Summary Introduction Worldwide production, processing and consumption Production, storage and processing Culinary oils, nutrition and health Contribution of culinary oils to nutrient intakes in the UK diet The culinary oils Developments in culinary oils Culinary oils in a healthy, balanced diet Conclusions Acknowledgements References Summary Vegetable oils are mainly produced from oilseeds (e.g. rapeseed and sunflower seed) as well as from legumes (e.g. peanut and soybean), nuts (e.g. walnut and almond) and the flesh of some fruits (e.g. olives). Vegetable oils are pressed from the plants and are then processed and refined to produce high‐quality oils suitable for use as an ingredient in recipes, for frying, in salad dressings and in the production of margarines and spreads. There has been substantial growth in the oilseeds markets over the past 30 years. This was initially driven by health concerns but, more recently, has been because of the interest in biofuels and the changing market. In 2008, the four main types of vegetable oil that dominated the world market (in terms of the quantities produced) were palm oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower seed oil. In the UK, the only oilseed crops harvested are rapeseed, hempseed and linseed/flaxseed. However, there are substantial imports of groundnuts, soybeans, sunflowers and palm kernels that are processed in the UK resulting in the production of a variety of different oils in the UK. Vegetable oils mainly comprise triacylglycerides. The main nutrient they provide is fat. The only other nutrient that is present in appreciable amounts is vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols). Vegetable oils are also the main source of natural plant sterols in the diet and contain minor components, such as squalene and sphingolipids, all of which may provide a range of health benefits. The fatty acid composition of plant oils varies, and all plant oils are composed of a mixture of different fatty acids, in different proportions. Most culinary oils tend to be high in either monounsaturates or polyunsaturates, with the exception of palm kernel and coconut oils which are high in saturates. Categorising fats as ‘saturated fats’, ‘monounsaturated fats’ or ‘polyunsaturated fats’ (based on the predominant fatty acid) may be helpful for consumer understanding. However, this is an oversimplification of the actual situation. The constituent fatty acids of each culinary oil are primarily responsible for the functionality of the oil, along with the minor components. The properties of the oil can be modified through technical processes including hydrogenation, fractionation and interesterification. The processes used to modify the properties of oils have become a widely debated topic. Hydrogenation was a commonly used process to increase hardness and to stabilise fats without having to increase saturates to any great extent. However, as partial hydrogenation results in the formation of trans fatty acids, its use in the UK for consumer products has now virtually ceased. Some food man...

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing scientific literature on the role of red meat in the diet. It discusses current levels of red meat intake, the nutritional benefits of consuming red meat, dietary and lifestyle factors associated with meat consumption and the effects of red meat intake on health and chronic disease outcomes.

Introduction An introduction to alcohol and alcoholic beverages Guidelines for sensible drinking Alcohol consumption Absorption and metabolism of alcohol Alcohol and nutrition The burden of disease and mortality related to alcohol Alcohol and disease risk Alcohol and other conditions Alcohol and social issues Conclusions Summary  Alcohol is produced via the anaerobic fermentation of sugars by yeast and involves glucose molecules (C6H12O6) being broken down to yield ethanol (C2H5OH), carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy. The amount of alcohol contained in different alcoholic beverages varies considerably and is referred to as the ‘strength’ of the drink, which is expressed as the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV). A standard unit of alcohol in the UK equates to 8 g or 10 ml of pure alcohol. Guidelines for sensible drinking set by the UK government are 3–4 units (24–32 g) a day or less for men, and 2–3 units (16–24 g) a day or less for women. Specific recommendations have been set for those planning pregnancy and pregnant women, who should drink no more than 1–2 units of alcohol once or twice a week and should avoid heavy drinking sessions. Guidelines for sensible drinking are similar in other countries. When taking into account the standard drink unit used to define guidelines, the most commonly recommended limit is 24 g/day for men and 20 g/day for women. Older people are more likely to drink in line with the sensible drinking guidelines, as they tend to consume alcohol over a period of time, as opposed to consuming large quantities on one or two days of the week, a practice that is more popular among younger people. Consuming double the sensible drinking guidelines in one day is classified as binge drinking (an alternative definition is drinking until intoxicated). It has become recognised that binge drinking is a common phenomenon in the UK, particularly among younger people. Other factors, such as income, ethnicity and region of residence, are also recognised to be predictive of the quantity of alcohol consumed; for example, higher‐income households are more likely to consume large quantities of alcohol and consume alcohol more frequently. The quantity of alcohol consumed is an important factor in determining how it affects health and well‐being. In terms of nutritional health, chronic excessive alcohol intake is well recognised to affect an individual’s nutrient status, because it reduces food intake and/or may interfere with the digestion, absorption, metabolism and utilisation of some nutrients. However, when consumed in moderation, alcohol is unlikely to interfere with the metabolism of nutrients or be associated with impaired vitamin function or depletion to an extent that may harm health, provided that dietary intakes are adequate. Alcoholic beverages contain alcohol, carbohydrate and only small amounts of some vitamins, trace elements and minerals. They are therefore unlikely to contribute significantly to micronutrient intake. Any association that exists between moderate alcohol consumption and the ...

Forewords Timeline Introduction Section 1: The interaction between diet and public health Section 2: The role of government Section 3: Trends in dietary patterns and nutrient intake Section 4: Factors influencing food access and availability Conclusions Acknowledgements References Summary  Throughout the 20th century, average life expectancy has been increasing. This is primarily a result of a change in disease patterns, as infectious diseases have declined, and chronic diseases have become the nation's main killers. A number of factors are recognised to influence the risk of chronic disease, including diet and lifestyle. Therefore, dietary guidelines have been developed to help people follow a diet that can maximise their health and longevity. These guidelines complement more detailed dietary reference values, which were first established in 1950. Since then, these values have stayed much the same, and today they are used to asses thenutritional adequacy of the diet using data from dietary surveys, such as the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. The National Food Survey is another important source of information about what the population are eating. This survey has collected data on food purchased for consumption in the home since 1940 and therefore can provide invaluable information on trends in estimated food, energy and nutrient intake for the general population. Figures estimated from the National Food Survey suggest that since the 1970s, total energy intake has been falling in line with falling levels of energy expenditure. Nevertheless, this decline in energy expenditure has left individuals prone to gaining weight, yet the dietary guidelines in use today still focus on the need to monitor intake of fat and saturates. On the face of it, the British diet has been remarkably stable over the past 60 years. However, what has been evident is a shift towards a lower fat diet with lower fat meats, such as poultry overtaking beef, pork and lamb as the most popular meats and semi‐skimmed milk dominating the milk category since its introduction in the 1980s. There are a number of factors that have affected the trends in food consumption, some of which can be attributed to specific events; for example, the drought from 1975 to 1976 caused a shortage of potatoes, resulting in a high market price, which in turn led to a decline in potato consumption. It is beyond the scope of this Briefing Paper to explain all of the variations and changes in food intake over the past 60 years. However, this paper does provide an overview of the factors (namely government policies, advances and innovations of the food industry and consumer‐led changes) that have influenced food availability and access since the 1940s. For example, a significant policy that has had influence is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which was devised by six nations of the European Economic Community in response to the effects of war, in particular world food shortages. Many of the original objectives of CAP had been met by the time the UK joined in 1...

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