Author Archives: AmandaUrsell

Cranberry Juice, Urinary Tract Infections and Antibiotic Resistance

Posted on by

27th May 2014

Of course, the’ public relations people’ for the ‘cranberry juice people’ are always going to shine the best possible light on the idea that cranberry juice can help to prevent urinary tract infections and that this in turn may help with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.

I feel there could be something in this, so have posted below a press release from the PR people of the cranberry people so you can feel about their stance. It’s worth a read.

Cranberry juice may prove natural ally to help prevent UTIs amid antibiotic resistance threat

Growing evidence that drinking cranberry juice may help support urinary tract health by reducing urinary tract infections (UTIs) to potentially alleviate concerns on global antibiotic resistance.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) represent a global public health challenge and are the second most common type of infection. [i] With antibiotics the normal course of treatment, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recent report on antimicrobial resistance singled out UTIs as one of the leading causes of antibiotic resistance. [ii]

In fact, resistance to fluoroquinolones, the antibiotic treatment most commonly used for the treatment of UTIs, is very widespread. Today, there are countries in many parts of the world where this treatment is now ineffective in more than half of patients, leading to the need to use ‘last resort’ antibiotics.[iii]

Now, research published in peer-reviewed Nutrition Bulletin (May 2014), suggests there is increasing evidence and expert support for the role cranberry juice can play as a natural ally in the reduction of recurrent UTIs and the maintenance of urinary tract health.

Here in the UK, UTIs account for one to three percent of all GP consultations. Half of the UK’s female population will develop a UTI at least once in their lifetime and 20 to 30 per cent of those will suffer a recurrence.[iv]

The WHO’s stark warnings about antibiotic resistance happening right now in every region of the world echoes comments previously made by England’s Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davis, who referred to it as a ‘ticking time bomb’ and ranked it alongside terrorism as a threat to the nation.[v]

How does it work? The (simple) science

Ninety per cent of UTIs are caused by E.coli bacteria, which bind themselves to the cells lining the urinary tract. Sexual activity can multiply a woman’s risk of a UTI by 14 times.

Unique cranberry compounds such as proanthocyanadins (PACs) may help keep certain bacteria from sticking, allowing them to then be naturally flushed from the body.

Dr Ann Pallett, Lead Clinical Infection Specialist, University Hospital Southampton Trust, commented: “UTIs are a common complaint but increasingly there are fewer routine antibiotics that are effective in treating them. Of concern, is that resistance is beginning to emerge towards even the most powerful broad spectrum antibiotics, due to the arrival of new strains of bacteria, transmitted from other parts of the world.”

“Where preventative measures, such as consuming cranberry juice, can be taken to reduce the occurrence of UTIs, this can only be a good thing. More studies are now needed to fully understand the role that cranberry products can play.”

The mounting scientific evidence

The growing body of evidence has shown that drinking a glass of cranberry juice daily can help keep the urinary tract healthy and may help to prevent recurrent infection.

  • One study found that drinking 240ml of cranberry juice a day can help reduce the likelihood of bacteria gaining a foothold in the urinary tract for at least eight hours.[vi]
  • Another revealed that UTI recurrence rates over a year were reduced by 35 percent in young to middle-aged women who consumed 250ml of cranberry juice daily.[vii]
  • For children too, where 7% experience UTIs, cranberry juice may help to fight infection.[viii]
  • One 2012 trial gave 40 children cranberry juice, or a placebo and found a 65 per cent reduction in the incidence of UTIs.[ix]
  • In another study of 263 children with UTIs, those who drank cranberry juice over a six-month period had a far lower incidence of recurrence (27 episodes) than those who were given a placebo (47 episodes). Those who drank cranberry juice also saw a decrease in the number of days they needed antibiotics.[x]

If you want your kids to eat healthily…serve it, stay stum and don’t tell them it’s good for them!

Posted on by

  • This interesting piece of research came through to me this morning. Take a read…it may change how you ‘sell’ healthy foods to children when sitting at the dinner table!

     

    “According to a new study to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research, if you told a three year old she should try a certain dish because it will make her smart, she will conclude it must not taste very good.

    The study, led by Professor Ayelet Fishbach of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, shows that preschoolers believe that if a certain food is good for one goal, it cannot be a good means to achieve another goal.

    As such, if food is presented as making them strong, or as instrumental to a non-health goal such as knowing how to read, these children will conclude the food is not as tasty, and will therefore consume less of it, compared to when the food is presented as tasty or with no accompanying message.

    Given our societal objective to promote healthy eating among young children, understanding how persuasion messages affect learning and consumption has important policy implications.

     

     

    Children less likely to eat food if they know it’s good for them

     

    New study shows children think food can’t be both healthy and tasty

     

    May 2014. When it comes to urging young children to eat healthy food, parents are better off saying nothing about the benefits than saying it will help them grow stronger or smarter.

