Ador was fascinated to read recently how scientists from Tufts University in Boston, USA have found that having a diet rich in fruits and vegetables – and so rich too in the mineral potassium – can slow down the rate at which our bodies lose muscle.

Losing muscle mass is a natural part of the ageing process and accounts for gradual loss of strength and increasing frailty, along with a lowering of our metabolic rate (which means that we burn fewer calories each day).

This loss of muscle may in part be due to the gradual acidosis that occurs in our bodies, with the more acid environment triggering muscle wastage. Eating alkali producing fruits and vegetables appears to help to reduce this process.

In a study of nearly 400 male and female volunteers over 65, those eating a fruit, vegetable and potassium-rich diet averaged 3.6 more pounds of lean muscle mass in their bodies over an 18-month period than those having half the potassium.

As the scientists who carried out the work explained, this almost offsets the 4.4 pounds of lean muscle typically lost in a decade in men and women over 65.

In the UK, the most recent nutritional survey of adults suggests that women are averaging 2,653mg of the 3,500mg daily target (and men 3,367mg).

Meanwhile, in America, the last US federal dietary guidelines issued stressed the importance of older adults getting at least 4,700mg of potassium daily. So given that we do not meet even our lower target of 3500mg, it seems that upping our intakes may be a good thing.

Eating at least ‘five a day’ of fruit and vegetables is a good place to start. A medium-sized baked potato has 1,134mg of potassium, a boiled parsnip has around 675mg, a banana or half a papaya has 400mg, a serving of cooked spinach 270mg and an orange and a pear both have 240mg each.

Other foods also contain potassium and can further boost intakes. A pint of milk gives you 912mg, an individual yoghurt 255mg and two thick slices of wholemeal bread provide 250mg.

So you can see that to meet even the UK target, you really do need to eat a pretty healthy diet – which has got to be a good thing!

The new F-Plan Diet can also help you look younger

Plus check out this guide to six anti-aging foods

…TIRED
The problem: A poor nights’ sleep alters our hormones, increasing those that trigger hunger and a desire for a quick ‘pick-me-up’ sugar rush.
The solution: Instead of reaching for croissants with jam, muffins and sugar-coated breakfast cereals, swap them for slow release options like granary toast with poached eggs, sugar-free muesli with fruit or even an extra-lean back bacon sandwich using wholemeal bread. They will help to give you a steady supply of energy, plus filling protein, which will give rather than deplete your energy stores still further.

…BORED
The problem: We use food as a way to distract ourselves, usually out of habit rather than need, reaching for things like biscuits, which, once you get started eating them you can find it hard to stop.
The solution: Plan ahead and have snacks like apples, berries, a fruit salad or a handful of nuts to chomp on instead.

…UPSET
The problem: The idea that ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’ is an old one and works on the premise that when something upsets us, something sweet will help to put it right. Many of us will remember being comforted with foods by our parents when upset. And it’s a response that extends into adulthood.
The solution: Forewarned is forearmed. Have foods at the ready that will give you comfort, but not ultimately make you feel worse. A small bar of dark chocolate could do the trick or if you’re a savoury person, a bag of baked crisps. Sweet fruits like pineapple, mango and papaya can also be good and can be eaten dried, canned or fresh for a quick, but healthy sugar hit.

Can food put a smile on your face? Check out our Lift Your Mood with Food feature to find out…

Also, read our guide to healthy snacking through out the day, Clever Snacking

Plus check out this healthy snack blog, with a great video on health snacks for kids

And here are 6 healthy snacks with 6 ingredients or less from Australian writer and TV presenter Sarah Wilson

While I was researching the subject of rhubarb, it’s wonderful health properties and the delicious recipes you can create using it for a feature on our website, I was reminded of the classic kids cartoon series of the 1970s, Roobarb and Custard, by the excellent foody site Eat the Seasons.

It’s a crazy concoction of vibrating, jelly-wobble animation, punky theme tune and quite bizarre tales featuring Roobarb the dog and Custard the cat – kind of a psychedelic Tom and Jerry.

Roobarb is the breathlessly optimistic hound determined to reshape the universe according to his existential whims but who, like many dogs, is perpetually apt to bark up the wrong tree. Daily he tries to liven up the garden he inhabits, be it putting on a clown show on a rainy day or reinventing the day Thursday as Thorsday, invoking the anger of the Norse Gods.

All his efforts end in catastrophe, provoking the guffaws of the smug and cynical cat Custard and twittery snickers of the Greek chorus of birds in the trees. Deep truths about hubris and folly are revealed in these episodes.

If you haven’t come across R&C before, then now’s the time to discover it and enjoy the madness with your children. If you’re kids are grown up and you do remember the BBC show, surely you can’t resist rediscovering it. And the good news is that the entire R&C series is now available on DVD – and now comes with an interactive game!

R&C is probably the coolest kids cartoon of all time. Let me know if you feel the same.

Click here for more details…

Plus you can get R&C books…

Because it’s quite tart, you may be surprised to learn that this nutritious vegetable – unless you’re in the US, where it’s classified as a fruit – is just as good in sweet and savoury dishes. The classic rhubarb dish, which rose to fame in the UK, is the desert rhubarb crumble.

