Archive for category Fruits and vegetables

F&V intake and risk of upper respiratory tract infections

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine have observed in a study of pregnant women that consumption of at least seven servings per day of fruits and vegetables moderately reduced the risk of developing an upper respiratory tract infections.

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Chemicals Found In Fruit And Veg Offer Dementia Hope

Certain flavonoids found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as tea, cocoa and red wine, could protect the brain from Alzheimer’s disease.

Read more. See also this piece from Science Daily.

Annual Report on Pesticide Residues from EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its first Annual Report on Pesticide Residues, which provides an overview on the pesticide residues in food throughout the European Union during 2007.

The report, said that 96 % of the samples analysed were compliant with the legal Maximum Residues Levels and 4 % exceeded them, compared to 5% in 2006.

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Corner shops in deprived areas to get dedicated fridges for f&v

UK corner shops in deprived areas are being asked by ministers to sell more fruit and vegetables.

Fridges will be given to the convenience stores to allow them to stock fresh produce and help the battle against obesity.

In return, the shops must agree to move healthy foods to more prominent spots and appoint an employee as their ‘fresh food champion’.

A pilotstudy showed that sales of fresh fruit and veg increased on average by 40 per cent, with around a third of shoppers saying they will buy more fruit and veg from their local store in future. Not bad. But it is difficult to believe this can really be roled out nationwide without strong government funding. This was not mentioned, but a new partnership with the Association for Convenience Stores, an organisation which represents more than 28,000 retailers and suppliers in England, including well known franchises such as NISA Local, SPAR and Landmark was mentioned. I wonder if all 28,000 retailers will be offered this program including new Fridges.

Read more here or here.

Has the US 5 A Day program Been Effective At Boosting Produce Consumption?

Jim Prevor from Perishable Pundit looked at the available data and found that 18 years of campaigning for fruits and vegetables has not been effective at all. While in the same period “added fats’ and flour and cereal products rose.

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New report: British retailers are committed in the fight against obesity

british retailing: a commitment to healthThe British Retail Consortium (BRC) just published a substantial catalogue of evidence from its major food retailing members. It shows they are responding to customer demand in the UK’s highly competitive grocery market and delivering healthier choices, food information and actual change in what customers buy – more comprehensively than legislation ever could.

From reducing salt, fat and sugar to portion size options, promotions and on-pack labelling, BRC members are enabling healthier choices which are being taken up by customers.

What we’re seeing is responsible retailers enthusiastically putting their resources and reputations firmly behind making their contribution to healthier diets.

The report covers a string of current food-retailing issues including: Labelling, Reformulation and Portion sizes.

Increasing consumption of healthy foods is really happening.  One step that has made a real difference has been running price promotions on fruit and vegetables and the introduction of ranges of highly nutritious but lower cosmetic quality produce.

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Parents’ Influence On Children’s Eating Habits Is Small

The popular belief that healthy eating starts at home and that parents’ dietary choices help children establish their nutritional beliefs and behaviors may need rethinking, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An examination of dietary intakes and patterns among U.S. families found that the resemblance between children’s and their parents’ eating habits is weak. The results are published in the May 25, 2009, issue of Social Science and Medicine.

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WebMD also covered this story

I changed my blog

Dear subscriber,

I just wanted to let you know that I over the past weekend made some major changes to my email and  RSS news feeds. From now on all stories are made as posts on my blog at morten.me.  Searching and navigating my blog is now much easier. Hope you will enjoy it. Each heading will take you to my blog and from there you can click on ‘Read me” for access to the original information.

Sorry that many old stories will be repeat posted in feeds and mails today. We will soon be back to normal.

All the best
Morten

Skip the Burgers and Throw Some Veggies on the Grill

If you’re given the choice between a grilled hamburger or a grilled Portobello mushroom, go for the veggie.

Eating meat that’s charred or well-done raises the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a recent study. Grilled veggies don’t carry the same risk.
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Fruit free week ends in Spain

A study published in the journal Appetite shows that 66% of adults living in Spain eat fruit with their main meals, particularly from Monday to Friday.The study, carried out on-line using a sample of 831 people living in Spain aged between 25 and 49, recorded their food intake during the day and related this to the social context of these kinds of foods.

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