Diet Bytes November 2005

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

Avian Flu, Chicken and Eggs

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NEWS FLASH!

At the time of publishing this article, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have reiterated advice to thoroughly cook poultry and eggs in order to kill any potential bugs and viruses. Like the FSA, the EFSA is not aware of any reports of people getting avian flu from eating poultry or eggs and recognises that the current risk is from people having contact with live birds that have the disease. Meanwhile, the FSA stands by its claim that the outbreak of avian flu does not pose a food safety risk for UK consumers. For regular updates, log on to the Food Standards Agency website, www.food.gov.uk and click on 'Avian Flu'.

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This month, the papers have been full of news about Avian Flu, a highly contagious disease caused by a specific type of influenza virus that affects many species of birds. The deadly strain currently worrying the world was first seen in Hong Kong in 1997 and is called H5N1. According to the World Health Organisation, this is the biggest and most severe outbreak on record, with the virus being found in Southeast Asia, Russia, Inner Mongolia and more recently in Turkey and Romania. The disease particularly affects poultry, which includes chicken, duck, goose, turkey and guinea fowl.

The main concern is that the Avian Flu virus will combine with a human flu virus, creating a new flu virus that could easily be passed between humans through coughing and sneezing – and because no one would have any immunity to this new virus, the symptoms would be more severe. Fortunately, health organizations around the world are doing all they can to stop the spread of Avian Flu. So far, millions of birds have been killed throughout the world and the EC has banned the import of birds and poultry from affected areas.

Naturally, all the media coverage has led to concerns that we could possibly catch Avian Flu from eating poultry and eggs – a particular concern for slimmers who eat these foods regularly due to their low-calorie content.

Fortunately though, the Food Standards Agency has set the record straight. Based on the opinions of scientific experts around the world including advisors to the World Health Organisation and the UK’s Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety in Food, the FSA say that Avian Flu isn’t a food safety risk for people in the UK. For humans, the risk of catching the disease comes from being in close contact with live poultry that have the disease, and not through eating cooked poultry or eggs.

WLR says

It’s good news that we can keep chicken, turkey and eggs on our weekly shopping list as these foods are all reasonably low in fat but packed with important vitamins and minerals, making them good choices for slimmers. Plus, research shows that protein-rich foods such as chicken and eggs can help to keep us feeling fuller for longer, so that we’re less likely to overeat.

Nevertheless, it’s still important to follow food safety advice to prevent food poisoning. Always wash your hands after handling raw poultry to avoid contamination from any bugs and make sure you cook food properly to kill any harmful bacteria. Poultry and eggs should always be cooked thoroughly to avoid food poisoning – if you’re cooking a whole chicken, check it is cooked properly by piercing the thickest part of the leg between the drumstick and thigh with a clean knife or skewer until the juices run out. The juices shouldn’t have any pink or red in them.

Could we be immune to eating disorders?

Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia have until now, been thought of as purely psychiatric illnesses. But now researchers from Sweden have linked the diseases to infections that hit the body’s immune system. In a study carried out at Swedish research centre, the Karolinska Institute, scientists discovered that sufferers of anorexia and bulimia have unusually high levels of certain antibodies in their blood, which attack chemicals in the brain that control appetite. More research is needed but if these findings are confirmed, in the future eating disorders could be classified as an auto-immune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis.

WLR says

It’s encouraging that research on eating disorders continues to take place. This will help us understand more about these conditions, which are thought to affect around 1 million people in the UK. As scientists get a better and clearer understanding of anorexia and bulimia, treatment is bound to improve, which can only be a good thing for sufferers and their friends and families.

Walk this way

New research from Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina reveals that you need to up the pace of your workout when it comes to walking. The researchers studied the effects of different amounts and intensities of exercise on 133 sedentary, overweight people, aged 40-65 years. One group undertook the equivalent of jogging for 20 miles a week, one group jogged or walked up an inclined treadmill for 12 miles per week and one group walked for 12 miles a week. After seven months, fitness levels improved in all groups. However, weight loss was only seen in those groups who undertook higher intensity exercise such as jogging or walking uphill.

WLR says

While health experts always recommend walking as a way to burn calories, this study indicates that if you really want to see weight loss benefits you need to up the intensity. For maximum results you really need to walk very fast, climb hills or break into a light jog.

Interval training is a great way to boost your fitness levels and burn fat, so why not give it a go? For the first week, walk at a rate you can manage for 30 minutes. Then in week two, start to build in short bursts of high intensity activity followed by longer, less intense periods that enable you recover.

For example, if you’re walking on a treadmill increase the gradient for one minute until you really feel your heart and lungs working hard and your breathing increases. Then drop it back down to a more manageable level for three minutes whilst you recover.

