GI News is published by the University of Sydney,
School of Life and Environmental Sciences and the Charles Perkins
Centre. Our goal is to help people choose the high-quality carbs that
are digested at a rate that our bodies can comfortably accommodate and
to share the latest scientific findings on food and diet with a
particular focus on carbohydrates, dietary fibres, blood glucose and the
glycemic index.
Publisher: Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, AM, PhD, FAIFST, FNSA
Editor: Philippa Sandall
Scientific Editor/Managing Editor: Alan Barclay, PhD, APD AN
Contact GI News: glycemic.index@gmail.com
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Manager: Fiona Atkinson, PhD, APD AN
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1 July 2018
GI News - July 2018
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Researchers from Oxford University and
the Swiss agricultural research institute, Agroscope, report that the
same food can have very different environmental impacts – the best
growing practices achieved the same yield with about a third of the
impact. For instance, the worst 10 per cent of beef production produces
12 times more greenhouse gas and requires 50 times more land to produce
100 grams of protein, compared to the best 10 per cent of beef
production. The trend was the same among the major crops — wheat, maize,
and rice.
The idea behind the study was to help inform food producers and
consumers on better ways to reduce their environmental impact. To do
this they created a comprehensive database on the environmental impacts
of nearly 40,000 farms, and 1,600 processors, packaging types, and
retailers for 40 major foods.
But the inescapable trend
was that even the best managed livestock can’t produce the equivalent
amount of protein as the worst managed vegetable crop, without causing a
bigger environmental impact and why they conclude animal product-free
diets are likely to deliver greater environmental benefits than changing
production practices both today and in the future. Hence “Would you go
vegan to save the planet?” headlines.
There’s no
question in our minds here at GI News that making better choices about
the food we eat – where it has come from, how it is grown and how
animals are farmed – matters.
The researchers focused
on environmental impacts. Not human health impacts. We are big fans of
plant-based diets built around the foods the natural world has provided
for us – good, wholesome carbs including fruits, vegetables, beans,
peas, lentils, seeds, nuts, and grains. These foods and the traditional
staples we make from them are both sustaining and sustainable.
In
fact, you only have to look around the world to see that plant-based
dietary patterns such as the traditional Mediterranean and Japanese
diets are associated with good health and long life. The “Blue Zones”
story is the same. In these communities where people are ten times more
likely to be living a healthy, active life until they are 100 than the
rest of us, author and researcher, Dan Buettner reports they:
• eat food, not too much, mostly plants
• are active every day
• get plenty of sleep
• are not stressed out, and
• have strong social connections.
He
also found that their diets are as noteworthy for their diversity as
for what they share. In Loma Linda, California, they are vegans. In
Costa Rica, their diet includes eggs, dairy, and meat. In Ikaria,
Greece, and Sardinia, Italy, they practice variations on the theme of
Mediterranean diets. In Okinawa, Japan, a traditional plant-based,
rice-centric diet produces the same outstanding results.
After
infancy, we have considerable flexibility in our food choices because
we are omnivores. We evolved to be adaptable. We are not “One Diet Fits
All” people and we don’t think the only choice we have to deliver
environmental benefits is ditching animal products. But we do think it’s
back to the future time where we feel good about the food we produce,
buy, cook and eat and we enjoy the pleasure it brings each day with
family and friends. Our goal here at GI News is to help people simplify
their lives and choose the sustaining and sustainable good wholesome
carbs that are digested at a rate that our bodies can comfortably
accommodate. That’s why we wrote The Good Carbs Cookbook where we list the 10 reasons why we love them.
1. We love the way they power the brain.
2. We love the way they fuel the muscles.
3. We love the energy they give.
4. We love the good stuff (vitamins and minerals) that comes with them.
5. We love their keep-it-regular fibre habit.
6. We love preparing meals for family and friends with them.
7. We love the traditional foods they put on the plate.
8. We love the variety and pleasure they bring to the table.
9. We love the way they feed the world.
10. We love their lighter footprint on the planet.
Read more:
- Research reveals how the same foods create markedly different environmental impacts and outlines a new approach to reduce them
- The Good Carbs Cookbook
- Prof Clare Collins, Love meat too much to be vegetarian? Go ‘flexitarian’
- Catherine Saxelby’s Complete Food and Nutrition Companion, Vegetarian and Vegan Diets, pp326–8
WHAT’S NEW?
SUPPLEMENTS MAY DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD
The most commonly
consumed vitamin and mineral supplements provide no consistent health
benefit or harm, suggests a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology
led by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of
Toronto.
“We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common
supplements that people consume,” said Dr. David Jenkins, the study's
lead author. “Our review found that if you want to use multivitamins,
vitamin D, calcium or vitamin C, it does no harm - but there is no
apparent advantage either.”
The study found folic acid alone and B-vitamins with
folic acid may reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke. Meanwhile,
niacin and antioxidants showed a very small effect that might signify an
increased risk of death from any cause.
“These
findings suggest that people should be conscious of the supplements
they’re taking and ensure they’re applicable to the specific vitamin or
mineral deficiencies they have been advised of by their healthcare
provider,” Dr. Jenkins said. “In the absence of significant positive
data - apart from folic acid's potential reduction in the risk of stroke
and heart disease – it’s most beneficial to rely on a healthy diet to
get your fill of vitamins and minerals.”
Writing in The
Conversation, Prof Clare Collins says: “Most people in Western
countries don’t have an optimal diet. This review shows taking
supplements as an “insurance policy” against poor dietary habits does
not work. If it did, there would have been a reduction in early death …
The bottom line is we need to eat more nutrient-rich whole foods,
including foods high in folate such as green leafy vegetables, legumes,
seeds, poultry, eggs, cereals and citrus fruits. Many breads and
breakfast cereals in Australia are fortified with folate. Good food
sources of niacin (vitamin B3) are lean meats, milk, eggs, wholegrain
breads and cereals, nuts, leafy green vegetables and protein-containing
foods.”
Read more:
- Supplemental Vitamins and Minerals for CVD Prevention and Treatment
- Prof Clare Collins: New Vitamin supplement study find they may do more harm than good
Over the past twenty years, Dr Neal Barnard has undertaken a number of studies looking specifically at the benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets for people with type 2 diabetes. “A plant-based diet is the preferred approach to type 2 diabetes,” he says. “It is easy, effective, and all the ‘side-effects’ are good ones—weight loss, better blood pressure and cholesterol, and less need for medications.”
In a 74-week randomised trial, 99 adults with type 2 diabetes were placed on either a vegan diet or the 2003 American Diabetes Association (ADA) diet guidelines, which emphasised limiting calories and controlling carbohydrates. The vegan diet proved better at controlling BGLs and cholesterol. After an additional year of observation, the vegan group still had an edge when it came to controlling blood glucose and cholesterol.
A 10-city study conducted at GEICO plants around the US again showed that a vegan diet can improve body weight and blood glucose control. The researchers found that it is also promising for people with advanced diabetes. A randomised controlled pilot study showed that a low-fat vegan diet led to substantial improvements in painful diabetic neuropathy.
Research scientists know that adhering to all therapeutic diets requires some effort by the participants. Dr Barnard’s team has specifically monitored the acceptance of the vegan diet and reports that it appears to be no more challenging than other prescribed diets for people with type 2 diabetes.
In a 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis of 255 people (average age 42.5 years) followed for an average of 24 weeks (range 4–74 weeks) his team found that vegetarian diets were associated with improved glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes – a significant 0.39% reduction in HbA1c.
Read more:
- 74-week randomised trial
- 10-city study
- Randomised controlled pilot study
- Acceptance of the vegan diet
- Systematic review and meta-analysis
Of the 1764 women diagnosed with breast cancer during the Women's Health Initiative Dietary Modification trial, those following a lower-fat diet had increased breast cancer overall survival, although the increase was likely partly due to better survival from several causes of death. In the trial, 19,541 women followed a dietary intervention to reduce their fat intake to 20 percent of calories and increase the amount of fruits, vegetables and grains they were eating, while 29,294 women served as a usual-diet comparison group.
