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THE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 20 2017
Pinch hazards
I COME straight to the point
this week; this is safety at sea and applies to all afloat. Frequently, I hear the comment
‘What’s all the fuss about identifying hazards aboard?’ Okay; here we go. Let’s take
rigging gangways as an example. Routine port job for seafarers to
establish ship/shore safe access. This rigging job is done frequently and we all know the hazards - yes! The next simple question is – do you (yes, you!)? Regular readers of this column
know that seamanship (common sense) now rears its head. I now give an example of what I
ALTHOUGH dietary fibre is
not a ‘nutrient’, it is nevertheless an important component of our diets. The fact that it passes through the body without being absorbed is the main reason why fibre is so important.
WHAT IS DIETARY FIBRE? Dietary fibre or ‘roughage’
comprises the edible parts of plant that cannot be digested or absorbed in the small intestine and passes into the large intestine intact. This includes non-starch polysaccharides (e.g. cellulose, hemicellulose, gums, pectins), oligosaccharides (e.g. inulin), lignin and associated plant substances (e.g. waxes, suberin). The term dietary fibre also includes a type of starch known as resistant starch (found in pulses, partly-milled seeds, grains, and some breakfast cereals) because it resists digestion in the small intestine and reaches unchanged the large intestine.
SOURCES OF DIETARY FIBRE Dietary fibre is found in fruits
(pears, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, oranges), vegetables
(Brussels sprouts,
artichoke, onion, garlic, corn, peas, green beans, broccoli), pulses (lentils, chickpeas, beans) and wholegrains (all bran and oat bran cereals, whole and
mixed grain breads). TYPES OF DIETARY FIBRE
Dietary fibre is often categorised according to its solubility - into soluble or insoluble. Both types of fibre are found in different proportions in fibre-containing foods. Good sources of soluble fibre are oats, barley, fruit, vegetable and pulses (beans, lentils, chickpeas). Wholegrain cereals and wholemeal bread are rich sources of insoluble fibre.
DIETARY FIBRE AND HEALTH Ingested dietary fibre moves along
into the large intestine where it is partially or completely fermented by gut bacteria. During the fermentation process, several by-products, short chain fatty acids and gases, are formed. It is the combined action of the fermentation process and the by- products formed that contribute the beneficial effects of dietary fibre on health.
THE MAIN PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS ATTRIBUTED TO DIETARY FIBRE CONCERN:
1) Bowel function
Dietary fibre, particularly insoluble fibre, helps prevent constipation by increasing stool weight and decreasing gut transit time. This effect
is enhanced if fibre intake is paralleled by an increase in water intake. The short chain fatty acids, produced when fibre is fermented by gut bacteria, are an important source of energy for colon cells and might inhibit growth and proliferation of gut tumour cells.
By improving bowel function, dietary fibre can reduce the risk of diseases and disorders such as diverticular disease or haemorrhoids, and may also have a protective effect on colon cancer.
2) Blood glucose levels
Soluble fibre may slow digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and hence lower the rise in blood glucose that follows a meal (postprandial) and insulin response. This can help people with diabetes improve control their blood glucose levels.
3) Blood cholesterol
Results of epidemiological studies identify another role for dietary fibre in the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) that of improving blood lipid profiles. Clinical trials confirm the results of these epidemiological studies. Isolated viscous fibres such as pectin, rice bran or oat bran lower both total serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein (LDL or bad) cholesterol levels. At the same time, research continues to show that diets high in
mean. Rigging a telescopic gangway ladder, simply on a portable section attached to a base ladder which serves as an extension to the base ladder. So, how do we go about rigging
this and, more to the point, how do we go about setting the extension piece? Until accidents such as the following occur, its a pity that the riggers didn’t know what they were doing, which incurred such a serious accident. The telescopic part of the ship’s
gangway ladder was being set with the ladder in a non-vertical position. Two seamen were employed for the job, as had always been the case - so, what could go wrong? The telescopic part had locating pins to house it in position. What was required was to set the telescopic piece in position by using its own weight to slide into a housing position. To set the telescopic piece in a downward slide, a seaman used a bar to lift the upper end up in order to facilitate sliding. The second seaman was standing by to fit securing
a mix of dietary fibre also protect against CHD.
4) Other
While prevention of constipation, improved blood glucose levels, and blood lipid profiles predominate as beneficial outcomes of a diet high in dietary fibre, other benefits are worth noting.
For example, because fibre provides bulk in the diet, without added
pins. With the seaman’s levering action and having to be close to the upper end of the movable ladder, once the telescopic ladder was free to slide, the upper end rode forward in an upwards direction and landed on the base ladder, trapping one of the seaman’s legs. The seaman incurred serious injury to his trapped leg and was required to be hospitalised and further signed off the vessel. My point here is that do we know
ALL the hazards a job entails? With a serious injury as described above, the Job Risk Assessment and following procedure that was adopted should now be looked at in a seamanlike manner. Do personnel aboard know what the job entails and are they aware of the potential hazards? Pinch hazards are everywhere aboard ship and so it follows on your craft. What I wish to see is not seaman
shying away from a job. Why not try being competent in applying safety awareness which should present itself quite naturally as time progresses? I am no different and I have accidents too. I write this article and will take away valuable lessons to be learned. When I was second mate at sea,
the companies I worked for ran circulars for ships’ staff to read. They were put in the Officers’ and Crews’ Lounges for all to read. Some staff members were not interested reading reports of accidents from other ships in the fleet and dismissed the purpose of these circulars. I like to think that safety awareness has progressed since those days and we afloat continue to hone our seamanship skills. After all, it’s common sense, isn’t it? Keep those lifejackets on!
calories, it can have a satiating
effect on appetite, helping in weight management.
In order to have all the benefits of fibre, it is important to vary the sources of fibre in the diet. Diets with fruits, vegetables, lentils/beans and wholegrains not only provide dietary fibre but as well many other nutrients and food components essential to good health.
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