     

    According to new research by University of Chicago Booth School of Business Professor Ayelet Fishbach, children reject nourishing food simply because they know it is good for them, and once they know that, they assume the food won’t taste good.

     

    In the paper “If it’s Useful and You Know it, Do You Eat? Preschoolers refrain from Instrumental Food,” to be published in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, Fishbach and Michal Maimaran of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, demonstrate that telling children that food will help them achieve a goal, such as growing strong or learning to read, decreases preschooler’s interest in eating the food.

     

    “Preschoolers seem to think that food can’t serve two purposes, that it can’t be something that makes them healthier and something that is delicious to eat at the same time’” said Fishbach. “So telling them that the carrots will make them grow tall or make them smarter actually makes them not want to eat the carrots. If you want them to eat the carrots, you should just give the kids the carrots and either mention that they are tasty or just say nothing.”

     

    The researchers completed five experiments with 270 preschoolers in which an experimenter read picture stories about a girl who had some food for a snack. In some stores, she was interested in the food because it was good for her, in others she was interested because the food was tasty and in some stories, there was no reason mentioned in the story for why she was interested in the food.

     

    In each case, children ate more of a food when no reason for eating it was mentioned or when it was presented as being tasty, than they did when they thought the food was good for them.

     

    “Our study focused on very young children, and we should keep in mind that older children might rely less on taste when making food decisions due to higher self-control, said Fishbach. “On the other hand, most of us know teenagers who only eat six different foods, so it could turn out that their thinking is similar to their younger counterparts.”

     

    About the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

    The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is one of the leading business schools in the world, consistently ranking in the top ten and frequently in the top five. The school’s faculty includes many renowned scholars and its graduates occupy key positions in the US and worldwide. The Chicago Approach to Management Education is distinguished by how it leverages fundamental knowledge, its rigor, and its practical application to business challenges.

    The school offers full- and part-time MBA programmes, a PhD programme, open enrolment executive education and custom corporate education, with campuses in London, Chicago and Singapore. Current enrolment includes 1,162 full-time MBA students, 2,012 part-time MBA students of whom 190 are studying in London, and 123 PhD students. Six current or former faculty members are Nobel Prize winners in economics. Among the school’s many successful alumni are Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, James A. Rasulo, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO of The Walt Disney Company, Bart Becht, former CEO, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Brady Dougan, CEO, Credit Suisse and David Booth,chairman and co-chief executive of Dimensional Fund Advisors, for whom the school was renamed in 2008. www.chicagobooth.edu

     

Parents Views on School Packed Lunches Sought My Leeds University - Give Your Views Now!

Posted on by

Parents’ views on school packed lunches sought

New research at Leeds Metropolitan University is set to examine parents’ choices in providing packed lunches for their children.

The project, led by Dr Hannah Ensaff from the University’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences, will seek to gain insight into parents’ knowledge of their children’s diets through the development of an online questionnaire for parents of primary school age children.

Dr Ensaff, a Research Fellow in childhood obesity and child nutrition, explained: “School packed lunches can play an important part in children’s nutrition, with children spending 190 days of the year at school. More significantly they provide a link between the home and school and can represent a family’s provision of food. Packed lunches have also been identified as a factor in children’s diet, and have been highlighted with respect to the drive for school food reform.

“Our study will provide insight into parents’ attitudes and knowledge towards their children’s diets. Such knowledge is critical and will reveal gaps in our understanding and allow us to identify areas for support. With the current high prevalence of childhood obesity and children’s diet high in saturated fat and sugar, along with low fruit and vegetable consumption, this research has the potential to make a real impact.”

Analysing the results of the questionnaire will help researchers to understand parents’ choices when it comes to providing packed lunches for their children, and will contribute towards the development of a resource for parents in providing nutritious packed lunches.

The questionnaire is live and open to parents with children in primary school (both having school dinners and packed lunches). It is available at
http://surveys.leedsmet.ac.uk/snapwebhost/s.asp?k=139869340412

Ends

For further details please contact Mark Dorey on 0113 812 3021

From couch to cuff - time spent in front of the TV linked to high blood pressure in children

Posted on by

The World Heart Federation

From the couch to the cuff: time spent in front of a screen linked to high blood pressure in children, new study finds

Melbourne (07 May, 2014) – A new study reveals that children who spend two hours or more in front of a screen (TV, computer, videogames etc.) have over 2.5 fold increase in their odds of having high blood pressure (BP). These odds are increased further by overweight and obesity. The study also showed that children with a low level of fitness had 3.4 times higher odds of high BP than those with a high level of fitness.

 

High BP in youth is associated with early markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and BP levels track from childhood to adulthood. Although sedentary behaviours, physical inactivity and decreased fitness can predict high BP in adults, their relationship in children is not well established. Presented at the World Heart Federation’s World Congress of Cardiology on Wednesday 7 May, this new study measured the relationship between physical inactivity, sedentary behaviours and fitness on blood pressure in eight to 10 year-old children at high risk of obesity.

