Latest news with #healthyfood
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Community Focus: Jonnycake Youth Center
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Jonnycake Center for Hope has a long legacy of helping South County families meet their basic needs with healthy food, safe housing, and community support. CEO Kate Brewster joined 12 News at 4 to talk about the organization's new youth center, which is holding a community open house on Saturday, May 31. You can learn more about the Jonnycake Youth Center at the organization's the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Doctor recommends breakfast staple that's a 'natural Ozempic': 'I tell my patients to eat more of it'
A TV doctor has revealed the foods he recommends to his patients who need to lose weight—as they have 'natural Ozempic' qualities. Top of the list is eggs, which stimulate the same hunger-supressing hormone that the blockbuster weight loss jabs trigger, according to Dr Amir Khan, GP and resident doctor on ITV 's Good Morning Britain. In an video posted to his Instagram page where he has nearly 650,000 followers, Dr Khan said nuts like almonds, pistachios and walnuts, olive oil, and high fibre foods like oats, barley and whole wheat have the same effect. 'These are the kind of foods I recommend my patients living with type two diabetes increase their intake of,' he wrote in the caption. 'But we could all do with eating more of them.' Explaining how the fullness hormone, called GLP-1, works, he said: 'GLP-1 slows the rate at which the stomach empties, which keeps us fuller for longer and controls our appetite and food intake. 'It stimulates our pancreas to make insulin which lowers our blood sugar. 'It also stops the production of another hormone called glucagon that can raise our blood sugar.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr Amir Khan GP (@doctoramirkhan) In particular, the protein-rich egg white and fibre in nuts and oats are known to stimulate the release of GLP-1 in the gut, he explained. As for olive oil: 'Studies show that monounsaturated fats like olive oil are better at stimulating GLP-1 release than saturated fats like those found in butter,' he said. He also recommended three vegetables to increase your intake of, due to their hunger-supressing effects. This included brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots which cause bacteria in our gut to 'break fibre down into short chain fatty acids'. 'These can signal special cells in our gut to release GLP-1 into the bloodstream.' This isn't the first time a staple food has been flagged as having 'natural Ozempic' effects. Last spring, a series of viral videos emerged on social media featuring young women hailing a DIY oat-based drink for its surprising weight loss effects. So-called ' Oat-Zempic ' trend involved drinking a blend of oats, water, cinnamon and lime daily. TikTokers said they shed almost a stone in less than a month by drinking the shake daily. Speaking of the trend, experts were sceptical, concluding that an oat drink is unlikely to have as significant impact as the weight loss jabs. However, Dr Alok Patel, a pediatrician at Stanford, acknowledged that oats 'contain soluble fibre that will keep you fuller for longer'. 'A half a cup of oatmeal, that's a lot of fibre and some water to help them feel full, which may lead to a caloric deficit which is why people are seeing weight loss,' he said. Ozempic and Wegovy, brand names for the medication semglutide, mimic glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). Mounjaro, another weight loss jab making the headlines, works in a similar way to Ozempic and Wegovy, but is 'super-charged' by a compound that triggers another appetite-supressing hormone. NHS data suggests that at least 1.45million semaglutide prescriptions were dolled out in 2023/24, and recent studies suggest more than one in 10 women are now taking slimming jabs. Research suggests Ozempic results in an average weight loss of around a stone in roughly nine months—but it will be the same for everyone. Nearly two-thirds of adults are overweight, with an extra 260,000 people entering the category last year, data shows. Less than a third of over-18s eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and a third fail to get any exercise. Experts have called for the government to tackle the 'our broken food system' with bans on junk food advertising and promotions.
