Food lovingly prepared is no guarantee that the taste will be better than some mass-produced product.

It depends on who is the chef and it depends on the ingredients.

People may be impatient and want an instant 'hit', but that doesn't mean to say they that they don't know what tastes good and what gives them pleasure.

Food snobs will think otherwise.



I for one have never tasted a home made curry as good as one prepared by someone who knows what they are doing, be it packaged or not.



I eat out not just because it is convenient, but that they do a better job generally.



There is a part of me that likes other people cooking anyway, simply because you know what your getting when you do it yourself. It's the 'the other person's sandwiches are always more desirable than your own' effect.

MIght not be 100% on this but i believe them things are all available, its just that thy are not very well known or advertised

Not just fizzy drinks, the bog problem at the minute is Sports drinks and energy drinks, its a massive market and they are promoted in the being good for you, if not essential.



The amount of kids playing sport "who need" these drinks is astounding.



My lads play rugby and i will only give them water for training and playing , but its suprising the amount who cannot run round a rugby pitch withouth having some energy drink.



Was an interesting documentray on Panorama a few months ago about it too, you should have seen one of the top nutritionalist in the country and his reaction to Diet sports drinks.



Also the way he explained one of these drink as "would you give you child a glass of water with 10 spoons of sugar in it"

Links www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18863293 sorry cant link the I players, but www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&safe=act ... 52&bih=809 Or a quick google for Panorama Sports Drinks will bring them up

Links www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18863293 sorry cant link the I players, but www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&safe=act ... 52&bih=809 Or a quick google for Panorama Sports Drinks will bring them up

[url=http://www.bmj.com/press-releases/2013/02/04/study-raises-questions-about-dietary-fats-and-heart-disease-guidance[iBMJ[/i says 'Oops, we might have got it wrong on saturated fats'.[/url



[url=http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2013/01/the-british-heart-foundation-flora-pro-activ-an-unhealthy-relationship/And the unhealthy relationship between the British Heart Foundation and the manufacturers of Flora[/url.

Really just that there is information out there, in the mainstream (for want of a better word) and many people think that, because they know about that, they're informed and can make informed choices.



So for instance, many people think that it's really healthy to eat loads and loads of fruit, without realising that there are sugar implications – which is why nutritionists/dieticians dealing with someone with diabetes will advise against fruit juice.



But the mainstream message is simply that fruit is good per se.

To begin with, there's a difference between eating a whole piece of fruit and drinking a glass of fruit juice. There's little wrong with having a few pieces of fruit a day as part of a balanced diet. Sure, there's some sugar in there, but there's also plenty of beneficial nutrients and usually a bit of fibre, too. As long as you stay fairly active and/or eat the fruit as part of a larger meal, there's little wrong with it.



I'd agree that loads of fruit juice isn't a good idea as most of the pulp is removed and you're just left with a very sugary drink (albeit one containing some nutrients).

There's definitely a place for those drinks. Like if you're undertaking intense training or some sort of endurance event. The place certainly isn't on a kids' sports field, I'd agree, but it's even worse when you see people drinking them who aren't even doing anything.

I understand that completely, and apologies if that wasn't clear.







but what do you mean by "a few"? I'm not remotely suggesting 'none', but how many is "a few"? and activity doesn't change the impact of consuming lots of sugar.



But I was specifically meaning who think it healthy to, say, munch fruit (including dried fruit) a lot. And that will impact on the body's sugar levels – regardless of activity.

Completely agree, i have occasionly let them have them, very hot days and tournaments, but for a normal training or game i find it unneccesary. In fact even myself when doing a normal gymworkout id rather use water



And as for people not playing sports ha ha



Although they do wash down a Greggs Steak Bake well

On the contrary, exercise/activity does affect how the body metabolises sugar. If you drink a sports drink whilst sitting in a chair, your body will use a small amount of the sugar released into your bloodstream, and the rest will end up in your fat stores. If you drink that same sports drink immediately before (or after) an intense bout of exercise, the sugar is utilised immediately by the working tissues for energy and/or to replenish depleted glycogen stores.



The same applies to consuming fruit. If you just sit in a chair all day eating nothing but fruit, that's probably not a good thing. If, however, you have a fairly active job, or are on your feet all day, eating the same amount of fruit will be far less likely to cause you any problems.

That's almost as I understand it.

Except that I'd say that, before the gym, if one has been eating properly, one's glycogen stores ought to be pretty well topped-up and you won't need the "sports" drink.

After the gym, the average person doesn't need a "sports" drink to replenish their glycogen stores, just going home and having their dinner would do that.