The Schools Food Trust says “research suggests that some [childcare providers] are giving young children food which is more appropriate for older children and adults”. They are, of course, referring to high levels of salt and sugar and also a lack of nutrients essential to growth such as iron and zinc.  Whilst this is true, I would argue that this food is not appropriate for anyone, hence the massive increase in diet related health problems (obesity, type-2 diabetes, some cancers).  A healthy, balanced diet is appropriate for everyone and the focus for families, schools and the government should be to promote this across the board.

I recently looked at a nursery menu which, as an example, included baked beans a number of times a week – baked beans are packed full of sugar and salt.  There was also little in the way of wholegrains and good fats and a reliance on dried fruit as snacks.  What also stood out was how little variation there was in the menu throughout the week. These recommendations are a step in the right direction – I just hope everyone involved in childcare makes the effort to adopt them.

If you would like more information and guidance on healthy eating for children and all the family, please drop us a line at info@ilovegreens.co.uk or on 01277 833032

The timing of this launch is excellent as I’m sure you’re all in the midst of horrible depriving diets and detox after the joyous excesses of Christmas?!  So, why not make a late New Year Resolution? Decide that this is the last year you will make January, the most miserable month of the year, even worse by starving yourself and depriving yourself of even the smallest glass of red wine – and aim for lifelong change?

Changing your outlook towards food gradually, and learning more about the effects on your body will help you to change the way you eat long term.   And we’re not talking about cutting everything enjoyable out of your diet – it’s all about following the 80-20 rule and making better choices.

So have a look around the site and if you’ve got any questions, want a bit of advice or just want to see what we can do for you, drop us an email or call on 01277 833032.

Happy Friday!

I Love Greens

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13670278

If you’re interested in learning more about real bread and finding a good local baker, take a look at this link:

www.realbreadcampaign.org

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I’m not saying that everyone with HBP can avoid the use of drugs through the use of Nutritional Therapy, but some can.  And even those who can’t avoid the use of drugs, perhaps due to a genetic predisposition, can help to support their body to restore balance and reduce side effects and other related health issues.

We need to go back to basics to take control over our own health.  Drugs are lifesavers but they’re not the complete answer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12486184?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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http://www.drbriffa.com/2010/11/22/critique-reveals-major-flaws-in-conventional-nutritional-guidelines/

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8572874.stm

The lack of nutrition training a doctor receives will no doubt surprise many people, especially when the full impact of poor nutrition can be seen about us every day in the form of increased obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.  And that’s not to mention the increase in allergies often expressed in the form of asthma, eczema and digestive disorders.

I agree that doctors should be better educated in this field, if only to make them more aware of the effects of nutrition on health, but we already have some highly qualified people in the form of registered Nutritional Therapists who are willing and able to help if only the medical profession would give up some of it’s power!

ilovegreens

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8547454.stm 

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http://www.drbriffa.com/blog/2009/09/04/the-myriad-of-reasons-why-artificial-sweetners-may-not-deliver-on-their-weight-loss-promise/

Personally I avoid sweetners at all costs.  If I fancy some sugar I’d rather indulge in the real things rather than a man-made chemical that tastes overly sweet.

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http://www.wcrf-uk.org/audience/media/press_release.php?recid=71

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• How many studies were included, which studies were excluded and what were the requirements for inclusion within the analysis?
• Differences in nutritional content is only ONE aspect of organic farming.
• Other benefits include higher levels of animal welfare, more care for the natural environment (protection of hedgerows, natural predators etc), and most importantly a reduction in the use of potentially damaging chemicals which contribute to the ‘cocktail effect’ in the body.
• How long have the organic farms been certified ‘organic’. This may have an impact on soil quality and therefore nutritional status of food.
• Research has shown that milk from organically reared cattle is nutritionally superior to conventionally produce milk – it is higher in many nutrients including omega 3 and this has been well reported.

Before I had the chance to write my article I found I was not the only one incensed both by the questionable quality of the research and also by the BBC’s very closed minded and limited reporting on this very important issue.

To sum up everything that I believe about this matter please read this blog from http://postpeakpublishing.com/

Personally, I wouldn’t expect an organic pepper to have significantly more nutrients than any other pepper, since they are usually not genetically engineered, though nutrient levels were the only factor in the study’s determinations. Turns out organic peppers do indeed have elevated nutrient levels, but not significantly elevated, according to the FSA. The health benefits of not ingesting a host of ingredients far too dangerous to be included in a child’s chemistry set is a glaring omission.

According to the study’s Executive Summary:

“This review does not address contaminant content (such as herbicide, pesticide and fungicide residues) of organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs or the environmental impacts of organic and conventional agricultural practices.”

And not all studies on organic and conventional practices were reviewed…

Articles were excluded if they:

• were not peer-reviewed
• did not have an English abstract
• did not address composition of nutrients and other substances
• did not present a direct comparison between organic and conventional production systems
• were primarily concerned with impact of different fertiliser (sic) regimes
• were primarily concerned with non-nutrient contaminant content (cadmium, lead and mercury)
• were authentication studies describing techniques to identify food production methods

In other words, only Western studies focused strictly on nutrient comparison were reviewed. That would seem to overlook many studies which might show organic food to be a much healthier option. It’s a safe bet that the overwhelming majority of the reviewed studies were the product of the traditional food industry.

Was the outcome of this study preordained? If you’re gonna talk health, why omit studying all the unhealthy stuff that the organic movement seeks to evade?

The study itself appears to come from the UK’s Food Standards Agency, which outsourced the analysis of about 50,000 papers published over the past 50 years to a group within the University of London’s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), headed by Dr. Alan Dangour, nutrition specialist. A handful of University of Londonpersonnel are also credited, including Ricardo Uauy, M.D. Ph.D., Professor of Public Health Nutrition. Alan and Ricardo have co-published no less than 9 publications, in other words, they’re ‘tight’.

According to the Integrity in Science Database, Dr. Uauy has been a paid advisor to Unilever, Wyeth, Danone, DSM, Kellogg, Knowles and Bolton, Roche Vitamins Europe Ltd., and the International Copper Association. Probably not chicken feed either. My foray into research could very likely turn up Monsanto and/or its ilk lurking behind this study as well, had I the time. 

Posted: July 29, 2009 at 1:30 pm

Filed under Education, Global, Health, Uncategorized by admin
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For those of us who have studied critical analysis and have the means and motivation to look deeper into these issues there is no reason why we should be mislead, however this is not the case for the majority of the public.  They rely not only on the FSA for guidance but also, rightly or wrongly, the media.  We all know that there are some sources that are more reliable than other but given the BBC’s status as a public body I think they should provide the facts rather than sensationalist headlines.

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UPDATE 05/08/09:  Here’s a link to a very well written article by food writer and investigative journalist, Joanna Blythman:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1203343/JOANNA-BLYTHMAN-A-cancerous-conspiracy-poison-faith-organic-food.html

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