I have been very disappointed to find recently that despite all my preaching about local food many of my friends do not even buy British. I think a few of them may even have taken me off their invitation list having watched me rummage through their bin looking for food labels.

Luckily, before I run out of friends, I have realised that it is not their fault and British produce is actually more difficult to find than it should be.

The problem is that supermarkets stack their shelves by product rather than origin. I am sure most of us, would like to see this reversed and see a local, regional and national section and would always visit them first. I am sure supermarkets will use the excuse that they want to keep their products in an orderly fashion but expect the real reason is that they are embarrassed by how little they source from the UK.

At BigBarn we do not want to whinge about supermarkets but to actually help them. First by pointing out what their customers really want by passing on your views via our regional forums (click here to join), and secondly to help them source more locally produced food from farmers.

I am confident that we can make this happen as supermarkets are competing for your custom and in most parts of the country we now have a choice of more than one local supermarket.

There’s a new bad fat out there that attacks the heart and the brain — yet we eat it every day, says Amanda Ursell

There are, as we know, some good guys in the fat camp: the omega-3s, found in oily fish, that help our brains, and the omega-6 fats in nuts and seeds that are crucial for a healthy complexion. And, of course, there are the polyunsaturated fats in sunflower oil that help to lower cholesterol. The villain has traditionally been saturated fat, found in products such as sausages, pastry, cream and cheese, as too much clogs the arteries and triggers heart disease. But suddenly, there is a new bad fat on the block, which is making saturated fat look almost saintly.

Called trans fat, it occurs naturally in minuscule amounts in dairy foods. However, there is nothing natural about the 5g of these fats that we wolf down every day. It is not the cappuccino culture that is causing us to overdose on milk-based trans fats: these supply just 0.5g a day. In fact, the majority of trans fats that we consume come from a man-made source. That source is the margarine-style fats that are widely used in food production.

Here’s why. To make butter, milk is churned. Nothing is added, except a little salt. To make margarine, however, food manufacturers must pump hydrogen through vegetable oil to change it from a liquid to a solid at room temperature. It is during this process that trans fats are created.

So what is the big problem with trans fats? Scientific studies have shown that, while saturated fats do their potential damage by raising the levels of LDL cholesterol (which sticks to artery walls and restricts blood flow), trans fats not only do this, but can also lower levels of HDL cholesterol, which protects us from heart disease. Even the Food Standards Agency (FSA), normally pretty conservative when it comes to offering firm nutritional advice, has announced that the evidence suggests that the effects of trans fats are worse than saturated ones. And this raises the none-too-delicious irony that, while we slapped that dreadful axle grease called margarine on our toast, thinking it was good for our heart, it was actually doing more harm to our blood vessels than butter.

Aware of the growing controversy, many of the big boys in the soft-spread sector have been cleaning up their margarine to take out the bad trans fats. The problem now is that we are consuming them by stealth, since the cheap margarines used in food manufacturing are still packed with trans fats. They crop up in the most unlikely places: in Twiglets, for example, the lower-fat snack that is often selected as an alternative to more calorific munchies such as nuts. Yes, nuts have more calories, but at least they have good omega-3 and 6 fats and are trans-fat-free.

Then there are Nutri-Grain and Fruit ’n’ Fibre bars, which, judging from their on-pack images and blurb, cannot fail to convey a “healthy” feel to shoppers. And yet they, too, contain trans fats. Not that it says so in the ingredient list. You have to look instead for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated vegetable oils”. Next time you are whizzing around your local supermarket, take a cursory glance at the ingredient lists on your food and you might be surprised at what you find. If you would rather be spoon-fed, then take it from me: most biscuits and cakes are packed with the stuff, from Digestives and Rich Tea to cream crackers, sponge puddings and even reduced-fat cakes.

You seem only to be safe on the biscuit front with those produced by our heir to the throne. HRH’s Duchy Original biscuits are trans-fat-free, because he insists on using butter in the recipes. Other organic brands, such as Seeds of Change, make cereal bars that are also free of trans fats, as are Village Bakery and Nairn’s oatcakes, which actually flash up on the pack their “no hydrogenated fat” credentials. In other sectors of the supermarket, you will find trans fats in more unexpected places. They are in Linda McCartney’s sausages, for example, but, oddly enough, not in Mr Brain’s Pork Faggots.

So what are we supposed to do? The bottom line, according to the FSA, is that we should cut back on foods that contain trans fats. Sound advice, but, frankly, wishy-washy compared to the American Institute of Medicine, a government advisory body that says that only a zero-tolerance policy is good enough. In other words, cut them out completely. The American government has responded by announcing that, by January 2006, food and drink will by law have to flag up on packaging the amount of trans fats they contain, so shoppers will be able to avoid them.

These are interesting steps, but removing trans fats from your diet means thinking twice before you tuck into lots of processed foods. It means searching out the word “hydrogenated” on all packaging, and seriously questioning the wisdom of ploughing your way through a takeaway, the trans-fat composition of which you have not the faintest notion.

These are steps that scientists such as Dr Walter Willett, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, would applaud, and not just for the health of our hearts. He believes that trans fats make our arteries more rigid, and links them to the development of age-onset diabetes.

