With all the new NPN changes Health Canada has been requiring of natural products we are seeing many of our natural health care products change and 'revamp' in order to be certified by Health Canada and to be approved by Health Canada for sale (which is what the NPN represents).  

The NPN issue aside, users of natural health products should be paying close attention to their products as changes are made to tried and true recipes in order that they may remain available within Health Canada's NHP rules.  One of these products, which is used by many of my clients, came to my attention today - so I wanted to make sure you all knew about the changes.  You can make your own decisions about how you might continue to use the product in it's new form.  

EstroSense has changed it's recipe, it's labeling, it's dosing and the available size.  Here's what happened:

Previously the formulation included DIM; as per Health Canada's request EstroSense has removed DIM, yet kept the I3C levels the same.  This is due to insufficient studies on DIM for Health Canada to deem it safe.  I3C performs a similar function and, in fact, both I3C and DIM are derived from the same plant source, however the levels of I3C have not changed in the formula.  

The dosing has also changed per Health Canada's request.  Where as in the past dosing was 6 capsules per day, the bottle now reads 3 capsules per day, despite the reduced ingredient list.  

Note that the new bottles contain twice as many capsules (increasing from 90 to 180) as before.  

While some of the changes by Health Canada are keeping unsafe products off our shelves, consumers need to be aware of how these rules are effecting their day-to-day purchases, and supplement regimes.  

I hope you'll take this information to heart and take a closer look at your labels the next time you're shopping for natural health products.  

I found this recipe on Vega's site, and served it at our Winter Solstice Celebration.  It was loved by all!  

I cut each acorn squash into halves, and then into slices and served it up like meatloaf.   

With the left overs I made a version of our much loved harvest soup - it was wonderful as well :)

Ingredients

• 1 squash, any variety*
• 1 tsp. coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 onion, cut into quarters
• 2 carrots, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 cup hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1 tsp. chili flakes
• Salt and pepper, to taste

*If you’re using a squash without a plat bottom, such as an acorn squash, you can either cut off base so it can stand up and stuff per the instructions above, or cut it in half, stuff each half, and bake. For the latter, you may need to reduce the cooking time by about 10 minutes.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 °F
2. In a food processor, add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Process to a coarse consistency.
3. In a large sauté pan, melt oil. Add vegetable mixture. Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Add in tomato paste and sauté 2 more minutes
4. In the food processor, add hemp, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Process to a coarse consistency.
5. In a large bowl, combine cooked vegetable mixture, seed mixture, cooked brown rice, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Mix. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
6. Cut squash top off like you would if you were carving a pumpkin. Gut squash.
7. Place squash on baking sheet and stuff with filling. Place lid beside squash on baking sheet.
8. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until you can pierce the squash with a fork.
9. Cut into wedges and serve.