Week
37 is Bread Week, a celebration of the Finnish love of bread. At the Bread Week
opening seminar, held on 2 September 2004, CEO Pekka Puska, Professor Kaisa
Poutanen and obesity specialist MD Jarmo Kaukua talked about the latest
nutritional studies and the importance of bread as part of a balanced diet.
The events of Bread Week are part
of the Finnish bakery industry’s joint project Nauti Vapaasti Viljasta (Freely
Enjoy Grains). The aim of the three-year project is to strengthen the position
of bread and other grain products as part of our nutrition and diet. The
project is organised by Leipätiedotus (Finnish Bread Information) and its
participants include Vaasan & Vaasan Oy.
Bread at home and at school
‘Our knowledge about nutrition has
greatly increased in Finland in the last decades, which is a very positive
development. Our interest in health is constantly growing, as is our awareness
of the individual’s responsibilities in maintaining a healthy body,’ said CEO Pekka
Puska of the National Public Health Institute at the opening of Bread Week
in Helsinki.
Puska, who previously held the
position of head of global nutrition and exercise strategy at the World Health
Organisation (WHO), believes Finland to be one of the pioneers in nutritional
awareness. ‘Our lifestyle is always linked to our environment, so the society
plays an important part in promoting health. The balanced meals offered in
Finnish schools are an example of this and must absolutely be fostered.’ Puska
especially emphasised the significance of homes and schools in educating
children about nutrition and conditioning children’s eating habits.
Research into ‘wonder grains’
There is now an increasing amount
of proof for the illness-preventing effects of whole grains, and research
results especially point to rye bread. Bread contains a suitable amount of
energy and a whole range of nutrients. It is also an important and easy source
of fibre.
‘Grains are a real wonder food,’
says Professor Kaisa Poutanen of the VTT Technical Research Centre of
Finland, who has studied them for ten years. Poutanen has long been one of the
main supporters of the Nordic Rye and Health project and plays an important
role in international research co-operation. Now she is head of the HEALTHGRAIN
project, whose approval in the EU has so far proceeded to contract negotiation
level. The project is to be carried out jointly by fifteen countries and will
study the health-promoting effects of whole grains and find ways of increasing
the amount and consumption of healthy grain products in Europe.
‘In Finland we can be grateful for
the participation of our milling and bakery industries in research projects,
because without this dimension researchers would never see the fruits of their
studies put to practice. The co-operation between researchers and industry in
Finland and the other Nordic countries is very encouraging,’ Poutanen says.
Bread on doctor’s orders
‘Fibre has been proven to work in
preventing many health risks. We are becoming increasingly aware of the
decrease in certain types of cancer, heart disease and diabetes in people who
consume large amounts of fibre. The recommended daily intake of bread – six to
nine slices of wholegrain bread – is a very easy, concrete way of eating the
right amount of fibre,’ explains MD Jarmo Kaukua, researcher in obesity
at the Helsinki University Central Hospital. He also reminds us that fibre is a
very important factor in weight control.
‘The only way to lose weight is to
take in less energy than you burn. This is equally true for normal nutrition
and for modern fad diets. There is no need to starve yourself, however; food
rich in fibre will keep you feeling full for longer. A balanced diet with a
high fibre content is the best, most proven and healthiest way to manage our
weight in the long term.’
Further information
Leipätiedotus
Ulla Rauramo, Director of Operations
Tel. +358 40 5124 747
ulla.rauramo@leipatiedotus.fi
Vaasan & Vaasan Oy
Kirsti Kehusmaa, Director, Corporate Communications and HR
Tel. +358 40 5068 742
kirsti.kehusmaa@vaasan.com
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