 

Data were taken from a sample of 630 children aged 8 and 10 years, all of who had at least one obese parent. Five consecutive blood pressure readings were taken and physical activity was assessed for one week with an accelerometer, a device which measures movement. Children also filled out validated questionnaires, recording physical inactivity from TV viewing, computer use, video game playing, studying and reading. Fitness was assessed using a standard incremental exercise test on an exercise bike. Height, weight and sexual maturation were measured along with socio-economic background and children who had parents with a history of high BP were recorded to adjust the results.

 

“More than two hours per day of screen time was associated with a 2.7 fold increase in the odds of elevated diastolic blood pressure. This association was more pronounced among overweight and obese youth. The study also emphasised that being physically active protects children from the risk of CVD. Physical activity prolongs lives regardless of inherited factors and protects against a vast number of health problems including cardiovascular disease.” said Dr. Gilles Paradis, Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Canada, lead author of the study.

 

This study adds to the evidence suggesting that if children are encouraged to be more physically active, it may be possible to reduce the number of CVD-related deaths. Physical inactivity is strongly linked to CVD and is in fact the fourth leading cause of mortality worldwide, attributable to approximately 3.2 million deaths a year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity per day for children and 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity for adults per week.[i]

 

“Hypertension has earned its reputation as the silent killer and combating its early onset in children is absolutely vital. More needs to be done to combat sedentary behaviours developing at a young age, reducing this risk of mortality in future generations,” commented Srinath Reddy, President of the World Heart Federation and of the Public Health Foundation of India.

ENDS

For more information or spokesperson interviews, please contact the WCC 2014 Press Office on [email protected] or the Press Office team members below. Please note, during WCC 2014 the Press Team will be available in Melbourne and London, so please bear in mind time zones for your requests.

Contact details

Melbourne:

Tara Farrell Rosie Ireland

Phone: + 44 (0) 7769 362880 Phone: + 44 (0) 7590 228701

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

 

London:

Sally Green Alissa Gutteridge

Phone: +44 (0)20 7067 0566 Phone: +44 (0) 788 0052 940

Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

About the World Congress of Cardiology (WCC)

The World Congress of Cardiology is the official congress of the World Heart Federation and is held every two years. The congress brings together thousands of cardiologists and other healthcare professionals from around the world, and represents an important forum for discussing all aspects of prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. WCC 2014 is taking place in Melbourne, Australia from 4-7 May 2014 and is co-hosted by the National Heart Foundation of Australia and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand.

About the World Heart Federation

The World Heart Federation is the only global advocacy and leadership organization bringing together the cardiovascular disease (CVD) community to help people everywhere lead heart-healthy lives. We strive for a world where there are at least 25% fewer premature deaths from CVD by 2025.

That’s why we and our 200+ members work courageously to end needless deaths from exposure to tobacco and other risk factors, lack of access to treatment, and neglected conditions like rheumatic heart disease which kills hundreds of thousands of children each year. Across 100 countries, with its members, the World Heart Federation works to build global commitment to addressing cardiovascular health at the policy level, generates and exchanges ideas, shares best practice, advances scientific knowledge and promotes knowledge transfer to tackle CVD– the world’s number one killer. World Heart Federation is at the heart of driving the CVD agenda and advocating for better heart health – enabling people to live longer, better and more heart healthy lives whoever and wherever they are.

For more information, please visit: www.worldheart.org; www.facebook.com/worldheartfederation and twitter.com/worldheartfed

 

 

 

[i] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs385/en/

 

 

 

Is dieting and low blood sugar making you ‘hangry’ and wrecking your relationship?

Posted on by

Is dieting and low blood sugar wrecking your relationship?

Imagine if all you needed to stop a ding-dong with your loved one as you step through the door at the end of the day was… a bit of chocolate on the way home. Not the usual nutritional recommendation from me granted, but here’s why.

According to research from Ohio State University, low blood sugar levels in the evening (due perhaps to a crazy new diet you’re following or accidentally skipping meals), leads to poorer self-control and higher levels of aggressive impulses towards your partner.

So instead of tender kisses and a ‘How was your day darling?’ you are ready to find any fault you can to trigger a barney.

The scientists from Ohio discovered the link between blood sugar and arguments from their 21-day study. They measured blood sugar levels at different points through the day and asked participants to stick between zero and 51 pins in a voodoo doll each evening, depending on how angry they felt towards their spouse.

After 21 days, everyone was invited into the laboratory where the winner of an inter-partner competition was invited to blast their spouse with a loud noise through headphones, again depending on their levels of anger towards them.

What the scientists revealed was that those with lower blood sugar stuck in more pins and gave the eardrums of their partners a louder and longer assault with the horrible noise compared with those with better blood sugar control.

The results stood, even after controlling for sex and relationship satisfaction.