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I set up a successful jam business in most rural part of England – I don't have phone signal but turn over £2m a year
NO phone signal, temperamental WiFi connection and entire miles without any neighbours - it's not the ideal scenario to set up a business, but it's worked for Rachel Kettlewell. The mum-of-three, 40, runs Fearne & Rosie, which was last year declared the fastest growing jam brand in the UK and is set to turn over a staggering £2 million this year. 5 5 5 Rachel lives in the most rural part of England in the Yorkshire Dales. And despite not being able to take phone calls from her house and not having strong enough WiFi for Zoom calls, her business is a roaring success. The former primary school teacher is on a mission to make Fearne & Rosie the UK's most loved and trusted jam brand by making the fruity spread healthy again. She set up the business in 2019 after feeling disappointed by soaring sugar content in other jams available in the supermarket, The business was inspired by her children - Fearne, 10, Rosie, eight, and George, five - and Rachel's drive to make healthy food accessible to all children, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds. 'It's the vulnerable children in society that go to school without a healthy breakfast,' she tells Fabulous for our exclusive series, Bossing It. 'I could see there was a problem with that, and I thought it was quite obvious someone needed to make a healthier choice. 'Then when I had my children, I learned about food in a different way, which further strengthened my belief that there was an opportunity to provide a healthier jam choice for families." Rachel is on a mission to create readily-available healthier breakfast choices for children and their families, and to reduce the amount of sugar consumed in households. When she set up Fearne & Rosie in 2019, her husband Andrew, 40, was already running his own chutney business, so she knew the basics of recipes. Rachel began making her own jams from their kitchen, and would take them with her to baby groups for her youngest, five-year-old George, and ask her mum-friends to try the recipes and let her know their thoughts. Once she had the tastes and textures nailed down, Rachel began selling the jams to farmshops across the Yorkshire Dales and sharing her recipes on Instagram. But with a bigger dream to land Fearne & Rosie in supermarkets, still in 2019, Rachel googled 'Waitrose head office' and rang the first number she found. She pitched her one-of-a-kind jam with no concentrates and 40% less sugar to the woman on the other end of the line, who turned out to be the receptionist. 5 When the receptionist told Rachel she needs to speak to a buyer, she recalls thinking: 'What's a buyer?' Hundreds more Google searches and countless phone calls later, Fearne & Rosie finally made it into Waitrose stores - a staggering 180 of them - in the same year it launched. Making those phone calls wasn't easy, though, given Rachel lives in a remote pocket of countryside in North Yorkshire. 'Where I live, there isn't any phone signal,' she says. 'And there's limited WiFi in our house, so you couldn't do a Zoom call or anything like that. Where I live, there isn't any phone signal. And there's limited WiFi in our house, so you couldn't do a Zoom is a challenge. Where we are is very rural Rachel Kettlewell 'That is a challenge - where we are is very rural.' Rachel continued to teach part time alongside raising her three children and running her jam brand. However, she took a step back from the classroom in 2021 for a sabbatical but never returned. 'I always said I wouldn't learn Fearne & Rosie impact teaching, as teaching came first at that time,' she tells. 'I stayed in my school for a long time, as I really loved it. It's the vulnerable children in society that go to school without a healthy breakfast. I could see there was a problem with that, and I thought it was quite obvious someone needed to make a healthier choice Rachel Kettlewell 'But as the business grew, it got to a point where teaching was impacting Fearne & Rosie.' This then led to the brand achieving a £550,000 fund raise, with investment from FMCG industry leaders Giles Brook, Oliver Lloyd and Pip Murray, along with VC backing from Twinkl educational publishers in July 2023. As far as awards go, Fearne & Rosie landed at number 53 in the Startup 100 list, while Rachel herself scooped Purpose Entrepreneur of the year at the GBEAs. However, the business owner is keen to stress that Fearne & Rosie wasn't an overnight success - it was something she was plugging away from on her phone in the early days. The past 12 months has seen the brand secure nationwide distribution with Asda and Co-op, increasing Fearne & Rosie from 300 stores to over 3,000 stores within six months. Its other stockings include Waitrose (thanks to that fateful 2019 phone call), Tesco and Holland & Barrett. Rachel's ultimate goal is to get her jams into school breakfast clubs, and Fearne & Rosie being the healthiest on the market is her first step towards that. With around 70% fruit per jar, Fearne & Rosie jams are HFSS compliant (meaning they're officially low sugar) and contain only natural ingredients, and never anything from concentrate. The entrepreneur has plans to expand into another category in the coming year, to further make healthy breakfast options available for all children.
