WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

Post by Stanley »

The whole subject of artificial sweeteners has always puzzled me. I think the bottom line is that I have never been addicted to sugar, perhaps a result of war rationing when we couldn't over indulge. Do we have to have a war to wean people off sweetness?
(If we have a campaign against sweeteners should we include salt?)
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I've been banging on about the possibility of food shortages because in a world where food production is being stressed we import almost 50% of our food. I have just heard a man from the Welcome Foundation giving the same warnings with particular reference to the heat in Southern Europe and the effects on health.
Question, are we doing enough to maximise home grown food?
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Another reason for food shortages is that Putin has just blown up a grain storage depot containing 60,000 tons of grain intended for export. And from today's Guardian Russia says all ships travelling to Ukrainian ports on Black Sea to be considered carriers of military equipment from Thursday. Russia’s defence ministry said it would “flag countries of such ships … considered parties to the Ukrainian conflict”. The ministry did not say what actions it might take.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Peter.... Putin and Ukraine are only a small part of the forces that were reducing the amount of food available long before he invaded Ukraine. The heat storm in Southern Europe at the moment is a good example. We will see the consequences of that in our supermarkets later in the year......
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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India is now threatening to ban exports of some rice varieties.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Indeed. I saw that report. They are only allowing some Basmati out of the country for the 'high end' trade.
This is evidence of the pressure many countries are under at the moment and it can only get worse. This is part of what drives Sunak's pet hate, the boats. Trying to stop such flows of people is like brushing water uphill!
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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A vegan 'influencer' has died of starvation

Vegan influencer Zhanna Samsonova 'dies from starvation and exhaustion' after switching to diet of tropical fruit

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/zhanna-samso ... tarvation/
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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It's not going to happen to us Kev! Ironic isn't it, half the world is hungry and people like this starve by choice. Nothing more than they deserve....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I was watching a TV programme last night and there was a young lady on it in a wheelchair. She was in her 20s and had been struck down by a genetic disease which damages joints and dislocates them. No cure for it and it triggered the thought that some of us (and I think I am one of them) get nothing but good from our genes and others are condemned to a very different life. It's so unfair but part of the human condition.
I went on to think about my diet, which I think is pretty good. All natural ingredients, home cooked and no highly processed elements. I also manage my life so that I have three small hot meals a day at regular times. How much does that affect my health and longevity? I don't have any firm answers but am not about to change anything as whatever the answer my lifestyle seems to be suiting me. Perhaps the title of this thread is right, we are what we eat......
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Many of us have diets that appear to be OK when we were young but then as aging sets in what was considered normal be comes excessive. Alcohol and caffeine are the two obvious ones. Unfortunately a quick trip to Google will offer up thousands of supplements of dubious value that will cure every ailment known to man. Its always a good plan to review your diet but wise to introduce any changes slowly and see if there are any benefits.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I'd say that was good advice Ken. Everyone is different and you need to do your own research. I remember that at one point I was conversing with a bona fide expert nutritionist and he congratulated me on the extent of my reading.... He thought I was on the right lines and my GP seems to think so as well.
One thing I would say is that our bodies can change as we age and what was good may not necessarily remain so. A classic example is bread, I loved it and baked my own but then my body told me it was time to give up.....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I came across some cans that were reduced in the Co-op yesterday. 400gm tins of Napolina Spiced bean salad marked down from £1.10 to 77p. I was intrigued by beans that cost so much but in my experience all Napolina products are good so I filled my boots. I looked it up on the web and the price varies from 70p to £1.20 a tinso the Co-op have it about right. I have never seen them before but look forwards to trying it for a treat. Carbs are 11.7g per 100g so it's not bad.....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Make of this what you will. . .
I bought a packet of walnuts in Aldi yesterday. Not had any for a long time - and considered them a bit expensive. Anyway when you've stopped buying fruitcake and biscuits - £2.09 doesn't seem to much so in we go.

I had a handful with some raisins when I got home and enjoyed it. It got to about 7.30 pm and I realised I hadn't eaten my tea - but oddlly I wasn't at all hungry. Then I vaguely recalled that I'd read a long time ago, that walnuts are reputed to be an appetite supressant. A quick google shows there is some evidence of that.

I think it may be true. :smile:

Good luck with the beans - but from experience - take care. :smile:

PS - I watched an ordinary farmer's youtube channel recently in which he said his oil seed rape crop this year was the worst he'd ever had. Then I see in Aldi that the price of bottle of cold pressed is now almost £3, which is double what it was.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I think you could be right David. My problem was I used to eat them after my meal!
I shall be OK with the spiced beans I think.
As for the rising prices, yes, again you're right, but that nice Mr Sunak says that inflation down to 6.8% is wonderful news! (Trouble is of course, food inflation is nearer 15%.... )
What is more important is that reports that all harvest crops are down this year, we could see empty shelves in a month or so.... But what the hell do I know about it.....?
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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See THIS article in the Daily Mirror.....
Experts are warning that so-called healthy foods could put you at risk of several silent killer diseases. Brown bread, low-fat yoghurt and protein bars were singled out in the study, carried out by Australian scientists. Despite being seen as the healthier option, these foods can actually increase your risk of a number of deadly illnesses like heart attacks and high blood pressure. She warned that British women could be particularly at risk because their diet typically contains 57 per cent of these foods. This is a third more than the highest intake in the study. Previous research has linked ultra-processed foods with obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cancer. Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said: “It should not be possible for companies to claim these are ‘healthy’.” In separate research presented at the conference, Chinese scientists found a clear link between ultra-processed foods and heart disease.

