An insight into how the fast food industry manipulates food and us

How many calories do you need each day?  The answer is "it depends on what you are doing".  A person working hard doing manual labour expends more than someone sitting at a desk all day.  So the calories in needs to be balanced with how much you burn up, unless you are trying to lose or gain weight.  The standard applied is that the average human needs to consume approximately 2000 calories per day.  Previously I have shared about what a calorie is and how calories are used to different efficiencies by the human body (ref http://bellasbitesph.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-wrap-catchup-from-world-of-science.html).  The problem is that the food industry can only grow in limited ways - either they sell the products to more people, or people need to eat more.  The ability to sell to more people is limited by many factors - how much time we have to eat, how much money we have to spend on eating, and the ability of manufacturers to get into new markets/countries and change peoples eating traditions.  So to sell to more people is the hard and slow road to growth.  How about making the same people who are already used to eating the products just eat more?  This is exactly the question food manufacturers invested time and money into answering.

Dr Kessler, the former head of the US Food and Drug administration wanted to share his insights on the growth of overeating.  As a former pediatrician, lawyer and head of the prime US body across food, he is well credentialed and has insight that is useful to understand.


In the first part of the article, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/10/09/3604793.htm, Dr Karl breaks down the main points of Dr Kessler's book "The End of Overeating".  In this we learn how the food industry studied what drives our eating desires and how to create food that panders to this desire. In the second article, http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/10/16/3608823.htm, the reasons why poor quality fast food is often chosen over more nutritious and better for you natural foods.   Sugars and fats were rarer in the diet for many, many years of our human development.  So any sweet or fatty food was a pleasurable reward for the body.  Eaten in small amounts, no damage is done.  For example, the food industry has created foods to reduce time spent chewing, which means that you get this pleasurable reward quicker. It also means that you can eat more in the same time.  With the food being higher in calories, you are consuming more.  And being an emotionally linked reward, your brain overrules you stomach.  This is why the food industry uses packaging and advertising that triggers emotional reactions.The problem with this type of food is that it doesn't actually satisfy your hunger.  So the only thing to do is to eat more often, and the profits of the big food industry will grow along with our waistlines.  The other problem is that our tastes get conditioned to the higher levels of salt, fat and sugar and therefore to get a reward, more is needed.

So what to do?  Some simple ideas:
1) Realising what is going on. - understand the food you are eating and ensure you are eating a diet that contains less processed ingredients, grains, fruit and vegetables.
2) Let sweets and fats be a reward but eaten in moderation.
3) Eat foods that will satisfy your hunger and let your brain trigger the natural response to stop eating when full, which will also be when you have the amount of calories your body actually needs.
4) Continue to do exercise.
5) As always, too much of anything is never a good balance.

To help illustrate what 2000 calories looks like, the New York Times recently put out this article, which helps show some common US chain foods -"What 2000 calories looks like at large chains". The additional thing to keep in mind is the earlier article about how calories in different types of food are digested and used by the body.  It is still the same message - a calorie in a slow digested, unprocessed food source will be better for the body than a calorie in a soft drink.

In the next piece I will explore more about the way in which calories affect us.  My hope  is that these easy to read articles help us become better informed to make wise food and health choices.  Because...don't you deserve better information to make your own choices.

Cyclone update - Hagupit (aka Ruby)

UPDATED WITH DATA FROM 6 AM 8 Dec (Philippine time)

Attached below is the latest tracking data from the University of Wisconsin - Madison school of tropical weather.  This shows the current position and predicted track.  It is important to note that #Hagupit (aka #RubyPH) is already reduced to a tropical storm so it has lost its intensity.  The associated rain and cloud for the next 3 days is shown in the data from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology data (screenshots for the 3 days as of midnight each day).

For the data from the BOM, you can see the isobars (which means lines of same pressure) which shows the pressure is increasing slowly, which indicates the low pressure system is gradually losing strength.

Because sometimes just facts are hard to obtain, I have attached below some pictures from different sources.
I am not an expert in meteorological events so please defer to them, and as such I just present the facts from some of these resources and don't try and interpret them.  However I would also encourage you to only get facts from reliable, trained sources.

The University of Wisconsis-Madison has a tropical weather watch site which provides useful information and tracking data
- See - CIMSS Tracking (http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/storm.php?&basin=westpac&sname=22W&invest=NO&zoom=4&img=1&vars=11111000000000000000&loop=0).

 The data from the Uni of Wisconsin offers projections as well as wind classifications.  4 = 125knots (230km/h), 3 = 110 knots (200 km/h), 2 = 95 knots (175 km/h), 1= 75knots (140 km/h).

This shows the storm has lost its intensity and will be a tropical storm as it leaves the Philippines.

