Vitamin D and the Quest for the Perfect Tan
By Dr. Christopher Labos, August 12, 2018
You might look good with a tan, and of course there's vitamin D to think about, but the truth is that tanning is a very very bad idea. And the whole Vitamin D thing might not pan out in the long run. We banned tanning beds in Quebec for those under 18, but the risk of sun tanning hasn't really made it into the public consciousness.
My latest for the Montreal Gazette:
https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-deliberate-tanning-is-a-real...
Dairy Might Be Demoted... Is It Bad For You?
By Jonathan Jarry, August 6, 2017
Before Chris' vacation, he filed the following piece for the CBC Wellness blog. It's about dairy's place in Canada's Food Guide and the evidence behind the health claims made for dairy (a topic we've covered in an early episode about milk and a more recent one about vitamin D).
You can access the piece here: http://www.cbc.ca/life/wellness/if-dairy-gets-demoted-in-the-new-food-guide-does-that-mean-it-s-bad-for-you-1.4232462
Transcript follows:
Canada's Food Guide is currently undergoing a major overhaul. While the final version won't be ready for some time, early signs suggest the new guide will make some sweeping changes and may downgrade milk and dairy products, depriving them of their once privileged position.
The change is going to be Health Canada's attempt to address criticisms that their food guide is dated and unscientific. They have also come under fire for being too willing to appease and accommodate business interests and lobby groups. Case in point, milk is often promoted as necessary for human health but the evidence doesn't quite support the claim.
Milk is certainly a good source of calcium and vitamin D, and children especially need enough vitamin D for healthy bones. But it's not clear that drinking milk will have much of an impact for adults. In children whose bones are still developing, drinking milk does seem to lead...read more