Cooking Habits Research Articles

An Intensive Culinary Intervention Programme to Promote Healthy Ageing: The SUKALMENA-InAge Feasibility Pilot Study.

Dietary interventions are a key strategy to promote healthy ageing. Cooking skills training emerges as a promising approach to acquiring and maintaining healthy eating habits. The purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of a culinary programme to improve healthy eating habits among overweight/obese adults (55-70 years old). A total of 62 volunteers were randomly (1:1) assigned to an culinary intervention group (CIG) or a nutritional intervention group (NIG). Dietary, cooking, and health-related outcomes, including body advanced glycation end product (AGE) levels, were evaluated at baseline and after four weeks. Mixed-effects linear models were used to assess the effects of the interventions within and between groups. Among the 56 participants who completed the trial, CIG participants achieved a significant improvement in Mediterranean diet adherence (1.2; 95%CI, 0.2 to 2.2) and a reduction in the use of culinary techniques associated with a higher AGE formation in foods (-2.8; 95%CI, -5.6 to -0.2), weight (-1.5; 95%CI, -2.5 to -0.5), body mass index (-0.5; 95%CI, -0.8 to -0.2), waist circumference (-1.4; 95%CI, -2.6 to -0.2), and hip circumference (-1.4; 95%CI, -2.4 to -0.4) compared with the NIG participants. Although a greater confidence in cooking in the CIG was found, attitudes and cooking habits did not improve. No significant differences in biochemical parameters or AGEs were found between groups. In conclusion, a culinary intervention could be successful in promoting healthy eating and cooking habits compared to a programme based on nutrition education alone. Nevertheless, further efforts are needed to strengthen attitudes and beliefs about home cooking, to address potential barriers and understand the impact of cooking interventions on biological parameters. Larger studies with longer follow-ups are needed to evaluate the relationship between cooking, diet, and health.

Biomonitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon levels in domestic kitchens using commonly grown culinary herbs

Cooking is a significant source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) emissions in indoor environments. A one-month biomonitoring study was carried out in previously selected rural Hungarian kitchens to evaluate cooking-related PAHs concentrations in 4 common kitchen vegetables such as basil, parsley, rocket and chives. The study had two mainobjectives: firstly, to follow PAHs accumulation pattern and to find out if this pattern can be associated with different cooking habits. Also, the usefulness of culinary herbs for indoor bioaccumulation studies was assessed. The 2-ring naphthalene was the dominant PAH in the majority of the samples, its concentrations were in the range of 25.4 µg/kg and 274 µg/kg, of 3-ring PAHs the prevalency of phenanthrene was observed, with highest concentration of 62 µg/kg. PAHs accumulation pattern in tested plants clearly indicated differences in cooking methods and cooking oils used in the selected households. Use of lard and animal fats in general resulted in the high concentrations of higher molecular weight (5- and 6-ring) PAHs, while olive oil usage could be associated with the emission of 2- and 3-ring PAHs. Culinary herbs, however, accumulated carcinogenic PAHs such as benzo[a]anthracene (highest concentration 11.9 µg/kg), benzo[b]fluoranthene (highest concentration 13.8 µg/kg) and chrysene (highest concentration 20.1 µg/kg) which might question their safe use.

Convolution-Enhanced Bi-Branch Adaptive Transformer With Cross-Task Interaction for Food Category and Ingredient Recognition.

Recently, visual food analysis has received more and more attention in the computer vision community due to its wide application scenarios, e.g., diet nutrition management, smart restaurant, and personalized diet recommendation. Considering that food images are unstructured images with complex and unfixed visual patterns, mining food-related semantic-aware regions is crucial. Furthermore, the ingredients contained in food images are semantically related to each other due to the cooking habits and have significant semantic relationships with food categories under the hierarchical food classification ontology. Therefore, modeling the long-range semantic relationships between ingredients and the categories-ingredients semantic interactions is beneficial for ingredient recognition and food analysis. Taking these factors into consideration, we propose a multi-task learning framework for food category and ingredient recognition. This framework mainly consists of a food-orient Transformer named Convolution-Enhanced Bi-Branch Adaptive Transformer (CBiAFormer) and a multi-task category-ingredient recognition network called Structural Learning and Cross-Task Interaction (SLCI). In order to capture the complex and unfixed fine-grained patterns of food images, we propose a query-aware data-adaptive attention mechanism called Bi-Branch Adaptive Attention (BiA-Attention) in CBiAFormer, which consists of a local fine-grained branch and a global coarse-grained branch to mine local and global semantic-aware regions for different input images through an adaptive candidate key/value sets assignment for each query. Additionally, a convolutional patch embedding module is proposed to extract the fine-grained features which are neglected by Transformers. To fully utilize the ingredient information, we propose SLCI, which consists of cross-layer attention to model the semantic relationships between ingredients and two cross-task interaction modules to mine the semantic interactions between categories and ingredients. Extensive experiments show that our method achieves competitive performance on three mainstream food datasets (ETH Food-101, Vireo Food-172, and ISIA Food-200). Visualization analyses of CBiAFormer and SLCI on two tasks prove the effectiveness of our method. Codes will be released upon publication. Code and models are available at https://github.com/Liuyuxinict/CBiAFormer.

