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You know already that the Mediterranean Diet is tops -- it's shown to be the healthiest way to not only lose weight but maintain your health for life. However, if you believe in the founding principal of The 100-Mile Diet -- that it's best for both you and the world around us if you try to eat food that's produced locally, or at least somewhat nearby -- it makes eating Mediterranean pretty hard, especially for folks like me. I'm from Canada, and while we do grow a lot of great things there, olives are definitely not one of them.

Fear not, says a group of foodies from my home country -- eating stuff that's grown in our cold climate is just as good for us as sourcing out food from over the Atlantic, and it leaves a smaller ecological footprint to boot.

Remember a while back when I asked you if a implementing a 'Tubby Tax' was appropriate to compensate for the amount of extra cost it takes to transport obese travellers? Sixty-six percent of you were against the idea, and it looks like the Supreme Court of Canada agrees with you -- and has gone a step further. In a recent ruling, officials declared that people 'functionally disabled by obesity' have the right to be given two seats on an airplane for the price of one. Pretty significant, huh?

What do you think of this decision? Is this fair? On one hand, it seems unfair to make people pay double for a flight just because they weigh more. On the other, it's unfair to other passengers to give two seats for the price of one to people who can't control their eating. Does it depend on the situation?

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There are 26 confirmed cases of food poisoning related to deli meats produced by a Canada-based Maple Leaf Foods plant. 12 of those cases have resulted in death. Listeria, the bacteria that was found in all of the people who contracted food poisoning, was detected in two beef products made at the Toronto plant.

The plant in question is closed while health officials inspect and test product until they're sure it is safe to reopen the plant. Maple Leaf Foods voluntarily pulled 220 products that are produced at the plant, a safety move that cost the company roughly $19 million.

There are another 29 suspected cases of food poisoning related to the tainted deli meats and health officials expect more cases will surface in the coming days.

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Kids in predominantly Caucasian countries get pretty good sleep, says a new study. Better than kids in Asian countries, anyway.

This study, led by researcher Jodi Mindell of Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, is the first ever to look at sleep patterns in infants and toddlers cross-culturally. The results, says Mindell, are astonishing. Here are two of them.

• Mindell found significant variability in bedtimes and total sleep time. For example, 15.1 percent of children in Canada shared a room, compared to 94.5 percent in Thailand, and the percentage of parents who believed their child had a minor or severe sleep problem ranged from 11 percent in Thailand to 76 percent in China.
  
  

• Kids in Asian countries were more likely to have later bedtimes, shorter total sleep times, increased parental perception of sleep problems, and were more likely to share a room than children in Caucasian countries. But there were no significant differences in night wakings and naps.
  
  

Mindell says her findings present more questions than they do answers, like: Why the differences? Could it be different cultural practices? And what is the impact of these differences? Seems it's time for another study.

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Everybody loves the weekend. It's the time where we can kick back, relax, and enjoy not being consumed by the weekday grind of work and whatever else. Oddly enough, though, Saturday and Sunday are two of the worst days for hospital treatment due to 'weekend effect'; a medical phenomenon related to the increased risk of dying from cancer and other conditions based on weekend visit to the hospital.

According to a Canadian study, published a little while back in the journal Stroke, people are also at a greater risk of dying from a stroke if it is suffered during the weekend.

Researchers reviewed the medical data of 26,676 patients admitted into 606 Canadian hospitals. Of those patients, 24.8 percent were admitted on Saturday or Sunday. After controlling for outside variable such as gender, age, pre-existing medical conditions (other than the stroke), it was revealed that stroke patients admitted on the weekend had a 14 percent higher risk of dying within seven days than those patients admitted on a weekday.

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I heard it on the radio yesterday, the news flash revealing that some police officers in Canada are parking themselves at fast-food drive-thru windows in order to catch drunk drivers. Why go fast-food? Because law enforcement officials kept hearing from drive-thru employees, "You should be here late at night." And because who doesn't like to eat after consuming too much alcohol?

