diabetes

The second National Obesity Summit was held this past April 28 – May 1 in Ottawa, and it’s an unfortunate fact that out-of-control obesity rates make such events necessary. The first event two years ago drew 400 attendees, whereas this year it climbed to 750.

And you thought you should avoid trans fats. It turns out there is a far more dangerous offender than partially hydrogenated oils lurking in our midst, just waiting to destroy our precious physical health. The arch villain I speak of: the common office chair.

Gary Taubes is no stranger to controversy. In 2002, the New York Times published his heavily debated article on low-carb eating, which he later expanded on in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories. Now he's stirred the pot again, with a new piece in the Times' magazine about the dangers of sugar — all sugar, not just the much-maligned high-fructose corn syrup — which he says could even cause cancer.

Nearly a third of children in North America are overweight or obese. But it’s difficult for doctors to tell which of these kids also have insulin resistance, which makes them much more likely to develop diabetes and heart disease in the future.

Saturated fat has given coconut oil a bad reputation, but it's actually a great source of energy in its unprocessed form. Try it out in this recipe for jam dot cookies.