Tag: <span>research</span>

Questions & answers

Eggs are good for you!


Thanks for the tweet @HangingModifier. Please find the answer below!

“@LDNnutritionist Glad to see you recommend eggs. There was a story about eggs being as bad as smoking. Junk science and/or junk journalism?”

Eggs have been in and out of favour and plagued by controversy over the last few decades. A recent article in the Daily Mail insinuated that eggs may be two thirds as bad as smoking if you are at risk of heart disease. This came from a single study that was not conclusive and not appropriate for extrapolation to the entire population in any way.

Much of the controversy about eggs is down to the level of cholesterol in their yolks. A high blood-cholesterol level is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (among many others such as age, sex, smoking, lack of exercise etc.) but this is not the same as a high cholesterol consumption. Consumption of cholesterol has less effect on blood cholesterol than total fat intake. Additionally, owing to changes in chicken feed in the UK, eggs are lower in cholesterol these days than they used to be.

So eggs are lower in cholesterol, fat, saturated fat and calories than in the 1980s and, because of their amino-acid profile, they are one of the best sources of protein for a human. They are one of the few foods to naturally contain vitamin D and they provide folate, iodine and several antioxidants. They also contain selenium, a nutrient that is limited in plant foods by the levels in the soil they grow in. It is therefore difficult to predict the content of selenium in many foods.

Because high-protein foods promote satiety, people who eat eggs for breakfast have been shown to consume fewer calories throughout the day which is helpful if you are trying to watch your weight (adding butter and cream to scrambled versions notwithstanding).

What’s bad about eggs? Almost nothing really. And, unless you have quite a rare form of high cholesterol (familial hypercholesterolaemia – check with your doctor), there is no reason to limit your egg intake at all: fill your cups.

So in answer to your question: junk journalism. The Daily Mail (apologies in advance for this) has eggsaggerated the study and over-egged the pudding.

References

NHS Choices Health News; Eating egg yolks as ‘bad as smoking’. available at: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2012/08august/Pages/Eating-egg-yolks-as-bad-as-smoking.aspx [Accessed 10/9/12]

Carrie Ruxten; Eggs with benefits. Dietetics today, September 2012

Research

Educated mothers are turning their backs on health visitors

Educated mothers are turning their backs on health visitors

The biggest UK survey of its kind has revealed that middle-class mothers disregard advice given to them by health visitors about feeding their babies.

A pdf version of this press release is available here: Educated mothers are turning their backs on health visitors Aug 2012 Press Release

PRESS RELEASE

Mothers are turning their backs on professional advice given to them about feeding their babies. Results just released from research carried out by nutritionist Jo Travers earlier this year show that many mothers were sceptical of state-sponsored guidance from health visitors, preferring to access advice from the Internet.

The majority of mothers involved in the survey were educated to degree level or higher and had a household income of above £41,000pa. Many of the sample felt that they were being given inaccurate or contradictory information and this led to a general mistrust of advice from health visitors.

The aim of the study was to explore the importance placed on various influences on complementary-feeding practices. Quantitative data taken from the largest nationwide survey ever undertaken into the degree that influencing factors affect complementary-feeding decisions shows that almost 60% of mothers did not value advice from health visitors rating it as “not very important” or “not important at all”.

Health visitors are provided by the state to every mother following the birth of their baby. The Department of Health in its 2010 white paper Healthy lives, Healthy people has committed to increase the number of health visitors by an extra 4,200 by April 2015 at an estimated cost of £577m. With mothers discounting their advice however, this raises the question, is it worth it?

Babies of complementary-feeding age are in a critical stage of development yet most mothers act against official recommendations.

“I received quite a bit of contradictory advice from health visitors, who did not themselves seem to know the guidelines.” – p131

“Generally the health professional[s] in primary care don’t seem very well informed, unfortunately, and their advice seems to be based on personal experience rather than research” – p109

“Health visitors had very outdated and unflexible [sic] knowledge […] so when I was introducing solids I didn’t even ask for advice” – p124

Jo Travers says: “We found that many people felt that they were being given inaccurate information from health care professionals, which damaged their credibility and led to a lack of confidence in advice from official sources. This ultimately drove these educated mothers towards potentially unreliable information from books and the Internet.”

