Seven European consumers’ associations recently launched a European citizens’ initiative called “PRO-NUTRISCORE”. This initiative aims to make Front-of-Pack (FOP) nutritional labelling on food products in Europe mandatory.

Why is Front-of-Pack nutritional labelling important?

Food intake plays a major role in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes. International studies identify the usage of FOP labelling as desirable to help consumers improve the nutritional quality of their food choices. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the usage of FOP labelling as one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing the burden of chronic diseases.

Additionally, the usage of FOP nutritional labelling is also perceived as a tool which will promote food reformulation among the food sector. Healthier products would benefit from a better classification according to the FOP nutritional labelling, thus further promoting the improvement of the nutritional quality of food intake.

The Nutri-Score Model

The tables and figures on packaging of food products are far from being readable and easily comprehensible by consumers. It is important to translate this information into a simple, consumer friendly, and readable logo placed on the front of the product. This will help European consumers compare the nutritional value of different products.

Nutri-Score was conceived by a team of independent academic researchers. It consists of a graphical colored representation, which also uses letters to improve the readability of the label. Nutri-Score classifies the nutritional profile of a food product into five mutually exclusive categories.

This innovative algorithm classifies products between dark green (associated with the letter A) and red (associated with the letter E). This classification is based on nutritional criteria and is validated scientifically. Simply put, the computation of each product’s classification relies on a nutrient profiling system which takes into consideration negative elements (calories, sugars, saturated fatty-acids and sodium/salt) and positive elements (fibers, percentage of fruit and vegetables and proteins) of the nutritional contents of each product.

Several scientific studies published in international peer-reviewed scientific journals have shown Nutri-Score’s effectiveness and superiority compared to other similar logos.

The adoption of a European Front-of-Pack nutritional labelling system

Nutri-Score has been developed by the French Ministry of Health and defined as the national reference. More than one hundred and fifteen food manufacturers and retailers have followed suit and deployed (or committed to deploying) Nutri-Score on all their products. Furthermore, other Ministries of Health (i.e. Belgium and Spain) have published national recommendations towards adopting Nutri-Score. Nutri-Score also counts on the strong support of European consumers’ associations.

Lack of decisive action has been promoted by policy and regulatory authorities lying outside the health sector and strong opposition by several food manufacturing companies and retail sectors. As a result, several different FOP labelling systems are used at the national level without any type of standardization.

Evidence shows that the overload of different FOP labelling systems available in the market confuse consumers instead of improving their decision capacity. Therefore, a European and harmonized FOP labelling system should be implemented.

Call to action for all European citizens

Unfortunately, as it stands today, the implementation of Nutri-Score depends solely on the willingness of the food industry. In fact, due to European regulations (implemented a few years ago in line with the interests in mind of large multinationals), companies can refuse to play the game of nutritional transparency. European countries can’t make a particular FOP system mandatory.

Even though some companies have set an example and implemented Nutri-Score, others have not (and even continue to try to torpedo Nutri-Score at the European level).

In order to help European consumers have healthier and more informed lifestyles, a European citizens’ initiative was launched and registered by the European Commission. Several countries are pushing for Nutri-Score. It is time to push for new European regulations to fight for the interest of European consumers.

To do so, one million signatures from at least seven European countries must be gathered. It is necessary to mobilize a maximum of citizens to put pressure on the European Commission and to change existing regulations.

Sign the petition “Pronutriscore” on the official site of the European Commission: www.pronutriscore.org.

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You may have heard this question in the media, alongside sitting is the new smoking and blue is this season’s black.

The links between sugar and tobacco (which is not the case with the other examples) is that yes, these two are highly addictive and health-damaging substances. However the extent to which they are socially perceived and their effects on people around us is very different. Smokers now have to take their habit outside where they won’t bother anyone else, whereas our celebrations and ‘pleasures’ are socially accepted, sugar-filled events and we even stuff it down our children!

A study by UK/US organisation Action on Sugar says that voluntary action no longer enough – high sugar intake, including often hidden sugars, are causing huge deterioration in people’s health with massive rise in diabetes 2 and obesity.

Even if you put yourself into the category of not eating added sugar (in drinks or desserts or on cereals), what we don’t often realise is that sugar is hidden in so many things… the study revealed that even in a 0% fat yoghurt, there were 5 teaspoons of sugar… soups, sauces, and so called ‘vitamin water’ are not exempt either.

In my opinion this study is long overdue and great that it has hit the headlines! Risks of tobacco and alcohol have been known for a long time but there has been far too much hushing up over sugar.