If you dig a little deeper, these findings are perhaps not so surprising. Self-control is essentially the ability to override impulsive behaviour, including aggressive responses to those around you.

As researcher Brad Bushman and his team from the department of psychology at Ohio State University explain, self-control requires energy, and this energy is provided in part by glucose (also know as blood sugar), which is converted into neurotransmitters that power brain processes.

Low glucose levels can undermine self-control because people have insufficient energy to overcome negative impulses like losing your rag.

It has already been shown that self-control becomes more depleted as the day goes on, making it easier to be ‘nicer’ earlier before lunch, and increasingly harder the later it becomes.

This say the researchers, is partly because glucose breaks down into energy less effectively as the day wears on, but is also dependent on what and when we have eaten during the day.

You can see how being on some mad calorie-controlled diet that leaves your body half starving or simply accidently skipping meals doesn’t help.

The implications of this study are fascinating. Should relationship counselling include dietary advice? Is the first thing you should grab as you walk through the door a biscuit to avoid a stroppy exchange with your husband?

Could you improve your self-control at work in the late afternoons simply by eating a decent lunch and mid-pm snack?

And more seriously, given that lovers quarrels and bad tempered exchanges can sadly escalate beyond hurtful words to physical aggression and violence, could eating sensibly and regularly throughout the day help to reduce the risk of domestic violence not just to partners, but possibly towards children too?

It’s food for thought and something all of could probably do with taking a minute to dwell on.

 

 

A ‘Balance-Your-Blood-Sugar’ Day

 

For good blood sugar balance, plan your day so that you eat regularly and you eat the kinds of foods that optimise your energy as you move through the day.

* Breakfast: How about porridge or muesli with an apple for breakfast? If you don’t fancy either, have a couple of poached, scrambled or boiled eggs with a piece of toast and some orange juice.

* Mid-morning. Tuck into some natural yoghurt with a banana.

* Stop for lunch. Grab a meal with a decent serving of protein such as fish, chicken, lean red meat, pulses, tofu or Quorn and add to it lots of salad or vegetables and a little slow release carbohydrate like a small serving of pasta, a small pitta bread of a small serving of noodles.

* Mid-afternoon: Have a handful of nuts and a pear

* Home-time: Have a few squares of dark chocolate on the way home. Either that or again a handful of nuts, this time mixed with some dried fruits, or a small smoothie. Anything to give your blood sugar a nice gentle lift to calm your tired, stressed brain and get it in the mood to relax and forgive rather than being wired and waiting for a spat.

Copyright. Amanda Ursell

Reference: Low glucose relates to greater aggression in married couples

  1. . Brad J. Bushmana,b,c,1, C. Nathan DeWalld, Richard S. Pond, Jr.e, and Michael D. Hanusa, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Accepted by the Editorial Board March 17, 2014 (received for review January 13, 2014)

www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1400619111

Welcome

Featured

Posted on by
Reply

Welcome to my new blog! I’ve started off by posting some old material I already had on my old website, but I’m really looking forward to adding new posts and responding to any comments regularly Amanda x

Optimise Your Memory

Posted on by
Reply

There is a lot in the press at the moment, on the radio and the television about how to slow down the ageing process and among other things, to protect and even enhance your memory as you move through life.

Doctors used to think that memory lapses like forgetting where you had left your keys, struggling to remember the names of people you had recently met and generally getting a bit ‘forgetful’ were due quite literally, to nerve cells in our brains dying off.

But the latest research indicates things may not be as straight forward as this which is great news since it also means that there are things that we can actively do as a result to keep our memory in great shape.

Take a look below and start an action plan to get the best from your grey matter.

The Problem
Blocked messages
Your brain contains a network of literally billions of nerve cells. These cells don’t work in isolation but send each other messages via connections called synapses. It seems that as we get older some of these connections get clogged up or completely close down. A bit like having road blocks stopping you from trying to get from one place to another, blockages between nerve cells mean that messages which involve among other things, memory, are slowed down or actually stopped.

How to Help
Cut out trans fats
To help keep your synapses in good shape and messages whizzing from one nerve cell to the next, it is important to cut right, right down on trans fats in your foods and drinks. Trans fats are made when vegetable oils are processed to turn them into margarines. They appear to squat in the synapses and block communications, a bit like a massive boulder falling on to a dual carriageway and stopping all traffic from passing.

Manufacturers add these margarines containing trans fats to foods because they are cheap and quite tasty. Typical foods you will find them in range from biscuits and cakes to crackers, ready meals and fast food meals. If a food has a list of ingredients then look out for the words ‘partially hydrogenated fat’. These are other words for trans fats and the foods are best avoided.

Eat good fats
The good omega 3 fats you find in oily fish like sardines and mackerel and in foods fortified with omega 3′s like certain brands of milk, yoghurt, bread and eggs appear to help keep the synapses in good working order. Aim to have some omega 3 rich foods each day in you can.