This is a timely warning but price pressures may prevent many people from heeding the warnings.
My own belief is that much food processing is actually bad for us. The processors would of course dispute this.....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I listened to a report on 'Farming Today' on the 2023 harvest. Cereals are not going well and are having to have expensive fuel spent on drying them. The position with field crops is unclear but it's already known that a lot of salad crops in glasshouses weren't planted because it wasn't clear buyers would pay an economic price for them.
The odds are that we are going to see some gaps in supply this Autumn and certainly higher prices.
When asked about this earlier this year by the President of the NFU Therese Coffey denied there was a problem. We shall see shortly who was right.....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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An interesting detailed article...
`The Halloween peppermints that poisoned Bradford' LINK

And on a lighter note, `Unclaimed Babies' were invented not far from Barlick!...
`Sweet success: Unravelling the Jelly Baby's dark past' LINK
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Much has been written about the adulteration of food as urban life stimulated the food trades and the search for profit. That was the main reason for the advent of the Cooperative movement, to achieve pure food at a reasonable price.
Victory V in Nelson was a very successful confectioner and you can find a reference to them if you look at the early life of Johnny Pickles who got a job there when he went out in the world as a Journeyman engineer after he had completed his apprenticeship. Their mainstay was the cough lozenges.
Their most famous advert was the man with the exploding head but the funny thing is I can't find it anywhere on the web.... Are we too squeamish for that these days?
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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A general comment ..... I am getting the impression that more and more commentators on this subject are realising that the biggest culprit in bringing about the deterioration in Western Diets (and fostering the 'Western Diseases') is quite possibly the high levels of processing employed by the food industry. This high level is not predicated by the needs or desires of the customers but as a way of enhancing profits by using cheaper ingredients and cutting down waste by enhancing shelf life.....
They could be on the right track here and when they have sorted that one I suggest they look at micro levels of minerals and nutrients in the soil which are enhanced by good old fashioned mixed farming (now called 'regenerative farming') and destroyed by over-processing.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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See THISnews item that appeared yesterday.
It's worth a read and it supports my long held belief that over-processing foods is bad for us.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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I've just heard something on World service that is new to me and makes sense.
The programme was making the point that spicy foods are so popular in hot countries because eating them encourages sweating and hence better cooling of the body in hot weather.
That has never occurred to me before but it makes sense.....
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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See THIS report about UPFs.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are displacing healthy diets “all over the world” despite growing evidence of the risks they pose and should be sold with tobacco-style warnings, according to the nutritional scientist who first coined the term. Prof Carlos Monteiro of the University of São Paulo will highlight the increasing danger UPFs present to children and adults at the International Congress on Obesity this week. “UPFs are increasing their share in and domination of global diets, despite the risk they represent to health in terms of increasing the risk of multiple chronic diseases,” Monteiro told the Guardian ahead of the conference in São Paulo. “UPFs are displacing healthier, less processed foods all over the world, and also causing a deterioration in diet quality due to their several harmful attributes. Together, these foods are driving the pandemic of obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases, such as diabetes.” The stark warning comes amid rapidly rising global consumption of UPFs such as cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks, ready meals and fast food. In the UK and US, more than half the average diet now consists of ultra-processed food. For some, especially people who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPF is typical. In February, the world’s largest review of its kind found UPFs were directly linked to 32 harmful effects to health, including a higher risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, adverse mental health and early death. Monteiro and his colleagues first used the phrase UPF 15 years ago when designing the food classification system “Nova”. This assesses not only nutritional content but also the processes food undergoes before it is consumed. The system places food and drink into four groups: minimally processed food, processed culinary ingredients, processed food and ultra-processed food. Monteiro told the Guardian he was now so concerned about the impact UPF was having on human health that studies and reviews were no longer sufficient
I am so pleased to see this. I have long contended that UPFs were bad for us and I reject them completely.
I recommend you do the same. (But remember, I have no qualifications whatsoever!)
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Something I have noted of late..... I have been increasingly hampered by pains in my fingers of late but over the last few days have noted that they have almost totally gone. I don't think it's any coincidence that I have been deliberately cutting back on what I call 'illegal' foods, salad butties and meat pies.
Of course I knew that they were bad for me but we do like to stray don't we.....
I have taken notice.
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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We knew this would happen when the old food inspection services where abandoned. It's made worse by the explosion of small food outlets...
`Food rating lies exposed by BBC secret recording' LINK
Businesses have been displaying inaccurate food hygiene ratings, with many lying about them when challenged, an undercover BBC investigation has revealed. Secret recording captured businesses from small local restaurants to the supermarket chain Sainsbury's misleading customers with inaccurate Food Standards Agency (FSA) ratings, in what experts say is a nationwide problem. Over several weeks, the BBC visited dozens of food establishments in east London, following tip-offs that deception about ratings in the area was rife. Where places lied when asked about their ratings, one expert said this amounted to fraud. Confronted with the evidence, some businesses did not respond at all while others denied any deliberate deception...
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Re: WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

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Another consequence of starving local authorities of funding while loading more responsibility on them Peter. Think of the services like trading standards that guarded our food. Where are they now?
This is one of the reasons why I buy raw ingredients and do all my own cooking. That way I can be sure of quality , composition and hygiene. I have no control over any of those factors when I give responsibility to others.
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