Tag Archives: Diet

Why everything we thought we knew about ‘healthy’ food could be wrong

If you’ve ever tried out the latest diet fad only to find yourself gaining weight and feeling awful and wondered what you were doing wrong, scientists now have an explanation for you.
Israeli researchers, writing in the journal Cell this week, have found that different people’s bodies respond to eating the same meal very differently — which means that a diet that may work wonders for your best friend may not have the same impact on you.
Lead authors Eran Segal and Eran Elinav of the Weizmann Institute of Science focused on one key component used in creating balanced diet plans like Atkins, Zone or South Beach. 
Known as the glycemic index or GI for short, it was developed decades ago as a measure of how certain foods impact blood sugar level and has been assumed to be a fixed number.
The researchers recruited 800 healthy and pre-diabetic volunteers ages 18 to 70 and collected data through health questionnaires, body measurements, blood tests, glucose monitoring and stool samples.
They also had the participants input lifestyle and food intake information into a mobile app that ended up collecting information on a total of 46,898 meals they had.
Each person was asked to eat a standardized breakfast that included things like bread each morning.
They found that age and body mass index, as expected, appeared to impact blood glucose level after meals, but so did something else. 
Different individuals showed vastly different responses to the same food, even though their own responses remained the same day to day.
“There are profound differences between individuals — in some cases, individuals have opposite responses to one another,” Segal explained.
The researchers said the findings show that tailoring meal plans to individuals’ biology may be the future of dieting and the study yielded many surprises for individuals. 
 
One example involves a middle-aged woman who tried and failed with many diets. Tests showed that her blood sugar levels spiked after eating tomatoes — indicating it is a poor diet choice for her since blood sugar has been associated with heart problems, obesity and diabetes — but since she didn’t know this, she was eating them as part of her healthy diet plans several times a week.
Elinav said the work “really enlightened us on how inaccurate we all were about one of the most basic concepts of our existence, which is how we eat and how we integrate nutrition into our daily life.”
To drill down even deeper into the question of why such vast differences exist, the researchers designed another experiment that involved personalized dietary interventions on 26 new volunteers. 
The goal was to reduce post-meal blood sugar levels. The clinicians designed two sets of specialized meals — breakfast, lunch, dinner and up to two intermediate meals — for each person that were theorized to be a “good” diet or a “bad” diet. 
Every participant followed the diets for a full week. 
The good diets worked, and not only did they see their blood sugar levels going down, they found alterations in their gut microbiota. 
One interesting finding was that even though the diets were very personalized, several of the changes in the microbiota were similar for participants.
This appears to imply, the researcher said, that we’re “really conceptually wrong” in our thinking about the obesity and diabetes epidemic.
We think “we know how to treat these conditions, and it’s just that people are not listening and are eating out of control,” Segal said, “but maybe people are actually compliant and in many cases we were giving them the wrong advice.”
By using the information from the study, the researchers were able to come up with the holy grail of dieting: an algorithm that takes hundreds of factors about a person and turns them into a tailor-made meal plan. 
The results were pretty surprising to both the doctors and participants. “It wasn’t just salad every day,” Segal told The Atlantic. “Some people got alcohol, chocolate, and ice-cream, in moderation.”
Many of the participants were so excited that they spread word of the experiments to their friends and family and now the researchers have more than 4,000 on their waiting list for their next study.
Source The Independent

Exercise ‘not key to obesity fight’

Physical activity has little role in tackling obesity – and instead public health messages should squarely focus on unhealthy eating, doctors say.

In an editorial in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, three international experts said it was time to “bust the myth” about exercise.

They said while activity was a key part of staving off diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia, its impact on obesity was minimal.

Instead excess sugar and carbohydrates were key.

The experts, including London cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra, blamed the food industry for encouraging the belief that exercise could counteract the impact of unhealthy eating.

They even likened their tactics as “chillingly similar” to those of Big Tobacco on smoking and said celebratory endorsements of sugary drinks and the association of junk food and sport must end.

They said there was evidence that up to 40% of those within a normal weight range will still harbour harmful metabolic abnormalities typically associated with obesity.

But despite this public health messaging had “unhelpfully” focused on maintaining a healthy weight through calorie counting when it was the source of calories that mattered most – research has shown that diabetes increases 11-fold for every 150 additional sugar calories consumed compared to fat calories.

And they pointed to evidence from the Lancet global burden of disease programme which shows that unhealthy eating was linked to more ill health than physical activity, alcohol and smoking combined.

