Planet Green stays on my 2008 reading list

Do you ever feel like this frog in a pond of aquatic plants,  drowning in the sea of blogs?

One of my decluttering and simplifying steps during this first week of 2008 is to discontinue all but two of my RSS subscriptions on environmental/sustainability topics. This has nothing to do with their quality, which is excellent.  Unfortunately, I just can't read fast enough to keep up with the volume of posts.  It seems pointless to keep "starring" articles I have no time to read critically or with a view to changing my behavior. I think a better strategy will be to set aside time periodically to do focused searches on Grist, Treehugger and Worldchanging.

In a recent post, I mentioned that Planet Green is quickly becoming one of my favourite blogs -- a daily must-read. It's one of the two environmentally-flavoured RSS feeds I'm keeping.  Actually, calling it "green" or "environmental" is too limiting. Nearly everyday there are posts that can be tagged with "health", "food", "cooking", "nutrition", and most of all, "practical."

Here are a few of today's posts -- I've selected the ones I think would interest other dietitians:

• Soup of the Week
• Follow the 3-Month Rule for Fruits & Vegetables
• Cook with Foods that Fight Cancer

I'm particularly looking forward to Kelly Rossiter's series of posts on this third topic. She writes:

We are constantly inundated with studies and information regarding food that is potentially cancer causing, as well as foods that we should avoid eating to reduce the likelihood of the disease. When studies conflict, it becomes difficult to know what to believe. Richard Beliveau and Denis Gingras are taking the opposite tack and are writing about foods that we should be including regularly in our diet. ....Beliveau is a professor of biochemistry and the chair in the prevention and treatment of cancer at the University of Quebec at Montreal. Gingras is a researcher in the Molecular Medicine Laboratory of UQAM-Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal. Together, they have come up with a common-sense book which carefully outlines the properties of these foods and why they are so efficacious.

Upcoming webcast

Finally I'm writing about one my three November projects. This post relates to #2, the recently published diet and cancer report.

Today I received this email announcement from Dietitians of Canada (DC) that I'm posting here for DC members who may have overlooked it in their bulging email. The event sounds much too valuable to miss. Here are the details:

"This free Webcast is brought to dietitians and health educators across the country by the BC Cancer Agency, with support from the BC Cancer Foundation and in cooperation with Dietitians of Canada:

Diet and Cancer Prevention: A Global Perspective, presented by Dr. Geoffrey Cannon

When: Friday November 30, 2007

Time: 10:15 am -11:30 am PT (75 minutes). Check for the time in your area at the registration page.

Dr. Geoffrey Cannon, Science and Health Policy Advisor to the World Cancer Research Fund International will present the Canadian launch of the American Institute of Cancer Research's Second Expert Report, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, at the BC Cancer Agency’s Annual Cancer Conference.

Register at this link: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=97154&s=1&k=6BBDA863CF28099210ABE506DD28152A

TEST YOUR SYSTEM: Once you have completed registration, be sure to "Test your System". This will ensure you have all the necessary and up-to-date software. If you do not, you can link directly from your test report to websites for free software downloads.

The broadcast is a real time transmission of Dr. Cannon’s presentation before a live audience in Vancouver. If the timing of the LIVE event is not convenient, you will be able to view the archived event on the internet for 365 days afterwards."

*Thank you* BC Cancer Agency, the BC Cancer Foundation, and Dietitians of Canada for setting up this webcast, a way of using high tech to improve knowledge transfer and dietetic practice.

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer

I first read about this report earlier today on Marion Nestle's blog and tonight, every hour since 6 pm I've been listening to news reports about it on CBC Radio.

Because it's such a big nutrition news story, I don't think I can go to bed tonight until I blog about it.

You can find extensive reference and resource material about the report here, and from this page, download the complete report or chapters. 

This evening I downloaded and skimmed through the Introduction (26 pages of small text) and from it I'm posting the 10 recommendations for easy future reference and retrieval. During the next few days I need to read more carefully the public health goals, personal recommendations and justification for each recommendation. These details are important.

1. Body Fatness -- Be as lean as possible within the normal range of body weight.
2. Physical Activity -- Be physically active as part of everyday life.
3. Foods and Drinks that Promote Weight Gain -- Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks.
4. Plant Foods -- Eat mostly foods of plant origin.
5. Animal Foods -- Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat.
   
6. Alcoholic Drinks -- Limit alcoholic drinks.
7. Preservation, Processing, Preparation -- Limit consumption of salt. Avoid mouldy cereals (grains) or pulses (legumes)
8. Dietary Supplements -- Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone.
9. Breastfeeding -- Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed.
10. Cancer survivors -- Follow the recommendations for cancer prevention.