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physical-education teacher Doug Former Podaima got used to answering questions during his many years in the public-school system. So it’s no surprise that he enjoys fielding questions at his Kitsilano Popeye’s Supplements store, which specializes in protein powders. Podaima, a recent contestant in the Mr. Canada competition, said that most first-time customers have never heard of “whey protein”. So he has to explain that it’s a pure protein from cow’s milk, minus impurities and lactose, which comes in a powdered form. It’s mixed into drinks as a protein supplement. “I like to recommend about a gram of protein [per day] for each pound of body weight,” Podaima said. He added that he even gives his infant son a “teaspoon of muscle milk” every day. Female customers, in particular, want to know if they will bulk up after consuming protein-powder drinks. He explained that women have lower testosterone levels than men, so this shouldn’t be a concern. “Even if they lift heavy weights, it’s very difficult for them to get big,” he said. “Protein is just going to get them leaner and harder. It’s a common myth that people think they’re going to get bigger by eating protein.” Protein supplements can be created from whey, soy, rice, eggs, peas, potatoes, and even hemp. Whey has the highest-value protein. Podaima said the most highly filtered proteins are called “isolates”, which are absorbed very quickly by the body. “So the best time to take them is early in the morning and right after a workout,” he said. Port Coquitlam–based PVL Nutrients is B.C.’s biggest manufacturer, according to founder and owner Jim McMahon. A self-described former “fat kid”, McMahon said he heads a company with 47 employees and more than $10 million in annual revenues. He previously worked for health-food companies and managed a juice bar. In 1996, he opened PVL Nutrients. “We wanted to provide the product that we wanted to have available for our own consumption,” he said. In mid-October, PVL Nutrients launched its first certified-organic protein powders. McMahon, a bodybuilder, said it took two-and-a-half years of work to bring them to market. Every step along the way, including how the cow was fed, had to be certified as organic. McMahon noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends approximately 60 grams of protein per day. “That’s for the average, nonathletic person,” he added. “According to the U.S. Dairy Institute, that amount can…triple, depending on your body weight. The bigger you are, the more you should eat.” People can obtain their daily protein requirements by eating three square meals a day. A 100-gram serving of chicken, for example, will provide approximately 30 grams of protein. But advocates of protein supplements claim that many people are too busy to cook, which is why it’s worthwhile to include powders in drinks. McMahon claimed there are “good proteins” and “better proteins”, and that whey is at the top of the charts. “Slam down a protein shake twice a day and you’re ahead of the game,” he said. Both Podaima and McMahon advocate eating frequent smaller meals. Podaima’s newsletter, Popeye’s | GEORGIA STRAIGHT MIND BODY SOUL | | FALL 2005 | 20 BY CHARLIE SMITH POWER UP RAISE A GLASS TO PROTEIN News Kitsilano, lists a nutrition plan with six meals a day. He claimed that fewer than 100 grams of carbohydrates a day will maintain a lean physique. “You need to adjust the carb content to suit your needs,” Podaima wrote, “but with some experimentation you should get the correct formula.” Greg Koch, owner of three Genesis Nutrition stores in Vancouver, pointed out that protein stabilizes bloodsugar levels. By consuming powdered protein drinks at different times during the day, people can reduce the swings. “I used to be hypoglycemic,” Koch said. According to Koch, people often have lower bloodsugar levels in the morning, so they crave carbohydrates. But he emphasized that people also crave protein after waking up. “The body is very efficient at actually scavenging from itself protein from muscle tissue,” Koch said. “It will break down muscle and convert it back into energy for the muscles that are being used at that time.” Podaima said that protein keeps insulin levels stable throughout the day. “We have a lot of diabetics coming to our store,” he said. Two University of Minnesota medical-school professors, Joel J. Pins and Joseph M. Keenan, presented an abstract at the 2004 American Diabetes Association’s annual scientific session that stated that 80 percent of all diabetics suffer from hypertension. In a study of 30 nonsmoking and nonmedicated adults—with a control group taking a placebo—they found that hydrolized whey proteins significantly lowered blood pressure. The Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange has suggested that whey protein might also Fall Health Fair ------------------- Sun Nov 20, 11am - 4pm West End Community Centre 870 Denman Street This fair presents a unique blend of traditional & alternative health care techniques to help you fully realize your wellness potential. Plan to stay a while as many practitioners will have free demonstrations. For more info www.westendcc.ca/healthfair be a useful way for people with HIV/AIDS to offset muscle wasting. McMahon said consumers would be wise to buy from a reputable Canadian manufacturer that has been in business for a while, because that means Health Canada has likely visited the facility on a few occasions. He suggested avoiding producers that sell protein supplements through a post-office box. He recalled that during the 1980s, it was like the “wild, wild west” in terms of government regulation. However, he claimed that this changed in the 1990s for Canadian manufacturers when Health Canada got more interested in these products. Nathalie Lalonde, a spokesperson for Health Canada, said that natural health products, food, and drugs are all regulated under the Food and Drugs Act. “If a protein powder is marketed as a meal replacement, it’s food,” Lalonde said. “If it includes complex supplements such as vitamins or amino acids, it is sold for ‘structure-function’ purposes and, therefore, it is a natural health product.” She added that manufacturers of natural health products must obtain federal approval to sell their products in Canada. - The Right Shoe 1601 West 4th Ave. @ Fir St. 604.737.6014 www.therightshoe.ca PHOTO OF DOUG PODAIMA