Below you’ll find a savoury and sweet recipe, plus links to lots more…

Rhubarb Sponge Pudding

This delicious desert serves four and takes around 15mins to prepare and 45mins to cook.

Heat oven to 180°C. Beat 100g soft butter and 100g caster sugar in a bowl until light and creamy. Add 2 large eggs one at a time, beating well.

Gently fold in 100g of sifted self-raising flour, until you have a slightly creamy liquid batter.

Cut 500g of ripe rhubarb stalks into 2cm lengths, throwing away the leaves. Arrange loosely in a greased 1l pie or baking dish, and scatter with 100g of extra caster sugar.

Spoon the batter mixture on top of the fruit in clumps, then smooth them out to cover the rhubarb. Bake for 45mins, or until the topping is golden and cake-like. Serve with cream.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Rhubarb Salsa

Place 1 boned leg of lamb on a bed of carrots (peeled and cut lengthways) in a roasting dish. Combine 100g of honey, 2 cloves of garlic and 1tbsp of red wine vinegar over heat. Once combined, brush over the lamb.

Roast lamb at 180ºC for 2-3hrs, brushing occasionally with any remaining glaze mixture. Once cooked, remove from the oven, place on a tray and leave for 10-15mins before carving.

In a stainless steel saucepan, combine all the salsa ingredients – 1 chopped onion, 100g of raisins, 2 chopped red chillies, 1/2tsp of ground cardamon, and 10 sticks of finely sliced rhubarb.

Cook slowly over a low to medium heat for 5mins, while stirring. Place a lid on the saucepan and cook over a low heat for 5mins more. Remove the lid and turn up the heat to boil off excess liquid. Remove from the heat and serve at room temperature.

More rhubarb recipes

Plus check out Delia Smith’s fabulous Rhubarb and Almond Crumble

Gluten-free Girl and the Chef’s rhubarb recipes

…and click here for even more rhubarb recipes…

Coffee shops
Coffee shops seem to be everywhere these days, enticing you in with tempting smells and the promise of a place to rest your legs. Next time you decide to pop in for a ‘quick’ coffee, or a well earned sit down, remember that muffins can easily pack in an astonishing 500cals and 26g of fat. You would be better off buying a standard-sized plain croissant with 250cals (share it if it’s a bumper sized one and avoid the luxury almond types, which pack 480cals each).

Fast food
When you’re out and the only option is fast food lunches, this doesn’t have to just mean burgers, fries and milkshakes – which, incredibly, notch up around 1,300 calories and 60g of fat and can definitely lead to a Super Size You.

Opt instead for a Subway Turkey breast with ham at 290cals, a Burger King Hamburger, also 290cals, or a portion of fish and chips. Believe it or not, splitting a small cod in batter and a potion of chips with a friend will keep your intake down to around 320cals each.

Bars
Usually the more ‘back to basics’ you go, the better. A roast chicken lunch has around 500cals, while a big ham salad has about 400cals. Both make much better choices than a ploughman’s with a pork pie (800cals) or a shepherd’s pie and chips (1,077 cals).

Seaside cafés
A ‘Full-Monty All Day Breakfast’ can give you the equivalent of two meals worth of calorific intake, packing in 1,200cals in one go. Instead, go for scrambled eggs with grilled tomatoes at 420cals and 29g fat. Alternatively, choose grilled mushrooms with grilled lean bacon (250cals) or simply a large serving of baked beans on toast (355cals).

There are also ways to eat healthily on holiday:
Click here for tips on healthy eating in Greece
Click here for tips on healthy eating in Italy

Teenagers are particularly keen on fast food, and often meet in cafés and burger joints. Click here for five ways to get them to eat out healthily.

Eating seasonally not only supports UK growers, but also cuts down on your food air miles. There also every chance that, just like Delia’s asparagus, it will taste far fresher and, indeed, better than imported produce.

So what’s in season right now? On top of asparagus, here’s a top 10 to get you started, courtesy of the Vital to Health and Wellness blog

1. Apricots
Although many people enjoy dried apricots, they are also delicious served fresh, especially when chopped in a salad.

2. Artichoke
They are one of the highest antioxidant vegetables around. To prepare an artichoke, tear off the outside leaves. Cut off the stems tips of the leaves and steam them in the microwave – serve drizzled with low-fat Italian dressing. Microwaving time depends on the amount. A large artichoke can take about 7mins, a small one only about 2 to 3mins.

3. Broccoli
Broccoli is always a good choice, because it’s loaded with antioxidants and is high in fibre. You can serve it steamed or sautéed, or try it raw in salads or for a crunchy snack. Broccoli is chocked full of essential vitamins and calcium for bone health.

4. Chives
Chives are one of the many seasonal herbs that are especially good in the spring.

5. Fennel
Around in early spring as well as summer and autumn, fennel has a delicious slight liquorice flavour and adds a unique taste and crunch to salads. Wonderful eaten raw!

