Junk food to be banned in schools

Junk food to be banned in schools - Yahoo! News UK



LONDON (Reuters) - Junk food high in fat, salt or sugar is to be banned in schools within a year, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly announced on Wednesday after a high profile campaign by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.



Kelly, speaking to the BBC and Sky News, said she would give details of the ban during her speech at the Labour Party conference in Brighton.



"Teachers know that eating well at school encourages good behaviour and children getting better results," she told Sky News

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Documentary offers 'Food' for thought

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - "The Future of Food," a documentary about the genetically modified (GM) food industry is a cross between "The Corporation" and "Super-Size Me."



"The Future of Food" attacks GM food on three fronts. The first is on health grounds. Interviewees say that GM food has not been proved to be a safe source of nutrition. Nature has been regulating what we eat for thousands of years, but no one knows what side effects might result from food that has been genetically modified. The fact that GM food does not have to be labeled as such in the U.S. -- though it does in Europe -- also means that it's difficult to trace any illness back to it.



The second attack is ecological. When GM seeds stray into fields of non-GM crops, they take over, and the other crops die. This, say experts, is beginning to destroy the diversity that is nature's way of maintaining our planet's ecological balance.



The third attack is political. Court rulings have upheld GM food manufacturers' right to sue farmers if their seeds accidentally grow in their fields -- even if the farmers are unaware that the GM crops are present. This, in some cases, has led to the near ruination of small farmers.

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Doctors 'must train in nutrition'

Doctors 'must train in nutrition'







Doctors in the UK are not given enough training in child nutrition, which can play a major part in good health in adulthood, an expert has warned.



Professor Alan Lucas, from University College London's Institute of Child Health, said the lack of medical training in paediatric nutrition was a serious problem.



Research has shown that how babies are fed in the early months of life can influence their risk of heart disease later on.



And the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity means that nutritional advice to parents is also important, Prof Lucas said.



Now the UK's first stand-alone centre for paediatric nutrition is being created at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London.



Top London Nutritionist Yvonne Bishop Weston has often been exasperated by the nutrition information given to her clients in the past by doctors. She said "More than 2 days training in nutrition would obviously help doctors to do their job better but the training is a minimum of 3 years to be a Nutritional therapist. Maybe Doctors should just make better use of the experts. Nutritional therapy could save the NHS billions."



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Vegan Diet Plan -New study shows high-carb, vegan diet causes major weight loss

New study shows high-carb, vegan diet causes major weight loss

Diet effective with no limits on portion size

WASHINGTON -- A low-fat, plant-based diet is more effective at helping women lose weight and improve insulin sensitivity than an omnivorous diet, shows a new study appearing in the September issue of The American Journal of Medicine. The study, involving 59 overweight, postmenopausal women, was conducted by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), together with colleagues at Georgetown University Hospital and George Washington University. Half of the study participants followed a vegan diet; the other half followed a control diet based on National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines.

"The study participants following the vegan diet enjoyed unlimited servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other healthful foods that enabled them to lose weight without feeling hungry," says Dr. Barnard, the lead author. "As they began to experience the positive effects, weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity, the women in the intervention group became even more motivated to follow the plant-based eating plan."

Scientific studies show that obesity and overweight are far less prevalent in populations following a plant-based diet. In a recent study of more than 55,000 Swedish women, Tufts University researcher P. Kirstin Newby and her colleagues found that 40 percent of meat-eaters were overweight or obese while only 25 to 29 percent of vegetarians and vegans were. Worldwide, vegetarian populations experience lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening diseases. A new study appearing in September's Journal of Urology shows that a low-fat, primarily vegan diet may slow the progression of prostate cancer.

The simplicity of a vegan diet appeals to people who are busy with work and family, and many familiar recipes are easy to adapt. At least four studies published in peer-reviewed journals show that patients give the low-fat vegetarian diet a high rating in terms of acceptability, and that the transition only takes about three weeks or less.

Yvonne Bishop Weston Says "Once again this is a diet that may be as much to do with calorie restriction as nutrition. I'm wary of low fat diets as it's the type of fat that's important not fat generally. Your body needs good fats for optimum health so it's important to find reliable plant sources such as nuts, seeds and purslane."

PCRM - Neal Barnard M.D. - Report in Scotsman - Daily Mail

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Healthy innovation attractive to investors

Healthy innovation attractive to investors: "09/09/2005 - Developing healthier foods is not only key to stronger sales for food makers but it also boosts a firms financial value, as investors increasingly consider it an important element of corporate sustainability.



You cannot look at it in an isolated way but it is clearly a factor,says Pierin Menzli, research analyst at the SAM group, an asset management company specialising in sustainability investments that compiles the Dow Jones Sustainability Index ( DJSI).

This year, for the first time, R&D in health and nutrition was included as one of about 20 criteria used by SAM to assess the sustainability of food companies for the index. It is among the three criteria with the highest weighting. "

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World Vegan Day 1st November

Following a statement by UK Food expert Professor Tim Lang, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, London Nutritionists Foods for Life are urging food manufacturers, supermarkets, schools and journalists to exploit World Vegan Day on November 1st to highlight the benefits of eating more fruit and veg.

The BBC reported Professor Lang’s message that “the healthy eating drive is at risk of failing because the public is getting contradictory messages.”

Top London nutritionist and tutor at The Institute of Optimum Nutrition Yvonne Bishop-Weston agrees “Eating more plant based foods is essential for better health. So many people I see in my London clinics can be helped with simple changes in their diets rather than expensive drugs. Fertility, heart health, cognitive function, digestion and weight management can all usually be improved through rebalancing the body and a healthy optimum nutrition program.”

“World Vegan Day 1st November is the perfect awareness day to unite governments, manufacturers, health professionals, chefs and retailers to encourage higher awareness about plant based solutions to many of the world’s problems” says husband Tony.

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