We need to build awareness and understanding in order to change behaviour, so plenty of coverage and debate is needed.

Why do I choose to avoid sugar and not give it to my kids?

1.  Sugar depresses immunity. Studies have shown that even just a teaspoon of refined sugar can suppress the body’s immune responses for several hours.
2. Sugar Blues. Some children and adults are sugar-sensitive, meaning their behavior, attention span, mood and learning ability deteriorate in proportion to the amount of sugar they consume.
3. Adrenal fatigue. The highs and lows that sugar produces in the body has a heavy effect on our adrenal glands the triangle-shaped endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys. They are chiefly responsible for regulating the stress response through the synthesis of hormones including cortisol and adrenaline. When they are over stimulated the result in the body is exhaustion and even burnout.
4. It’s highly addictive – eating sugar makes you want more and coming off it causes mood swings and headaches…. I don’t give my kids alcohol or caffeine so no sugar either.
5.  It’s not necessary – there are plenty of other ways to sweeten food – with fruit, dried fruit, good quality honey, maple syrup and coconut sugar. These are much better options than using white or brown sugar due to their higher vitamin and mineral content and lower impact on our glycemic index.

The best simple advice is to read the labels … if there is sugar on the label – avoid it and go for a simpler, sugar-free option.

For more info or help in coming off sugar, get in touch!

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Seasonal Affected Disorder (SAD) or the less severe ‘winter blues’ effect up to one in eight people in northern Europe. SAD is a type of depression in which a lack of light is thought to affect the part of the brain that rules sleep, appetite, sex drive, mood and activity levels. Patients experience lethargy and a craving for sugary snacks.

If you think that you have SAD then you may wish to seek medical advice, however if it is the winter blues then maybe there are a few things that can help you at home.

Did you know that what we eat every day actually affects that super important chemical Serotonin. Serotonin is one of the major mood neurotransmitters in our brains. Simply put, when serotonin levels are low, we’re more depressed, and when they’re high, we’re happier. We get Serotonin from light but also from other sources.

 

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80 to 90 percent of the human body’s total serotonin is found in specialized cells in our guts, not in our brains!

Therefore it is really important to be eating the serotonin we need. The highest concentrations of Serotonin are found in:

• walnuts
• plantains
• pineapples
• bananas
• kiwis
• plums
• tomatoes

So on a rainy day, why not treat yourself to lots of wonderful, colourful fruit and vegetables. Don’t just concentrate on the list above – eat a big variety!

There is a cocktail effect in combining vegetables and fruits which is even more than the sum of the benefits of each individual vegetable.

So go on… let the sun shine in!

The post Beat the winter blues appeared first on Brussels Express.

While it is hard to argue that these are not the most fruitful times of the year for gardeners, there is no reason to believe that you can’t get outside to work on your plants regardless of the season. For gardeners who want to enjoy their hobby through the year, here is a brief guide to seasonal gardening.

Spring

As the weather warms, the ground is going to start to thaw, signaling the beginning of the planting season. You may head outside to trim branches with your electric chainsaw, but once the snow is gone, you also have a great opportunity to get your garden ready for planting. You can start in the early part of the season by preparing the soil with tasks like cleaning your garden beds, fertilizing, and removing weeds.

Once your soil is ready, you can start planting your annuals and perennials. A few weeks before the last frost, you can plant the hardy perennials and some cold weather vegetables. After the last frost has passed, you can then plant your annuals and any remaining perennials and vegetables.

If you’re planning on growing climbing vegetables like cucumbers or beans, you may want to build stakes that they can hold on to. Consider using a tool fitted with oscillating tool blades to make the job quick and easy.

Summer

As the summer heat starts to rise, it is not the end of planting, but you will have to take the conditions into account. The high temperatures can dry the soil out, so you will need to stay on top of watering your plants. Water your ground before planting, and even once new plants have been placed, make sure to provide the roots with enough water.

Most experts would also recommend doing most of your summer planting during June. The heat of July and August can be tough for plants that have been newly placed or transplanted, so it is better to get things in the ground early in the summer.

Fall

As the weather starts to cool down, fall can be another planting season. After you remove any of the expired annuals that are in your garden, you can start planning space for bulbs that bloom in fall. Once again, you just need to make sure to do most of your fall planting early in the season. You obviously need to plant before the ground freezes, but you also want to give your plants enough time take root before the temperatures get too cold.

Aside from planting, you also need to get your garden ready for winter. Apply a fall fertilizer to provide your plants with the nutrients they need to make it through the colder season. Instead of carrying heavy bags across your yard, consider using a lightweight wheelbarrow to make the job easier. You should also remove any weeds that have grown during the summer and till the soil to provide oxygen to the roots.