Notes for editors:
Jo Travers is a practising, evidence-based registered Dietitian with a First Class BSc (Hons) degree in Human Nutrition & Dietetics from London Metropolitan University. Her experience in the field includes time working in the NHS throughout London as well as four years in private practice. She is the author of two recipe books and is available for interview.

Jo can be contacted via 07540 305699 or jo@staging.thelondonnutritionist.co.uk or @LDNnutritionist or staging.thelondonnutritionist.co.uk

Methodology: The survey, a specific electronic questionnaire, was completed by 133 participants who had been recruited via a well-known online parenting forum. A second arm of the survey, with 10 participants, was conducted face-to-face at a baby clinic in southeast London. Frequency tables and chi-squared tests were used to analyse categorical data, and thematic analysis was carried out on qualitative data. A Likert scale was used when canvassing opinions. Ethics approval was granted by London Metropolitan University. Please contact Jo Travers to read the entire paper.

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Research

New mothers distrust advice from their mother-in-law about baby…

New mothers distrust advice from their mother-in-law about baby feeding

The biggest UK study of its kind has found that mothers do not rate advice from their partner’s mother when making decisions about feeding their baby

A pdf version of this press release is available here: New mothers distrust advice from mother-in-law about baby feeding Aug 2012 press release

PRESS RELEASE

It’s not just men who ignore their other half’s family. According to nutritionist Jo Travers, mothers are also highly likely to ignore advice from their mother-in-law (or partner’s mother). In a major study she carried out in the UK earlier this year, the results of which have just been collated, she discovered that mums prefer to take feeding cues from their newborn than listen to advice from its paternal grandmother.

The aim of the study was to explore the importance placed on various influences on complementary-feeding practices. Quantitative data taken from the largest nationwide survey ever undertaken into the degree that influencing factors affect complementary-feeding decisions shows that almost two thirds of mothers did not value advice from their partner’s mother: 66% of mums rated advice from their in-laws (or equivalent) as “not very important” or “not important at all”.

Other factors that rated badly included advice from other family members, such as their own mothers; advice from friends; and labels on food packaging. Another significant finding was that advice from health visitors was also rated as “less than important” by nearly 60% of respondents.

Babies of complementary-feeding age are in a critical stage of development yet most mothers act against official (and family) recommendations. The mothers who introduced complementary foods before 26 weeks – the age recommended by the Department of Health – said that they did so because they felt that the baby was precocious and “ready”.

Jo Travers says: “We found that mothers did not regard advice from their partner’s mother as valuable when it came to feeding their baby. The paternal grandmothers were rated about the same as healthcare professionals, which was not as highly as it might sound.”

The survey found that new mums mentioned these sources most as trustworthy, in decreasing order:

1. Their own feelings about what was right (91%);
2. Whether the baby was interested in solid food (86%);
3. Their baby reaching a certain age (82%);
4. Printed advice other than food labelling (70%); and
5. Previous experience (67%)
6. Advice from health car professionals other than health visitors (60%)
7. Advice from friends/other mothers (49%)
8. Advice from health visitors (41%)
9. The impression that the baby needed more nutrients (41%)
10. The baby seemed hungrier (39%)

Notes for editors:
Jo Travers is a practising, evidence-based registered Dietitian with a First Class BSc (Hons) degree in Human Nutrition & Dietetics from London Metropolitan University. Her experience in the field includes time working in the NHS throughout London as well as four years in private practice. She is the author of two recipe books and is available for interview.

Jo can be contacted via 07540 305699 or jo@staging.thelondonnutritionist.co.uk or @LDNnutritionist or staging.thelondonnutritionist.co.uk

Methodology: The survey, a specific electronic questionnaire, was completed by 133 participants who had been recruited via a well-known online parenting forum. A second arm of the survey, with 10 participants, was conducted face-to-face at a baby clinic in southeast London. Frequency tables and chi-squared tests were used to analyse categorical data, and thematic analysis was carried out on qualitative data. A Likert scale was used when canvassing opinions. Ethics approval was granted by London Metropolitan University. Please contact Jo Travers to read the entire paper.

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