DAVID RUSSELL ON

Reprogramme now or 2020 will be insufferable

Today one in three children, our future customers, has difficulty with learning, reading, writing or attention. Children with special education needs number one in six. Some 250 million children, worldwide, are on stimulant drugs such as Ritalin and at least 250 million prescriptions for anti-depressants for children were issued in 2005. If we do not change our approach and culture towards food now, 2020 will be insufferable. Over the last three months, as part of the process to demystify the present day food battleground, we have discussed the role of vitamins, minerals and fats in student diets, now lets talk carbohydrates. Carbohydrate dominant foods consist of cereals, grains, starchy vegetables and fruits. The most simple carbohydrates are known as simple sugars or monosaccharides. When you eat a simple sugar or refined carbohydrate it requires little or no digestion and is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream. This elicits a rapid and excessive insulin response, and it is for this reason that refined carbohydrates are so bad for you. Our body is not designed to handle a regular intake of refined carbohydrates with impunity. The Glycaemic Index (GI) is a numerical system of measuring how fast a carbohydrate triggers a rise in circulating blood sugar, the higher the number, the greater the blood sugar response. Glycaemic Load (GL) is a relatively new assessment, which creates a fuller picture combining GI with how much of that carbohydrate is in a serving a quantitative measure. Enter the fat burner, Glucagon, the Hero Hormone produced by the pancreas, the same source as the Villain Insulin. Glucagon enters the scene when blood sugar levels are low, evening out your blood glucose levels by informing your body to breakdown fat and burn it for energy. A low GL eating approach aids weight control by optimising insulin and glucagon levels, stabilising blood sugar levels, literally reprogramming your metabolism to burn fat. Whats my point? The major cause of our obesity epidemic is an increase in sugar and refined carbohydrates in the diet its not fat. How can we help? Provide foods for our students with low GLs see our GL counter on www.russellpartnership.com. Its not hard with the knowledge, we can re-programme our approach. FOOD FOR THOUGHT KNOWLEDGE HELPS THINK GLS BREAKFAST GLs Low GL Granola 3.5 A bowl of Cornflakes 120gs Blueberries or Strawberries 1.0 A Banana Small tub of Yoghurt 2.0 Milk Milk 2.0 8.5

Dont have a cow, man

Beef looks set to become the most expensive thing on the menu as some suppliers are already reporting that prime cuts of beef are more expensive per kilo than foie gras. A limited supply from South America and an increased demand from the Continent are driving up the price of beef in Britain. Since the ban on British beef was lifted in May, the beef industry has opened up to new customers, and the comparatively low prices of British beef has put it in a strong position to export to Europe. However, this increased demand coupled with an outbreak of Foot and Mouth in Argentina means there is a shortage of beef and prices are on the rise. This is no bad thing for the British beef industry, who hope to share in the profits of increased prices, but its not good news for caterers, whose customers are used to paying the going rate. Matt Conway of Defra, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, told UC, It is essentially a case of supply and demand. At the moment demand is outstripping supply. One of the contributory factors according to our statisticians is lower input levels from South America due to an outbreak of Foot and Mouth. In addition to that, the beef ban has recently been lifted and were trying to increase our exports.

Net gains
To celebrate the launch of www.menumakers.co.uk Moy Park Foodservice is offering caterers the chance to get their business up to speed by offering one lucky reader six months broadband internet connection (to the value of 90). Moy Park Foodservice has launched the menumakers website to offer caterers a solution that makes menu planning easier. The website provides a range of menu templates with seasonal menu ideas as well as options for the caterer to customize each menu to their own bespoke requirements, all supported by a useful profit calculator. For further information on Moy Park Foodservice Tel. 0800 085 2749 or visit www.moyparkfoodservice.com To enter the giveaway email: suzi@proactivecommunications.co.uk

GLs 21.0 12.0 2.0

35.0

8 UNIVERSITY CATERER

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10/10/06 2:38:59 PM