‘Unscientific’

Dr Malhotra said: “An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less. My biggest concern is that the messaging that is coming to the public suggests you can eat what you like as long as you exercise.

“That is unscientific and wrong. You cannot outrun a bad diet.”

But others said it was risky to play down the role of exercise. Prof Mark Baker, of the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which recommends “well-balanced diets combined with physical activity”, said it would be “idiotic” to rule out the importance of physical activity.

A Food and Drink Federation spokeswoman said: “The benefits of physical activity aren’t food industry hype or conspiracy, as suggested. A healthy lifestyle will include both a balanced diet and exercise.”

She said the industry was encouraging a balanced diet by voluntarily providing clear on-pack nutrition information and offering products with extra nutrients and less salt, sugar and fat.

“This article appears to undermine the origins of the evidence-based government public health advice, which must surely be confusing for consumers,” she added.

Sourced from the BBC Online

NHS approach to obesity inexplicable, say MPs

MPs say it is “inexplicable” that the NHS in England spends more on bariatric surgery than well-established measures to prevent obesity.

A report by the Health Select Committee says health workers should use every opportunity to deal with the problem.

The MPs also call for urgent steps so people understand the wider health benefits of physical activity.

The government says its Change4Life programme is providing widespread free advice on healthy eating and exercise.

But the MPs argue that national and local government and the NHS must do more to prevent people becoming unwell.

That could include regulation of what goes into food, a ban on marketing sugary drinks to children, and much more support for people at risk of obesity and diabetes, so they do not need bariatric surgery.

“The committee regards it as inexplicable and unacceptable that the NHS is now spending more on bariatric surgery for obesity than on a national roll-out of intensive lifestyle intervention programmes that were first shown to cut obesity and prevent diabetes over a decade ago.”

The report emphasises the “huge health benefits” of physical activity. The MPs cite recent research which found that for the most inactive people, walking for 20 minutes a day would have a greater positive impact than not being obese.

“It is vital that the importance of physical activity for all the population – regardless of their weight, age, gender, health, or other factors – is clearly articulated and understood.”
‘Fear of judgement’

The MPs also highlight inequalities in rates of physical activity, in particular the disparity between men and women.

Official figures suggest just 16% of girls aged five to 16 achieve recommended levels of physical activity, compared with 21% of boys.

Some 32% of women meet the recommended threshold for activity. For men, the official figure is 43%.

The report speaks of a “fear of judgement” deterring many women from taking exercise. One witness to the committee, Julie Creffield, described the ordeal of venturing out.

“I have women who tell me they run on a treadmill in their shed because they just don’t want to be seen in public, but that is part of the problem. Because we don’t see many overweight women exercising in public, other women don’t think that exercise is for them.”

In a statement, the Department of Health for England said a lot of progress had been made in tackling the issues raised by the MPs.

“Our Change4Life campaign has been providing widespread free advice on healthy eating and exercise, and nearly two million more people now play regular sport than 10 years ago.

“Working with the food industry, we have cut calories, salt and fat in food, and we have also given £8.2bn to local authorities to tackle public health issues like obesity.”

Dr John Middleton, vice-president of the Faculty of Public Health, said: “Bariatric surgery generates huge costs to patients, families and the NHS. We need public health policies that can save money by helping prevent people becoming obese in the first place.”

Prof John Wass of the Royal College of Physicians praised the select committee’s report.

“It is welcome to see the findings of this report recognise the importance and benefits of physical activity beyond weight loss, as previous findings have shown regular physical activity of just 30 minutes, five times a week, can make a huge difference to a patient’s health.”

Recent analysis by the Royal College of Surgeons suggests rates of bariatric surgery have declined in the past two years.

Sourced from the BBC Online

‘Eat rice cold for fewer calories’

Scientists say they have found a way to make rice less calorific – boil it with coconut oil and then refrigerate for half a day before eating.

According to the Sri Lankan researchers, treating rice in this way reduces its calories by up to 60%.

They told the American Chemical Society how the method made the starch in the rice less digestible so the body took on less fuel than it otherwise would.

UK nutrition experts cautioned there was no quick fix to losing weight.

Cold carbs

Starchy foods such as rice, which are known as carbohydrates, are a good source of energy.

When we eat them, our body breaks them down into simple sugars.

Any that is leftover will be stored by the body and quickly converted to glucose as needed.

