The Food YOU WASTE.... I EAT it / La comida que TU TIRAS... me la COMO YO.

Léelo En Español más abajo.

This week starts the overeating season starting with the Thanksgiving celebrations in America and the typical pre-Christmas lunches in December. It is all a feast of gastronomy excesses to fill up the stomach (even more for some) with momentary pleasures. 

Afterwards, the regret of gluttony arrives and sooner than later we reflect on the excess of food we eat... and we waste. According to the report of European Parliament of 2011, only in the EU more than 89 million tons of food are wasted over a year!!

Food , perfectly good and safe, is wasted daily and can be found in rubbish bins of homes, supermarkets and restaurants. This is the reason why there are many organizations  involved in collecting and recycling food in countries like UK, Germany,Italy or Spain. Small neighborhood groups actively work for free collecting from houses, restaurants and bins all sorts of wasted food that can be cooked and offered to homeless people or families without means or very little income.

All this movement has its main origin after the release of the book about Global Food Waste from the English author Tristram Stuart. In December 2009 Tristram decided to put his word where his mouth is and carried out the initiative to feed 5,000 people in London's Trafalgar Square with all the wasted food he was given by local supermarkets and all sorts of businesses. In the middle of December, snowing and with extremely cold weather, I remember joining the event with curiosity and trying the delicious wasted food. It made such a big impact in the news that the European Commission and the United Nations decided to take this initiative and spread it in other countries.

Watch Below the TED conference of Tristram, another incredibly inspiring food educator:

Remember: If after your holidays you say to yourself: I'm tired of eating and chucking away food, then it means that the gluttony monster has taken over you! Reflect on all of those things that make the monster grow and keep him in line.

The Key> Eat consciously!!

--------

Empieza el mes del despilfarro, de las comilonas y los abusos grastronómicos para llenar el alma insatisfecha de placeres momentáneos. Por que luego llega el arrepentimiento de tanta gula y todos antes o después reflexionamos ante la cantidad de comida que se come... y que se tira. Según un informe del Parlamento Europeo de 2011, solo en los países de la Unión Europea se tiran a la basura 89 millones de toneladas de comida al año (7.7 millones de toneladas es la cifra que desperdicia España!!).

La comida, perfectamente sana y en buen estado, se desperdicia a diario y los contenedores de los hogares , supermercados y restaurantes están repletos de comida. Es por esto que ya hay muchas organizaciones de grupos que se están involucrando en la recogida y reciclaje de estos alimentos en muchos países como Alemania, España y Reino Unido. Pequeños colectivos de barrios se encargan de recoger de casas, cocinas y locales de comidas las sobras de alimentos que van a ir a la basura para luego cocinarlas y dar de comer a muchísima gente pobre o sin recursos.

En España nos encontramos una de ellas como la organización Comida Basura :

http://comidabasurablog.wordpress.com/

Todo este movimiento tiene su origen tras la publicación del libro sobre el despilfarro global de comida del escritor inglés Tristram Stuart. En Diciembre del 2009 Tristram llevó a cabo la iniciativa en Londres de alimentar gratis a 5000 personas en Trafalgar Square con los desperdicios que recogió.Y realmente fue una revolución enorme. En pleno Diciembre, con un frio que calaba los huesos recuerdo haberme acercado para ver y probar la deliciosa comida basura. Tal fue el impacto que las Naciones Unidas y la Comisión Europea han tomado esta iniciativa para extenderla en muchos paises.

 La última conferencia de TED con subtítulos en español, es fascinante e inspiradora. Tristram, otro héroe de la educación alimentaria:

Recuerda: Si al terminar las fiestas estás cansado de comer y tirar comida,  es que el monstruo de la gula se ha apoderado de ti! Reflexiona que es lo que hace que ese monstruo crezca y mantenlo a raya.

La clave: Come con consciencia y aprende a no desperdiciar

The magic pill that melts fat away... really???

Some pretty bad news have alerted the coffee addicts out there when I man in his forties recently died of caffeine overdose after going through a whole pack of Energy mints. Ok, this is probably very rare, (hence it made the newsheadlines), however it is good to question those ingredients. 

 I have come across many clients willing to drink or take supplements incredibly high in caffeine and stimulants to make them lose weight faster. Thermogenics are those products full of stimulants like caffeine , that increase the metabolism in an artificial way. They are full of natural ingredients such as yerba mate, guarana, black tea, coffee . They claim to be the solution to the muffin tops and are called  fat burners . In America the weight loss business is huge, and many of these magic formulas come from there. Of course, they have a much wider population bordering the morbid obesity. So easy to sell them the magic pill! One thing you should know, is that this products are not reviewed by  Health Authorities before they are sold in the market , unlike drugs. Unless a health risk is found later on. 

Raspberry Ketones, African Mango... every year a new incredible formula full of even more incredible claims and empty promises from those laboratories.

Fact N.1--> Fast weight loss= Fast weight gain

Fact N.2--> Magic pills that claim to make you lose weight are never the main reason why you will lose real weight. Diet and exercise will do it. Some supplements might give you the 5% extra kick for some results , but not the 95%.

Fact N.3--> Your body is a temple, don´t mess with it. 

And because I say that knowledge is power(only if you do something with it), I want to share with you a wonderful Scientific library that is a great source to get real independent evidence based information from research. It is probably the biggest database of this kind, for unbiased healthcare decisions.  So next time you are in doubt of some benefits or effects of certain supplements (or any other health related issue) go and do a search in Cochrane. You will be suprised! 

The Cochrane Library:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cochranelibrary/search/