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To date, most of the nutritional fan fair has gone to macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) because not having them in our diet actually causes us harm. This makes sense because macronutrients form the building blocks of our bodies and provide us with the calories we need; micronutrients are needed for growth, metabolism and other functions. But there’s a very important group of “non-essential” nutrients that we’ve overlooked until recently. They're called phytonutrients. Plants need them, and here are five reasons why we need them too: Read More

How can you choose safe cleaning products? There is no doubt that the majority of the cleaning products on the market pose a threat to the health of the environment and ourselves, however it can be challenging to decipher the bad products from the good.  Marketing can be deceiving, especially with "green" products, and just because a product is labelled "natural" certainly does not mean we can trust that is safe.  Read More

The Food and Agriculture Organization defines pesticides as "substances intended to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest. In conventional food production, pesticides are used to prevent harms to crop yields". The problem is that research has linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Pesticides also leech nutrients from soil and pollute water resources. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), an organization dedicated to protecting public health and the environment, tested  44 different fruits and vegetables to determine their pesticide levels.  The EWG also drafted a list of the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15" as a guide for shopping produce. We've summarized both sets of information below: Read More

To be organic, a food product must be produced through organic agriculture: a holistic production method that contributes to the enhancement of biodiversity, good soil health and ecological balance.  Organic agriculture prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms (GMO), irradiation, growth hormones, artificial flavours, colours and preservatives. It is based on these seven guiding principles, as stated in the Canadian Organic Standards: Read More