But too much glucose circulating in the blood can ultimately end up being stored as fat.

Scientists have been experimenting to see if they can alter foods to trick the body into absorbing less fuel to keep blood sugar, and calories consumed, lower.

UK researchers have already shown that cooking and then cooling pasta will create a smaller glucose peak – even if you then reheat the cold pasta.

And investigators from Sri Lanka say the same is true for rice.

They tested 38 varieties of rice to find the best way to boost something called “resistant starch”.

Resistant starch

This type of starch is more resilient to the enzymes the body uses to break down carbohydrates in the gut, meaning less of it is absorbed.

And, according to the researchers the best way to make it is to simmer the rice for 40 minutes with a teaspoon of coconut oil, then let it cool and keep it refrigerated for 12 hours.

Researcher Sudhair James said: “The cooling is essential because amylose, the soluble part of the starch, leaves the granules during gelatinisation.

“Cooling for 12 hours will lead to formation of hydrogen bonds between the amylose molecules outside the rice grains which also turns it into a resistant starch.”

He said reheating the cooled rice was fine too – it would not affect the resistant starch level.

The team is now checking out which varieties of rice might be best for the job and whether other cooking oils will also work.

Sarah Coe, an expert at the British Nutrition Foundation, said resistant starch could have a number of health benefits, as it appears to improve digestion and gut health and can help regulate blood sugar levels.

But she said more studies were needed to examine any potential health effects of consuming this type of rice.

Reheating cooked rice can be risky because some food poisoning bugs can survive cooking.

If cooked rice is left standing at room temperature, the bacteria can multiply, which is why rice should be served either hot or cooled and then stored in a fridge.

Ms Coe pointed out that although rice and starchy food are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet, rice consumption in the UK is generally low.

“Therefore, lowering the calorie content by the proposed cooking method will not make a significant difference to obesity levels in the UK.”

British Dietetic Association spokesperson, Priya Tew, said: “This sounds like it has great potential, however there are no human studies on it yet. It is fantastic that research is being done into different cooking methods.

“I would recommend people stick to cooking rice using their normal method until there is more information available.”

Dr Denise Robertson, a nutrition expert at the University of Surrey, said: “Seeing the results of the volunteer tests on blood glucose that are currently underway will be vital in understanding the true potential of this research and whether this can be extrapolated to carbohydrates in the Western Diet.”

Sourced from the BBC Online

Mediterranean diet could halve your risk of heart disease

The Mediterranean diet is regularly lauded for its health benefits, including helping to fight dementia and cutting the risk of cancer. Now, a new study suggests it may also be beneficial in combating heart disease.

Researchers from Harokopio University in Athens, Greece regularly examined the health of more than 2,500 adults aged 18 to 89 over a period of 10 years. By the end of the study, nearly 20 per cent of the men and 12 per cent of the women had either developed or died from heart disease, including strokes, heart attacks and coronary heart disease.

The team found those who followed the Mediterranean diet were 47 per cent less likely to develop heart disease compared to those who did not follow the diet.


Healthy? A typical Mediterranean meal (ALAMY)

The study also found that women tended to follow the Mediterranean diet more closely than men.

Whilst there is no ‘set’ Mediterranean diet, it is generally rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish and olive oil.

The Mediterranean diet: the best in the world?
Mediterranean diet ‘can help women get pregnant’

Researcher Ekavi Georgousopoulou said: “Because the Mediterranean diet is based on food groups that are quite common or easy to find, people around the world could easily adopt this dietary pattern and help protect themselves against heart disease with very little cost.”

The study was limited to Greece, but previous studies in other countries have also linked the Mediterranean diet to reducing heart disease.

A 2013 study in Spain suggested that a Mediterranean diet is almost as good at reducing the risk of a heart attack as taking statins with Dr Mike Knapton, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation, stating: “Eating a Mediterranean diet is associated with heart health benefits, including reductions in heart attack, stroke and deaths from cardiovascular disease.”

Sourced from the Telegraph Online

Regular coffee drinkers have ‘cleaner’ arteries

Drinking a few cups of coffee a day may help people avoid clogged arteries – a known risk factor for heart disease – Korean researchers believe.

They studied more than 25,000 male and female employees who underwent routine health checks at their workplace.

Employees who drank a moderate amount of coffee – three to five cups a day – were less likely to have early signs of heart disease on their medical scans.

The findings reopen the debate about whether coffee is good for the heart.