fi rst glance, the artworks that line the shelves At in Marty Levenson’s offi ce look like they were made by little kids. There are small clay fi gures, some of them painted, some still in their natural grey. Some are clear representations of things or people—one is a rough fi gure of a man resting in a large armchair; another is an apple core—while others are abstract shapes. The large table beside the shelves awaits the next artist. Neatly arranged pots of paint sit next to a jar of fresh, clean brushes and a tray of coloured pencils. There’s a stack of wide sheets of blank paper, and a small wooden board and a rolling pin for clay. But chances are the next person to sit at this table will not be a child, because most of the artwork here is created by adults looking for answers through an increasingly popular form of therapy. “She didn’t know what it was when she was making it,” says Levenson, a registered art therapist in Vancouver, holding up a clay fi gure that looks like a crown cut in half. “But when you look at it from the back, it looks like a group of people joining together and creating a kind of safety—and it really had to do with giving birth to something new psychologically. This one is neediness,” he explains, gingerly holding a piece that’s shaped like an upright tube, and has two fanglike pieces that jut inward toward the hole. “There’s a lot of hunger there. And she had eating issues too, so that was really interesting.” A recognized profession since 1940, art therapy is often associated with children, because kids tend to be less capable of expressing complex feelings in words—especially when they have experienced major traumas such as physical or sexual abuse. But the same holds true not only for adults who have trouble talking about their feelings and experiences, but also for those who have done too much talking. “I find it works with people who are really nonverbal, but it also works with people who are really, really intelligent, and who have maybe done a lot of talk therapy, or are just very psychologically oriented and have analyzed themselves,” says Levenson, who does work with children, but whose clientele is mostly adults—roughly half men and half women. “But they’re just so stuck in that groove of the intellectual way of looking at things that to go back to grade school and paint an experience or a relationship or your self-esteem is really different. It can go around all of those fi lters and judgments and ways of thinking about ourselves that we’ve ingrained.” According to Levenson—who was a professional visual artist before going into art therapy—one of the biggest misconceptions about the practice is that you need artistic ability to do it. In fact, he says, a highly developed aesthetic sense can actually get in the way, because concerns over the look of the work can interrupt the process. Not surprisingly, those who haven’t practised art since elementary school are often a little self-conscious, he adds. But once they realize they aren’t going to be judged on the work, that fear quickly dissipates. “I don’t give directives, but I might say, ‘What would it be like to hold a piece of clay while you’re talking about that?’ And often, adults will just kind of doodle while they talk about their histories or their issues, and then be surprised at what’s happening,” notes Levenson, who also works extensively with his clients’ dreams. “They’re talking about one thing, but their hands are doing something different, and an object will apparently come out of nowhere.” Because most people aren’t used to making art, he adds, it gives them an unconventional route into their psyches. “I think it’s a place where you kind of chew up your experience and make it digestible… I think talk [therapy] can do that too, but working with images does it very differently. It’s like another language—and there is always the unconscious component that keeps it really lively and surprising.” One of Levenson’s clients is a Vancouver marketing executive who got a certificate for a session as a Christmas gift. The giver wasn’t implying that she needed therapy, jokes the client, who prefers to remain unnamed; he just thought she might enjoy trying something different and creative. Still, having recently experienced a stillbirth and a separation from her husband, she quickly discovered that the therapy had signifi cant benefi ts. “The symbolism that can come out is really amazing, and I think it really cuts BY JENNIFER VAN EVRA THE ART OF THERAPY SCULPT THOSE TROUBLES AWAY ZOE BRIDGMAN PHOTO through the crap,” says the client. “There is all of this unconscious stuff coming up, so for me it’s very effective, because it really gets to the heart of issues. When you don’t have to put everything into words, there’s another element that reveals itself, and it cuts through barriers.” Art therapy isn’t necessarily the most appropriate route for everyone, and it’s important to note that many art therapists are not registered psychologists or psychiatrists, who may be better equipped to deal with certain more complex conditions. However, Levenson emphasizes that the practice can be used in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy, as well as with medical treatments such as antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications. He also builds safety measures into his own practice. Although his clients—many of them survivors of sexual abuse—often delve into the darker corners of their lives, he stresses the importance of creating works that represent comfort, safety, and strength in order to prevent people from getting stuck in their pain. And because making the art is about the sometimes diffi cult process and not about the end result, many clients don’t keep their fi nished work. But unlike thoughts that are fl eeting and ephemeral, the pieces that they do hang on to can have a lasting impact. “I have some things on my windowsill that are from the therapy I did when I was going to the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, and their meanings continue to unfold over time. And sometimes, people extend it into ritual. They’ll frame something or put it on a shelf. Or sometimes with things like grief, they’ll take a clay piece and go put it out at low tide,” says Levenson. “Then they’ll sit and watch it dissolve as the tide comes in.” - | FALL 2005 | | GEORGIA STRAIGHT MIND BODY SOUL | 21
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