A councillor in Tofino, B.C., wants to ban fast-food franchises and retail chains from the West Coast surf town in order to preserve its uniquely laid-back character.

For the approximately 2,000 residents of the Vancouver Island community, a craving for a Starbucks coffee or a McDonald’s hamburger means a drive out of town.

Read more: B.C. surf town could ban fast-food outlets

Here are some foods that can help you prevent injuries & maintain and experience greater health;

It’s no surprise that a healthy diet plays an important role in chronic disease prevention, but it turns out some foods may also protect against acute injuries. While nothing can replace proper steps to prevent injury in the first place, such as protective equipment when playing sports or well fitting running shoes, adding a few key ingredients to your diet may be just the thing you need for an extra line of defense. Here’s a rundown of the top foods that can protect your body from injury.

Read more: Eat this, avoid injuries

The top 10 things you shouldn’t be doing with your food such as asking for the first or last bite and talking with food in your mouth.

Read more: The 10 rudest food moves

Canada has expanded its recall of processed food containing hydrolyzed vegetable protein that may be contaminated with salmonella.

The recall now lists more than two dozen items. But the recall could soon be more widespread, because HVP is a flavor-enhancing ingredient used in many packaged foods.

Read more: CFIA expands processed food recall over salmonella

MIAMI (AFP) – Researchers said Tuesday that papaya leaf extract and its tea have dramatic cancer-fighting properties against a broad range of tumors, backing a belief held in a number of folk traditions.

University of Florida researcher Nam Dang and colleagues in Japan, in a report published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, documented papaya’s anticancer effect against tumors of the cervix, breast, liver, lung and pancreas.

The researchers used an extract made from dried papaya leaves, and the effects were stronger when cells received larger doses of papaya leaf tea.

Read more: Researchers back cancer-fighting properties of papaya

You’re stressed, I’m stressed and we really don’t have time or money to spend a day wrapped in seaweed at the spa. But dealing with stress is important — we look better, feel better and work better when we manage it. So here are 10 ways to chill out in a pinch.

1. Have a cuppa
Curling up on a couch with a cup of tea and a cookie feels luxurious, but studies have shown that black tea also helps reduce stress. Try flavoured versions such as cassis or cherry vanilla, which are lovely with a teaspoon of honey.

4. Eat!
Foods that are high in fibre, vitamin B, C and E are said to play a role in reducing stress. Put fish, almonds, fresh fruit, yogurt, veggies (carrots, tomatoes and leafy greens in particular) and skimmed milk on the shopping list.

Read more: Ten quick fixes for stress

MIAMI – Winter storms hurt Burger King’s results in January and February, the fast-food chain said Tuesday.

In the United States and Canada, Burger King’s sales in locations open at least a year fell 8.2 per cent over the two-month period. Over 75 per cent of Burger King stores are in the Central and Eastern U.S., which were hardest hit by storms.

Read more: Burger King sales in January and February hurt by severe winter storms

The findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful in the search for new vaccines.

The researchers found that immune systems’ killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

“When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device or ‘antenna’ known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches for vitamin D,” said Carsten Geisler of Copenhagen University’s department of international health, immunology and microbiology, who led the study.

“This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won’t even begin to mobilize.”

Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption, and that there is a link between levels of the vitamin and diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis.

“What we didn’t realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system — which we know now,” Geisler wrote in the study in the journal Nature Immunology.

Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, or taken as a supplement.

Read more: Scientists find why “sunshine” vitamin D is crucial

Want to obtain or maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of disease and increase longevity? Stop eating like a typical North American.

That seems to be the message we’re getting from health experts as more research points the finger at our unhealthy eating habits as the culprit behind a growing number of health issues — like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke (to name a few). Our love of junk food, lack of exercise and preference for quantity over quality can have detrimental effects on our well being.

Meanwhile, people in other countries and cultures have lower rates of disease, healthier weights and better health. It’s no surprise we often hear advice like “diet like the French” (according to trendy books) or “eat a Mediterranean diet” (according to a growing body of research). When it comes to living well and eating well, “looking elsewhere” may be our best option.

Read more: 10 diet tips from around the world

Sugary junk food or nutrition-packed snack?

That question’s on a lot of minds as chocolate milk gets an image makeover: it’s now being promoted by the American dairy industry as a healthy choice for kids. In U.S. schools, flavoured milks (like chocolate or strawberry) account for about 70 per cent of all the milk kids drink.

So, when concerns about obesity prompted some to take them off cafeteria menus, the industry was quick to respond: it rolled out a campaign, called “Raise your hand for chocolate milk,” including a petition, a Twitter feed, and slick ads with actress Rebecca Romijn. Like plain milk, flavoured milk offers nine essential nutrients, the campaign notes, “plus the taste-appeal kids go for.”

While the chocolate kind has more sugar (roughly the same as a glass of orange juice), the campaign calls this an “acceptable trade-off,” noting that over half of all teens aren’t getting enough calcium, risking their bone health down the road. Taking flavoured milks out of schools could do more harm than good, the argument goes, encouraging kids to choose less nutritious drinks like soda.

Read more: Milk skirmishes