Ra 4 Food - Health and Nutritional Tips

When you need an extra boost its easy to turn to one of the many energy drinks on the market, but drinking just one can of the popular ‘Red Bull’ can increase your risk of heart damage.

A study of university students aged between 20 and 24 found that drinking just one 250ml sugar free can of the caffeine loaded drink increases the “stickiness” of the blood and raises the risk of blood clots forming.

The students in Australia found that they had a cardiovascular profile of someone with a heart disease after drinking just one can.

Dr Scott Willoughby, of the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Adelaide University, was “alarmed” at the results.

“After one can it seemed to turn the young individual into one with more of the type of profile you would expect to see with someone with cardiovascular disease,” he said.

“People who already have existing cardiovascular disease may want to talk to their physician before they drink Red Bull in future.”

The results have shocked the 30 students. They had previously admitted to drinking up to eight cans per night to study but now, many of them have said they won’t drink Red Bull ever again.

Red Bull is popular among students as a popular party drink mixed with alcohol, with a ‘Vodka Red Bull’ being the drink of choice for many 18-30 year olds in nightclubs and bars around the world.

Dr Willoughby decided to conduct the study after deaths in young people who were found to have consumed large amounts of the energy drink before they died.

Dr Willoughby plans to expand the study, testing a larger number of subjects; with the aim of looking into the effects of multiple consumptions of the drink as well the effects of mixing it with alcohol.

Red Bull contains 80mg of caffeine per can, which is around the same as a normal cup of coffee. The drink also contains 1,000mg of taurine, which is an amino acid commonly used in energy drinks.

Dr Willoughby said caffeine and taurine have been shown to affect platelet and cardiac function, sometimes with beneficial results when used individually, however, combined in the Red Bull drink they had a dramatic effect on his 30 students.

“Caffeine and taurine – both of these individually point towards being beneficial but maybe there’s something quirky about the effect of the combination of the two which is causing this reaction, this is what we need to look at next,” he said.

Linda Rychter, a spokeswoman for Red Bull Australia, said that the report would be assessed by the company’s head office in Austria.

“The study does not show effects which would go beyond that of drinking a cup of coffee. Therefore, the reported results were to be expected and lie within the normal physiological range,” Ms Rychter said.

Research has shown that clumsy children are more likely to be obese in later life because they exercise less.

The study, that started 50 years ago, found that youngsters with poor hand control and co-ordination are far more prone to gaining a lot of weight during adulthood, putting them at a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes.

The findings from the British medical Journal, found that children who performed worse in tests assessing their cognitive and physical function were more likely to be obese by the age of 33.

Those who were obese were 57 percent more likely to have suffered poor hand control aged seven, more than twice as likely to have suffered poor co-ordination and are almost four times as likely to have been clumsy.

The study adds to evidence of a link between proper cognitive function in childhood and obesity and Type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Researchers said that cognitive impairment in obese adults was assumed to be a consequence of obesity.

However, the study indicates obese adults and those with Type 2 diabetes may already have had lower levels of cognitive function in childhood “consistent with a subtle developmental impairment”.

The research by the Imperial College, London and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is based on 11,042 people taking part in the ongoing National Child Development Study in Great Britain, which started in 1958.

The Department of Health has devised a scheme that will give money to corner shops around the North West of England, to help boost sales of Fruit and Vegetables. This comes after a similar scheme in Scotland proved effective at improving sales.

£200,000 will be spent on the project in the first year in the North West before being expanded nationally. The money is to be used to buy new shelving, chilled cabinets and promotional material to encourage healthier eating.

The move comes as the government struggles to get people to eat the recommended five-a-day pieces of fruit and vegetables. While overall consumption has increased, just a fifth of children and a third of adults consume the healthy amount.

In Scotland, 500 stores signed up to the scheme and sales are reported to have been boosted by up to 500%.

Health minister Ivan Lewis said: “We know that families in some communities still use the corner shop on a daily basis for their food and other household goods.

“It is therefore essential we take healthy eating options to these stores and reach those families who are at the greatest risk of poor health due to a poor diet.”

James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, added: “Working together we can bring not only the access, but also the messages about healthy choices to the consumers that need it most.”

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the Faculty of Public Health, said: “We fully support the drive to encourage healthy eating through improving access to fruit and veg.

“But just providing healthy food options isn’t enough to change the way people eat. To be successful this initiative needs to be joined up with other local programmes which can educate and empower people to make healthy choices.

“Obesity is a complex problem. It will take long term, sustained investment to change the habits of the next generation.”