Data showing projected path and wind strength of Hagupit (aka Ruby)

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) current position and forecasts for the next 3 days)

Above from http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/charts/viewer/index.shtml?type=mslp-precip&tz=ACST&area=SEA&model=G&chartSubmit=Refresh+View

The BOM also has global sea temperature analysis.  From the data across November, you can see a large patch of very warm sea water (above average), which then produces the heat to power strong atmospheric conditions (such as cyclones).

Stay safe, be prepared, don't panic.  At this point in time, Bella's will be open on Saturday but, like everyone, we will be monitoring the situation to ensure we are all safe.

How the size of what you eat affects how much you eat

Ever had someone use the expression "your eyes are bigger than your stomach"?  It is often used when people choose more food than they can possibly eat.  (Thank goodness takeaway containers were invented!).

There is a large psychological part to how much we eat.  From the size of the bowl, the size of the portion or the size of the eating implement.  Other factors such as the hunger signals to the brain can often lead to over ordering.  The fact that the stomach is a limited size will always set a limit on what we consume.  But our brain can often tell us differently.

In Dr Karl's article  "Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs" - he touches on some of these aspects of portion sizing and how much we eat and why. 

Supermarkets often play upon your appetite when you shop.  If you shop when you are hungry, you will tend to make more purchases, especially of more fatty foods that are appealing to a quick solution to hunger.  Ever notice that stores put chocolates and other lollies, chips, etc in prominent locations towards the start of your supermarket journey?  This is not by accident.  They know you are less cautious about spending at the start and will make impulse decisions.  After all, once you have the chocolate in the trolley, it is rare that you will remove it.  And they know you still need the staples that you came shopping for, so you won't neglect getting them.

We all enjoy our indulgences, but understanding how food manufacturers and shop designers take advantage of large amounts of psychology and where we are tempted is important.  Just to get you started, try and observe what colours are used predominately in packaging for sweets such as chocolates and lollies, and other snack items.  In future articles I will go into some of these aspects.  After all, to be forewarned is to be forearmed....just so we can even out the odds.

The Wrap: A catchup from the world of science, diet, nutrition and health - A calorie is not a calorie

Last week I gave some introductions about some of the areas of interest and sources for information on the world of science as it relates to health, diet, nutrition and health.

Hopefully you have had the chance to digest that and are ready for a new serving.

In this blog I won't try and retell the information available, but simply provide an introduction and feedback.

Going back to basics, many people wonder what a calorie is, especially when we read the nutrition information on the back of the packet.  In this article, Dr Karl explains that not all calories are the same, and the way the body uses them can be very different.

The article:

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/11/12/3889049.htm

What is interesting is how a calorie is just a measure of energy but its use in food labeling doesn't take into account the source of the energy.  As you can see from the article, what the calorie is contained in makes a big difference into its effect on the body and how the body uses it.  So when we read the calorie count, the missing information is where it is coming from.  You will need to read the levels of protein, fat and sugars to help be guided on its nutritional use.  Also remember that your body needs a certain level of fuel each day, so make sure it is getting the right types of fuel to match what you are doing, but also that you enjoy what you are eating and reward yourself for choosing wisely.

A big thanks to the ABC for making these articles available.

Perspective and experiences and desires drives how we relate to things and what we expect.

We receive some very positive feedback on our garlic bread from people and it always surprises me.  Why?  The feedback is that the garlic butter used contains real garlic and the bread is so lovely.  The reason I am surprised is that I would only ever think of making garlic bread using real garlic, real butter and good quality bread.

But this is symbolic of what we want to do and achieve at Bella's Bites - use genuine ingredients, cook with authenticity and provide a great dining experience.  We want you to expect good quality food and genuine flavours.  So whether it is seeing and tasting garlic in a slice of garlic bread, or tasting rosemary and sage in our slow cooked pork stew, or apples in our moist apple cake, you can know that the flavour you taste is only from the same ingredient used.

One of our regular customers, who will admit freely that she is a tough but fair food critic, said that she could taste that our food was not commercially made.  It was the loveliest compliment, because she then explained that this meant she could taste that our food was made with genuine ingredients, without shortcuts and made  to a high level of quality with heart and soul put into it too.

As I write this I am eating our slow cooked herb pork stew and to me, this stew is exactly what she is referring to.  We take hours to cook it, we use our own, made stocks, heating it and adding specific flavours that compliment the pork.  We make our own seasoned flour so we can get the right flavours in the coating.  We use white wine to soak up the flavours after browing the pork.  Yes it takes time and effort, but getting the feedback from our customers that they can taste the results of this effort makes it worthwhile.

Another comment we often get about our dessert cakes - our moist apple cake, and our carrot cake is "you can tell these are home made".  Again, the people who say this are providing a compliment as they explain that they can taste the real ingredients.  They can also taste that it is not commercially manufactured in having to be full of preservatives and sugars so it can survive being transported and stored for a period of time before consumption.

