Epidemiological studies into changing patterns of food consumption and disease statistics can provide valuable insights into the relationships between diet and health. In Great Britain data from national statistics show that amount of fat consumed has fallen from 120gm/day in 1969 to 74gm/day in 2000. When expressed as a proportion of energy consumed the fat […]
In my last post (Blog 51) I explained how the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has been re-evaluating the evidence on the relationship between salt and health. This was initiated because of growing doubts about the current recommendations to reduce the intake of salt and emerging concerns that a low salt intake may actually be damaging
In the UK the relationship between salt and health was considered by the official Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in 2003 (1). This report confirmed earlier recommendations that the average intake for the adult population should be 6 gm/day of salt (sodium chloride) which is equivalent to 2.4 gm/day of sodium. This means men should
According to recent press reports , the Department of Health (DoH) is cock-a-hoop because the main supermarkets and some of the major food manufacturers have agreed on a system of nutritional labels which will appear on the front of food packaging. It is claimed that this will remove confusion and enable shoppers to choose so-called
This post relies heavily on the excellent book by Kate Rheaume- Bleue entitled “Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life”(1) As indicated in Blog 21, the fermented product prepared from soya is a particularly good source of Vitamin K2 (VK2) which is readily available in certain parts
Stearic acid is a long chain saturated fatty acid which contains 18 carbon atoms. According to an article in the Daily Mail: “emerging evidence suggests not all saturated fat should be tarred with the same brush — one type of saturated fat, known as stearic acid, may actually protect the heart against disease.” (1) However
As far back as 1938 the British Medical Association and the Government recommended that the British people should drink 80% more milk, eat 55% more eggs, 40% more butter and 30% more meat. Essentially this was to remain the official stance for the next 40 years or so. However in the immediate post-war period the
2. Background to the Conventional Recommendations on Nutrition #DietaryGuidelines Read More »