Heart effects

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to the effect of coffee on heart health.

Some studies have linked consumption to heart risk factors, such as raised cholesterol or blood pressure, while others suggest the beverage may offer some heart protection.

But there is no conclusive evidence either way, and the latest research from South Korea, which is published in the journal Heart, only adds to the discussion.

Unexplained link

In the study, the researchers used medical scans to assess heart health.

Specifically, they were looking for any disease of the arteries supplying the heart – the coronary arteries.

In coronary heart disease, the coronary arteries become clogged by the gradual build-up of fatty material within their walls.

The scan the researchers used looks for tiny deposits of calcium in the walls of the coronary arteries to provide an early clue that this disease process may be occurring.

None of the employees included in the Korean study had outward signs of heart disease, but more than one in 10 of them were found to have visible calcium deposits on their scans.

The researchers then compared the scan results with the employees’ self-reported daily coffee consumption, while taking into account other potential heart risk factors such as smoking, exercise and family history of heart problems.

People who drank a few cups of coffee a day were less likely to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries than people who drank more than this or no coffee at all.

The study authors say more research is needed to confirm and explain the link.

Coffee contains the stimulant caffeine, as well as numerous other compounds, but it’s not clear if these might cause good or harm to the body.

Victoria Taylor of the British Heart Foundation said: “While this study does highlight a potential link between coffee consumption and lower risk of developing clogged arteries, more research is needed to confirm these findings and understand what the reason is for the association.

“We need to take care when generalising these results because it is based on the South Korean population, who have different diet and lifestyle habits to people in the UK.”

Sourced from the BBC Online

Diet or die: Obese woman, 27, loses 20 STONE and drops ten dress sizes after doctors warned she wouldn’t live to celebrate her 30th birthday

A young woman who was told she might not see her 30th birthday if she didn’t slim down has lost an incredible 20st – nearly two thirds of her body weight – and dropped 10 dress sizes.

At just 27 Bríanán McEnteggart weighed 32st 11lb and wore a dress size 34. It was at a routine health check that her GP warned her that if she didn’t tackle her weight she could be less than 18 months away from a heart attack.

Now, after losing 20st 5lb, Bríanán has started a new job she loves, has just set up home with her boyfriend and been named Slimming World Woman of the Year 2014.

At nearly 33st brianan was warned her that if she didn't tackle her weight she could be less than 18 months away from a heart attack  What she's lost in weight, she's gained in confidence; she successfully applied for a job with an online training company, discovered a love of shopping and has swapped staying in for nights out on the dance floor with friends.

Slimming World has named Bríanán’s McEnteggart as their Woman of the Year 2014 after she dropped from 32st 11lb (left) to 12st 6lb (right)

Bríanán, now 31, says she feels like she’s entering a new chapter in her life: ‘When I look back at old photos of myself I can see that even though my mouth is smiling my eyes aren’t smiling.

‘I was a very unhappy girl – I would walk everywhere with my head down looking at the ground and I hated looking in the mirror. Now when I smile my whole face smiles, and I walk everywhere with my head held high. I feel like I’ve got a second chance at life and I’m looking forward to everything the future holds.’

Bríanán McEnteggart talks about her incredible weight-loss…

Bríanán, from Dundalk in Ireland, wore a dress size 20 at just 15 and had to have her clothes specially made. As she got older she avoided social situations and used food as an emotional comfort.

She says: ‘Like most big kids I was picked on at school, I put up my defences so no one would ever know they’d hurt my feelings but when I got home I’d cry. Not much changed as I got older. At 27 you should be out living your life, but I didn’t want to be seen by anyone so I’d just stay home and read a book or watch television.’

She tried to shed the weight by attending slimming clubs and even visiting a hospital dietician: ‘I felt the diets I followed were always too restrictive for me. I was hungry a lot of the time and I couldn’t fit them into my life because they didn’t let me have any treats.

‘My experience at the dieticians was even worse, they said their scales couldn’t weigh me and I had to sit in something called ‘the obesity chair’ – it was mortifying. It’s experiences like that that crush your self-confidence bit by bit.’

As Bríanán’s weight increased she began to worry about her health as heart problems run in her family.

In October 2011 she visited her doctor and received the grim diagnosis. Just days later, she was dealt another blow when the bath at her family home cracked beneath her heavy weight.

She says: ‘Hearing something like that from the doctor scares the living daylights out of you. A few days later I was taking a shower as usual when I heard a noise and realised the bath had cracked. I couldn’t believe it.

