Today is the 247th birthday of famed Scottish poet Robert Burns.

And you know what that means.

(Burns is) the national bard of Scotland and an inspiration to Scots all over the world. The man who wrote "Auld Lang Syne," "Address to a Haggis" and "My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose" (among many other songs and poems) is honored around the world this week with traditional Burns Suppers.

Which means it's time for scotch and haggis, the traditional national delicacy of Scotland. It's a sausage with the casing made from sheep's stomach lining, and a filling of internal organs, oatmeal, gobs of mutton suet, and salt. If that sounds not so healthy to you, you'd be right. And so, as part of an ongoing healthy eating campaign aimed at clueless Scots, authorities are issuing a haggis alert just in time for Burns' birthday.

Scottish Executive Jack McConnell is warning that children should consume haggis only in moderation, like similarly salty, fatty foods such as hot dogs and chicken nuggets. Scotland's butchers and haggis masters are ticked off.

Alan Pirie of James Pirie and Son, reigning Scottish haggis masters, said: "With good turnips and potatoes, there's nothing more nutritious than haggis. It's made of all natural ingredients - there's no rubbish in it at all. To compare it with processed meat like chicken nuggets or hot dogs is just ridiculous."

However, the government's Food Standards Agency isn't backing down. They say added salt during food production is a public health threat, and they'll continue to educate the public. Bloomberg News reports that diet, drink and smoking have been taking a huge toll on public health in Scotland.

Scots have the highest rates of liver disease and obesity in Europe, the consequence of excessive smoking, junk food and alcohol. Nineteen percent of Scottish 12-year-olds are obese, compared with 16 percent in the U.S. and 5 percent in the U.K., according to the National Health Service, which says obesity is its greatest financial burden....At least one in five Scottish fish and chip shops sell Mars Inc. candy bars, which are smothered in batter and deep-fried, according to a National Health Service study in 2004. Other choices include haggis, pizza and sausages, all deep-fried.

...In parts of Glasgow, a former shipbuilding hub of 600,000 people and home to Scotland's poorest areas, the average life expectancy for a man is 69.3 years, the lowest in the U.K., according to the Office for National Statistics. A boy born in the district of Calton can expect to die at 54 and is three times more likely to suffer from heart disease than someone in a prosperous Glasgow suburb, the Scotsman newspaper reported on Jan. 4, citing health service data....Deaths from liver cirrhosis, often caused by excessive alcohol consumption, are twice that of other European countries, the Lancet, a U.K. medical journal, said Jan. 5. Cirrhosis mortality in Scottish men more than doubled between 1987 and 1991 and the 1997 to 2001 period. "The weather's always grey and it gets you down,'' said Peter MacFarlane, 23, an unemployed resident of Glasgow. "So you just grab a pint and a burger.''

Battered, deep-fried Mars bars? There's a country with some SERIOUS issues. I agree with the Scottish dietary and health campaign, because there are no prohibitions involved, just warnings. As for salt alone, the scientific research is still somewhat inconclusive on whether it really increases health risks, but there's a pretty good chance it does, and herbs and spices used in place of too much salt are actually good for you (think cayenne, garlic ginger, for instance). More to the point, heavily-salted foods are usually quite high in fat, and low in nutrition.

Since I know you're dying for it, here's a low-salt haggis recipe. Although it's not exactly low-fat. Chase with some single malt.

TECHNORATI TAGS: HAGGIS, SCOTLAND, DIET, DISEASE, SALT, FAT

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at January 25, 2006 08:45 AM

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