How high levels of sugar can impact seafarers’ behaviour and productivity

Poor nutrition is not about how much food is being consumed but more about what food we are putting into our bodies.

The international company runs a range of catering training courses for crews

This was one of the messages that came out of a virtual health and nutrition conference held by catering management and training provider MCTC, on January 28. The international company runs a full catering management service, including a range of catering training courses for crews.

The conference was attended by over 420 shipmanagers, operators and companies from across the industry who heard discussions surrounding the correlation between mental health and poor nutrition, the cost savings involved in investing in catering management and training, the health issues and what over reliance on sugar can lead to, and how to achieve good nutrition onboard for crews.

Poor nutrition can affect how a seafarer performs on job

Poor nutrition can be defined as both the over and under-consumption of food, MCTC nutritionist Nichole Stylianou explained at the conference. It can also lead to many other factors that can affect how a seafarer performs while on the job, including bad sleep, memory loss, low self-esteem and a weaker immune system.

Companies to train their crew how to take right food in the right way

Stylianou went on to explain that companies can take steps to help their crew members to make the right food choices. They can do this by: Encouraging them to eat four meals a day; Plan their meals for the day; Eat from all the food groups daily; Learn to read food labels; Try to use the food guide pyramid; Eliminate saturated fat, processed food and sugar from diet; And to ensure they take it easy in their downtime.

Overconsumption of sugar and its ill-consequences