‘I didn’t want to have to come out and tell my parents I’d broken the bath, I wanted that bath to swallow me up. Both of these things were wake-up calls and I knew I really had to do something. Within days I was at my first Slimming World group.’

Bríanán had heard about Slimming World from a friend, Mary Murphy, and joined her at the local Dundalk Slimming World group, run by Consultant Fiona Pepper.

Bríanán says: ‘I felt sick and was absolutely petrified because I felt I had such a long journey ahead of me. I didn’t need to worry though – Fiona came running over to offer me a cup of tea and everyone was so friendly.

‘Now I sail into the group, they’re like my second family and I tell people that there’s no reason to ever feel scared because everyone – no matter how much weight they’ve got to lose – is there for the same reason.

‘I think I get as excited when other members lose weight as when I do, it’s amazing to think we’re all helping each other as well as ourselves.’

She began following Slimming World’s Extra Easy eating plan and started enjoying more regular meals.

Gone were the super-size bags of crisps and jumbo bars of chocolate and she took over the cooking at home, whipping up healthy recipes like turkey stir-fry for her parents, sister and nephew.

She lost 11lb in her first week and 4st 7lb in just three months.

Brianan shows off her weight loss by holding up an old pair of her trousers 

Brianan has now swapped staying in for nights out on the dance floor with friends and loves shopping

As she slimmed down Bríanán, who suffered from painful knees and legs as a result of her size, began walking more.

She says: ‘Before I would struggle to walk even 500m so I couldn’t do too much to start with. I began by walking between one lamppost and another and building up slowly. Now I can walk three miles a day and I’m hoping to take up Zumba and start shaking my hips a bit.’

Bríanán’s recently reached her target weight, dropping from 32st 11lb to 12st 6lb, and was named Slimming World Woman of the Year 2014 at a ceremony in Birmingham on Saturday November 8.

What she’s lost in weight, she’s gained in confidence; she successfully applied for a job with an online training company, discovered a love of shopping and has swapped staying in for nights out on the dance floor with friends.

It was on a night out in summer 2013 that she met fellow Slimming World member Keith Lynch, who has lost 5st himself, and the pair soon became a couple.

They have recently moved in together and are planning a future.

Bríanán says: ‘I honestly believe that if it wasn’t for my Slimming World group I wouldn’t be alive today, I would be six-foot under and my parents would be visiting my grave.

‘My doctor is over the moon and so am I.

‘I’ve always loved reading but now instead of burying myself in a book all the time, I feel like I’m finally starring in my own fairy tale. These past three years have been the best years of my life and I can’t wait for everything that’s still to come.’

Source Mail Online

How grapefruit really can help us lose weight: Drinking fruit’s juice when eating fatty food can help reduce weight put on by a fifth

Dieters have long sworn that grapefruit helps them lose weight. Now, scientists are beginning to believe them.

A study has found that drinking grapefruit juice when eating fatty food lowers the amount of weight put on by up to a fifth.

Researchers discovered that drinking grapefruit juice with fatty meals was highly beneficial 

Researchers discovered that drinking grapefruit juice with fatty meals was highly beneficial

The research also suggested that grapefruit could be as good as prescription drugs at keeping blood sugar levels under control – a key part of managing diabetes.

The experiments were conducted on mice – but researchers say the results justify studies on humans.

Professor Joseph Napoli, of the University of California, Berkeley, said: ‘We see all sorts of scams about nutrition.

But these results, based on controlled experiments, warrant further study of the potential health-promoting properties of grapefruit juice.’

The Grapefruit Diet, also called the Hollywood Diet, dates back to the 1930s and has a host of celebrity fans including singer Kylie Minogue.

It involves having grapefruit or grapefruit juice with every meal while cutting back on calories.

The researchers found that when the mice were fed fatty food for three months, those given grapefruit juice to drink gained up to 18 per cent less weight than those given water.

They also had lower blood sugar and insulin levels – despite eating the same number of calories and doing the same amount of exercise as the mice who drank water.

In fact, grapefruit juice was as good at controlling insulin as the widely used diabetes drug metformin, the journal PLOS ONE reports.

However, the fruit juice only had an effect on weight when the animals ate fatty food.

The researchers said they did not know how grapefruit stops the pounds from piling on.

