Fork Our Nutrition and Dietetic Health Improvement Team works with colleagues and partners from across the voluntary, local authority and NHS sectors and liaise closely with Oral Health and Health Promotion teams. Our work is driven by local and national policy documents. We engage with local communities to empower and support healthier food choices. We use a person centred and asset based approach to improve communities nutrition knowledge and cooking skills and provide access to nutrition resources, food activity grants and accredited training around food and nutrition.

Community Nutrition

Nutrition in the News

Salt Awareness Week 9th – 15th March 2020 – ‘Hide and Seek’

Many of us eat too much salt. Too much salt can raise your blood pressure which can increase your risk of developing health problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Adults should aim to eat less than 6g of salt a day – that’s around one teaspoon. Children should eat even less!
It’s worth bearing in mind that as much as 75% of the salt we eat is hidden in the everyday foods we buy. Some foods can be high in salt even although they don’t taste salty. Foods such as breads, breakfast cereal, takeaways and ready meals can contain high amounts of salt.

Remember to check the food labels and choose foods labelled ‘No Added Salt’ or ‘Reduced Salt’.

It’s a good idea to get in the habit of tasting your food before sprinkling the salt.

Smart Salt Swaps

Use black pepper, herbs or spices to add extra flavour to soups, stews, stir fries and other dishes.
Instead of salt try using herbs, spices, chillies, pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon and lime juice.
Reduce your intake of salty snacks – crisps, salted nuts, salted popcorn or salted biscuits.
Cut back on salty foods such as cheese, bacon, pickles and smoked fish.
Watch out for cooking sauces and seasonings like soy sauce – some of these are very high in salt.
Make your own stock and gravy instead of using cubes or granules, or look out for reduced-salt products.

Further Information

Sprinkle Less..Taste More.. – NHS Forth Valley – Leaflet
Salt – Food Factsheet – British Dietetic Association
Tips for a lower salt diet – NHS
Low Salt Shopping Guide
Low Salt Recipes – World Action on Salt & Health
Why not try the Foodswitch App, it’s free, download it and start scanning the barcodes as you shop, it can help you make healthier choices.

New Capacity Building Training Brochure – January 2020

NHS Forth Valley Community Dietitians and Community Food Development Workers offer a range of free training courses to local staff, volunteers and community members in Forth Valley. Some of the courses are REHIS accredited.

For more information on the training we offer see our Community Nutrition Training Flier or Capacity Building Training Brochure

If you require further information about any training or events please email Nutrition and Dietetic Health Improvement Team :fv-uhb.fvcommunitynutrition@nhs.net

Food Activity Grant Scheme

Our Health Improvement Team are pleased to open this years grant scheme. Grants ranging from £50 for short term pieces of work and up to £400 for larger projects will be available to apply for.
These grants aim to support local food activities and initiatives across Forth Valley.

Closing Dates: 15^th May; 15^th Sept; 15^th Dec and 15^th Feb 2020/21.

Forth Valley Food Directory

This NHS Forth Valley Food Directory includes a range of food services and we are always adding more categories to the directory. We started with Recovery Cafes and local Breastfeeding Groups and plan to add Community Cafes, Food Banks, Food Larders, Community Gardens etc to this directory. If you feel your organisation could be added into this directory please email: Pamela Murray, for further information.

How to use this online Food Directory Map

Click the small arrow on the top left of the bar below to reveal the categories within the Food Directory.
Then click the box next to the category of interest, a red tick appears and each establishment is pin pointed on the map.
You can click on each pin to find out more eg opening times, full postal address…
If you click ‘All items’ under each category title – a list of establishments from that category appears, you can then click on the one of interest to find out more. A red title banner has a small arrow at the top right – you can click this and it will take to Google Maps where you can insert your current location and get directions straight to the venue.

New Year New You!

As the festivities come to an end and we start this new year, it’s time to start thinking about improving our health and well being. Many of us will be making New Years resolutions maybe to lose weight, drink less alcohol or get more active. We know from research that making small, gradual changes, setting ourselves realistic goals, writing them down and self monitoring our progress can all help us to succeed to reach our goals.

If you would like to start thinking about losing some weight, why not visit Choose To Lose – it’s packed full of useful information and downloadable self monitoring tools to help get you started.
The British Dietetic Association (BDA) have identified five of the wildest diet fads they’ve come across this past year so you can be sure to avoid them in 2020. Read more about the Celeb diet trends to avoid during 2020 here.
Download the BDA Factsheets – Detox Diets, Weight Loss and Fad Diets.
Alcohol Change UK – Find out the facts about alcohol and for support, help and tips for cutting down your alcohol intake. Try Dry the App to help cut you down.
Visit Choose To Lose – Get Active Your Way – For tips and ideas on how to get fitter for the whole family, setting SMART goals and links to useful websites and apps that can help you track your progress when your on the go!

Choose To Lose – Practitioner Pack!!

Community Dietitians from the NHS Forth Valley Nutrition & Dietetic Weight Management and Health Improvement Team are delighted to announce the launch of the Choose To Lose – Let’s talk about weight – Practitioners Pack.

This pack has been developed to support healthcare professionals to raise the issue of weight in a positive and consistent manner and with consideration to the words they use to encourage and support people to make positive lifestyle changes.

Starting a short conversation of around 2 to 3 minutes about weight can support a person to start thinking about making their own lifestyle changes. Everyone in direct contact with the general public has an opportunity to raise awareness, motivate and signpost people to help them manage and maintain a healthier weight and improve their overall health and wellbeing. It’s useful for practitioners to use the opportunity at follow up appointments to review weight change progress with their patients.

This pack offers suggestions on how to link weight to a person’s existing medical condition – it provides prompts, conversation starters, practical advice and signposts individuals to useful weight management resources and local services.