Protecting children from unhealthy food products and fast-food chains has been the subject of many conversations. Ads for sugary food products geared towards children have been contested for years and some countries have opted to ban them, one way or another. The United Kingdom, the latest country to do so, has now banned TV advertising for food products high in fat, salt, and sugar between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m.

In Canada, there has already been an attempt to regulate ads aimed toward children. Bill S-228, known as the Child Health Protection Act, was introduced with the intention of restricting the marketing of food and beverage products high in salt, saturated fat and sugar to children aged 12 years and younger. However, Bill S-228 never received further consideration by the federal government due to the 2019 election. While Parliament has not done anything since, Health Canada has provided guidelines for industry to consider, and it is now examining new U.K. rules on advertising.

Meanwhile, our own food industry just recently released a ‘Code for the Responsible Advertising of Food and Beverage Products to Children.’ A coalition, which includes most major processors and restaurants in Canada, chose not to wait for Ottawa to regulate this advertising. The announcement mentions that the code exceeds Health Canada’s recommendations. Perhaps, but many Canadians have been skeptical of self-regulating proposals coming from industry. When it comes to public health issues, Canadians tend to trust governments more than industry.

There is some science to not wanting marketing to persuade young consumers. Recent developments in neuroscience have shown that younger children’s cognitive development prevents them from making rational decisions when watching advertising and can skew judgment on what products are desirable. And marketing is all about creating desires. Many countries have recognized this issue and have since regulated the industry. Mexico, Iran, Chile, and many European countries have regulated marketing practices for food products.

According to Statistics Canada, nearly a third of Canadian children are overweight or obese, and many suspect that the number of children who are obese in Canada may have gone up in recent months. Lockdowns and continuing public safety measures have kept many children away from organized sports and physical activities and put a toll on our youth’s overall health. This is one challenge our regulators will have to keep in mind, whether they decide to regulate advertising to children or not.

But regulating advertising to children is not as simple as one may think. First, television is not how most children take in information these days. Internet streaming services and social media are the main vehicles now used by many of us. Regulating anything on these platforms can be difficult. In 1980, Quebec imposed a ban on advertisements for toys and food aimed at children under 13 in print and electronic media. That ban has had mixed results since many people in the province will watch media content broadcasted from outside the province. Also, food companies now advertise to older children, which makes the 13-year-old threshold difficult to implement, in many social and commercial settings.

Bill C-10, aimed at updating Canada’s Broadcasting Act would have given Ottawa more power to regulate more popular internet streaming services, such as Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and Netflix. Compliance for any rules would be expected of everyone as it is right now for traditional broadcasters such as CTV, Global and private radio stations. Without any of this, regulating content of many media will be challenging, if not impossible. That is just the way it is today. But with an election looming, Bill C-10 may suffer the same fate as Bill S-228 and may never see the light of day.

Beyond regulations though, lies one of the most powerful tools we have when it comes to sound nutrition: education. Kids do not buy these products, but parents do. Given that children are highly vulnerable, parents should continue to act as gatekeepers of fridges and cupboards in their homes. It is critical we do not let parents off the hook in all of this, especially now. Industry will always innovate and be ahead of policy and regulations aimed at banning certain practices. When it comes to food, our best defence is good, responsible parenting.

Over time, as a society, we get to decide the rights and wrongs by asking governments to act. Misguided advertising aimed at children by the food industry may very well be one of these cases. But in the meantime, since industry has undoubtedly recognized that we have a problem by releasing its own code to limit advertising to children, we ought to give this a shot and see what happens over the next few years. But Ottawa should certainly put industry on notice. There is nothing more precious in our communities than our children.

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Although the fat or obese horse is burdened with a form of metabolic illness, the appearance of a cresty neck signals further metabolic complications along the continuum of diseases associated with obesity.

The cresty neck that occurs along the upper curve of the horse’s neck is much different than the well-rounded and crested neck that can be found in a conditioned athlete.

The two are easily differentiated by general appearance and feel. A muscular “crested” neck has a strong and vibrant feel whereas a cresty neck will “jiggle,” feel spongy, cushiony and/or boggy.

