Linseed oil Market is expected to gain significant momentum, and register a growth of 5.5% in terms of value between 2018 and 2027

These Are the World’s Healthiest Nations

5 tips for a healthy diet this New Year

Eat a variety of food

• In your daily diet, aim to eat a mix of staple foods such as wheat, maize, rice and potatoes with legumes like lentils and beans, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, and foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs and milk).

• Choose wholegrain foods like unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice when you can; they are rich in valuable fibre and can help you feel full for longer.

• For snacks, choose raw vegetables, unsalted nuts and fresh fruit, rather than foods that are high in sugars, fats or salt.

• When cooking and preparing foods, use salt sparingly and reduce use of salty sauces and condiments (like soy sauce, stock or fish sauce).

• Avoid snacks that are high in salt, and try and choose fresh healthy snacks over processed foods.

• When using canned or dried vegetables, nuts and fruit, choose varieties without added salt and sugars.

• Remove salt and salty condiments from the table and try and avoid adding them out of habit; our tastebuds can quickly adjust and once they do, you are likely to enjoy food with less salt, but more flavor!

• Check the labels on food and go for products with lower sodium content.

Reduce use of certain fats and oil

We all need some fat in our diet, but eating too much – especially the wrong kinds - increases risks of obesity, heart disease and stroke.  Industrially-produced trans fats are the most hazardous for health. A diet high in this kind of fat has been found to raise risk of heart disease by nearly 30%.

 

Video: Zero trans fat: Eat less fat … live a healthier life!

Some tips to reduce fat consumption:

• Replace butter, lard and ghee with healthier oils such as soybean, canola (rapeseed), corn, safflower and sunflower.

• Choose white meat like poultry and fish which are generally lower in fats than red meat, trim meat of visible fat and limit the consumption of processed meats.

• Try steaming or boiling instead of frying food when cooking.

• Check labels and always avoid all processed, fast and fried foods that contain industrially-produced trans fat. It is often found in margarine and ghee, as well as pre-packaged snacks, fast, baked and fried foods.

Limit sugar intake

Too much sugar is not only bad for our teeth, but increases the risk of unhealthy weight gain and obesity, which can lead to serious, chronic health problems.

As with salt, it’s important to take note of the amount of “hidden” sugars that can be in processed food and drinks. For example, a single can of soda can contain up to 10 teaspoons of added sugar!

Some tips to reduce sugar intake:

• Limit intake of sweets and sugary drinks such as fizzy drinks, fruit juices and juice drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavoured water, energy and sports drinks, ready-to-drink tea and coffee and flavoured milk drinks.

• Choose healthy fresh snacks rather than processed foods.

• Avoid giving sugary foods to children. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods give to children under 2 years of age, and should be limited beyond that age.
  
  
  

Avoid hazardous and harmful alcohol use

Alcohol is not a part of a healthy diet, but in many cultures New Year’s celebrations are associated with heavy alcohol consumption. Overall, drinking too much, or too often, increases your immediate risk of injury, as well as causing longer-term effects like liver damage, cancer, heart disease and mental illness.

WHO advises that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption; and for many people even low levels of alcohol use can still be associated with significant health risks .

• Remember, less alcohol consumption is always better for health and it is perfectly OK not to drink.

• You should not drink alcohol at all if you are: pregnant or breastfeeding; driving, operating machinery or undertaking other activities that involve related risks; you have health problems which may be made worse by alcohol; you are taking medicines which directly interact with alcohol; or you have difficulties with controlling your drinking.

• If you think your or someone you love may have problems with alcohol or other psychoactive substances, don’t be afraid to reach out for help from your health worker or a specialist drug and alcohol service. WHO has also developed a self-help guide to provide guidance to people looking to cut back or stop use.

 

Watch: Facebook live on healthy diets

Plant-Based Proteins

Last month we discussed about the trendy human nutrition topics.  Among them, protein appeared to be one of the most important and hot item in different areas of human nutrition such as sport nutrition, weight management, and health & wellness.  This month we are to focus on the plant-based proteins.

