Why you should say yes to blueberries

While nutrition science is finding reasons for adding berries of all kinds to your diet, a new study has found that blueberries contain a compound that can potentially prevent colon cancer. The study, a joint venture of Rutgers University and the Department of Agriculture, found the compound, pterostilbene, a potent antioxidant that is abundant in blueberries could prevent cancer in animals, and possibly has the potential of being developed into a preventative pill.

Antioxidants found in many fruits, vegetables and whole grains are showing potential for fighting colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Experts say that the blueberry won’t cure cancer, but represents an attractive new strategy for preventing the disease.

In the study 18 rats were given a compound to induce colon cancer. Nine rats were fed a balanced diet; the other nine were also given a pterostilbene supplement. At the end of the eight-week study, the rats that were fed pterostilbene showed 57 percent fewer precancerous lesions than those fed merely a balanced diet. Researchers say the compound also reduced other risk factors for colon cancer such as inflammation and colonic cell proliferation.

Other studies have found evidence that blueberries possibly prevent memory loss and heart disease.
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Vegetarianism linked to high IQs in kids

If you’ve got a smart kid on your hands he or she may end up being a vegetarian, a study by the British Medical Journal has found. Intelligent children are more likely to be vegetarians when they become adults, researchers say. Research has also found that vegetari­anism may be linked to lower cholesterol levels and reduced risk for obesity and heart disease later in life. The findings might help explain why children who score higher on IQ tests tend to have lower risk of heart disease later in life.

In the study, a higher IQ at the age of 10 was asso­ciated with an increased likelihood of becoming a vege­tarian by age 30. This relationship was found to be in part due to higher levels of education and occupational social class. But even after adjustments were made for these factors, the findings remained significant.

The study involved 8,179 men and women who were 30 years old and whose IQ was tested when they were 10.

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Study finds eating behavior differences based on gender

Researchers have unearthed a difference in the way men and women react when they are exposed to “ideal” body images. In a study by University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign, researchers observed a difference in eating behavior based on gender in a social setting. They found that young men and women ate different amounts of food after being shown images of ideal-bodied people of their own gender. The participants were of average weight but perceived their bodies as being less than “ideal.”

Kristen Harrison, lead researcher, found that “in the presence of same-gender peers, certain women eat less and certain men eat more following exposure to ideal body images—“certain” in this case referring to women and men who have discrepancies between their actual body and the kind of body they think their peers idealize.”

“In a nutshell,” Harrison said, “we found that fol­lowing exposure to ideal-body images, men who are insecure about their bodies eat more in front of other men, while women who are insecure about their bodies eat less in front of other women.”

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Innovations in Retail Food

The Next Idea, Food Innovations & Restaurant Consultants was delighted to see the arrival of Tesco

Tesco opened the first of what will be a fifty store roll-out of its new Fresh & Easy stores. The six stores were located in Los Angeles. Heralded as the biggest grocery retailing event in recent times, the launch pits world class grocery store operator Tesco against the likes of Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Albertson in the US. Short term, fifty Fresh & Easy stores can’t have much impact on the market share of the biggest US grocery chains; at least not in the beginning. But if their smaller, convenience focused format works, 1,000 or more stores is a possibility over the next decade.

It is important to recognize who Tesco actually are, and what they have achieved. In the UK a primary performance measure is Sales Per Square foot of retail space, Tesco has the highest, other measures include Comparative sales on previous year, Labor cost ratios, Margins and so on – guess what – Tesco has the highest in every category. In fact Tesco, while not the largest supermarket chain in the world, may possibly be the most successful. It has utilized the EDLP (Every Day Low Price) strategy for over 10 years, and has successfully engaged its customers into many other services including instore cafes, financial services, apparel, consumer goods, and so on.

Just what has Tesco done? If first impressions mean anything, it seems they have combined low price, quality ingredients, easy to prepare, healthy food, into one offer that will appeal to time starved consumers. If true it means they will have jumped years ahead of their US competitors.

