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Aboriginal Health: Good News and
Bad News
(October 7, 2004) -
The abnormally high levels of methylmercury, lead, PCBs and PBDE
in Inuit blood, and the effects of the propensity to smoke many
of them have are fairly common knowledge. Most of the 630 communities
in Canada also realize the detrimental effects these have on their
health.
Many aboriginals as well as Canadian researchers
believe they’re in the best position to take concrete action
towards turning things around — their life expectancy is
lower that that of other Canadians. For example, since 1998 when
they banned the use of lead bullets for hunting, newborns have
a much lower level of lead in their blood.
Yet the modernization of their lifestyle and aboriginal
communities is fostering the emergence of new ailments. Sedentary
habits, obesity, and the introduction of trans fat and sugar into
their regular diet are proving to be a real poison as dangerous
as the heavy metal residues in their environment, if not more
so. "There’s a battle to put an end to food with
trans fat and sugar," says Dr. Eric Dewailly of the Centre
hospitalier universitaire de Québec.
Dr. Jeff Reading of the Toronto-based Institute
of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health is fighting for more research
funding from governments. Moreover, many international and multidisciplinary
teams are willing to share knowledge, especially about diabetes.
"We believe that native medicine can help cure some diseases.,
says Pierre Haddad of the Pharmacology Department at the Université
de Montréal. "We have to study the benefits of
certain plants used by those communities."
Denise Proulx
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