Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food
Let’s be honest here: who of us can have failed to pick up on the fact that processed food, fast food and ‘un-natural’ food generally contains high levels of salt and that this can lead to high blood pressure – and that’s a risk factor for heart disease? None of us, that’s who. And yet we consume more food, with more salt and refined sugar already added, than ever before.
FOOD NASTIES TO LOOK OUT FOR
If you want to make sure your kids eat better quality and healthier food, you just need to know what to look out for when you’re shopping. You don’t have to go mad, checking every label – it’ll soon become quite clear what’s OK and what’s not, and you’ll change your buying habits accordingly.
Colourings are one of the top offenders. A study of 300 youngsters by the Government’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) found they lacked concentration and became more impulsive after drinking a mixture of artificial additives. Used in a number of foods, including soft drinks, sweets, cakes and ice cream, these include:
Sunset yellow (E110) – Colouring found in squashes
Carmoisine (E122) – Red colouring in jellies
Tartrazine (E102) – New colouring in lollies, fizzy drinks, sweets and sauces
Ponceau 4R (E124)
Quinoline yellow (E104)
Allura red AC (E129)
Other things to avoid
Trans-fats. The artificial hardening of vegetable oils by hydrogenation can form some unhardened, so-called, trans-fats, which cannot be properly digested by the body. These have been linked to coronary heart disease, and the simplest advice, since labelling is often not very clear (products such as cakes
and biscuits that include hydrogenated fats in the ingredient lists do not often mention trans-fats) is to avoid all foods that list hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats or ‘shortenings’ on their labels.
Salt. Young children’s kidneys can’t cope with too much salt. Babies need less than 1g per day, and even eleven year olds should have no more than 6g. There is enough in the food they eat anyway so you should never add more, and always choose reduced salt options.
Added sugar. If it has added sugar, find an alternative. It’s that simple. Fizzy drinks are full of added sugar, and even fruit juices aren’t the best as they cause tooth decay. If kids are thirsty, get used to offering water or milk. Snacks can just be fruit or crackers. It doesn’t have to be a biscuit or chocolate bar!
Sodium benzoate (E211). This is a preservative, commonly found in soft drinks. Some research has shown that benzoates could make the symptoms of asthma and eczema worse in children who already have these conditions.
Sulphur dioxide (E220). A preservative found in a wide range of foods, in particular soft drinks, sausages, burgers, and dried fruit and vegetables. It has been linked to asthma, but in very rare cases.
Preparation: products that have been deep fried are clearly less healthy than those that haven’t, as they’re coated in batter (chicken nuggets, anyone?) or covered in a sticky sauce, like BBQ chicken. If you can, choose foods that have been adulterated or processed the least.
So does Granny have any suggestions as to how I can start feeding my kids more wholesome ingredients again, without chatting up the Time Lord, who’ll whiz me back to 1925, or moving to the South of France for daily trips to the oh-so-healthy Marché? Yes she does, and it all comes down to shopping. Wahey. We like shopping.
‘The thing that has changed is the way you shop. We used to visit the local butcher, the local greengrocer and the local baker. Everything was made that day or came from nearby, and it hadn’t been messed about with by anyone. Nowadays you all go to the big supermarkets and fill up on stuff to last the whole week, or even longer. And, how do you think it lasts so long before it goes off?’
Scientific wizardry? Better fridges? Botox?
‘It’s not real food any more!’
Granny’s Pearl of Wisdom
If you buy local, and buy fresh, you’ll cut out on most of the junk in your diet immediately and not have to worry about how much you eat – you’ll be healthier and happier.
The very good news, for our children’s dress size, the country’s local businesses and the planet itself, is that the embarrassingly simple activity of buying local is finally becoming` a la mode again. Farmers’ markets are now hotter than St Tropez, darling, and where have you been if your marrows don’t come with clods of local earth attached?
“Local food economies are of the utmost importance to the sustainability of rural communities. They bring great benefits to the countryside both in terms of safeguarding rural jobs, sustaining local retailers, providing outlets for local produce and conserving the British countryside. If we are to ensure the survival of our rural communities and regional food heritage, we must build positive relationships between our local food networks and the global food chain. This would be hugely beneficial for farming, for rural businesses, local jobs and for the conservation of the countryside as a whole.”
Jimmy Doherty, TV’s Jimmy’s Farm
The recent and welcome growing trend to try and purchase fresh produce locally is not just down to our desperate fat-busting requirements, but for three other main reasons:
Carbon footprint. The