World Diabetes Day 2014

Today 14th of November 2014 marks another World Diabetes Day.
World Diabetes Day was created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation and the World Health Organisation in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat that diabetes now pose. It became an official United Nations Day in 2007 with the passage of United Nations Resolution 61/225.
World Diabetes Day campaign is led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and its members. It engages millions of people worldwide in diabetes advocacy and awareness. The campaign draws issues of paramount importance to the diabetes world and keeps diabetes firmly in the public spotlight.

 The body needs the hormone insulin to use glucose as fuel for cells and to control the amount of glucose in the blood. Diabetes develops when the pancreas cannot produce insulin normally or when the body cannot use the produced insulin effectively.This results in high levels of glucose in the blood if the condition is not controlled. People with diabetes can lead a full and active life.  But if uncontrolled, it can cause a number of serious problems over time such as blindness, kidney failure, foot ulceration and nerve damage. Also, people with diabetes are at greater risk of developing heart disease than healthy people. So it is very important for those diagnosed with this condition to control their blood sugar levels and their blood pressure, to eat a healthy diet, be physically active and to lose weight if necessary.
There are two types of diabetes:

Type 1 diabetes

This is the insulin dependent diabetes and it usually occurs in people below the age of 30. The cells in the pancreas that produce insulin have been destroyed in people suffering from this, so people with type 1 diabetes need to help their body to use glucose properly by using insulin injections. Nobody fully understands why these cells become damaged, but it may be triggered by a viral or other infection. Type 1 diabetes is managed by insulin injection coupled with a healthy diet.

Type 2 diabetes

If you have type 2 diabetes, then your body either cannot produce enough insulin, or the insulin your body produces does not work properly. Type 2 diabetes tends to be diagnosed in older people, although increasingly, the symptoms are being seen in younger adults and even children. Type two diabetes is caused by obesity (most common cause); hereditary; a diet high in energy, fat (especially saturates) and low in fibre (this diet is harmful because it can cause weight gain and also impairs insulin action); deprivation (people in lower socioeconomic groups: linked with obesity, physical inactivity and a less healthy diet) and high waist circumference (the cut-off waist measurement for increased risk is: 80cm for all women, 94cm for black and white men and 90 cm for Asian men). Type 2 diabetes is strongly linked with obesity and can generally be treated by diet modification and physical activities, although some people do require medication too. 

Prevalence
Around 2.5 million people in the UK suffers from diabetes and this is rapidly increasing. This increase is thought to be linked with obesity epidemic (more than half of adults in the UK are overweight, and about one in four are obese), because obesity is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.At least 8 out of 10 diabetics have type 2 diabetes. It is also estimated that up to 750,000 people may have diabetes without knowing it.

Symptoms of diabetes

The main symptoms of untreated diabetes are:

• Increased thirst, and increased drinking of fluids
• Need to pass urine much more often, especially at night
• Weight loss
• Tiredness
• Slow healing of wounds
• Blurred vision
• Itching of the genital organs or repeated bouts of thrush.

In type 1 diabetes, symptoms will usually develop rapidly over a few weeks, often during childhood. There is currently no cure and treatment with insulin is lifelong.

In type 2 diabetes, symptoms develop more slowly, typically over a period of months. Some people have very mild symptoms, which they believe may have other causes so their condition may go unnoticed. A few people show no symptoms at all. It is often preventable and reversible in the early stages if excess weight is lost and a healthy lifestyle maintained.

In the two types of diabetes, added sugar should be avoided, 5-a- day should be eaten (check post on fruit and vegetables for more info), regular meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables containing starchy carbohydrates particularly whole grain and less fat should be eaten to avoid erratic blood glucose- levels, overweight should be avoided. 