“I use salt. However, I also use soy sauce, oyster sauce, sometimes chili sauce and….”: interviews with Australians of Chinese ancestry regarding reducing salt consumption for hypertension prevention

BackgroundHigh dietary salt consumption is a significant health issue in Chinese populations. This study identified the facilitators for and barriers to salt reduction for prevention of hypertension among Chinese Australians.MethodsAn inductive qualitative study with semi-structured interviews (n = 8) was conducted with convenience samples recruited from social media. Adults who a) were over 18 years old, b) were of Chinese ancestry and c) had lived in Australia for at least 6 months were eligible for participation. Interview transcripts were transcribed and analysed using content analysis.ResultsFour facilitators for and eight barriers to reducing salt consumption were synthesised from the narrative materials. The facilitators were: 1) individual perceptions of health benefits, 2) salt alternatives, 3) digital information and 4) increased awareness of negative health impacts from a high-salt diet. The barriers identified were: 1) negative physical changes not apparent, 2) inadequate salt-related health education, 3) hidden salt in food products, 4) inadequate food literacy, 5) pricing, 6) busy lifestyle, 7) low perceived susceptibility and 8) individual food taste preference and cooking habits. Peer and family influence had positive and negative effects on participants’ likelihood of reducing salt consumption.ConclusionsThe facilitators for and barriers to maintaining a low-salt diet in Chinese Australians were multifaceted and interrelated. Future salt-reduction strategies should focus on the health benefits of reduced salt consumption and practical interventions such as salt alternatives and education on low-salt food choices and cooking methods and changing perceptions about salt reduction to become a social norm in the Chinese community.

Solar Resource and Energy Demand for Autonomous Solar Cooking Photovoltaic Systems in Kenya and Rwanda

The challenges associated with traditional cooking methods in African countries, particularly the use of firewood and charcoal, which have negative impacts on the environment, health and human and economic development and safety, are addressed in this work. Given the high annual solar irradiation on the African continent, photovoltaic-powered electric cooking alternatives, such as electric pressure cookers (EPCs), are identified as a potential efficient, clean and affordable cooking solution. This work focuses on the potential of standalone solar electric cookers for use in rural African locations, namely, if this type of solution can satisfy cooking demand. Surveys and experimental data from several households in two different countries (Rwanda and Kenya) were collected. Specifically, the researchers performed a survey regarding cooking habits and an experimental campaign to determine real energy consumption profiles of EPCs. The main results are analyzed and discussed in this work. An assessment of the solar power capability to directly supply the EPCs’ energy demand, as determined from the experimental data, is performed. The findings indicate that, for the most commonly prepared food types, using EPCs saves considerable time in comparison with traditional cooking methods. In Rwanda, time savings range from 55% to 84%, while in Kenya, the time saved varies from 9% to 64%. Results show that, even for scenarios with high installed solar capacity, storage solutions are required to enable the PV-powered EPC system to supply more than 50% of meal demand.

Modern Home Cooking Practices, the Role of New Media, and Implications for Culinary Medicine: A Qualitative Study Among Mothers With Low Income

Culinary medicine offers a practical, experiential approach to nutrition education, but in-person programs are resources intensive. Digital interventions may offer a scalable, acceptable approach to culinary medicine in populations that are at increased risk for poor diet, such as parents with low income. The purpose of this study was to examine modern home cooking behavior and the role of new media from the perspective of parents with low income and identify implications for culinary medicine research. Twenty parents from 6- to 11-year-old children that qualify for free/reduced school lunch programs completed a survey and interview examining online cooking information seeking behaviors, current cooking practices, and factors that influence healthy eating. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a semi-structured hybrid coding approach. Three major themes emerged from the data: (1) Current cooking habits and environment; (2) Factors that influence healthy cooking; and (3) The role of the internet in home cooking. This research may be used to inform the creation of digital culinary medicine intervention tools to promote healthy eating in this population.