Development of a cresty neck in horses is closely associated with the onset of a medical condition called equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Equine metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic derangements and endocrinopathies, including insulin dysregulation, obesity and/or regional adiposity, with laminitis or founder. Many horses with cresty necks are susceptible to chronic low-grade inflammation of the laminae within the hoof capsule and appear intermittently stiff gaited and “tender footed.”

If left unchecked these horses experience a gradual decline in hoof quality and functionality. Once horse owners become aware of its significance the cresty neck becomes a valuable tool to guide management strategies to reduce the risk of laminitis.

Both the size of the cresty neck and its tissue quality have been found to be fairly accurate predictors for the onset of laminitis.

Researchers have identified and developed a cresty neck scoring system to quantitate the risk. They have found this to be a valuable tool predicting underlying EMS and thus the horse’s risk of laminitis.

Like abdominal fat in humans, neck crest fat in horses has been suggested to be specifically associated with metabolic disease. The novel cresty neck scoring system is on a scale of zero to five where a score of zero equals no visual appearance of a crest and a score of five equals enormous and permanently drooping to one side.

An appreciable hardening or turgor of the ‘crest’ tissue has also been found to coincide with the early onset of a laminitic episode. The crest of the horse’s neck is made of fibro-fatty subcutaneous adipose tissue similar in texture to high-density foam and its foam-like nature is very sensitive to electrolyte and water fluxes in the horse’s body.

As a result the tissues in the crest of the neck will take up water like a sponge becoming hard or oedematous with subtle electrolyte imbalance within the body. When the electrolyte imbalances are corrected the fluid then returns to its normal compartments and the crest softens.

At the basic level electrolytes are minerals dissolved in bodily fluids and the body’s electrolyte balances can be directly influenced by the mineral content of the horse’s pasture intake. Pastures are an ever-changing being and their mineral profiles on any one day are subject to many influences, one of which is weather. Weather drives growth patterns of the forage on pasture and can impart significant fluxes in the mineral profiles within the growing plant matter. This is especially notable during growth spurts in forage typically seen during the periods of early spring, fall, or heavy rainfall. The shift in the mineral profile of pasture grasses directly affects the horse’s own electrolyte and mineral profiles.

Although all the details of mineral imbalances associated with the rapid growth of pasture are not thoroughly understood, it is important to acknowledge ‘pasture-related laminitis’ is a much bigger picture than the traditionally held belief implicating the spike in sugars and starches in the new grasses. The “firming up” and hardness of the crest from its soft and spongy state coinciding with periods of changing plant growth can be vital information just prior to a bout of laminitis.

Short-term management of affected horses involves immediate removal of the horse from the pasture on to a hay diet. It is also crucial to ensure the availability of mineral and salt resources for horses on pastures. This measure allows the horse to buffer the shifting mineral and electrolyte profiles as a result of fluctuating plant growth and mitigate episodes of laminitis.

The cresty neck on a horse needs to be regarded with a wary eye as it is a harbinger of metabolic problems including a risk factor for laminitis.

Identifying and addressing mineral imbalances is as equally important to the rehabilitation of these compromised equines as is the sugar and starch content of the pasture forage.

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It is about much more than growing agriculture and food exports, although that’s certainly one of the stated goals. It is beginning discussions toward a national food policy for the country.

As Glacier FarmMedia staff writer John Greig outlined in a recent article (“Farm and food talks bring new voices to the policy table,” Manitoba Co-operator, June 22) the approach appears to be wide open and seeking input from all quarters.

This could be both a good and bad thing, when one considers just how polarizing the debate can be over food, and just how much misinformation there is out there.

There are definitely important food-related topics that need to be addressed within Canada.

The first is food security. Most of us haven’t missed many meals for lack of food, but that’s not the experience of a growing number of Canadians. A 2016 report by the group Food Banks Canada stated in the month of March alone, more than 850,000 Canadians visited food banks, a number that has been steadily rising, up by nearly 30 per cent since 2008. A shocking number of those visitors, close to 300,000 of them, were children.