6. Greens
Spring greens include Swiss chard, mustard greens and collard greens. Use them in a salad for a wonderful springtime treat. Don’t hide their natural flavours under a heavy dressing. Instead, mix a splash of lemon juice with a high-quality olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

7. Mango
Mangos are a wonderful treat just by themselves or mixed in a mango salsa and used on fish or chicken for extra flavour.

8. Oranges
Oranges are always a refreshing treat and easy to pack along on hikes or other outdoor ventures.

9. Spinach
Try spinach in place of lettuce in sandwiches, on burgers or in salads, or sauté spinach to serve as a side dish or in pasta.

10. Strawberries.
Strawberries are available through early summer, but may be sweetest in spring. Try putting strawberries on a spinach salad with a sweet dressing for a delightful lunch.

So what do you think about seasonal produce? And what are your favourites? Plus feel free to share any of your seasonal recipes!

Share your thoughts and tips and join the debate by becoming an Ador Facebook fan at http://tinyurl.com/2ufk7qc

Click here for proof that seasonal food can save you money, plus a delicious celery soup recipe

Find out how seasonal food can help you detox and control your weight with the Ador Spring Clean Diet

Although the Swiss are hardly likely to be shouting about the harm one of their most successful industries can do to you, the study has been recently championed by US health writer and GP Terry Gaff. It suggests that eating chocolate can actually reduce our chances of suffering from heart problems.

The research investigated the difference in heart-related deaths between those people who ate chocolate and those who didn’t, while also studying the effects of the quantity eaten. It was found that those who consumed chocolate less than once a month suffered 27% fewer heart-related deaths than those who never touched it.

However, more interesting – and even better news for chocolate lovers everywhere – were the findings that the risk was 44% lower for weekly chocolate eaters and 66% less for those who ate chocolate two or more times a week.

Taking this research to the extreme, you could use it as an excuse to eat as much chocolate as you like. However, the fat content, even of dark chocolate, makes drawing such a conclusion rather flawed, unless you seriously want to pile on the pounds.

Here at Ador, we believe in the old adage ‘everything in moderation’. And our 35g bars help you to have a little bit of what you fancy, without being tempted to overdo a good thing. They also contain a natural ingredient that keeps you fuller for longer, so they’re the ideal snack to have between meals – while also making them a pleasure you don’t have to feel guilty about.

Click here for our full article on research into the benefits of chocolate.

Click here for more on chocolate and health.

1. Instead of buying lots of Easter eggs, why not buy your kids something to play and get active with, like a skipping rope or a space hopper, and ask relatives to put money in the kitty for this kind of treat, so that they are not overwhelmed with mountains of chocolate.

2. Use the bank holiday weekend to begin doing things with friends and family, such as messing around in the park with a Frisbee or ball, going for a long walk or thrashing around in your local swimming pool.

3. Go on an organised Easter egg hunt or organise one yourself with friends in a garden or local park. It will get you up and active, and you can just give out a small egg along with another non-food gift as the final winners’ prize.

4. Rather than tucking into one Easter egg after another, melt some chocolate and dip the ends of strawberries into it for a delicious but vitamin-packed chocolately treat.

5. Alternatively, chose your favourite bar of Ador chocolate (just 189 calories) which contains a natural extract of pine nut that helps to keep you feeling full, and spend the money who would have splurged on Easter eggs on treats, like a facial, manicure, pedicure, or some clothes you have had your eye on for while.

Click here to find out what people across the globe eat and do at Easter

Click here to find out how you can work off those Easter calories

Click here for healthy Easter gift ideas

Click here for more healthy Easter treats

Had enough of chocolate at Easter? Then click here for some healthy Easter desserts

Cadbury Flake Egg with four treatsize milk chocolate Flakes, £0.89
916cal = 3hrs 5mins walk

Cadbury Crème Egg with two extra milk chocolate eggs, £0.89
1,034cal = 3hrs 45mins walk

Mars Milk Chocolate Egg with two full size bars, £0.89
1,873cal = 6hrs 25mins walk

Nestlé Smarties Mini Eggs inside a milk chocolate egg, £4.15
3,096cal = 10hrs 30mins walk

Nestlé Quality Street Egg with a bag of Quality Street, £2.29
2,770cal = 9hrs 25mins walk

If you really want to work off the pounds, look for local Easter family fitness programmes like this one in Bristol by EnergisedPerformance

Click here to find out what people across the globe eat and do at Easter

Click here for 5 tips for a healthier Easter

Whether men are just more cowardly or more sensible is your call, but over half of males questioned said they’d rather jog off those pounds, because surgery is more painful than getting active.

What do we think? That surgery may give fairly instant results, but if you go back to your old eating habits, you’ll pile the weight back on. And then have to go through the whole expensive, uncomfortable and potentially dangerous shebang all over again.

The whole point is that eating well doesn’t mean giving up everything you love. It just means eating in moderation and still having a bit of what you fancy.

When what you fancy is chocolate, you can do that with a 35g bar of Ador. What’s more, it has the added benefit of containing pine nut oil which helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer – as do our oat bars.

They look great, taste great and are whole lot more enjoyable than the surgeon’s knife.

Click here for more on the research.

Click here for more about the benefits and drawbacks of cosmetic surgery.