Regine Gray RD (SA) Consul t ing Diet ic ian 082 354 8850

September is Heart Awareness Month—the Heart and Stroke Founda-tion’s most important awareness campaign aimed at educating South Africans about cardiovas-cular disease and its pre-vention. The key message for the Heart Awareness Month is “Know your numbers” - have your cholesterol, blood pressure and glu-cose levels tested and know the state of your heart! Free blood pressure screenings are taking place on a national basis throughout September. High blood pressure is known as the “silent kil-ler” since it has few visi-ble symptoms, therefore testing is crucial. Know your numbers and help prevent future heart-ache.

Courtesy of Robyn Rees - Asso-ciation of Dietetics in Southern Africa (ADSA). The article ap-peared in the August ADSA Newsletter and has been short-ened. 65% of South Africans believe that labels should be made easier to under-stand. As 80% of South African shoppers refer to the nu-trition information on the foods that they buy some or all the time, and 45% of shoppers use labels to shop for good health most of the time, a local cereal manufacturer is piloting an international Front of Pack (FoP) labelling scheme called Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) in order to help consumers make improved lifestyle choices.

The new GDA tool will ap-pear on the front of Kel-logg’s cereal packaging by the end of 2008. This new format, which enables consumers to see nutri-tional facts at a glance will not replace the side-panel nutrition informa-tion. Rather, the FoP la-belling will provide a highly visible and helpful summary. The GDAs will inform consumers how many kilojoules, sugars, fats saturates and salt are contained in a suggested serving of a product, as well as what percentage of the GDA it represents.

Regine@regine.co.za

G L O B A L N U T R I T I O N L A B E L I N G S Y S T E M I N SA B Y E N D O F 2008

August/September 08

VIRTUAL NUTRITION

BEER AND YOUR DIET Alcohol is energy-dense like fat, at roughly 30 kJ/g. Your body cannot store the energy contribution from alcohol and must metabolize it immediately, thus preventing the body from using stored fat en-

ergy as fuel. This make weight reduction even harder. A recommendation would be to switch from average beer to kilojoule-reduced (“light”) beer, saving you 30% of kilojoules per

340ml beer serving.

If you are a 10-per-week beer consumer, the kilojoule savings from this swop could give you a 7 kg weight loss in a year—that is, if no extra kilojoules get added in the form of other sources.

Sasol did it again! Sasol hosted a successful Wellness Day with many interesting health and be-well activities. The launch of the Supplementation and Food Pyramid Project added an element of novelty to the nutritional side of vitality.

ABSA Auckland Park Nutrition Awareness Day

Nedbank Group Technology Men’s Health Day

Sasol Wellness Day

ABSA Horison Nutrition Day

Back: L to R:

Anna and Iris from ABSA Horison branch enjoyed nutritional input from Regine, who provided comple-mentary pH and BMI tests and gratis vitamins with every diet ordered.

The ABSA Call Centre at Auckland Park : nutrition awareness forms part of the overall awareness programme to help employees make informed choices for improved lifestyles.

The Health Day was hosted by the West Street Group Technology section of Nedbank and included a variety of interesting wellness stands, including a nutrition table manned by Regine Gray.

The Focus on Pharmacy team

Focus on Pharmacy - SARCDA - Gallagher Estate

The popular Focus on Pharmacy stand presented VIP visitors and show guests with complimentary screenings and products by Specsavers, Nativa, Tibb, Revite, Vichy and Baby Gym. Nursing sisters provided glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings; the Dietician performed BMI and pH screenings. Glaucoma and auto refraction tests were sponsored by Specsavers. Daleen Bothma managed the stand.

H E A R T A W A R E N E S S

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