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
The £2.50 dried fruit that lowers your blood pressure and boosts gut health
Caramelly and chewy, dates are nature's candy – a toffee-sized fruit to satisfy sweet cravings in place of something that comes out of a wrapper. As a nutritionist, I'm a fan. Most in this country are sold dried, not fresh. Popular Medjool dates are larger, richer, softer and therefore pricier than Deglet Noor which have a lighter honey flavour. Either can be enjoyed just as they are, or else added to all manner of both sweet and savoury dishes. Culinary versatility is one of the beauties of dates. Think past date loaf and experiment with adding sweet notes to savoury salads, throwing a handful chopped into a bowl to balance out peppery rocket or sharp cheese. Or try soaking dates in a little hot water for a few minutes then blending into anything from a sweet-and-sour marinade to a sweet-and-acidic vinaigrette. Whizzed to a sticky paste in a food processor, dates also help bind reduced-sugar bakes such as brownies. At their simplest, though, dates can be slit open, pitted and spread with anything from melted chocolate to nut butter to soft cheese. Although more costly than dried fruit such as raisins, dates are so intensely sweet that a little goes a long way. They have a long shelf life, too, so you can enjoy one or two then store the rest in a jar ready to call on as an immediate, hassle-free and nutrient-dense snack. Why are dates nutritious? A small handful of dates (about 34g) counts as one of your five-a-day or 30 plant varieties a week and provides a range of nutrients: 90kcal 20g carbohydrate (naturally occurring sugars) High in fibre (2.6g) High in potassium (247mg) Source of iron (0.75mg) Source of copper (0.01mg) High in chloride (6.1mg) High in manganese (0.23mg) Source of vitamin B3 (niacin, 1.1mg) Dates also provide some magnesium and calcium. Many dried dates contain the allergen sulphur dioxide so check labels if necessary. The health benefits of dates 1. Dates support heart health As fibre-rich carbohydrates, dates help protect the heart: eating more fibre has been linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity, as well as lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Fibre does all this in three ways: It keeps us feeling fuller for longer which can help maintain a healthy body weight, in turn benefitting blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol management It takes longer to digest, delaying the rate at which glucose and fats in our meals are absorbed into the bloodstream It provides food for the friendly bacteria in our guts, encouraging the production of short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs. These SCFAs are thought to have cardio-protective characteristics. 2. Dates are good for the gut As well as being beneficial to heart health, fibre and SCFAs are central to a happy gut, both nourishing the friendly bacteria in our gut microbiome and protecting the gut lining itself. Together these promote a flourishing, healthy gut which has been linked to improved immunity and overall well-being. Polyphenols – powerful compounds contained in all plants, including dates – also nourish our gut microbiome. To reap all these benefits, including keeping our digestive system regular, we should aim to eat 30g of fibre daily but the average UK intake is closer to 18g. Hitting 30g in a day's eating might look like: A handful of dates (2.6g fibre) A bowl of porridge topped with sliced banana and chopped nuts (8.5g) Hummus, granary bread and veggie sticks (12.5g) Vegetable and lentil ragù with wholewheat spaghetti (6.5.g) 3. Dates are micronutrient-rich A handful of dates provides a range of vitamins and minerals which count towards our daily micronutrient targets and help us feel at our best. They're high in potassium and chloride, which control fluid balance, and iron, which helps make the red blood cells that carry oxygen around our bodies. We also need the copper in dates to produce red and white blood cells. They're equally high in manganese, needed to activate enzymes in our body, including those required for digestion. Finally, they provide vitamin B3 (or niacin) which also promotes digestion by helping us release energy from food, as well as supporting the nervous system. 4. Anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties As noted above, dates are rich in many polyphenols. These include beta-carotene, lycopene, flavonoids and anthocyanins. All have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics, meaning they help protect the cells in our bodies from damage, illness or toxins. Scientific interest in polyphenols is high and a growing number of studies indicate these polyphenols may have a role to play in either preventing or treating cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity. 5. They slow glucose absorption Sweetened only with fructose (natural fruit sugar), dates make a nutrient-dense, wholefood swap for a processed biscuit when we're craving something sweet. Their GI index – that is the measure of how quickly foods raise blood glucose – is low to medium because their high-fibre content slows digestion, preventing sugars from spiking. 'Dressing them up' by eating them alongside some protein and healthy fat (for example by mixing them with nuts or nut butter) will also blunt glucose absorption. Put together, these factors help you avoid the energy-and-mood roller-coaster of sugar spikes followed by slumps that you'd instead get from eating a sweet biscuit. All the same, it's important to remember that dates are still high in sugar, fruit sugar or not – so they're not to be eaten without any moderation. If consumed regularly in excess, dried fruits, like dates or apricots, can damage teeth, both because they're sugary and because they're sticky and tend to coat tooth enamel. Offset this by eating them either as part of a meal or, if snacking, pairing with another food (like that nut butter again). What does a portion of dates look like? Limit portions to a small handful. It's easy to over-consume dried fruit because it's small and snackable: you'd likely never eat more than one or two whole fresh apricots at once, for example, but you might get through a great many more dried ones without really considering it. And although we tend to normally only eat dates dried, not fresh, the same principle applies and can be useful to help us visualise appropriate portions. In doing so, we can keep sugar and energy intake in check. Using dates in baking Whilst we talk sugar, a final footnote on baking. There's a myth that baking with syrups such as date, maple or honey is more nutritious than baking with caster sugar. It's true that these liquid sweeteners contain less sugar (versus 100g caster sugar, honey contains 80g, date syrup 66g and maple syrup 65g) but do be aware that they're all still considered free sugars and your body will treat them all equally. Free sugars are any that are added to food and drink, plus the sugar in fruit juice, honey and syrups – and we should aim to limit them to prevent tooth decay and weight gain. In any case, blending dates whole at home retains the fibre and other nutrients whilst a shop-bought bottle of date syrup has had all these valuable nutrients stripped out during processing. So, if you want to try baking with date syrup, don't buy it, make your own easy version at home (see Tip 1 below). FAQs Are dates high in iron? Yes, they're a good plant-based source making them particularly useful for vegetarians and vegans who must ensure they get enough. Dried apricots are high in iron, too, so mixing the two fruits together in the muesli and salad below is a simple way to boost intake. Are dates good for arthritis? The polyphenols in dates may help manage arthritis but current scientific evidence isn't conclusive. The NHS recommends a healthy balanced diet to those suffering with arthritis, centred on a variety of fruits and vegetables, wholegrains, healthy fats plus meat, fish, eggs or plant-based protein, such as beans and legumes. Three recipe ideas
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
How did Singaporean chef lose 11kg in 5 months? Weight loss journey was ‘tough', he says
Taking time out for regular exercise and sticking to a balanced diet are keys to losing weight. So how does a chef who works long hours around food hope to shed extra kilos? Ngo Xing Jun, a chef at his family's hawker stall in Singapore, found the answer when he shed 11kg (24lbs) to weigh 61.5kg and his body fat percentage dropped to a healthy 10.5 per cent over five months in 2024, from August to December. Ngo's family runs Xing Long Food Stall at a hawker centre in Singapore's Chinatown Complex Food Centre , a zi char eatery selling local dishes like fish head in bean sauce, ginger chicken, cuttlefish kangkung or water spinach, and other popular stir-fry dishes. Ngo joined the family business in his mid-twenties and became its chef in 2023. Ngo in the stall's kitchen with his father and sister in 2025. Photo: Ngo Xing Jun From a young age he would help his parents out, chopping vegetables, serving food and running errands.