According to the announcement, about 50% of the product will be made in Tesco’s own kitchens which give Fresh and Easy a price advantage and product exclusivity too. The inventory mix reads more like a restaurant menu than a grocery store list of ingredients. That’s a key difference between them and traditional US grocery stores. While, the likes of Wal-Mart have been rolling out a new generation of better quality frozen dishes, meal kits, and pre-cooked meats to simplify meal preparation, Fresh & Easy has taken the prepared meal concept one step further; adding the elements of freshness, health (organic and green), and convenience.

Robert Ancill, CEO of The Next Idea, Food Innovations & Restaurant Consultants, strongly believes that Tesco has got it right: He reported that: ‘Convenience and accessibility are more important than ever before to consumers. Everyone wants good food, but retail food shopping has become more expensive with increasing energy prices and few have the time to prepare it. As demonstrated by Wholefoods, the consumer clearly wants fresh food which is portable and ready to eat, in addition to being affordable and (imagine), Fresh!.’

Fresh & Easy may just be that alternative; at least that what Tesco wants consumers to believe as they strategically locate their smaller, environment friendly stores in key urban and suburban locations. .

Tesco has the experience to integrate both the grocery and food preparation business into one offer. In contrast, none of the large US grocery chains have either the experience or the infrastructure to replicate the Tesco model. The US equivalent might look like a merger of Marriott’s airline food preparation business with an Albertson’s grocery store. Put into basic terms: If Fresh & Easy is successful; investors may have to endure a lengthy leaning curve as US competitors play catch up.

The question for the competition is how to respond. If they wait and Tesco gains traction, they will lose top of mind awareness; making Fresh & Easy’s success even more likely. If they respond now, it will partially mitigate Tesco’s strategy, but leave them in a catch up mode. The only good situation for US grocers is either Tesco’s strategy fails or they decide to refocus their attention on underdeveloped markets like China and India which is exactly what ‘The City’(London’s equivalent of Wall Street) would like them to do.

However, given Tesco’s eagerness to enter the US market, the time it has committed to developing the concept, and it willingness to absorb years of loses to build the business, it’s unlikely the company will either vacate the market or outright fail. So, in effect, the US grocery industry may already be playing catch up.

Equally, Tesco will not be satisfied with just one store model. As it succeeds it will begin to adopt its UK store business model in the US, probably with great success. This will include direct competition with Walmart, Target, Kroger, etc, as the British retailer will offer improved pricing on groceries, better and clearer rewards programs, and additional categories such as apparel, etc.

Ancill says: ‘The best thing the large US retailers can do is hop on the next Virgin flight to London and look at what they can copy’! Or call us!

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Chicago-style pizza: May be key to a healthier & more profitable future!!

Scientists have good news for pizza lovers: Deep-dish pizza could be good for your health in the future. University of Maryland researchers have found a way to boost the antioxidant content of pizza dough by varying baking and fermentation methods.

The scientists already knew that pizza flavor could be enhanced by longer and higher temperature baking methods. The study found that those same conditions could also boost the levels of antioxidants in the pizza dough—especially the whole-wheat varieties. This is probably because whole-wheat flour retains parts of the bran and the endosperm, which is where most of the antioxidants come from.

Deep-dish pizza, which is thicker and requires longer baking times, may be the best bet when it comes to the possibility of optimizing pizza’s health benefits.

Researchers chose pizza for the study because it is one of the United States’ most popular wheat-based foods, which makes way for a large impact on public health if the nutritional benefits can be boosted. In the study, researchers found that antioxidant levels could be boosted up to 60 percent by longer baking times— and up to 82 percent by higher temperatures. Scientists say they are not sure why this happens yet. It was also found that increasing fermentation time for the dough boosted the antioxidant rate by up to 100 percent in some cases. Restaurant consultants, The Next Idea, reported in 2006 that this represents good news for restaurants and retailers who sell Pizza products, although, CEO, [of The Next Idea], Robert Ancill, raised caution, that the research clearly demonstrates that product development will be required further to fully take advantage of the health benefits.

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