The start’s in the autumn.

American researchers have found that running on a regular basis can slow the effects of ageing. Elderly joggers were found to be half as likely to die prematurely from conditions, such as cancer, than non-runners, and enjoy a healthier life with fewer disabilities.

The Stanford University Medical Center Experts said the findings in Archives of Internal Medicine reinforced the importance that older people exercise regularly.

The study took place over twenty years and tracked 500 older runners. They were compared to a similar group of non-runners. All were in their 50s at the start of the study.

After nineteen years of the study, 34 percent of the non-runners had died compared to just 15 percent of the runners. Although both groups became more disabled with age, the runners’ disability started an average of 16 years later.

The health gap between runners and non-runners widened considerably even as the subjects entered their nineties. Running appeared to slow the rate of heart and artery related deaths, but was also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.

Completely unexpected was that runners were less likely to suffer from osteoarthritis or need hip or knee replacements.

Professor James Fries, from the University of California at Stanford, said: “The study has a very pro-exercise message. If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise.

“The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought.”

Age Concern says many older people do not exercise enough.

Gordon Lishman, director general, said: “This research re-confirms the clear benefits of regular exercise for older people.

“Exercise can help older people to stay mobile and independent, ensure a healthy heart, keep weight and stress levels under control, and promote better sleep.

“While younger people are barraged with encouragement to lead healthier lifestyles, the health needs of older people are often overlooked.”

A new ‘health drink’ called Skinny Water, has got nutritionists an food safety campaigners in an uproar, pointing out that the product has not been scientifically proven.

The company’s marketing suits claim the water is guaranteed to suppress hunger and fight fat. Costing 99p per 500ml bottle, the pomegranate-flavoured drink is the latest in a slew of obesity fighting foods.

The drink contains L-Carnitine and chromium that ‘reduce sugar cravings and improve the body’s ability to burn fat’.

The bottle’s label even includes an image of a measuring tape above the claim that the drink is a ’slimming aid’.

The bottle states: ‘Skinny Water tastes great and has virtually no calories and is a perfect way to re-hydrate.’

Susan Jebb, of the Medical Research Council said the drink is bending the truth somewhat: “L-Carnitine and Chromium are widely advertised for being able to help you lose weight, but I have not seen one clinical study which proves this.”

She added: “The product also dresses up things we already know as scientific benefits.

“Like saying it has no added calories - why would you add calories to perfectly good water?

“And claiming it is a perfect way to re-hydrate. Its water, of course it’s a good way to re-hydrate.”

Bio-Synergy, the drink’s manufacturer, admitted it had carried out no clinical trials.

A spokesman conceded that the water is “a lifestyle product” similar to Diet Coca-Cola.

He added: “But it’s like skinny jeans or skinny latte - neither of those is going to make you skinny.

“We chose the name because skinny is in common vernacular usage for a healthy product.”

Researchers have found a pill that has been shown to stop people piling on the pounds after a diet. Alpha-lipoic acid, a dietary supplement widely sold in health food shops, also has an anti-ageing effect.

If you take the pill with a normal diet, nothing obvious happens, but if scientists say that it can “lock in” the benefits of a six-month weight loss programme if taken afterwards.

However, don’t head down to the shops just yet: the research has divided the medical community as to whether the pill – which was tested on rats – will actually work on humans.

Study leader Dr Malcolm Goyns, scientific research firm in Stockton-on-Tees, was so convinced, he tried the approach himself.

“It seems that alphalipoic-acid fools the body into behaving as if it was still on whatever diet it was following before the supplement was added. We found there was an anti-obesity effect,” he said

“Although weight does rise when you come off the restricted diet, if you take alpha-lipoic acid, even though you are eating normally again, you still have reduced weight.”

The study also found that eating a restricted number of calories can extend your lifespan.

“Our discovery indicates that by following a calorie restriction diet for six months and then taking alpha-lipoic acid while eating normally, the same life extension effects will be experienced,” Dr Goyns added.

In the study, researchers found that giving the rats the supplement when they returned to normal eating extended the benefits of the low calorie diet.

“These observations provide exciting opportunities for anyone who wants a longer, healthier life,” Dr Goyns concluded.

Brian Merry, of the School of Biological Sciences at Liverpool University, which carried out the study, said: “If you put animals on a restricted diet they would normally go on to an extended survival trajectory.

“When they were switched to a normal diet, this compound seemed to lock them into the benefits of the pre-existing diet. It is an unusual and interesting finding and it needs repeating in further research.

