WE ARE WHAT WE EAT

[Stanley]

Could it be that there is more money to be made in selling unhealthy food and drink? It has an almost unlimited shelf life and is so profitable for the makers that they can afford to spend a fortune on advertising. That may be the way to go, take the profit out of making and selling the stuff in the first place.
Alternatively spend enough on education to enable customers to be aware of what they are buying and to understand basic nutrition. The tax from the goods could be ring-fenced for education?

[Stanley]

It's a while since we looked at this but see THIS BBC account of the Dimbleby Report which is recommending taxes on unhealthy foods. I wonder how much notice will be taken of its eminently sensible recommendations?

[Stanley]

I'm listening to a reporter on You and Yours talking about farming and the changes after WW2 and basically they know nothing but think they do. For instance the lady has just said that Rare Breeds can live outside all year.....

[Tizer]

...the Dimbleby Report which is recommending taxes on unhealthy foods.

I heard him on the Today programme saying that exercise was no help in preventing or reducing obesity. I doubt any nutritionists would agree with that.

[Stanley]

I think perhaps they would Peter. He wasn't saying exercise isn't good for you, simply that there are better ways to lose weight.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC account of a report made after a study of metabolism through life.
"It is a picture we've never really seen before and there is[sic] a lot of surprises in it," one of the researchers, Prof John Speakman, from the University of Aberdeen, said. "The most surprising thing for me is there is no change throughout adulthood - if you are experiencing mid-life spread you can no longer blame it on a declining metabolic rate."
Worth a bit of attention, some surprising findings.

[Stanley]

Potatoes got a mention in another topic and reminded me of this bit out of me memoirs....

"Back to the Scotsmen! We seem to have skipped across to Ayr and missed some good men out so we have to backtrack now to Strathaven, always pronounced ‘Straven’. We had a good customer in Jim Donald at Braehead above Strathaven, he didn’t come into Lanark much and I used to go out to him regularly to lift heifers. I always liked to go to Braehead and usually arrived there at dinnertime because I can’t ever remember going to Jim’s without being fed! He was a good man for Richard because he had a relation who worked in a distillery and he kept Richard supplied with Thin Red Line export whisky which was good stuff! The first time I ever went to Braehead I was sat down at the table outside in the yard straight away, it was scrubbed white and all that was on it was a bowl of salt, a big lump of home made butter and a knife and fork each. A big pan of potatoes boiled in their skins was tipped on the table and I was initiated into ‘Skinny Tatties’! It was the first picking of Jim’s favourite potato, the Golden Wonder and if ever anything was appropriately named, it was that potato. You spiked a spud on your fork and then peeled it with your knife and thumb, you lifted a piece of skin and stripped it back just like peeling a banana. Once you had discarded the skin you dipped the spud in the butter and then touched it in the salt and straight into your mouth. That was all we had, a bellyful of the best potatoes I have ever had in my life and to wash them down everyone had a glass of whisky. I can remember looking round the table and there were all ages sat there and I often think when I hear dieticians pontificating as to what we should eat to stay healthy that those people might not have known much about diet but they knew what was good for them! Jim also grew Kerr’s Pink which he liked as well but not as much as the Golden Wonder. I think Golden Wonder crisps were named after this spud.
You can occasionally find Golden Wonder spuds. I recommend you have a go at them!

[Stanley]

See THIS report about the amount of sugar in baby foods.
One would think that baby foods would be the last place where excessive sugar would be used but evidently this is evidently not the case.

[Whyperion]

I bought some 100% cocoa chocolate the other day. found you cannot eat it like the milky chocolate bars. It had cocoa nibs and orange flavoured sugary bits in two. Decided to melt it in a pan, at a little cadburys drinking chocolate, some caster sugar(not much) and milk and turned it into a drink. Added a bit of tea to it too.

[Stanley]

See THIS article which draws attention to a citizen science project by the University of Sussex that has found that urban growers in Brighton and Hove were able to harvest 1kg of insect-pollinated fruit and vegetables per one meter square, which is within the range of conventional farming. They say that this could be a significant source of food in future.
Talk about re-inventing the wheel! See THIS for information about the wartime campaign; 'Dig for Victory'.

[Tripps]

Talk about re-inventing the wheel!

Indeed -

What Brighton does today Todmorden started about 10 years ago. Incredible Edible Todmorden

[Stanley]

Quite, I remember picking radishes there as I waited for a friend to arrive many years ago....

