We are bombarded daily with newspaper articles and programs on radio & television on food/diet/health/ scares. For example, on Oct. 20th the Daily Mail wrote: ‘Five slices of white bread a day can raise risk of cancer’ another day: ‘Strawberries fight dementia’. It is easy to understand how the public can become confused. We are on a push to health and pull away from bad choices. It is immediately apparent how simple it can be to persuade us that the ‘easy’ option is ‘improved’ food.
As I was compiling my research for www.cancersupportinternational.com, the BBC Money Programme’s ‘Feeding frenzy: Clever foods’ covered many of the issues I had pondered. [You will find the whole article on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/6040446.stm]
The following is from notes I made while watching the program and other research. ”More and more of us are going to the supermarket rather than making a trip to the doctor for our medication. We're buying foods with that something extra added, from bacteria to plant extracts or fish oils, in the belief that these products can make us healthier and even brainier”.
But are these so-called 'clever foods' really worth the extra money we have to pay and can they really make us healthier? New ‘clever foods’ are appearing on the supermarket shelves all the time, but the bulk of the market is in three main areas: probiotics, cholesterol-reducing food and products with added Omega 3 oils. With annual sales now at £1 billion a year, these ‘clever foods’ represent the newest growth sector of the British food market. It is predicted that this will double over the next year. Professor David Hughes, a food marketing expert, maintains that our obsession with buying foods with health benefits means ‘clever foods’ are the future for the food industry.
Fierce competition and the dominance of the big supermarkets have put a downward pressure on food prices and the food industry in general is now struggling to maintain growth. ‘Clever foods’ can bring big profits and all the big players are active in the sector. Wartime rationing and its hangover into the 1950s forced the government, and the food companies, to take nutrition seriously. Vitamins began to be added to food, notably breakfast cereals, to try to improve the nation's health thus conditioning us to accept the concept of artificial improvement or fortification.
Referring to the potential growth of the food industry, Professor Hughes said “Low fat, reduced sugar doesn’t do it any longer—that won’t get you growth. If you have a specific health problem and there’s a product out there that will help you manage it, then that’s what will drive extreme growth”.
It was the transformation of margarine into a health food by adding plant sterols extracted from pine needles that led to the birth of the modern ‘clever food’ industry. One company spent a vast sum of money on on-the-spot cholesterol tests outside supermarkets in the ‘battle of the spreads’. There was an instant result— we are talking about a tub of ‘marg’ which would normally cost 89p, now costing a whopping £4.19 because of the added sterols.
My point is once again, why not change your diet overall rather than depending on one manufactured product? Whole grain products, many vegetables, fruits and berries have good contents of sterols naturally.
The fastest growing clever foods in Britain are the probiotics in yoghurt or drinking yoghurt, which have caught on in the UK in a big way. But this is not based on the same solid scientific evidence that backs the cholesterol lowering products. Probiotics are often called 'good bacteria' and the theory is that by introducing them into the gut to enhance the 'good bacteria' already present there, bad bacteria are forced out, boosting the immune system and aiding digestion.
The science base or this is far from clear and much of the evidence is anecdotal. We would urge you not to have these yoghurts because they are dairy. Much healthier to have soya yoghurts or buy capsules of ‘bugs’ to add to other non-dairy food or drink. [In any case, most bugs are destroyed as soon as they reach the acid bath of the human stomach. Much better to have a good diet that creates a good environment in the gut that will be colonized with good bugs naturally and avoid antibiotics including from non organically produced animal products.]
Have you watched some of these commercials? A group of women discussing how much better they feel after taking these drinks… saying they didn’t feel ‘bloated’ anymore. Huh? Bloated? Why? Why should a normal woman feel bloated unless, of course, there is something WRONG with their diet, or, more importantly their health? If the latter, a drink would NOT cure it. Possibly these women exist on ready-made meals with tons of fillers, additives, flavors, OR their diet does not include much in the way of fruit and veg. We return to the same answer: EAT MORE FRESH FOOD, MORE FRUIT, MORE VEG. That would be too simple but far less profitable for the food industry.
The most invidious advertising targets our hopes and aspirations for our children. Scientific evidence that Omega 3 is beneficial for heart health is well established — but experiments carried out on children in 2002 suggested that Omega 3 had an effect on brain function, increasing the ability to concentrate and consequently the ability to learn. These experiments seemed like a medical breakthrough and food companies rushed to incorporate Omega 3 into products such as milk, bread and eggs. These ‘improved’ foods are flying off the shelves with people buying ‘just in case’. The amount required to ingest enough Omega 3 in enhanced foods is far greater than imaginable; children would need to drink 5 litres of ‘improved’ milk daily for example.
Weasel words to look out for: ‘may’/‘may enhance’ ‘could’ ‘suggest/suggested/suggests’ ‘may play an important role’ ‘highly promising’ ‘medical breakthrough’ ‘if’ ‘potentially enhanced benefits’ ‘implications for future preventative strategies’ ‘may protect against colon cancer’. Consumer watchdogs have made complaints and are now lobbying for proper EU legislation and labeling with new regulations and strict guidelines about claims with real scientific evidence backing up claims.
The down side is that there are ‘controversial and insufficient studies’ ‘further studies…are need[ed]’. Some headers from the food industry’s own medium: ‘As consumer awareness has increased, the number of products containing plant sterols or plant stanols and their esters has increased’ ‘Industry races to get green, GM omega-3 from plants’, ‘GM tomatoes could boost heart health’ ‘According to business insights, the market potential for flavonoids in the dietetic and nutritional supplement market is in excess of E670m for 2007’, ‘With annual increases of 12%; interest in flavonoids is growing rapidly’ ‘Sales of yoghurt in the UK are set to increase by 40% over the next five years, and smash the £2bn barrier by 2011’, ‘With surging functional yoghurt drinks driving sales’. ‘Market analyst Mintel says that the sector has already grown by a whopping 432% since 2001, and that 60% of consumers cite health as the chief reason behind buying into the product’, ‘The functional food and drink market is booming in Britain and by offering consumers a quick and easy way to enjoy the benefits of functional products…winning combination’” —other titles such as ‘Cargill focus on health and consumer trends’, ‘Functional drinks driving UK yoghurt boom’ appear with regularity’ — you get the picture.
What we need is the slower, more serious approach of proper science like that underpinning The Plant Programme…not a mad rush for salvation on a plate and headlines such as the following: ‘Fruit and vegetables cut heart disease risk, says study’ ,‘Every week, at least one study presenting more evidence in support of fruit and vegetables role in reducing the risk of various serious illnesses like cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s is published in a reputable scientific journal’, ‘New Scientist slams antioxidant supplement benefits as ‘myth’, ‘A diet rich in certain flavonoids, from eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by over 40%...’ and lastly, ‘Food industry must face its faults’ and sentences such as “consumer awareness has increased…”, “…eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by over 40%...” “ the highest intake of flavonols was associated with a 46% reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer…” “the large study supports not only the potential anti-cancer activity of certain flavonoids, but highlights further the five-a-day message for a healthy, balanced diet rich in fruit and vegetables…”.
Mother Nature does know best, she delivers the whole package [fruit and veg] and all its benefits. How much better to simply follow the Plant Programme [see further under ‘Food Factors’]
And ‘Strawberries fight dementia’.