Those working in the area of the brain would also give three hearty cheers to anyone able to rid their diet of these pernicious fats, since experts fear that an onslaught also damages the health of this vital organ. While good fats, like omega-3s, help to send messages between the junctions of nerve cells in the brain, trans fats seem to get into these junctions and, once there, block nerve transmissions. They are squatting in brain cells, in effect, and disrupting the normal messaging services. Some scientists link this to the increased problems that we are seeing with dyslexia and hyperactivity in children.

My advice? Use the brain cells that you do have left and start making some smart choices on the fat front. There are plenty of naturally low- and trans-fat-free foods around: lean meat, fish, chicken, fresh vegetables and fruit, and 100% whole-grain breakfast cereals, such as muesli and Shredded Wheat. And, of course, those royal biscuits, should you fancy a treat.

Sunday Times, Style Magazine

More than 5,000 years ago sprouts were prescribed by ancient Chinese physicians for a range of ills. In the 1700s Captain Cook had his crew eat sprouts as well as limes and lemons to combat scurvy.

Today222s move toward a healthier lifestyle has encouraged the Sprout Association to champion the humble sprout, providing information about their nutritional and healthy benefits.

At around 10 calories each, they’re very low in fat and also in sodium. But they’re high in dietary fibre and free of cholestrol. They also contain high levels of naturally occuring vitamin C and specific health-promoting compounds called glucosinolates with anti-oxidant properties.

These have proven health benefits in the area of cancer prevention. Weight for weight, sprouts contain three times the level of vitamin C of an orange. Four to six sprouts contain the adult daily requirements for vitamin C. They are also also a good source of vitamin D and folic acid during pregnancy.

Where do they come from?

Sprouts are part of the cabbage or brassica family and were originally found in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their existence in Europe was first recorded in 1587 after becoming a popular delicacy in Belgium, and they became known as the Brussels sprout.

In Britain we produce over 24330 million worth of sprouts a year, a large proportion of which are exported to mainland Europe and Commonwealth countries.

Sprout Tops

Once banished to the outer darkness of street markets and whiskery old allotment growers, brussel tops are now the foodie world’s trendiest veg (along with other rediscovered ‘old fashioned’ brassicas like curly kale and purple sprouting broccoli). You’ll now find brussel tops on smart menus all over London.

Top tips

Buy sprouts that are a touch larger than olives.

Prepare sprouts by washing and then removing any yellow leaves.

Boil sprouts for 7-8 minutes, add salt and pepper to season and toss in garlic butter and a few herbs. Or add sweated shallots, cooked bacon, finely chopped, and tossed in virgin olive oil.

Stir-fry in groundnut oil for 2-3 minutes, add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and bring to the boil, simmer for 5 mins or until sprouts are tender. At this stage you could try adding pine or hazelnuts.

Fry sprouts in butter with strips of ginger and cook,continually stir for 5 minutes. Add some orange juice and a few strips of rind, a splash of soy sauce, salt, pepper and cover for a further 4 minutes.

And remember you can peel your sprouts in advance, and store them in a plastic food bag in the fridge to prevent discolouring.

BBC Website

Don’t overcook your broccoli
Vegetables cooked in the microwave may lose ingredients that could help fight cancer.

Broccoli zapped in the microwave with a little water lost up to 97% of some of the antioxidant chemicals it contains, say Portuguese researchers.

By comparison, steamed broccoli lost 11% or fewer of its antioxidants.

Writing in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, experts said that many nutrients simply dissolved away during the cooking process.

The researchers examined the levels of three major antioxidant groups in broccoli after cooking.

These chemicals are thought to protect cells against damage which could in theory increase the change of cancerous changes.

Washed out

Microwaved broccoli lost between 97% and 74% of the three compounds.

One antioxidant was not removed at all during steaming.

Dr Cristina Garcia-Viguera, from the University of Porto in Portugal, said: Most of the bioactive compounds are water soluble – during heating they leach in a high percentage to the cooking water, reducing their nutritional benefits in the foodstuff.

I think the important thing to take from this article is that when boiling or microwaving broccoli, it is important not to over-cook or over-boil it. Dr Anne Nugent, British Nutrition Foundation

Because of this it is recommended to cook vegetables in the minimum amount of water in order to retain their nutritional benefits.

Separate research from Finnish researchers suggested many antioxidants are removed before the produce even left the supermarket shelf.

Blanching of vegetables – momentarily dipping them in boiling liquid – prior to freezing caused losses of up to a third of their antioxidant content.

Dr Anne Nugent, a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, said it was the presence of water rather than the cooking process in itself which was the problem.

She said: It is not the microwaving per se that is causing the antioxidant loss but the presence of water, and boiling.

In other words, the antioxidants would also be lost upon boiling rather than steaming.

I think the important thing to take from this article is that when boiling or microwaving broccoli, it is important not to over-cook or over-boil it as this will result in excess antioxidant loss.

Steaming is a good option – however, there will always be losses of vitamins and antioxidants during the storage and processing of all fruits and vegetables, so it is also important to store the broccoli in a dark airy cupboard rather than in direct sunlight as this will help protect the antioxidants.

BBC website