News Briefs

Low GI benefits for young people with type 1 diabetes
‘A low GI diet may reduce glucose excursions and improve glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes,’ says Dr Tonja Nansel from the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, commenting on her pilot study published in Diabetes Care in April. She also made the point that ‘this effect was observed despite the fact that the children used basal-bolus insulin regimens, in which their insulin dose was specifically matched to the amount of carbohydrate consumed’.

‘In fact’, she said, ‘when you account for the differences in carbohydrate consumed due to treating low blood glucose and the differences in the amount of insulin taken due to treating high blood glucose, the children actually had a greater number of carbs per unit of insulin when they ate the low GI diet – and they still showed better blood glucose levels’.

The study recorded blood glucose responses to low and high GI meals in 20 young people (aged 7–16) with type 1 diabetes using continuous blood-glucose monitoring. The study was carried out over five days in both a structured clinical setting and in the home environment. In their findings, the researchers report that the low GI diet resulted in significantly lower average daytime blood glucose. They noted that the fact that blood glucose levels were not different during the night time supports the understanding that a low GI diet affects blood glucose levels primarily by decreasing the rise in blood glucose that happens after eating. More mild hypos had to be treated on the low GI diet suggesting that there needs to be attention to safety in any major dietary changes and that a lower GI diet may reduce insulin requirements.

Dr Nansel explained that the benefits of improved blood glucose control for children with diabetes are substantial. ‘Many young people with diabetes and their families say that one of their biggest frustrations in managing diabetes is dealing with high blood glucose levels. The more the blood glucose is out of range, the more children are at risk for long-term health complications. Seeing a reading on their blood glucose meter that is considered “too high” can be a source of worry, and can even spark parent-child conflict. A way of eating that decreases these high blood glucose fluctuations could both improve long-term health for children with diabetes, and perhaps even decrease some of the stress of living with diabetes.’

Dr Tonja Nansel’s primary research interests are in the management of type 1 diabetes in children and their families, and in developing programs to promote healthful eating among families. To find out more about this study and her findings (including what the children actually ate, low GI foods such as brown basmati rice and black bean brownies), check out her presentation of the study’s findings at the 2007 ADA meeting.
– Diabetes Care, Volume 31, Number 4, April 2008


Dr Tonja Nansel

Bitter melons and blood glucose
Many plants have traditionally been used to treat type 2 diabetes. Indeed, along with diet, plant preparations formed the basis of treatment until the introduction of insulin in 1922. One fruit long associated with treating diabetes is bitter melon. Writing in Phytomedicine Raman Lau reported back in 1996 that ‘Unripe fruits, seeds and aerial parts of bitter melon (Momordica charantia) have been used in various parts of the world to treat diabetes.’

A team from Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research along with the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, reported in March Chemistry and Biology that they have uncovered bitter melon's therapeutic properties – four bioactive compounds that all appear to activate the enzyme AMPK, a protein that regulates the body's metabolism and affects glucose uptake. Exercise also activates AMPK in muscle, which in turn mediates the movement of glucose transporters to the cell surface, a very important step in the uptake of glucose from the circulation into tissues in the body. This is a major reason that exercise is recommended as part of the normal treatment program for someone with type 2 diabetes.

‘We can now understand at a molecular level why bitter melon works as a treatment for type 2 diabetes,’ said Prof David James, director of the diabetes and obesity program at the Garvan. ‘By isolating the compounds we believe to be therapeutic, we can investigate how they work together in our cells.’ Garvan scientists involved in the project, Drs Jiming Ye and Nigel Turner, stress that while there are well known diabetes drugs on the market that also activate AMPK, they can have side effects. ‘The advantage of bitter melon is that there are no known side effects. Practitioners of Chinese medicine have used it for hundreds of years to good effect,’ said Dr Ye.
– Chemistry and Biology, Vol 15(3), 263-273, 21 March



What are they and how do you use them?
Bitter melon also called bitter gourd and balsam pear is a cousin of squash, watermelon and cucumber. Native to the tropics, it’s widely cultivated in Asia for its ‘bubble-wrap’ textured, green, immature fruit (12–30 cm long) that's stuffed, pickled, and sliced into various dishes, hot and cold. Like eggplant, it needs to be ‘degorged’ or salted first to take away the bitterness (this involves slicing it, salting the slices, then allowing them to drain in a colander or on a paper towel for 20 minutes or so before rinsing or blotting and patting dry). The young leaves and tips are also edible.

