eating patterns

Eating meals as a family around a table may well be a practice or habit which is changing. People eat at a table in cafes and restaurants but less so in homes where the meal may be grazed or at the TV.
The benefits of a meal eaten around a table is that it has ritual, the food may be eaten slowly and there is a community feeling. It is also more rewarding to the cook when the food is appreciated rather than gulped down.
Slowly eaten food has advantages and glycaemic indices etc pale into insignificance compared to eating slowly.

Childhood Obesity

There is a growing literature on the metabolic effects of excess body fat during childhood. From the available data, it appears that dietary factors are not only important environmental determinants of adiposity, but also may affect components of the metabolic syndrome and modulate the actions of adipokines. Dietary total fat and saturated fat are associated with insulin resistance and high blood pressure, as well as obesity-related inflammation. In contrast to studies in adults, resistin and adiponectin do not appear to be closely linked to insulin resistance or dyslipidemia in childhood. However, circulating leptin and retinol-binding protein (RBP) 4 correlate well with obesity, central obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children. Intakes of antioxidant vitamins tend to be low in obese children and may be predictors of subclinical inflammation. Higher fructose intake from sweets and sweetened drinks in overweight children has been linked to decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size.
Dietary interventions aimed at reducing intakes of total fat, saturated fat and free fructose, whereas increasing antioxidant vitamin intake may be beneficial in overweight children. More research on the relationships between dietary factors and the metabolic changes of pediatric obesity may help to identify the dietary changes to reduce health risks.
Zimmermann and Aeberli (2008) Dietary determinants of subclinical inflammation, dyslipidemia and components of the metabolic syndrome in overweight children: a review International Journal of Obesity 32, S11–S18

Theobromine, chocolate and dogs

Chocolate is a delicacy which is enjoyed by most people and also other animal species. Chocolate is not healthy for dogs who love this treat.
The reason is their slow metabolism of the methyl xanthnine alkaloid Theobromine. The amount of theobromine in a product depends on whether it is bakers chocolate
(390-450 mg / oz chocolate ) or dark chocolate or milk chocolate ( 44-60 mg / oz chocolate ) in decreasing order. Dogs take some 20 hours to eliminate a dose of theobromine.
The toxicity of theobromine is dose dependent. The toxic dose is of the order of 100-200 mg / kg though lower doses have been shown to be toxic. If a 40 lb weighing dog was to eat say an 8 oz ( 240 g ) bar of dark chocolate it would within a few hours develop severe abdominal symptoms. Eating more may lead to death. The theobromine is a cardiovascular and central nervous system stimulant. While theobromine and caffeine are similar in that they are related alkaloids, theobromine is weaker in both its inhibition of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterases and of adenosine receptors.
The advise and care of a Vet is essential in these cases. Intravenous fluids, activated charcoal to diminish absorption and anti seizure drugs may be required.

surveys, height and culture

In most surveys quantitative data are gathered with questionnaires and interviews. A comparison of such self reported data with measured equivalents shows that people systematically underestimate or overestimate frequencies (cigarettes smoked
daily, age of onset, time to pregnancy) or clinical parameters (height, weight, blood pressure). This may occur because participants intentionally or unintentionally round figures to a preferred end digit. Bopp et al analysed the preference for the end digits zero and five when reporting height. Since height is overestimated in almost all cultures (with variable magnitude) people who round to zero and five probably overestimate rather than underestimate their height.
Their results show shows similarities between languages belonging to the same family. People speaking Germanic (and possibly Slavic) languages indicated the end digits zero or five consistently less frequently than did people speaking a Romance, Greek, or Semitic language. In a large and representative Swiss sample, people kept the end digit preference characteristic for their native language even when living in a region using a different language, suggesting that such preferences are inherent in culture.
This cultural bias might be particularly important when analysing trends in countries with high cultural preferences for rounding numbers and this could mask or exaggerate real differences between populations and could also explain why differences between measured and self reported estimates vary between cultures.
This is a real lesson for international surveys where countries are compared.
Bopp et Faeh 2008. Who gives me fives? BMJ vol 337, 1463