Recommendations for diabetes prevention

•  Maintain a healthy body weight (BMI 20-25kg/m²) 
•  Keep physically active 
•  Eat a healthy, varied diet.
•  Base meals on starchy foods, like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread and breakfast cereals. 
• Choose high fibre, wholemeal products.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables, aim for at least 5 portions a day.
• Eat fewer fatty and sugar-containing foods, e.g. fried foods, sweets or pastries.
• Choose lean meat, poultry, fish, beans and alternatives, instead of fatty meat or meat products.
•  Choose low-fat dairy foods, like skimmed or semi-skimmed milk or low-fat yogurt.
• Use vegetable oil in cooking but only in small amounts.
• Choose products lower in salt and use less salt in cooking.

More information on:

http://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritionscience/disease/diabetes

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes/Pages/Diabetes.aspx

http://www.idf.org/about-diabetes 

Thank you for reading!!!, Please share

Butternut squash crisp

Hello everyone

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity of demonstrating how to make butternut squash crisp to the people of Kingstanding Community and guess what???? Everyone loved it!!!
Butternut squash crisp is the healthier and tastier version of the our everyday crips. Made with yummy butternut squash, this crisp is simple and quick to make. It is seasoned with cinnamon to give it that lovely aroma and flavour!. Fresh rosemary was added for additional flavour; if you don't like rosemary feel free to use any other herb. You can roast it with the peel as it becomes soft and palatable when cooked. Below is the recipe, just a few lines

Ingredients
One small Butternut squash
few sprigs of Rosemary, chopped
1 tsp Cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper and salt to season
Olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5/ 190C/ 375F and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
Bring a large pot of water to boil.
Peel the butternut squash and cut in half lengthwise.  Using a very sharp knife, thinly slice the squash to about 1/2 an inch thick (the thinner the cut, the faster and crispier it will cook).
Boil the slices for 1 -2 minutes. Remove from water and lay flat in a single layer on a paper towel to dry
Pat completely dry and transfer to the baking trays, make sure the slices don't overlap at all.
Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the cinnamon, rosemary, salt and black pepper
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20mins checking frequently after 10 minutes to make sure they don't burn.
Remove from the oven once they are crisp and start to brown.
Serve immediately.

Your butternut squash crisp is ready to be eaten!!!

Foods high in Fat and/ or sugar

Foods high in fat and/or sugar is the last group on the eatwell plate. Most people tends to eat a lot from this group, however, we should eat very little from this group. Consuming too much from this group is not just bad for our health but also our teeth. The UK healthy eating guideline recommends not more than 8% from this group, Australia recommends a very small amount once in a while leaving it out of the main circle and America does not have it in or around their circle so that people will not eat much from it. Foods that are high in fat includes :- butter, margarine, other spreads including reduced fat spreads, cream, rich sauce, gravies, ice-cream, cookies, cakes, puddings, pastries, cooking oils, oil-based salad dressing, fried foods including fried chips, biscuits, crisp, most chocolate. Foods that are in sugar includes:- Jam, sweets, sugar, honey, cakes, biscuit, ice-cream, puddings, pastries, fizzy drinks (excluding diet drinks), juice drinks e.t.c.

The body needs some fat to function properly. Fat helps in transporting fat-soluble vitamins to the body. They also provide the body with more concentrated form of energy.  Foods that contain a lot of fat are high in calorie; so people trying to lose weight should eat less of it as 1g of fat provides 9kcal which is more than double the amount of fat gotten from carbohydrate and protein. We should cut down on foods containing saturated fat (such as some foods from animal origin, cakes, biscuits, pastries) and Trans fat which are found in small amount in meat and dairy products as well as hydrogenated vegetable oils and foods made with them; this is because they can raise the cholesterol level. There are two types of essential fats that should be supplied by the diet in small amounts; omega-3 fatty acid (which is found in olive oil also present in small amount in rape seed oil, walnut and soya oil) and omega-6 fatty acid (which is found in sunflower, corn and soya oil as well as spreads made from them). Sugar adds sweetness and flavor to food but we should try to consume very little from it as it causes tooth decay. Processed foods are usually high in fat, sugar and salt. Diets high in fat and sugar are associated with modern day illness such as obesity, heart disease, tooth decay, type-2 diabetes, over-weight, high-blood pressure and other coronary-heart disease. In order not to eat too much from this group, we should try to use very little amount of fat in cooking, eat scones, malt loaf and teacakes rather than cake and biscuit, spread bread with low fat spread, sliced banana or low fat cream cheese instead of jam, marmalade, syrup or honey, compare food labels and choose reduced fat and reduced sugar foods where possible, choose foods containing unsaturated fatty acid, limit consumption of sugar and sugar-containing foods, dilute fruit juice with sparkling water instead of soft drinks, choose can of fruit in juice rather than fruit in syrup, try leaving butter out when making sandwich.

