food & drink Rural Affairs Minister launches new guide to cooking with red meat A new cooking guide has been launched by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, to support customers to confidently choose and cook with different cuts of Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork. The 2022 edition of the Scotch Butchers Club Steak Guide, which aims to encourage customers to talk to their local butchers about different cuts and recipes, was launched today at Bruce Brymer butchers in Brechin. The guide, named ‘Let’s Talk About Steak’, is now available from over 270 independent butchers that are members of the club which is managed by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). For more information on Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork, or to find out where to pick up the guide from your local Scotch Butchers Club Member, visit www.scotchbutchers.com.
Red wine and berries could improve life expectancy for those with Recent research has found, for the first time, that people with Parkinson’s disease who eat more flavonoids—compounds found in foods like berries, cocoa, tea and red wine—may have improved life expectancy compared to those who don’t. The research followed up over 1,200 people who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and showed that those who ate more flavonoids in their habitual diet had a lower chance of dying than those who consumed few flavonoids. Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and currently there 22
is no cure. More than 10 million people worldwide are living with the disease. The disease is caused by the brain not making enough dopamine and leads to tremors, stiffness and problems with balance. Before being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, participants who ate more of some flavonoid classes, including the anthocyanins (responsible for the red/blue colour of fruit) and flavan-3-ols (in tea, cocoa) had a 31-34% lower risk of dying than those who rarely consumed these flavonoid sources. The effects were more pronounced in men than in women. www.farmingscotlandmagazine.com
