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with Dr Carrie Ruxton nutrition-communications.com

Latest on fruit benefits

The importance of incorporating fruit regularly into our daily diet is well known. Now a new study has investigated whether supplying free fruit and vegetables in canteens can improve diet quality.

Free fruit (two portions) and vegetables (one portion) were given to customers buying food from a University canteen. Customers (n=209) were divided into a fruit and vegetable group and a control group, both completing three-day diet record sheets.

Researchers found that fruit intake was 80g higher, while vegetable intake was 108g higher in those receiving the free produce compared with the control group. It was concluded that both the nutritional value of lunch and the overall quality of the diet improved.

Another large (n=3932) follow-up study (over 24 years) investigated whether higher intakes of plants foods such as fruits, vegetables and berries helped to protect against the development of cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke. It was identified that higher intakes of fruits (particularly citrus), and cruciferous vegetables may help to reduce the risk of cerebrovascular disease.

For more information see: Lachat CK et al (2009) British Journal of Nutrition Vol 107: pg 1030-37 and Mizrahi A et al (2009) British Journal of Nutrition Vol 102: pg 1075-83.

Breakfast cereal linked to lower cholesterol

A new study has investigated whether long-term consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals improves the nutrient intakes and health of children.

American scientists recruited over six hundred children, aged eight to 10 years and randomly allocated them to either consume RTE cereals, or continue their normal eating habits.

When followed up seven and a half years later, researchers found that RTE cereals increased the nutrient intakes of both boys and girls (although boys generally ate more). For boys, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and BMI were both lower amongst those eating higher intakes of RTE cereal.

Findings from this study emphasise the importance of children including RTE cereals within their daily diet.

For more information see: Albertson et al (2009) Journal of the American Dietetic Association Vol. 109: pg 1557-65

Inner health with Bio-Kult

Bio-Kult is a naturally powerful daily probiotic supplement which bolsters and replenishes the levels of healthy bacteria in the gut, ensuring the body’s digestive and immune systems are working at optimal levels to prevent illness. Bio-Kult’s highly concentrated formula contains 14 different strains of probiotic, unlike other probiotic supplements and yogurts that can only have one or two strains. Visit www.bio-kult.com for more information.

Goats milk products from Delamere Dairy

Delamere Dairy has been producing fresh pasteurised and UHT goats’ milk for over 20 years. Goats' milk has a refreshing taste and is a good source of calcium. Our range of products including milks, yogurts and cheeses are available in most major supermarkets. Goats’ milk can be used in the same way as cows' milk, in drinks, on cereals and in cooking. www.delameredairy.co.uk. E-mail:info@delameredairy.co.uk.

Dietitians & Nutritionists - have your own low cost website within a month

We are offering dietitians use of our interactive, sophisticated health and fitness website facility, complete with your own branding, photographs, contact details and content. Your independent business: with our technical support. Create and manage your own professional dietetic consultancy website with our IT support. For more information visit: www.fitnessmanagementclub.com. Email: information@fitnessmanagementclub.com

Wholegrain goodness for gluten free diets

Hale & Hearty Foods has a range of 13 deliciously wholesome gluten free products. Pastas, cereals, baking mixes and store cupboard essentials are all made with nutritious wholegrain flours. Unlike conventional gluten free brands that rely on refined rice, corn and potato starches, Hale & Hearty uses brown rice flour, buckwheat and quinoa. www.halenhearty.co.uk

Innocent website for HCPs

Innocent are inviting healthcare professionals to input into the development of a website created especially for them. The microsite is now live at www.innocentdrinksforhcps.com. This is an easy to use, two-way communication channel, where healthcare professionals can ask questions, submit their suggestions for content and also gain information on the science behind innocent’s health claims.

Feed yourself full and lose weight

By 2050, it is estimated that over a half of UK adults and about a quarter of all children under 16 could be obese.

Evidence, presented by leading scientists at the British Nutrition Foundation’s (BNF) ‘Satiation, satiety and their effects on eating behaviour’ conference in London recently, shows that both the physical qualities of food and the environment in which people eat a meal, affect their feelings of fullness after eating. Research also shows that energy density – the energy (or calories) per gram of food, may provide a key to tackling the alarming rise in obesity.

