Category Archives: Research

Optimise Your Memory

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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.

Get Label Savvy

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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

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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.

Cut Salt, Lose Weight

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Cut Salt, Lose Weight
Most of us know that too much salt is not good for our blood pressure and it also seems to make us more prone to weak bones and possibly aggravates cancer. But did you also know that cutting back can help you to lose a good 2-3lb in weight in just a week?

It was Graham MacGregor, professor of medicine from St. George’s Hospital in London who told me that breaking off a close relationship with salt could lead to an almost instant weight loss.

This is how it works. When we eat excess salt, our bodies hold on to extra water to dilute its presence.

“Such retention of salt causes us to hang on to as much as 1.5 litres (two and a half pints) of fluid causing weight gains of 2-3lb” explains MacGregor. “Switching to a low salt intake can cause losses of this fluid and therefore, women can shed up to 3lb very rapidly.”

Bloating and swollen ankles can, say experts, literally ‘deflate’ within a matter of days as a result.

It is rare that you see such instant gratification for making dietary changes and when it comes to slashing our salt intakes, the news gets better, especially if hostage to your monthly cycle when waistbands strain to breaking point.

As MacGregor explains “Exactly the same principles apply to the menstrual cycle where many women swell up. A reduced salt intake can often relieve symptoms dramatically.”

To reap these benefits we need to know how much we need and get real about how much salt are we are unwittingly packing away. There is no question that salt is essential to life, required among a myriad of other essential duties to keep muscles and nerves working smoothly. We can do this perfectly well on 2g a day. At the moment we average closer to 9g daily.

Somewhat alarmingly, an apparently healthy-sounding days menu of a bowl of branflakes, a slice of wholemeal bread and orange juice for breakfast; low fat crisps and an apple mid morning, soup and sushi at lunch, low fat flapjack and smoothie in the afternoon and a ‘good for you’ style ready meal lasagna for dinner can give us 13g of salt.

Substitute a few of these options with fast food junk and the figure soars further. 16g plus of salt a day is unfortunately ‘normal’ for many of us.

The Government, presumably because they want to make their goal achievable, have set a daily target for salt consumption between what we need (2g a day) and what we currently eat, at 6g a day.

6g is a good starting point, but if you are serious about sorting out your bloated tummy and swollen legs (and of course helping your heart, your bones not to crumble before their time, protecting your kidneys, lowering the risk of asthma attacks and preventing stomach cancer), then halving this to 3g is, says MacGregor, probably the best bet.

The first step in doing so is to take a long hard look at the amount and types of processed foods we consume since they form the lion’s share of our meals and snacks these days and contribute at least 75 per cent of our daily salt.

Manufacturers are doing a really good job of reformulating bread, breakfast cereals and soups with lower salt recipes, but they still, along with fast foods and savoury snacks, supply most of our salt.

The fact is though, if you choose carefully, you can still buy such convenience foods and not subject yourself to brown rice and lentils forever. Clever and subtle swaps can help to reduce salt while maintaining a taste-packed, fast track life.

Take the ‘healthy’ day already mentioned. Swapping from a bowl of fruit and fibre style cereal to a fruit and nut filled muesli, which is naturally practically salt free, immediately whips out almost 1g of salt at breakfast.

A juicy plump peach with a smooth and creamy Greek yoghurt mid morning instead of low fat crisps looses another half a gram of salt. A ready-made salmon Nicoise salad instead of the soup and sushi saves up to 5.5g, while a small 20g bar of Green & Black’s chocolate instead of a low fat flapjack saves another 1g (and incidentally 300 calories).

Having a simple dinner of grilled chicken with say, a tomato, basil and olive sauce, soft noodles and a host of your favourite vegetables (both noodles and vegetables cooked without added salt) saves a further 3g compared to the ready-made lasagna. The day’s total comes out at just 3g of salt in total and is far from being bland or boring.

There is, however, no doubt that the initial switch to a lower salt diet takes determination. The more salt we eat the more we want and salt is a common denominator in the flavouring of foods. Food manufacturers know we like it so they add it to satisfy our desires. They also add it in some cases to cover the poor quality of ingredients.

The first week of reducing intakes is difficult, but even within seven days our taste buds begin to readjust and it begins to get easier. You gradually begin to detect amazing nuances of taste in everything you eat – even ripe, good-quality tomatoes begin to seem salty. Gradually pasta begins to taste sweeter and basmati rice takes on an incredibly fragrant taste.

It is good to know for instance that a little sourness from lime or lemon juice in a stir fry will emphasise saltiness and reduce the amount of salt required. So to does learning to make the most of foods containing glutamate, which enhances dramatically the flavour of dishes.

Glutamate is a type of protein and is naturally present in plum tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, anchovies and seaweed. In Japan glutamate is known as ‘umani’, or the ‘fifth taste’. Its ability to enhance flavours gives food ‘tastiness’.

This means that you can cook pasta without salt in the water, but adding Parmesan gives enough saltiness and tastiness to the finished dish to still make it delicious.

Getting clever in your kitchen is a crucial part of any salt-cutting campaign to help get us get back in touch with our taste buds. Combine this with a few weeks of diligent label reading and within weeks you can be well entrenched in a lower salt, healthier yet flavour-packed lifestyle and be a few pounds lighter without dieting.

Salt Facts

  • Grams of salt are not always given on nutrition labels. You can calculate the grams of salt by multiplying grams of sodium by 2.5.
  • One pinch of salt used in cooking is around 1g of salt.
  • Salt cellars with multiple holes deliver about 1.3g of salt per shake.