a science-based drink, made only from foods, that enhances muscle recovery and promotes healthy sleep. The main ingredients are Montmorency tart cherry juice and a whey protein that is high in tryptophan. These foods have been clinically demonstrated to help people fall asleep safely, improve recovery and wake up feeling energized the next morning.

“Sleep is an essential process for muscle recovery and natural health. Our mission at Food for Sleep is to educate the public on the importance of sleep and provide a gentle and effective solution for those who need it, especially workout enthusiasts,” says Bob Jones, CEO and Founder of Food for Sleep.

Because Food for Sleep contributes to both sleep and muscle repair, a number of marathon runners have tested the drink and chosen to continue with Food for Sleep as part of their training regimen. The team also decided to pursue NSF Sports certification after many inquiries from professional athletes.

“I continue to enjoy incredible benefits from the improved sleep I’ve experienced from using Food for Sleep. My consistent pattern of restful sleep has been restored, and my running performance has improved,” says Rick Muhr, the co-founder of the Marathon Coalition and a Boston Marathon running coach.

Scientific Nutrition Products chose to raise funds on Indiegogo because crowdsourcing is a big investment trend: it helps startup companies validate ideas and provide customers with the best product possible. The company expects to grow its community and obtain valuable feedback through this campaign, in order to better serve customers and increase brand awareness. The team has interviewed early users and is working on improving the formulation of the product to best fit its customers’ needs and priorities.

 

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