Sean Pegg, the organization’s director of policy and research told media at the time of the release, “That’s enough kids to fill 6,000 school buses.”

In Winnipeg alone that amounts to 30,000 children, children who are now entering their most food-insecure period. While more fortunate children are thinking of summer camps and other fun-filled seasonal activities, these kids are faced with the end of school breakfast and lunch programs, which in many cases are their most secure source of meals.

Local volunteers, often dipping into their own pockets, according to media reports, do heroic service to ensure at least some of these children remain fed while school is out.

When a wealthy country like Canada has that many hungry children, it’s a moral crisis that must be addressed.

Another issue, highlighted by the recent closure of the Churchill rail line due to flooding, is food security and affordability in the North.

A report, Is Healthy Food on the Table for Northern Manitoba?, from the University of Manitoba’s Natural Resources Institute highlights some of the challenges. It found food in remote locations to be “twice the cost and half the quality,” and noted residents of remote communities have a food insecurity rate of 75 per cent, eight times higher than the national rate.

The key issue appears to be the long and difficult supply chains for these communities. Transportation costs are rising, and with global warming winter roads, a critical link for these towns, villages and First Nations, are becoming ever-more uncertain.

In the context of broader Canadian society, there are lots of worthwhile points to examine. One is the obesity crisis, which now affects one in five Canadians. In addition, another 40 per cent of the population is considered overweight.

All of these food-related issues affect the whole country. Food insecurity, for example, is a reliable predictor of health system use. Failing to act early and address food security issues carries a far higher price tag later, when these citizens find themselves facing health crises.

Obesity is a slow-motion killer that likewise gobbles up scarce health dollars through chronic health conditions and diseases such as heart attacks and diabetes.

Clearly there’s plenty on the agenda worth discussing, but the risk is hot-button topics could derail an important process. Evan Fraser of the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Policy Institute said it best in the recent story in this publication.

“I’m really, really worried that when we get into the ‘must be organic,’ and, ‘must be GM seed,’ major policy initiatives will be completely derailed,” he told John Grieg.

In this spirit, farm groups have become involved in the discussion at an early stage, and show real signs of commitment to seeing the process through to its conclusions.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, for example, hosted a forum in Ottawa June 5 which brought together some of the non-traditional parties along with representatives of the farm sector, in an effort to “get ahead” of the upcoming, and very complex, discussions.

The CFA is showing real foresight in doing so, and hopes to find some allies for the upcoming discussions.

Whether this strategy works or not, speaking early and often to some of these other interested parties certainly can’t hurt their cause. If nothing else it will set the stage for further discussions later.

The next 18 months offer a real opportunity to put food and farming policies in the forefront. The biggest mistake would be to ignore it.

The post Editorial: Food for thought appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

“It’s the same can!” I replied. “After I drink the pop in the morning, I rinse out the can and fill it with water twice because I wasn’t drinking enough water. Let her know I don’t drink several cans of pop a day.

“I recycle the can, too,” I added.

Carrying a can of soda was creating false perceptions, and I was feeling guilty about this indulgence.

I gave up my one-can-a-day diet soda habit. I switched to water in a water bottle. I mostly was concerned about bathing my teeth with acidic fluid.

Media from Facebook to TV have been exploding lately with news of a “link” between diet pop and health consequences, including strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers, however, did not show this was “cause and effect.”

I think we all know that soda of any kind is not a “health food.” The results of the study most likely will prompt further research in the area of soda and health, and that is a good thing. Drink more water in the meantime.

Unfortunately, the short blurbs about scientific research that we read or hear about in the news do not provide all the details or indicate the limitations that the authors of the study disclosed in the article they published about their research.

The scientific details are not always interesting, but catchy headlines get people to pay attention. Visit “Finding the Truth” on the NDSU website for more information on this topic.

