International Women's Day

So on this International Woman's Day I am remembering a woman that I joined together with some forty four years ago this month, a woman who passed away a year ago.  I cannot count all of the wonderful little things this woman did for me, with me and to me over the best part of a life time together but a gift she gave me for which I am eternally grateful was a little peak behind the curtain of what it is to be a woman.  For me there was/is really nothing I remember so distinctly and recall so fondly as walking into a party and seeing my wife and a couple of her friends curled up on a couch and just being three woman together enjoying each other's company and me knowing that one of those women loved me as much as I loved her.

I was raised in a family where I was shown by example how men and women can live together with a mutual respect, this was a gift.  I was taught to respect woman by my father and my grandfather.  What my wife showed me was the mystery.

Women have a way of enjoying each others company that it is rather more difficult for men.  Women amongst themselves will share their feelings, and they talk to each other, where men have a very difficult time sharing any feelings and when we talk it is more often, about some thing, not about us.  These are generalisations I know and in fact I do love to watch us all as we travel down our paths in our self imposed boundaries and guidelines but right now, in the context of what is going on around the planet, the genuine emergence of women. is inspiring.  All I can say, is bring it, I cannot wait.

This woman loved me and she always had my back, I miss her a lot on this International Woman's Day.

More Thoughts on men and women

Ok so to continue my thoughts on Harvey Weinstein et al.  These are thoughts somewhat unedited; I invite discussion.

What I have found and continue to find most disappointing about this Weinstein episode is first that we act surprised and secondly that we are so willing to make some lame excuse for misogynist behavior, like we somehow can't help ourselves: 'boys will be boys' is not acceptable, it is simply saying that we men have no control over our primal selves and urges.   I simply do not believe and cannot accept this.

It would seem, in the evolution of human behaviour, that men, for no better reason than brute strength, have assumed a role of superiority and dominance over women.  Because we were stronger and able to kill the woolly mastodon with our sticks and stones and, therefore, able to provide sustenance for our clan of women and children; we have given ourselves the right to be dominant; to rule.  Translated to modern times; "I am the breadwinner and so what I say, goes.  And by the way, if you women have to have your monthly sojourn with nature then hide yourselves from our eyes and don't come back until your clean."

Recently here in Canada a young, modern man was elected to be the Prime Minister and one of the first things he did was appoint an equal number of women and men to be in charge of various government ministries in the cabinet.  I think this might be the most revolutionary thing that he could have done and, hopefully, might initiate the redressing and start us on the path to a more balanced relationship.

This does not mean that I think that women will make all the right decisions, they are humans and we humans can, and do, make the wrong decisions with equal frequency.  What it does mean is that we are having the benefit of two points of view on any discussion.  Women have been living with us men all along and they doubtless have ideas that men would never consider so let's bring these considerations to the table and open up the discussion.

It was once suggested to me, by a man by the way, that we need women to run our economy because women really understand supply and demand.  If we men were not successful in our hunt for the woolly mastodon and could not add that meat to the larder we did, never the less, demand dinner when we came home from the hunt and our women, understanding this basic problem, always held back a couple of tubers so we could at least have potato soup.  Otherwise we men could be very irritable and unpleasant to be around.  That is the 'economic' reality that women understand.

Clearly, hopefully, the vision of a world like Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, where woman's only role is to propagate the species;  is not what we want.  It would be a nightmare and we must all take stock of ourselves, our beliefs and out behaviour to insure that this is not a direction we take in our society.  If this is not enough, then of course there is always the basic human decency. 

It is absolutely the case that women do not think like men.  That is a good thing, not a bad thing.  It is inconceivable that only men can figure out what is good for men and women and it is a situation that we must address with our partners, our neighbours, our children and our world and now is the time.  Men are you listening.  Time for some heavy lifting.

OK guys let's evolve a bit.

