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- Leading UK Nutritionist in London - opinion on latest health news, appearances and quotes
The survey, which was carried out among more than 2,000 parents, showed that nearly a quarter of parents were giving chocolate to their child before the age of 12 months.
The results add fuel to the fire of Britain’s burgeoning obesity epidemic, as the current number of overweight schoolchildren in the UK is already nearly two million, of which about 700,000 are obese.
Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston said: “The dietary patterns we lay down from when we wean children may well have an impact on their future food choices and health.....Read More....
"Not all fats are evil. Essential fatty acids in particular are vital as they strengthen the skin's ability to retain water, power-plumping your complexion from within," she explains. "Without these fats in your diet, skin cells aren't flexible enough to let nutrients in and toxins out, causing a puffy, dull complexion."
The Department of Health's 5 A DAY logo and portion indicator apply to fresh, frozen and canned fruit and vegetables with no added fat, sugar or salt so clearly wouldn't apply to spaghetti hoops
I agree with which? that manufacturers should be forbidden to claim a portion of 5 a day when a food lacks the fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants - the very reasons why we are encouraged to eat more fruit and veg, although the science suggests we need at least 8 x 80g portions to reap meaningful benefits.
More importantly though the GDA system that manufacturers use instead of the easy to understand Fodd Standard's Agency's Traffic Light System should be exposed by Which?
Manufacturers use upper limits of recommendations for sugar fat and salt and make GDA labelling too complicated for consumers to understand by using percentages rather than making it clear that a product is 'high in fat' or 'high in sugar' using a red colour.
Manufacturers are also misleading consumers with their recommended portions. In workshops when we ask participants to measure out their normal portion of cereal it never matches the recommended baby portion used in nutritional information on the packets.
‘For Heinz Spaghetti in Tomato Sauce, the 1 of your 5 a day comes from the tomatoes.Our soups, beans and spaghetti are low in fat and sugar, and have also benefited from salt reduction in line with the Department of Health's Responsibility Deal targets.
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Croydon University Hospital formerly Mayday or 'May-die' |
PATIENTS had a meagre £1.73 spent, on average, on every meal they were given while recovering in Croydon University Hospital last year – the lowest spending per head of hospitals used by Croydon residents.Other nearby hospitals spend double amount that on their patient meals. Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, has responded by increasing spending this year to £5.96 a day – an average of £1.99 per meal.
Figures released last week show the hospital's trust forked out an average of £5.18 a day for three meals and drink for each patient during 2010/11.
David Bell, author of Consuming Geographies: We Are Where We Eat, and senior lecturer in critical human geography at the University of Leeds agrees differences are cultural and nurtured, not geneticBishop-Weston sees gender differences less in how people eat, more in how they think about their diets.
"Women have more emotional attachments to food - due to media pressure they attach guilt to carbs and saturated fats, and often feel a responsibility to eat healthily in a way that men don't," she says.
"Interestingly, though, I see a trend towards 'effort' that spans and unites the sexes. People are becoming more receptive to things that take longer. People are looking for an identity with their food. People are buying breadmakers. As everybody's lives are getting more stressful we feel worse, and we need more nutrients. So both men and women are getting scared into eating well."