Page 25Silver screen queen: It’s Billie the director
British boy, 15, ‘stabs parents’
A BRITISH teenager who allegedly stabbed his Mail Foreign Service
parents before throwing himself down a 50ft
ravine was under police guard in a hospital on
the holiday island of Tenerife.
The 15-year-old is thought to have tried to jump
to his death after knifing his parents in front of
shocked tourists near the bus station in the town
of Costa Adeje in the south of the island.
The boy’s father was rushed by ambulance to
Nuestra Senora de Candelaria University Hospi-
tal in the island capital Santa Cruz and his
mother was treated at El Mojon health centre
after the attack on Wednesday afternoon.
The teenager was said to be under guard atHospiten Sur in the resort of Playa de las Ameri-
cas. A police spokesman said yesterday: ‘All three
are still alive but their injuries are considerable.
‘We believe this is not a typical case of family
violence and may be linked to mental health
problems the teenager is thought to suffer.’
After attacking his parents with a ‘sharp object
believed to be a knife’ the youngster is said to
have thrown himself into a ravine, plunging the
equivalent of five floors.
Police added that the family were not holiday-
makers but had been living on the island.Diet cuts out crucial nutrient
By Ben Spencer
Medical CorrespondentvEgAN diets could be putting
the intelligence of the next
generation at risk, a nutrition-
ist has warned.
The growing fad for ‘plant-based’
diets risks creating mass deficiency
in choline – a nutrient which is crit-
ical to brain development.
Choline – which is found in meat,
fish, eggs and dairy products – is par-
ticularly important during pregnancy,
when it contributes to the healthy
growth of a baby’s brain.
British food expert Dr Emma Derby-
shire warned of the ‘unintended con-
sequences’ of moving away from diets
based on meat and dairy.
‘The mounting evidence of choline’s
importance makes it essential that it
does not continue to be overlooked in
the UK,’ she added.
‘This is now more important thanhouseholds include a flexitarian – or
‘part-time’ vegetarian – 5 per cent
have a full vegetarian and 1 per cent of
homes have a vegan. More than nine
in ten plant-based meals were eaten
by non-vegans in the UK in 2018.
In 1998, the US Institute of Medicine
published minimum daily intakes of
choline – 425mg per day for women
and 550mg per day for men.
Pregnant and breastfeeding women
should have around 550 mg per day, it
said, because of the critical role the
nutrient has in foetal development.
A 100g (3.5oz) piece of beef contains
430mg of choline – and two eggs con-
tain 450mg. In 2016, the European
Food Safety Authority published simi-
lar daily requirements.
Yet national dietary surveys in North
America, Australia, and Europe show
that habitual choline intake, on aver-
age, falls short of these recommenda-
tions. The UK does not currently
measure choline intake.Limited health consultancy in
London.
Dr Derbyshire said: ‘given the
important physiological roles of
choline ... it is questionable why
choline has been overlooked for so
long in the UK.’
She added that the crucial nutrient
is ‘presently excluded from UK food
composition databases, major dietary
surveys, and dietary guidelines’.
She said: ‘If choline is not obtained
in the levels needed from dietary
sources... supplementation strategies
will be required, especially in relation
to key stages of the life cycle, such as
pregnancy, when choline intakes are
critical to infant development.’
Market research suggests we are
eating less meat than ever before.
Consumer research firm Kantar
Worldpanel reported earlier this year
that 21 per cent of households have
reduced their meat intake in the past
two years. Around ten per cent of‘Critical to infant
development’Going vegan
‘risks babies
being born
with low IQs’
By Alisha Rouse
Showbusiness CorrespondentTHESE days you’re just as likely to find
her spending time behind the camera
as in front of it.
But Billie Piper still knows how to turn
on the sparkle when she needs to.
The 36-year-old was in Venice last
night in a glittering sequin silver gown
with a lace skirt and polka dot bow for
the premiere of Marriage Story, which
stars Scarlett Johansson.
She’ll be back on the red carpet at
the Venice Film Festival tonight, when
her directorial debut – Rare Beasts – is
shown for the first time.
The multi-talented mother-of-three
wrote and also stars in the movie –
which is described as an ‘anti-romcom’- as a career-driven single mum.
Miss Piper, whose previous roles
include Doctor Who and the acclaimed
series Secret Diary of a Call Girl, is
joined by David Thewlis and Mamma
Mia! star Lily James.
It’s been a busy year for the actress-
turned-director – who had her third
child, Tallulah, with boyfriend Johnny
Lloyd at the start of the year.
She already has two children from
her nine-year marriage to Laurence
Fox – Winston, ten, and seven-year-old
Eugene. Miss Piper’s first marriage was
to radio star Chris Evans, who she wed
in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas in
May 2001 after just six months of dat-
ing. The actress, who made her name
as a pop star in the 1990s, was just 18 at
the time, while the DJ was 34.
Fittingly, Miss Johansson wowed at
last night’s premiere in a sequin-cov-
ered gown with a thigh-high split in a
vibrant shade of scarlet.
The Marvel Avengers star had slicked
her blonde hair back in a wet-look
style, and she sported a single silver
chain earring in her right ear. Lady in red: Scarlett JohanssonDaily Mail, Friday, August 30, 2019
ever given that accelerated food
trends towards plant-based diets or
veganism could have further ramifica-
tions on choline intake.’
Dr Derbyshire, who was writing in the
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health
journal, said yesterday that those fol-
lowing a vegan diet risk dulling the
brain power of the next generation,
adding: ‘Plant-based diets are great
and brilliant for the environment.
‘But in terms of reducing intake of
choline – which is vital for foetal brain
development – no one had given it
much thought.’
She added: ‘The train is moving so
fast, and more people are ditching
meat and eggs. But it could leave
many women of childbearing age defi-
cient in this key nutrient.’
Choline is also produced by the
liver, but not in high enough quan-
tities to meet the everyday require-
ments of the body. Additional
choline must therefore be
obtained through dietary
sources, warned Dr Derbyshire,
a public health nutritionist who
runs the Nutritional InsightMy time to
shine: Billie
Piper on the
red carpet
last night