The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition will be publishing a new report in the next few days. One recommendation will be that it would be best to keep meat intake, that’s all meat intake, below 70g per day. We don’t know exactly know what the report will say, however a taster was written up in the Telegraph on Sunday. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8335986/Eat-less-red-meat-Government-scientists-warn.html

I know from my own work that there are good reasons to keep meat intake  low, this will reduce the risk of cancer, particularly but not exclusively bowel cancer. This semi- vegetarian  approach could also be seen as a more sustainable option but not everyone would agree.  It will be interesting to hear what SACN recommend. Whatever the recommendations are you can be sure that they have been well researched.

Can our salt taste buds be fooled into thinking that food is more salty than it is? The New Scientist published an article about this last week. 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927994.000-taste-bud-trickery-needed-to-cut-salt-intake.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

As a population it would be much better for us to eat less salt and lose our ‘salt tooth’ than to fool our taste buds. Dextran molecules may be harmless thickeners but surely we want less additives in our food rather than more.

Heston Blumenthal made worm pizza for children at Alder Hey Hospital. What a great idea. I’m not sure that they’ll eat worms everyday thought. One thing that Heston should avoid is trying to sound knowledgeable about nutrition. In the Sunday Times today (6th February 2011) he tells us that cheese pizza, with baked beans doesn’t contain any protein. Think again Heston…. yes it may look unapetising but it does contain protein.Too much strach also makes you lethargic and ends in loosing interest in food .. an interesting theory but not accurate. Heston’s food is great but if he needs nutrition info let’s hope he asks someone who knows …..

NHS wastes millions was the Times headline yesterday. At Nutrition and Wellbeing we are proud to have been able to help the NS save money by reviewing procurement.  Last year we helped the NHS save £140,000 - annually recurring. We specialise in reviewing clinical nutrition spending.

Yesterday the public health white paper was published, alongside it the review of the regulatory framework for public health professionals was published. Sue Lloyd was part of the regulatory review team, if you are interested in the outcome of the review you can read it here

  Review of the regulatory framework for public health professionals

A controversial government programme which gives fast-food chains influence over healthy eating policies has come under severe criticism after US research revealed the extent of “relentless marketing” of unhealthy food and drinks to children. A report by the authoritative Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found companies such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King spent more than $4bn advertising predominantly unhealthy fast foods in 2009.

For the full article: http://ind.pn/eYoZ0B

Source: National Health Forum- enews

The public health white paper was published today. Of course the media have been building up to the publication for a few days so there weren’t too many surprises. I was pelased to see a continued focus on the importance of a healthy lifestyle including managing obesity. It was particularly encourging to read that the NCMP will stay in place and there will be a focus on managing weight during pregnancy. If you want to read more you can access the white paper

Healthy Lives, Healthy People

Oliver Gillie’s fasinating lecture on Vitamin D is now available on the Caroline Walker Trust website. Dr Gillie summaries that people only obtain around 5% of the Vitamin D that they need for optimum health from their diet, and that even a diet with enriched sources can only provide around 10% of the optimum level. The list of potential consequences is formidable, and with evidence increasing of the need to review Vitamin D requirements this lecture makes compelling reading.

In an paper in the American Journal of Public Health the authors assessed consumer awareness of menu calorie information at fast-food chains after the introduction of New York City’s health code regulation requiring these chains to display food-item calories on menus and menu boards. Posting calorie information on menu boards increases the number of people who see and use this information. Since enforcement of New York’s calorie labeling regulation began, approximately 1 million New York adults have seen calorie information each day.

See article abstract: http://bit.ly/bQmZpp

San Francisco has passed a law barring fast-food restaurants from giving away toys with children’s meals that do not meet nutritional guidelines.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11723738

The new law also requires that fast food restaurants also limit the saturated and trans fat in the food that served, nad most important fruit or vegetables need to accompany the meal. What do you think,  are we doing enough in UK to help parents and children make choices that are good for them?