I’d like to share part of an NDSU Extension Service publication that lists some questions you should ask. With information coming at us from many directions, asking these questions will help you sort through what to believe. Think about these questions when you evaluate a product advertised in a magazine, on TV, on Facebook, by email or in a newspaper headline about the latest study:

• Does the advice or product promise a quick fix? Complicated medical problems seldom have quick, effortless or simple solutions.
• Does the advice cast doubts about current food or lifestyle practices? Question whether you need the product to make you healthier, or can you make some changes for a healthier you? Often some changes in our lifestyle, diet and exercise habits are what could help us feel better and more energetic, not some “special” product or food.
• Does it sound too good to be true? Be careful when a product is advertised as a “cure” for serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease or arthritis. Be careful when a product is being sold for many different conditions. Some of the conditions a product is supposed to cure run the gamut from migraine headaches, ingrown toenails and fatigue to allergies.
• Does the advice draw simple conclusions from complex studies? Stories on new research findings frequently omit details that would enable you to judge how the study could relate to your diet and nutritional needs.
• Are recommendations based on a single study? One study may not prove anything, but several studies in which evidence accumulates bit by bit can uncover the truth.
• Does the advice cast doubts about reputable scientific organizations? Do not be made skeptical or fearful by implication. Seek facts that support or counter accusations.
• Does the advice provide lists of bad and good foods? Variety is not only the spice of life; it is the basis of a safe and healthful diet. Don’t exclude foods or food groups. What you don’t eat can affect your health, too. No miracle food or product is available, and healthy individuals have no forbidden foods.
• Is a product being sold as the solution to the problem? Keep in mind that the seller may be more interested in your money than your health. These people usually are very convincing, and many of them are true believers in what they are selling.
• Does the advice refer to studies reported in non-scientific sources? Publication in a peer-reviewed journal is a good indication that an expert panel has reviewed the claims. Success based on testimonials and case studies does not prove the usefulness or safety of any product.
• Does the advice include recommendations drawn from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups? Animals and people are different. Men and women are different. Also, age, economics, race and many other factors are important.

Each “Yes” answer raises a red flag. Dig a little deeper and look a little further when the flags go up.

Consider your beverage choices and have water or another healthful beverage when you are thirsty.

Studies with rats and humans have shown that blueberries may help improve memory. Remember that all berries are very rich in antioxidants, which help neutralize the effects of substances that damage DNA and cell membranes. Enjoy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to nourish your body and brain.

Here’s a recipe for a healthy drink courtesy of the Midwest Dairy Association. Experiment with other types of berries, too. Don’t believe everything you see or hear. Asking a few questions and having a bit of healthy skepticism can let you make better decisions.

Blues buster smoothie

• 1 (6-oz.) container low-fat blueberry-flavoured yogurt
• 1/2 c. apple juice
• 2/3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
• 3 to 4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Makes one serving with 140 calories, 7 grams (g) fat, 7 g protein, 13 g carbohydrate, 2 g fibre and 330 milligrams sodium.

The post The truth behind nutrition and health headlines appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

• Undernutrition affects nearly 800 million people, accounting for approximately 12 per cent of deaths worldwide. In developing countries, 60 per cent of deaths in the under-five age group are linked with low weight.
• Children who are deprived of an adequate diet in utero and during their first 1,000 days are compromised physically and intellectually for life. Stunting, when a child’s height is low for his or her age and wasting, when weight is too low for a child’s height, are both indicators of chronic undernutrition. According to an FAO report, adult productivity losses in South Asia due to the combined effect of stunting, iodine deficiency and iron deficiency are equivalent to two to four per cent of GDP every year.
• Two billion people globally suffer from micronutrient deficiencies.
• At the other end of the spectrum however, is overnutrition, a phenomenon that is escalating rapidly in both developed and developing economies. While the issue hasn’t received as much attention because of the “more compelling problems at the other end of the scale,” it is now surfacing as a serious threat to human health and the economy. Governments in some middle-income countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico face the double burden of famine and obesity.
• Worldwide obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980. There are now an estimated 2.458 billion adults over the age of 20 characterized as overweight or obese. The number of undernourished in the world is placed at 805 million. That means there are now three times more people in the world who are overweight than undernourished.