Our invaluable resource for all Asian food matters is Charmaine Solomon. She prefers her bitter melon fried to a golden brown as in her Fried Bitter Gourd Salad (see our recipes this month) rather than raw and sliced thinly in a salad, her jazz musician husband Reuben’s favourite way. Check out Charmaine’s Encyclopedia of Asian Food for recipes. There are also two or three recipes in The Okinawa Diet Plan as ‘goya’, its local name is popular in Okinawan cuisine. You’ll find bitter melons in season in Asian produce markets and larger fruit and vegetable markets.

The tai chi factor
Two separate small but encouraging studies by researchers in Taiwan and Australia published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in April report that simple tai chi exercises may help in managing type 2 diabetes. In the Taiwan study, Dr Kuender Yang and colleagues at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital matched 30 middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes with a diabetes-free, age-matched ‘control’. The participants were given a program of 37 standardised tai chi movements which they practised in 60 minutes training sessions three times a week – and were encouraged to continue at home. After 12 weeks, the ‘control’ group had no significant changes in any diabetes related parameters. The participants with type 2 diabetes, however, had a significant decline in their HbA1c level (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) and increased levels of anti-inflammatory interleukin-12 (which boosts immune response), while their T cell activity (a sign of health) also increased.

In the Australian study, Dr Xin Liu and colleagues at the University of Queensland designed a special tai chi/qigong program for 11 adults with elevated blood glucose. The participants exercised for 90 minutes, three times a week and were encouraged to practise at home (most did). After 12 weeks of regular exercise, the participants showed significant improvement in BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure. There was also a small improvement in HbA1c, fasting insulin and insulin resistance.
– British Journal of Sports Medicine: Taiwan study
– British Journal of Sports Medicine: Australian study



What's new?
Star foods: Selecting a winning team of foods for great health
By Dr Joanna McMillan Price and Judy Davie
‘What you eat has the power to influence the way you look, how you feel, how much energy you have, your ability to perform mental tasks, your ability to exercise, and your general state of happiness – and that’s before we even start talking about lowering the risk of chronic disease,’ say Joanna and Judy. In Star Foods, this gorgeous and dynamic duo help you create your own winning team of star performing foods to maximise your chances of achieving and maintaining good health. There are more than 60 deliciously healthy recipes including the following great tasting, quick meal packed with nutritional goodies.

Sardine, avocado and capsicum grill

• Brush the sardines with olive oil and a sprinkle of lemon juice. Heat a grill pan and cook sardines for 3–4 minutes on one side only.
• Spread each slice of toast with avocado and sprinkle capers over the top. Season with black pepper and a little more lemon juice.
• Lay the rocket over the avocado. Top with sardines and sliced capsicum and serve.

Per serve
1472 kJ/ 350 calories; 15 g protein; 21 g fat (includes 5 g saturated fat); 23 g carbohydrate; 3.8 g fibre



Ride up the corporate ladder
May is National Bike Month in the US. The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike-to-Work Week from May 12-16 and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16 (check their website for details). Our New York publisher packs his bike before his toothbrush and rides everywhere, even on one notable occasion across Sydney in peak hour, from recollection in the pouring rain, to visit Sydney University’s GI testing centre. Here are 10 top reasons to ride to work:

1. Stay healthy.
2. Save time, and get your daily dose of exercise.
3. Help save the environment.
4. Savour the great outdoors.
5. Parking is a breeze.
6. Enjoy the satisfaction of sailing past stationary cars.
7. Meet fellow commuters at lights and bike racks.
8. Save money.
9. Make the most of roads, bike tracks and shared pedestrian pathways to cross town.
10. Dream up new ventures.