eating behaviour and risk of obesity

Maruyama and colleagues in Osaka Japan have reported a fascinating study on eating quickly and eating until full ( Maruyama et al 2008 The joint impact on being overweight of self reported behaviours of eating quickly and eating until full: cross sectional survey BMJ vol 337 pp 1091-1093
Eating quickly, gorging and binge eating have been associated with total energy intake satiety, insulin resistance and being overweight and obesity. This combination increases the risk of being obese 3 fold.
The show in heir study that eating until full and eating quickly were associated with being overweight in Japanese men and women.
There may well have been a radical change in social behaviour and eating patterns over the period that obesity has been a problem.
The paper was accompanied by and editorial
Denney-Wilson and Campbell 2008 Eating behaviour and obesity. Eating fast and until full trebles the risk. BMJ vol 337 pp 1064-5

long chain fatty acid membrane function

In the December 2008 British Journal of Nutrition Chapkin et al ( Bioactive dietary long chain fatty acids: emerging mechanisms of action BJN vol 100 pp 1152-57) discuss the role of dietary long chain fatty acids.
They describe the plasma membrane of eukaryotic cells as containing self organising intrinsically unstable liquid ordered domains or lipid assemblies in which key transduction proteins are localised.
These are lipid rafts ( 10-200 nm ) and consist of cholesterol and sphingolipid microdomains which do not integrate readily with the phospholipid biolayers. They suggest that dietary long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids . especially n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and maybe conjugated fatty acids alter the basic properties of cell membrane, lipid raft behaviour and protein function. And hence cell signalling, protein trafficking and cell cytokinetics and apoptosis. The balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis is critical to the maintenance of steady state cell populations in the body.

dioxin chemistry and biology

Dioxins are polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, formed from two benzene rings joined by 2 oxygen bridges, forming an aromatic ether. These are environmental pollutants and are teratogens, mutagens and possibly carcinogens. They are fat soluble and accumulate in mammalian tissues , giving them a prolonged biological life.
Chlorine atoms are attached at 8 different sites at positions 1-4 and 6-9. There are more than 75 cogeners of dioxin, where dioxin have chlorine at 2,3,7 and 8 positions there is enhanced toxicity.
Dioxins originate from the incineration of chlorine containing substances such as polyvinyl chloride, in the bleaching of paper and from natural events e.g. volcanoes and forest fires. Open burning of wood, waste, and diesel emissions are important sources of dioxin. Dioxins are to be found in cigarette smoke.
Dioxins enter the human body by eating food especially fish, meat and dairy products. The fat solubility of dioxin holds dioxin in the food chain. Dioxins are an occupational risk during herbicide use. Dioxin may be transposed to children through breast milk. This persists for 6-8 years. The lipid accumulation of dioxins is a major factor in the accumulative toxicity of these substances with a half life of 8 years.
Toxicity includes
Increase tumour incidence
Developmental abnormalities
Thyroid disorders
Immune problems
Diabetes
Altering the male to female ratio in babies in an at risk population.
Skin lesions

