September 2014

I have just been sent to look at this piece on the NHS website.. Take a read – my comments are in bold italics. How many people do you think have chosen to replace coca cola with fruit juice to feel better but when you look at actual sugar in coca cola .. guess what there is less than fruit juice.

The best way to eat if you want to banish tiredness is to have a healthy, balanced diet that contains foods from the four main food groups in the right proportions. The four food groups are:

• potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
• fruit and vegetables – why do our health experts think these are the same?
• milk and dairy foods
• meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein

Eat at regular intervals

If you eat at regular times, your body knows when your next meal is coming and learns to manage feelings of hunger and sustain your energy levels. Try to eat three meals a day and limit snacks especially high-fat ones – between meals. No mention of sugar

Breakfast boosts your energy

Breakfast gives you the energy you need to face the day. Despite this, up to one third of us regularly skip breakfast, according to the British Dietetic Association.

Go for healthier options, such as porridge with fruit; vegetable omelette or wholemeal toast with a scraping of low-fat spread or jam. Low fat and sugar! Such excellent advice

If you can’t face eating as soon as you get up, take a high-fibre snack to eat on the run, rather than snacking on high-sugar or high-fat foods. – so jam is fine as is fruit juice.. please see below – fruit juice is sugar

Here are five healthy breakfasts.

Aim for 5 a day for more vitality

Most people in the UK eat too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit and vegetables.

Fruit and vegetables are good sources of vitamins, minerals and fibre, essential nutrients that your body needs in order to work properly. Try to incorporate at least five portions of a variety of fruit and veg into your daily diet. They can be fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or juiced to count.

Read more about how to get your 5 a day.

Slow-burning starches give sustained energy

Starchy foods (also called carbohydrates) such as potatoes, bread, cereals and pasta are an important part of a healthy diet. They’re a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. Starch can never be the main source of nutrients in our diet.. they are nutrient poor compared to fresh green vegetables and protein and fats!!!!!!!!

Starchy foods should make up about a third of everything you eat. But there are different types of starch. Where possible, go for slow-burning whole grain or wholemeal varieties, as they provide energy gradually.

Read more about healthy starchy foods.

Sugar steals your stamina

Adults and children in the UK eat too much sugar. Sugar is not only bad for your teeth, it can also be bad for your waistline. And it gives you a rush of energy, but one that wears off quickly.  Interesting that they do not add that starch does the same although it is not bad for your teeth. Small blessings!

Cutting out all sugar is virtually impossible. Umm – not sure I agree with that. There are natural sugars in lots of foods, including fruit and veg, and you don’t need to avoid these. This is clearly bollocks and sugar in fruit can some times be worse than table sugar.. But it’s a good idea to cut down on foods with lots of added sugar, such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, non-diet fizzy drinks and chocolates.

Here’s advice on cutting out sugar.

Iron-rich foods prevent fatigue

Two out of five (42%) teenagers and one in three (33%) of 19-24 year olds have low iron stores, according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Being low on iron can make you feel tired and faint and look pale.

While red meats, green vegetables and fortified foods such as breakfast cereals are good sources of iron, the important thing is to eat a range of foods to get enough iron. The iron in cereal is added by the cereal companies. This is nonsense.. best source of iron is RED MEAT and GREEN Vegetables. Cereal companies add the vitamin to the cereal due to post war legislation and it is not natural to the product.

Here’s some advice specifically for teen girls on how to get enough iron in the diet.

Soft drinks boost zest levels

Watch your intake of alcohol. It can dehydrate you, which will make you feel tired. Make sure you stay hydrated in general by drinking six to eight glasses of fluid a day, preferably water, milk or fruit juice.

Read more about healthy drinks. So drink 8 glasses of fruit juice a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eat enough to pack a punch

Make sure you eat the right amount for your activity level. The average man needs around 2,500 calories a day, and the average woman needs 2,000 calories. But remember, we all overestimate how active we are.

Yesterday the press picked up on a new study highlighting yet again the benefits of following a low carb ketogenic diet.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/09/02/low-carb-reigns-over-low-fat-diet-for-weight-loss-heart-health/

For those well versed in low carb ketogenic diets there were simply no surprises So, why then do we find that SACN and other public bodies continue to recommend high carb diets and appear to ignore these studies which are so conclusive in their findings. Is this stupidity or malice or something else?

When you read the SACN Report on carbohydrates consumption and health the most obvious issue, apart from the clear conflicts of interest which we have all know about, is the fact that the Report does not deal with a proper definition of a low carbohydrate diet.  I suspect that this might be one of the problems which we currently face.

Low carbohydrate means many things to many people. For some it means eating less bread and for others it is first stage Atkins and of course they are worlds apart.  However there is one sure thing that a low carb diet is quite different from a ketogenic low carb diet.

Imagine how different the SACN report would have read if they had defined low carb and ketogenic low carb according to the Westman Feinman definition which was shared with me back in 2005.

Lower Carb – Anything less than 150grams per day – The average in take is close to 250g a day.

Low Carb – Less than 110grams per day – this is not going to trigger ketosis

Ketogenic Low Carb – Less than 60grams a day

We desperately need a definition along these lines so that when committees like SACN , in their ignorance,  decide to do a review of published studies on carbohydrate intake they can properly evaluate the different studies.

Unfortunately for the British public this was not done and if you then look at the “low carb” studies they reviewed it is easy to see how they would think that the benefits of low carb are not proven. Had they been forced to separate out the different standards they may have found their conclusions to be very different.

So what we need is a legal definition… but I would think that .. being a lawyer.