Meet your Dietitian!
Lucy is a Registered Dietitian working across GP practices in Ardwick & Longsight. She has worked in the NHS for 8 years, spending most of that time at both adults and children’s hospitals.
Being a Registered Dietitian means that Lucy looks at the most up to date research around food and health, and then translates that into practical advice for the public.
You might find her at local community groups giving informal dietary education,delivering group courses, or in clinics at your GP practice. This website will hopefully be a useful tool to provide information around how to save money while eating well, which shops in Ardwick & Longsight have the best prices, and some recipes to try with the family.
Real Food Real Health course – sign up now!
We are running a new healthy living course in this neighbourhood called Real Food Real Health.
- Do you need additional support in better managing your weight, health and (if applicable) diabetes?
- Would you like to try a different approach in a safe and encouraging environment by using a whole food, strength-based approach that you can tailor to suit your needs and values?
- Would you like to learn how to maintain lifestyle changes to suit your life, environment and priorities?
The course is run by a neighbourhood dietitian, health coaches and is completely free.
- Drop-in sessions: These will be run at various locations and will be available for people who have already attended the course, or those who are interested in finding out more. Next drop in: TBC.
- 8-week course: These term-time courses will run 3 times a year, next one starting in May:
| Date | Time | Location |
| Thursday 04.05.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | Brunswick Village – Extra Care 50 Brunswick Street, Manchester, M13 9PE |
| Thursday 11.05.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| Thursday 18.05.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| Thursday 25.05.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| WEEK OFF FOR HALF TERM | ||
| Thursday 08.06.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| Thursday 15.06.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| Thursday 22.06.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
| Thursday 29.06.2023 | 10am – 12 noon | |
If you feel you can commit to the 8 week course or would like to find out more about the drop ins please click here to fill in an application form:
Thank you!
Lucy Blackstone, Aurora Bush-Gordon, Ola Skrodzka and Rozina Akhtar – The Real Food Real Health Team
Is Fruit Juice Good For me?
Fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C and fibre. Vitamin C helps to keep your immune system working well, and also helps your body to absorb iron.
However, fruit is quite high in sugar. And this is where it gets confusing – the sugar in whole fruit is not counted as ‘free sugar’ but in juices and smoothies it is. ‘Free sugar’ is also known as ‘added sugar’ and is the sugar that is added to processed foods such as sweets, cakes, fizzy drinks and chocolate. It is recommended that our consumption of ‘free sugar’ is reduced as excess intake can increase risk of overweight and type 2 diabetes.
For this reason, the best way to take your fruit is to eat it. As once it is juiced, much of the fibre content is removed. The fibre will help to slow the pace at which the sugar enters the system and keep you fuller for longer.
It is important to mindful of portions of fruit, and remember that 1 piece = 1 portion, in the case of berries and grapes it is the amount that fits into one cupped hand.
1 portion of fruit juice = 150ml, and it is not recommended to have more than once a day. Try adding water to make it go further!
Who Needs To Take A Vitamin?
Not everyone needs to take a vitamin, in fact the only one that it is advised we all take is Vitamin D – as this is absorbed from sunlight and we simply don’t get enough of that in the autumn and winter months (especially in Manchester!)
Apart from those stated in the table below, you should be able to get all the nutrients you need from a varied diet.
What is a varied diet?
- Plenty of fruits and vegetables – frozen, tinned or fresh are fine. Aim for a variety of these and at least 5 a day.
- Some starchy carbohydrates in appropriate portions – rice, bread, pasta, potatoes. Wholemeal choices are the most nutritious, although some 50/50 loaves are fortified with calcium, iron and Vitamin D.
- Some milk and dairy products, or alternatives that are fortified with calcium.
- Two portions per day of protein foods – beans, pulses, meat, fish, chicken and eggs. Try to replace meat with pulses once or twice per week.
- Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines or pilchards once a week is a great source of vitamins and healthy fats that are good for your heart
- Not too many foods high in fat, salt and sugar – such as takeaways, processed foods and snacks.
The table below indicates who is recommended to take a vitamin and how much:
| Who? | Vitamin | Why? |
| All babies under the age of 1 | 8.5 – 10mcg Vitamin D in vitamin drops (Babies drinking 500ml or more of infant formula do not need additional vitamin D supplementation) | To prevent a vitamin D deficiency |
| Adults and children aged 1 and over | 10mcg Vitamin D per day during the autumn and winter months (Some groups, such as those who cannot go outside that often or who cover their skin when outside may benefit from a supplement all year round). | To prevent a vitamin D deficiency |
| Pregnant people, or people trying to conceive | 400mcg Folic Acid daily from pre-conception until 12 weeks of pregnancy. (A higher dose of folic acid is recommended for people at a high risk of conceiving a child with a neural tube defect, including those who have previously had an infant with a neural tube defect or if they have diabetes or sickle-cell disease. | To reduce the risk of neural tube defects in the unborn baby. |
| People suffering from medical conditions or deficiencies, or who have had stomach surgery | As per your doctor | To prevent a deficiency |
| People following a vegan diet | 10mcg of Vitamin B12 daily Up to 150mcg of iodine daily – do not exceed this dose as excess iodine can be harmful. | To prevent deficiencies in these nutrients. |
Table taken from British Dietetic Association website
- A pharmacy, supermarket or your local chemist is a reputable place to get a supplement from – avoid buying from an unknown company on the internet.
- Make sure you need the supplement – have you spoken to a doctor or dietitian?
- Could you alter your diet to boost your nutrient intake first?
- Be careful with supplements that claim to delay ageing, help you to lose weight or boost your metabolism – there is often little scientific evidence back up these claims.
Top tips for saving money on your food shop
The rising cost of food has put strain on many families in Manchester. These tips should help you to keep the cost of your weekly shop down, while helping you to continue eating well.
- Make a meal plan at the beginning of the week – then use this to make a shopping list to make sure no food is wasted.
- Use your leftovers – either freeze or store leftovers in the fridge, factor in when you will eat them to your meal plan. This can help you to avoid convenience foods on a busy day!
- Try to eat more vegetarian meals – tinned pulses and beans still contain protein and are much cheaper than meat.
- If using meat, try adding beans or pulses to make the meal go further. This will reduce the price, keep the protein content high and add fibre.
- If buying meat in bulk, freeze some portions that won’t be used to make sure they aren’t wasted.
- Try using frozen or tinned vegetables to reduce costs – they are still full of vitamins and fibre.
- Beans and pulses = chickpeas / kidney beans / butterbeans / lentils / even baked beans!