06/29/2009: "Tea 'healthier' drink than water"

i love stories like these.

Read the full article here (BBC News)

the day after we are officially told that a heatwave is on the way and to drink water and NOT tea and coffee, out comes a contradictory report by some foundation or charity, that tells us the exact opposite.
amongst those who "officially" comment, are the british nutritional foundation (bnf).

the BNF speak out about the benefits of drinking tea (alarm bell ringing yet?) - so i nipped over to their website and checked to see which companies are funding them.
a quick check of last year's annual accounts, reveals they have recruited associations with 14 companies (non of which are mentioned at all - not even named - in their report!) - alarm bell number 2 ringing?
all it states is that they do not have association with "industry bodies"

further reading of the report reveals that they are associated with Nestle on one project.

they plan to recruit more private companies, one of their aims for 2009, they tell us that they are advisors giving independant comment for government, business, industry, etc. on the basis of studying existing scientific evidence, in the field of nutritional studies.
so on a vested interest level, or links with tea making companies suspiscions are raised - as no company associations are openly given to anyone wishing to see
on their ability to investigate scientifically - again there is no clear view given - as they simply form opinion on already published study results!

they do however reveal that one of the benefits of a company joining them, because of their advice to government, they can "influence government policy!"
they also state in their annual report, that they are promoting their website for teachers and schools to use. they no doubt receive funding for this? where from? just donations?

to summarise:
- they report as fact, their opinions, on viewing already published studies (on nutritional matters)
- they are associated with 14 private companies - but dont declare who these are - vested interest?
- they publish a website for schools and teachers, but dont say how much funding they receive for this
- they are in the market to recruit more companies - and state they have influence on government policy - which would benefit a company who need to drum up more business?
are they just a talking shop?

now the main issue:
the british public are subjected to contradictory information every single day.
who are we to believe?
todays world, food and drink is not what we are told it is.

for example, a teabag today will have different things in it, than say 10 or 20 years ago
buying fresh fruit and veg from a supermarket, will result in different chemicals going into our bodies, than the the same fruits an veg we had years ago, that were grown here in the uk.
this is the problem for the nations health

the uk has strict regulations on food and drink production, but companies are getting around this by buying it in from abroad, (lax regulation = more additives, chemicals and preservatives, etc) and then packaging them in the uk, and no one is studying what chemicals are getting in the food chain, which could easily be causing a problem for our health.

the british nutritional foundation - along with hundreds of other bodies of this kind - are muddying the waters and making it even harder to sort out the problem!
which begs the question, why are they (and others) allowed to do this?