– Greenpages Australia 2008

Food of the Month

Go nuts for life
Dietitian and Nuts for Life program manager says: ‘Bring back the Waldorf Salad – lettuce, apple, walnuts and dressing.’ We asked why.

‘Well, nuts are among the superheros of the modern day diet just as they were in Paleolithic times’ says Lisa. ‘They are a source of good fats, healthy protein and fibre, particularly soluble fibre, which improves blood glucose levels, helps insulin work more effectively, and lowers LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in people with diabetes. But you do have to be sensible about quantities (a serving is a handful (30–50 g/1–1¾ oz) and say no thanks to the tempting salted kinds.



Studies show:

1. Enjoying a handful of nuts 5–7 times a week can halve your risk of developing heart disease. Even people who eat nuts once a week have less heart disease than those who don’t eat any nuts. How come? It’s possible the unique combination of healthy fats, fibre, antioxidants, arginine and plant sterols all working together give nuts their heart healthy benefits.
2. The arginine in nuts helps insulin work more effectively. It can also improve the overall health of blood vessels, helping prevent complications of diabetes.
3. The fibre and protein found in nuts can help satisfy the appetite for longer helping you cut back on picking when you get the munchies. Substitute a snack of nuts or a trail mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit for biscuits, cakes, pastries and fried snack foods.’

Get more nuts into your day by:

• Sprinkling almonds or cashews through a stir fry.
• Roasting chestnuts or pine nuts and tossing them through a salad.
• Chopping walnuts or Brazils and add them to a dipping sauce.
• Crumbling pecans into yoghurt and serving with fruit or sprinkling chopped, roasted hazelnuts or almonds over low fat ice cream.
• Crumbling macadamias or pistachios over grilled fish.
• Adding roasted pine nuts to pasta dishes.
• Blending pistachios or macadamias with fresh herbs, parmesan and a little olive oil for pesto.

For more information on nuts and health visit www.nutsforlife.com.au or contact admin@nutsforlife.com.au

Low GI Recipes of the Month

Our chef Kate Hemphill develops deliciously simple recipes for GI News that showcase seasonal ingredients and make it easy for you to cook healthy, low GI meals and snacks. For more of Kate’s fabulous fare, check out her website: www.lovetocook.co.uk. For now, prepare and share good food with family and friends.


Kate Hemphill

We thought it was time for some baking. Naturally we aim to give you recipes with as low a GI as possible, but with baking it’s really hard to get into the low GI bracket. Basically, you just can’t expect anything with refined flour to be low GI. But you can get it lower by adding carrots and sultanas as Kate has done here. To reduce the GI of these muffins even more, dietitian Kate Marsh suggests you cut back the wholemeal or stoneground flour to 340 g (12 oz) and top up with 60 g (2 oz) unprocessed oat bran.

Wholemeal Carrot and Poppy Seed Muffins
I find bought muffins rarely satisfying, as they are too ‘cakey’, sweet or full of preservatives. Muffins can be whipped up in less than 30 minutes from start to finish, using two mixing bowls and a muffin tin. They freeze well and will keep in an airtight container for about 5 days. These wholemeal carrot muffins are really satisfying and full of natural sweetness and ideal for an occasional treat.



Makes 12

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) carrots, peeled, boiled and drained
150 ml (5 fl oz) vegetable oil
1 cup (250 ml) low-fat or skimmed milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp runny honey (pure floral is best)
400 g (14 oz) wholemeal or stone ground flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp poppy seeds
100 g (3½ oz) soft brown sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
100 g (3½ oz) sultanas (or currants)

• Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF.
• Mash or whiz the carrot to a puree and combine in a bowl with the oil, milk, eggs and honey.
  
• Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, poppy seeds, sugar, lemon zest and sultanas or currants in large bowl, then pour in the carrot mixture, stirring until well combined.
• Working quickly (the raising agents activate when meeting the liquid), pour the batter into a non-stick or greased 12-hole muffin tin.
• Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and gently take out muffins onto a wire rack (otherwise they will steam on the bottom).

Per muffin
1353 kJ/322 calories; 7 g protein; 14 g fat (includes 2 g saturated fat); 40 g carbohydrate; 5.5 g fibre

We asked Kate Marsh, author of Low GI Gluten-free Living, how to make this gluten-free friendly. Here’s what she suggests: ‘In place of wholemeal flour use brown rice flour plus some rice bran and psyllium husks. Maybe almond meal. The rest of the ingredients are OK but make sure the baking powder is gluten free.’

Charmaine Solomon’s Bitter Melon Salad
If you love Asian food, check out the recipes on Charmaine's website: www.charmainesolomon.com. This recipe was hard to provide a nutritional analysis for as bitter melons come in quite a range of sizes. We opted for 300 g (10 oz) melons. The saturated fat is mostly from the coconut cream, so to cut back, use a little less. Like other members of the squash family, bitter melons contain very little carbohydrate, so it's not possible to estimate a GI.

Serves 4

2 tender bitter melons
Salt
Ground turmeric
Peanut oil
3 golden shallots, sliced finely
2 fresh green chillies, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
½ teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons coconut cream

• Wash and dry bitter melons. Cut crosswise into slices about into 6 mm (1/4 inch) thick. Lay them on a platter and sprinkle with salt and turmeric on one side, turn the slices over and sprinkle on the reverse side. Leave for 20 minutes, then blot dry with paper towels.

• Heat sufficient oil to just cover the base of a heavy frying pan and lay the bitter melon slices in the oil in one layer. Cook on medium heat until golden underneath, then turn the slices over and cook the other side. Transfer to paper towels with a slotted spoon to drain. Place in a serving dish and lightly mix with the shallots and chillies. Dissolve sugar in lime juice and pour over. Just before serving, spoon coconut cream over the salad.

Per serve
520 kJ/124 calories; 2 g protein; 11 g fat (includes 4 g saturated fat); 2 g carbohydrate; 2.8 g fibre

Lisa Yates Bircher muesli with mixed nuts
This muesli will keep well in the fridge for 2 or 3 days.
Serves 6



2 cups traditional rolled oats
1/3 cup sliced dried apricots
2 tablespoons sultanas
1½ cups (375 ml) apple juice
50 g (1¾ oz) raw pecans
50 g (1¾ oz) raw hazelnuts
50 g (1¾ oz) raw whole blanched almonds
50 g (1¾ oz) raw macadamias
1 medium red apple, halved and thinly sliced
½ cup (125 ml) low fat natural yoghurt
¼ cup (60 ml) skim milk
2 tablespoons honey (if desired)

• Place the rolled oats, apricots and sultanas in a bowl and pour over the apple juice. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Place all the nuts on a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, cool then chop roughly. Add the nuts to the rolled oat mixture, along with the apple, yoghurt and milk. Stir until completely combined. Serve with a drizzle of honey if desired.
  

Per serve
1810 kJ/430 calories; 10 g protein; 25 g fat (includes 2 g saturated fat); 43 g carbohydrate; 6 g fibre

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: Eggs are bad for the heart.


Nicole Senior

Fact: Ever wondered why egg-white omelettes became so popular? Lord knows it wasn’t for the flavour! It’s a classic case of food egg-stremism resulting in the poor old egg copping a bad wrap. Eggs were shunned because of their cholesterol content, but looking a little deeper we find eating eggs is not linked with higher rates of heart disease. Although eggs contain cholesterol, eating eggs in moderation as part of a heart-friendly diet low in saturated fat will not adversely affect the blood cholesterol level of most people. Blood cholesterol levels are far more influenced by how much saturated and trans fat you eat than dietary cholesterol. A typical 50 g egg contains 5 g fat of which only 1.5 g is saturated. Eggs are full of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, E, folate and B12, antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin that help maintain healthy eyes, and also contain long chain omega-3 fats (like the ones in fish).