Read more:
CUT BACK SAT FAT TO REDUCE DIABETES RISK
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In this small and short-term overfeeding study, the researchers gave overweight people an extra 1000 calories a day from saturated fat, unsaturated fat and carbohydrates (simple sugars). They found that where the extra calories came from made a difference to increases in IHTG (intrahepatic triglyceride). Saturated fat induced greatest increase in IHTG, insulin resistance, and harmful ceramides. They suggest that decreased intakes of saturated fat could be beneficial in reducing IHTG and the associated risk of diabetes.
Read more:
TWO RELIABLE REFERENCES
Catherine Saxelby’s Complete Food and Nutrition Companion (second edition) A leading nutritionist for over 25 years, Catherine has educated a generation of Australians about healthy eating and getting the most from their diet. This A–Z guide is a practical family nutrition reference with more than 500 entries covering whole foods, processed foods, additives, nutrients, supplements and more.
Understanding the Science of Food from Molecules to Mouthfeel. Sharon Croxford and Emma Stirling wrote this as a food science text book. But anyone interested in food science will enjoy it. They describe the key processes in food preparation and the chemistry behind them in detail including denaturation and coagulation of proteins, gelatinisation, gelation and retrogradation of starches, thickening and gelling, browning reactions, emulsification, foams and spherification, chemical, mechanical and biological leaveners and fermentation and preservation. They also cover the science behind cooking techniques and the senses.
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
PROTEIN POWER
Protein is one of the more popular and
positive nutrition buzzwords today, with a myriad packaged processed
foods declaring that they are high in protein. But what exactly is
protein, what are the best sources, how much are we consuming, and do we
really need those protein balls and shakes?
Proteins are chemical compounds made up chains of amino acids
which themselves are composed of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
and nitrogen. There are 20 amino acids that are important to humans, and
nine (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine,
phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine) of these are
considered essential in that they must be obtained from foods and drinks
in our diets, whereas the other non-essential amino acids can be
synthesised within our bodies. Amazingly, all of the proteins in our
body are made from these 20 amino acids.
Proteins are
essential parts of the structure and function or every cell in our body
and the body of an average 80kg adults will contain about 13g of
protein, with 43% found in muscle, 16% in blood and 15% in skin. The
protein in our cells are constantly turning over, over a period of
minutes to months, through the process of protein synthesis and
degradation, which is one reason why we ideally need to obtain a range
of proteins from foods and drinks each day. In addition to being used to
make proteins, amino acids can be used for specific purposes within
cells, like the formation of nerve transmitters and hormones. Amino
acids also can be used as a source of energy – particularly when other
sources of energy like carbohydrate and fat are restricted.
In
the great scheme of things, our body’s top priority is to meet its
energy requirements, and when energy from other sources is limited, it
will break down protein to meet its needs. It does this by stripping off
the nitrogen from the rest of the amino acid molecule, leaving carbon,
oxygen and hydrogen skeletons to be used as fuels, just like
carbohydrate, and provides 17 kJ per gram of protein. On the other hand,
if you consume adequate carbohydrate and fat, your body spares protein
from being used for energy. When amino acids are used for energy, the
nitrogen molecules are converted to urea and excreted in your urine.
Most
people eat a variety of foods containing many different proteins. Some
foods contain all 9 essential amino acids in amounts suitable for humans
and these are called complete protein foods. Commonly eaten foods that
are complete proteins include animal foods like meat, poultry, seafood,
eggs, and dairy foods and in addition, soy protein is considered to be
complete. Proteins in plant foods (vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and
seeds) are rarely complete, but when they are eaten in combination,
either at the same meal (e.g., rice and beans, or bread and peanut
butter), or another time of the day, you nearly always end up with a
complete source of protein, which is one of the reasons why vegan diets
(where you do not eat any animal foods) can meet all of our nutritional
requirements if well designed.
Unfortunately, most
people don’t realise that both low and high protein intakes are
detrimental to health. Low intakes can impair the functioning of our
immune systems, making us more prone to infections, and of course will
stunt the growth of children and adolescents, and slow the healing of
wounds and rates of recovery after surgery, for example. It is also
possible to eat too much protein as our kidneys don’t have an unlimited
capacity to remove urea from our blood. The upper limit of protein
consumption in humans is estimated to be 35% of energy from protein,
which for a typical person consuming 8,700 kJ (2080 Calories) a day
would be 179 grams a day. Needless to say, this rarely occurs under
normal circumstances, but has been observed in populations where food is
scarce, and people are forced to rely heavily on eating wild animals
like rabbits for food, and that’s why it is known as rabbit starvation
or mal de caribou. Symptoms include diarrhoea, headache, fatigue, low
blood pressure and slow heart rate, and a vague discomfort and hunger
that can only be satisfied by consuming foods that are high in fats or
carbohydrates.
The Estimated Average Requirement (the
daily nutrient level estimated to meet the requirements of half the
healthy population) for protein for men is 0.68g per kg body weight per
day and for women it is 0.60g per kg body weight per day. Australia’s
most recent nutrition survey (part of the Australian Health Survey, or
AHS) in 2011/12 determined that men consumed an average of 104.6 g of
protein per day or 1.2 g per kg body weight and women consumed 77.9g of
protein per day or 1.1g per kg body weight. In other words, the average
Australian adult consumes nearly twice as much protein as the estimated
average requirement each day.
Perhaps unsurprisingly,
Australians have increased the amount of protein they consumed each day
since the last national nutrition survey in 1995 – as low-carbohydrate
diets have become more fashionable, people have replaced some of the
carbohydrate with protein. The primary sources of high quality protein
in the Australian diet are lean meats, poultry, seafood, eggs and
alternatives (e.g., soy-based products, other legumes, nuts and seeds,
etc…) and milk, yoghurt, cheese and alternatives. The AHS found that
only 17% (less than 1 in 5) of Australian adults consumed the
recommended number of serves of meats and alternatives and less than 14%
(around 1 in 7) consumed the recommended number of serves of milk,
yoghurt, cheese and alternatives. Legumes are also a good source of
protein, but again, less than 10% of Australians consume the recommended
number of serves. Overall, these results suggest that most of the extra
protein Australian adults are consuming is coming from discretionary
foods. This may be highly refined protein devoid of other nutrients – or
in other words “junk” protein.
In Australia at least,
we should beware the high protein health halo – we don’t need to eat
more processed foods high in refined proteins. We should instead be
eating more of those high-quality protein-containing foods like lean
meats, poultry, seafood, dairy and alternatives that generally don’t
make protein claims on their packaging.
Read more:
• This edited extract is based on text from Dr Alan Barclay’s book Reversing Diabetes
• Australian Health Survey – Protein
Alan Barclay, PhD is a consultant dietitian and chef (Cert III).
He worked for Diabetes Australia (NSW) from 1998–2014 . He is
author/co-author of more than 30 scientific publications, and
author/co-author of The good Carbs Cookbook (Murdoch Books), Reversing Diabetes (Murdoch Books), The Low GI Diet: Managing Type 2 Diabetes (Hachette Australia) and The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (The Experiment, New York).
Contact: You can follow him on Twitter or check out his website.
KEEPING IT GREEN – EATING FOR BODY AND PLANET
PLASTIC-FREE JULY
Grocery shoppers in Montreal recently
made headlines ditching excessive plastic packaging at the door of their
supermarket in protest. Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza introduced
a plastic-free aisle. Australian supermarket giants Coles and
Woolworths will stop offering single-use plastic bags this month. Chile
has boldly approved a nation-wide ban on single-use plastic bags. The
anti-plastic movement is growing. We now have a whole month to focus,
laser-like, on our own habits: plastic-free July.
The plastic-free challenge In
preparation for ‘Plastic-Free July’ and to share our experiences with
you, we decided to take the plunge and ditch single use plastic for a
month. Did we succeed? Not entirely. Plastic is so omni-present as to be
nearly impossible to avoid. Some swaps were simple; others not so much.
It’s really about a shift in mindset and planning. It’s not easy going
plastic free, but neither is a dying planet. Here’s what we did.
To
avoid plastic shampoo bottles, we resorted to bar soap instead that
left us with scarecrow hair. We are still looking for cosmetics in
plastic-free or reusable packaging, and instead have settled for
recyclable packaging rather than go completely native. Unwell with a
cold? Try seeking relief for a sore throat with lozenges that don’t come
in plastic-foil blister packs – impossible. We’d suggest sipping
home-made lemon juice and honey and taking it with you in a small
re-usable glass jar. Need a nice hot cup of tea or coffee to warm up
from the inside? Most tea and coffee come in plastic packaging and
take-away cups are lined with plastic making them near impossible to
recycle. The best we could do is buy loose-leaf tea and coffee in larger
amounts to reduce packaging or take our own re-usable containers to a
bulk-produce store. And of course, say no to take away coffee cups and
take our own. Grabbing some food on-the-go? It’s a disposable plastic
nightmare that made us think twice about doing it at all or search hard
for restaurants that use real cutlery and crockery. If you’d like to try
‘Plastic-Free July’ we’ve got the following tips to help you avoid
single-use plastics.
Plastic-free hacks on-the-move
Keep these eco-friendly alternatives in your bag and say “no thanks” to disposable plastics:
- Metal spork: An easy (and less flimsy) alternative to disposable plastic cutlery.
- Reusable coffee cup: Some cafes even offer discounts if you BYO reusable cup!
- Metal drinking straw: Ditch plastic straws that harm marine life in favour of reusable metal straws.
- Glass storage container: Useful for bringing lunch to work or taking leftovers home from restaurants.
- Cloth bag: For those unplanned trips to the grocery store.
- Choose full eat-in restaurants with proper crockery and cutlery, or seek out take-aways with biodegradable packaging
- Avoid disposable plates, cutlery and cups for parties and picnics. Use re-usable or biodegradable.
- Buy large quantities and decant them into smaller reusable containers, rather than buying single serves.
- Reusable produce sacks/bags: are handy for bringing smaller fruits and veggies like cherries or green beans to the checkout to be weighed.
- Make your own: bread, yoghurt and snacks to save packaging (and money)
- Shop local: farmers market, butcher, baker or greengrocer to reduce packaging
- Ditch plastic food wrap: re-usable wraps are available or use washable containers instead.
Plastic-free bathroom hacks
- Metal safety razor: Not only do metal razors look great on your vanity; you can also change the blades and re-use the metal razor for a lifetime. The blades are cheap as chips and give you a really close shave!
- Face cloth: An alternative to facial scrubs with plastic micro beads and make-up wipes. Keep them fresh by them drying them out after each use, ideally in the sun (have two on the go and alternate)
- Bar of soap: The humble but effective alternative to plastic bottles of body wash.
- Olive oil or coconut oil: Use a few drops as a moisturiser or anti-frizz serum for unruly hair.
- Bamboo toothbrush: A compostable alternative to plastic toothbrushes.
- Arrowroot powder: A package-free (and cheaper!) alternative to dry shampoo for those with oily hair.
- Female hygiene: ladies, join the army of enviro-crusaders ditching disposable feminine hygiene products and try re-usable menstrual cups and underwear (saves money and avoids waste in landfill).
Thanks to Rachel Ananin AKA TheSeasonalDietitian.com for her assistance with this article.
Nicole Senior is an Accredited Nutritionist, author, consultant, cook, food enthusiast and mother who strives to make sense of nutrition science and delights in making healthy food delicious. Contact: You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or check out her website.
GOOD CARBS FOOD FACTS A TO Z
BROWN RICE
Grains are at their most nourishing when we eat
them as whole as possible or as minimally processed staples. They
certainly figure prominently in the diets of the long-living Blue Zones
folks and observational studies around the world (think of these as head
counts) suggest that eating plenty of whole grains may reduce the risk
of developing certain types of cancer, heart disease and type 2
diabetes. That’s why health professionals tend to worship at the altar
of wholegrains and “consume more whole grains” is enshrined in dietary
guidelines around the globe.
Nutty tasting brown rice with just the inedible hull
removed is the rice with whole grain credentials (it’s a good source of
niacin and magnesium) and there are now 2-minute microwave options to
help you get a meal on the table fast. Look for lower GI varieties
(check out the database at www.glycemicindex.com)
and store in a cool, dry place in a resealable packet or airtight
container. Remember to keep portions moderate, because even when you
choose a low GI rice, eating too much can have a marked effect on your
blood glucose.
We think all whole foods that are core
foods (minimally processed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds)
should be assigned five stars. Australia’s health star rating system
(like traffic lights elsewhere) however, was designed for processed
packaged foods not core foods like brown rice. The ratings system is
currently being reviewed to see what needs to be done to align it better
with existing dietary guidelines.
Source: The Good Carbs Cookbook
IN THE GI NEWS KITCHEN
THE GOOD CARBS COOKBOOK
The Good Carbs Cookbook (by Alan Barclay, Kate McGhie and Philippa Sandall) published by Murdoch Books
helps you choose the best fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils,
seeds, nuts and grains and explains how to use them in 100 refreshingly
nourishing recipes to enjoy every day, for breakfast, brunch, lunch,
dinner and dessert. The recipes are easy to prepare, (mostly) quick to
cook, long in flavour and full of sustaining goodness, so you feel
fuller for longer. There is a nutritional analysis for each recipe and
tips and helpful hints for the novice, nervous, curious or time-starved
cook.
WILD AND BROWN RICE PILAF WITH MUSHROOMS AND ALMONDS
A
sensational combination of nutty chewy brown rice, and equally
toothsome, nutty wild rice – the wild card in this pilaf. Mix the
mushroom varieties to intensify flavour. Choose several mushroom
varieties to intensify flavor and deliver a complex, deep, earthy
mushroom taste: brown mushrooms provide dense texture and robust
flavour; delicate buttons; slightly spongy aromatic shitake; or
shell-shaped succulent oyster mushrooms. Instead of buttons, consider
cremini, which are firm and earthy, with a little more oomph.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1¼ hours
Serves: 8
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 small carrot, scraped, finely chopped
1 small stick of celery, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 cups sliced mushrooms
Salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
1 cup brown rice
1 cup wild rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoon lemon zest from the zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
½ cup coarsely chopped raw almonds
Put
the oil and butter in a large sturdy pot with a close fitting lid. Add
the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and gently cook for 5 minutes or
until the vegetables soften. Add the mushrooms, increase the heat to
medium and cook and stir 5 minutes. Rinse the wild and brown rice, drain
well and add to the pot. Stir until the grains are well coated with
vegetable and oil mixture. Pour in the stock, (vegetable stock can
replace chicken stock), bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to as
low as you can. Put the lid on the pot (if it is not tightly fitting,
cover the pot with foil and then ram the lid on) and cook for 50
minutes. It is important that you do not lift the lid during this time. •
Remove the pot from the heat and lift the lid. Taste the rice—it should
be al dente. If not, re-cover the pot and cook for another 10 minutes.
The rice should not appear wet and must have a slight crunch. Add salt
and pepper to taste with the lemon zest and juice. Replace the lid,
remove from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes. Add the
parsley and almonds and fluff with a fork.
Per serve
1045kJ/250
calories; 8g protein; 13g fat (includes 2.5g saturated fat; saturated :
unsaturated fat ratio 0.23); 22g available carbs (includes 2g sugars
and 20g starches); 4g fibre; 370mg sodium; 390mg potassium; sodium :
potassium ratio 0.96
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Nutritional analysis To analyse Australian foods, beverages, processed products and recipes, we use FoodWorks which contains the AusNut and Nuttab databases. If necessary, this is supplemented with data from www.calorieking.com.au or http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search.
Disclaimer GI News endeavours to check the veracity of news stories cited in this free e-newsletter by referring to the primary source, but cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in the articles so published. GI News provides links to other World Wide Web sites as a convenience to users, but cannot be held responsible for the content or availability of these sites. All recipes that are included within GI News have been analysed however they have not been tested for their glycemic index properties by an accredited laboratory according to the ISO standards.
© ®™ The University of Sydney, Australia
1 June 2018
GI News - June 2018
GI News is published by the University of Sydney,
School of Life and Environmental Sciences and the Charles Perkins
Centre. Our goal is to help people choose the high-quality carbs that
are digested at a rate that our bodies can comfortably accommodate and
to share the latest scientific findings on food and diet with a
particular focus on carbohydrates, dietary fibres, blood glucose and the
glycemic index.
Publisher: Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, AM, PhD, FAIFST, FNSA
Editor: Philippa Sandall
Scientific Editor/Managing Editor: Alan Barclay, PhD, APD AN
Contact GI News: glycemic.index@gmail.com
Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service
Manager: Fiona Atkinson, PhD, APD AN
Contact: sugirs.manager@sydney.edu.au
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
SWEET TALK
Hi Alan. I’ve still got a bee in my
bonnet about oranges only getting 4½ stars when you ran them through the
Australian Health Star Rating system for May GI News despite their
being packed with good stuff like vitamin C, fibre, potassium, folate
and over 170 different types of phytochemicals that have antioxidant,
anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. I find it hard to believe we
have a star rating system that denies an all-natural whole food that
comes straight off a tree and that’s been nowhere near a food
manufacturing plant the full five. Next, you’ll tell me breast milk only
gets 4½ stars. – Cheers, Philippa
Hi Philippa. I’m going to disappoint you.
Breast milk doesn’t get 4½ stars. It gets three. As Jennie wrote in “Old
Nutrition, New Nutrition” (GI News, December 2014) “If breast milk were
sold in the dairy compartment, it would have at least two red marks –
one for saturated fat and one for sugars – human milk, along with the
milk from donkeys and minks, has the highest sugar content (i.e. per
cent lactose), of any mammalian milk.” – Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan. This
is heading into a classic Monty Python script. Only three stars for the
food that Mother Nature designed for our babies as a perfect
nutritional package with all the proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals
they need to grow and thrive and fight infection because it contains
lactose? – Cheers, Philippa
Hi Philippa. Well,
it’s the sugars problem (as it was with oranges), but this time there’s
also no dietary fibre to push the star numbers up. The nub of the
problem is that while the real concern is about added sugars in our food
supply, we currently can’t separate added sugars from the sugars
naturally present in a food or drink on food labels. So current star
rating systems use the total sugars which are on the labels for their
ratings, and bonus-points for fibre to adjust for less-refined
carbohydrates.
Some definitions. “Added sugars”
according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) are all the mono- and
disaccharides added to foods by food manufacturers, cooks or consumers.
“Free sugars” include all those added sugars, plus all the sugars
naturally present in honey, syrups (e.g., agave, maple, rice), fruit
juices and concentrates. “Total sugars” are the added sugars; plus all
the sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and
concentrates; plus the naturally occurring sugars in whole foods such as
fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds, milk etc. Also, it’s important to
remember that Australia’s health star rating system (like traffic
lights) is actually meant for processed packaged foods not core foods –
minimally processed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. One
solution is to assign 5 stars to all core foods. The ratings system here
is currently being reviewed to see what needs to be done to align it
better with existing dietary guidelines. Australia’s need updating
though of course – Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan and Philippa.
The algorithms that underpin traffic lights and rating stars are based
on the old nutrition that has long passed its use-by date. Here are some
reasons why.
- The energy content (calories/kilojoules) of a food is not alone the best way to judge a food – lentils and licorice have the same energy density.
- The fat content of food is not alone the best way to judge a food – nuts have more fat and are more energy dense than French fries.
- The sugars content is not alone the best way to judge a food – fruit is full of sugars.
- The sodium content is not alone the best way to judge a food – soft drinks are low in sodium.
- They ignore micronutrients – vitamins, most minerals (other than sodium) and phytochemicals.
- They ignore one important proven attribute of foods in the new nutrition – their glycemic load per serving. This factor is proven to influence appetite and the risk of developing diabetes. Appetite matters.
Appetite is what drives our energy intake. It is not possible to balance energy intake and energy expenditure by counting calories. Firstly, no one knows how many calories they expend each day. Even if you could, the calories on the food label are not precise enough. Secondly, mathematical modelling shows that a small but persistent excess of only 7 calories or 30 kilojoules per day over and above energy requirements for 10 years underlies the current epidemic of obesity. Here in Australia, I’d like to see a food label system that:
- Focused on the positive – not just the negative.
- Tied in with our dietary guidelines (which need updating).
- Rated foods according to their contribution to desirable macronutrient and micronutrient intakes.
- Used Adam Drewnowski’s Nutrient Rich Foods Index, which rates individual foods based on their overall nutritional value, as an essential component.
- Encouraged higher protein intake, particularly from plant sources like legumes.
- Distinguished effectively between naturally occurring and added sugars.
Read more:
WHAT’S NEW?
WHO ADDED ALL THAT SUGAR TO MAPLE SYRUP?
Who knew that we
could weave such a tangled web when we practice not to deceive, but to
inform? Ted Kyle of ConscienHealth reports on Vermont maple producers
and legislators protesting an FDA requirement to label all the sugar in
maple syrup as added sugar.
Vermonters are ticked. It’s time to implement
the new Nutrition Facts label and they’re afraid it will give their
beloved maple syrup a black eye. The label calls out added sugar. And
pure maple sugar is what their syrup is all about. Natural is good,
right? But added sugar is bad. So, which will it be? All natural or
loaded with added sugar? There’s no doubt in the minds of Vermonters.
Congressman Peter Welch summed it up: There are no added sugars. Maple
is a pure product. Consumers want pure products. Nothing is more pure
than maple syrup. That sounds simple. But the countervailing view is
that this lovely syrup has only one purpose. For adding sweetness – in
the form of maple sugar – to your food. It’s 67% maple sugar. So, it’s
nothing but a source added sugar for your diet.
According
to Welch, consumers think that added sugars are the bad stuff, like
corn syrup, that big food companies add to unhealthy junk food. So,
consumers might think something unnatural has been added to maple syrup
if we start telling them it has added sugars. And by the way, honey
producers aren’t too happy with this situation, either. The American
Honey Producers Association says: “Honey is a pure sugar with no need
for added sugars. So, this will mislead the consumer.” By this logic,
pure cane sugar would have zero added sugars as well. A tangled web
indeed.
Read more:
There’s considerable concern about the overall quality of our diet, especially the amount of “free sugars” (see Food for Thought for a definition) in the foods we are eating. This is a pretty technical paper, but it makes a useful point: when we go too high (over 25 per cent free sugars) or too low (under 5 per cent) we risk missing out on key nutrients. The researchers found for example, that those following a stringent less than 5% free sugars diet showed a drop in key micronutrients including folate and calcium. Peak intake for most micronutrients, report the researchers, was found in adults consuming between 5% and 15%. They also found that when “core food” intake (that’s the basics such as minimally processed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dairy foods) went down and discretionary foods (that’s treats) went up there was an increase in free sugars intake. No surprises there because that’s how we define a discretionary food (a just-so story).
For his 2014 book, The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (with Philippa Sandall and Claudia Shwide-Slavin), Alan Barclay put together a couple of diet plans to show what 5 per cent and 10 per cent added sugars look like in an overall healthy 2000-calories (8000 kilojoule) diet. In the nutritional analysis for these plans he includes the amount of added sugars and total sugars (that’s free sugars plus the naturally occurring sugars in whole foods – fruit, vegetables, grains and seeds).
Read more:
- Intake of free sugars and micronutrient dilution in Australian adults (abstract)
- What do 5 percent and 10 percent added sugars look like in an overall healthy 2000-calories (8000 kilojoule) diet (reproduced with permission of the publisher of The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners, The Experiment Publishing Co)
Thirty-two teenagers (average age 15) who volunteered for a randomized, crossover, controlled pilot feeding study rated the low 5% added sugar diet they were given to eat for one week as being just as tasty as the high 25% added sugar diet they tucked into for a second week. (The diets were calorie matched and there was a 4-week washout period in between.) They also reported that they found the low added sugar diet with its adequate fibre intake more filling compared with the high added sugar low fibre diet. Despite this, participants remained weight stable, and there was no difference in weight change between diet conditions.
This is just a small pilot study, but it does clearly suggest that if you have kids with hunger pangs and hollow legs, they won’t mind if you cut back the snacks and foods with added sugars (and we would add added refined starches to this) and boost their fibre intake with the good high-quality carbs – whole fruit, veg, beans and grains.
- Adolescents perceive a low added sugar adequate fibre diet to be more satiating and equally palatable compared to a high added sugar low fiber diet in a randomized-crossover design controlled feeding pilot trial
- What do 5 percent and 10 percent added sugars look like in an overall healthy 2000-calories (8000 kilojoule) diet (reproduced with permission of the publisher of The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners)
This small study aimed to find out if there was a difference drinking tea sweetened with sugar or sucralose or stevia (non-nutritive sweeteners) on people who were stressed. There was a difference. Having a cuppa sweetened with sugar had a calming effect on consumers with acute stress; a cuppa with a non-nutritive sweetener didn’t. The researchers think the reason for the effect may not be sugar’s taste, but its calories.
Read more:
RUN RODENT
Because there are biological similarities, research scientists find rats and mice valuable trial subjects. However, here at GI News we are wary of publishing the results of rodent studies because they should only be used to back-up and complement the results of human studies, not for scare-mongering. A rodent’s carbohydrate requirements are very different to ours. In particular, they evolved to eat raw seeds, not ripe fruit. Here are two recent studies. We leave you to make up your own mind on their relevance.
#1 BURP While the sugars added to fizzy drinks are in the firing line, until now, no one thought to look at the added carbon dioxide gas. In this small study, the researchers show that rats downing fizzy drinks over a year gain weight at a faster rate than rats who drank flat soda or tap water. The weight gain was associated with increased production of the appetite hormone ghrelin, which is produced by both rodents and humans. In a parallel study, they also found that the ghrelin levels grew in 20 healthy young men drinking carbonated beverages compared to those who didn’t.
As an aside, did you know rats can’t burp. They can't vomit either, and they don't experience heartburn. Rats can't vomit for several related reasons. They have a powerful barrier between the stomach and the esophagus. They don't have the esophageal muscle strength to overcome and open this barrier by force, which is necessary for vomiting.
Read more:
#2 GULP The findings of a University of Sydney study published in Physiology and Behaviour, that modelled an added sugars to diet beverage switch in rats suggested swapping to artificially sweetened beverages may help improve metabolic and cognitive impairments that result from too much added sugars. The study included two experiments designed to assess the effect on female rats of switching to either water or a non-nutritively sweetened saccharin-based solution following unlimited access to a sucrose-based sugar solution. Although the results can’t be directly applied to humans the researchers suggest the study is important because it replicates the switch from sugar to non-nutritive sweetener, which is how sweeteners like saccharin are marketed. The authors also highlight a couple of study limitations:
- Saccharin is a non-nutritive sweetener commonly reported in animal studies to promote weight gain and development of diabetes, but it is not as commonly consumed by humans as other sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and stevia, which may have different effects on metabolism.
- Previous studies with male rats have not come up with similar results.
- Between 33–51% of energy from sugar-sweetened beverages for 4–8 weeks, which works out at 5–7 cans of regular sugar-sweetened soft drink a day over 10–20 years in human terms.
- Saccharin intake for the rats was an average of 136mg of saccharin per kg body weight in experiment 1, and 298mg per kg body weight in experiment 2. The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of saccharin for humans is 5mg per kg body weight. So, the rats were fed between 27–59 times the ADI, or around 25 to 60 times more than is considered safe for human consumption.
YOU CAN’T FOOL A BIRD BRAIN
Everything about hummingbirds is rapid. It takes only three quick licks to reject water when they expect nectar. The birds pull back their beaks, shake their heads, and spit out the tasteless liquid. They are not fooled by the sugar substitutes in diet sodas. Their preference for sweetness has long been plain, but scientists can now understand the complex biology behind their taste for sugar. In a paper in Science, the team showed how hummingbirds’ ability to detect sweetness evolved from an ancestral savory taste receptor that is mostly tuned to flavors in amino acids. The research underscores how much remains to be learned about taste and other senses says Harvard’s Stephen Liberles. “Sensory systems give us a window into the brain to define what we understand about the world around us,” he said. “The taste system is arguably a really direct line to pleasure and aversion, reward and punishment, sweet and bitter. Understanding how neural circuits can encode these differentially gives us a window into other aspects of perception.”
Read more:
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
Juiced?
We have been juicing fruits for a long time. Here’s a short summary. Wine is fermented grape juice – the fermentation process is a way of preserving the fruit– and it looks like we’ve been making it for about 8000 years. Archeologists have found that the people living at Gadachrili Gora and a nearby village 20 miles south of Tbilisi, Georgia, were the world’s earliest known vintners—producing wine on a large scale as early as 6000BC. Now skip a few millenia. Lemonade became popular in the 1500s, and orange juice in the 1700s and we preserved them by adding sugar (sucrose) which in the right amount inhibits bacterial growth (a good thing). Louis Pasteur’s pasteurization process (1864) preceded the development of fresh (unfermented) 100% fruit juices in 1868. In 1930, the first commercial juicing machine was invented and around this time electric refrigeration became affordable. Home juicing became popular in the USA in the 1970s, thanks to affordable home juicers.
Today, people enjoy 100% fruit juice worldwide and it’s a nutritious choice as the analysis of commercial unsweetened orange juice shows. (And if you are wondering why orange juice rates five stars while a whole orange picked straight from the tree only rates 4½, it’s because Australia’s star rating system currently uses different algorithms for solid foods and for beverages)
The American Dietary Guidelines consider 1 cup (240ml) of 100% fruit juice as being equivalent to one serve of fruit, but they also recommend that at least half our recommended serves of fruit should come from whole fruit, which generally contains more dietary fibre and less calories.
What about the sugars? The carbohydrate in fruit and fruit juice is in the form of sugars (fructose, glucose and sucrose principally). Some people point out that fruit juices can provide nearly as much sugars as some sugar sweetened beverages, which nutrition epidemiological studies have associated with weight gain and risk of type 2 diabetes. Do 100% fruit juices pose the same risk? Fortunately, there is now a relatively large body of evidence that can help answer this important question.
Auerbach and colleagues investigated the association of 100% juice consumption with body mass index (BMI) in prospective cohort studies of children. The overall conclusion was that while consumption of 100% fruit juice is associated with a small amount of weight gain in children ages 1 to 6 years, the amount is not clinically significant. (Controlling for total energy intake, they reported that one 180–240ml (6–8oz) serve of 100% fruit juice a day is associated with a 0.087 unit increase in BMI in children aged 1 to 6 years, but not in children aged 7 to 18 years.) Similarly, systematic reviews of the evidence in adults show no detrimental effects of consuming moderate amounts of 100% fruit juice.
Murphy and colleagues investigated the effect of 100% fruit juice on blood glucose and insulin levels in randomised controlled trials which included a range of people including those who were overweight/obese and/or had diabetes. They found that 100% fruit juice had no significant effect on fasting blood glucose, fasting blood insulin or HbA1c. The overall conclusion was that 100% fruit juices have a neutral effect of on glycemic control, and they noted that these findings were consistent with findings from observational studies suggesting that consumption of 100% fruit juice is not associated with increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Sugars (e.g., glucose, fructose and sucrose) and other fermentable carbohydrates (i.e. maltodextrins and starches), provide food for oral bacteria, which lower our plaque and salivary pH, and in turn promote tooth demineralization. This is the main reason why the World Health Organisation recommends we limit our consumption of free sugars to less than 10% of energy – 100% fruit juices are a source of free sugars. However, most of the studies that make up the evidence base for the WHO guideline are based on added sugars – not juices. So, what does the evidence say about 100% fruit juice?
A recent clinical trial by Issa and colleagues found that a range of solid and juiced fruits (e.g. apples, oranges, grapes and tomatoes) could contribute to tooth demineralisation, but there were no significant differences between solid and juiced foods. A review by Touger-Decker and van Loveren found that many factors in addition to free sugars affect the risk of tooth decay, including the form of food or fluid, the duration of exposure, nutrient composition, sequence of eating, salivary flow, presence of buffers, and your personal oral hygiene. In particular, they noted that polyphenols such as tannins in cocoa, coffee, tea, and many fruit juices may reduce the cariogenic potential of foods and drinks. In addition, in a series of experiments in young adults that included fruits and juices (e.g. apples/juice, dates, bananas, orange juice, raisins), Edgar and colleagues found that while juices had a higher acidic potential than whole fruits, they only moderately increased risk compared to sugar-sweetened beverages and confectionery, which conferred a high risk. In summary, 100% fruit juices are not as likely to cause tooth decay as sugar-sweetened beverages or confectionery.
So, overall, the evidence we currently have supports the American Dietary Guidelines allowance of up to 1 cup of 100% juice a day as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Alan Barclay, PhD is a consultant dietitian. He worked for Diabetes Australia (NSW) from 1998–2014 . He is author/co-author of more than 30 scientific publications, and author/co-author of The good Carbs Cookbook (Murdoch Books), Reversing Diabetes (Murdoch Books), The Low GI Diet: Managing Type 2 Diabetes (Hachette Australia) and The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (The Experiment, New York).
Contact: You can follow him on Twitter or check out his website.
KEEPING IT GREEN – EATING FOR BODY AND PLANET
ORGANIC – IS IT THE GREENER CHOICE?
Organic foods are generally perceived to be healthier and better for the environment. But do they live up to this perception?
“Organic”
generally refers to plant and animal products grown or raised without
artificially made fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and other
chemicals. Instead they may use natural fertilisers such as compost or
manure and manage pests using techniques like crop rotation. The USDA
(United States Department of Agriculture) regulates the term “organic”
and defines standards that “integrate cultural, biological, and
mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote
ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.” In Australia, the
government does not regulate the use of “organic”, so you have only the
grower’s or manufacturer’s word for it. However, a “certified organic”
product is regularly audited by an independent certifying body and must
meet their particular requirements, some being stricter than others.
Do organically grown foods taste better?
It depends. For example, exotic heirloom fruit and veg can be grown on
smaller farms, and produce may be smaller or have lower moisture content
therefore intensifying the flavour. The taste of organic meats may
reflect a more diverse diet. However, there are other factors at play
including the freshness of the produce, the soil and the climate. And a
regular apple purchased fresh from the farm generally tastes better than
an organic apple that has sat around for weeks in a cold store.
Are organic foods healthier?
The jury is still out on this. For example, organic ingredients don’t
add health benefits to highly processed foods. An organic cookie is
still a “sometimes” food and typically just as high in
calories/kilojoules as a regular cookie. For fresh whole foods, the
picture is more complicated. A recent scientific review
reports that while some organic crops may have slightly higher
antioxidant levels the authors conclude that it’s not actually possible
to quantify to what extent organic food consumption may affect human
health as “there is virtually no published data from (1) long-term
cohort studies focusing on chronic diseases (e.g. cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, cancer, and neurodegenerative conditions) and (2)
controlled human dietary intervention studies comparing effects of
organic and conventional diets.”
So, if you want to eat
better, buying organic is not the logical first step. The bigger
picture is many of us eat too many highly processed “discretionary”
foods for which the organic label is irrelevant. Most of us don’t eat
enough vegetables, period. As organic veggies are generally more
expensive, eating enough conventional vegetables (five-a-day) would have
a greater nutritional impact than buying fewer organic vegetables.
As for food safety, all food, both organic and conventional, must meet
food safety regulations of the country in which it is sold. For example,
FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) regulates all foods
sold in Australia to ensure any chemical contaminants are in amounts
below the maximum residue limit; this limit is set well below the level that could pose a safety risk to consumers.
Are organic farming methods more sustainable? While the answer to this question might seem instinctively “yes”, the scientific jury is still out. According to a recent meta-analysis,
organic agricultural systems use 15% less energy. This is possibly
because organic systems don’t rely on synthetic fertilisers and
pesticides that require a lot of energy to produce. On the other hand,
they noted conventional foods use less land (less deforestation) and had
a lesser impact on nearby water ecosystems (which means less algal
bloom and aquatic dead zones). The same study found that both organic
and conventional systems had similar greenhouse gas emissions and
comparable impacts on soil acidity (an adverse effect that reduces plant
growth).
There is no clear winner when it comes to
sustainability and more research still needs to be done. Moreover,
organic agriculture is less intensive and therefore is unable to support
our population growth projected to be nine billion people by 2050. We
can’t feed the world with organic food, but a hybrid approach might
work; combining aspects of organic farming methods such as composting
and crop rotation with conventional farming to reduce energy usage.
Should I spend extra on organic?
- Safety: All foods, organic or conventional, must meet food safety regulations.
- Nutrition: For a nutritional boost, just eat more veggies (conventional or organic).
- Environment: Organic and conventional methods both have their pros and cons. You would have a greater impact by reducing food waste and eating more plant-based protein options instead of excessive amounts of meat.
- Get what you pay for: choose certified organic foods to ensure they really are organic
Thanks to Rachel Ananin AKA TheSeasonalDietitian.com for her assistance with this article.
Nicole Senior is an Accredited Nutritionist, author, consultant, cook, food enthusiast and mother who strives to make sense of nutrition science and delights in making healthy food delicious. Contact: You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or check out her website.
GOOD CARBS FOOD FACTS A TO Z
PEAS
Eating
the youngest, most tender peas shelled straight after picking is a
truly sweet experience. Peas are easy to grow and in the right spot with
appropriate TLC are generous providers from late spring through the
summer months. You keep picking, they keep providing. Most of us
outsource the growing and shelling and buy frozen peas – we are busy;
they are there. They are just as nourishing, so make the most of this
family friendly veg as a side dish or rolled into the spotlight in
soups, salads, stir-fries, fritters, frittatas, rice dishes and more.
Look for bright pea green unwrinkled pods in season with no splits or
blemished. Avoid prepacked trays of shelled peas. Snap frozen peas are a
great standby to have in the freezer and are just as nutritious. Check
the use-by or best-before date.
Peas are tricky when it comes to table manners. They can shoot
all over the place like little green bullets. Being from British stock
we were never allowed to do what seemed the sensible thing to do to a
child, turn the fork over and scoop. We had to find a way to squash the
peas on to the back of the fork which we eventually discovered we could
do if “pre-loaded” with a little mashed potato or pumpkin. We are
delighted to see that Debretts now tells us it is OK to “scoop with an
upturned fork in more casual or solitary situations”.
Source: The Good Carbs Cookbook
IN THE GI NEWS KITCHEN
THE GOOD CARBS COOKBOOK
The Good Carbs Cookbook (by Alan Barclay, Kate McGhie and Philippa Sandall) published by Murdoch Books
helps you choose the best fruits, vegetables, beans, peas, lentils,
seeds, nuts and grains and explains how to use them in 100 refreshingly
nourishing recipes to enjoy every day, for breakfast, brunch, lunch,
dinner and dessert. The recipes are easy to prepare, (mostly) quick to
cook, long in flavour and full of sustaining goodness, so you feel
fuller for longer. There is a nutritional analysis for each recipe and
tips and helpful hints for the novice, nervous, curious or time-starved
cook.
OMELETTE WITH GARDEN PEAS, FETA AND MINT
There
are times when the yearning for an omelette is overwhelming, but for
some reason, many cooks shy away from this gloriously simple light meal.
Practice makes perfect, but don’t be too fussed about how it looks when
turned out. The refreshing, lively filling makes up for any
imperfection in the looks department. Ring the filling changes as you
fancy: cooked prawns, flaked cooked fish, diced fresh tomato and plenty
of fresh chopped herbs are all delicious options. And if you are a
family of smaller eaters, it will easily serve three people as a light
meal with a slice of grainy bread and a garden salad with ripe-red
tomatoes. Preparation time: 15 minutes • Cooking time: 8 minutes •
Serves: 2
⅔ cup (100g/3½oz) cooked peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
6 eggs (60g/2oz eggs)
Salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup (60g/2oz) crumbled feta
3 tablespoons shredded mint leaves
Put
the peas in a bowl with the oil, lemon zest, and spring onions. • Whisk
the eggs with salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat the butter in a large
non-stick pan over medium heat. When the butter foams and turns nut
brown, add eggs and gently cook, without stirring for about 3 minutes or
until large curds form. Reduce the heat to medium-low and using a broad
spatula gently push the eggs around in the pan until they are almost
set. Spoon the pea mixture, feta and mint over the top, and with the aid
of the spatula, gently roll the omelette up and over the filling. This
is easier if you hold the pan at a slight angle to assist the rolling.
Cook for 1 minute more and then slide the omelette onto a plate. Divide
into two and serve topped with extra mint and spring onion if you wish.
Per serve
2350kJ/560
calories; 28g protein; 47g fat (includes 21g saturated fat; saturated :
unsaturated fat ratio 0.81); 6g available carbs (includes 2g sugars and
4g starches); 4g fibre; 740mg sodium; 310mg potassium; sodium :
potassium ratio 2.4
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Nutritional analysis To analyse Australian foods, beverages, processed products and recipes, we use FoodWorks which contains the AusNut and Nuttab databases. If necessary, this is supplemented with data from www.calorieking.com.au or http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search.
Disclaimer GI News endeavours to check the veracity of news stories cited in this free e-newsletter by referring to the primary source, but cannot be held responsible for inaccuracies in the articles so published. GI News provides links to other World Wide Web sites as a convenience to users, but cannot be held responsible for the content or availability of these sites. All recipes that are included within GI News have been analysed however they have not been tested for their glycemic index properties by an accredited laboratory according to the ISO standards.
© ®™ The University of Sydney, Australia
1 May 2018
GI News - May 2018
GI News is published by the University of Sydney,
School of Life and Environmental Sciences and the Charles Perkins
Centre. Our goal is to help people choose the high-quality carbs that
are digested at a rate that our bodies can comfortably accommodate and
to share the latest scientific findings on food and diet with a
particular focus on carbohydrates, dietary fibres, blood glucose and the
glycemic index.
Publisher: Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, AM, PhD, FAIFST, FNSA
Editor: Philippa Sandall
Scientific Editor/Managing Editor: Alan Barclay, PhD, APD AN
Contact GI News: glycemic.index@gmail.com
Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service
Manager: Fiona Atkinson, PhD, APD AN
Contact: sugirs.manager@sydney.edu.au
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
WHY IS PUSS PORTLY?
As our waistlines have expanded, so
have those of our pets. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention’s
ninth annual clinical survey (2016) reports that nearly 54 percent of
dogs and 59 percent of cats were clinically overweight or obese in the
US. To put some numbers on that, they reckon that equals an estimated
41.9 million dogs and 50.5 million cats (based on 2016 pet population
projections provided by the American Pet Products Association). Being
overweight puts puss and puppy at an increased risk for weight-related
disorders such as type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, hypertension and many
cancers.
A
recent Swedish cross-sectional study using data from medical records
for cats visiting an academic medical centre and from a questionnaire on
insured cats found that the factors associated with increased risk of
puss being obese were: “Eating predominantly dry food, being a greedy
eater, and inactivity”.
What’s the ideal weight for a
cat? The Cat Bible author and Radio Pet Lady, Tracie Hotchner, says “it
is hard to judge since cats come in so many shapes and sizes. However,
if your cat has a belly that hangs down and swings when she walks, you
need to make some plans to reduce her weight. Oftentimes this will
simply mean removing all dry food and feeding canned or raw instead,
which research shows is the best diet for every cat.”
Dry
food is not appropriate for domestic cats she says. “Numerous
veterinarians who share my dismay over the widespread use of dry food
are concerned about a cat's digestive system being challenged to process
foods it is not designed to eat. Cats are not ‘little dogs’ yet a dry
food developed for canines was then manipulated to give to cats.”
Hotchner views dry food for cats as an addictive harmful source of
nutrition which she calls ‘kitty crack’ as she believes it encourages
felines to consume carbohydrate-heavy plant-based food sources which
their body is not designed to digest and metabolize. Keep in mind the
wild ancestors of puss snoozing on the sofa were obligate carnivores and
their diet was essentially the small animals they hunted. Despite
appearances, the domestic cat still closely resembles its wild ancestor.
Who
thought of dried food for cats and dogs? And when? It has a fascinating
past as GI News editor Philippa Sandall discovered researching
Seafurrers, her book on ships’ cats. The story goes that in the late
1850s, an Ohio electrician named James Spratt journeyed to London to
sell lightning rods. He noticed dogs hanging around the docks at
Portsmouth tucking into scraps of hardtack (ship’s biscuit) and had a
eureka moment. He patented a similar biscuit for dogs (they can digest
carbohydrate-based foods) and the rest is history. Spratt’s Patent Meal
Fibrine Dog Cakes were a baked mixture of wheat, beet root, and
vegetables bound together with beef blood. Dried food (kibble) for cats
followed.
To whet your appetite, here’s a World War 2
“dry food incident” reported by a 17-year-old Massachusetts seaman who
saved the ship’s cat after they were torpedoed. “We were in the lifeboat
seven and a half days with not much to eat besides hardtack,” he said.
“The cat didn’t like hardtack and wouldn’t eat a bite until some flying
fish landed in the boat. Before we got to shore, though, she ate
hardtack and liked it.” It’s likely the lifeboat lad improvised a grainy
seafood salad to tempt puss’s taste buds (and his own) by tossing
crumbled hardtack with flying fish flakes moistened with a little water
and puss focussed her attention on the fishy bits surmises Seafurrers
author Philippa Sandall.
Read more:
WHAT’S NEW?
DIABETES IN CATS
Diabetes in cats resembles type 2
diabetes in people. The causes aren’t fully understood, but both genetic
and environmental factors are believed to contribute. However, for
those quick to point the wagging finger at “sugar” causing obesity and
diabetes, cats don’t eat sugar. They don’t have a sweet tooth. A small
Swedish case-control study using a web‐based questionnaire sent to
owners of cats with diabetes and cats without diabetes (the control)
found indoor confinement, being a greedy eater, and being overweight
were associated with an increased risk of diabetes. As dry food is
commonly fed to cats worldwide, “the association found between dry food
and an increased risk of diabetes in cats assessed as normal weight by
owners warrants further attention” say the authors.
In
Perspectives this month, Alan Barclay looks at the pancreas, what it is
and what it does, and why understanding the causes of diabetes are
complicated in people let alone in cats.
Read more:
A high fibre diet rich in good carbs (fruit, veg, beans and grains) can help people with type 2 diabetes manage their blood glucose levels – and it seems to do this by changing the bacteria in the gut. The findings of a recent study showed a diversified high-fibre diet can promote some 15 strains of gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids that can help in reducing inflammation in the gut, help regulate hunger and also provide energy to gut cells. “It’s early days,” says study leader Prof Liping Zhao from Rutgers University, “but it lays the foundation and opens the possibility that fibres targeting this group of gut bacteria could eventually become a major part of your diet and your treatment”. The research reinforces the fact that eating certain kinds of carbohydrate foods rich in dietary fibres can help restore the gut microbiota responsible for better digestion and overall health.
Read more:
IT’S NOT JUST IN YOUR HEAD: SEROTONIN AND OBESITY
Maybe it’s not on the tip of every tongue writes Ted Kyle in ConscienHealth. But serotonin is a bit more familiar than most neurotransmitters. Most people think of it as a happy hormone for the central nervous system that becomes depleted in a state of depression. However, the gastrointestinal system has far more of it than the central nervous system. And new research now tells us that in the small intestine, this substance might influence obesity and metabolic health.
Scientists have long known that serotonin in the brain plays a role in eating behaviour. Food intake is higher when levels of this hormone are lower in the brain. But animal studies have suggested a very different relationship between serotonin and obesity in the gut. There, it seems to promote obesity and higher blood glucose levels. Now, we have confirmation in humans that this is true. Richard Young and colleagues showed that the small intestines of people with obesity produce more serotonin. In fact, the levels were twice as high when compared to normal controls. The gut secretes this hormone in response to glucose and it appears to play a role in developing obesity and diabetes.
This research is important for two related reasons says Kyle. First, it gives us more insight into how both obesity and diabetes develop, and why some people are more susceptible than others. In their research, Young et al found more cells that produce serotonin in the small intestines of people with obesity than in those at a normal weight. With a better understanding of this pathway, we might have a promising new target for treating obesity and diabetes. Says Young: “This has revealed new ways that we may be able to control the release of serotonin from within the gut, and in turn, further improve the outlook for people living with obesity.”
Read more:
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
THE PANCREAS – UNLOVED, BUT ESSENTIAL
The pancreas is an
essential organ responsible for both the digestion of food and blood
glucose regulation. It was first identified by Greek anatomist and
surgeon, Herophilus, around 2300 years ago. A few hundred years later,
Rufus of Ephesus, another Greek anatomist, gave the pancreas its name.
“Pancreas” originally meant sweetbread, a name that is still commonly
used in culinary circles for calf or lamb pancreas.
The
pancreas is located behind the stomach in the upper left part of the
abdomen. It is surrounded by other organs including the stomach, small
intestine (duodenum), liver, and spleen. It is spongy, about 15–25cm
(6–10in) long, 2.5cm (1in) thick, and is shaped a bit like a flattened
pear or a fish extended horizontally across the abdomen. The bulk (95%)
of the pancreas consists of tissues and cells that produce pancreatic
secretions for the digestion of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The
remainder consists of little islands of cells called islets of
Langerhans. These look a bit like small bunches of grapes and produce
hormones that regulate blood glucose and help regulate pancreatic
digestive secretions.
Source: www.medicalook.com
Food digestion
Once food has been chewed in the mouth, then mulched and partially
digested in the stomach by acids, it is released into the first part of
the small intestine known as the duodenum. The pancreas then releases
its own digestive juices and enzymes into the partially digested food,
via a small duct connected to the duodenum. Pancreatic juices contain
enzymes that help breakdown carbohydrate, fat and protein. They are
activated once they reach the duodenum to prevent the protein-digesting
enzyme trypsin from breaking down the proteins in the pancreas itself,
or in its duct. Other enzymes produced by the pancreas and released into
the duodenum include amylase (to break down starches and maltodextrins
into sugars) and lipase (to break down fats into monoglycerols and fatty
acids). The pancreas also secretes sodium bicarbonate, which helps to
neutralise the stomach acids in the partially digested food.
Blood glucose hormones
Two of the most important pancreatic hormones are insulin produced by
beta cells and glucagon produced by alpha cells in the islets of
Langerhans which manufacture and release these hormones directly into
the bloodstream.
Insulin regulates the metabolism of
carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of glucose
from the blood into liver, fat and muscle cells. In these cells the
absorbed glucose is converted into either glycogen (a kind of starch
found in the liver and muscles) via a process known as glycogenesis or
fats (triglycerides) via lipogenesis. Circulating insulin also affects
the synthesis of proteins in a wide variety of cells and tissues. It is
therefore an anabolic hormone, promoting the conversion of small
molecules in the blood into large molecules inside the cells.
Glucagon
stimulates the liver to break down glycogen into glucose, which is then
released into the blood. It also activates gluconeogenesis, the
conversion of certain amino acids from proteins into glucose. Finally,
it facilitates the breakdown of stored fat (triglycerides) into fatty
acids for use as fuel by cells. It is therefore a catabolic hormone,
promoting the breakdown of large molecules in cells into smaller
molecules in the blood.
Pancreatic beta cells are
sensitive to blood glucose concentrations. When glucose levels are high,
they secrete insulin into the bloodstream and when glucose levels are
low, secretion of insulin is inhibited. On the other hand, alpha cells
secrete glucagon into the blood in the opposite manner to insulin: when
blood glucose levels are low, or in response to vigorous exercise,
secretion is increased, and when blood glucose levels are high,
secretion is decreased.
The secretion of insulin and
glucagon into the blood in response to changes in blood glucose
concentrations is the primary mechanism of blood glucose homeostasis. In
other words, the two hormones work in partnership with each other to
keep blood glucose levels balanced. Optimal maintenance of blood glucose
levels is critical to the functioning of key organs including the brain
and nervous system, liver, and kidneys.
If the beta
cells are destroyed by an autoimmune reaction, insulin can no longer be
synthesized or secreted into the blood in sufficient quantities. This
results in the development of type 1 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, the
destruction of beta cells is less pronounced than in type 1 diabetes and
is not primarily due to an autoimmune process. The exact cause of type 2
diabetes is not fully understood but people have a reduced number of
islet beta cells, and of those that survive there is a reduced secretory
function, and there is also frequently (but not always) peripheral
tissue insulin resistance (the insulin that is produced does not work as
efficiently in the target cells as it should). Type 2 diabetes is also
characterized by high rates of glucagon secretion which are less
responsive to the concentration of glucose in the blood, but insulin is
still secreted into the blood in response to concomitantly increasing
blood glucose concentrations. As a result, insulin levels are typically
much higher than they are in people without type 2 diabetes.
Read more:
Alan Barclay, PhD is a consultant dietitian. He worked for Diabetes Australia (NSW) from 1998–2014 . He is author/co-author of more than 30 scientific publications, and author/co-author of The good Carbs Cookbook (Murdoch Books), Reversing Diabetes (Murdoch Books), The Low GI Diet: Managing Type 2 Diabetes (Hachette Australia) and The Ultimate Guide to Sugars and Sweeteners (The Experiment, New York).
Contact: You can follow him on Twitter or check out his website.