No sugar warnings needed for Simply Nectar

The results of a British survey are blazoned across the news today because they show that consumers consistently underestimate the amount of sugar contained in milkshakes, smoothies and some fruit juices.
This means that people are consuming more calories per day than they realise.  In fact, the research carried out by the University of Glasgow also suggests that the average person in the UK consumes almost 3,150 calories through non alcoholic liquid intake.  This equates to almost 450 calories a day.

 

The survey asked more than 2,000 Britons to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in a typical serving of a selection of drinks.   The research showed that the participants “significantly misjudged” the levels found in milkshakes, smoothies and some fruit juices.

Amazingly, pomegranate juice contained nearly 18 teaspoons more sugar in a serving than people realised.   Participants guessed four teaspoons when it actually contains 22.  Pure apple juice had four more teaspoons than people thought and a chocolate milkshake had 7.5 teaspoons more.  Consumers guessed it contained six when actually it contains more than 13.5 teaspoons of sugar. Serving sizes varied.

Courtesy of graur codrin/freedigitalphotos.net

Participants were also asked to estimate how many teaspoons of sugar were in fizzy drinks but they actually overestimated the amount.  This goes to show that consumers are not aware by the levels of sugar in any soft drinks, which could be down to being misinformed.

The worse part of this story is that certain soft drinks could be adding to obesity levels because half of the participants who admitted to drinking three or more sugary drinks in a day said they did not compensate by reducing the calorie intake of their food.

UK guidelines recommend that added sugars – those used to sweeten food, fizzy drinks, and fruit juices – should not make up more than 10 per cent of the total energy we get from food. This is around 50g a day.

Our answer to this problem is to drink Simply Nectar!  Sorry, we don’t mean to blow our own trumpet but look at the facts about us:

• Simply Nectar drinks contain pure fruit
• They are free from pesticides, colours and refined sugars
• If the drinks do need sweetening at all only natural grape juice is used – definitely no sugar!
• The fruit is sourced locally to the production site in Provence, south of France, and it is organic where possible
• What’s more, our drinks are made in an ethical fashion.  In fact, the production site is almost self sufficient.  For example, any fruit leftovers are turned into a hard matter and fed to livestock.  The water used to clean the juicing machinery gets filtered and purified and is also fed to livestock
  

We would love to try and educate the nation on sugar levels in soft drinks but that could take us a while.  So at the moment we’ll just give out a big clue: GO FOR SIMPLY NECTAR! 

So there we have it…simple!

Simply sugarfree.

Simply Nectar

(Main story from PressAssociation)

Exotic food exploration continues

The quest for exotic fruits in Borneo continued so I visited a few more markets to see what I could find.  I went to Kuching’s Sunday market, which intriguingly actually starts on Saturday morning.  It runs until late Saturday night and then starts again at the crack of dawn on Sunday, finishing around lunchtime on Sunday.  The stall owners come from miles away - a complete other part of Borneo - so they actually sleep at the market so they can sell as late as possible and start again the following morning as early as they can.  

I also visited an indoor food market in a town called Sibu, about 114 miles north east of Kuching.  In was in Sibu that that I saw an even wilder variety of new and interesting food – from fruits and vegetables to meats and fish.  The colours and smells were once again incredible, although not always a blessing on the nose!

While looking at all the glorious but strange foods, I realised that I should tell you more about ALL of what I saw, not just the exotic looking fruit.  I can't keep all of those delights from you.  What follows will therefore consist of a photo diary of the different types of produce that I discovered.  I have to be honest, the names of some of the food are still missing – mainly because I don’t speak Malay and the stall owners didn’t speak English.  Still, it was exciting enough just looking at all the products, and of course tasting them where possible.  If you know any of the names please let me know.

Indoor market at Sibu

 

These may look unappetising but the fruit inside was sweet and juicy

My investigation into Borneo food was helped a great deal by an awesome local man called Ming.  He was superb and in the evenings he took me out of town to the local food courts where we tucked into some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten.  It was here that I tried a lot of local delicacies - from sting ray to jungle fern.  Below is a picture of some fresh jungle fern at the market.  It's so tasty when cooked with chillis and served as a side dish.  Mmmm.

Jungle fern

What alarmed me most about the markets across Borneo and, come to think of it, several other countries I have visited is the lack of cleanliness, hygiene and proper storage of the food.  The fish and meat, for example, just sits out in the heat with flies and other insects doing a jolly dance on it all until they are beaten away by the stall owners.  At least the flies are having an absolute blast!  Having said this, all the fish that I sampled while in Borneo was absolutely delicious so I can't grumble too much.  When in Rome and all that...

So there we have it.  The latest in a long line of photos that illustrate my time in Borneo, soaking up the local food, culture and traditions.  I'll be sure to regale more stories and photos from the rest of my trip, which took me to Australia, Singapore and Bali.  Until then...

Simply Borneo.

Simply Nectar