However like most foods it appears you can have too much of a good thing. A recently published study of men suggested an increased of risk of death (interestingly not from cardiovascular disease) was associated with eating more than 1 egg a day, especially in men with diabetes. But more than one egg a day is egg-cessive any way you look at it. Yet again, the old nutrition wisdom prevails – enjoy everything in moderation. Everyone can enjoy eggs in moderation (around 3–4 eggs a week) in the context of a heart-friendly diet. Our tip is to enjoy them together with protective plant foods such as wholegrains, vegetables, legumes, fish, nuts and healthy oils. Think … Egg, Beans and Mushrooms on Mixed Grain Muffins, or, Avocado Scrambled Egg (rather than a greasy fry-up with bacon, white toast, butter and salt!). For these and other egg-cellent recipes, check out any of the New Glucose Revolution low GI cookbooks, Eat to Beat Cholesterol or Heart Food.



Dietitian Nicole Senior is author of Heart Food and Eat to Beat Cholesterol available online from Dymocks.

Dr David’s Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

Are your kids fussy eaters, or are they really full when they say they are?
There’s no question about it, parents like to see clean plates at the end of dinner. And that’s not surprising considering the effort that goes into preparing the meal and wanting to nourish your family. A recent report published in Nutrition & Dietetics in Australia, however, found that over 80% of Moms surveyed thought that their kids were fussy eaters if they left food on their plate.


Photography by Ian Hofstetter

Don’t worry, kids have a tremendous capacity to self-regulate their food intake to make sure they get the nutrition and energy they need. So, you can probably leave well alone if your child says he’s full. And don’t use dessert as a bribe.

No one has ever put the clean plate problem more succinctly than nutritionist Ellyn Satter: ‘As parents we have the responsibility of choosing when, where, and what is available to our children. Our children have the responsibility of choosing how much and even whether they eat.’

Of course it’s important to get the serving size right in the first place. So if you’re wondering how much protein (meat, chicken, fish or legumes); cooked veggies or salad; or starchy veggies (potato or sweet potato) and wholegrains to put on the plate here’s the tip we give our OWL families. Eyeball the serving sizes by dividing the dinner plate into three sections. Protein foods and wholegrains/starchy foods should each take up just a quarter of the plate. Cooked green veggies or salad veggies (or both) should fill the remaining half. Of course if you have sneaked heaps of veggies into the fish patties, the plate maths may be a bit harder. But relax and let you kids enjoy the family meal and don’t fuss when they say they are full. Buon appetito.



– Dr David Ludwig is Director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program at Children’s Hospital Boston and author of Ending the Food Fight

Move It & Lose It with Prof Trim

Skin and Sin
Did you know that being fat can affect your skin as well as your gut? Excess body weight has been found to be associated with a form of low-level inflammation in blood vessels and cells throughout the body. It is this, which seems to be the link between obesity and certain forms of disease, like diabetes.



Obesity has also been shown to have an effect on skin, and a number of forms of skin damage, generally called ‘dermatitis’, are now associated with carrying extra weight. Many of these also have associated inflammation. Hence, the link between skin problems and being overweight (a) appears real and (b) could be linked through the inflammatory processes according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Dermatology 2007;56:901-916.

Problems include those that come from insulin resistance (like acanthosis nigricans or the brown patchy spots on skinfolds), infection (like intertrigo or itchiness in skin folds and under the feet); inflammation (like psoriasis) or metabolic problems (like tophaceous gout). There are also problems that result from the mechanical pressures of carrying too much weight. These include cellulite, striae distensae (stretch marks), lymphedema etc.

The solution: Of course see a dermatologist to get advice on medication for topical treatments, but also lose weight. Like so many other obesity related problems, this can change the reaction of the skin – one of the body’s biggest organs!