Gee Harvey Weinstein, really, you grew up somewhere that didn't give you a basic sense of right or wrong, I mean really.  No one suggested to you that men and women might appreciate the same sense of civility and basic human decency and you were so poorly raised that how to treat women with the same respect was not part of your upbringing.

It might be time for any male wandering around with the same world view as our president and too many of our male leaders like this distasteful movie mogul to pick up the book The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir and give it a careful read.  It may seem a bit out of date but with the type of lizard brain that these mokes exhibit it is probably right on time.  (Careful though, there are some big words in there.)

I do not necessarily consider myself a feminist (I am not even sure what that is) but I am house broken and I have learned to treat women with the same way I hope to be treated.  That includes much more than putting the toilet seat down by the way.

We all know what I'm talking about but we do not talk about it and we should.  It is shameful to have my fellow men treating anyone the way these macho, power players appear to give license too. 

I am recalling a wonderful conversation I had with two Iranian women from Tehran who operated small businesses in Ontario but who also maintained full relationships with there friends and family back in Iran.  We were talking about Iran, and men and women, and burkas and niqabs,  and the wars, and the world, and men and women, and race, and war...as the conversation started to wind down and we returned to our original topic which was men and women and equality and revolution in modern Iran, one of the women gave me a quick nudge and a wink and said  that the final revolution will come and that will be the emancipation of women in Iran and everywhere.

I can only say that if we think ridding ourselves of racial stereotypes is difficult, and it most certainly is proving to be quite a challenge; then obliterating sexual stereotypes will certainly not be any easier.  The world is small and we all have to learn how to live together.  The time is at hand for us to face ourselves and elevate our behaviour. 

I think the only really surprising thing about Harvey Weinstein, and his behaviour, is the fact that we can still act surprised.

Natural health modalities and products belong in the Canada Health Act.

It is a curious thing, with all the discussion about Canada’s health care policies and programs that never is the importance of preventive medicine mentioned.  Nowhere do we hear mention of how important it is for Canadians to maintain their health in every way possible to keep the load off of a system that is designed for health interventions due to acute problems.

It is well known that when people take care of themselves, eat good food, take the appropriate supplements, get enough exercise, and, through the benefit of countless other lifestyle adjustments, require less medical interventions.  Most cancer studies will acknowledge that the best way to treat cancer is to prevent it.

So the questions:  Why do we not seriously consider ‘preventive’ medicine as part of our national health care policy discussion?  How can it be, with nearly 75% of our population utilizing natural health products ranging from vitamins and minerals, to herbal and homeopathic remedies in order to improve their health on a daily basis, that these Natural Health Products are not a formal part of our Canadian Health Care Plan?

These are not merely academic questions.  When we go to Naturopaths, Herbalists, Homeopaths or Nutritional Consultants for advice about our health, we pay for these services out of our pockets.  I do not think that most of these services should be paid for by the government directly but it would be of great worth if we were able to get tax receipts that could alleviate these costs at the end of the year.  An incentive to take better care of ones' own health.

When we buy Natural Health Products from the Drugstore, Health Food Store or Dispensary, we pay for them out of our pocket.  Again, I am not suggesting that the government should pay for these supplements.  Nevertheless we should be able to get tax receipts and benefit at tax time.  Incentives!

There is little doubt that keeping the population healthy is less expensive than attempting to apply expensive remedies and procedures to mend the damage caused by unhealthy lifestyles. There is less and less doubt that the appropriate use of Natural Health Products is part of maintaining a healthy population.  It is time for the Canada Health Act to reflect the importance of natural and complementary health care and encourage Canadians to learn more about these tools to good health and then include them in their daily lives.

Time to bring the regulation natural foods and supplements into political arena.

Just wrapping up after a weekend at the Canadian Health Food Association’s Expo West here in Vancouver; the industry is still vibrant and there were lots of fresh faces on the floor.