According to Lux Research, plant-based protein could represent one-third of overall protein by 2054.  Introduction of new products with plant-based proteins grew 14.7% in 2014 as compared to that of animal protein at 7.5% by Innova Market Insights.  U.S. sales of plant-based proteins were $553 million in 2012, according to Mintel.  The global plant-based protein market is projected to reach to $5 billion by 2020 as reported by Markets and Markets.  The plant-based food sector experienced overall growth of 8.1% since 2017 as compared to a decline of 0.2% of all foods sold in the same channel, according to Nielsen.

The plant-based milk category has grown 3.1% last year while cow’s milk sales experienced decrease of 5% as by Nielsen.  U.S. sales of almond milk topped $1 billion in 2014 as reported by Packaged Facts.  Globally, dairy alternatives market is predicted to be worth $19.5 billion by 2020.  

Consumers want plant-based products.  About 36% of consumers buy plant-based meats and 60% of the millennials consume plant-based meats according to a survey conducted by 210 Analytics.  About 26% of consumers reported eating less animal meat in the past 12 months according to Nutrition Business Journal.  Nowadays about 36% of consumers prefer plant-based milks.

Most importantly, plant-based is better for the environment.  Producing plant-based meat alternatives generates 10X less greenhouse gas emissions than producing similar beef-based products.  Producing 1 Kg of kidney bean protein requires 18X less land, 10X less water, 9X less fuel, 12X less fertilizer and 10X less pesticides than producing 1 Kg of beef protein, according to study by Sabate et al.  Plant-based eaters contribute approximately half as much dietary greenhouse gases as meat-eaters.  It takes 10g of vegetable protein to create every 1g of animal protein according to a study by Reijnders et al.

If beans replaced beef in the US diet, the US could meet up to 75% of its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction target as reported by Helen Harwatt et. Al.  Substituting beans for beef in the US diet would free up 42% of US cropland or 400 million square acres, or 1.6 times the size of California.

When the meatpacking giant Cargill sold off its last cattle feedlots in April 2017, it said that it wanted to free up funds to invest in alternatives like insects and plant-based protein.  Four months later, along with Bill Gates and Richard Branson, the company joined a $17 million round of investment in Memphis Meats, a startup that grows beef and chicken from cells instead of farms.   Tyson Foods, the largest meat producer in the U.S., was part of a $55 million round of investment in Beyond Meat.  Nestle acquired Sweet Earth Foods, which sells products like “Harmless Ham” and “Benevolent Bacon”.  Maple Leaf Foods strong in the meat product categories acquired Lightlife, a company that makes products like “Chick’n” and plant-based hot dogs.  

Newer companies in the industry, such as Impossible Foods and Memphis Meats, aren’t targeting vegetarians with their products; instead, their burgers are designed to appeal to meat eaters who are concerned about issues like the carbon footprint of beef, or the overuse of antibiotics on farms.  Companies like Morning Star Farm that have been around longer, making veggie burgers for a niche market, are also realizing that their products can evolve.  Technology is making meatless meat truly realistic and will continue to improve.

When Impossible Burgers are compared against Beyond Burgers side by side, a reporter testified both were extremely good and couldn’t tell them from the regular burgers.  I tried to buy the Beyond Burgers from Wegman’s and cooked them at home and served them to my family members of four.  Everybody liked the burgers.  Beyond Meats distributed in 19,000 retail stores while Impossible Burgers are sold in burger outlets like TGIF’s.  It just got another round of investment total up to $40 million.

As for plant based milks, almost all the major beverage brands are having their products on the shelf.  There are coconut milk, peanut milk, soy milk, pea milk, cashew milk, walnut milk and almond milk, etc.  During my time in the soy milk industry, the milk industry lobbied that the standard identity of milk is sacred and the other protein beverages to be called milk should meet the nutritional profile of milk before they can be called milk or they should be called milk drinks.  The Just Mayo court battle is well known between Unilever’s Hellman’s Mayonnaise and Hampton Creek Foods.  FDA seemed to loosen up the standard of identity quite a bit.  For consumer buying plant-based milk, I urge you read the nutritional labels.  Usually, I won’t buy almond, walnut, coconut or cashew milk, their proteins are extremely low per serving of 8 oz. as compared to true milk.

