Big food companies must be held to account in obesity crisis
Williams points to Hungary as an example, where there is also an additional levy on production and sales of unhealthy food and drink, with the money raised supporting nurses' wages and public health interventions. Similar models could be deployed in the UK to get big food companies to change their recipes while subsidising fruit and vegetable access via school meals, early years feeding support or community initiatives. Let's hope the forthcoming food strategy will adopt some of these more ambitious solutions. Barbara CrowtherManager, Children's Food Campaign, Sustain
Zoe Williams' analysis of the links between obesity and big food is spot on. Another turn in the screw I've experienced is that, at least in the case of the two excellent local food banks where I have volunteered, a large proportion of the food distributed – pasta, bottled sauces, biscuits and cakes, white bread – comes from big supermarket chains. Many service users tended to shun healthier choices. I suspected this was through lack of the surplus hope, energy and curiosity required to shift from habitual eating patterns and addictions. As, with far less excuse, I find it hard to limit my intake of chocolate and wine.Eithne Dodwell Bradford
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Times
an hour ago
- Times
Would you try the coconut ‘cortisol cocktail'?
How will you unwind this evening? Nice cup of tea? Large gin and tonic? Or how about a 'cortisol cocktail', the latest viral sensation that promises to relieve stress without the use of alcohol and has got people on TikTok and Instagram frantically excited. The recipe is available in many different variations online but generally consists of coconut water, orange juice, lemon juice, magnesium powder, salt and sparkling water. It's billed as a potent concoction that apparently restores energy and regulates the stress hormone cortisol. 'You not only will feel 210 per cent happier, your memory increases, stress goes down, and you'll get those hormones in check,' says one gushing Insta post. Or how about: 'You will stop anxious feelings, stop depressive thoughts, regulate blood sugars and sleep better and longer.' • Feeling tired? How to boost your energy to avoid an afternoon slump While becoming '210 per cent happier' would be amazing — imagine! — even if my stress levels were slightly reduced I'd be delighted. So despite my scepticism, I find a recipe that looks doable and set about trying it for myself. I find magnesium citrate powder in the chemist on the high street (£17.99) and purloin some posh coconut water, plus a few ripe oranges and a lemon from the corner shop. It comes to about £20 — about the cost of a fancy cocktail in a bar. I measure out 200ml coconut water, add a teaspoon of magnesium, 50ml freshly squeezed orange juice, the juice of half a lemon, a quarter teaspoon of fine salt, and a few glugs of sparkling water. I mix it up — it's a pretty pale orange hue with a delicate froth — and serve it in a cocktail glass. Twenty minutes later I perhaps do feel a bit calmer, but I've somehow lost my wallet in my own home, my husband is griping about traffic on the North Circular, and my son is using a circular saw in the basement. At this moment, I wish the cortisol cocktail contained diazepam. I seek the opinion of Dr Mithu Storoni, a University of Cambridge-trained physician and neuroscientist and the author of Stress Proof and Hyperefficient. Just between us, I ask her, is it nonsense? 'Actually, I approve of this cocktail,' she says. 'I'd probably take it after exercise or before bed for maximum effect. It's much more calming and much better for your cortisol levels than an alcoholic cocktail, or even a high-sugar non-alcoholic alternative, most of which are really high in glucose syrup. They spike your insulin. They're horrible for you.' • Is my cortisol level to blame for my irritable mood? The cortisol cocktail contains no refined sugar, which is a plus for Storoni. 'I would definitely go for this if I had a cocktail menu in front of me. Coconut water is famous for having a very high amount of electrolytes — potassium especially, and sodium — which are great for hydration. And if you're dehydrated, that can raise your cortisol levels. In the hot summer, if you're dehydrated you are more likely to feel stressed, so having coconut water could help.' There's more. 'I like the addition of a quarter teaspoon of fine salt,' she says. 'For most healthy people who don't suffer from raised blood pressure, restricting your sodium too much can have net negative effects, which include an increase in adrenaline.' Plus, she adds, 'in the summer, when we're all sweating, exercising, at risk of low sodium levels but otherwise healthy, then low sodium can increase your feelings of anxiety and stress.' If this is the case, 'having sodium can lower your stress reactivity and make you calmer'. There's good data on magnesium too, she says. 'Magnesium has a very calming effect. It's been shown to improve sleep in people with insomnia.' In addition, 'combined with vitamin C, it reduced premenstrual or menopausal anxiety in one study'. • As a lifelong insomniac, can magnesium really help me sleep? Can men benefit too? Storoni cites a randomised controlled trial looking at reductions in cortisol concentrations in male rugby players following magnesium supplementation (500mg per day over four weeks — a little more than in a cortisol cocktail). Researchers found 'magnesium supplementation affected serum cortisol levels, most significantly before the game, pointing to magnesium's role in the reduction of stress-anticipating anxiety,' she says. As for the citrus elements of the cortisol cocktail, 'the lemon juice and orange juice both contain vitamin C, assuming they're fresh, and vitamin C has been shown to have an antioxidant effect which can improve your state of stress,' Storoni says. 'Antioxidants are always good for stress because when you have physiological stress you are also increasing oxidative stress at a cellular level, which they will then combat. And coconut water contains them too.' So when these wellness influencers swear this drink is regulating your cortisol, they're not wrong? 'If you get stressed your cortisol level rises,' Storoni says. 'Anything that has a calming effect, reduces your stress reactivity, will end up regulating your cortisol. All those TikTokkers may be on to something.'