caffeine and pregnancy

In a study reported in the BMJ and accompanied with an Editorial the effect of caffeine intake during pregnancy is discussed
There are two variables which are important for the mother.
The metabolism of caffeine depends on genetic and environmental factors. Caffeine is metabolised in the liver primarily by CYP1A2 and NAT2, and people can be classified as slow or fast metabolisers. The foetuses of women who are slow metabolisers will be exposed to more caffeine than the foetuses of fast metabolisers with an equivalent caffeine intake.
Caffeine is rapidly absorbed and crosses the placenta freely. After ingestion of 200 mg caffeine, intervillous blood flow in the placentahas been found to be reduced by 25%. Cytochrome P450 1A2, the principal enzyme involved in caffeine metabolism, is absent in the placenta and the foetus. The amount of caffeine and metabolites available to the foetoplacental unit therefore depends on the maternal caffeine metabolism, which shows marked variation between individuals, Varia¬tions in caffeine metabolic activity have been found to be more closely associated with foetal growth restriction than have blood caffeine concentrations.
Coffee and tea contain a variety of chemical com¬pounds, but most of the health concerns relate to caffeine. One cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine and a cup of tea about half of this amount; the exact amount varies according to cup size, brewing methods, and brands of coffee or tea. Caffeine is also present in cola, chocolate, cocoa, and some drugs. Most of the caf¬feine that adults consume comes from coffee, but in the present study 60% of the caffeine that pregnant women consumed came from tea.
Drinking coffee and tea correlate with other life¬style factors like smoking, work load, and perhaps also dietary habits
The results show that faster metabolisers have a higher risk than women with a slower clearance rate who have the same caffeine intake. This indicates that it is not caffeine but one of its metabo¬lites that causes harm—this notion is supported by another study based on biomarkers for caffeine exposure. Slow metabolisers with a high intake of caffeine may not be comparable with fast metabolisers with a similar intake.
In the linked cohort study, the CARE Study Group reports that consuming caffeine during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of foetal growth restric¬tion. For 100-199 mg caffeine a day the odds ratio was 1.2 . for 200-299 mg a day 1.4. and for over 300 mg a day l.5..
What advice should we give to women who are or intend to become pregnant. The authors suggest that every effort should be made to stop pregnant women consuming caf¬feine or to reduce intake greatly,
The accompanying editorial does not totally agree with the advise about how much to reduce caffeine intake , but . the general drift is that caffeine intake is to be watched.
CARE study Group Maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy and risk of foetal growth restriction: a large prospective observational study BMJ vol 337, pp1334-8
Olsen and Bech 2008 Caffeine intake during pregnancy should be minimised but not replaced with unhealthy alternatives BMJ volume 337, pp 1305-1306
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the meaning of life- update

A recent letter to the Times by Martin Waters tells of the accidental finding of the Universal Truth. The length of Martin Water’s leg ( 37 ins ) is exactly 4.7 times the length of his hand ( 7.9 ins ) .
The circumference of his head when multiplied by 4.7 equals exactly the height of their house porch. (9 feet ) .
Is 4.7 the new 42 ?
Recurrently in Nutrition there come these new meanings of life which are exactly 4.7.

ageing mechanisms

A protein that regulates lifespan in yeast by its genome may function in the same manner in mammals, or more specifically the mouse. The protein is a family of proteins called sirtuins. .
In yeast sirtuin , called Sir2 is a guard and protector of the organism's genome, preventing genes from expressed at the wrong time and blocking the chromosomal rearrangements that sometimes occur in areas of repetitive DNA sequence. When DNA strands break, Sir2 molecules move to repair the damage, leaving their usual positions unguarded. As cells age, the rate of DNA damage increases, forcing Sir2 proteins to leave their original posts more frequently. Some genes that were meant to be silenced are then free to be expressed, generat¬ing a shift in patterns of gene expression that is characteristic of ageing.
Increasing Sir2 levels slows ageing in yeast, but it is unclear whether sirtuins would act by a similar mechanism in mammals. David Sinclair and his colleagues have shown that a mouse sirtuin SIRT1 behaves much like its yeast counterpart (P. Oberdoerffer et al. Cell doi: 10.1016/j. cell.2008.10.025; 2008). In mouse embryonic stem cells, SIRTI also associates with regions of repetitive DNA, and silences the expression of certain genes. But when the cells are treated with hydrogen peroxide, a chemical that can cause DNA damage, SIRTI is recruited to the site of DNA breakage, and previously silenced genes become expressed. Similar changes in gene-expression patterns in brains of elderly mice were found
Ledford 2008 Mice share yeast’s ageing system. Nature Vol 456 p 433

coeliac disease mechanisms

The relationship of coeliac disease to gluten intolerance is accepted, but the mechanism is still incompletely understood
Coeliac disease onset
Certain genetic variants of the major histocom-patibility complex (MHC) proteins are linked to increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. Hovhannisyanin Nature propose a mechanism that accounts in part for one such association, the onset of coeliac disease, which is tightly associ¬ated with the expression of human HLA-DQ8 and the mouse equivalent, IAg7. This new work shows that the structural properties associated with the lack of an Asp57 found in all other MHC alleles alters the specificity of HLA-DQ8 and IAg7. This leads to transaminase-mediated deamination of glutamine residues in dietary gluten peptides, causing them to bind more tightly to disease-associated MHC alleles and to mount an amplified anti-gluten response. HI..A-DQ8 and IAg7 are also closely linked to type 1 diabetes, though it is not clear whether a similar mechanism is involved.
Hovhannisyan et al 2008 The role of HLA-DQ8 β57 polymorphism in the anti-gluten T-cell response in coeliac Nature vol 456 545-548