Winter

You won’t be doing any planting during the winter, but this is an important season for maintaining your garden and preparing for the next growing season. You should inspect your garden for any signs of disease or pest infestation. After it snows, you may want to remove some of the snow from the plants and their beds.

Another important point is to try to manage the soil temperature. Quick drops in temperature can be bad for your plants, and you also want to prevent a lot of repeated thawing and freezing because it can result in the soil shifting. One of the best ways to do this is to lay a winter mulch in your garden. The mulch can help to insulate the soil, and this will protect the plants from rapid temperature changes.

While you may see the most results from your garden in the spring and summer, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your space in the colder months. This guide will help you keep your garden healthy and looking its best, no matter the season.

The post Tips for gardening in all four seasons appeared first on Brussels Express.

The roots of any plant are its anchor and foundation; they are the essential parts that support and nourish the plant. Root vegetables lend these properties to us when we eat them, making us feel physically and mentally grounded and rooted, increasing our stability, stamina and endurance.

Roots are a rich source of nutritious complex carbohydrates, providing a steady source of necessary sugars to the body. Instead of upsetting blood sugar levels like refined sweet foods, they regulate them. Since they absorb, assimilate and supply plants with vital nutrients, roots likewise increase absorption and assimilation in our digestive tracts.

Long roots, like burdock, carrots, parsnips and daikon radish, are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body and increase mental clarity.

Round roots, like turnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas, are nourishing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and can help regulate blood sugar and moods, and alleviate cravings.

Our body is often so happy with the sweetness we get from roots that it won’t even be asking for a dessert!

How to cook them?

My two favourite ways to cook root vegetables are to either roast them in the oven or to make soup with them. Both are so easy to do.

Roasted roots – cut up a selection of root vegetables into small chunks, chop a red onion and add all ingredients to an oven proof dish. I like to add a few cloves of garlic in their skin which are delicious when roasted. Add olive oil and season to your liking and roast in the oven at around 200 degrees Celsius for about 1 hour – turning around occasionally.

To make an easy soup with the left over roasted vegetables – simply transfer to a pan, cover with boiling water and add a bay leaf or some vegetable stock (optional). Leave for 5-10 mins and then puree (remove the bay leaf first)

Here are a few recipes you have maybe not considered:

Sweet potato and quinoa burgers

Sweet potato and kale curry

Roasted vegetable hummus

Roasted root vegetables with buckwheat and pesto

Enjoy!

The post Feeling rooted… the wonders of winter vegetables!     appeared first on Brussels Express.

Greens: spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, salads, collards, pak choy, watercress, rocket, cabbage.

They boost our immune systems, they purify our blood, they promote healthy intestines, they prevent cancer, they improve how our liver and kidneys function, they reduce mucus, and yet they are one of the groups of foods most commonly missing in modern diets.

Nutritionally, greens are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamins A, C, E and K. They are loaded with fibre, folic acid, chlorophyll and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals. Although choosing organic is recommended, eating non-organic greens is still preferable to not eating any greens at all.

Over the last years, the availability and variety of green leaves available has really improved – whether through vegetable basket schemes (see last blog) or organic shops or markets. Even the supermarkets have really improved on the offer.

Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be boiled cabbage! Eating greens can be so tasty and exciting.

For example:

Add a few greens to a fruit smoothie. Recipe here:

Try a pak choy salad with feta and sumac:

A spinach and aubergine curry:

Loads more recipes here:

So as the days get darker and immune systems have to work harder – give them a good boost of greens.

Don’t take my word for it – try it and see.

The post Lettuce eat more greens!   appeared first on Brussels Express.

We are so lucky in Brussels to have plenty of schemes out there to choose from: most of the schemes cater for single person households or larger families; people looking for only veg or a fruit and veg mix; and pick-up locations all around the city (and a few that deliver to your door).

Here’s five reasons why I think veggie boxes rock:

1)   It’s seasonal, fresh and usually very local – this is less food miles/kilometers and better for you and the planet

2)   Organisations worth supporting – veggie box schemes are run by bunches of lovely people committed to their cause of providing good quality food – we can’t say that about every supermarket!

3)   Community – they are delivered close to home or the office and often we get a chance to meet like minded people where we pick them up…

4)   Variety is the spice of life! If we always go to the same shops at the same moment of the week we are most likely to continue to pick up the same ingredients. Letting someone else choose helps us to add that bit of variety…

5)   They spark our creativity! I so often hear people saying they have no time to be creative (i.e. no time to paint!) – but cooking is one of the best creative activities that we can do every day, and we can eat the results. Winner.

