Frequently asked questions
In the following, our nutrition specialist, Leila Fogelholm gives answers to many common questions on food as well as its healthiness and safety.
Do Amica restaurants also serve lactose-free lunch options every day?
It is certain that there are also lactose-free options. If they are not marked in the menu, you can ask for them from the restaurant’s personnel.
What do the different labels (L, VL, G, M) in your menus mean?
The labels provide information on whether the dish is suitable for those on a special diet. The menu labels are: L = lactose-free, VL = low-lactose (less than 1% lactose), G = gluten-free and M = milk-free.
How much vegetables and fruit should I eat daily?
”Half a kilo a day” is the slogan and recommendation of the Finnish Horticultural Products Society. This includes all vegetables, fruit and berries. Potatoes are not included. Half a kilo, or 500 g, might sound like a lot but after all it is not an enormous amount in practice. If you weigh a portion of vegetable salad and a couple of fruit, 500 grams is easily achieved.
From what food ingredients can I easily get my daily intake of vitamin C?
If you eat the recommended amount (500 g) of fruit and vegetables every day, you will also get enough vitamin C. The adult need of vitamin C is 75 mg per day, and it is fulfilled by eating one kiwi fruit OR an orange OR 1 dl of black currants OR by drinking one glass (2 dl) of orange juice.
Why do human beings need vitamin D? From what food can I get it at lunch?
Human beings need vitamin D to build and strengthen bones. Vitamin D improves the absorption of calcium from food to be used by the body. In recent studies, there have also been references to other positive effects of vitamin D. When it comes to diabetes, some cancers and rheumatism, references to the positive effects of vitamin D have been shown.
Vitamin D is considered such an important nutrient that its recommended daily intake was increased in the latest nutritional recommendations. At lunch, you can get vitamin D from vegetable margarine, milk or sour milk, because vitamin D is added to them. In addition, you can get a good dose of vitamin D by eating a fish meal.
I do not like vegetables. Can I eat something else instead and still get enough fibre?
You will lose plenty of important nutrients if you do not eat vegetables. Grain products (wholemeal bread and pasta, cereals, muesli, etc.) are the best sources of fibre, so if you eat them, you can get enough fibre.
However, if you do not eat any vegetables, you might not get enough vitamin C, folic acid, vitamin K, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids and other nutrients contained in vegetables that are good for the human body. Many nutritional research studies have shown that a diet that includes plenty of vegetables is healthy. You will get more energy from vegetables, and they taste good.
How many slices of bread should I eat per day? Why?
Six slices of bread per day is a good basic amount for an adult. One slice weighs about 25–40 g, so the daily amount of bread should be about 150–240 g. Rye bread and other wholegrain breads as well as breads that contain plenty of grains or seeds are rich in fibre. For example, Fazer Ruispuikula has 10% fibre. Three pieces of Ruispuikula (= six slices) weigh altogether 170 g and contain 17 g fibre, which is more than 60% of the recommended daily intake of fibre. It pays to check the fibre content on the package of bread. Bread can be called ”rich in fibre” if its fibre content exceeds 6%. In addition, wholemeal bread is an excellent source of minerals.
What does it mean that Fazer Food Services tries to avoid the use of “hard” fats?
For preparing lunch food, we use only rapeseed oil and vegetable margarine. Instead of cream, we use vegetable fat mixture. We have made these choices in order to ensure that our food meets the Finnish nutritional recommendations.
Why should I favour vegetable fats and oils in my diet?
The quality of vegetable fats and oils is better than that of milk or animal fats. Vegetable fats contain plenty of soft and healthy fats that, for example, reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Are diet margarines and light spreads truly light?
The Food Act provides that a product may be called light if it contains at least 30% less energy than the corresponding normal product. For example, regular margarine contains 70–80% fat and about 550–720 kcal/100 g energy. Diet margarine contains 30–40% fat. However, lightness is relative because normal cream cheese contains about 30% fat, a normal barbecue sausage about 20% and light spread about 30–40%. In the end, it comes down to the amount consumed.
I want to lose weight. Can I leave out all possible fat from my diet?
Dieters are often advised not to eat fat because fat contains plenty of energy. Here, many people make the mistake that they avoid visible fat and thus eat their bread without any spread and salads without dressing. This leaves out the important vegetable fats from the diet. Vegetable fats contain plenty of essential fatty acids that help to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Dieters should avoid consuming bad fats, i.e. products that contain plenty of invisible fats, such as fatty pastries, cheeses, sausages, creamy foods, etc. Invisible fats are most often “hard” fats, and these can and should be excluded from the diet. Instead, a dieter’s meal should also contain vegetable margarine that is spread thinly on bread and a dash of rapeseed or olive oil -based salad dressing.
Many fish, for example salmon, contain plenty of fat. Can I eat it if I want to lose weight?
Fish contain good fat, and a dieter can also eat salmon. It is good to eat fish twice a week, but without cream or sour cream sauces. In addition, it is recommended to eat different fish species. Thus, you should not only eat salmon twice a week, but sometimes eat also Baltic herring, whitefish, pike-perch, perch, rainbow trout, saithe, tuna fish, etc.
