Our Digital Content Officer, Rob Newsome, gives us the run down of the most popular 10 Food Fact Sheets of 2018.
Our Food Fact Sheets are consistently among the best performing pages on our website, and for good reason! They are packed full of useful health and nutrition advice.
Perhaps unsurprisingly our most read fact sheet in the last year was:
1. Plant-based Diets
15% more pageviews than the second placed fact sheet
“People choose a plant-based diet for a variety of reasons including concern about the treatment of animals, health reasons, environmental concerns or because of taste and social pressure. Plant-based diets are becoming more popular and if they are well-planned, can support healthy living at every age and life-stage.”
2. Irritable Bowel Syndrome and diet
2% more views than third place
“Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a medical term used to describe a collection of gut symptoms. Dietary changes can often help IBS symptoms and sometimes simple changes are all that are needed.”
3. Healthy eating
3% more views than fourth
“A good diet is important for good health. Eating a variety of foods can improve general wellbeing, reduce the risk of conditions including heart disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes and osteoporosis (thin bones) and help you manage your weight. You need to eat sensibly, choosing a varied diet from a range of foods, not smoking and keeping active are all great ways to boost your health.”
4. Diabetes Type 2
3% more views than fifth
“Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose (sugar) in your blood is too high because your body cannot use it properly. In Type 2 diabetes this happens because your pancreas doesn’t produce enough of the hormome insulin (that helps glucose enter body cells) and/or the insulin that is produced does not work correctly (insulin resistance).”
5. Weight Loss
7% more views than sixth
"Want to lose weight and keep it off? Have you ever tried to lose weight but found it difficult? Lost a little and then regained it?"
6. Iron
5% more views than seventh
"Iron is a mineral that has many different roles in the body. Iron is particularly important for making haemoglobin: a protein contained in red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body. Iron also plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy immune system (your body’s natural defence system)."
7. Portion Sizes
19% more views than eighth
"It is important to be aware of portion sizes as too much or too little of any type of food can increase our risk of health problems. This is because the body may be getting too much or too little of what it needs to stay healthy. As every person is different, the recommended number of portions for each food will vary, but this sheet provides a good place to get you started."
8. Food and Mood
2% more views than ninth
"We all have good days and bad days; we all have foods we like more, or like less. But is there a connection between feeling fine and the foods we have eaten? Do some foods make us feel grumpy? Is it possible to plan a diet for a good mood?"
9. Healthy Snacks
9% more views than tenth
"Many people think snacks are unhealthy additions to their eating pattern and that snacking leads to weight gain. Research shows that this can be the case, other studies indicate that people who snack can have trimmer waistlines and many snacks can make useful contributions to your overall diet."
10. Vitamin D
7% more views than eleventh
"Sunshine, not food, is where most of your vitamin D comes from. So even a healthy, well balanced diet, that provides all the other vitamins and goodness you need, is unlikely to provide enough vitamin D. Read on to find out the best ways to get enough vitamin D safely."