Myth: Saunas and steam baths are good for the skin.
Fact: Saunas have little or no value in ‘cleansing’ the skin. They also have no effect on fat loss, the only loss being weight from water lost in sweat, which is quickly replaced. Saunas provide a psychological feeling of wellbeing which shouldn’t be under-valued. However, they have little or no value in ‘cleansing’ the skin. Even in Finland, where there is said to be one sauna for every four members of the population, the benefit of the practice is now being questioned.


Dr Garry Egger aka Prof Trim

– Click for more information on Professor Trim.

Your Questions Answered

We are often asked about reduced fat foods. Here, dietitian and nutritionist Catherine Saxelby explains when to opt for ‘light’ and when to be wary of the low fat claims on the packet.



I’m trying to lose a little weight, so should I be buying light foods?
Low fat or ‘light’ food products are very popular for weight loss and weight management. But not all ‘lite’ foods are the same. You really need to read the labels. They all have 25–30% less fat. But they’re not much help for weight loss UNLESS they also have fewer calories. Here’s a quick guide to help you be a savvy shopper:

• Good choice – Low fat or light versions of milk, cream, sour cream, coconut milk, evaporated milk, Cheddar cheese, beer and margarine. For instance, swap full-fat milk for reduced fat milk and you save 6 grams of fat for each glass you drink.
• Be wary – Light versions of chocolate, ice cream, muffins, biscuits and potato crisps have extra sugar and starches (as well as thickeners or gums) to improve the lighter product’s texture and mouth feel. For example, when I compared a light cream-filled biscuit with the regular one, I was surprised to discover it only saves you 2 calories despite the fact it's got 35% per cent less fat than the regular one!
• Forget it – Light olive oil, light gravy and lightly-salted crisps are lighter in colour, salt or texture – not calories.

So, what’s the bottom line? Apart from the real benefits of reduced fat dairy foods, a small portion of the ‘real thing’ as an occasional treat is a smarter choice than a big serving of the light alternative.

Loved the piece on chocolate and fund raising last month. Any suggestions for healthy school lunches that won’t boomerang?
Here’s a great suggestion from one of our Canadian colleagues that may help you come up with lunches that don’t come home untouched. ‘With three school-age kids to make lunches for, the combinations of who likes what, and who can take what for lunch (although all three of my kids adore strawberries, my son has a classmate who is deathly allergic to them, so J can’t take them for lunch) is too much for my brain to keep straight (especially before my morning coffee has kicked in). So I devised a spreadsheet, stuck on the fridge, of all the various lunch options (sandwiches, other eg: baked beans, fruit, veggies, grated cheese, ‘treats’, etc.). This really streamlines things, where I can look over at the list and get an idea of what to pack! And yes, I have found that when the kids are more involved, there is generally higher acceptance of what is packed. The Waste-free Lunches website has a special section that may be helpful: Quick Reference Lunch Foods.

Your Success Stories

‘I am going for it and will achieve the 82 kg goal.’ – Greg
I am 64 year old RAAF veteran, ex aviation then mine fire fighter and mine rescue officer with a total of 38 years in the profession. I suffer with PTSD, RLS, sleep apnoea, and my blood pressure, weight (102.5 kg / 226 lbs), and glucose levels were was rising every visit to the doctor. On the last visit to the sleep clinician he asked how my weight loss was going? ‘Yes’ was my reply meaning not good. He waved his finger at me and asked what my lowest weight was as an adult. 82 kg (180 lbs) was it. Then the stern instruction: ‘In 12 months you WILL be at that weight, you WILL exercise for one hour a day and make up the hour later if you don’t.’ So, since then, after getting a health care plan from my GP with exercising, walk one day, bike ride the next ,and eating low GI foods and smaller quantities of other foods as recommended by my dietitian, Julie Gilbert, I lost 5.1 kg (11 lbs) in the first fortnight (2 weeks). Looking forward to what happens this fortnight. WOW. The great thing about the method given to me by my dietitian is that she has laid out the servings sizes and quantities for each group of foods then it is my choice to how I fit them into my energy input scheme for the day. A great thing about it is that so far it has only been a couple of days that I have really craved food. Using a diversion tactic, I overcame the urge. So I am going for it and will achieve the 82 kg goal. By the way, in my spare time I make harps: www.phyrsongharps.com.’
– GI Group: Congrats, Greg! But don't go overboard, slowly does it. The normal fall in metabolic rate that accompanies weight loss makes further weight loss harder (Dr Amanda calls it the Starvation Reaction). To avoid this pitfall, you might like to have one week in which you choose not to lose weight, just to maintain the weight you have lost.



