PHOTO:
ISTOCK/GETTY
IMAGES
Yo u r s a y...
ONFACEBOOK
facebook.com/
healthyfoodguideukONINSTAGRAM
@healthyfoodmagONTWITTER
@healthyfoodmagEASY MEAL
PLANNING
ONLINE
Our Healthy
Food Meal
Planner tool has
recipes to suit
most dietary
needs and
one-click
shopping for
ingredients. Find
it at mealplanner.
healthyfood.co.ukJOIN OUR
CLUB
The number of
HFG readers active
across our social
media channels is
growing every day.
You’re posting
comments on
health stories,
pictures of recipes
you’ve cooked and
sharing your
weight-loss
progress.
Everyone’s
welcome to join
in the lively
discussion and
interact with the
HFG team and
our experts...Our feature on cervical
cancer prompted you
to share useful insightsEMAIL US AT
[email protected]HFG
STAR
LETTER
ACKNOWLEDGING HPV...
Asa practicenurse I was pleased to
readDrDawnHarper’s article about
thenumberofyoung women skipping
cervicalscreening(Aprilissue). This is a subject
I’mpassionateabout,notonly because it’s one
ofthemostimportantresponsibilities of my job,
butalsobecausemymum had to have a full
hysterectomybecauseofcervical cancer.
However,I wasdisappointed that there was no
mentionofHPV.Thisis the human papillomavirus,
whichis thetriggerforabnormal changes to
cervicalcells– it’swhatgirls are immunised
against(althoughtheywon’t have been immunised against
everystrain).Thiswasa missed opportunity to demystify HPV
andprovidereassuranceto women who have HPV detected
samples.I’dalsoliketoshare a fantastic resource for those
whohaveanyquestionsor worries about their screening
results– I alwaysdirectpatients to Jo’s Trust (jostrust.org.uk),
wheretheycangethelpand information. SARAH CASSELLSDrDawnHarpersays,‘I’m sorry I was unable to coverHPVin
depthinthewordcountavailable. The feature wasaimedat
addressingthefallinuptake and I hope I debunkedthemyth
thatvaccinationagainstHPV negates the need forscreening.
Itdoesnot.Butyouraisea good point: a feature onHPVitself
wouldbehelpful,soI willcover the topic in the Juneissue.’...AND THAT SOME
PEOPLE HAVE PAIN
It was great to see women
being encouraged to attend
cervical smear screening,
and the common reasons
why they don’t. It’s
important also to
acknowledge that while
most women would
describe smears as merely
‘uncomfortable’, there’s
also a group who, like me,
find them intensely painful. Last time
I attended, though, I made a point of
telling the nurse before we even started
and she was able to help me through it.
I would encourage any readers who
dread their smears to do the same – it
might just make this crucial test more
tolerable. SARAH, VIA EMAILCONGRATULATIONS
Thestarletterwriterthis month
winsJudgekitchendiet scales,
worth£36.Thisslimline device
helpsyoukeepcontrolof
portionsbygivingthecalories
ofsevenpopularfoods (butter,
sugar,flour,egg,chicken, beef
andchocolate)asit weighs
them,eitherina bowlor directly on the scales.Weighsup
to10kg/22lb.Formoreinfo, go to judgecookware.co.uk.LOVED MY LEMON LOAF
I have diabetes and my girlfriend tries to watch her
calorie intake, so we don’t often eat cake. For my 60th
birthday, she decided to make me the sticky lemon
and poppy seed loaf from the March issue, which
looked amazing and was absolutely delicious. I loved
that it wasn’t overly sweet, and she was delighted that
it only had 139kcal a slice. Definitely one of my best
presents! FRANK, VIA EMAILHIGH-CALORIE EATING OUT
I was pleased to read your Healthy Starts
news item (February issue) that stated
the average number of calories in
restaurant main courses was just under
1,000. Not because I like the idea of
high-calorie meals, but because it was
good to find out the government is
pushing for calories to be shown
on menus. On a recent trip to a
Wetherspoon, it was good to see the
calories on the menu – but I was
horrified at the high count of so many
dishes, which made me think about my
choices. We need to get behind this
initiative and be more mindful of what
we eat, otherwise the obesity ‘epidemic’
will continue. SUE, VIA EMAILLetters
8 HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE MAY 2019