Remember Try reducing the amount of sugar you add to foods, snack with fruits and vegetables rather than junks and use unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat

Meat, Fish and Alternatives

Hello everyone!!! hope you had a lovely day....

The next category we will be looking at on the Eatwell plate is called Meat, Fish and Alternatives

Our body need a wide range of food in order to function properly. The meat, fish and their alternatives are very important in our diet as they help in tissue and body growth and repair, healthy red blood cells, nerves functioning as well as providing energy because of their protein, iron, vitamin B-complex, phosphorous, calcium, omega-3, magnesium, zinc and vitamin D content.

Foods in this category includes meat, poultry, fish, egg and other non-dairy sources like bean, nuts, tofu, pulses (e.g. ,chickpeas, lentils, split peas), mycoprotein(quorn), seitan, legumes, pulses, nuts etc.

Like the milk and dairy products group it is recommended that we eat moderately from this group. About 2-3 portions (12%) will satisfy our daily requirement. We should try to eat 2portions of fish per week one of which should be oily fish such as fresh tuna, herring, sardine, and mackerel because of their omega-3 content which help in protection against heart disease. Some meats are high in fat most especially saturated fat and eating a lot of this can increase the cholesterol level which increases the risk of heart disease. The type of meat we choose and the cooking method can make a huge difference to this. We should avoid adding extra oil or fat when cooking and use grilling or roasting method rather than frying. Roast on a metal rack over a roasting tin so fat can run off. If you decide to fry, fry with oil that is high in unsaturated fat such as rape seed or sunflower oil. The healthy eating guidelines advise us to choose lean meat. We should also try to remove any visible fat from meat as well as skin from poultry. Generally, the more white we see on raw meat, the more fat it contains. We should also cut down on red meat (pork, beef or lamb) as well as processed meat such as sausage, salami, ham, bacon and pate. Reduce the amount of meat in dishes and add more vegetable, pulses and starchy foods. Eggs should be boiled or poached rather than fried. Eating raw egg can cause food poisoning, try using pasteurised egg when using egg to prepare food that won't be cooked such as home-made mayonnaise, mousse as pasteurisation help in killing the bacteria in egg. Eating a lot of non-dairy sources of protein is good.

Remember Beans and Pulses also count as one of our 5-a-day. 

Thank you for reading.

Milk and Dairy Products

Hola a todos
I hope you have eaten your 5-a-day; I had mine by eating banana with my cereal, 1 handful of red grapes as a snack and vegetable salad (cabbage, yellow bell pepper, tomatoes, carrot, cucumber and sweet corn) as my lunch.  Today I will talk about Milk and Dairy Products.

The foods that belong to this category include: all varieties of milk such as cow's milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk and plant-based substitutes such as soya milk, rice milk, oat milk and almond milk for vegan and people with lactose intolerance and dairy products such as cheese, fromage frais and yogurt.  Butter, egg and cream are not included as they fall into other groups. They are great sources of protein and calcium in our diet. They also contain fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), vitamin B-complex and  minerals. They help in body growth and repair, development and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. The UK, USA and Australia's healthy eating guidelines recommends that we eat moderately from this group. About 2-3 portions will satisfy our daily requirement.
A portion can be: A 200ml glass of milk
                           A small 150ml pot of yogurt
                           A matchbox size (30g) serving of cheese.
It is recommended that we choose low fat version of these foods such as skimmed & semi-skimmed milk, low fat yogurt and reduced fat cheese (Children below 2yrs should take full fat version).
Thank you for your time.

