The PNNS = programme national nutrition santé (French national nutrition & health programme)

Set up by the Health Ministry, with the aim using dietary changes and physical activity to improve the health of the population living in France. Other Ministries and specialised institutions are also taking part in this programme. Below is a brief summary of some of the dietary advice from the French national nutrition & health programme (PNNS):

Increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables, with a target of 5 a day in any form: fresh, frozen, canned, raw, cooked…

Consume foodstuffs containing calcium, preferably 3 per day: these can be dairy products (yoghurt, cottage cheese, cheese, if possible those with the lowest fat and salt contents), but some mineral water also contains calcium…

Restrict overall consumption of fat (lipids) especially saturated lipids (= saturated fatty acids in our nutrition & health summaries). Choose vegetable fats (olive oil, rapeseed oil…) rather than animal fats (pork meat, butter, cream, some cheeses...)

Increase the consumption of complex carbohydrates which contain starch. These should be taken at each meal and provide 50 to 55% of the daily energy intake. These can be found in cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes and also in chestnuts…

Limit the consumption of simple sugars (= "sugar" in the nutritional tables). Sugar is present in soft drinks, cakes…

Consume 30 g of dietary fibre per day, as fibre plays an essential role in digestion. Vegetables are usually an excellent source of fibre. This is true for beansprouts and also for chestnuts.

Eat fish at least twice a week, meat (vary the types of meat) or eggs, once or twice a day.

Reduce salt consumption, in order to limit sodium intake (the sodium content is listed in the nutritional tables). As a guide, to obtain the salt content for 100 g of product starting from the sodium content, multiply the latter by 2.54.

Drink as much water as you want.

Also avoid eating between meals, limit the consumption of alcoholic drinks, increase your physical activity…

Warning: these recommendations do not apply to persons on special diets.

The benefits of beansprouts

Are you one of those consumers who places more and more importance on the nutritional qualities of foodstuffs?

• If so, here are LOTS OF GOOD REASONS FOR EATING beansprouts...
• If not, go straight to the next article…

The influence of diet on health is now a well-established fact.
In this context, nutritionists recommend:

• that you eat 5 vegetables of fruits per day.
• reduce your consumption of lipids, particularly saturated fatty acids (mainly of animal origin)
• eat 30 g of fibre daily
• keep to an average daily energy intake of 2000 kcal

100 g of beansprouts (one 1/4 size tin) =

• A very small amount of lipids (very low fat content):
  about 0.5 g per 100 g
• Zero cholesterol content
• High water content: 94 g per 100 g
• Rich in fibre
• An interesting source of:
  - calcium, required for bone construction,
  - magnesium, required for transmission of nerve signals (77 % of women do not consume enough, making them more susceptible to anxiety, stress and depression),
  - iron, required for oxygen transport inside tissues (20 % of women are deficient in iron),
  - Group B vitamins,
  - Very low energy content (similar to lettuce or cucumber): 25 kcal per 100 g = just a little more than 1 % of the recommended daily energy intake (while providing an effect of satisfying hunger…)
  - To reach the 2000 kcal recommended daily energy intake, you would have to eat at least 10 kg of beansprouts (the equivalent of nine 3/1 size tins).
  Warning, this diet would be completely unbalanced and not at all recommended!

To sum up, beansprouts = Light meal ‘Health ‘Fitness ‘Beauty

A recipe suggestion: beansprout vegetable stew (for 4 persons)
Ingredients: 600 g of beansprouts, 1 diced green pepper and 1 diced yellow pepper,
1 chopped onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 4 good-sized tomatoes cut into pieces, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Brown the onion in a little oil in a saucepan, add the garlic and sweet peppers followed by the tomatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the beansprouts, salt and pepper, and cook for a further two minutes.
The vegetable stew can be served with rice or an omelette, or with your choice of meat.

SWEET CHESTNUTS

If you are not yet convinced, here are a lot of good reasons for eating chestnuts…They combine many advantages:

• They are 100 % natural: no chemical treatments before or after harvest.
• They are easy and quick to use:
  ready to use, for consumption whole, with a roast or poultry, in a sauce with a little cream, as a soup base, in stuffing or in sweets…
• They combine Pleasure and Health:
  An ideal side dish for a balanced meal, they have many nutritional advantages that are often not well known:
  -Rich in complex carbohydrates, they provide a long term energy supply:
  100 g of chestnuts provide as much carbohydrate as 100 g of pasta or rice.
  -Rich in fibre, they rapidly satisfy your appetite:
  100 g of chestnuts contains 3 times as much fibre as pasta and 4 times as much fibre as rice.
  -They have a low lipid content, mainly unsaturated (= "good") lipids, and zero cholesterol content.
  -They are an interesting source of vitamins and minerals, essential for the growth and healthy functioning of the human body.
  They provide:
  - Group B vitamins and vitamin C.
  - Phosphorus, magnesium, iron and copper.
  -They contain very little salt: from 0.1 g per 100 g for jars to 0.4 g per 100 g for cans.

And chestnut purée?

This should not be forgotten either…
100 g of chestnut purée provides 250 kcal compared with 290 kcal for honey, 264 kcal for jam and 394 kcal for white sugar…

In addition, as for whole chestnuts, it is a good source of fibre and has a low lipid content.
It is therefore better to put chestnut purée in your pancakes rather than honey or jam…