Talk to you next month!

What’s Trendy in Human Nutrition?

What are the trendy words for human nutrition?  They are proteins, omega-3, probiotics and prebiotics, pulses, plant-based diets, Paleo diet and Forks over Knives, etc.

Let’s go over together one by one. 

Proteins seem to be trendy nowadays, even companies like PepsiCo and Coke are paying attention to their product lines with protein fortified drinks and snacks!  For those die-heart exercise advocates, protein is the king!  As for the dietary levels of proteins for different age groups, the range between 0.8-1.6g/kg body weights seem to be most recommended.  For my own generation of baby boomers, because of the concern of sarcopenia (aged-related muscle degeneration), a higher protein intake is recommended.  However, no pain no gain, in order to maintain the lean muscle mass resistant training is a must to keep muscle synthesis. Enough for protein for now!

Pulses are the general term for dry peas, lentil, yellow pea and chickpea, etc.  They are ancient foods with good protein and resistant starch.  They can grow on the dry land without much attention in comparison with the other economic crops like rice corn and wheat. It is a good source of both protein and dietary fibers.  I recommend them highly and practice it myself regularly.  People will usually ask that they are hard to cook.  Yes, indeed they are!  Take it easy, buys those canned version from the Hispanic isles in supermarket and they are ready to serve and well cooked.  Or if you prefer to cook your own from raw pulses, just soak them in cold water overnight and drain the water afterwards.  Keep the soaked pulses in the freezer to help crack the texture and cook them in boiling water for half an hour to one hour and they are ready to serve.  Of course you would ask how about pressure cooker, why not?, if you have one.

Omega-3 is needed for the dietary fat balance between the omage-6 and omega-3.  They both are essential.  However, the desirable ratio is about 4:1 between omega-6/omega-3.  Our diets, especially Western diet, keep that ratio in the range of 20-30:1 of omega-6/omega-3!  Horrible!  Omega-3, only those elongated and desaturated like EPA (eicosapentaenenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenenoic acid) count.  Don’t be misled by those shorter chained less saturated ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) and SDA (sedonic acid).  Although they are omega-3, however, are less functional physiologically.  Pregnant and lactating mothers are required to take supplement of DHA in order to deliver and raise intelligent healthy babies!  New report even mentioned that omega-3 may also boost immune functions for general well-being!

Probiotic and prebiotic are fashion now, especially probiotics!  Probiotics are live microorganism and they cohabitate in our guts creating symbiotic synergy between the host and them.  Prebiotics are the foods for the probiotics.  Have you ever heard about the American Gut Project?  If you submit your fecal material to them and they will come back to you with what category of people you belong to in terms of gut health.  We human beings have one trillion cells but three trillions of mirobia in our guts. They help us in digestion, immune function, micronutrients production like vitamin B and even biochemical that might affect our mood and mental health the so called brain-gut axis.  What you eat and what gut microorganisms you have determining your happiness and mental health. It really makes sense of the old saying “You are what you eat!”

With that, here come with the plant-based diets, Forks over Knives, and Paleo Diets.  I endorse the first two but not the third.  The former two’s not only take the personal health and wellbeing into consideration but also put emphasis on the earth, sustainability, climate change, carbon dioxide and methane gas emission, and feeding the explosion population as top priorities to save the earth and humanity.  The latter just try to duplicate the ancient hunting and fishing life, a lot of meat and may be fish but very little grains, vegetables and fruits because they don’t do farming at that stage of human evolution. Only one thing I endorse is that they do exercise a lot to chase prays. 

Plant-based diets and Fork over Knives argue that just plant sources of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats are sufficient for both the macro- and micro-nutrient requirement for growth, maintenance and reproduction.  Only the aforementioned EPA and DHA couldn’t be satisfied from these diets unless they can include algae which could produce the two important omega-3 fatty acids!  Can someone help me out on this?  However, I do agree these diets are most sustainable and efficient to produce by getting rid of the middle men like animals, fish, poultries, eggs and dairies.  If interested, continue follow us on this subject.  Happy reading to be continued!

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