WOODFORD FILES: On Spring Cooking, Cleaning, and Defending Our Freedoms

Well, spring has finally arrived and so has our brand new issue. To celebrate the season, we have chosen a fabulous painting for our cover, entitled Heart of Healing. Rich with the vibrant colours of spring, Rita Loyd’s painting captures the compassion of Gaia as she cradles our sacred Earth. Find out more  about her art and tools for nurturing self-love at www.nurturingart.com

In the world of folklore medicine, eating with the seasons is a wise way to thrive. And so we bring you Pat Crocker’s feature this month on “Green Magic in the Kitchen: Cooking with Spring Plants.” Here we find fiddleheads, dandelions, and asparagus playing leading roles as allies for cleansing kidneys and liver. Eating more of these green medicines in spring is a great way to support hard-working organs as they flush out the winter gunk from our pipes.

Also in this issue, Dr. Jozef Krop returns to remind us of the hazards of the season, especially spring pollens and moulds. As they become more active, we must be vigilant in cleaning indoor air and removing sources of contamination. Find it posted at: https://vitalitymagazine.com/article/energize-your-spring-detox-banish-the-7-stressors-that-sabotage-wellbeing/

And Canada’s favourite physician, Dr. Zoltan Rona, returns this month with a feature on “Top 20 Tools to Prevent a Stroke.” From nattokinase to vitamin D to omega-3 fatty acids, these natural remedies can thin the blood, improve elasticity of arteries, and possibly extend life. Since my mother passed away last April from a stroke, this topic is close to my heart. And I have to wonder if she might have lived longer with some of these tools in her pocket.

Certainly with such a great variety of choices at our fingertips, there has never been a better time for us to get strong and healthy using nature’s powerful medicines. Considering that the healthcare system is struggling to deal with epidemics of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease in our populace, you’d think that the feds would applaud any efforts we make to get ourselves well. After all, the healthier we are, the less burden we pose on doctors, nurses, and hospitals.

But as we learn in Shawn Buckley’s feature on page 6, rather than being rewarded for our empowered do-it-yourself approach to wellness, the natural health community is about to get slammed by new Health Canada regulations. Under the guise of improving the regulation of natural health products, Health Canada is actually preparing to implement a ‘Self-Care Framework’ that could drive the prices of natural products higher, increase censorship of health information (including everything you read in Vitality), and force many natural health products off the market. Apparently, we will not even be allowed to share information about traditional folklore uses of herbs and vitamins, under the proposed new regulations.

According to Mr. Buckley, “If the ‘Self-Care Framework’ becomes law, our right to decide how we wish to prevent disease and treat ourselves when we are ill will be lost.”

Needless to say, it’s time to take action if you want your access to health products and information to remain intact. See page 12 for action strategies, or watch Shawn Buckley’s video posted on our site at: https://tinyurl.com/BuckleyonSelfCareFramework

Meantime, enjoy the spring sunshine!   Julia Woodford, Editor