Project WULF -- stands for "would you like fries?" -- puts cops right in the drive-thru booths where they can pick up on slurred speech and can sniff out the smell of liquor. When suspicions mount, the observing officer advises a second officer who stops the vehicle as it departs.

Already, a number of impaired-driving charges and roadside suspensions have been issued as a result of Project WULF. But does this make it a good venture? One of my morning radio co-hosts says it's a great thing. Getting drunk drivers off the road is critical, he says. His partner says it's totally unfair, a form of entrapment even. What do you think?

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Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy

My guest this week is the very excellent athlete and adventurer Will Gadd. Starring on Discovery Channel's Fearless Planet, Will guides us through the world's most spectacular natural wonders to teach us how these land formations were created. The show is really so gripping that as I lay sick and exhausted in bed a few weeks ago, I refused to fall asleep. I couldn't miss his journey through and lesson about the Sahara. (No.....I don't have TiVo.Yes, I know I'm a nerd.) I was wishing this show was around when I was back in school learning about geography. If it was.....I think I would have actually been interested in the subject and learned all of the things I was supposed to learn back then. Totally entertaining!

From Canmore, Alberta, Will has won every major ice-climbing competition in the world and holds the distance world record in paragliding. He's one of the most successful outdoor sports athletes in the world, as well as an award-winning film-maker and writer. He has flown his para-glider over the Grand Canyon, climbed icebergs in the North Atlantic, won the X Games, written a best-selling outdoor instructional book and regularly writes for the New York Times and other international magazines and newspapers.

As I interviewed Will, we giggled a lot as he was totally down to earth (when not hanging from it). He's a new Daddy and considers that his most exciting, yet rewarding adventure. He's also the real deal when it comes to healthy living. He has some especially unique insight on food, which I think we could all learn from.

Fitz: You're the ultimate outdoor sports guy....in amazing shape. You're world renowned for excellence in ice climbing, mountain climbing, paragliding, kayaking , caving and skiing; a bit of a lunatic. How did you get started with all of this?

Will: I actually began my escapades in utero. My Mom was hitting the mountains while pregnant with me. My Dad's a climber too. I grew up with it.

Fitz: What does your wife think about you dangling upside-down from ice all the time?

Will: She totally gets it. She's (Kim Csizmazia) also a champion ice climber.

Fitz: That would probably help! And now you have a daughter?

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Buy a bike with a price tag of $1,000 or less in Ontario and you won't pay any tax. No tax on accompanying safety equipment either.

"I trust this will encourage people to take the opportunity to become more active and to lead healthier lives," said Margarett Best, the province's minister of health promotion.

It seems biking incentives are nothing new in Canada. British Columbia has had a program in place since the early 1980s that cuts the tax from purchases of bikes, parts, and accessories. Alberta residents get $300 toward a bike when they retire an old car. And the federal government offers a fitness tax break to parents who enroll their kids in athletic programs.

While tax breaks don't even compare to parental and peer encouragement when it comes to healthy living and while fitness doesn't have to cost a cent -- consider the good old-fashioned walk -- this is certainly an option that may prove inspiring to some.

How about you?

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When I read this article titles Canada must cut back on carbs, my mind immediately went to a land of spaghetti, bread and sweets. But carbohydrates aren't the problem -- carbon emissions are.

According to Mark Jaccard, an economics professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada is like a bloated, overweight carboholic -- always meaning to go on a diet but never actually doing it. The diet in question is a change from environmentally-harmful to environmentally-friendly, and as a country, so few Canadians are adopting it.

I can attest to this. I live a semi eco-friendly existence and I am the exception, not the rule. What will finally make us realize that we need to take care of our beauty country? More taxes? What do you think?

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Yesterday, I told you about Vermont being named the healthiest state in the US. Well, here's some news for us canucks -- BC has been voted the healthiest province in Canada, followed by Alberta in second, Saskatchewan in third and Ontario in the fourth place.