Transformasi produk alat masak nasi pada masyarakat Sunda sebagai basis segmentasi pasar

Cooking is a routine in the household to fulfill basic human needs. This study examines the development and changes in cooking activities in Sundanese society, characterized using tools, the cooking process, the efficiency of cooking procedures, and the values adopted in cooking activities. The approach used in this study is an ethnographic design approach and participatory observation. The purpose of this study is to observe changes in rice cooking activities and their transformation in terms of cooking utensils design, cooking process, and cooking habits, as well as their effect on changes in rice cooking design and activities with a case study of traditional houses in Sundanese people. The habits and development of traditional rice cooking utensils and traditional cooking habits and their significant changes in semi-modern and modern products in traditional Sundanese houses in Kampung Naga, Tasikmalaya, West Java were observed in a participatory manner. The findings of changes and developments in culture, habits, processes, and designs on rice cookware products are used as a basis for market segmentation for rice cookware products which are divided into two main market segments which can later be used for the needs of the target users to design products with cultural values, product efficiency, and the value of the product to the user. The two main segments are the home and business segments, which are divided into more specific segments. Specific segments for the home segment are ordinary and extraordinary households. In contrast, the business segment is divided into accommodation providers, food and drink service providers, and other service sectors.

Associations between anxiety disorders and diet quality in a Swiss cohort study

ObjectivesAnxiety disorders are common in the general population and can have a major impact on a person's behavior. These disorders may also affect shopping and cooking habits, which may lead to a less healthy diet. Thus, we aimed to assess whether any current anxiety disorder or current specific anxiety disorders were associated with diet quality. MethodsData of 6392 observations of 3993 participants were retrieved from 2 data waves of a population-based prospective cohort study conducted in an urban area in Switzerland. To assess the associations of anxiety status with diet quality measured by the Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), we performed cross-sectional multilevel random-effects linear regression analyses, which accounted for potential repeated participation and a series of potential confounders. ResultsWe observed an association between the presence of any current anxiety disorder and lower diet quality. For the most conclusive model, the AHEI was 1.2 points lower among those with current anxiety disorders compared to those participants with no anxiety disorder (p = 0.016). When specific anxiety disorders were included separately into the model, panic disorder was associated with lower diet quality in the fully adjusted model (p = 0.037). ConclusionsOur findings of reduced diet quality in people with any current anxiety disorder suggest that practical support is needed when it comes to buying and processing food. This might be systematically addressed in psychotherapy and external interdisciplinary support (e.g. occupational therapy and dietary counselling) should be involved. However, further data is needed to strengthen the findings of the present study.

THE NEED TO REDESIGN THE AGRI-FOOD CHAIN IN CIRCULAR ECONOMY CONDITIONS

Losses, including food waste, are one of mankind’s most pressing problems, with a wide spread over the last 200 years, and with an exponential increase in recent times. Although the global packaged food and beverage market was valued at about USD 3.6 trillion in 2021, the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent Russian-Ukrainian conflict affected the food supply chain. According to the research conducted by the International Food Information Council, the pandemic has affected the eating and cooking habits of 85% of consumers. Thus, the consumers have understood that food is the main factor of sanogenesis and is geared towards sustainable, healthy products, and new standards, such as the European Commission’s “Farm to Fork” strategy, call on industry and agriculture to adopt the circular economy and redesign their food systems.

The Effects of Olfactory Loss and Parosmia on Food and Cooking Habits, Sensory Awareness, and Quality of Life—A Possible Avenue for Regaining Enjoyment of Food

Olfactory dysfunction often has severe consequences on patients’ quality of life. The most common complaint in these patients is their reduced enjoyment of food in both patients with olfactory loss and parosmia. How the different types of olfactory dysfunction differ in relation to food and cooking habits, sensory awareness, and food-related quality of life has not yet received much attention. By applying questionnaires on cooking, food, olfactory function, weight changes, sensory awareness, and food-related quality of life, we investigated how various aspects of eating differ between participants with olfactory loss (n = 271), parosmia (n = 251), and normosmic controls (n = 166). Cooking habits in olfactory dysfunction revealed pronounced differences as compared with normosmic controls. Cooking with olfactory dysfunction was associated with, e.g., a lack of comfort and inspiration for cooking and an inability to make new foods successfully. Significant differences in cooking were also found between olfactory loss and parosmia. Food items were less familiar in participants with olfactory loss and parosmia, while the ratings of liking food items differed between olfactory loss and parosmia, indicating the importance of adapting ingredients in meals separately for olfactory loss and parosmia. Parosmia was associated with a higher incidence of weight loss, but we found no difference in food-related quality of life between participants with olfactory loss and parosmia. While olfactory loss and parosmia have wide-ranging consequences on patients’ cooking and food habits, adapting meals to include ‘safer food items’ and integrating multisensory stimulation may be a possible avenue for improving the enjoyment of food.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Related to Use of Herbs and Spices Among Food Pantry Clients in Alaska

