by Renée Canada Some heads were spinning when Congress ruled in November that tomato paste on pizza would count as a vegetable, and many protested the refusal to limit weekly servings of starchy foods like potatoes. Yet the general consensus is praise for the new nutrition standards announced last Wednesday by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for school lunches. These proposed requirements … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada With the promise of a new year and a fresh start, many are ringing in 2012 with a list of resolutions and grand expectations for the upcoming year. Some of my friends are committed to heading back to the gym on a regular basis, getting out of credit card debt, quitting smoking, going gluten-free, quitting their full-time job to start their own business, or losing those extra 15 … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada When I was in the clock-ticking years of my late 20s, I happily watched a number of my friends and former classmates become mothers and fathers. Ironically, while I was probably expected to be the first of my group of friends to have children, it was turning out that I would be among that last, even after those friends who had vehemently declared they would never be parents. Yet … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada The recent move of Congress to include tomato paste as a serving of vegetables has drawn harsh criticism from food activists, school nutrition advocates and average citizens concerned about the current state of public health, particularly in children. Perhaps the biggest controversy surrounding the recent release of the agriculture appropriations bill is that the tomato paste used … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Few who consumed public school lunches in their distant childhood remember them being models of stellar nutrition, yet there was no pretense that they were. Friendly’s Sundae Cups were sold next to buttery mashed potatoes drenched in artery clogging gravy, wilted string beans and fatty, mystery meatloaf. Many of us played it safe by bringing a bag lunch every day. With the Obama … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada With more than 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States in 2011, it isn't hard to find numerous resources and a great number of women willing to speak about living with this disease. One of those women I interviewed in 2000, Doris Dietart, then 50, surprised me when she told me that she had been living with the disease for more than 28 years. Dietart was 22 when … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Yesterday was such a gorgeous day. The air was no longer swampy and wet, the sun not scorching and unbearable to be in its path. I opened the bedroom window and deeply breathed in that fresh air, enjoying every breath. Part of the joy I was feeling on Wednesday was that it marked four days since I had last experienced a crippling involuntary muscle movement. I was afraid to write … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada While the state of Connecticut enjoys many honorable distinctions, one of its latest associations is nothing to brag about. Bridgeport, CT, along with New York, NY and Newark, NJ, makes up the fifth smoggiest metropolitan area in the country to date in 2011, according to a report released Wednesday by Environmental California. The area had among the highest number of smoggy days … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Tonight, while brushing my teeth, I slammed down on my derriere for the umpteenth time in the last year. My head fell back until I was laying flat on my back, eyes closing as I temporarily lost consciousness. When I came to, I crawled back to my room. Each movement hurt, as I swayed unsteadily, my knees, back and ribs aching from previous falls and my consciousness once again … [Read more...]
by Renée Canada Yesterday I got that annoying, telltale reaction that tells me something’s off in my body: a rough rash and puffy sensation around my lips. I remember commenting on it but just chalking it up to my body’s reaction to decreasing my dose of prednisone again. Over the last several weeks as I’ve been weaning myself off the medication, I’ve been having infections and odd reactions in … [Read more...]