Times
an hour ago
- Times
11 things that improve with age (including sex)
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We all know by now that muscle mass declines with age on a trajectory that, unless addressed, leads to frailty. But however old you are, it is possible to become stronger than ever. For studies in Frontiers in Physiology, a group of researchers at the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland asked a group of 65 to 75-year-olds to embark on twice-weekly full-body resistance training designed to boost their muscular strength. After three months of supervised weights sessions, they were assigned to continue with the workouts once, twice or three times a week while a control group did nothing. • I'm healthier in my sixties than I was 30 years ago: here's how Six months later even the once-a-week weightlifters had better strength as well as significant improvements in body composition (a higher muscle-to-fat ratio), cholesterol and blood sugar control. 'It is never too late to weight train,' says Dalton Wong, the personal trainer. 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Juggling jobs, families and financial pressures creates a high daily stress load in our twenties, thirties and forties, which decreases dramatically when these stressors reduce as we age. At the same time emotional resilience improves the older we get. According to the Centre for Policy on Ageing, resilience in old age is defined as the ability to 'bounce back' to a state of equilibrium that comes from learning how to cope with and overcome adversity long term. Several studies, including one from the University of Manchester, have shown that over-64s are at least as resilient, if not more so, than people under the age of 26. Physically our body's ability to deal with stress might improve too. Psychologists at Ghent University and the University of Geneva found that during lab-based stress tests, a group of 65 to 84-year-olds not only reported feeling less stressed, but had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and a lower heart rate reaction than 18 to 30-year-olds. The actress Emma Thompson, 66, recently said: 'You need sex because it's part of your health plan, if you like. It should really be on the NHS. It should. It's so good for you.' She should have added that sex is also more satisfying from our mid-fifties onwards. Fifty-four per cent of men and 31 per cent of women over 70 in England are sexually active, with a third of these having frequent sex — at least twice a month — according to data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour. • Yes, you can have great sex after 60 — I should know It is also likely to be the best sex of their lives for many, with a study in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics finding that both men and women reported higher satisfaction with sex as they aged. Elsewhere, psychologists at the University of California discovered that women aged 55 to 80-plus reported higher orgasm satisfaction, even if levels of physical arousal had declined. 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Life in old age is often more stable, enabling us to focus more on the present and less on planning for the future, and people tend to feel more satisfied with their close friends and family members, Charles found in her research lasting over two decades. 'This mindset is one possible explanation for high levels of wellbeing later in life,' she says. Another study of 1,546 adults aged 21-100 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry showed that feelings of life satisfaction, wellbeing and happiness improved from 21 through to the nineties. According to the most recent Sport England Active Lives Survey, activity levels for those aged 55-plus are the highest since records began a decade ago — and, what is more, it is those aged over 75 who are driving the upward trend. About 43 per cent of people aged over 75 are physically active, meaning they average 150 minutes of physical activity per week, compared to just 33.4 per cent during the year to November 2016. At the other end of the age spectrum, the proportion of 16 to 35-year olds who are active is 2.3 per cent down on 2015-16. 'There has been a huge growth in activity levels for older adults,' says Nick Pontefract, chief strategy officer at Sport England. 'This is helping to support people to live healthier and happier lives.' The adage that with age comes wisdom is true according to a growing body of researchers who suggest that older people who are not diminished by dementia and cognitive decline are more astute and well-balanced than younger counterparts., for instance. One landmark paper from the University of Michigan, published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested that over 60s were more better able resolve social conflicts largely because of their ability to emphasise different perspectives on issues, to compromise, and to recognise the limits of their knowledge. And last year the psychologist Laura Carstensen, founding director of the Stanford Centre on Longevity, told Scientific American that 'the belief about old people is that they're all kind of the same, they're doddering, and that ageing is this steady downward slope' is a gross misunderstanding. Octogenarians 'include the wisest people on the planet', Carstensen said.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Britons puff over 78 MILLION cigarettes every day, shock study finds - is YOUR area a hotspot?