The British Dietetic Association said the fruit now needs to be thoroughly tested in humans to see if it could help with weight loss and stem the rise of obesity and diabetes.

Spokesman Mariette Abrahams, a dietician, said until then it is too early for people to try grapefruit diets.

‘Grapefruit should be part of a healthy balanced diet, but it shouldn’t be the focus of the diet,’ she said.

Singer kylie minogue, pictured, is a well known fan of the so-called hollywood diet which involves grapefruit

Singer Kylie Minogue, pictured, is a well known fan of the so-called Hollywood Diet which involves grapefruit

 
Source Mail Online
 

Teenager refuses to eat anything but CHICKEN ESCALOPES after developing food phobia from choking as a child

A teenager who choked on spaghetti as a child is today so terrified of food that she refuses to eat anything apart from chicken escalopes.

Charlotte Snow, from north London, has shunned most other foods since she was three years old, despite her parents’ desperate attempts to improve their daughter’s diet.

Her mother Carla Snow, 42, said she believes Charlotte’s phobia stems from a near-death experience when she was three.

Charlotte snow, 18, from north london, has a phobia of food, resulting in her eating nothing but chicken escalopes

Charlotte Snow, 18, from north London, has a phobia of food, resulting in her eating nothing but chicken escalopes

Her mother carla snow (pictured left) believes her daughter's phobia stems from a near-death experience when she was three, when she choked on a piece of spaghetti

Her mother Carla Snow (pictured left) believes her daughter’s phobia stems from a near-death experience when she was three, when she choked on a piece of spaghetti

Despite her poor diet, repeated visits to the doctors have revealed she is suffering no health complications as a result of her phobia.

She said: ‘I’ve been scared to try other foods since I can remember.

‘Just the thought of putting other foods in my mouth and then not liking the taste makes me feel anxious. I don’t know what I would do if I ate something I wasn’t keen on.’

 

Her mother Mrs Snow, who works at a children’s centre, said: ‘When Charlotte was a baby, she ate everything and we had no problems at all.

‘But one day, I was feeding her some spaghetti and she choked on the food.

‘We patted Charlotte’s back and managed to get the spaghetti out. But that experience scarred her and ever since then, she’s turned her back on most foods and has been very fussy.

‘We kept trying to put other foods in front of Charlotte but she would turn her nose up at them and rather starve. She could never get over her fears.

Charlotte when she was five years old

Charlotte snow has a phobia of food

Charlotte (pictured left age five and right now) said: ‘I’ve been scared to try other foods since I can remember

Until the spaghetti incident when she was three, charlotte would eat most foods, her parents carla and nick (pictured) said

Until the spaghetti incident when she was three, Charlotte would eat most foods, her parents Carla and Nick (pictured) said

Despite her parents' desperate attempts to encourage charlotte to expand her diet, the 18-year-old has resisted, only adding white bread, crisps and cereal to the equation

Despite her parents’ desperate attempts to encourage Charlotte to expand her diet, the 18-year-old has resisted, only adding white bread, crisps and cereal to the equation

‘Once, we even arranged for Charlotte to have an internal examination so we could find out if there was any deeper reason for her phobia.

‘But she refused to eat the egg sandwich that she needed to consume before the test.’

The 18-year-old has been persuaded to add chips, crisps, bread and cereal to her limited list of foods she will eat.

But even with these foods, Charlotte is specific about the brands and varieties she will eat, preferring Walkers’ Salt and Vinegar, Hovis white bread and Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.

Charlotte admits her phobia impacts on her everyday life and makes socialising difficult.

She said: ‘I find my phobias very embarrassing at times. If I go out to dinner with my friends and there’s no food there that I like, I’ll just starve the whole night and won’t eat.

Despite her poor diet, charlotte has suffered no detrimental affect to her health

Despite her poor diet, Charlotte has suffered no detrimental affect to her health

‘If some boys that I don’t know well are joining us for dinner then I will arrive after the meal.

‘I would be mortified just eating chips in front of the guys so it’s better to avoid the situation altogether.

‘Often though, I will go for the whole day without food if there’s nothing available that I can eat.

‘The other day I went to a party with my family and there was nothing on the menu I could eat. I was so famished that I had to rush out to the nearest McDonalds to get some chips.’

Despite doctors’ assurance that Charlotte’s health is not affected at the moment, her mother Mrs Snow said she is worried her poor diet could catch up with her.

‘We regularly go to the doctor so that Charlotte can take a blood test but the results always come back fine. The doctors continually tell us that Charlotte’s healthy and growing,’ she said.