The post Malnutrition has many faces appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Global rates of malnutrition are growing at an unprecedented pace, despite progress that has been made reducing hunger and poverty.

Sandwiched between the two extremes of famine and obesity, currently one in three world citizens suffers from effects of poor diet.

If left unchecked, that ratio is expected to reach one in two by 2035, largely due to surging rates of obesity in emerging and developed economies.

“We can no longer say that malnutrition is a poor-country issue,” keynote speaker Patrick Webb, director of USAID’s Feed the Future Nutrition Innovation Lab at Tufts University in Boston, told a symposium here in early December.

• Read more: Malnutrition has many faces

“Our diets are not helping us anymore, they are hindering us,” he said as politicians, non-government organizations, researchers and even a smattering of royalty gathered to explore how policy, trade and the private sector can make a difference.

Earlier this year, the United Nations declared 2016 to 2025 a decade of action on nutrition, calling on world leaders to place more focus on eradicating hunger and all forms of malnutrition.

Dietary risks have displaced alcohol and tobacco as the leading cause of non-communicable disease worldwide, accounting for 10 per cent of the global burden of disease and disability. Diet-related diseases stemming from obesity are rising the fastest in emerging economies where consumers are spending their growing food dollars on highly processed, sugary and high-fat foods that expand their waistline.

The population of overweight and obese globally is 2.458 billion, triple the number of undernourished in the world.

The FAO places the cost to the global economy at $3.5 trillion per year or $500 per capita.

Webb said the problem is complex but fixable. One study put the cost of addressing global malnutrition at US$7 billion per year.

However, the momentum is going in the wrong direction, a phenomenon speakers at the symposium attributed to a global food system that disproportionately favours foods made from grains. For example, Webb said annual subsidies for a few major cereal crops are roughly a hundredfold greater than what it would take to fund actions globally to tackle four forms of undernutrition.

Business as usual will create a “huge nutrition and health crisis,” he warned. “Tweaking at the margins on this is not enough. We need a radical transformation of our food system to nourish, not just feed, nine billion people,” Webb said in reference to FAO projections of the world’s population levels in 2050.

Webb said the problem is partly related to distortions in prices, supports to farmers and research priorities.

While farmers will continue to grow the crops best suited to their operations, the incentives through policy and subsidies they receive for those crops must change. “Really what I am arguing is that we need to pay more attention to those distortions,” he said in an interview.

“Most public research funding also supports mainly a few cereal crops,” he said. “Much more needs to go to support nutrient-rich products if the intent is to have these available for all consumers.”

Turning the tide won’t be easy, but the stakes are high — not only for human health but for the environment, said Anna Herforth, a researcher and consultant specializing in the links between nutrition, agriculture and the environment.

“By 2050, the same dietary trends would result in an 80 per cent increase in greenhouse gas emissions,” Herforth said, noting that would make it impossible to contain global warming to manageable levels.

“More of the same is unsustainable for both human and environmental health. So we need a really fundamental shift in policies to support diversified production for healthy diets and more environmental sustainability,” she said.

Herforth said agricultural investment priorities are caught in a time warp dating back to the 1960s when scientists behind the Green Revolution focused on achieving significant yield gains of staple grains to avert a looming humanitarian crisis.

The issue today isn’t a lack of calories. Although distribution issues remain, the world’s farmers are producing enough calories. The looming concern is a shortage of nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables and fruits in human diets.

Yet the bulk of research and investment spending remains focused on corn, rice and wheat.

“The international and national research systems are set up in a way that makes research on these same traditional crops quite easy to do, whereas we would need quite a bit of change to enable a greater emphasis on the fruits, vegetables, legumes and animal-sourced foods,” she said.

“We need to shift this. Why would we invest in more of the same when that will result in more of the same?”

She said many argue that the food system is driven by consumer demand. But there are several supply-side barriers that give lie to that argument.

Nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are perishable, which makes them more risky for farmers to grow — especially in underdeveloped economies where access to storage, transportation, processing and markets is poor or non-existent.