If I try to lose weight, can I spread something on my bread or would it be better to eat bread with only light cheese?
A good choice for a spread for everyone, including dieters, is a vegetable fat -based margarine. A dieter should choose a light spread that contains only 35–40% fat. Vegetable margarine is a better choice as a bread topping than just cheese. Even though the spread is “light”, you still should not spread huge amounts of it on bread. Cheese (not including some vegetable fat cheese) contains hard milk fat, which is usually included in the Finnish diet in excess. If your cholesterol level is high, it is particularly important to eat more soft vegetable fats than hard animal fats.
What is the amount of salt in Amica’s dishes?
Amica’s food is based on a strict portfolio of recipes that take into account the healthiness, for example low salt content, of food. The amount of salt in our dishes varies. For example, baloney pizza contains 1.2% salt, but spinach soup only 0.6%.
Our kitchens follow recipes but, in the end, our chefs are responsible for seasoning the foods. Give feedback to the restaurant, if you think the dish contains too much salt On the other hand, customers always have the possibility to add salt at the table.
What is hidden sugar?
Hidden sugar is sugar that cannot be seen as crystals in food. Sugar has melted in the product, i.e., it is “hidden”. For example, strawberry curd contains 7 g of sugar per 100 g.
After eating, I often start feeling sleepy and I cannot work as efficiently. How could I avoid this?
Big and heavy meals often make people feel sleepy. Eat a little less and fill your plate according to the example plate.
What does the “example plate” mean?
The example plate is a guideline for all of us on how to correctly fill our plate when putting together a meal. A meal put together according to the example plate contains half a plate of vegetables (fresh salad and/or cooked vegetables) and one fourth of potato, rice or pasta. The last quarter of the plate is reserved for a meat, fish or egg dish. The example plate will help you to put together a nutritionally good meal. A large proportion of vegetables lightens the meal and contains plenty of vitamins.
Is it true that the correct size of a meal is the size of one’s own fist?
A fist can be used as a unit of measure when considering the recommended amount of vegetables. The right amount of vegetables per day is 6 portions, i.e., 6 times the amount of vegetables and/or fruit that is the size of your fist. One fistful of vegetables is not enough.
How many times per week should I eat fish?
You should eat fish twice a week and vary the fish species that you eat.
I like liver. How often can I eat liver dishes without any risk?
In 1990, it was revealed that animal feed contained too much vitamin A that was stored in the animals’ liver. In Finland, there was a “liver incident”, and many people started to avoid eating liver.
Today, animal feed is examined and safe. According to a recommendation published by the Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, pregnant women should not eat any liver dishes and only a moderate amount of liver sausage (200 g). Children under the age of one should not be given any liver dishes. Others can eat liver a few times a month. The reason for not eating liver is the possible heavy metal residues and vitamin A contained in it.
How many glasses of milk should I drink or how many slices of cheese should I eat to get the daily intake of calcium?
Adults need about 800 mg of calcium per day. You can get it from three glasses or milk or sour milk OR 100 grams of cheese (= 5–7 slices of cheese).
How many cups of coffee is it healthy to drink per day?
Usually, it is possible to drink 4–5 cups of coffee a day without any problems. If the consumption of coffee clearly exceeds this, it might worsen the dietary habits. Some might replace a whole meal with coffee. For some people, coffee might cause heart palpitations, insomnia or heartburn. You can discover the amount suitable for you by experimenting. If you notice that you replace a whole meal with coffee or if coffee causes some symptoms, you should drink less coffee. Over the years, coffee has been blamed for many ailments, but according to recent studies, moderate use (4–5 cups a day) is safe.
Is it dangerous to drink too much water?
The Finnish National Nutritional Council has published drinking recommendations in June 2008. Before this, Finland did not have any official drinking recommendations. Adults need about 2–2.5 litres of liquid per day. You will get about one litre of water from food and about 3 dl through metabolism. The rest, i.e. about 1–1.5 litres, should come from drinks = water, milk, sour milk, juices, soft drinks, coffee, tea, etc. If one gets too much liquid, kidneys excrete it as more diluted than normal urine. It is not recommended to continuously drink too much water because it increases the risk of water intoxication and sodium hypersecretion.
You can get enough liquids, for example, by drinking: at breakfast, juice 1 dl, tea 2 dl; morning coffee at work 2 dl: at lunch, milk 2 dl; afternoon coffee or tea 2 dl + glass of water 2 dl; at dinner, one glass of milk or water 2 dl, and evening tea 2 dl. You will need a water bottle only when exercising.
What are slow carbohydrates?
Slowness in carbohydrates means that they release energy more slowly than other carbohydrates. That is why they do not cause the blood sugar levels to increase as strongly as fast carbohydrates and do not cause the insulin level to spike and fall. For example, fibre-rich wholemeal grains contain slow carbohydrates, white sugar, white bread, raisins and bananas contain fast-acting carbohydrates. After eating fast carbohydrates, blood sugar levels increase rapidly, which is sometimes even necessary. When watching your weight, it is recommended to eat slow carbohydrates, because they make you feel full for a longer time.