Do you find these results surprising? I don't. I live in Alberta and while most people (read: those from Ontario) assume we're a bunch of beef-eating, beer-swilling rednecks, I know differently -- the majority of people here seem to be into fitness and healthy eating. And can you blame us? With the Rockies so nearby, it's hard to stay indoors.

For more info on how your province ranked, click here.

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Health-conscious Canadians on the run now have an alternative to the typical fast food restaurants. As Kelly recently told us over at Green Daily, organic fast food chain Ozone Organics debuted a new restaurant in London, Ontario recently. Offering all-organic vegetables as well as antibiotic and hormone-free meats, Ozone Organics is hoping to change the face of fast food, or at least give people a choice.

The restaurant's interior was built with recycled materials and even the cutlery is bio-degradable (though it's questionable whether bio-degradable cutlery is really "green"). It may still be fast food, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

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An osteoarthritis drug called Prexige has been taken off the shelves and can no longer be sold in Canada after Health Canada decided to pull the product. The drug was approved in November 2006 as a treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee and later was approved to treat general osteoarthritis symptoms in adults.

However, patients -- including two in Canada -- began reporting serious liver problems after taking the drug. Australia was the first country to pull Prexige and the United States rejected the drug altogether due to concerns over these side-effects.

Those who have been prescribed Prexige who want more information on the story can look here, and should visit their doctors in order to find an appropriate treatment to replace the drug.

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When I was growing up, if there was a kid in the neighborhood that had a trampoline that kid was the most popular person on the block. In the summer, all the local youngsters would head over to double-bounce each other and on hot days, run a sprinkler underneath to cool off. Not only was it great exercise, it was a whole lot of fun.

So I find it disappointing to read that both the Canadian Paediatric Society and Canadian Academy of Sports Medicine have recommended that parents not let their their kids use trampolines at home for recreational purposes. I realize that the bouncy equipment results in loads of injuries each year. According to the information I found, injuries ranged from approximately 20,000 to 60,000 a year in the US based on 5-year period and between 149 and 660 a year in Canada over a 13-year period -- which doesn't sound like much compared to the US numbers but the they are actually pretty similar when looked at on a per capita basis.

Granted that's a lot of broken arms and sprained wrists but rather than suggesting an altogether ban as a solution, I prefer Health Canada's approach which advocates educating kids about the dangers of trampoline use. Basically, parents need to be reasonable and take responsibility for their kids safety. It's important to advise children on safe trampoline use, set strict boundaries and be willing to take the time to supervise but I don't think that it's necessary to prevent your kids from using trampolines at all.

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With the FIFA Under-20 World Cup going on right now in various city's throughout Canada, and with kids getting excited about having hip soccer mega-star David Beckham playing for the L.A. Galaxy, soccer's (aka football) popularity is soaring among youth across North America.

The world's most popular sport has never gotten the same kind of play on this continent (with the exception of Mexico, where it's always been huge) as it has around the globe, but that's all starting to change. Soccer is quickly becoming one of the most popular recreational sports among younger kids, with leagues starting for children as young as 3-years-old. Sure, the little ones don't really know the rules but it gives them a chance to run around, have fun and begin to develop a love of the game.

Even adults who previously joined softball teams are getting into things. I've got a group of girlfriends, the majority of whom have never played before, who have created their own team this year just for the fun of it. Most of the team is pushing 30 and many have kids under 18-months-old. It's great exercise and it gives everyone a chance to get out and socialize. If you want to get in the game, take a look at the US Soccer Federation site for all kinds of info.

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The paramedics team and potential patients in Calgary, Alberta Canada have a new tool at their disposal to make emergency responses and treatment even better: a specialized ambulance for extremely obese patients. Designed to make it safer for both the patients and the paramedics, the "bariatric response team" will be reserved for patients weighing between 400 and 1000 pounds. Equipped with special gear like a hydraulic lift and fancy air mattress to make positioning large patients easier, this new ambulance will mean some patients who used to be unable to transport in an emergency vehicle at all can now do so safely and with dignity.

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