Just as importantly as the feedback we get when things are done well, we also value feedback when things don't go well!  We need to know where we can improve, and sometimes it is simply that we have used the same ingredient but there is some variation in it that has affected the flavours.  One example is in our Spicy Sausage Salad.  Customer feedback was that the spicy cured meat we were using didn't have enough "kick".  Some sausages have variation in their flavour and we could taste ourselves that there was sometimes a reduction in spice that wasn't acceptable. To this end we have chosen a slightly spicier salami to ensure we can provide a good level of spice consistently.  We hope you can taste this too!

Hopefully seeing and tasting good quality food that is filling, made with a focus on health and nutrition and fresh ingredients, as well as great value for money will help shift your perspective in what you expect from food.  Hopefully you can also just enjoy relaxing at Bella's Bites.

Who is Dr Karl?

In my previous blog, I noted that one source of useful and reliable information was from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and one of its key science collaborators  - Dr Karl. 

Why is he called Dr Karl?  Australia is an informal country where most people call each other by their first names.  In Dr Karl, most people call him by his first name as his last name is Kruszelniki, which, even for a multi-cultural society is still hard for many people to pronounce. I  recommend you read a bit about Dr Karl and you will see he is very well credentialed - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Kruszelnicki

Dr Karl has a site on the ABC website that is useful reading - http://www.abc.net.au/science/drkarl/greatmomentsinscience/

His podcasts are available on the Apple iTunes site - just search for him or follow the URL:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/dr-karls-great-moments-in/id83142643?mt=2

Over my next few posts I will pick out some of the podcasts related to food and nutrition and introduce them for your reference, including the iTunes URL.  I hope these will be informative.  After that, I will also provide some other useful articles on the same types of topics. 

The science of nutrition

Many people wonder why we have tried to create a menu that is healthy and how we have done it.  There is a lot of research available to help with understanding how the body uses the food - it's fuel source.  Some of it is quite confusing. A lot of it is performed or paid for by large food and chemical companies or their industry organisations, so the information is not without prejudice.  So if you are looking into research and information, always check who performed the research and who paid for it.  Or you can find some trusted reporting organisations and journals that will do this checking for you and read them.  I do this and it helps me a lot.  Often these same journals and reports make it easier for me to understand the key points and how to apply it.

So who are some of these journals and reporters?

Journals - sources such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet are great for medical information.  New Scientist magazine is a wonderful resource and makes things into easier to understand.  I also enjoy listening to Dr Karl from the Australian government broadcaster (so it is not able to be manipulated by commercial interests).  His podcast is available on the internet and he also prints the same on the ABC website - http://www.abc.net.au/science/drkarl/greatmomentsinscience/
Dr Karl has some great articles and podcasts on health and nutrition and it is a easily digested 5 - 6 minute podcast.  In my next blog post I will make note of some of the interesting food and nutrition articles he has put together.

One of the best ways to help our bodies is to understand what goes into them, and how we use it.  So I encourage you all to spend some time to read the information available.  After all, a few minutes reading on how dieting workds may be more beneficial than trying to understand which latest diet to use!

And now a word about our suppliers...

At Bella's Bites, we take both great care as well as pride in our selection of suppliers and the products we use.  So what is important to us?  One word - you.  At Bella's we have a simple philosophy.  We won't serve you what we wouldn't serve ourselves.  We won't use ingredients for you that we would be reluctant to use for ourselves. 

But what does that mean in reality?  When we choose ingredients, we look for quality, food safety and source. 

Source is simple - where the ingredient meets our quality and food safety criteria, we will choose local products to help support the Philippine farmers and economy.  It also means that the produce is the most fresh, as it is bought at the closest time to picking in the case of fruit and vegetables. 

Food safety - where the product is made and comes from is weighed by ensuring the location has strong food safety and hygiene standards.  For grown products, the quality of the soil and use of pesticides is also of utmost importance. 

And of course the quality of the product is important - great tasting food comes from great quality ingredients. 

Below are some examples of our purchasing policy as the best ways of explaining it in practice.

At Bella's we choose Harvey Fresh milk whenever we can get it.  And that sometimes means much traveling across Cebu to find suppliers! Why not local?  The local dairy industry in the Philippines is quite small and the availability of fresh milk hard to come by.  Especially for our coffee and milk shakes, the use of good quality, consistent fat content milk is important.  In our testing, Harvey Fresh milk provides a consistently great frothing quality and tastes great.  It is made with Australian milk and imported directly, so Australia's very high standards of food safety and hygiene are not compromised as no reprocessing in other countries occurs.  Harvey Fresh is made with dairy cows that are free range on Australian grasses on Australian soils.  So there is no risk of heavy metals and pesticides entering the food chain (*Australian farmers use pesticides but their use is monitored by the government food authorities and animals that may be at risk of grazing on treated areas are restricted from entering the food supply).  More information is available at Harvey Fresh's website.

