Editorial

Citation

Blades, M. (2011), "Editorial", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 41 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2011.01741faa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 41, Issue 6

Nutrition & Food Science is concerned with not just theoretical approaches but also to have a practical slant to the subject, which people can consider and often implement. This Nutrition & Food Science contains a number of such practical papers plus the book reviews and “Food facts” also give useful information.

Papers include:

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  “Handlers’ hygiene practices in small restaurants of Vadodara” covers a useful insight into some worrying aspects of food safety in India. Unfortunately despite having excellent training and environmental health departments doing their best to ensure good food safety standards at times even in the UK poor practices are seen.

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  “Utilization of some cashew by-products” is fascinating paper, which includes the usage of by-products and also the nutritional content of them, from cashews, which are a favourite type of nut.

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  “Quantification of EPA and DHA in seafood of the south coast of Brazil” details the essential fatty acids found in sea foods.

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  “Output performance of a foodservice R&D project” for school meals. This coincides well with the conference report on the LACA conference for school meal caterers.

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  “The role of micronutrients in healthy ageing” covers the benefits of good nutrition plus supplementation for an aging population. Such simple steps can reap excellent and indeed low cost rewards.

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  “Physico-chemical and sensory evaluation of ‘poundmix’ from yam, cocoyam, breadfruit and plantain blends” is a blend of different foods which is used in Africa and a paper on this discusses the physico-chemical properties of poundmix based on yam, cocoyam, breadfruit and plantain.

Diabetes affects around 2.5 million people in the UK and diet and lifestyle can have a major effect especially for those with type 2 diabetes. Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes was produced by Diabetes UK in May 2011 and is a must for anyone involved in diabetes management.

It includes recommendations for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in high-risk groups – these include the following as being protective:

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  weight loss;

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  low fat and low saturated fat;

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  low glycaemic index/glycaemic load; and

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  foods such as low fat dairy, green vegetables and certain beverages.

For those with diabetes the recommendations are for both types 1 and 2 diabetes and there is an emphasis on the total amount of carbohydrate as being a key consideration for managing blood glucose levels. For those with type 2 diabetes, there is an emphasis on weight loss.

The recommendations are extremely comprehensive and cover items such as complications and antenatal care.

Mabel Blades