If you’re walking outside, break into a jog for one minute then return to fast walking for three minutes to recover. As your fitness improves, gradually increase the amount of time you spend doing high intensity bursts and reduce the amount of time you spend recovering. For example, after a couple of weeks of walking for three minutes and jogging for one minute, you should find that you can comfortably increase this to two minutes of jogging followed by two minutes of walking, and so on.

What a waist!

It’s well established that having too much fat around your middle can significantly increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Yet, according to a new survey carried out by the National Obesity Forum (NOF), less than one GP in five measures their patient’s waist measurements and a staggering 77% of GPs are unaware that abdominal obesity is a key risk factor for diabetes and heart disease.

President of the NOF, Dr Ian Campbell, says, ‘Measuring waist circumference is a simple way to help identify patients at higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, yet as the survey shows, waist size gets overlooked by many of my colleagues.’

This is of considerable concern, especially as recent studies reveal that more than half a million people in Britain – most of them women – are unaware they have diabetes.

WLR says

It looks like we might have to do the job of our GPs and get the tape measure out ourselves. As a guideline, a waist circumference over 88cm (35 inches) in women and 102cm (40 inches) in men puts you at the greatest risk of conditions like heart disease and diabetes. But even a waist measurement of 80cm (31.5 inches) in women and 94cm (37 inches) in men increases risk.

The good news is losing just 1kg of fat will result in a 1cm loss of fat around your middle. This means even small weight losses can significantly improve your health – and help you get into your favourite jeans!

School dinners rule OK!

A new study looking at the health of teenagers and lunchtime eating habits has come up with a controversial conclusion – that the health of pupils eating school dinners is no worse, and in some cases may be better, than that of pupils eating packed lunches.

The study, published online by the British Medical Journal in October, examined the health of more than 1,000 children aged 13-16 years in England and Wales. When compared with those teenagers who ate a school dinner, packed-lunch eaters had higher levels of blood cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin – all risk factors for several chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Only levels of folate (a B vitamin) were higher in those who ate a packed lunch.

The authors suggest that while current efforts to improve the quality of school dinners are to be welcomed, it’s important to look beyond meal provision at school in order to improve the diets of British children and teenagers.

WLR says

As mums, we often think packed lunches are a healthier option than school dinners for our children. But this study highlights just how important it is to ensure we’re packing up plenty of healthy foods. Healthy eating guidelines to eat less fat, salt and sugar and boost intakes of fibre, fruit and veg apply to children from the age of five years, right the way through the teenage years into adulthood.

For a healthy packed lunch, make sure it contains something from each of these groups:

• Starches – go for high-fibre choices to keep hunger at bay and provide long-lasting energy. Good choices include wholegrain bread, wholemeal pittas, brown rice and wholewheat pasta
• Protein – protein is important for growth so include lean beef, ham, chicken, tuna, cheese, egg or peanut butter in your child’s packed lunch either as part of a sandwich or salad
• Vegetables – they’re packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre, so add salad to sandwiches or mix with rice or pasta and chicken or fish to make a salad. Alternatively, include vegetable sticks eg peppers, carrots and celery, or a handful of cherry tomatoes
• Fruit – add a piece of fresh fruit or make a fruit salad and pack in an individual container. Alternatively, go for a handful of strawberries, small bunch of grapes or an individual box of dried fruit.
• Dairy – milk and yoghurt are packed with bone-building calcium so include a pot of yoghurt, fromage frais or a milk drink.
• Drink – water or diluted fruit juices are best.

Bone up on vitamin A advice

While most of us know that calcium is important for building strong bones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis, this month has seen new advice being issued to help reduce the risk of this debilitating disease, which currently affects one woman in two in the UK. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has provided recommendations on vitamin A intakes following research in 2003 that indicated high intakes of this nutrient over many years may increase the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

The FSA suggests that as a precaution, people who eat liver or liver products such as pate – major sources of vitamin A – every week should not increase this amount. They also suggest that post-menopausal women, men over the age of 65 years and those who are at risk of osteoporosis should not have more than 1.5mg of vitamin A each day. This means eating liver or liver products no more than once a week. Meanwhile, people at risk of osteoporosis should also avoid taking vitamin A supplements.

WLR says

Don’t let this new advice put you off eating liver occasionally. As well as containing vitamin A, liver is an excellent supply of many other nutrients, especially iron. For example, a 70g serving of stewed ox liver contains 5.5g iron – that’s more than a third of a women’s daily requirements for iron. Plus it’s reasonably low in calories – just 140 calories per serving – making it a good choice for slimmers.

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