Alzheimers disease aetiology

From The Times
December 6, 2008
Virus clue to cause of Alzheimer’s
Mark Henderson, Science Editor Times December 6th
Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating destructive condition wherein the mind evaporates over a period of time. This has terrible consequences for the person and thir family. This also has nutritional consequences.
Compelling new evidence found by British scientists has implicated the cold sore virus, known as herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1), in up to 60 per cent of Alzheimer’s cases. The team is lead by Professor Ruth Itzhaki, in Manchester University.
Cheap antiviral drugs that can control HSV1 infections, such as acyclovir or Zovirax, have been available for many years, and are sufficiently safe to be sold over the counter. Antiviral drugs such as acyclovir, sold under the brand name Zovirax, can control HSV1 during the active phase of its life cycle, during which it causes cold sores. If HSV1’s role is confirmed, and antivirals are proved effective against the virus in the brain, the research would raise the prospect of stopping the progressive damage caused by Alzheimer’s in its tracks. This would allow hundreds of elderly people to avoid progressive cognitive decline that is highly distressing to them and their families, and to lead independent lives.
“Although HSV1 is very common, infecting most adults and causing cold sores in about 20 to 40 per cent of them, the research does not suggest that everybody or even most people who suffer from cold sores will get Alzheimer’s. If the link is proved, it would be one of several factors, some of which are genetic, and early indications are that HSV1 might contribute to up to 60 per cent of cases.
HSV1’s potential role in Alzheimer’s is in the formation of plaques of beta amyloid protein that build up in the brain cells, which are thought to be its main cause.
The new research, published in the Journal of Pathology, goes significantly farther, as it has found firm evidence of HSV1 infection in protein plaques in the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients.
The scientists used the genetic analysis technique called the in-situ polymerase chain reaction to detect HSV1 DNA in these protein plaques. This shows that the virus is associated with such build-ups, and suggests that it might be a significant cause.
HSV1, a cousin of the HSV2 virus that causes genital herpes, hides in the peripheral nervous system in a latent form, and periodically becomes active to cause cold sores in 20 to 40 per cent of carriers. The Manchester scientists believe that HSV1 may enter the brain and become active as people’s ageing immune systems lose the ability to keep it contained.
Sources: Alzheimer’s Society, Times Archive

tesofensine and obesity treatment

In a study in the Lancet the value of the drug tesofensine which is an inhibitor of the presynaptic uptake of noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin in weight reduction is reported. A dosage of 0.5 mg once daily along with an energy intake reduction could result in a weight loss over 24 weeks of 10%. The adverse effects were dry mouth, nausea, constipation hard stools diarrhoea and insomnia.. 21% withdrew from the trial.
The more unfortunate side effects of earlier drugs e.g agitation and anxiety were not seen.
An interesting study worth following and seeing the long term consequences, are these successes maintained?.
Astrup et al (2008) Effects of tesofensine on body weight loss, body composition and quality of life in obese patients: a randomised double blind , placebo controlled trial. Lancet. Vol 372 pp 1906-1913.
Bray 2008 Is new hope on the horizon for obesity? Lancet vol 372 1859-60.

Midriff measurement and mortality

David Rose in the Times Thursday 13th November writes on the value of measuring waistline and BMI in assessing excess weight.
If one has a waist measurement in the top 20 % then there is a substantial increase in mortality. In a large study ( 350,000 ) from Imperial College London, German Institute of Nutrition and elsewhere individuals aged from 25 to 79 were followed for 9.7 years and 14,723 died during this period. .
For men a waist line over 47.2 ins was associated with a doubling of death rate compared with 37.2 ins. The same is true of women ( 39.4 ins compared with 25.6 ins )
The waist to hip ratio was more sensitive ( range 0.78-1.10 for men and 0.66 to 0.98 for women ), a 0.1 increase was associated with a 34% increase in mortality for men and 24% for women.
Accumulating fat between the midriff is not good for one.
This was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine November 13th 2008.

