By David Jessop Last month a bill was introduced into the US Senate by three Republican Senators. In part, it proposes that nations contracting with Cuba to receive medical support be designated as engaged in ‘human trafficking’. Responding, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) issued a strongly worded statement ‘repudiating’ the measure and praising […]
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The University of the West Indies (UWI) says a recently published study has found that some popular skin lightening products used in Jamaica contain “alarmingly high levels of mercury”. Noting that skin bleaching is a significant health concern among Jamaicans, the researchers pointed out that a common ingredient in skin lightening products […]
New research published last week in the Journal of Physiology shows that 12 weeks of easy-to-administer passive stretching helps improve blood flow by making it easier for your arteries to dilate and decreasing their stiffness. Passive stretching differs from active stretching in that the former involves an external force (another person or gravity) stretching you, […]
FOCUS ON HEALTH Urine test reveals quality of your diet—and whether it’s the best fit for your body Scientists at Imperial College London in collaboration with colleagues at Northwestern University, University of Illinois, and Murdoch University, analyzed levels of 46 different so-called metabolites in the urine of 1,848 people in the U.S. Metabolites are considered […]
Community activist Joan Howard is busy at her sewing machines these day, turning out face masks. “It’s my latest project in giving back to the community,” said the Trinidad-born mother of two sons, one of whom she lost to gun violence. ” My son, Kenpton, was murdered in 2003. He was 24. Since his death […]
Uppala Chandrasekera, a member of the Toronto Police Services Board, said the community needs better options than calling police to respond to mental health crises. Chandraseka, co-chair of the Board’s mental ealth advisory committee, spoke of the need for community-based options that include social workers, peer workers and mental health and addictions workers. “Our system […]
The following was an address by Winston Dookeran,Under Secretary General, EUCLID University,Professor of Practice,at a virtual symposium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences at the University of the West Indies, in St. Augustine, Trinidad last Sunday: “The pandemic has been a global political stress test,” according to the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs. Capable states […]
FOCUS ON HEALTH Physical activity prevents almost four million early deaths worldwide each year At least 3.9 million early deaths are being averted worldwide every year by people being physically active, according to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health last week by researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. The team […]
Every health unit in Ontario could soon be collecting race-based data on the COVID-19 pandemic after the provincial government announced on Monday it would act on the advice of community leaders and public health experts who want the figures tracked. The Ontario government said earlier this month it was considering the move, but on Monday […]
Trinidadian Canadians with long memories will no doubt remember Sweet N’ Nice, a traditional San Fernando and southern Trinidad ice cream. The sweet news is that many major supermarket chains in Ontario are stocking this Caribbean- style ice cream – or about to do so. Some 80 years ago, Charles Neale was a fixture on […]