Smokers puff over 78million cigarettes every single day in the UK, concerning research has suggested. Studies have long shown smoking rates across Britain as a whole have crashed to an all-time low. But now, researchers in London, who assessed the smoking habits of almost 80,000 Britons, found smokers still had 10 cigarettes per day on average in 2024. In the worst affected parts of the UK, this rose to 12. And each smoker on average consumed roughly 528 cigarettes every year—28.6 billion per year nationally, the equivalent of 78million per day. Experts warned that the 'staggering figure' is a 'stark reminder of the deadly toll of inaction'. Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, also urged the Government 'not to be complacent' in continuing the fight to reduce tobacco rates. Experts have long said the introduction of modern anti-smoking laws, such as selling cigarettes in plain packaging, are behind the fall in smokers. Other tough measures deployed in the past two decades include slapping graphic warning labels depicting their damaging health effects on all tobacco and banning smoking in restaurants, pubs and nightclubs. Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy at Cancer Research UK, said: 'While great strides have been made to bring down smoking rates, we can't afford to be complacent. 'Every week, around 550 million cigarettes are still smoked in Britain—that's enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool. It's vital that everyone, wherever they live, can access the support they need to quit smoking for good.' Dr Sarah Jackson, research fellow at UCL's Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, added: 'Tackling smoking is not just about preventing uptake among future generations. 'Despite declining smoking rates, over 28 billion cigarettes are still consumed in Great Britain each year, generating up to 140,000 metric tons of toxic, non-biodegradable waste annually. 'Reducing cigarette consumption is critical not only to save lives and narrow health inequalities, but also to protect our environment from one of the most pervasive forms of plastic pollution.' The 77,796 smokers involved in the University College London study were quizzed on their habits—including cigarette consumption and the type of tobacco smoked between 2022 and 2024. They found adults who smoked, consumed an average of 10.4 cigarettes per day, with 5.5 per cent of those smoking more than 20 a day. Researchers also found people in the North East and Scotland smoked the most—11.7 each—while people in London and the South West smoked the least, with 8.4 and 9.5 cigarettes respectively. Writing in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, they added: 'Our findings indicate that adults from less advantaged backgrounds who smoke, consumed an average of 11 cigarettes per day, compared with 9.4 per day among those who were more advantaged. 'They were also more likely to smoke heavily, with 6.1 per cent versus 4.6 per cent reporting that they smoked more than 20 cigarettes per day.' Experts also warned that England could struggle to meet its smoke free target of 5 per cent by 2030 if current trends continue. Dr Walker said the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was 'a historic opportunity to help stub out the harms of smoking' but it was frustrating that the legislation 'isn't progressing through Parliament as quickly as it should be'. The legislation—which cleared the House of Commons in March—will prevent anyone born on or after January 1 2009 from legally smoking if it becomes law. It is set to undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords. Reacting to the study, Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), also said: 'Since Parliament last debated the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, an estimated 6.7 billion cigarettes have been smoked in the UK. 'That staggering figure is a stark reminder of the deadly toll of inaction. 'Every day that passes without this legislation is a day lost in protecting our children from addiction and improving public health. 'We urge the Government to make this Bill a priority immediately after summer recess. The country cannot afford further delay—this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a smoke free future, and it must not be squandered.' Smoking kills around 78,000 people in the UK every year, with many more living with illnesses due to their habit—half of which are due to cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attack and stroke. It is estimated that around 500,000 hospital admissions every year in England are attributable to smoking and that smoking costs the economy £17billion per year. The 7,000 chemicals in tobacco—including tar and others that can narrow arteries and damage blood vessels—are thought to be behind some of the damage smoking inflicts on the heart. Meanwhile, nicotine—a highly addictive toxin found in tobacco—is heavily linked with dangerous increases in heart rate and blood pressure.
