That's Food and Drink

Thursday, 22 December 2022

That's Christmas: Over half of Brits prefer Christmas leftovers to t...

That's Christmas: Over half of Brits prefer Christmas leftovers to t...: At the most wonderful time of the year, for many the food takes centre stage at Christmas. Yet whilst we all love a Christmas dinner, leftov...

Is your Sleep Sabotaging your Diet?

When talking about weight loss, you’d usually bring up exercise, nutrition and even genetics as the main factors in play. And while that’s very much the case, a new 2022 study done by the Sleep Research Society pointed the spotlight at another important and often overlooked factor: sleep.

In the study, 195 adults with obesity were designated to an 8-week low-calorie diet followed by an entire year of observation and weight maintenance. They were then categorized by two metrics, whether or not they worked out and whether they received liraglutide or a placebo.

From there, the study followed all the participants’ weight fluctuations plus their sleep duration and quality. And what they discovered was a very strong link between sleep and weight fluctuation in adults who have obesity.

For one, participants who were measured as having bad sleep quality on average lost less weight during the 8-week diet than those who slept more soundly. And even on a subjective level, those who reported having a worse sleep also didn’t shed as many pounds as their counterparts.

And these results stayed consistent within the weight maintenance phase, too. During the 52-week maintenance phase, participants who on average slept under 6 hours a night saw no decrease in their body fat percentage, while those who slept more than 6 hours on average, did. In fact, each added hour of mean sleep corresponded to a weight loss of -1.7 kg or a body fat percentage decrease of 0.80%.

Sleep quality played an equally vital role during this stage, with those who were described as having good sleep quality on average losing 1.5kg more and having 0.1% body fat less. The difference was even more noticeable with people who had good sleep quality prior to the maintenance phase, with the difference against their counterparts being -3.5kg or -1.3% body fat.

But when looking at the difference between the exercise and no-exercise groups, the difference wasn’t as shocking as one would expect. Although weight loss persisted within the exercise group during the maintenance phase while the no-exercise group stagnated, the effect on sleep was surprisingly subtle.

Both measured sleep duration and sleep quality decreased in both groups at a very similar level. The only difference is that those who exercised had fewer daytime disturbances and better-perceived sleep quality.

And when it came to the difference between the liraglutide and placebo groups, the differences were also less significant than one might think. Weight loss was maintained within the liraglutide group while the placebo group stagnated. Sleep duration was prolonged in the liraglutide group for the first 26 weeks before tapering off by the end of the trial year. And sleep quality decreased within both groups equally.

All of this is to say that sleep duration and sleep quality are much more important factors in weight loss than most give them credit for. Even when compared with exercise and medication specifically designed to battle obesity in adults, differences in sleep routines showed a significant impact on a person’s weight during the weight maintenance period.

https://www.thesleepadvisors.co.uk.

GUNNA Drinks sends 'cheeky' message to big rival over their pollution

Award winning craft lemonade brand, GUNNA Drinks has delivered a cheeky middle finger sculpture made of plastic cola bottles to Coca Cola with the message “Pick Up Your Crap” for Christmas.

Following the launch of their petition to ban the use of single-use plastic bottles in the manufacture of soft drinks, GUNNA Drinks created a piece of art for Coca Cola made from their discarded plastic cola bottles.

The GUNNA team hand delivered their unique ‘message made of bottles’ (in the form of a slightly naughty middle finger!) to Coca Cola’s flagship store which is in Covent Garden.

The Sculpture took a tour of London’s iconic locations, including Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Oxford Street accompanied by protesters dressed as marine wildlife to show the impact these bottles are having on animals and the habitats they call home.

Melvin Jay, Founder and CEO of GUNNA Drinks said: “It's really time for the Big Soda companies to take responsibility for picking up their own crap and stop polluting our planet! They could easily switch to cans or glass, but unfortunately these companies seem to love money more than they love our planet. This has to stop, so we are asking everyone to take a stand against plastic waste.”