‘The power of one is just amazing.’ – Patricia
‘I have been diet controlled for eight years now – still have my oats, barley flakes and oat, barley and wheat bran, plus whey protein powder, for breakfast, along with a glass of low GI fruit juice but apart from that stick to foods with GI of not more than 50. I have a constant weight of 115 lbs (52 kg), am a blood donor, walk around 20 km (12 miles) per week and successfully competed in Masters’ Games in walking events. I eat kangaroo in preference to beef, low cholesterol and very low fat. Eat lots of veggies even a lower GI spud I have found, plenty of green leafy including Chinese greens, steamed or fresh in salad, couple of pieces of fruit a day. Heart is fine as is BP: 115/60. And I am no spring chicken. I also read labels and lobby to get sugar removed from things like chopped tomatoes – have had some success there – now after the tomato paste manufacturers! The power of one is just amazing!’

GI Symbol News with Alan Barclay

‘Why is it that salt content doesn't appear to rate a mention in comments about diet and diabetes? I have found a number of breakfast cereals and breads proudly displaying a low GI symbol but containing as much as 5 times the recommended maximum amount of salt.’
There are many low GI claims on foods and various corporate symbols. Unfortunately, they are currently not regulated in Australia or elsewhere although this may change in the near future. As such, there are no criteria to limit low GI claims to healthier foods and buyers should beware. However, the GI Symbol Program, and its Glycemic Index Tested logo, has been established in Australia to help people identify the healthier lower GI choices. One of the nutrient criteria that enables a food to carry the official Glycemic Index Tested logo is for sodium. The cut-offs for each food category have been set to ensure only foods or drinks with reduced amounts of sodium are allowed to be part of the program.



To make a low salt claim in Australia, a food must not contain more than 120 mg of sodium per 100 g. Unfortunately, very few processed foods are able to meet this classification for a variety of reasons, so this claim is pretty rare. It’s important to note that this is not a recommended maximum amount as such, but a guide to help people choose low salt foods. The upper recommended level of sodium for Australian adults is 2,300 mg per day. The amount people actually consume depends on both the amount of sodium per 100 g of food and the serve size – both factors are equally important. To choose the healthiest low GI alternatives within a food group, simply look for the Glycemic Index Tested logo.


Alan Barclay

Contact
Alan Barclay, CEO, Glycemic Index Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9785 1037
Fax: +61 2 9785 1037
Email: awbarclay@optusnet.com.au
Web http://www.gisymbol.com.au/

The Latest GI Values

New GI values for soy beverages from SUGiRS
Calcium fortified soy milks are a valuable source of nutrients for adults and children, but, being liquid, they are very easily over consumed. Think of them as a food or snack in liquid form rather than a thirst-quenching 'drink'. A serving is 1 cup (250 ml). Soy milk can also be used in place of regular milk on your breakfast cereal and in your favourite recipes.

