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I was speaking to the owner of a reasonable sized baker, not one of the franchised varieties about gluten free bread. Mr baker informed me that while there is plenty of talk about people buying gluten free bread, other than those people who suffer from Celiac Disease disease, those people being financially constrained would generally go for the cheaper option.

Upon showing me his recipe for gluten free bread, it had all the good stuff in there, potato & rice flour, eggs, yeast and some other ingredients but nothing artificial. The interesting fact was the ingredients list of the “pre made” gluten flour that he users when some of the more exotic flours are unavailable. Using all the good ingredients makes the bread relatively more expensive than a cheaper pre mixed “Bakers flour & Bakers yeast” varieties.

It contained several preservatives that were “potentially unsafe” such as E282 Calcium Propionate or another chemical (which I can’t remember) that is also potentially unsafe, that is an extract from bleached timber (referenced my my “additives” iphone app).

Nutrition Application from iphone

Using this premixed variety was cheaper than using all the non chemical based ingredients. From his own observations people who were suffering from financial hardship would seek cheap food alternatives. As funds were very limited to buy wholesome foods. a cheaper alternative and would resort to the highly manufactured, highly processed breads that contained very little nutritional value with heaps of chemicals and additives to aid shelf life, colour, consistency, flavour and taste.
Why pay $3 -$4 for a loaf of bread from a good bakery with healthy ingredients when you can go to one of the big supermarkets and pay under $2.

Unfortunately our modern societies has heaps of additional costs that we incur on an ongoing basis, such as our monthly mobile phone and internet bills, upgrading electronic devices regularly, flat panel TV’s, computers, computer software, kitchen appliances, clothes, the latest shoes, eating out, takeaway etc, costs that weren’t there 50 years ago.

Ultimately something has to give and unfortunately it’s our health with the cheapest food option being the only solution to save $$$ but if this a high price to pay for your health??

With energy drinks, caffeine and other stimulants consumption on the increase, are re we turning into a sleep deprived overworked society?
With the latest revelations about The AFL’s acceptance of caffeine loading by AFL players, is this setting a good example for those who look up to these players for inspiration.

Unfortunately energy drinks represent the strongest beverage growth segment worth a staggering $593 or 23% of the impulse market in 2009, with only soft drinks representing occupying the number one spot for highest market share according to Neilsen data

Just look at the growth in coffee on recent years, the good old international roast has been replaced with a cappuccino or latte on the way to work. Even McDonalds, not to miss out on the coffee revolution has European style coffee at there drive throughs and restaurants. (I’m yet be be convinced you can produce a great coffee from a manual)

The most disturbing trend are the number of children consuming energy drinks like there having a soft drink. Suddenly the regular 250ml energy drink such as V and Red Bull has grown in size.
Not to be out done Coke Cola released there own brand called “Mother” to appeal to the youth market, with a mega can at 500ml at a whopping 32mg caffeine per 100ml or 160mg of caffeine.

The real concern is that consuming this level of caffeine on a regular basis is not great for your health. The promotion of these products are so wide spread that even when you fill up at your local petrol station there are advertisements for these types of products.

The most disturbing part of our over reliance on stimulants is why.
Are we trying to gave it all, family life, friends, the McMansion, all the conveniences of modern life, mobile phones, home computers, video games, Internet accounts, stuff, new cars, long stressful hours in the office to pay for this stuff or the time spent using these new acquisitions.

Well something has to give and it’s your health, so are we on stimulant over consumption mode to squeeze more onto the day?

Great to see smoking is banned in cars where there are children. As there is an acknowledgment by the government about the dangers of smoking in confined spaces, this ban should be introduced/extended across any confined public space.

Yes it is fantastic that it will be illegal to smoke while a minor or person under 18 years old is in the car as it is assumed that a minor is powerless to stop an adult from smoking.

I find it strange how smoking is still allowed in cafe’s, restaurant’s and bars where there is a wall missing, ie the window and front wall has been removed with the wall being reinstated further back to create an pseudo open space.

Is it possible for 100% of the smoke in these pseudo courtyards to miraculously rise without disturbance to the ceiling and travel out towards the street and towards the heavens? NO I don’t think so. We have this situation in Australia where the smoking lobby puts undue pressure on the government and the addiction to sales tax revenue on cigarettes is too string, the public are subjected to this health threat.

There has been some movement with the Moreland Council proposing a 5 meter smoking ban from Childrens playground that highlights the dangers of secondhand smoke. More importantly that the council acknowledges that exhaled cigarette smoke does not necessarily travel towards the sky.

We need to follow the leadership taken by the Queensland government in introducing more appropriate anti smoking laws.

When it comes to health, smoking is one aspect that has a huge impact. Unlike other staes in Australia, Queensland has shown true leadership in introducing smoking bans that actually reduce the exposure of secondhand smoke to innocent bystanders.

Pretty simple stuff, outdoors means no roof or a ceiling or enclosed by a solid covering, surrounded by walls (as my example), high fences and timber palings.

Pretty logical stuff, while there are always loop holes in these definition, it catches most places in Victoria that are legally defined as outdoor but really are enclosed.

So what’s stopping Victoria from adopting these tougher smoking laws in public spaces?

McDonalds recently introduced a play food toy set which is being sold through Toys R US in the USA, with increasing levels of childhood obesity, is this being responsible?

The Australian Government has introduced the National Preventative health taskforce but has not regulated the marketing or the use of toys for promotional and advertising purposes, at this stage it is tabled to be phased out.

It is concerning that global icons such as McDonalds have many touch points to children around the world, in Australia they sponsor little athletics, have a restaurant at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, childrens birthday’s catering, branded Characters, ie Hamburgler, internet Games and have branded toy giveaways at their restaurants.

Now McDonalds can build brand awareness through their play food set which included hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks and Sundaes.

It’s strange that McDonalds have healthier meal options yet none of these products are included.

The danger here is normalising the experience of going to McDonalds or eating any fast food for that matter.
As a child going to McDonalds was for special occasions or a rare treat, now there is an expectation that eating fast food is something we engaged with on a regular basis.

I would like to see a survey of Children from the USA or Australia in age brackets from 3 -5 and 6 – 8 and show them the McDonalds logo and ask them to identify the company and secondly to go to a McDonalds restaurant and to see what the children order or point to.

Childhood obesity is a very complicated issue with numerous elements contributing to the overall growth.

All we can do is to evaluate what has changed in the past 10-20 years with the promotion of fast & junk food to help understand and change this global epidemic.

While no one is pointing the blame to any one person, company, school or business, we all have a role to play in helping to reverse the trend.

But there has to be a point where we have to ask if the McDonalds play food set toy is being responsible and what needs to change to address this issue.