starvation and politics

Alex de Waal has written a very thoughtful review of starvation and the practical political elements in this.
Starvation can come in various forms and causes.
Absolute starvation is rare, this is often a technique in warfare where a group of people are surrounded by hostile forces and denied food and water. This is pure starvation. This has happened in Darfur and Ethiopia
Where the supply of food is drastically educed by climatic, food supply Government inaction or error or other reasons than the cause of death is often a secondary event an superimposed disease e.g. infectious diarrhoea or pneumonia.
Amartya Sen wrote that famines do not occur in countries which have a free press and democratic elections. India has been relatively free of famines since independence whereas during Chairman Mao’s Great Leap Forward ( 1958-61) some 30 million died.
More recently the expectation of life in China has exceeded India.
Lancet 2008 The Art of Medicine. On famine crimes and tragedies vol 372, pages 1538-1539

adolescent nutrition survey methodology

The basis of nutrition is good methodology. The November edition of the International Journal of Obesity is devoted to methodology in large studies of Adolescent Nutrition.
Branca , Popkin , Simopoulos ( 2008 ) Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) Study: Methodological aspects .International Journal of Obesity Volume 32, Issue S5 (November 2008)

1. Design and implementation of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study.
2. Quality assurance of ethical issues and regulatory aspects relating to good clinical practices in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study.
3. Socioeconomic questionnaire and clinical assessment in the HELENA Cross-Sectional Study: methodology.
4. Development and evaluation of a self-administered computerized 24-h dietary recall method for adolescents in Europe.
5. Food and nutrient intake, nutritional knowledge and diet-related attitudes in European adolescents
6. Concurrent validity of a modified version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-A) in European adolescents: The HELENA Study
7. Reliability of health-related physical fitness tests in European adolescents. The HELENA Study.
8. Harmonization process and reliability assessment of anthropometric measurements in a multicenter study in adolescents.
9. Sampling and processing of fresh blood samples within a European multicenter nutritional study: evaluation of biomarker stability during transport and storage
10. A feasibility study of using a diet optimization approach in a web-based computer-tailoring intervention for adolescents

European gene survey

There are papers being published with quite sweeping statements about genetic make up and disease liability. This is an interesting and thought provoking paper.
An investigation into fine-scale European population structure was carried out using high-density genetic variation on nearly 6000 individuals originating from across Europe. The individuals were collected as control samples and were genotyped with more than 300 000 SNPs in genome-wide association studies using the Illumina Infinium platform. A major East–West gradient from Russian (Moscow) samples to Spanish samples was identified as the first principal component (PC) of the genetic diversity. The second PC identified a North–South gradient from Norway and Sweden to Romania and Spain. Variation of frequencies at markers in three separate genomic regions, surrounding LCT, HLA and HERC2, were strongly associated with this gradient. The next 18 PCs also accounted for a significant proportion of genetic diversity observed in the sample. We present a method to predict the ethnic origin of samples by comparing the sample genotypes with those from a reference set of samples of known origin. These predictions can be performed using just summary information on the known samples, and individual genotype data are not required. We discuss issues raised by these data and analyses for association studies including the matching of case-only cohorts to appropriate pre-collected control samples for genome-wide association studies.
Simon C Heath et al ( 2008 ) Investigation of the fine structure of European populations with applications to disease association studies. European Journal of Human Genetics (2008) 16, 1413–1429;

Healthy eating

The couple were 85 years old and had been married for sixty years.
Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade.
One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St.. Peter escorted them inside.
He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks,
with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath.
A maid could be seen hanging their favourite clothes in the closet.
They gasped in astonishment when he said, 'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.
'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven..'
The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth..
'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled the old man.
'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch,
with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them,
from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.
'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'
The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife.
'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?,' he asked.
That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like, of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!'

The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?'
'Not unless you want to,' was the answer.
'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or....'
'Never again. All you do here is enjoy you’re your self
The old man glared at his wife and said,
'You and your bran Flakes. We could have been here ten years ago!'

