Apples - delicious and healthy

Did you know that apples should be kept in the fridge to retain their antioxidants and to keep them crisper for longer? This is one of the findings from the 2010 Apple Report, which was commissioned by the Australian Apple Industry to reveiw the human and animal studies relating to apples and apple antioxidants and  their affect on health. The review was undetaken by Associate Professor Manny Noakes from the CSIRO Food and Nutritional Sciences.

Evidence summaries to increase healthy eating for children

The Prevention and Population Branch of the Victorian Department of Health has produced two papers which provide a summary of the available evidence to support and encourage more healthy eating for children aged 4-6 months to 4 years and to encourage children aged 5 to 12 years to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Alcohol intake during pregnancy and lactation

Despite the current National Health and Medical Research Foundation's (NHMRC) recommendations that the safest option during pregnancy and breastfeeding is not to drink alcohol (1), recent surveys indicate that women continue to drink during this time (2,3).

Fruit juice in children's diets

An analysis of fruit juice consumption from the 2007 Australian National Children's Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey has found that including fruit juice in the diet helps children aged 2-16 years meet their recommended daily serves of fruit (1). The analysis was commissioned by Fruit Juice Australia in conjunction with the Australian Beverages Council Ltd and undertaken by Flinders Partners, a subsiduary of Flinders University.

Iodine supplementation for pregnant and breastfeeding women

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has released a public statement recommending that women planning a pregnancy, who are already pregnant or who are breast feeding take a 150ug  supplement of iodine daily.

Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015

Dietary Guidelines for Australians recognise the importance of breastfeeding as the best way of feeding infants to give them the best start in life. The Australian Health Ministers at their conference in November 2009, endorsed the first Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy for the years 2010-2015 (1). 

Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood

The Commonwealth Department of Health and Aging has released  Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for children attending childcare centres, family day care and preschools. The Guidelines are part of the federal governments initiative to tackle childhood overweight and obesity by ensuring young children have a healthy start to life. There are 10 Healthy Eating Guidelines which contain information on healthy foods to serve, mealtime settings and times, portion control, and food safety and  5 Physical Activity Recommendations for ages 0-5 years.

Don't forget to wash your hands - Global Handwashing Day

October 15 is Global Handwashing Day (www.globalhandwashingday.org) providing a timely reminder to make sure we all wash our hands, particularly after going to the toilet and before preparing, serving and eating food. Washing hands is one of the simplest ways we can prevent diarrhoea, food poisoning and upper respiratory tract infections particularly in infants and young children (1).

Making Australia a healthier country by 2020.

The Australian Government has released the National Preventative Health Strategy which outlines how it will make Australia a healthier country by 2020. It plans to do this by addressing the major health issues of obesity, tobacco and alcohol and to close the health gap between indigenous and non indigenous populations.

Voluntary addition of fluoride to bottled water

Up until now, bottled or packaged water has not been permitted to contain added fluoride. This has now changed, with the recent approval by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) of the voluntary addition of fluoride to bottled or packaged water. Manufacturers will be able to add flouride to a level similar to that in tap water ( 0.6-1.0mg/litre). As the addition  is voluntary, unfluoridated bottled water will be still be available. The label will indicate whether the water contains flouride (1).