Addressing those issues so smallholder farmers could grow a more diverse range of crops would serve a dual purpose of boosting incomes because these also tend to be higher-value crops. Increased biodiversity would also favour environmental quality.

Herforth said the food industry is also guilty of skewing consumer choices. “They spend a lot of money to influence consumers to demand the products that they are able to manufacture from cheap supplies of starchy staples and oilseeds that have received the most investment.”

Webb called for new dietary guidelines to be aimed at policy-makers rather than consumers. “Policy-makers have to demand much more from the food system rather than passively leaving it up to the private sector,” he said.

“Since diet is a modifiable risk factor for disease, then we need to modify it.”

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists have collaborated to create an annual award recognizing excellence in global food security reporting. The prize includes financial support to attend an IFAJ conference as well as an FAO event. As the first recipient, FBC editorial director Laura Rance recently attended the International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Diets and Improved Nutrition at the FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

The post Radical transformation of food system needed appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

About 20 per cent of adults in Canada have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions — including belly fat — that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Researchers at the University of Manitoba, Laval University, and Penn State University tested five types of oils and found a significant decrease in abdominal fat of subjects on the canola and high-oleic canola oil diets.

“These results are likely due to the monounsaturated or ‘good’ fat that make up a large part of canola and high-oleic canola oil,” said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State University who oversaw the study.

The researchers conducted a clinical trial with 101 participants to compare the effects of five oils: canola oil; high-oleic canola oil; high-oleic canola oil with DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid); a corn and safflower oil blend; and a flax and safflower oil blend. The oils were consumed in smoothies twice a day as part of the participants’ daily diet. The subjects were randomized to a sequence of the five diets, which they followed for four weeks at a time with a period of four weeks in between during which they followed their usual diet. All of the participants had central obesity and at least one additional risk factor for metabolic syndrome — high blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides or low “good” HDL cholesterol.

At the end of the two-year study, researchers not only saw a significant decrease in abdominal fat mass in those on the canola and high-oleic canola oil diets but also a decrease in blood pressure.

This article first appeared on the Alberta Farmer Express.

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We were walking on treadmills side by side at a gym. We had our TVs tuned to the same cooking show.

He probably noticed me shaking my head as I watched the show. I tend to shake my head from side to side a couple of times when I can’t believe what I am hearing or seeing.

On this particular show, the people went out to a restaurant to try some highly decadent foods, then they returned home to try to recreate the recipes. They ate a huge amount of food twice. At the time of my husband’s comment, they were sipping super-rich malts.

I looked down at the calorie counter on my treadmill. I had burned all of 100 calories. Every bite of what they were eating had at least 100 calories.

Keep in mind that consuming 100 extra calories per day theoretically could lead to a 10-pound weight gain in a year unless you counteract the extra calories with exercise.

The TV cooks would need to walk on treadmills for hours to burn off the calories they just consumed.

As I thought about my husband’s comment about cooking shows and weight, I figured that researchers must have studied the topic. Could making the recipes on cooking shows promote weight gain? The answer is yes, at least according to one study.

Researchers used a survey to study the relationship between watching cooking shows and the body mass index of about 500 women ages 20 to 25. The women who watched cooking shows and followed the recipes at home had a higher body mass index. The women who did not follow the cooking shows’ recipes were likely to weigh less.

Of course, not all cooking shows promote unhealthful eating. Sometimes these shows are as entertaining as spectator sports.

Cooking shows can teach us valuable culinary techniques, introduce us to unfamiliar cuisine and provide ideas to flavour foods without adding calories.

However, managing weight can be a challenge with all the tasty temptations around us, especially if you try all the mouth-watering recipes shown on many shows. Moderation is key for many of the culinary creations we see prepared on TV.

