The myth of Vitamin C and the common cold
By Julia Belluz - Friday, March 2, 2012 - 0 Comments
Flood G./Flickr
You’ve probably heard it a zillion times: take some vitamin C if you feel a cold coming on, and chase away illness with a gallon of orange juice. Even though we know there’s no cure for the common cold, many of us still believe in the sweet, orange elixir and don’t even question what the makers of the stuff guarantee: an 8 oz. glass delivers “100% of the vitamin C” needed to “maintain a healthy immune system.”
Science-ish looked at high-quality studies on the subject of vitamin C and sickness, starting with this recent Cochrane systematic review (the highest form of evidence) on the supplement for prevention and treatment of the common cold. The lead author, Dr. Harri Hemilä, of the department of public health at the University of Helsinki, told Science-ish he has spent much of his career exploring this very question—with some interesting results.
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Idea alert
By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 1:27 PM - 8 Comments
As noted by the Crawford Report, one of the dilemmas in funding elite sport is demonstrating that it has some impact on the activity and health of the general public. Keith Martin, who just sits around most days thinking up ideas, actually came up with a way to address this last November.
An elite athlete health ambassador program (EAHAP), created and funded by the federal and provincial governments, could be that legacy. This program would employ our Canadian athletes to adopt a series of schools that they could visit on an ongoing basis. The athletes would teach children how to live healthy, active lives; give workshops on making healthy food choices; improve literacy by encouraging reading; speak about the destructive impact of smoking, illegal drugs and alcohol abuse. As they are young role models, their message would be a powerful one for the students to hear. This program would provide children with the knowledge and encouragement they need to lead active, healthy lives.
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Sport as metaphor
By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 5, 2010 at 4:06 PM - 18 Comments
Stephen Harper talks to Sports Illustrated. Hockey is a fast, aggressive, tough sport and that’s an important part of the Canadian psychology and history. It’s sometimes forgotten because Canadians are thought of as peace-loving and fair-minded and pleasant — which I think we are — but that’s not inconsistent with tough and aggressive and ambitious, which is also part of the national character.
Michael Ignatieff writes for the New York Times. If you’re not trying to demonstrate raw power or announce your arrival on the global stage, however, hosting the Games presents a challenge. We Canadians are immensely proud of our country, but we try to be soft-spoken about it, so we aren’t looking for the Vancouver Games to be a grandiose exercise in self-promotion. Instead, we want to demonstrate that we’re a people the world can count on.
