Hospital vending machines found to be loaded with junk food

A cancer charity as hit out at hospitals across England for allowing patients free access to unhealthy and high calorie snacks.

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) have conducted a survey that shows 73% of English health trusts are lacking any kind of policy to monitor what type of food is being offered in their vending machines.

This means all patients, in addition to staff and visitors, can pick and choose whatever chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks they please.

The WCRF’s criticism stems from the fact that there are no national guidelines on the health content of food and drink sold in hospital vending machines in England, unlike the machines in Scotland and Wales which have to include a minimum of 30% healthier choice options for food and drink products. This has been the case since 2008 when both countries introduced their own guidelines, and the WCRF say England has fallen ‘woefully’ behind.

The WCRF’s survey included each acute hospital trust – all 146 of them in England – and asked questions regarding their stance on vending machines and if any policies were in place.

Perhaps tellingly, only 110 of the 146 bothered to respond and 81 admitted no such policies were in existence. Shockingly, only 11 of the trusts claimed they did have a vending machine policy and 18 said a policy was currently ‘in development’.

In total, over half (58%) of hospitals said their vending machines did not have 30% healthy products, however 67% said they offered at least one healthier option for each type of product in their machines.

Amanda McLean, general manager at the WCRF, said chocolate bars, crisps and sugary soft drinks were not suitable things to be stocking inside hospital vending machines.

“Because there is strong evidence that these foods cause obesity – a risk factor in diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease – they are partly to blame for many people ending up in hospital in the first place,” she said.

“Hospitals should put an end to vending machines that sell only high calorie food and drink. They should be beacons of good health in our communities and encourage and support people in making healthier choices about the food they eat.”

It was back in June at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) conference when doctors spoke of their belief that hospitals should prohibit the sale of junk food in their vending machines and cafes.
The BMA’s science board is now assessing the issue before urging the Department of Health to introduce guidelines for every hospital in the country.

The  Department of Health themselves released a statement via a spokeswoman, who said: “Hospitals in England have a clear responsibility to promote healthier choices in vending machines so staff and visitors can eat good quality food. We know that some hospitals have already signed up to our Responsibility Deal and committed to making healthier food and drink available, and would encourage other hospitals to do the same and look after their staff, patients and visitors.”

Dieters often disregard the calories contained in alcohol

It may come too late for the millions of people around the world who have over-indulged during Christmas and New Year celebrations, however those watching their weight may be grossly underestimating the impact that alcohol can have on their waistlines and dieters are best to banish the booze if they want to shed the pounds.

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) claim that one of the biggest mistakes when dieting is forgetting the hundreds of ‘hidden’ calories within alcoholic drinks and that alcohol is only second to fat in regards to calorie content. Fat contains 9kcal/g, whilst alcohol has 7kcal/g. Even protein and carbohydrates only contain 4kcal/g, whilst fibre contains 2kcal/g.

Due to the fact so many of us are not paying attention to our alcohol calorie intake, the WCRF have now made an online calorie-counter available that lists the calorie content in various commonly consumed alcoholic drinks. Therefore, people are able see how many calories they are taking in and also roughly how much exercise would be required to burn off these ‘empty’ calories that offer no nutritional value.

For instance, just drinking one large glass of wine means you are taking in a whopping 178 calories and this is the equivalent of eating two chocolate digestive biscuits. However, it gets worse – it would take half an hour of brisk walking to burn-off that one glass of wine. Another popular tipple, especially in men, is a pint of lager. This drink though contains an incredible 250 calories. This is roughly the same as three chocolate digestive biscuits and would need 53 minutes of brisk walking to burn this off!

Being overweight or obese is the biggest risk of cancer after smoking, and in reducing alcoholic drinks, people will be more able to lose weight and thus reduce their cancer risk. In fact, it is estimated that even drinking just one pint of beer daily increases a person’s risk of bowel and liver cancer by approximately a fifth. In the UK alone, over 20,000 cases of cancer each year are attributed to alcohol.