Energy density

“People can trick themselves into feeling full by manipulating the diet,” says Bridget Benelam, Nutrition Scientist at the BNF. “By changing the energy density of a meal they can achieve the same feeling of satisfaction, while eating less energy than they would normally.”

Dr Barbara Rolls, from Pennsylvania State University, has conducted extensive research into the effects of energy density on feeling full. Speaking at the conference she said, “Focusing on the energy density of the diet is an effective way of controlling hunger and reducing energy intake. A study of obese women found that a low fat and low energy density diet was more effective for weight loss over one year, than a low fat, higher energy density diet (1). These women lowered the energy density of their diets by eating more water-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables. They ate more food by weight, felt less hungry and more satisfied, and lost more weight.” Research has also shown that a low energy density diet aids weight maintenance (2).

To calculate energy density of a food, simply divide the amount of energy (calories) by the weight of food in grams. BNF advises people to eat mostly foods that are either very low (less than 0.6 kcal/g), low (0.6 to 1.5 kcal/g) or medium (1.5-4.0 kcal/g) in energy density, and consume higher energy density foods (4-9 kcal/g) in small amounts.

“To help people put our advice into practice we’ve developed a chart, showing the energy density of a range of foods and dishes,” says Benelam. BNF’s ‘Feed Yourself Fuller’ chart is available at www.nutrition.org.uk/satiety.

References 1 Ello-Martin, Roe LM, Ledikwe JH et al. (2007) Dietary energy density in the treatment of obesity: a year-long trail comparing 2 weight loss diets. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 85(6): 1465-77 2 Greene LF, Malpede CZ, Henson CS et al. (2006) Weight maintenance 3 years after participation in a weight loss program promoting low-density foods. Obesity 14: 1795-801

New report looks at NHS staff health

A scheme to improve the health of Birmingham NHS employees was among the evidence submitted for a ground-breaking report published recently.

The Boorman Review interim report will be sharing its findings and initial recommendations on the health and well-being of NHS staff across the country. The independent review, led by Dr Steve Boorman, a highly respected expert in occupational health, will later this year produce a series of practical recommendations to improve health and well-being across the NHS.

Evidence sent to the reviewers included details of how NHS Birmingham East and North is leading the way in looking after the health and well-being of its staff by offering a health improvement scheme called BENeFIT.

BENeFIT has already helped more than 725 employees become fitter, lose weight and have healthier lifestyles, with health risk assessments and cardiovascular screenings taking place, hundreds of pedometers handed out and individually tailored programmes given to members. Health coaches have helped staff increase their exercise and motivated them into making healthier lifestyle choices. Nicola Benge, Director of Health Improvement at NHS Birmingham East and North, said, “We will be interested to see what the report finds about the health of staff across the NHS, and what impact schemes like BENeFIT can have." For more information, go to www.nhshealthandwellbeing.org.

Intake of soya reduces risk of breast cancer

Women with the highest intakes of soya in their diet both during adolescence and in adult life have a 59 percent reduced risk of developing breast cancer, according to the Shanghai Women’s Health Study.

The study included more than 73,000 women from Shanghai, aged between 40 and 70 years. Consumption of soya products such as soya drinks, tofu, dried soya beans and others during adolescence and in adult life was determined through completion of a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Women with higher intakes of soya during adolescence had a 43 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer. Where these women continued to use soya products in their daily diet in adult life, risk of breast cancer fell still further: by 59 percent.

With a wide range of great tasting soya drinks, soya desserts and soya alternatives to yoghurt, including more soya into the Western diet has never been easier.

Source: Lee, Sang Ah, et al. Adolescent and adult soy food intake and breast cancer risk: results from the Shanghai Women's Health Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2009;89:1920-26

An extensive range of food models available in packs or as individual foods

The new 2009-2010 Nasco Nutrition Teaching Aids catalogue is now avalable. Contact us today to receive your free copy

Fat & muscle replicas Just a few of the many tools available from the Nasco Nutrition Teaching Aids catalogue to help you with your weight management and patient education programs

Clinutren ® 1.5 and Clinutren ® Fruit are now Resource ® Energy and Resource ® Fruit

The only thing that has changed is the name:

✔ Same great product ✔ Same great taste ✔ Same great flavour range

For further information call the Nestlé HealthCare Nutrition Customer Careline on 020 8667 5130 or visit nestlenutrition.co.uk/healthcare

Expectant mothers may be deficient in vitamin D

Many pregnant women are not getting enough vitamin D even when they take supplements. This is the finding from research carried out by the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), involving researchers from Queen’s University Belfast.