Having encouraged everybody, in a previous post, to go and ask any and all of the candidates currently running for office to:

1.       Restructure Health Canada with the Natural Health Products Directorate as a separate entity, removed from under the ‘drug’ based Therapeutic Products Directorate; and,

2.       Bring Natural Health Products (vitamins/minerals, herbs, homeopathics, probiotics etc. into the mainstream as part of Canada Health Act. 

I was encouraged to find that these ideas seem to resonate with suppliers and retailers of these products.

I am also hoping that consumers will also go and discuss with all of the candidates the issues surrounding the regulation of these products.  We know, without a doubt, that if people take care of their health by eating well, exercising and using the appropriate supplements they will need less of the invasive health care resources that should be reserved for the seriously ill.  This, in turn, will keep the overall cost of our national health care programs down and generally more affordable.

What are Natural Health Products?

Under the Natural Health Products Regulations, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, natural health products (NHPs) are defined as:

v  Vitamins and minerals

v  Herbal remedies

v  Homeopathic medicines

v  Traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese medicines

v  Probiotics

v  Other products like amino acids and essential fatty acids

NHPs must be safe to use as over-the-counter products and not need a prescription to be sold.

What to do?

Go to: www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ follow the prompts and use the information. Send at least an Email (a letter is 100 to a 1000 times more effective) to the candidates in your riding and then, if you really want to get active, go to: http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E and get busy contacting as many candidates as you can across Canada.

You can also take the core messages from www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ and start asking questions and demanding the answers...get the press involved...make this an issue in this election. Whatever member gets elected, we want our issue on their mind.

I have been in this industry for approaching 40 years and I think the information at www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ is solid, well thought out and reasonable and if we can convey these messages and achieve any of these goals we could have one of the best environments in the world for the regulated use of high quality Natural Health Products. There is work to be done and I think it’s time to get busy.

Wm. S. Reynolds

Wm. S. Reynolds & Associates

Former Executive Director of the Canadian Health Food Association

http://wmsreynoldsposts.blogspot.com/

NPA: Supplements backed by official health claims deserve tax breaks

NPA: Supplements backed by official health claims deserve tax breaks: "A Bill set to be introduced to Congress for the fourth time calling for tax breaks for dietary supplements backed by official health claims has a much better chance of success this time around, the Natural Products Association (NPA) has"

Natural Health Products are not drugs.

Natural Health Products are not drugs.

It is election time here in Canada, so for you activists out there if you want to do something real and constructive for the regulation of Natural Health Products in Canada, I have a task for you all.  It is easy, does not take much time and can put OUR issues in front of all our elected Canadian officials, regardless their party affiliation.  AND IT IS A POSITIVE THING TO DO.

There are a variety of messages that you can offer but most important, please take the time to actually deliver the message.  Natural Health Products and the Natural Health Product Directorate should be removed from the Therapeutic Products division of Health Canada. And the use of Natural Health Products should be incorporated into Canada’s National Health Policy.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Nowhere is this truer than in our health policies and procedures.

What are Natural Health Products?

Under the Natural Health Products Regulations, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, natural health products (NHPs) are defined as:

ü  Vitamins and minerals

ü  Herbal remedies

ü  Homeopathic medicines

ü  Traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese medicines

ü  Probiotics

Other products like amino acids and essential fatty acids

NHPs must be safe to use as over-the-counter products and not need a prescription to be sold.

What to do?

Go to: www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/  and follow the prompts.  Send at least an Email (a real letter is 100 times better) to the candidates in your riding and then, if you really want to get active, go to: http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E

And get busy communicating with as many candidates as you can across Canada. 

Or simply take the core messages from www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/  and start asking the questions and demanding the answers...get the press involved...make this an issue in this election.  Whatever party forms a government is less important than insuring that our issues are on their mind.

I have been in this industry for approaching 40 years and I think the information at www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/  is solid, well thought out and reasonable and if we can convey these messages and achieve these goals we could have one of the best environments in the world for the regulated use of high quality Natural Health Products.

Bill Reynolds

Reynolds & Associates

Former Executive Director of the Canadian Health Food Association