We all need to eat, and cooking for ourselves gives us more control over what we consume. If weight management or loss is a goal, consider these behaviours based on information from the National Institutes of Health:

• Set goals. Be sure your goals are specific, attainable (doable) and forgiving (less than perfect). For example, “eat more healthfully” is not very specific. “Have a half-cup of raw vegetables for a snack every afternoon” is a specific goal. In fact, we all should be filling half of our plate with fruits and vegetables.
• Use the concept of “shaping.” That has nothing to do with wearing a girdle, by the way. “Shaping” means that you set small goals to help you reach a distant major goal.
• When you meet a goal, give yourself a non-food reward, such as an afternoon off or your favourite DVD.
• Self-monitor your weight, food and/or activity. Some people like to weigh themselves daily, but remember that weight can fluctuate a little every day due to water weight. Write down what you are tracking in a notebook, or use an app on your phone or an online tool on a computer.
• Figure out what cues prompt you to eat. When you turn on the TV, do you pull out a bag of snacks? If you go out for coffee with a friend, do you always have a treat? Retrain yourself to avoid having extra calories in certain situations. Maybe you could meet your friend for a walk instead of being in a situation where food is present.
• Slow down when you eat. Before you have another portion, pause. Allow your brain a full 15 minutes to get the signal that you have eaten your fill.

Visit the NIH website if you are wondering what your body mass index is. All you do is type your height and weight. If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, your weight is “normal.” If your BMI is 25 to 29.9, you fall in the overweight category. BMI values above 30 are in the “obese” category. Visit with a dietitian or another health-care provider to learn more about weight management.

Here’s a low-calorie side dish perfect for frozen or fresh beans from a farmers’ market or your own garden in midsummer. I truly couldn’t stop eating these when my students tested the recipe, but I did not feel guilty about eating too many green beans.

Snap Bean Provencal

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen green beans
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil over moderate heat in a skillet. Add green beans and sauté until heated through and soft textured. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped parsley just before serving.

Makes eight servings. Each serving (before added salt) has 40 calories, 2 grams (g) fat, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fibre and 0 milligrams sodium.

The post Does watching cooking shows promote weight gain? appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

The kitchen garden is part of Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ campaign, created to reduce childhood obesity to five per cent by 2030 from the current 17 per cent. About 31 per cent of American children are overweight or obese.

Proportionately, adult Americans are fatter than Canadians, but Canadians are catching up. Sixty-seven per cent of Americans 20 years and older are overweight, including 34 per cent who are obese, according to the U.S. Center For Disease Control.

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake,” Obama says on the Let’s Move! website.

Over the last 30 years childhood obesity in United States has tripled, the website says.

“If we don’t solve this problem, one-third of all (American) children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives,” the website reads. “Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma.”

These days kids exercise less and eat more high-calorie snacks and fast food.

Americans eat 31 per cent more calories than 40 years ago, including 56 per cent more fats and oils and 14 per cent more sugars and sweeteners.

“The average American now eats 15 more pounds of sugar a year than in 1970.”

Obama’s kitchen garden was the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1943 Victory Garden, part of the war effort.

“This is my baby,” Obama said planting day, adding she hopes the new president keeps the garden, turning it into a White House tradition.

The garden also helps kids learn more about food, Eschmeyer said.

“What’s so beautiful is it’s getting kids connected with food and fibre and appreciating our farmers and fishers and everything that they’ve done to feed our country,” she said. “It’s something we are very proud of and we are going to continue to work on well past the current administration.”

The kitchen garden, which is mainly tended to by volunteer White House staff, is not just symbolic — the produce is consumed by the Obama family and is also served at state dinners.

“You are literally seeing what the president and first lady are eating every night,” Eschmeyer said. Surplus produce goes to Miriam’s Kitchen, a local organization that prepares fresh, healthy meals for the homeless.

Fruit trees, a pollinator garden and honeybees have been added to the garden, which is producing something all year.

In April spring crops, such as lettuce and onions, are grown. After the risk of frost passes, tomatoes — which the Obamas love, says Eschmeyer — peppers and eggplants are planted.

Hoop houses allow lettuce and cabbage to be grown during the mild Washington, D.C. winters.

The garden has been effective, Eschmeyer said.

