2015 in review: The 10 most interesting things we learned about our bodies this year

by Jacquelyn Francis

When I think of health stuff, my mind goes to TV-medical drama terms: Doctor walks into waiting room, anxious family stands up, doctor pulls off hospital mask and says: “Everything is going to be alright.” But if you’ve ever been in an emergency health situation or just been in the system, you know the medical process can be methodical and random. In 2015, headline-splashing topics of health and wellness were varied, and ranged from the disturbing (goodbye bacon?!) to inspiring and progressive (Ontario bans gay conversion therapy).

Period. Period.

 

Menstruation gets such a bad rap and yet, it might be a women’s greatest power source. From marathon runners going tampon-free, to period panty ads being pulled from subways in New York, to the removal of GST on tampons in Canada, 2015 was the year periods went way mainstream, thanks in large part to young feminists and social media. Our editors even sat around talking about their periods for a whole afternoon (more on that here).

Is milk the new gluten?

At a naturopathic appointment recently, I was handed a cheat sheet on how to avoid milk. No, I didn’t say gluten. I said milk. In the fall, New York Magazine published a tome on the topic of milk and in the spring author Alissa Hamilton released her book “Got Milked,” which argued that milk rose to prominence thanks to the dairy lobby, and should not be considered a food group. Research indicates that the nutritional value found in milk (ie. calcium), is easily absorbed by consuming vegetables.

Brain health

Just months after Julianne Moore won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the film Still Alice, about a woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer, researchers out of Rowan University School in the United States announced it was nearing development of a blood test to detect the presence of Alzheimer’s disease. Hypothetically, this would give physicians an opportunity to intervene at the earliest, most treatable stage. There is hope those with disease-related autoantibody biomarkers will be be able to make beneficial lifestyle changes that might slow development of the disease.

Meat alert

In October the World Health Organization’s cancer officially classified processed meat as “carcinogenic”, alongside such notorious substances as tobacco, arsenic, and pesticides. On the hit list were hot dogs, sausages, beef jerky and bacon which based on 800 studies from around the world that found “sufficient evidence in humans that the consumption of processed meat causes colorectal cancer.” Great.

Charlie Sheen is HIV+

It’s been almost 30 years since the term HIV entered vernacular. AMFAR predicts that since its peak, nearly 78 million people have contracted HIV and close to 39 million have died of AIDS-related causes. As of March 2015, around 15 million people living with HIV (41% of the total) had access to antiretroviral therapy. As a result of education and research HIV infections have fallen by 35% since 2000, while AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 42% since the peak in 2004.  In many ways the virus has drifted from the headlines as more people live and thrive with the condition. Still, notorious actor Charlie Sheen’s admission that he was living with HIV came as a shock.

Pot gains ground

Washington and Colorado made recreational marijuana legal in 2012. Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia followed suit in 2015. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau included marijuana legalization in his party platform, and Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne said provincially run liquor stores would be ideal for dealing in pot. Recently, a James Beard Award-winning pastry chef, Mindy Segal, struck a deal with Illinois’s largest cannabis cultivator to create THC-imbued chocolate brittle bars, granola and ready made drinking chocolate mix. Pot for medicinal and recreational purposes has found greater acceptance.

Grown up colouring books

We spend a lot of time in front of our computer screens which is why adults continue to seek out soothing escapes. 2015 was the year when grown ups put pencils, coloured ones, to paper. These books are far more complicated than your average Spiderman or Hello Kitty number, with almost every craft and book store racking them at the check out. These intricately designed books, promise to help you de-stress and focus the mind while transporting you back to a gentler simpler time: childhood.

Ontario bans conversion therapy

It’s heartbreaking to think of the damage caused by this, but conversion therapy is a type of treatment that was aimed at changing ones sexual orientation from homosexual to straight. In June, the Ontario government placed an outright ban on conversion therapy for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children. It also struck the treatment from OHIP’s list of billable treatment.

Lyme disease

FIGHT and CONQUER !!!!!!!!! #FuckLymeDisease A photo posted by Avril Lavigne (@avrillavigne) on


Ticks might be small, but their ability to spread lyme disease has put this speck of a bug on the most feared list. Lyme Disease lurks in the most beautiful of places: The great outdoors. Its quiet transmission (not every victim presents the bulls eye rash) and its debilitating symptoms can sometimes lead to misdiagnosis such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrom or Depression. Canadian singer Avril Lavigne and model Bella Hadid brought wider attention to the disease in 2015.

Anti-Vaxxers face extinction

As a parent, I tend to be suspicious of interventions of any sort. If I get a note from a teacher requesting we only pack water for my son’s snack time (instead of sticky juice boxes) it really annoys me: He’s my kid. So I absolutely understand and relate to the anti-vaccination movement, and I don’t think Big Pharma is automatically my friend. But when it came time to vaccinate my first kid, his doctor sat me down and in the most sensitive way possible, told me it was essential. Recently, 900 Ottawa students were suspended over incomplete immunization records and in the spring, Vermont became the first U.S. state to remove philosophical exemptions from its vaccination laws.

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