The Problem
Free Radicals which age your brain
Free radicals are natural by-products of living, – we make them for example when we exercise and under normal circumstances, they are made safe by so-called antioxidants that we also produce and those we eat. However in contemporary lifestyles with excess pollution, exposure to sunlight and diets poor in antioxidant nutrients their quantities can get out of hand.

When this happens they can cause oxidation. Too many free radicals can break down vital cell membranes everywhere in the body, including your brain which may also stop messages moving from one brain cell to another efficiently and slow up memory.

How to Help
Pack in the fruit and veg
Eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day (aim for three vegetables and two fruits) and include as big a variety as possible. They are literally bursting with natural antioxidants. Aim for vitamin-C-rich ones like peppers, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, berries, kiwi fruits and parsley) and those rich in beta carotene, the orange pigment you eat in carrots and sweet potatoes. Good levels of vitamin E from dark green vegetables, avocados and also nuts and seeds are also linked with better memory.

The Problem
Poor Blood Flow
If the amount of blood and oxygen it transports to your brain slows up, then the chances of any part of your brain working at full speed is reduced.

How to Help
Eat fewer saturated fats
Really cut back on saturated fats which are the ones found in fatty cuts of meats, pies and ready meals and in full fat dairy foods like cheese, butter and cream. Saturated fats tend to cause fatty build ups on blood vessels in the brain and may reduce blood flow and slow down messages and memory.

What Else you Can Do To Maintain Memory?

  • Exercise: it appears to help protect your brain and memory by increasing blood flow and decreasing the risk of diseases that interfere with memory.
  • Lower stress: Stress appears to alter brain structure making it more prone to free radical attack. Try relaxation techniques like mediation, yoga and T’ai chi.
  • Do mental exercises: Stimulate your brain by doing word puzzles, socialising, reading, going to the theatre and having a good chin wag on the phone. Literally anything that makes you engage your brain will help to increase blood supply and strengthen cells and links between cells.

Lose Weight Without Dieting

Posted on by
Reply

A month’s worth of tried-and-tested Top Tips!