ObjectivesTo assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) related to use of herbs and spices to flavor foods rather than sugar, fat, and salt among food pantry clients in Alaska. MethodsAn electronic survey was administered to clients recruited via flyers from a food pantry in Anchorage, Alaska. The survey consisted of three sections: 1) eight knowledge questions related to herbs and spices; 2) nine attitudes questions related to the use of herbs and spices as a way to flavor foods and improve health; and 3) ten behaviors questions related to how often certain healthy and unhealthy cooking habits were performed. Correct answers to knowledge questions scored one point; incorrect answers scored zero points. Possible scores ranged from 0–7 points. Attitudes questions were asked on a five-point Likert-type scale to determine level of agreement with given statements. Responses ranged from strongly disagree to strongly agree, and were scored 1–5 points. Possible scores ranged from 0–17 points. Demographic information was collected. ResultsTwenty-five respondents completed the survey. Respondents (n = 25) scored an average of 5.27/7 points on knowledge, with lowest scores recorded on three questions related to when and how to use specific herbs and spices while cooking. Respondents (n = 15) scored an average of 8.8/17 points on attitudes, with most (40%) indicating that although herbs and spices are expensive, they somewhat or strongly agreed that they could enhance flavor (67%), make foods healthier (60%), and be good alternatives to salt (73%). For behaviors, respondents (n = 14), reported adding salt to foods during and after cooking (39%), using butter, shortening, coconut oil, or margarine during or after cooking (29%), and adding sugar to sweeten foods and beverages (36%) most or all of the time. ConclusionsFood pantry clients in Alaska have baseline knowledge of herbs and spices and generally believe that using herbs and spices to flavor foods can be beneficial and healthy. However, they also report negative behaviors related to the use of sugar, fat, and salt to flavor foods. Clients may benefit from nutrition education materials to improve KAB. This is especially important given the increased risk of diet-related chronic diseases among food insecure adults. Funding SourcesAcademy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation 2020 McCormick Science Institute Research Award.

Bacterial dynamics and functions driven by a novel microbial agent to promote kitchen waste composting and reduce environmental burden

Due to high oil content and complex composition, Kitchen waste (KW) is refractory for biotreatment and easily causes environmental burden, especially in Sichuan area with greasy cooking habits. To facilitate KW composting, a nitrogen-retaining & decomposing-promoting microbial agent (NRDPMA) was constituted with functional bacteria to decompose refractory substances, retain nutrients, and reduce gas emission. With NRDPMA, high-temperature period was achieved 2 days earlier and extended by 6 days, shorting the process by 15 days. 36.57% less NH3 and 22.30% less H2S were released. The total nitrogen of the compost product was increased by 17.14%. Functional bacteria in NRDPMA (e. g. Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Oceanobacillus) displayed obvious advantages throughout composting, which reshaped microbial community composition and drove material transformation. PICRUST2 prediction confirmed a higher gene occurrence related to metabolism of lipid, lignocellulose, and nitrogen. The great decomposing and transformation capacity made NRDPMA an alternative to improve the efficiency of composting on recycling such lipid-containing waste. And functional bacteria targeting refractory components should be included for biotreatment of waste. This study should give a new perspective on industrial KW composting.

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Food and Foodways in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean Edited by Sylvie Yona Waksman (Archéologies 4). Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 2020. Pp. 508. €65. ISBN 978-2-35668-070-9 (paper).

<i>Multidisciplinary Approaches to Food and Foodways in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean</i> Edited by Sylvie Yona Waksman (Archéologies 4). Lyon: Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée 2020. Pp. 508. €65. ISBN 978-2-35668-070-9 (paper).