At Bella's we also choose to use San Remo pasta.  San Remo is a company that was founded by an Italian in the South Australian state more than 75 years ago and has prospered ever since, making quality durum wheat pasta.  We chose San Remo after trying many different pasta manufacturers and found their product has a great taste and a consistent texture.  In fact, we have had some Italians comment on the great taste of our pasta. More information  is available at San Remo's website.

We use a lot of citrus at Bella's, from our juices and our ice crushes to our cooking.  We purchase our citrus from countries that have reliable supply of quality product.  These include Australia, USA and South Africa.  The citrus production in the Philippines is small and therefore we are limited in being able to purchase from the local product.  However we deliberately choose as much of our fruit and vegetables to be as local as possible.

We also use green apples in our drinks and our yummy moist apple cake.  The best apples for cooking are Granny Smith apples, which happened to be created just a short distance from where this author grew up!  Where possible we use our fruit and vegetables from countries such as the Philippines, Australia, USA, and European countries.  We deliberately avoid purchasing from countries where soil pollution and lack of published accountability for pesticide and fertiliser use is a factor.  Whilst these may produce nice looking food that is quickly grown, the result though is tasteless fruit that may be harmful to our health, and that isn't what we want.

We have to use some products that are processed.  So what are we thinking when we choose one product over another?  We look into their ingredients to see that there is NO MSG used and look to ensure content is not driven by sugars and fats and artificial colours and flavours.  But where possible, we choose to make our products from the base ingredients for the simple reason that this is the easiest way to ensure a quality meal for you.  So this means we make our own stocks and our own salad dressings.

Sometimes these factors means we pay more for our produce and ingredients and we do our best to ensure that you have don't have to make a choice between great quality and cost.  Bella's motto is simple - "because...don't you deserve better?".   And the end result?  A tasty, quality meal for you to enjoy and relax knowing that we are taking care of you.

So there is only one thing you need to do - come in and enjoy our great tasting food and drinks.

*** Note that no manufacturer asked us to reference us for this article and none provide any incentive to use their products.

Happy to share some of the photos of our yummy food and our great looking location in this album.

Reflections on our first week

Wow! What a great first week. Soft opening gives us the opportunity to get your feedback on what we are doing, both positive and areas of improvements.

The overwhelming feedback has been great, with many commenting on the relaxing setting and the delicious food and drinks.

Some of the feedback:

On the cafe itself -
"like the colour and decor - inviting to be in"
"great that you have power outlets in the seating"
"relaxing"
"warm"

On the drinks -
about Bella's Booster: "the best juice I have had"
Wagga Fruit juice Cleanser: "wow, this is good"
Strawberry and Banana Delight: "this one is good"

The milk shakes are getting good reviews from all who try, including:
Choco-nana Milk Shake - "I wasn't sure about the combination, but it really works"

Coffee is also getting positive feedback from both locals and visitors. Bella's has some coffees that are not available anywhere else locally and our Marrocchino is now a favourite of all who try.

And the food is getting the best compliment we could hope for...empty plates! People are already telling us that their favourite is the Cheese, Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake, with a topping that people can't stop eating. Our Penne Carbonara was just reviewed by an Italian Australian who said the penne was cooked just right and really enjoyed the meal. The Seven Cs soup is another favourite, with a gentle curry and chicken flavour. Bella's Caesar Salad is quickly becoming your must eat salad. All our soups and salads are also getting great feedback on the generous sizes.

And who could go past our desserts. On our baked chocolate mousse - "wow, this is really good" and "I'm not a chocolate lover but this is delicious". Our Moist Apple cake is a go to dessert - loaded with healthy green apples.

So great feedback and we hope that you can drop by and enjoy the full menu this coming week. Because you deserve better, Bella's Bites is here serving great tasting, healthy foods and drinks.

Thanks for all those who have shared with us. Like us on Facebook, but we would enjoy seeing you like us in person.

Bella's Bites Soups and Salads - ...because, don't you deserve more?

Now Open - Ground Floor, Mactan Marina Mall, Airport Road, Lapu Lapu.  Just near SaveMore supermarket and the rear carpark.

Welcome and mabuhay

Welcome to Bella's Bites Blog!

As a new and exciting cafe style restaurant in the Philippines, we sometimes have great news, reviews, information and exciting deals to share.  In addition to our Facebook and Twitter, providing some more news and insights via a blog can assist to spread this information and make it easy for you to read.

So in this blog we will share some news from the local and international food scene, health and wellness information, as well as let you know what we are doing at Bella's Bites and how we are living up to our motto of providing what you deserve - better... be it better food, better health, better information and better choices.