[Wendyf]

Col has been struggling to put weight back on since his op, carbs are the only answer but he has to limit them to keep his blood sugar levels down. Dairy has always been a way for him to maintain his weight but since losing half his stomach he has become lactose intolerant with milk, cream and yoghurt causing agonising gripes. He has been seeing an osteopath in Colne who has successfully treated his problem with foot drop and is now helping with many other issues, one suggestion being to try raw milk. Yesterday we took a trip out to Sabden and bought a litre of raw milk from a self service dispenser and Col has drunk 2 glasses with no problems whatsoever, in fact it seems to help settle his digestion. I won't even mention that the seed placed carefully in his ear has helped with blood sugar levels....

[Stanley]

The seed in the ear? Do tell us about it Wendy. It sounds iconoclastic enough to fit in on this site!
Just as a matter of interest. Serious vertigo was worrying me. Instead of going to the doctors I started making sure I drank more cold water. A week later and it has gone away.....

[Wendyf]

It's auriculartherapy, a form of acupressure and part of traditional Chinese medicine. They aren't actual seeds anymore, just small metal balls on a piece of sticky backing tape that are placed on a certain specific point in the outer ear. Colin's is to help control adrenaline and cortisol levels.

[Stanley]

Thanks Wendy. I'm not scoffing at the practice.....

[Wendyf]

Col would have before he tried it!

[Tizer]

Wendy, I'm puzzled by the raw milk. I would expect it to have the same lactose content as the usual milk. Was it raw cow's milk or from some other animal? FDA link

Is he drinking full-fat, semi-skim or skimmed milks? I assume the raw milk is full-fat.

Has Colin tried lactose-free yoghurt?

[Wendyf]

Yes the milk is full fat cows milk, and we have read that article and others previously. The reason he has become lactose intolerant is that the size of his stomach has been reduced by at least a half and it is stretched upwards making it a tube. Transit times through his guts are very quick meaning that enzymes like lactase don't have time to act. If he takes lactase enzyme tablets before eating something creamy it helps. Scientific or not the theory behind drinking raw milk is that natural enzymes are destroyed in the pasteurisation process and on the evidence of 2 whole glasses of milk drunk successfully it would appear to work for Colin.
He is starting to experiment with different types of 'milk' products but he needs them to be high in fat and protein.

[Big Kev]

He is starting to experiment with different types of 'milk' products but he needs them to be high in fat and protein.

I'm quite liking halloumi fries, these from Aldi are convenient although it's probably more economical to buy a lump and make your own.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-sp ... 8600020846

[Wendyf]

He is starting to experiment with different types of 'milk' products but he needs them to be high in fat and protein.

I'm quite liking halloumi fries, these from Aldi are convenient although it's probably more economical to buy a lump and make your own.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-sp ... 8600020846

Halloumi has been one of Col's staple foods since he went low carb, usually fried in butter for breakfast with bacon and mushrooms.

[Big Kev]

He is starting to experiment with different types of 'milk' products but he needs them to be high in fat and protein.

I'm quite liking halloumi fries, these from Aldi are convenient although it's probably more economical to buy a lump and make your own.

https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-sp ... 8600020846

Halloumi has been one of Col's staple foods since he went low carb, usually fried in butter for breakfast with bacon and mushrooms.

You've got me salivating now

[Tizer]

Scientific or not the theory behind drinking raw milk is that natural enzymes are destroyed in the pasteurisation process and on the evidence of 2 whole glasses of milk drunk successfully it would appear to work for Colin.

The experiment to clinch it would be to heat some of the raw milk sufficiently to kill any enzymes and then see what happens when Col drinks it. But he might be a reluctant guinea pig!

[Wendyf]

Scientific or not the theory behind drinking raw milk is that natural enzymes are destroyed in the pasteurisation process and on the evidence of 2 whole glasses of milk drunk successfully it would appear to work for Colin.

The experiment to clinch it would be to heat some of the raw milk sufficiently to kill any enzymes and then see what happens when Col drinks it. But he might be a reluctant guinea pig!

It took some courage for him to drink the first glass! The next experiment is to try a glass of pasteurised milk just in case he is OK with that now. Perhaps it was just cream that caused the problem....

[Stanley]

If you bought him a couple of goats he could get all the raw milk he needed straight from the source....