In the UK 7.7 billion plastic bottles are used annually, with the average person in the UK now using 150 plastic bottles every year. That's over – that’s over three a week. Many are discarded, ending up polluting our rivers and seas. 83% of the plastic packaging waste we throw away in the UK comes from food and drink packaging.

GUNNA Drinks pledged to be carbon negative and eliminate twice the carbon they create, making them the UK's most carbon-negative craft soft drink. GUNNA also invests in the Clean Oceans project, which picks up plastic bottles from the ocean, so they pick up Big Cola’s mess for them. Off the back of being carbon negative the GUNNA team have pledged to go even further with lobbying the UK government to take action against plastic bottles.

The petition can be found here https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/624995?fbclid=IwAR2k48O4begzT9aaUQ-kM2-pScZnDEYUl3hJI7WaLmlAMPYWnFwoaXiER9E and GUNNA are asking for those who support the ban of plastic bottles to share this on social media using the hashtag #letscanplastic

Wednesday, 21 December 2022

That's Christmas: Tesco to bring back its Kids Eat Free scheme from ...

That's Christmas: Tesco to bring back its Kids Eat Free scheme from ...: Tesco has announced it is bringing back its popular Kids Eat Free scheme in its 312 cafés across the UK between Boxing Day and 6 January 202...

Tuesday, 20 December 2022

That's Christmas: Côte restaurants celebrate cracker of a Christmas ...

That's Christmas: Côte restaurants celebrate cracker of a Christmas ...: Côte restaurants is celebrating its special festive campaign to assist children who are living with food insecurity and who are at risk of g...

That's Christmas: New consumer research from OXO show what we Brits ...

That's Christmas: New consumer research from OXO show what we Brits ...: Christmas comes every every year, just like clockwork, and while many of us have made small changes to our Christmas routines over the years...

Co-op and Just Eat team-up to launch nationwide UK partnership

Co-op has teamed with Just Eat to launch an on-demand online delivery partnership, it has been announced increasing access to quick convenience shopping in communities nationwide.

Initially rolling-out to 50 stores early next year, the service is expected to grow to over 1,000 Co-op stores by Spring next year, 2023. Through the tie-up, shoppers will be able to order items from Co-op for speedy delivery in as little as under 30 minutes via the Just Eat app and website.

With thousands of products available to choose from, customers can order anything from bread and milk to meals and treats for evenings at home and, store cupboard essentials. Items are picked fresh from local Co-op stores, and delivered quickly and conveniently in the community.

Shoppers will also have access to household name brands, offers and promotions and, Co-op’s award-winning, ethically sourced quality own-brand products. Just Eat will then take care of the delivery, through its growing network of couriers across the UK.

Chris Conway, eCommerce Director, Co-op, said: “Co-op stores are well placed in the heart of local communities to provide quick, easy and convenient home deliveries – whether a full shop or last-minute top-ups. We are committed to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to our products and services and, with our members and customers leading busy lives, ease, speed and convenience is a cornerstone of our approach.

“We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Just Eat, a move which will enable Co-op to ‘deliver’ further flexible options online with increased choice and availability in our communities, however, whenever and wherever our members and customers choose to shop with us.”

Amy Heather, Strategic Accounts Director, Just Eat UK, said: “We’re excited to launch our partnership with Co-op to offer convenience grocery from their stores to customers across the UK. The partnership will bring our customers access to a wide range of fantastic Co-op products delivered to their home within minutes. This partnership is another example of Just Eat’s commitment to grocery in the UK and we know that Co-op will be a popular addition for our customers.”

Co-op utilises the strategic advantage of its store footprint located in the heart of communities which act as micro-distribution hubs - with products picked fresh in the local store and delivered quickly and conveniently in the community.

"Co-op has rolled out its 'quick convenience' offer at pace, through its own online shop - shop.coop.co.uk - and with partners. In addition to Just Eat, this includes: Deliveroo, where Co-op is the most widely available supermarket on the Deliveroo app; Uber Eats, Amazon Prime and, Starship Technologies - where autonomous robot deliveries most recentlt expanded into Cambridge and Leeds after previously operating successfully in Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire.