Water is unique
‘Most beverages can support hydration, but water is unique in its capacity to do this without adding sugars or many other compounds to the diet,’ write Prof. Barry Popkin and Melissa Daniels in a recent systematic review looking at the impact of water on energy intake and weight. They point out that in the average diet the proportion of water has diminished as people have shifted to other beverages containing one or many of the following – sugar, caffeine, natural and artificial flavourings, non-nutritive sweeteners and carbonation. For more on water, hydration, health and weight, check out the following articles by Prof Barry Popkin published in Nutrition Reviews:
Sugar-sweetened drinks and diabetes risk
Consuming soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages regularly is associated with a greater risk of metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes according to a meta-analysis of 11 published studies (300,000 participants) by Harvard School of Public Health researchers published in Diabetes Care.
‘Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes, and most have found positive associations but our study, which is a pooled analysis of the available studies, provides an overall picture of the magnitude of risk and the consistency of the evidence,’ said lead author Vasanti Malik.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are made up of energy-containing sweeteners such as sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, or fruit juice concentrates, all of which, the authors noted, have essentially similar metabolic effects. The consumption of such beverages, which include soft drinks, fruit drinks, iced tea, and energy and vitamin water drinks, has risen globally.
The findings showed that drinking one to two sugary drinks per day increased the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26% and the risk of metabolic syndrome by 20% compared with those who consumed less than one sugary drink per month.
While a number of factors are at work in the development of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, sugar-sweetened beverages represent one easily modifiable risk factor that if reduced will likely make an important impact, say the researchers. ‘People should limit how much sugar-sweetened beverages they drink and replace them with healthy alternatives, such as water, to reduce risk of diabetes as well as obesity, gout, tooth decay, and cardiovascular disease,’ said Malik.
The researchers added that although sugar-sweetened beverages increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes, in part due to their contribution towards weight gain, there may be other mechanisms involved. Such mechanisms may include the high levels of easily absorbed added sugars in drinks contributing to a high dietary glycemic load, which is known to induce glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.
It’s here. Finally. The low GI potato.
Four years ago we started the hunt for a low GI potato. We sat down with chef and potato expert Graham Liney, owner of restaurant/guest house Willow Vale Mill, near Goulburn and we have been working closely with him ever since along with Australian potato growers and the Dutch potato breeding company Agrico, to bring Carisma, Australia’s first low GI potato to your table. It’s versatile and full of flavour with a creamy taste, and ‘melt in the mouth’ texture. And it has a GI of 55 cooked the way we describe below.
Carisma is currently only grown in Australia (sorry rest of world) in the Riverland in South Australia, the Lockyer Valley in Queensland and in various regions in Western Australia. You can read all about it here. It’s exclusive to Coles supermarkets and is on sale throughout Australia, with the exception of Tasmania (for the moment).
Cooking with Carisma Here’s our quick and easy ‘no-peel’ cooking method that will allow you to enjoy Carisma potatoes the low GI way. Wash the potatoes and cut into 1 cm thick slices or chop into 1cm dice leaving the skin on and cook them your preferred way until firm but cooked through (al dente). When we tested their GI, we boiled them, placing them into hot (not boiling) water, then bringing the water to the boil and cooking them for about 4 minutes until al dente. But it’s fine to steam or microwave them if you prefer.
Because Carisma are a versatile, general purpose potato, you can use them to make potato bake, home-baked wedges, roast potatoes, jacket potatoes, mashed potatoes or in your favourite potato recipes. Just be aware that the GI value may not be quite as low. And of course keep an eye on portion size if you are watching your BGLs. As Alan Barclay said in GI News back in July, a serve providing 15g carbs is one medium potato (around 125g).
Here are Nicole Senior’s tips for serving spuds: ‘One of the things I love about the potato, apart from the gorgeous taste and texture, is how simple they are to prepare. I simply wash, cut and microwave on high until tender, and lightly dress with some extra virgin olive oil, dried rosemary and black pepper. Use whatever healthy oils, herbs and spices you like for an instant accompaniment to lean meat, chicken or fish and steamed greens. And a good tip: always cook more than you need because cooled and reheated potato contains a beneficial kind of dietary fibre called resistant starch that keeps your bowel healthy. That’s what I call potato magic.’
Low GI Diet author wins Australian Food Media Award
Dr Joanna McMillan Price
Dr Joanna McMillan Price, one of the regular contributors to GI News over the years, has won the Australian Food Media Award ‘Best Health or Specific Diet Book’ for her recently published Inner Health Outer Beauty. The biennial awards held in October are a flagship event of the Australian Association of Food Professionals. ‘I wrote this book,’ said Joanna talking to GI News, ‘to try and inspire busy women to find ways that work for them to supercharge their health and look their glowing best. ’
‘I really appreciate the importance and pleasure of good food in my life – a lesson I learned from my Mum. I want to share this message and encourage women to stop thinking about nutrition and to think about the food. We women are so controlled in so many areas of our lives (or at least we try to be) that we allow our obsession with nutrition and weight to skew our view of what a healthy meal is. To me, the lines between fat-rich, carb-rich and protein-rich are not immutable. I think that the most important factor on your plate is the middle line, ensuring you fill half your plate with veggies and/or fruit. The remaining half can be more flexible depending on what you are having, your likes and dislikes, where you are and what you’ll have (or have already eaten) for other meals during the day. For example, if you have just finished a pretty tough cardio workout, you’ll probably want a few extra carbs to restock your body’s stores. Or you may feel better on a higher protein diet with fewer grain foods. Or perhaps you had a largish steak when you were out for lunch and feel like a lighter vegetarian supper. All these options are fine.’
Inner Health Outer Beauty is available from leading bookstores in Australia or you can order a copy HERE.
The scoop on bubbly and beyond for silly season survival
Emma Stirling APD
Want the scoop on how can you let your hair down and sneak in a few more celebrations? Here are a few tried and true tips from party people who don’t want to pile on the pounds.
Bubbles of trouble The ‘spirit’ of Christmas can be a real trap so try to moderate your alcohol intake. Go for the increasing range of lower calorie bubbly, beer and now wine brands. Remember that low carb beers do not automatically equal lower kilojoule and light beers are often the better choice. Space your alcohol with diet soft drinks or sparkling water and include low-joule or no-joule mixers like soda water. And go easy on the pre-mixes and cocktails. Even mocktails and those labeled ‘skinny’, can be high in calories thanks to that cream and fruit juice.
American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna's website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.
![[JOHANNA]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2008/sept08/joanna175.jpg)
Canoli cream dip
This is a healthful twist to the much-loved Sicilian dessert that surfaces on southern Italian holiday tables especially at this time of year. It will be part of my Christmas menu this year. For a truly exquisite treat for your palate look for the freshest ricotta and the best quality dark chocolate you can find. And definitely opt for the orange flower water if you can find it. This may be found in gourmet or specialty food shops. Makes 10 (approx. ¼ cup) servings.
15 oz (2 cups) part skim ricotta
½ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup non-fat milk
1 teaspoon orange flower water or vanilla extract
2 oz (1/4 cup) toasted pistachio nuts, chopped
1 oz dark chocolate, chopped
Combine in a blender the first four ingredients (ricotta through vanilla) and process for 50–60 seconds until very smooth.
Fold in the nuts and chocolate.
Serve immediately as a dip with freshly sliced apples or pears or biscotti or refrigerate in a covered container.
Variations
Per serving
Energy: 575kJ/ 137 cals; Protein 6g; Fat 8g (includes 3g saturated fat and 18mg cholesterol); Available carbs 10g; Fibre 1g
Cut back on the food bills and enjoy fresh-tasting, easily prepared, seasonal, satisfying and delicious low or moderate GI meals that don’t compromise on quality and flavour one little bit with Money Saving Meals author Diane Temple. For more recipes check out the Money Saving Meals website.
Homemade hommus
Dips and crackers are an easy thing to serve when people drop in – or to take along to a neighbourhood party as your contribution. People seem very impressed when you say you made it yourself and double impressed when you tell them you cooked the chickpeas from scratch. Being somewhat lazy, I usually use canned chickpeas, but when I was making hommus with the children as part of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program at Bondi Public School we used dried chickpeas of course. I can’t believe how nice they were especially with a bay leaf and garlic thrown into the water whilst cooking. There are other benefits too – you can prepare more and freeze them for the next batch of dip for the next party.
1½ cups home-cooked chickpeas or 400g (14oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic, chopped roughly
3 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons light flavoured olive oil
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper and salt (if you wish), to season
Crudités, to serve (or pita crisps as shown below)
Place 1½ cups cooked chickpeas or the drained can of chickpeas, lemon juice and garlic into the bowl of a food processor. Whiz until very finely chopped, (stop the processor occasionally and scrape down the sides), add oil and process again until creamy.
Spoon into a serving dish and mix in cumin and season with freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt if using.
To cook chickpeas, cover them with water and leave to soak overnight in a bowl. Drain and put in a medium saucepan with 1 clove garlic peeled and smashed garlic, 1 bay leaf and 3 peppercorns (count the peppercorns so you remember to take them all out!). Cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 35 minutes or until they are tender (check the water levels and top-up if necessary). Drain and leave to cool.
Per serving (30g or 1 oz)
Energy:260kJ/62 cals; Protein 1g; Fat 5g (includes less than 1g saturated fat and zero cholesterol); Available carbs 3g; Fibre 1g
Throw another prawn on the barbie
We chose Miguel Maestre's recipe for ‘Garlic Prawns’ for our December issue as Australians love to celebrate summer and the festive season with regular trips to the fish market so we can happily ‘throw another prawn (shrimp) on the barbie’. Miguel is owner/chef of El Toro Loco, a lively tapas bar right on Sydney Harbour at Manly and has charmed viewers as host of Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen on LifestyleFood and in Channel 10’s Boys’ Weekend, where he hits the road with friends for adventure, good times and great food. He now brings the same energy and passion to his first book, Miguel’s Tapas (New Holland), with a mixture of his own recipes and signature Spanish tapas. He tells us the secret of success with Garlic Prawns is to use the freshest possible prawns, extra virgin olive oil and to keep it simple. Serves 1
2–3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (about 50ml)
4 large raw king prawns (shrimps), peeled and deveined (tails intact)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped
lemon wedges and a slice of sourdough (or your favourite low GI) bread
Myth: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is worse for your health than sucrose (table or cane sugar).
![[NICOLE]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2007/dec2007/nicole125.jpg)
Nicole Senior
Fact: HFCS is just another sugar with the same health effects as sucrose. We should be limiting all added sugars to achieve a healthy diet.
In the nutrition world there is always a ‘bad’ food of the moment and right now it is high-fructose corn syrup or HFCS. A preliminary WWW search reveals a litany of dire health consequences from scare-mongering sites including an increased risk of weight gain, diabetes and liver damage. Is there just cause to worry?
HFCS made from American corn is the most commonly used sugar in processed food and drinks in the USA, whereas in Australia it is sucrose or cane sugar (from sugar cane). We use Australian grown cane sugar in our sugar jars at home too, but in the USA beet sugar (from sugar-beets) is the more common household form of sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide, meaning it is composed of equal amounts of two monosaccharide (single sugars) stuck together: glucose and fructose. HFCS is made by adding enzymes to corn-starch to convert the starch into its composite monosaccharide sugars glucose and fructose. Honey is also composed of a combination of glucose and fructose monosaccharides. The term HFCS is a misnomer because it doesn’t actually contain high fructose levels. The name comes from the fact that pure corn syrup contains no fructose at all, but treatment with enzymes allows varying proportions of fructose to be obtained. The most common HFCS are 55% and 42% fructose (the remainder being glucose). Sucrose is digested to 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Incidentally, 100% pure fructose has been available for years as an alternative sweetener under various brand names.
What is the GI? Glucose has the highest GI of all the sugars and fructose has the lowest, and this is the reason sucrose (a blend of glucose and fructose) has a moderate GI. Although the GI of HFCS is not available, Professor Jennie Brand Miller from GI News says there is no reason to expect it to be any different to sucrose.
Why is it used? HFCS is widely used because US agricultural policy favours corn farmers and makes imported sugar more expensive. Food manufacturers like it because it is economical, it is liquid and easy to mix, and adds good texture and sweetness to a wide range of foods.
Is it harmful? Digestion of HFCS, cane sugar, beet sugar and honey all yield similar amounts of glucose and fructose during digestion. There is no reason to expect HFCS to have unique effects on health for this reason. Like all simple sugars, these are absorbed by the small intestine: glucose can be used for energy throughout the body whereas fructose is transported to the liver for conversion to metabolic energy. Many of the studies with adverse findings are from pure fructose feeding in animals, and cannot be separated from overfeeding with any sugar, or overfeeding in general. It seems over-eating and getting fat is bad for our metabolic health but it is not due to a specific effect of HFCS.
![[ALAN]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2009/april2009/alan125.jpg)
Dr Alan Barclay
Maintain weight loss with a low GI Diet and a little more protein
The Diogenes Study, which was set up to investigate whether people who have undergone recent major weight loss could maintain that lower weight, has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine . The researchers led by Professor Arne Astrup at the University of Copenhagen conclude that: ‘A modest increase in protein content and a modest reduction in the glycemic index led to an improvement in study completion and maintenance of weight loss.’
In this collaborative project from 8 countries in the European Union (Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, Greece (Crete), Germany, Spain, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, 938 adults took part in an 8-week, low-calorie weight-loss diet to achieve a weight loss of 8% of their original starting weight (for most participants this was about 11 kg or 24 pounds.) Those successful in meeting this target were then given the opportunity to take part in the 6-month ‘preventing weight gain’ stage of the study.
The researchers then randomly assigned 773 adults to one of five diets for a 26-week intervention period. These were not calorie controlled diets – those taking part could eat as much food as they liked from their assigned diet group. Participants were on average 41 years old and were all parents. Their families, although not part of the trial, were assigned to the same diets. All five diets were designed to have a moderate fat content (25–30% of total energy). The diets were:
Professor Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions
Some people tell me that watermelon sends blood glucose levels soaring, but others say that’s wrong. What’s the real deal?
The real deal is that a normal serving of watermelon won’t have much effect on blood glucose levels. Those who’ve got it wrong are taking the high GI value of watermelon in isolation. It’s important to consider the amount of available carbohydrate in a typical serving as well as the GI value. Watermelons and other melons such as rockmelon (cantaloupe) are high GI foods, but are relatively ‘dilute’ sources of carbohydrate. In fact they only have about 5% available carbohydrate, which makes their glycemic load or GL per serving very low. A low GL means minimal impact on your BGLs. Both melons in moderate servings are an excellent snack and quite thirst quenching too. Here’s how the numbers add up:
![[FIONA]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2009/may2009/fiona125.jpg)
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