Remember to use skimmed milk instead of whole milk!!!

Bread, Cereal and Potatoes

Bonjour mon amie, comment ca va?, I hope you have not forgotten your five-a-day

The Bread, Cereal and Potatoes is one of the most important groups in the 3 healthy eating guidelines  They serve as staple foods for most countries and are important in most recipes.

These foods provide the body with energy as they are the main source of carbohydrate in our diet. They  also contain calcium, vitamin B and iron..According to the eatwell plate(UK government's guideline to healthy eating) 33% of our daily food should be from this group as well as 50% of our total energy... When cereals and bread are eaten in their unrefined forms e.g wholemeal bread, oat, brown rice, brown sugar, wholemeal flour e.t.c they provide the body with dietary fiber which help in preventing heart disease, aiding  digestion, reducing risk of diabetes and help in energy balance  People on diet are advised to eat the unrefined forms because of their low calorie, role in digestion and energy balance which in turn leads to weight loss. The government has also advised us to eat wholemeal and wholegrain because of their fiber content.  We should try to eat enough of these foods because their deficiency in the body results in the use of protein  for the production of energy which affect protein's functions. Excess consumption of refined forms of these foods such as white bread & sugar can lead to Type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure e.t.c.
Thank you for your time

Don't forget to substitute that white bread for a brown one and take oat instead of cornflakes for a healthier diet!!!

Fruits and Vegetables

Good evening everybody, hope u all enjoyed your day just like I did. You know I had a fixed smile on my face all day the type you have when you are doing that particular thing you love :)

We are going to discuss about FRUITS AND VEGETABLES one of the sections mentioned in the three healthy eating guidelines I talked about yesterday.

Fruits and vegetables are very important in the diet as they provide the body with many nutrients some of which includes vitamin A, C, E, folic acid, carbohydrate, minerals, carotene e.tc. The World Health Organisation recommends that each individual should consume at least 400g of fruits and vegetables daily which led to the introduction of a program called 5-a-day (don't mistake this with 5-alive because 5-alive does not count as it has got added ingredients) in UK, USA, Germany e.t.c. The program encourages people to consume at least 5 fruits and vegetables daily because of their roles in the body some of which includes body processes and temperature regulation, aiding digestion, body repair e.t.c. It even helps in weight loss!!!I can view the mental images of ladies smiling at this, never mind we all want to look good and fit...Don't bother worrying about how you are going to eat enough because it is easier than imagined it can be fresh, canned or dried and we can have them as snacks instead of our usual crisps, biscuits e.t.c, we can eat them with our foods, add to sandwich, use to make soup, stew, dishes, eat alone, eat as salad, squeeze out the juice or even buy a fruit juice just make sure you check the ingredients to see it is 100% fruit juice. They are cheap and available everywhere and you can have them anytime of the day!!!.  Almost all fruits and vegetables counts. Examples of portions that counts toward 5-a-day are:- 150ml of fruit juice, fresh/dried or canned fruit and vegetable, Fruit and vegetable in convenience foods like ready meals, smoothie containing all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable, Beans and pulses e.t.c. Try to eat a variety daily. Although sweet potato, parsnips and red pepper counts, Potato, plantain, yam and cassava do not count as they are eaten as starchy foods and they play other important roles in the diet.
I hope you have enjoined reading this today, don't forget to join me on our date tomorrow same venue same time, till then I remain ME Thank you very much for your time
Good bye xoxoxo


Remember: 5 fruits and vegetables a day don't eat less just eat more