Kate Mendoza, head of health information at WCRF, commented: “The calories in alcoholic drinks account for a significant proportion of a drinker’s calorie consumption while providing little, if any, nutritional benefit. Cutting down on drinking can have a big effect on weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight. Recent reports have shown that people are unaware of calories in drinks and don’t include them when calculating their daily consumption. This is important from a cancer perspective because, after smoking, being overweight or obese is the biggest risk factor. There is also strong scientific evidence that alcohol itself is a cancer risk factor, possibly through damaging our DNA, in cancers of the breast, bowel, mouth, oesophagus and liver.”

As we begin 2013, many of the UK will beginning their New Year’s Resolutions, which usually include stopping smoking as we discussed just a few days ago. Another popular resolution is to lose weight. Cancer Research-led research however found that nearly four out of 10 people ditch their New Year’s resolutions within a fortnight and only one in 11 manages to keep their resolution to half a year.

If you want to lose weight it would be recommended to drastically limit your alcoholic drinks in addition to eating healthy.  This healthier lifestyle will be highly effective in conjunction with a medically proven weight loss aid such as XLS-Medical, Alli, or the prescription medication Xenical.  All three weight loss aids are available today from Medical Specialists at incredibly low prices.

Poor food labels blamed for stomach cancer caused by high salt intake

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has spoken out about the issue of salt content in foods, calling for all companies to label their products more clearly. This is in response to the increasing number of stomach cancer cases that have been linked to a high consumption of salt. High levels of salt are particularly prominent in popular foods such as bread, bacon, cheese, breakfast cereals, crisps and soup.

The recommended daily salt intake for adults is 6g, which is approximately around one full teaspoon. This figure is obviously less for children and babies, and the following are the general guidelines for salt intake depending on age:

. 1 to 3 years: 2g salt a day (0.8g sodium).
. 4 to 6 years: 3g salt a day (1.2g sodium).
. 7 to 10 years: 5g salt a day (2g sodium).
. 11 years and over: 6g salt a day (2.4g sodium).

The WCRF say that if adults strictly kept to this 6g limit, then this could help to reduce the 6,000 new cases of stomach cancer each year in the UK by 14% (around 800). Kate Mendoza, health of health information at the charity, says, “Stomach cancer is difficult to treat successfully because most cases are not caught until the disease is well-established. This places even greater emphasis on making lifestyle choices to prevent the disease occurring in the first place – such as cutting down on salt intake and eating more fruit and vegetables.”

She further continued, “Because around three-quarters of the salt we consume is already in processed food when we buy it, WCRF would like to see traffic light labelling on the front of food and drink packaging to give clear guidance on the levels of salt as well as sugar, fat and saturated fat. Standardised labelling among retailers and manufacturers – rather than the different voluntary systems currently in place – would help consumers make better informed and healthy choices.”

As Kate Mendoza explained, the difficult aspect of dealing with stomach cancer is that it is not usually diagnosed until the disease is at an advanced stage. Medical Specialists Pharmacy advises that you visit your doctor immediately for a check-up if you suffer from any of the following early symptoms of stomach cancer:

. Heartburn.
. Persistent indigestion.
. A bloated feeling after eating.
. Trapped wind and incessant burping.
. Feeling full very soon after beginning to eat.
. Difficulty in swallowing.

As you can see, many of the early-stage symptoms of stomach cancer are quite similar to those of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is why it is vital to see your GP who will ask you detailed questions, and refer you for further scans if necessary. If it is IBS you have, then this can be treated with a wide range of effective medications such as Mebeverine and Buscopan IBS relief. In addition, there is also the medication Lansoprazole which can help with acid reflux problems that cause heartburn and complications with swallowing. All aforementioned medicines are available at low prices from the Stomach and Bowel section of the Medical Specialists Pharmacy website.