“There’s been a real culture shift around people caring about what they’re eating and physical activity and a lot is because we’ve made healthy eating fun and accessible and approachable,” she said.

“We’ve seen this resurgence in gardens in schools everywhere.”

For more information on garden projects visit the Let’s Move! website.

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Do you live in one? It means any place where it’s all too easy to eat poorly and not very conducive to getting much exercise.

That’s where a lot of us are at, according to the newly released Obesity in Canada report by the federal Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. The proliferation of fast and processed foods, coupled with the overwhelming use of electronic devices, have led to this type of environment, it says.

The report sums up the testimony of all kinds of diet and health experts as well as charitable organizations, Aboriginal groups and food industry representatives, and has tried to capture not just the consequences of an ever-fattening society, but reasons why nearly two-thirds of Canadian adults and one-third of kids are now either overweight or obese.

It’s a bigger problem than just a collective loss of willpower, this committee heard.

Over the last three or four decades, unhealthy food has become cheaper and more widely available. Over 60 per cent of foods purchased in this country are ultra-processed. There’s been a general loss of “food culture,” meaning many people now don’t know how to cook. Most of us now live in towns and cities designed for cars, not pedestrians. Many find nutrition labels confusing and therefore unhelpful. The report cites criticism of Canada’s Food Guide too.

It includes 21 recommendations, from more doctors learning to prescribe exercise more often, to an overhaul of the Food Guide, to the federal government providing infrastructure funding to help communities facilitate more active lifestyles, both indoors and out.

From policy-makers to parents, industry insiders to family doctors, all Canadians have a role to play to beat back this crisis, the report says.

You can read the Obesity in Canada report here as a PDF.

Freeze aheads and planned overs

When I was a kid we’d joke how meals Mom made always seemed to be leftovers. No one could remember the originals. That wasn’t the case, of course. But when there was more than we could eat one night, it was warmed over the next. She called those meals the ‘must gos.’

The Alberta-based Atco Blue Flame Kitchen website is a great resource for any home cook wondering what to do with last night’s leftovers, or simply trying to keep one — or two — meals ahead of schedule. On it you’ll find recipes both for freezing whole meals for later use — helpful as you get ready for a busy spring seeding season — plus other ideas for creatively using leftovers from yesterday’s meals. The home economists call their recipes for stretching one meal into two a “planned over.”

For more Atco Blue Flame Kitchen ideas, recipes, and household tips visit the website.

‘Planned Over’ Cajun Ham Hash

• 3 tbsp. oil
• 2 c. diced cooked ham
• 1-1/2 c. sliced green onions
• 1 c. diced red bell pepper
• 3 c. frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 3/4 tsp. Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. thyme, crumbled

Heat oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add ham, onions and red pepper; sauté for 5 minutes. Stir in hash browns, Cajun seasoning and thyme. Cook until hash browns are heated through and slightly crisp, about 5 – 7 minutes. Serves 4.

Source: Atco Blue Flame Kitchen

‘Freeze Ahead’ Holay Molay Chili

• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 2 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt, divided
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1-1/2 lb. beef chuck steak, cut into 1/2-inch (1.25-cm) cubes
• 2 tbsp. oil, divided
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cans (10 oz./284 ml each) beef broth
• 1 can (14 oz./398 ml) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (28 oz./796 ml) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 c. cocoa
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 4 c. cubed peeled butternut squash

Combine flour, chili powder, cumin, 1/2 tsp. (2 ml) salt, coriander, cayenne pepper and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Add beef to flour mixture and toss to coat. Heat 1 tbsp. (15 ml) oil in a Dutch oven. Add beef in batches and brown on all sides, adding remaining oil as necessary. Remove beef from pan and keep warm. Add onions and garlic to pan; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes, beans, cocoa, sugar and remaining salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and return beef to pan. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender, about 1 hour. Chili may be prepared to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours or frozen for up to 2 weeks. Some flavour changes may occur when freezing. Reheat chili before proceeding. Add squash and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Serves 6 – 8.

Source: Atco Blue Flame Kitchen

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