“That was as far as I was prepared to go, but Malcolm Goyns wanted to apply it to humans. I said I didn’t agree with his interpretation and we had to wait for further studies.”

An outbreak of salmonella inked to ready-made sandwiches has struck down 80 people, killing one. The outbreak has mainly affected young adults around the UK and Ireland, although a 12-month-old child is also reportedly ill.

Last month, a woman in her late 70s died at home a few days after being discharged form the Royal Liverpool Hospital. A spokesman from the hospital confirmed that salmonella was a contributing factor to her death.

The outbreak is under investigation by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Health Protection Agency, as well as Food Safety Authority Ireland (FSAI).

The inquiry is focused on meat and poultry products. One company – believed to be based in Ireland - who supply catering ingredients, have withdrawn its products from the market as a precautionary measure.

Last night the FSAI said: “The FSAI is advising food outlets providing ready-to-eat sandwiches to be particularly strict in adhering to best hygiene practices. It reminds retailers of the importance of ensuring that hot sandwiches must be thoroughly cooked before serving to the consumer.”

“It also reiterates the need for strict procedures to be followed at all times to avoid cross contamination between raw and cooked foods,” it added

If the contamination is traced back to ready-made sandwiches, hygiene and safety standards in the industry will be questioned.

As reported a few weeks back, the government will start issuing letters to the parents of schoolchildren who are classed as obese. But – in a classic case of softness – the government has banned the word ‘obese’, and will instead be classed as “very overweight”.

The Department of Health has been under fire for having a “prissy” approach to dealing with obesity. The department claims research had shown that the term was a turn-off, so will use the new term to describe a child with a BMI of 30 or more, in an attempt to enlist a parent’s support.

Primary care trusts (PCTs) have been sent a detailed set of instructions, including a sample letter, explaining how to convey to parents the results of the National Child Measurement Programme.

Ridiculously the forbidden words include “exercise”. Will Cavendish, director of health and wellbeing claims this conveys a negative image of the child to the parent. The term “physically active” is preferred.

“We haven’t banned the use of the word obese, we just haven’t used it,” he said defending the decision. “The word just shuts people down. This is not an academic exercise - there’s no point in giving parents a letter than doesn’t have an impact.”

Tam Fry of the Child Growth Foundation believes that the decision was “prissy” and “namby-pamby”. He added, “I find this particular line from the Government tiptoeing through the daffodils,” he said.

“The Americans have gone back to using the term because it’s the kind of shock word that makes parents sit up and take notice. It’s a nasty word but, by God, it should sound alarm bells in parents’ minds.”

Parents are to receive the letter, regardless of the child’s weight, telling them that their child is either; underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and very overweight. Parents will also be told that if they need any advice that they should contact their local GP. Children will not get the results for fear of being stigmatised by other children.

What the government has failed to take into account is that children have eyes, and a little piece of paper will not change their opinion on who are the overweight children in the school.

Ivan Lewis, the Health Minister, said: “It’s clear from research that we’ve done that parents want to know their child’s results and whether there is concern about their health.

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“But they want clear information which is helpful and nonstigmatising.

“Today we’ve published guidance which will help PCTs deliver this programme and help to make sure parents get the information they need about their child’s results in ways that they have said will be most helpful.

“Research shows that most parents of overweight or obese children think that their child is a healthy weight.

“This important move isn’t about pointing the finger and telling parents that their children are overweight. Instead it’s about equipping parents with the information they need to help their children live healthier lives.”

Mr Fry said that the Department of Health’s decision not to tell parents the exact BMI of their child was “rubbish”.

“Although the department recognises that there is no better way of calculating healthy/unhealthy weight other than using BMI, and mistakenly states that BMI growth charts can be found in the child’s personal child health records, it states that ‘some parents might find BMI charts confusing’.

“The Department of Health’s solution? Not to give anyone a BMI figure for their children in either reception year or Year 6. This flies in the face of the department’s policy recognising that parents are the principal care givers, yet denies them knowledge.”

The Conservatives have warned that the lack of school nurses could damage the success of the programme.

Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “If we are to avoid stigmatising children after being weighed then there needs to be sympathetic follow-up care but Labour have failed to address the chronic shortage of school nurses.

Sandra Gidley, the Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman, said: “The Government is clearly pussy-footing around this issue. Unless these letters are accompanied by practical help, then they will be a waste of time and resources.”

Specialists from the University of California have recommended that treatment to lower cholesterol should begin in childhood in order to cut the risk of heart disease.

