Food aisles

[Leadinglights]

I was not intending to offend you or anyone else on this Forum. My apologies if that is how you felt when you read my post. I personally have no objection to anyone being vegan, vegetarian, or any other diet as long as I am not forced to do the same. I have, however, felt recently that I am being made to feel guilty for eating meat, fish and dairy products (by the media, not by anyone on here and certainly not by any friends of mine who eat differently to me) . I already have had problems with my blood sugars which, thankfully, for the time being at least, I have sorted out. Therefore, personally I prefer to have a wide range of foods and not to cut anything out but, rather cut down on high carb foods which are probably going to upset my blood sugars.

Just for the record one of my friends is a vegan and another is a vegetarian and we "live and let live" so to speak. In fact, I have had a vegan meal and enjoyed it but it would not appeal to me personally to eat like that all the time.

25 years ago we booked some last minute flights (those were the days) on Emirates and were given vegan meals and I must say they were awful. I understood the reasoning but It was disappointing as Emirates meals are usually so good.

 

[nonethewiser]

Supermarkets fine as they are & cater for all diets I'd imagine, so no need for change & dont have problem with all foods on offer in them.

 

[helli]

25 years ago we booked some last minute flights (those were the days) on Emirates and were given vegan meals and I must say they were awful. I understood the reasoning but It was disappointing as Emirates meals are usually so good.

My experience as a "flying vegetarian" is to request "Asian vegetarian" meal. Most airlines do a passable curry with rice and bread that you can leave if you want a lower carb meal. It is better than the standard vegetarian which is always high carb, stodgy pasta.

 

[Leadinglights]

My experience as a "flying vegetarian" is to request "Asian vegetarian" meal. Most airlines do a passable curry with rice and bread that you can leave if you want a lower carb meal. It is better than the standard vegetarian which is always high carb, stodgy pasta.

It was because we were too late to specify a meal type and I suppose vegan would offend no one, good thought to request Asian vegetarian not that we are likely to be travelling anytime soon.

 

[mikeyB]

Its simpler than profit it organizational, what maybe low sugar could be high salt/fat but also low cal or any number of combos, just how many sub sections of sub sections can you get and of course there would be the same products eg biscuits spread all over the shop (litterly) and the staff wouldn't know where anything is. Where as say gluten free is one main ingredient and could be immediately lethal to a consumer. there are exceptions to all products but numbers are higher in gluten/lactose/nuts etc.

Gluten included in foods will of course upset the intestines of someone with Coeliac Disease but that is not lethal. Those who have found that eliminating gluten helps their IBS symptoms, but again, accidental inclusion in the diet wouldn't be lethal.

Nuts, in those who will suffer anaphylactic reaction, are for sure potentially lethal, even in traces.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Gluten included in foods will of course upset the intestines of someone with Coeliac Disease but that is not lethal. Those who have found that eliminating gluten helps their IBS symptoms, but again, accidental inclusion in the diet wouldn't be lethal.

Nuts, in those who will suffer anaphylactic reaction, are for sure potentially lethal, even in traces.

Is a perforated bowel from untreated Celiac disease not a life threatening condition?
And to be fair, there are one or two things worse than an upset stomach it can cause as well?

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Happy new year all.just wondering why supermarket does not have aisles that state reduced ingredients?ie salt sugar carbs etc.seem to cater for all others .meat free.plant based sections etc .I'm sure many parents would appreciate kids packed lunches wouldn't contain high contents of any bad stuff.saves people picking up packaging looking at stats also.surely be easier if you could shop knowing its the healthier option without touching all the products.or are we diabetics the new Z nation!!

Quite simply it is assumed we can all read the ingredients and in all honesty can you imagine the nightmare of shopping with a separate isle for every ingredient under the sun?
It's not that difficult reading the labels is it?
I'm gluten free so delve into the Free from section for certain items and the rest I just read the labels. It really doesn't take that much longer to shop by looking at the labels. Most people I suspect buy the same food week in week out anyway.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

To have products labelled Diabetic was banned a few years ago.

Mercifully so, given some of the nasty laxative chemical goop that used to be proudly labelled ‘Suitable for Diabetics‘ (sic) 😱

But I agree completely with @Leadinglights about the disappointment of the missed opportunity to include total carb content in the traffic light system. I know several people with diabetes who sent requests during the consultation, including me

 

[rebrascora]

Mercifully so, given some of the nasty laxative chemical goop that used to be proudly labelled ‘Suitable for Diabetics‘ (sic) 😱

But I agree completely with @Leadinglights about the disappointment of the missed opportunity to include total carb content in the traffic light system. I know several people with diabetes who sent requests during the consultation, including me

I imagine the difficulty is that so many products are high in carbs and the manufacturers would be rather unhappy if their previously green light "healthy" product got a red traffic light for carb content..... all the breakfast cereal manufacturers for a start.
I would certainly welcome the carb content printed more clearly in LARGER lettering on the front of products as it is usually so tiny on the back or side of packaging, my reading glasses are in and out of my bag during a shopping trip and wearing masks during the pandemic has made that more difficult, so I tend to stand and peer at the label for a while before I either give in and fish out the glasses or put it back on the shelf and walk away. Mostly I buy the same things and don't need to look anymore but occasionally you see a product and wonder if it would be OK and want to check.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I imagine the difficulty is that so many products are high in carbs and the manufacturers would be rather unhappy if their previously green light "healthy" product got a red traffic light for carb content..... all the breakfast cereal manufacturers for a start

Ah yes, but remember that the RDA for (non sugary) carbs is 250-300g a day so there’s quite a lot of allowance in the general eating guidance 🙂

 

[rebrascora]

Ah yes, but remember that the RDA for (non sugary) carbs is 250-300g a day so there’s quite a lot of allowance in the general eating guidance 🙂

Are you saying then that that would not qualify breakfast cereals for a red light and if not then presumably only the likes of sugar and sweets and cakes and biscuits would get a red light for carbs and they already (presumably) get a red light for sugar, so in that case incorporating carbs into the traffic light system might not be helpful anyway?

I just think that considering that many diabetics need to know the carb content and diabetes can cause issues with sight, it would be very helpful for that total carb info to be more easily legible. I have no real interest in the traffic light system personally, I just need the carb content.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Are you saying then that that would not qualify breakfast cereals for a red light and if not then presumably only the likes of sugar and sweets and cakes and biscuits would get a red light for carbs and they already (presumably) get a red light for sugar, so in that case incorporating carbs into the traffic light system might not be helpful anyway?

Well yes tbh I don’t find the traffic lights useful either… and I’m not sure how they categorise green vs amber or red - a pack in the cupboard seems to have a portion size at 4% of RDI of salt being amber, and 2% RDI of fat being amber, while 2% RDI of sugar is green… so it’s all a mystery to me!

What it DOES give though is ‘per portion’ values. Where you can have per 100g values, but NO weight on the packet for some items which is very annoying!

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Just checked another pack

It gets even weirder.

All labelled green on 2 boxes of different sorts of Weetabix (not mine!)

One ranges 4% 8% 9% 5% (all lime green) 10% daily energy intake per serving.

The other 1% 1% 2% 2% (all ‘proper’ green) and 7% daily energy intake per serving.

No wonder people get confused!

 

[Inka]

I’m not really a fan of the Traffic Lights either. I think they’re largely pointless. The only one I do look at sometimes is the Salt one, eg when choosing a pizza, etc.

I used to write to manufacturers about putting the Total Carbs on the front or in larger lettering, but most replied saying there wasn’t enough space. I did have success with a supermarket mag and their recipes - and with Diabetes U.K.!