THE HEALTHY "EATING" HABITS-A CANADIAN INITIATIVE

Healthy eating habits are inculcated at early stages of life before rigid attitudes develop amongst children towards various foods. Invariably the "toxic food environment" that confronts the children, especially the high pitch promotion of so called junk foods by the food industry containing too much of sugar, fat and salt, lures them with uncontrolled eating, eventually leading to obesity. True, the labeling information printed on each and every pack is supposed to guide the consumer regarding nutrition status of the contents on a per serving basis, but for majority of them it does not make much sense. Nutritionists and sociologists believe that if consumers are made to read the label more carefully and understand the significance of information contained therein, there is evidence to show that more healthy foods with high nutrient density are selected while shunning unbalanced and unhealthy ones. It is in this context that one has to appreciate the efforts of Canadian Government in allying with the food industry to enlighten the citizens there through a sustained campaign highlighting the significance of reading and understanding the food labels.

"By choosing food that is healthier for them, they'll be eating healthier, and of course if you're eating healthier, then of course you are going to have less problems with chronic disease down the line." The campaign is simple enough. It tells consumers to read the nutrition label and focus on foods with higher levels of nutrients they may want more of, such as fibre, calcium and vitamins A and C. It also warns consumers to avoid products that contain high levels of fat and sodium. "This initiative provides information to Canadians in a variety of ways to help them when choosing a food or deciding between products," said Nancy Croitoru, president of FCPC. "Using the per cent daily value is a quick way for consumers to know if a packaged food contains a little or a lot of a nutrient." The nutrition label campaign begins its rollout with messaging on consumer packaging, in magazines and online. Health Canada has set up a website to lead consumers through nutrition labels.In January, the campaign will move to television and social media".

Such campaigns are good in educating and persuading the consumers to go for foods containing high nutrients during their shopping trips but how far it will have a lasting impact is a matter of conjecture. A more appropriate course of action could be tackling this problem in the schools when the children are at impressionable age, capable of assimilation of the information more effectively that may lead to lasting habits. In a country like Canada where literacy is practically 100% it is easier to evolve school curriculum that will integrate learning about food and nutrition. In India most labels are printed in English while majority of the population cannot read or grasp the significance of label information. Probably GOI should consider pictorial presentation mode for targeting those who are English illiterates. Schools can also be a fertile ground for creating awareness about good foods and their nutritional superiority. .

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

BREAD TOASTS-CHEMISTRY BEHIND ITS POPULARITY

Bread is consumed widely in the western world in many forms, the most common being toasts which form the main stay of a break fast. The ubiquitous sandwich is also based on bread slices though they are not generally toasted. Of course there are some types of toasted sandwich with different filling and sandwich toaster is a standard fixture in most kitchens. Early habits developed amongst children are carried forward through out life unless there are cataclysmic events that make bread unavailable for some reasons. According to a new finding the affinity for toast is developed at early childhood within the family environment because the sense of smell is involuntarily registered in the sub-conscious mind that enables the child to keep the memory for a long time.

"By imaging people's brains while they're exposed to certain smells, in this case toast cooking, you can learn about what part of the brain is used to register, store and process the sensation," he said. "While visual and sound sensations are processed by the conscious mind, and are continually being re-evaluated, smells are transmitted directly to the subconscious, where long-term memory is stored." Prof Jacobs' research suggested the preference for toast and its smell was much stronger in people who had it for breakfast as a child. In an almost Pavlovian reaction, the nature of the smell seems to be largely irrelevant, with the associations it holds to events from our past playing a much more significant role. He said: "We can form these associations with smells at any age. All that's required is a consistent smell, combined with an event powerful enough to pin a given emotion to that particular set of chemicals. "Children's minds are much more plastic, in that the neural pathways are constantly developing. Therefore it's not really surprising to find that people exposed to toast as children have a much stronger affinity for the smell in later life.

One wonders whether such a proposition holds good for all foods to which a child is exposed during its early stages of development. How about the staples? It is known that those consuming rice never like wheat or other grains s a regular food while wheat eaters do not appreciate rice except for occasional consumption. Similarly those used to coarse grains like Ragi, Bajra etc invariably prefer these grains over others because they were brought up on these foods. How about the extreme smell sensations emanated from Garlic,Durian, Jackfruit etc which are either liked very much or spurned as rotten smell by those liking them? Probably same explanation may hold good for the reaction to these extreme smells. The finding is indeed beneficial to young mothers who have the unenviable task of bringing up healthy kids and avoiding foods which are not healthy but good in smelling and perseverance at this stage will pay off in the long run.

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

WHAT IS GOING ON ON "OBESITY FRONT"?-A REALITY CHECK

There are many views regarding the cause of the most visible symptom of over eating, the obesity. The blame game for this uncontrollable phenomenon pitches diverse groups against each other though there is no clarity as to what needs to be done to arrest this "giant" problem. All said and done, all are collectively responsible for this undesirable trend being witnessed to day. Individuals are not restraining their urge to eat disproportionate to their body needs, parents are not exercising adequate control on the food habits of their children, community and social institutions are guilty of practicing consumption of rich foods, industry is not serving the cause by promoting blatantly unhealthy processed foods, R & D scientists are not re-orienting their efforts in combating this problem through better foods and government is not using its power of taxing unhealthy foods to make them costlier. It is a collective failure for which the whole world is paying a heavy price in the form of widespread diseases, wastage of human resources and lost productivity.

"While experts argue over whether to blame individuals, society, fast food or families for the rapid rise in obesity rates, perhaps the more pressing question is what to do about it. The answers are pouring in -- from radio talk shows, blogs, editorial pages -- amping up the feelings of the already fed up".

Probably United Nations must consider holding a special meeting of its member nations to consider this "death wish" amongst some of its population through over eating and unbalanced eating to evolve a consensus on the strategy to be adopted to over come the tragic situation through cooperative efforts of all stake holders, the consumer, industry, the governments, food experts, research scientists, medical professionals, sociologists, psychologists and educational agencies.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com