Obesity and activity

It is a axiom that obesity and lack of activity go together. Ther are three interesting papers in the International Journal of Obesity on this topic. Overall the pointers substantiate the axiom.
The first examined the longitudinal relationship between occupational and domestic sources of physical activity and body weight in a sample of Chinese adults. In a population-based longitudinal observational study of Chinese adults (4697 women and 4708 men) aged 18–55 from the 1991, 1993, 1997, and 2000 waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey. The study measured height and weight and detailed self-reported energy expenditure from multiple occupational and domestic sources were assessed over a 9-year period.. Increased occupational physical activity resulted in overall lower body weight for both men and women and increased domestic physical activity resulted in overall lower body weight in men

A second study did not entirely support this. They analyzed whether elderly Iranians in Sweden have a higher mean body mass index (BMI) and are less physically active than elderly Swedes after adjustment for possible confounders. A total of 402 men and women (167 Iranian-born and 235 Swedish-born) aged 60–84 years residing in Stockholm, Sweden, were included in this population-based survey. Iranian participants were weighed and their height was measured. BMI values from the Swedish participants were based on self-reported data adjusted for the known discrepancy between objectively measured and self-reported weight and height. Overall, Iranian women had the highest mean BMI (29.2) of all subgroups. There was no significant difference in BMI between Swedish men and Swedish women or Iranian men. In contrast, Iranian women had significantly higher BMI than the reference group after adjustment for age, education and marital status. Iranians and Swedes had almost the same odds of once-weekly leisure-time physical activity.

The third was very interesting and assessed whether frequency of television viewing in adolescence (11 and 16 years) or early adulthood (23 years) affected subsequent changes in body mass index (BMI) through to mid-adulthood life, and waist–hip ratio in mid-adulthood. The 1958 British birth cohort includes all births in 1 week in March 1958 in England, Scotland and Wales. The main analyses included at least 11 301 participants. Outcome measures included BMI at 16, 23, 33 and 45 years and waist–hip ratio at 45 years. Watching television 'often' at 16 years (but not 11 years) was associated with a faster gain in BMI between 16 and 45 years in males. More frequent television viewing at 11, 16 and 23 years was associated with a faster gain in BMI between 23 and 45 years in females, but not in males. Television viewing at 23 years was associated with waist–hip ratio at 45 years: participants watching more than 5 times per week had a waist–hip ratio 0.01 higher than those watching less often. At 45 years, those watching television for 4 h per day had a waist–hip ratio 0.03–0.04 higher than those watching for less than1 h per day

K L Monda, L S Adair, F Zhai and B M Popkin (2008 ) Longitudinal relationships between occupational and domestic physical activity patterns and body weight in China European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 1318–1325;
A Koochek, S-E Johansson, T O Kocturk, J Sundquist and K Sundquist
(2008) Physical activity and body mass index in elderly Iranians in Sweden: a population-based study. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 1326–1332;
T J Parsons, O Manor and C Power ( 2008 ) Television viewing and obesity: a prospective study in the 1958 British birth cohort European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 62, 1355–1363;


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Yorkshire nutrition

Royal Society of Chemistry recipe for Yorkshire pudding
I am a Yorkshire man. My mother always said, the boy who eats the most Yorkshire pudding
gets the most meat.
The Royal Society of Chemistry quite rightly has put a lot of thought into what constitutes a proper Yorkshire pudding.
This will have every Yorkshire housewife expressing a view.
Ingredients
Tablespoon and a half of plain flour
1 egg
Half milk, half water for thin batter
Half a teaspoon of salt
Method
Put flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle, add the egg, stir until combined then gradually add the milk and water until the batter is a smooth and thin consistency
Stir in half teaspoon of salt and leave to stand for 10 minutes at room temperature
Put beef dripping into Yorkshire pudding tins but don't use too much fat. Put into hot oven until the fat starts to smoke
Give the batter a final stir and pour into the tins. Place in hot oven until well risen - 10 to 15 minutes Serve
Always serve as a separate course before the main meal and use the best gravy from the roast joint. (Yorkshire housewives served it before the meal so they would eat less of the expensive main course)
Best eaten with gravy, then with the main course and then with golden syrup as pudding

vitamin D dosage

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended doubling its recommended dose of vitamin A for infants, children and adolescents to 400 IU daily. Clinical trials show that this dosage gives protection against rickets , boots immunity and reduces osteoporosis in later life.