Inuit Type 2 diabetes gap worsens

Some news from home regarding the increase of Type 2 diabetes in Inuit populations, a reality for many populations, not only in Canada but across the world, who are gradually transgressing to a more Western diet and lifestyle.

"Long time ago my parents didn't know anything about diabetes," recalls Flossie Oakoak, a 62-year-old Inuk originally from Cambridge Bay who has Type 2 diabetes. "When there was no white man here, there was only caribou, char. Most of the people are getting bigger and bigger."



To read more...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/story/2011/05/10/diabetes-inuit.html

Japan radiation fears limit food exports

Poor Japan!

"Water at Tokyo's main water purification plant has tested above the legal limits for radioactive iodine, prompting a new alert Wednesday. Radiation has seeped into vegetables, raw milk, the water supply and even seawater in the areas surrounding the plant. Broccoli was added early Wednesday to a list of tainted vegetables that already includes spinach, canola and chrysanthemum greens."

To read the full article from CBC, follow this link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/03/23/japan-food-water-safety.html

India's Mickey D's

Here's a picture of the Happy Meal menu for McDonald's in India.

You won't find any beef on this menu, (cows are sacred for Hindus) or pork for that matter, (Muslims can't eat it), but you will find such tasty treats as "McAloo Tikki" and several vegetarian alternatives.


As ashamed as I am to have eaten McDonald's on more than one occasion in India, (it was often the safest choice in order to avoid the infamous "Delhi belly"), I did enjoy the McVeggie burger, which replaced the chicken in the McChicken sandwich with a yummy veggie patty!



Even Gandhi can't resist!

Hello again!

For those of you who have been following my blog, you may have noticed the lack of posts in 2011...

I just returned to Canada after traveling through Malaysia and India, and I will be posting a few new blogs about my experience with food and health in these other, very unique, parts of Asia shortly (hopefully). For now, here's a picture I took at the Gandhi Museum in Delhi regarding his philosophy on food...



You may not have known it, but Gandhi dabbled in dietetics. I find his thoughts on the "Control of the Palate" quite interesting, especially since taking pleasure in food is the Indian way (as it should be, I think)!