Low temperature preservation developed for special foods in East Asia: A review

Low temperature can improve the quality and prolong the shelf life of perishable food effectively. East Asia has some special foods for its individual geography, climate, and culture, which need different low temperature preservation technologies to maintain their unique flavor. In this paper, the differences in food composition or cooking habits are briefly introduced in each section and then the low temperature preservation technologies developed for these special foods are mainly discussed. Also, the recommendations for future research are provided. Very fast chilling and controlled freezing/supercooling point are promising technologies for pre-rigor fresh meat. Low temperature oxidation resistance and its combination with nonthermal sterilization can ensure the color, freshness, and safety of raw aquatic products. Low temperature rapid fermentation can effectively maintain the organoleptic property of pickles. The synergies of physical and biochemistry methods can reduce wrapper cracking and filling oxidation of frozen prepared foods. Novelty impact statement Low temperature is an effective method for the preservation of food. Due to climate and cultural differences, people in different regions have different eating habits. To better meet people's requirements for the special flavor of food, the corresponding low temperature preservation technologies need to be studied and summarized. This review summarizes the low temperature preservation techniques of four representative special foods in East Asia and provides recommendations for future research. These positive results will be helpful to the research and application of food preservation technologies in the future.

Effects of household cooking with clean energy on the risk for hypertension among women in Beijing

Outdoor air pollution and indoor burning of biomass fuel can cause high blood pressure. However, little is known about the effects of cooking with clean energy on hypertension. We thus explored whether cooking with clean energy is associated with the risk for hypertension. The study used baseline data from 12,349 women from a large population-based cohort study in Beijing, China. Information on cooking habits, health status, and other characteristics was collected by questionnaire and physical examination. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and homocysteine (HCY). An index of cooking exposure was constructed. Log-binomial regression models were used to estimate the association between cooking exposure and risk for hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension was 26.7%. Any cooking exposure at all was associated with an increased risk for hypertension with an adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) of 2.27 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.01, 2.57). The risk for hypertension increased with increases in cooking frequency, time spent cooking, and the cooking index, all showing a dose–effect relationship (P < 0.001). An increased risk for hypertension was associated with both cooking using mainly electricity (aPR: 1.75, 95% CI: 1.41, 2.17) and cooking using mainly natural gas (aPR: 2.30, 95% CI: 2.03, 2.60). The cooking index was positively correlated with plasma concentrations of TC, TG, LDL-C, and HCY and negatively correlated with HDL-C. Abnormal levels of all these biomarkers were associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension after adjustment for confounding factors. Cooking with clean energy, mainly cooking habit, may contribute to an increased risk for hypertension among female residents of Beijing. Abnormal metabolism of lipids or HCY may be an important mechanism involved in the development of cooking-related hypertension.

Towards More Sustainable Diets: Investigating Consumer Motivations towards the Purchase of Green Food

The concept of green consumption has become an environmental topic that draws worldwide attention. In order to mitigate environmental damage, it is imperative to increase the recyclability of the food system, and therefore, novel, sustainable, and produced foods need to be supplied to the food system. Among such foods, precooked plant-based foods (PPBFs), which feature health, convenience, and functionality, have become a new trend of the food culture. This study uses the value–attitude–behavior (VAB) model as the theoretical framework and incorporates research variables, such as “environmental concern”, “time pressure”, and “cooking habit”, so as to discuss consumers’ behavioral intention toward PPBFs. The research results reveal the following: (1) consumers’ health value and interest in PPBFs will significantly affect their behavioral intention; (2) there is a significant relationship between environmental concern and behavioral intention; and (3) time pressure and cooking habits indicate an insignificant relationship with behavioral intention.

Changes in home cooking and culinary practices among the French population during the COVID-19 lockdown

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a strict lockdown in France for 2 months, drastically changing the daily life of the population. We investigated changes in perceived diet quality and cooking practices during the lockdown in comparison with the preceding period. Between June 9 and 30, 2020, 2422 participants were recruited and completed a questionnaire regarding the evolution of their overall diet and cooking habits during the lockdown. Descriptive analyses showed that 41.5% of participants described dietary changes with a similar proportion reporting positive or negative changes (22.0% and 19.5%, respectively). The exceptional circumstances of the lockdown provided a positive opportunity for some people to improve their diet quality by spending more time cooking (54.8% of those reporting a positive change) or eating more fresh products, including fruits and vegetables (47.4%). By contrast, other participants reported a decline in their diet quality, mainly caused by poorer dietary choices due to the consumption of comfort food (50.3% of those reporting a negative change), snacking (40.1%), or food supply issues (35.9%). The lockdown led to a massive rise in home cooking with 42.0% of all participants cooking more frequently (vs 7.0% cooking less), as barriers such as time constraints were reduced. Using multivariate analyses, we found that this change in cooking frequency varied among population subgroups, especially in regard to financial situation, as individuals in financial difficulty tended to cook less. As home cooking has already been linked to better diet quality and thus health status, our results suggest that the lockdown increased social health inequalities. An adequate public health response is therefore needed to support nutritionally vulnerable populations.

