Posts tagged with ‘health’ (55)
The day before leaving on my 1,500-km solo canoe trip, Grant Zazula, Yukon's paleontologist, gave me a lesson on how to toss a deadly atlatl.
What is an atlatl?
It's a hunting weapon that native hunters used to extend the kill zone when out stalking game.
A regular spear can only reach a limited distance, but by using an atlatl (a length of notched wood helps propel the spear) you can extend your range and force. Native hunters used these until the bow and arrow were discovered, but some ...
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Posted by Lesley LeRoux
on Monday, July 11, 2011
Photo: istockphoto/JoKMedia
The air inside a home can be up to 1000 times more polluted than the air outdoors according to Adria Vasil, author of Ecoholic Home.
Ironically, household cleaning products are to blame. Conventional cleaners—degreasers, disinfectants and even air fresheners—release chemicals that contaminate the air we breathe and affect our immune systems.
So how can we mop our floors and wipe our counters without destroying our germ-fighting capabilities?
One solution is to learn which ingredients to ...
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Photo: Stephanie Foden
It's not really a sweet tooth that makes us want to buy up every cake in the bakery. It's that squishier organ - our tongue.
Scientists have now dramatically increased our knowledge of how taste cells detect sugars, unlocking some of the tongue's mystique.
Researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center have learned that the way we taste sweets isn't fully explained by our current knowledge of how sugar receptors work. "The taste system continues to amaze me at how smart it is and how it ...
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Posted by Kelly Greig
on Wednesday, April 13, 2011
photo: Danielle Scott/flickr
An iconic product, maple syrup is touted as "all natural" and "purely Canadian." The technology used to produce it has advanced, but the product still tastes the way it did hundreds of years ago. Nevertheless, there's a new trend on the rise - organic maple syrup.
"It's my opinion that there’s not much of a difference between organic and regular maple syrup," says Simon Trepanier, director of the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers.
"Most of the maple syrup producers are organic, but ...
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Posted by Lesley LeRoux
on Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Photo:SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget/flickr
After reading this you may want to buy stock in - or stock up on - Kleenex. Ragweed pollen is lingering in the air for more than a month than it did in 1995, says a study published last month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The increase is accredited to rising temperatures and delayed fall frosts in northern regions. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), this means that the allergy season will also end much later in the year.
"One of the biggest challenges ...
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