The main source of Vitamin D is synthesis following exposure to sunlight, but it is also found in oily fish, eggs and in fortified foods including margarine and breakfast cereals and can also be taken as a food supplement. Deficiencies have been linked to rickets and lower bone density in children. The Food Standards Agency recommends that all pregnant women take a daily dose of 10 micrograms of the vitamin.

However, this study, the first of its kind to measure the vitamin D status of pregnant women in Northern Ireland, reports low levels of the vitamin in the 99 expectant mothers studied. Dr Valerie Holmes from Queen’s School of Nursing and Midwifery co-authored the study which was published in the latest edition of The British Journal of Nutrition. The expectant mothers all living in Northern Ireland were tested three separate times during their pregnancy.

Testing at 12 and 20 weeks of pregnancy revealed that as many as 96 percent of the women had insufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood. Examination also revealed that at these test points, 35 percent could be classified as vitamin D deficient at 12 weeks and 44 percent at 20 weeks.

During the third trimester, at 35 weeks, 75 percent had insufficient levels of the vitamin and 16 percent of women were deficient.

Dr Holmes, from the Nursing and Midwifery Research Unit, said, “While studies in other countries have reported low levels of vitamin D in pregnancy, the high percentage of women in this study who had insufficient levels is remarkable.

“Northern Ireland’s northern latitude means that we are ‘in the dark’ in terms of sunshine, and makes the issue of adequate vitamin D dietary intake even more important.

“While vitamin D status was improved in women who reported taking multivitamin supplements, many still had insufficient levels, suggesting that the amount present in multivitamins formulated for pregnancy may be too low to maintain adequate levels.

“Stores of vitamin D in the newborn baby depend on the mother’s levels during pregnancy and where deficiency is severe, there is an increased risk of rickets. Previous studies have reported a link between low levels of vitamin D in pregnancy and lower bone density in children.”

Dr Holmes said further research was needed to determine exactly how much vitamin D women need to take to maintain adequate levels during pregnancy. She added that if pregnant women have any concerns about their nutrition they should consult their midwife or GP.

The research was carried out in collaboration with the University of Ulster and Belfast City Hospital.

Does Christmas turn your stomach?

For half a million people in the UK it might. We all like to indulge at Christmas, eating in restaurants and cooking up a feast at home for family and friends, but for one percent of people in the UK who have coeliac disease, what should be a celebration, can be damaging to their health.

Coeliac disease affects one in 100 people in the UK, but only one in eight has been diagnosed with the condition. Gluten found in wheat, barely and rye causes the body’s immune system to attack itself, creating symptoms ranging from diarrhoea and bloating to infertility and cancer.

This Christmas over half a million people will be eating a gluten rich diet which is damaging their health without them realising it. Recent research has shown that it takes an average of 13 years from the first onset of symptoms of coeliac disease, to being diagnosed with the condition. Often people explain away their symptoms as a stomach upset or over indulgence, but Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), is urging people to think again. Are the symptoms a one off? Do they get worse when you eat more foods containing gluten?

Gluten is found in many Christmas favourites such as mince pies, Christmas cake, beer and stuffing, common Christmas fare, so it would be easy for people to mistake their symptoms for the excesses of the party season.

Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive at Coeliac UK says, “There are thousands of people in the UK with undiagnosed coeliac disease and the gluten-laden foods of the Christmas party season can make mild symptoms worse. Very often, people with coeliac disease have been misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), so if they continue to experience symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, bloating and excessive wind, or they are putting ongoing symptoms down to their IBS. If this is the case, we would advise that they visit their GP.”

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines this summer which advise GPs to test for coeliac disease before a diagnosis of IBS is given. This will go some way to improving diagnosis of coeliac disease, but people must be aware of their symptoms and go to their doctor.

There is no medication and no cure for the condition and the only treatment is a strict life-long gluten-free diet

For further information, please contact Kate Newman at kate.newman@coeliac.org.uk tel: 07952 071014/0208 399 7478 or Jo Archer jo.archer@coeliac. org.uk tel: 01494 796131. For more information on how to cater gluten-free, please go to coeliac.org.uk/cateringtoolkit or call the Helpline on 0845 305 2060.

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