‘Nonetheless it does worry me that her poor diet will catch up with her and she will suffer health problems in the future because she’s not getting the nutrients she needs.’

Charlotte added: ‘I would love to be able to eat more foods one day. It would be great to enjoy dinner with my friends and socialize more.’

A spokesperson for Triumph Over Phobia, the phobia charity said: ‘Charlotte needs to have a course of exposure therapy to help her overcome her fear of food.

‘She will only recover if she faces her fear and she can do this by taking little steps each day.’

Article was taken from Daily Mail Online

Fruit juice timebomb: Health experts say stick to one glass a day as teenagers’ poor diets are blamed for increased diabetes risk

The appalling diets of the nation’s teenagers have been exposed by a report which shows that many are already putting themselves at risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

And last night health experts warned that fruit juice – seen by many as a healthy option – should be drunk no more than once a day because of its high sugar content.

Girls and boys aged 11 to 19 typically eat 42 per cent too much sugar and 14 per cent too much saturated fat.

Health experts have warned people to stick to one glass of fruit juice a day due to its high sugar content

Health experts have warned people to stick to one glass of fruit juice a day due to its high sugar content

Only 10 per cent of teenage boys and 7 per cent of teenage girls manage to get their five portions of fruit and veg a day.

Adults do not fare a great deal better. Only a third get their five-a-day and the diet of the average adult exceeds recommended sugar limits by 10 per cent.

The report, the Government’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey, also shows  that children aged ten and under typically exceed the recommended daily limit of sugar by 34 per cent.

Their main sources of sugar are fruit juice, soft drinks, cereal bars, biscuits and cakes.

It reveals that adults are eating half the recommended weekly amount of oily fish – which protects against heart disease, cancer and dementia – while teenagers and children only manage a fifth of  this amount.

The survey, which involved 4,000 adults and children between 2008 and 2012, says 48 per cent of men and women have above-normal levels of cholesterol, putting them at higher risk of heart disease  and strokes.

Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘This study paints a clear picture that too many people, especially children, are not eating healthily enough.

‘This puts them at greater risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity now or in the future. There is no magic bullet to solve this problem. Parents, schools, restaurants, retailers and the food industry all have a role to play.

‘But the Government can fire the first shot by implementing a 9pm watershed ban on junk food marketing to stop children being bombarded with advertising about products high in fats, salts and sugars. We also need stringent regulation to protect children from online marketing tactics.’

Only a third of adults get their recommended five-a-day, and are still eating too much fat, with 48 per cent having higher-than-average cholesterol, putting them at risk of heart attacks and strokes

Only a third of adults get their recommended five-a-day, and are still eating too much fat, with 48 per cent having higher-than-average cholesterol, putting them at risk of heart attacks and strokes

Experts have also warned that government change4life adverts which promote healthy eating are not working, as people who already eat healthily are the only ones who pay attention

Experts have also warned that government Change4Life adverts which promote healthy eating are not working, as people who already eat healthily are the only ones who pay attention

There is also concern that policies such as the NHS’s Change4Life programme are having little effect because only healthy adults and children pay any attention.

The initiative, which has cost taxpayers £65million since its launch in January 2009, consists of television adverts, a website, a helpline and locally-run sports clubs all aimed at curbing the obesity epidemic.

The scheme also produces posters for schools, community clubs, GP surgeries and hospitals urging the public to eat their five- a-day, take regular exercise and  cut portion sizes.

Dr Ian Campbell, of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘In spite of a raft of measures designed to encourage us to eat a healthier diet we are, as a nation, failing miserably.

‘If we really care about the health of our children we need to take far more decisive action.

‘We need to regulate the food industry to make healthy choices easier, more attractive and cheaper.’

Dr Alison Tedstone, the chief nutritionist at Public Health England, the Government agency that released the report, said fruit juice was a good option as one of the recommended five fruit portions a day.

But she warned: ‘It should only be drunk once a day and with  a meal because it can be high  in sugar.’

In March, Dame Sally Davies, the Chief Medical Officer, said the Government may have to introduce a  sugar tax to help make the nation’s diet more healthy.

Later that month the World Health Organisation urged the public to cut their sugar intake by half to six teaspoons a day.

Yesterday Labour MP Keith Vaz called for food labels to include the numbers of teaspoons of sugar in all products.

Article taken from Daily Mail Online