  1. As any confirmed snacker knows, the vending machine and corner shop are packed with tempting nibbles. Don’t get caught out! Plan ahead!
  2. Pop a pack of your favourite dried fruit in your bag, desk or glove box in the car. I love plump, succulent ready-to-eat apricots, but the choice is yours.
  3. Chocoholics chill out! Don’t beat yourself if you need the occasional fix. Research suggests that a few squares of dark chocolate between meals can satisfy your craving and also help you to eat up to 18 per cent fewer calories at your next meal. If you don’t like dark chocolate, stick with a few milk chocolate buttons, or a small bar of chocolate like a Fredo or a two-finger Kit Kat with around 100 calories.
  4. Waistlines are expanding with the more telly we watch so swap your soap and take a walk with a friend instead. It burns calories; releases feel good endorphins and gives you loads of time to catch up and chat.
  5. Off to the supermarket? I try hard not to go on an empty stomach. It really does stop those freshly baked bread smells tempting me to devour half the french stick on the way round the store.
  6. If you drive to the store then burn a few extra calories by parking a long way from the door. If it’s a small shop, then take a basket not a trolley. This way you’ll work out your arm muscles too.
  7. Promise yourself to walk or cycle any trip that is under a mile. When I first started to do this it seemed a real chore, but the feel-good buzz you get once you get going is well worth breaking through the ‘I can’t be bothered’ barrier.
  8. Always digging into the kids’ leftovers? It’s every Mum’s weak spot, so keep a constant supply of chopped vegetables or fruit to hand and dip into these instead of the stray chips, crusts and end-of-the-pot fromage frais.
  9. Ditch leisurely activities like computer games for amusing the kids at weekends and go for more active pursuits. They may moan like mad to begin with, but run around with a football in the park or splash around in the local pool with them and you both may end up enjoying it– not only that, it will burn calories and help to keep your mind off food.
  10. Hooked on that latte and muffin on the way to work? Swap for a skinny cappuccino and fruit salad. Even skinny muffins are calorie-packed, with manufacturers using sugar to replace the fat.
  11. Alcohol calories do count but that doesn’t mean total abstinence! I alternate alcoholic with non-alcoholic drinks like sparkling water with a touch of lime. It looks like a ‘proper’ drink and stops friends going on at you to keep drinking which means more fun all round.
  12. If you are feeling peckish have a drink of water instead. It may sound odd but sometimes we mix up thirst and hunger. A glass of skimmed milk or a skinny cappuccino can make a filling between meal ‘snack’, especially when you are on the go.
  13. Great news for everyone tired of low fat diets! Research shows that people eating a Mediterranean style diet manage to keep weight under control better than those on very low fat diets. Why? Probably because a bit of fat in the diet from oils, nuts and seeds makes food so much tastier and satisfying that you end up eating less!
  14. When it comes to starchy foods, always go for wholegrain versions of bread, pasta and rice. They take longer to chew than refined white versions and scientists think this helps to switch off the hunger centres in the brain. They also release energy slowly keeping you fuller for longer after eating.
  15. Don’t rely on reduced and low fat labels, especially when it comes to cakes and biscuits. If manufacturers take fat out then they have to put something else back in to create bulk. Usually this is sugar and I’m constantly amazed that on reading labels the lower fat version is often not that dissimilar to the original version.
  16. If you love an Indian take-away, then tuck into the less calorie-laden choices on offer. Tikka and tandoori dishes with plain rice and remember two poppadums have 100 calories compared to 500 in just one naan bread. In the Chinese, select chop suey, stir-fries and boiled rice and in pizza places go for thin-based pizzas piled high with extra vegetables while skipping the pepperoni.
  17. Feeling stuck at home with your baby or toddler? It happens to most new Mums. Now that the weather is getting better resolve to get out to the local shops pushing the pushchair with lots of energy burning purpose. It will take your mind off the biscuit barrel, get you fit and you might meet other new Mums keen to have a chat.
  18. Come on, make those everyday chores more vigorous by putting on some music and strutting your stuff with the vacuum and duster! As well as reducing the tedium of the chores, it gets the heart and muscles moving and burns off those calories.
  19. Make everyday that bit more active. Take the stairs not the lifts or escalator. Get off the bus a stop earlier and stand on the train – it burns more energy than sitting.
  20. Get those boogie shoes on and get on that dance floor! A night out at a club or disco is a great workout if you really wiggle that tush. Make sure that you drink loads of water to keep yourself going.
  21. Weight loss doesn’t mean missing out on a tasty restaurant treat. Try tomato and vegetable pastas, baked and grilled fish and lean roast meat with lots of vegetables. If I haven’t got room for a fruity pudding, I’ll have a cappuccino, which, when you spoon up the chocolate frothy bit, feels like a dessert!
  22. Get gardening! An hour in the garden can burn more calories than a step aerobics class. If you don’t have one then help a friend with their weeding or ask if you can volunteer in your local park.
  23. Stuck at home and wanting to dig into the cakes and crisps? Distract yourself by writing a letter to someone you care about then burn some calories by walking to the post box to post it.
  24. If you automatically reach for the biscuits when making a cuppa then do like my friend Nicki. She keeps two cans of baked beans by her kettle and uses them to do bicep curls while waiting for it to boil!
  25. Think netball and hockey are just for the kids? Think again! Recapture your youth and join a local team. You could even try bending it like Beckham and giving a women’s football team a go. It burns calories and creates a new circle of friends.
  26. At the end of your main course instead of rushing straight off to get a pudding on the table – hold on. Chat with other people around the table and give your main mealtime to go down. It takes 20-mintues for your stomach to register a meal. By the time you have waited a while, you may not even want your pudding.
  27. Kick dieting as a way of life into touch and aim instead for small, lifelong changes. everyone I know who has adopted this approach has ended up slimmer, healthier and a lot, lot happier.
  28. Want your cake and eat it? If you really fancy a piece of cake or pudding then share it. You still get all the taste sensation and the fun of indulgence but share the calories along with the gossip.
  29. My cousin’s wife has written some positive statements on bits of paper and stuck them to her kitchen walls. One reads ‘I can be who I want to be’. Whenever she sees it she wants to keep up with her new active lifestyle and it puts her in a positive, bright frame of mind.
  30. If I’m really craving something sweet, I try having a cup of hot, no-added-sugar blackcurrant squash. Other people I know say that a sugar-free fruity yoghurt works; really ripe mango and ready-to-eat prunes work well too.
  31. If it’s a sweet afternoon treat you are after don’t be fooled by healthy-sounding things like carrot cake and flapjacks. They are packed with fat and sugar. Go for small servings of fruit scones and malt loaf instead.

Being realistic is such a positive and essential incentive to successful weight loss. Remember that a 1-2lb loss per week is a slow and steady goal to aim for and is more likely to stay off in the long term – so give up the stop, go, yo-yo lifestyle for good and put your trust in yourself and not quick-fix dieting gurus!

Get Label Savvy

Posted on by
Reply

Take a look at some boxes of breakfast cereal and you could be forgiven for thinking you had picked up a GCSE mathematics text book, not a packet of your favourite flakes

For there, slap bang on the front of many packs is a list of calories, fat, salt and other nutrients in a bowl – along with information on other figures known as the ‘Guideline Daily Amount’ or GDA for short.

It looks mind-boggling complex any time of day, not least when you are half asleep at the breakfast table, and if the results of some surveys are to be believed, many food labels confuse rather than help us make healthy choices.

In a way this is hardly surprising. Think about it. On the one hand, manufacturers want us to buy their products and will do everything it takes on pack to get them into our trolleys. Blinding us with excessive nutritional information and health claims is favourite means of doing so.

