Blogs

By Beverley Lawrence Beech

The use of ultrasound in antenatal care is big business, and in any big business marketing is all-important. As a result of decades of enthusiastic marketing, women believe they can ensure the well-being of their babies by reporting for an early ultrasound scan and that early detection of a problem is beneficial for these babies. That is not necessarily so, and there are a number of studies which show that early detection can be harmful. Read more

One of the reasons why my wife and I decided to have a home birth was to ensure that our baby would go straight where he belonged as soon as he entered the world: to my wife's chest. It saddens me to know that providing newborn babies with immediate physical contact with their mothers is not always given the priority it deserves in today's health care system. Read more

One of the most powerful ways of giving your baby a healthy start in life is by breastfeeding. The following are a few of the numerous physical and mental benefits of breastfeeding: Read more

Ingredients:

1 cup green or yellow split peas
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons of organic butter, softened
Sea salt and ground black pepper (optional)
6-8 sage leaves, roughtly chopped (if available)
1 bay leaf

Directions:

Put split peas in a bowl and cover with plenty of cold water. Soak overnight on kitchen counter, rinse and drain before preparing dish. Read more

What's the most powerful step you can take to dramatically improve your health?

My answer is this:

Learn how to effectively manage emotional stress

All of my clinical and personal experiences over the years have me convinced that no other factor has more influence over your health.

Not diet, not exercise, not even how much you sleep. Read more

I just read a disturbing article in the New York Times about recent reports of deaths and abnormal behaviour in Japanese children who were given the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu.

Here is a summary of the key points I learned from this article:

1. Tamiflu was approved for use in the United States in 1999, and in Japan in late 2000.

2. According to Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, of the 13 million prescriptions written for children worldwide, 11.6 million have been in Japan. Read more

Do you feel hopeless about an important relationship in your life? Do you feel that you are doomed to suffer for the rest of your life with an unreasonable, inconsiderate, and mean-spirited partner? If so, you're definitely not alone. In fact, I would say that you are in the majority. Read more

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted, organic butter (omit if dairy-free)
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt and ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:

Boil sweet potatoes for approximately 15 minutes or until quite tender. Drain sweet potatoes and put them in a big bowl. Read more

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur wheat
Handful of choped flat leaf parsley, fresh
1 bunch of green onions (about 4-6 rods), sliced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 large lemon
Sea salt and ground black pepper (optional)
4 wheat tortillas Read more

I learned something interesting about probiotics this past week from a column in Alive magazine, a Canadian publication that can be found in most health food stores throughout Canada.

Francine Mondou, a microbiologist who specializes in manufacturing probiotics, suggests that it is optimal to take probiotics on a full stomach.

Her reasoning is based on the fact that an empty stomach has a very acidic environment - a pH of about 1.5 to 2.5. Right after a meal, the environment in the stomach becomes less acidic, rising to a pH of about 4.0 to 6.0. Read more