Getting a celeriac or Jerusalem artichokes in the box forces us into finding new recipes or to make them up

Here’s a few suppliers in Brussels…

https://www.efarmz.be/fr/

www.cirkle.be/

http://www.lheureuxnouveau.be/

https://www.diepenboomgaard.be

or through a local collective buying group (GASAP) https://gasap.be/

The post In the (veggie) box – Brussels’s wonderful offer on organic vegetable boxes appeared first on Brussels Express.

What has happened to ‘normal’?

Why is it now ‘normal’ that our food supplies have been treated with pesticides that are known to have serious consequences to our health? Why is it ‘normal’ that our soil has been exploited to the extent that it is depleted of many of the important nutrients and minerals we need for good health? Does it have to be ‘normal’ that small farmers have had to make way for huge industrial manufacturing of our food?

I don’t think I like ‘normal’ very much…

Moving to organic is a small but important step in giving your body what it deserves. It keeps chemicals off your plate and out of your body, it helps the environment and water quality, supports small farmers, saves energy needed to produce all the synthetic fertilizers… not to mention it just tastes better!

For many people though, switching to 100% organic is not feasible in the weekly budget (although in Brussels with affordable markets like the Tanneurs, I don’t think this is much of an issue), therefore understanding which foods are priority can be helpful.

The Environment Working Group in the USA comes up with an annual list of the Dirty Dozen – these are the most contaminated fruits and vegetables. If you are going to make the switch to organic its not a bad idea to start with these:

1. Apples (Pears too)
2. Peppers
3. Celery
4. Blueberries
5. Grapes
6. Nectarines
7. Peaches
8. Pears
9. Potatoes
10. Strawberries
11. Spinach
12. Lettuce

The difference in price of these items is not always that big – why not compare at your local shop? Remember it is also best if they are seasonal and local and this can also reduce the price… so no strawberries in autumn and winter!

The post The Dirty Dozen – which fruits and vegetables should you buy organic? appeared first on Brussels Express.

• X can solve all your illnesses
• Y is ‘evil’ – if you eat that you are killing yourself
• Z is the magic ingredient to ‘burn fat’, ‘help you live longer’, ‘be happy’

Basically it is all black or white, good or evil. It’s simplistic, it’s misleading and it’s harmful.

Even after decades of talking about weight-loss, people are still getting bigger. We know many diseases are linked to what we put into our bodies but we still fail to guide people in a wiser way to know more about who they are and how their bodies work.

We continue to post photographs of fake women’s bodies (and men’s too) and fail to acknowledge that studies are telling us that 9 out of 10 women dislike, or even hate, their own bodies and 8 out of 10 women are on a ‘diet’.

So here is my take on what is important at the moment in the world of food, bodies and nourishment:

Trust yourself (not the ‘experts’)

This is why I am a coach. I am here to guide people to understand their own bodies. I am here to give information, to help you to understand yourself and to equip you to be your own best ‘nutritionist’ – FOR LIFE! Foods are not intrinsically ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but they can make you feel ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and I want you to learn that for yourself. This is empowering and so important for your own relationship to your body and in the end your life and happiness.

Have a beginner’s mind

This is a great concept in meditation and requires us to approach each day, each meal, each gap between a meal with genuine curiosity. How does this food or supplement really make you feel? How is your energy today? Note, smile, learn…

Don’t get hooked on one system

You are unique, the way to feel better in your body is to find your own unique internal rhythm and music. Trust yourself… Don’t think that following someone else’s theory dogmatically is going to be your answer – your answer will be YOUR answer. So read and learn and test out ancient or new theories but with the beginner’s mind… see how it feels for you.

Remember what health is!

Health is not a goal in itself – it is the path to achieve all your goals. Health is being able to stay ‘yes’ to life – over and over again. It is respecting yourself and your life. We often see a health issue as a problem, but really it is a symptom of something deeper – of our bodies asking us to get interested and give some attention. Health is a journey for life…

You deserve the best – be a “Qualitarian”

When you are looking what to put into your body, keep one label only – a “qualitarian”. Choose the very best you can find and afford. Go local, organic, seasonal. Choose real food and not edible products. Choose preparing yourself over pre-prepared. Think how did my grandma or great grandma eat? Simplify life – good ingredients don’t need much doing to them in order to taste great!

And lastly, have fun… after all we human beings are supposed to enjoy food and this is YOUR LIFE.

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