Energy Efficiency Of Fuel Briquettes Based On Fine Charcoal. Case Of The Region Atsimo Andrefana (Urban Area)

The Atsimo-Andrefana region, one of the most energy-consuming in Madagascar, because of the local energy-intensive dishes causing heavy deforestation in this area, is the subject of a study on its energy potential. In view of this and the degradation of local forest resources, the recovery of waste remaining charcoal already used for domestic energy purposes is a local priority. The present research work aims to provide the local population with an ecological and hygienic source of energy from local waste, coal fines. The methodology adopted for the concretization of the present work consists in passing through the various stages of the following activities: bibliographical research and webography, the descent on the ground to see visually the local reality on the availability of the resource to be exploited, the investigations on the local culinary habits as well as the treatment and the analysis of the collected data. The result of this work showed that the population in rural areas has a waste resource of 10%. The average monthly consumption of charcoal per capita is 12.6 kg, or 63 kg/month/household of five people. Their cooking habits are very energy intensive (150 kg/year/capita of charcoal) compared to the national average (100 kg/year/capita of charcoal). The calorific value of fine charcoal briquettes varies according to two important parameters: the binder content and the fine matter content. For a binder content varying from 5% to 10%, the calorific value increases from 4284.77 kcal/kg to 6893.72 kcal/kg. With a binder content of 5%, the calorific value is maximum. The use of these briquettes for a household of 5 persons will allow to reduce the purchase of charcoal by 75.6kg/year and to preserve every year: 0.15ha/household or 5000ha for the Region of eucalyptus forest.

The Indonesian Herbal Heritage Medicine during Covid-19 Pandemic

Kitchen spices and herbs remain a source of healthy drinks made by housewives in Kalitengah Village Tanggulangin during the Covid-19 pandemic. The making of healthy drinks uses recipes passed down from generation to generation from their parents, which is kept in the community's c ollective memory. This study aimed to document the knowledge of the diversity of healthy drinks produced while the Covid-19 pandemic were still spreading. A survey was conducted by collecting information from housewives about a variety of drinks made from kitchen spices and herbs by means of individual in-depth interviews. Aged between 45 and 65 years old, the housewives as respondents provided information about spiced drinks that they made and that were consumed by all family members. Housewives were deliberately chosen to identify the kinds of drinks that encourage their independent care and to know the perceptions that underlie the making of spiced drinks. The findings suggest that housewives' making of spiced drinks during the pandemic is linked to the cooking habits taught from childhood. Some housewives will still make their own spiced drinks even though some drinks can already be bought. The ingredients consist of kitchen spices (ginger, turmeric, sand ginger, finger root, lemongrass) mixed with boiled herbs (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon), which can be made into various kinds of healthy drinks. © 2021 RIGEO. All Rights Reserved.

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet in health personnel from the province of Las Palmas

Introduction and objectivesGiven the proven protective effect of the Mediterranean Diet, adherence to it by healthcare personnel and the influence of different factors on dietary compliance were evaluated. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on healthcare personnel, obtaining the data through anonymous surveys that collected demographic characteristics, professional activity, history of cardiovascular risk factors, alcohol, and tobacco consumption, physical activity, and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet, using the 14-point Mediterranean Diet Adherence Score (MEDAS). Adherence and related factors were measured. Results and conclusionsOf a total of 922 respondents (664 women) mean aged 42.61 years (range 20–69), 61.2% showed a good adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Adherence was significantly associated with the professional categories of physicians (OR = 1.92; 95% CI: 1.20−3.06; p = 0.01) and nurses (OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.08−2.57). Furthermore, it was associated with physical exercise (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.29–2.47; p < 0.001) and cooking at home (OR = 1.35; 95% CI: 1.00–1.80; p = 0.05). However, adherence was not significantly associated with age or sex, comorbidities, working hours, alcohol, or tobacco consumption. Quantifying knowledge of the diet would be useful, as well as increasing educational programs, promoting physical exercise and cooking habits.