Malnutrition in England

There are a few things I won’t eat as well as polenta. I agree about not eating tapioca, frog’s legs, eels, and tripe and I’ll add liver, heart, shellfish, including oysters, and game.
I don’t eat much red meat at all, nor much fish apart from salmon, cod, haddock, plaice or hake.
I’m much happier with eggs, cheese, and dairy foods such as yoghurts. I could easily be a vegetarian but I’m lazy and can’t be bothered.

Think of your share prices, Calistemon 🤫

Mibs
Doodledog is right, you’re in a very difficult situation at the moment. I also hope things improve for you soon

Doodledog

Think of your share prices, Calistemon 🤫

We need more recipes!

MibsXX

we work, low wages, rent and everything soared in last two years, wages actually went down, both bosses answer to forced wage rise was to offer less hours. I CAN cook, just cannot afford to anymore not properly. Electricity, and real from scratch food items are bloody expensive now. we survive on alternating sandwiches one day, a bowl of p[orridge the next, maybe once or twice a week I actually manage to find a bargain and make a proper dinner. We're all losing weight and feeling very low on energy and health. Every time I visit the shop prices have gone up again, its almost daily now

MibsXX
I'm sorry to hear that.

Can you find out if you have a Community Fridge in your area? There is no need to be referred and the food is generally fresh food, donated by supermarkets or local producers, probably just on the sell-by date but still perfectly good to eat.

As well as helping people, it avoids so much waste.

MibbsXX have you thought of using a straw box for slow cooking? Boil food on a hob and then transfer to a straw box with a lid to continue cooking?

MibsXX

Have a look at these 2 apps:- Olio and Too good to go.

You can get free food from Tesco through Olio and heavily discounted food from supermarkets and hot food from restaurants through Too good to go.

The 2 apps are for minimising food waste, supermarket food near their sell by date and surplus food not used by the restaurants.

MibsXX Have you had a Benefits check? There are a number of benefits that can be accessed by working people on low incomes. This includes Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and others.

Make an appointment to see your local Citizen's Advice bureau, they will be able to advise and help you and here is a link to the government site for benefits for those on low incomes. www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/low-income

Please Mibs look around for a foodbank near to you. I can only speak for mine, but I'm pretty confident that you'll receive a warm welcome along with bags of food. Many of our clients have experiences like yours. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?

MibsXX if you manage to get to a Lidl there are usually boxes of fruit and vegetables which they place on the shelves just beyond the tills.
A big box of perfectly good but just in-date fresh, healthy produce is £1.50.

Do you have a slow cooker? I'm going to use mine today rather than the oven and hob.

The prices now are horrific here. We don’t have a mortgage, thank goodness, but if you are young and have a young family it would be almost impossible to eat really good food.
$4.50 per kg potatoes, $5 or $ 6 a cabbage, $30 a kg for lamb chops. As for fish, forget it, you can pay $100 per kg but for 2 little ,really little, salmon steaks you are up for around $12 and that is on a good day at Aldi. Think twice before you think of emigrating !

nanna8

The prices now are horrific here. We don’t have a mortgage, thank goodness, but if you are young and have a young family it would be almost impossible to eat really good food.
$4.50 per kg potatoes, $5 or $ 6 a cabbage, $30 a kg for lamb chops. As for fish, forget it, you can pay $100 per kg but for 2 little ,really little, salmon steaks you are up for around $12 and that is on a good day at Aldi. Think twice before you think of emigrating !

Who's making the profits? Certainly the farmers are at the mercy of the supermarkets and the price paid to the farmer and the prices charged by supermarkets vary widely.
The minimum wage is much higher in Australia, too, so that affects the costs of production.

Malnutrition is very different from starvation, get your facts right.

mabon1

Malnutrition is very different from starvation, get your facts right.

Who is that addressed to, mabon1?

M0nica covered the difference between malnutrition and starvation on page one of this thread, and others have backed her up.

I'm not sure of your point, really.

Just another rude comment best ignored, perhaps ? MOnica always contributes well and even though I sometimes disagree, she makes good points.

To be fair to mabon1. We are now on page 9, reading that far back is a council of virtue I rarely meet.

However, when you are going to post an intemperate post, it is best to check your facts.

Most people don't know enough about food values, to ensure they eat well enough, especially when they are hit by poverty.

As so often, education is part of the answer.

Caleo

Most people don't know enough about food values, to ensure they eat well enough, especially when they are hit by poverty.

As so often, education is part of the answer.

You must be correct - though I know not why.

We learned all about foods and nutrition in school, starting at about age 11 (if I recall the year correctly). Apart from labels listing everything imaginable and being able to add, what else is needed?

Quote: "Nutrition labels must display the amount of energy (calories and kilojoules) and the amount of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, proteins and salt (all expressed in grams) present in 100g (or 100 ml) of the food. Jan 4, 2023"

Someone down to their last five pounds to feed a family won’t be looking at labels for nutritional values norah. Rather something cheap and filling that costs little to prepare.

Jaxjacky

Someone down to their last five pounds to feed a family won’t be looking at labels for nutritional values norah. Rather something cheap and filling that costs little to prepare.

You may be correct, some may not read labels. Why not?

However logic tells me cheapest, most filling foods are carbs - rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, oats, barley - pricing and nutrition are on products. Easily see at a glance the nutrition and ingredients.

Children need protein and good fats as well as carbohydrates.

Free school dinners are essential, the cost would be offset by improvements in concentration at school and general health and wellbeing.

Callistemon21

Children need protein and good fats as well as carbohydrates.

Free school dinners are essential, the cost would be offset by improvements in concentration at school and general health and wellbeing.

Of course people need protein and good fats, veg, fruit, all of nutrition. However labels exist and provide the needed information.

I stated carbs because I was answering to "cheap and filling."

I agree to you on school dinners. A must for many reasons.

Callistemon21

Children need protein and good fats as well as carbohydrates.

Free school dinners are essential, the cost would be offset by improvements in concentration at school and general health and wellbeing.

Good school dinner yeah, sad but true that some schools still go down the pizza slice or turkey twizzler route. Even when they give healthy meals some kids at 11 onwards go out and buy chips, I’ve seen them in the chippy at lunchtime.

I really don’t think it’s a lack of education on the subject either.

If people want to know about food and nutrition it is only too easy to find out, In fact I do not know how they can miss them, The news pages and the internet, tv and radio is bursting with people telling people how to eat well. You do not need to buy the van Tulliken book on UPFs or anything published by Michael Mosely. It is free, online, on the radio, in the papers daily.

The fact is that many people do not know and do not care what they eat or whether it is good bad or indifferent to them. In fact they rather pride themselves in ignoring all the sensible advice.