Dear Editor, 

 

After reading the article Transit Improvements on Powell Boulevard and Division Street, January 2015, a heavy question popped into my head.

If this happens what am I to do for busing? Now I walk about three blocks to catch the bus. If the change is made, I would have to walk 10-20 blocks to a bus that goes to town.

There are many people who live near Division from the 82nd block to the 20s and closer to town. Along the way from there are two public schools, a university an Independent Living Center and jobs that people need a bus to get to and from.

What are we supposed to do when there will be no bus within walking distance?

 

Nancy Grover

 

(See  Transit Development Workshop Page 7.)

 

Dear Editor, 

 

This is the second  time I’ve read a supplement-bashing article in your Wellness Word column.

While Dr. Elias brings up some good points, he is only presenting one side of the issue. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need any supplements, however there are many factors, both dietary and environmental that negate our best efforts to eating a balanced, nutritious diet.

Firstly, the addition of sugar to processed foods has increased dramatically to the point where it is difficult to find food without it. Sugar has found its way into everything including pasta sauce, bread, soup and veggie burgers.

The problem with this is that sugar inhibits calcium absorption and depletes the body of magnesium, phosphorous and other beneficial minerals.

Salt is another culprit: “Salt is known to cause excessive calcium excretion through the kidneys,” says Felicia Cosman, MD, medical spokeswoman for the National Osteoporosis Foundation’s Generations of Strength campaign.

For maximum bone health, Dr. Cosman recommends limiting salt intake and getting at least the recommended 1200 milligrams of daily calcium. The American Heart Association suggests taking in less than 1500 milligrams daily. www.everydayhealth.com/osteoporosis-pictures/bad-for-your-bones-foods.aspx

Another calcium-depleting additive is the phosphoric acid in sodas.

Conventional pesticide-laden mono-crop farming has led to massive soil depletion and mineral deficiency in food. Add in air and water pollution and genetically-modified organisms which create super-weeds that increase the use of pesticides, and we have a wide variety of factors that contribute to the problem.

Lastly, in our fast-paced world, how many people actually base their diet on fresh, organic fruits and vegetables?

Produce starts to lose nutrients as soon as it is picked, so the longer it takes to get from farm to table, the fewer nutrients are available.

Ideally, if we all grow our own food using bio-dynamic farming methods (compost and crop rotation) we won’t need any supplements. Yet in our imperfect world, supplements are definitely something to consider.

 

Sincerely,

Lisa Gorlin

To the Editor:

 

Dear Editor, 

 

Commissioners Fritz and Fish’s rebuttal to the public’s concerns (as expressed at the 11/18 public hearing) avoided answering the most important question: Why are you continuing to award contracts to a corporation that is criminally fraudulent, financially irresponsible, and environmentally destructive?

Fritz and Fish don’t want to answer this question because, in doing so, they would implicate themselves, at the very least, as bad managers of the public trust and, even worse, as agents of a multinational corporation (CH2M Hill) with a rich history of criminal fraud, bad business management, whistle-blower reprisal, environmental pollution, conflict-of-interest deals, bribery, enormous cost overruns, and failed privatization of public infrastructure.

The Commissioners are literally fighting for the destruction and monopolization of Portland’s public infrastructure, and for an egregious corporate waste of our precious tax dollars.

 

John Dwork

North Mt Tabor

 

Dear Editor,

 

In your January 15 issue’s Wellness Word, Jules Elias attacks the use of nutritional supplements. In most, though not all cases, his arguments are well-supported in the medical literature. Undeniably, most of the purchases made in health food stores are made in vain, even if he arguably overstates some of the potential risks.

That said, the article makes little mention of the thousands of randomized clinical trials published in peer-reviewed scientific journals showing efficacy for a wide variety of supplements in special circumstances.

There are two likely reasons for the near-complete omission of the mention of that large body of evidence.

It’s possible the author is ignorant of that literature. If so, he might do better to write less and read more, starting with the monumental reference work, Nutritional Medicine, by Alan Gaby, M.D.

There is another possible explanation for the one-sided presentation in his article – potentially a bias that overrides scientific concerns. The scientist’s role is never to grind an ax by what is called “selective citation of the literature”, an action that is much frowned upon by the scientific community, as well it should be.

 

Steve Austin, N.D.

Letters to the Editor February 15

February 1, 2015 | Opinion