They claim that although the success of cholesterol-lowering treatments such as statins, which have reduced the amount of deaths from heart disease by around 30 percent, most patients are treated too late to gain maximum benefit.

Writing in the journal Circulation, Professor Daniel Steinberg of the University of California and colleagues say doctors have been “slow to measure cholesterol levels in children, still less to prescribe cholesterol-lowering regimes for them.”

But in a review of research they believe that lowering the cholesterol levels in children and young adults could be potentially life-saving. They say that while it should be achieved by healthy diet and exercise, drugs may need to be used for those who are classed as high-risk.

“Our review of the literature convinces us that more aggressive and earlier intervention will probably prevent considerably more than 30 per cent of coronary heart disease,” said Professor Steinberg.

“Studies show that fatty-streak lesions in the arteries that are a precursor to thickening and heart disease begin in childhood and advanced lesions are not uncommon by age 30. Why not nip things in the bud?”

In the 1950s, tests were carried out on Japanese men that showed that because they had eaten a low-fat diet from infancy, this resulted in low cholesterol levels. Japan’s rate of death due to heart disease was one-tenth of that found in the US, where fat intake is much higher.

“Treatment for 50-year-olds is effective but is unlikely to reverse established heart disease and will therefore have a limited impact in terms of preventing heart attacks. The evidence is now overwhelming that low cholesterol equals low rates of heart disease,” the group says.

“Our long-term goal should be to alter our lifestyles, beginning in infancy or early childhood. Instituting a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet at seven months is perfectly safe.”

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been warned that moves to cut salt levels in bacon and ham increases the risk of the potentially fatal, paralysing food bug botulism. Ham processors are concerned that the moves to reduced salt content to 2.12g per 100g by 2010 and 1.75g by 2012, are related to the health risk.

Other food sectors are unhappy about the revised salt reduction targets from the watchdog, which they believe is putting customers off sandwiches and ready meals. The issue has added to the tension that already exists between the food industry and the FSA. Health campaigners have backed-up the FSA, telling them to stand firm against what they believe is scaremongering from an industry reluctant to change its dated manufacturing practices.

Currently a 10-slice packet of ham contains just under two teaspoons of salt.

Malcom Kane, an independent food technology consultant who advices the campaign group Consensus Action of Salt in health, suggested that the objections from industry were because companies feared the shelf-life of products may have to be reduced below the current average of ten-day ‘use by’ dates: “I’m disappointed. It is just a feeble excuse for doing nothing about salt levels. They don’t want to lower salt levels because they are nervous about consumer reaction and people not liking the taste with less salt.”

Last month the agency suggested that 14,000 premature deaths a year could be avoided if adults reduced salt intake to 6g a day. The UK average at present is 8.6g a day, which is down from 9.5g in 2001.

Claire Cheney, director-general of the Provision Trade Federation, and a representative for processed meat companies, has denounced the targets as “unrealistic” and a potential risk to human health. “If you have not got sufficient preservative in a product like ham you get pockets where the salt levels are too low to prevent the formation of the botulism toxin,” she said

She told The Grocer magazine: “This will force us to reduce it [the shelf-life] further and with that come serious food safety concerns, not least the risk of botulism.” She said that salt was in the product for technological reasons not for taste. Her view is supported by the British Meat Processors Association. Elizabeth Andoh-Kesson, its technical manager, said: “We are very worried about the stricter targets and believe that reducing salt further has implications for food safety and shelf life of products,” she said.

Other trade associations are also objecting to further salt cuts. Jim Winship, the chairman of the British Sandwich Association, denounced the targets as “absolutely staggering”.

He said: “We are already getting complaints from retailers that consumers don’t like the blandness of many sandwiches to meet existing salt targets. Sandwich makers don’t add salt to sandwiches at all but it is in products such as cheese, bacon and ham. We’ll soon be at a point where people stop buying sandwiches and make them at home where they add as much salt as they want. This would affect an important industry. We sell 2.8 billion packs of sandwiches a year with a market value of £5.25 billion.”

The Chilled Food Association, which represents ready-meal manufacturers, are anxious that the £9 billion industry could be dramatically affected.

Kaarin Goodburn, the secretary-general, said: “We are already reformulating many recipes but we have got reports that consumers don’t like the taste especially in some healthy ranges of meals, such as lasagne, where there has been a decline in sales. What’s the incentive to reformulate if it results in falling sales? People are already putting in lots more herbs instead of salt but many people don’t like the taste. “

Peter Sherratt, the general secretary of the Salt Association, said that feed-back from its members suggested that the agency targets had gone too far.”