But the good news is that by having all the real facts and figures you need to make healthy choices at your finger tips (see table below) and knowing a few classic pitfalls, can mean that getting label savvy does not need hours of swotting or poring over endless figures and graphs.

For example, ‘Reduced Sugar’ lablels have been around for several years, but may still be confusing. Just remember that ‘Reduced’ (whether referring to sugar, fat or salt) simply means the food contains 25% less of the nutrient referred to compared with the standard version. This is not the same as it being ‘low’ in these nutrients same as IT being ‘low’ IN THESE NUTRIENTS.

To avoid falling into such traps, the most reliable tool you have on a food label are the figures that appear in the nutrition box giving nutrients per 100g and better still per serving. Check out my quick guide for the inside track.

Quick Guide to Getting Label Savvy

Energy
The energy in food is measured in calories (kcal) and must be shown on the nutrition label as kcal per 100g of the product. Some manufacturers also choose to give calories per actual serving of the product. Eating more calories than we need leads to weight gain.
The Bottom Line: The guideline daily allowance of calories for women is 2000 a day and for men is 2500.

Fat
Total fat is given per 100g of the product and sometimes also per serving. Fat is a rich source of calories and overeating it can easily lead to weight gain.
The Bottom Line: 20g of fat per 100g is a lot. 3g of fat or less is a little. The guideline daily amount of total fat for women is a maximum of 70g of fat a day and for men is 90g.

Saturated fat
Some labels also tell us how much of the total fat is saturated. Saturated fat is known to raise levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood that puts us at risk of heart disease. Attempt to cut back if you eat a lot of saturated-fat-rich foods.
The Bottom Line: 3g of saturated fat per 100g is a lot. 1g per 100g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 20g a day, men 30g.

Sugar
The amount of added sugar in a food or drink is not always given. Sometimes only the total carbohydrate figure (which includes sugar) is supplied. If this is the case, look for where ‘sugar’ appears in the ingredients list. The higher up the list it is, the more sugar it contains. Be aware that sucrose, glucose, glucose syrup, golden syrup, maple syrup, treacle, invert sugar (a mix of glucose and sugar used in making boiled sweets) honey, dextrose and maltose are all added sugars.
The Bottom Line: 10g of sugar per 100g is a lot. 2g is a little. Women should aim for no more than 28g (7 teaspoons) of added sugar per day, men no more than 34g (8 teaspoons) per day.

Sodium
Sodium is a trace mineral naturally present in tiny amounts in food. Most sodium in foods comes from added ‘sodium chloride’ better known as salt. Most of us are aware that we should not eat too much salt, and with good reason, because it can raise blood pressure and significantly increase risk of stroke and heart disease. By law it is the amount of sodium in grams that must appear on the nutrition label.
The Bottom Line: Aim to cut right back on sodium by not adding salt to foods at the table and by avoiding processed foods that contain 0.5g or more of sodium per 100g which is considered to be a lot. 0.1g per 100g is a little. Women and men should aim for no more than 2.5g of sodium a day. Some products also give us grams of salt. We should aim for no more than 6g of salt per day including that found in food and the salt we add in cooking and at the table.

Traps and Insider Tips

Calories
Manufacturers have a 20 per cent leeway either side of the figure they declare. If yoghurt declares a calorie count of 100 per 100g, it could in fact have 120 or 80 and still be legal.
Insider Tip:If you are following a calorie-counted diet, stick to basics like porridge, meat, fish and two vegetables and fruit for snacks and buy a calorie counting guide to keep an accurate track, or use an app like ‘My Fitness Pal.’

Low Fat Spreads
When used on any other food or drink, the legal definition of ‘low fat’ is that the product contains less than 3g of fat per 100g. Spreads however have their own set of rules. For a spread to qualify as ‘low fat’ it must have 40g of less of fat per 100g. A ‘very low fat’ spread must have 20 – 30g.
Insider Tip: There is no such thing as a spread that is genuinely low in fat in real terms.

Light and Lite
These terms can refer to the texture of the product meaning it is light in texture. Like a ‘light’ fruit cake. It does not necessarily mean it has fewer calories than any other version.
Insider Tip: Ignore these claims and head straight for the calories per 100g and per serving.

% Fat Free
Percentage fat free claims were supposed to have been voluntarily dropped by the food industry but are creeping back on to our food labels. The exception is if a food contains less than 3g of fat per 100g making it 97% fat free.
Insider Tip: Ignore all % free claims, even 97% fat free ones. With sweet foods like biscuits and cakes they may be 97% fat free but have extra sugar added to replace the fat that has been removed. Once again, check the calories before serving before tucking in.

When is a raspberry yoghurt not a raspberry yoghurt?
A raspberry ‘flavour’ yoghurt is just that. It is a yoghurt that is made to taste like raspberries by using artificial flavours. A raspberry ‘flavoured’ yoghurt on the other hand must have most of its raspberry taste coming from real raspberries.
Insider Tip: To cut down on artificial flavourings, avoid products that use the word ‘flavour’.

