Tuesday 25 November 2014

CALORIES ON MENUS

In the UK some caterers put calories on menus and others put information on lighter choices which are lower in calories.

While not everyone finds it of interest it does help those who are watching their intake make choices.

In America "The Food and Drug Administration" is now requiring the nation restaurants and coffee shops to list calories on the items on their menus.

This is information the government agency said can help Americans make healthier eating decisions.

In the UK we have the responsibility deal which people who are providing catering of all types can sign up to as a partner and agree to take steps to assist with improving health.

One of the steps is to provide calorie information on menus so that customers can make informed choices.

The following website has information on this and how to sign up.

https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/


Department of Health

Thursday 13 November 2014

NUTRITION AND THE BRAIN

I am always interested in the effect of nutrition on the brain plus also on mood and feelings of happiness.
Indeed I write a while ago about nutrition and happiness on an early blog.

I found a nice article on nutrition for the brain on http://carpevitahomecare.com/nutrition-for-brain-health/


The article has 8 tips

  1. eat more "superfoods"  --which are the berries and food with a rich antioxidant content. This time of year broccoli, blackberries from the frozen autumn harvest  to mention but a few.
  2. heart health and brain health are similar so watch anything that raised harmful cholesterol levels
  3. ensure the diet contains foods with rich antioxidant levels
  4. have omega 3 fatty acids rather than the more harmful types of fat
  5. eat adequate protein
  6. have unrefined carbohydrates
  7. ensure you have adequate vitamins and minerals especially zinc
  8. drink plenty of water
Do have a look at the article

Friday 7 November 2014

MILK

Last week I went to a conference on Diet and Sustainability which focused on Dairy.

Really interesting with lots of excellent speakers  and information on how both farmers and the processors of  milk based foods were looking at sustainability and making strides forward.


Although milk from the cow is processed to some extent by heat treatment. Milk is about 87 percent water and 13 percent solids. The  cream (fat portion) of the milk contains fat soluble vitamins. The rest include proteins, carbohydrates (lactose), water soluble vitamins, and minerals. 
Milk products contain high quality proteins. The whey proteins constitute about 18 percent of the protein content of milk. Casein, a protein found only in milk, contains all of the essential amino acids. It accounts for 82 percent of the total proteins in milk and is used as a standard for evaluating protein of other foods. Protein is needed to build and repair body tissues and to form antibodies ( special proteins) which circulate in the blood and help fight infection.
Milk also contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. The calcium found in milk is readily absorbed by the body. Phosphorus plays a role in calcium absorption and utilization. Phosphorus is needed in the proper ratio to calcium to form bone. Milk provides these two minerals in approximately the same ratio as found in bone. 
Milk is also a significant source of riboflavin (vitamin B2) which helps promote healthy skin and eyes, as well as small amounts of vitamins A and D.