Steve Leckie's Profile

Q: Some people have a tough time breaking bad eating habits, but you believe you have some ways to help people revamp their diets with confidence. What’s the best way to make the change?

There’s a special diet trick that our research participants have found particularly helpful—simply try our guidelines for three weeks. This is not the time to stick your toe in the swimming pool; it’s time to jump in. For one, you get fast results. Secondly, a diet change really is like getting into a swimming pool. If you ease your way into the water inch by inch, it is a painful process. But if you plunge in, very soon you see that the water feels fine. You’ll also find that your taste buds have a memory of about three weeks, and jumping into the diet change allows them to rapidly adjust.

A 2006 poll conducted by Harris Interactive for the nonprofit Vegetarian Resource Group found that about 2 percent of adults are vegetarian, meaning they do not eat meat, poultry or seafood. The total was up from about 1 percent from a similar study the group conducted in 1994. The percentage of adults who do not eat poultry in particular grew to 6 percent from 3 percent.

The market, meanwhile, has been helped by omnivores who seek alternatives to meat for health reasons. They helped turn vegetarian foods into a $1.2 billion industry last year, up 44 percent from 2001, the consumer research firm Mintel said. The report found that 23 percent of non-vegetarians eat meat alternatives, though consumers still say the products cannot match the real thing.

How can I get a copy of my credit report and credit score?

You can ask for a free copy of your credit report by mail. There are two main credit bureaus in Canada: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada.

Complete details on how to order credit reports are available online. Basically, you have to send in photocopies of two pieces of identification, along with some basic background information. The reports will come back in two to three weeks.

The "free-report-by-mail" links are not prominently displayed - the companies are anxious to sell you instant access to your report online. For TransUnion, the instructions to get a free credit report by mail are available here.. For Equifax, it's easier to phone 1-800-278-0278 and listen to a recording. If you can't wait for a free report by mail, you can always get an instant credit report online. TransUnion charges $14.95. Equifax's rate is $15.50.

To get your all-important credit score, you'll have to spend a bit more. Both Equifax and Trans Union offer consumers real-time online access to their credit score (your credit report is also included). Equifax charges $23.95, while TransUnion's fee is $22.90.

Algae-derived DHA in infant nutrition

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2007)

A study^[22] found that preterm infants fed baby formulas fortified with DHA derived directly from algae gained weight faster than infants fed formula fortified with DHA from fish oil. In addition, there are no risks of harmful contaminants such as methyl mercury or dioxins, which may be present in fish and fish oils.^{[citation needed]} This is especially important for pregnant and nursing women and young children.

Studies of vegans and vegetarians

Vegans and vegetarians have markedly lower stores of DHA. Their bodily DHA levels do not rise much even with high dietary levels of linolenic acid. This, and features of the production and distribution of DHA in pregnant and lactating women, indicates that DHA per se is an essential nutrient.^[23] Since DHA is made by algae, there are vegan DHA supplements available.