You Can’T Have Your Cake and Eat It
If any product appears too good to be true, then it probably is.
Insider Tip: Always read the small print in the nutrition box.

What is Not on the Label

No Nutrition Information on Pack
This invariably means the manufacturer does not want you to know what he has packed away in his product.
Insider Tip: It is probably best to avoid these foods or drinks if you are strictly watching your calorie, fat or salt intake.

Trans Fats
Trans fats are made when vegetable oils are hardened by a process called ‘hydrogenation’ to make margarine. They raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol which increases risk of stroke and heart disease. In America they will appeared on nutrition labels from January 2006. There are no plans to put them on the nutrition information panel in the UK as yet although you fill find supermarkets and individual food manufacturers are removing them from products and flagging this up on the front of packs.
Insider Tip: To avoid trans fats avoid foods that contain ‘hydrogenated’ fats in the ingredients list.

Pesticides, Hormones and Vetinary Medicine Residues
Manufacturers do not need to declare any of these substances used during production of their foods and drinks. They should be present in safe amounts in standard foods because they are monitored regularly by the Government.

Insider Tip: If you want to avoid them, go for organic foods. Look for a stamp from organic certifying body such as the Soil Association. To qualify for organic certification a food or drink must have at least 95% organic ingredients. Non organic ingredients can only be used if organic equivalents are not available. They must be declared.

What Does That Mean?
‘Kitchen fresh scones’; ‘garden fresh peas’ and ‘ocean fresh’ fish are emotive words used to sway a shopping decision but they mean little concerning a product’s quality. Don’t be persuaded by the ‘ahh’ factor on food labels. Descriptions like ‘Country Style’ mean nothing. Try to think objectively before you buy.

Food Futures

Posted on by
Reply

Synbiotics

Most of us have now got our brains around the idea that ‘probiotics’ are a good type of bacteria and are used to seeing everything from yoghurts to smoothies boasting of having them added.

If you have read the blurb on the side of the cartons, you will have worked out that these friendly bacteria manage to avoid being digested in your stomach and make it down to your intestine where they multiply like mad, helping to boost your immunity as well as settling down symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

But it won’t be too long before you will begin to see a new word popping up on packs and you may as well be ahead of the game so that you know what the food manufacturers are on about as they attempt to blind you with the next bit of science.

The word to watch for is ‘synbiotic’.No… It’s not a probiotic which has gone off the rails and committed a cardinal crime. A symbiotic is simply a mix of a probiotic with a prebiotic.

What’s a prebiotic?
It is simply a type of fibre which acts as a food source for the probiotic bacteria which means the good probiotic can grow at maximum speed.

You can find prebiotics naturally in foods like chicory, asparagus and onions but soon they will be made synthetically, mixed up with probiotics and added to foods like breakfast cereals, yoghurts and probably drinks like smoothies. Interestingly, initial research shows that prebiotics may help to strengthen our bones as well as help good bacteria to grow… so watch this space.

Meanwhile, here’s a few tips right now if you are already fans of eating probiotic fortified foods or popping supplements full of these good bacteria.

  • Have probiotics products separately from hot drinks because heat can ‘kill’ them off before they make it anywhere near your gut.
  • All probiotics are also adversely affected by light, oxygen and moisture. To preserve the probiotic content of your smoothie, juice, milk or yoghurt you need to store them in the fridge. Between removing them from the fridge and consuming you need to keep them in a cool, dry place with minimal exposure to light and once opened, eat or drink them quickly.
  • Eat plenty of foods naturally rich in prebiotics. Try for example to have bananas, chicory, onions or asparagus most days.

One Man’s Meat… Letting Your Genes Dictate Your Diet

Never has it been so clear that one man’s meat can be another man’s poison. Now that top scientists have cracked the genetic code through the Human Genome Project, researchers say it won’t be too far off before the medical community, for a relatively small amount of money, will be able to test our DNA and determine individual mutations which will show predispositions to certain health problems and diseases.

And with this information will come the possibility to offer individual tailored dietary advice to help protect against or even prevent symptoms from such problems ever arising. And it will also mean that some of the blanket healthy eating advice that we currently offer may not be relevant to certain individuals.

A genetic test may throw up the fact that you have a genetic tendency and therefore an increased risk of developing thinning bones and osteoporosis in later life. Making sure that you do everything to get a really good intake of bone-building nutrients may help to delay or prevent its onset.

If you have a daughter and her genetic test reveals a similar tendency, you would know to be extra vigilant in ensuring a high calcium and bone-building diet for her, especially during her teenage years when bones are formed.

Scientists believe that we will have at our fingertips the ability to give appropriate and tailor-made nutrition advice to help everything from Alzheimer’s’ to certain types of cancer.

It’s a fascinating area and one to watch.