Vitasoy Soy Milky Regular
UHT soy milk GI 21
Serving size 1 cup (250 ml), Available carbs per serving 8 grams, GL 2

Vitasoy Soy Milky Lite (98.5% fat free)
UHT soy milk GI 17
Serving size 1 cup (250 ml), Available carbs per serving 7.5 grams, GL 1



Vitasoy Lush Chocolate & Vitasoy Lush Vanilla (both 98.5% fat free)
UHT flavoured soy milks GI 31
Serving size 1 cup (250 ml), Available carbs per serving 17 grams (Vanilla) and 18.5 grams (Chocolate), GL 5 (Vanilla) and 6 (Chocolate)

Vitasoy Organic
UHT soy milk GI 43
Serving size 1 cup (250 ml), Available carbs per serving 15.5 grams, GL 7



For more information and to check the nutrition information panels: www.vitasoy.com.au

Where can I get more information on GI testing?
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web http://www.gilabs.com/

Australia
Fiona Atkinson



Research Manager, Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS)
Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences
Sydney University
NSW 2006 Australia
Phone + 61 2 9351 6018
Fax: + 61 2 9351 6022
Email sugirs@mmb.usyd.edu.au
Web http://www.glycemicindex.com/

New Zealand
Dr Tracy Perry
The Glycemic Research Group, Dept of Human Nutrition
University of Otago
PO Box 56 Dunedin New Zealand
Phone +64 3 479 7508
Email tracy.perry@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Web glycemicindex.otago.ac.nz

See The New Glucose Revolution on YouTube

Making the Most of GI News

Subscribe - it's free!
To subscribe to GI News, simply click on the SUBSCRIBE link in the top right-hand column. Help us be sure our email newsletter isn’t filtered as spam. Add "gifeedback@gmail.com" to your address book to ‘whitelist’ us with your filter, helping future issues of GI News get to your inbox.

Your questions answered
If you have posted a question in GI News, be assured that the GI Group will answer this as soon as possible. We welcome your views about our articles and other reader’s suggestions. Please POST your comments and questions on the site.

Want to search past issues of GI News?
Want to search the GI News Archive for a particular topic, food or recipe? Make the most of our search feature with Google. Simply enter the term in the space provided and press SEARCH.

Want to print a copy of this GI News edition?
Download and print the PDF.

Copyright
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. This document may be copied and distributed provided the source is cited as GI News and the information so distributed is not used for profit.

© ® & ™ The University of Sydney, Australia

GI News—April 2008

• 10 tips to reduce the GI of your diet
• Nicole Senior looks at fibre, colon cleansing and being ‘healthy on the inside’
• Less sleep more fat says Prof. Trim
• Want healthy bones? Have a bowl of miso

Grandma was right, you are what you eat. Read all about it in Food for Thought. A new meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition provides compelling evidence that high GI diets increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. There’s also evidence for links between high blood glucose and gallstones and even some cancers. In News Briefs we look at the balance of protein to carbs in extending lifespan (in fruit flies!) and a new Dutch study that found people eating a low GI diet had higher levels of ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, improved insulin sensitivity and reduced chronic inflammation. Also this month we have two inspiring Success Stories, three delicious recipes plus Catherine Saxelby’s tips on getting enough iodine and why it matters in Feedback. You'll be pleased to hear we have put all our podcasts in one place in the right-hand column under 'Podcasts'.

Good eating, good health and good reading.



GI News Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web Design and Management: Scott Dickinson, PhD

Food for Thought

Choose tricklers not gushers
Because there have been inconsistent findings from observational studies, the controversy over the effects of GI and the risk of lifestyle diseases has had that ‘how long is a piece of string quality’ about it.

The first meta-analysis to evaluate the association between the GI of the diet, and the risk of developing common lifestyle-related diseases, was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in March and provides additional evidence that diets with a high GI or a high GL will increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It also shows there is evidence for links between high blood glucose and gallstones and even some types of cancer. ‘The key message,’ says lead author Alan Barclay, ‘is that the GI of your diet is a predictor of your disease risk. Grandma was right, you are what you eat.’



Low GI foods (the ones that trickle glucose into your bloodstream) have benefits for everybody. Not only can they keep you feeling full longer, they help you achieve and maintain a healthy weight and provide you and your brain with more consistent energy throughout the day. They can also have a major effect on the way the body functions and whether or not you develop health problems. Alan Barclay explains why: ‘If you have constantly high blood glucose levels from eating a high GI diet, you may literally “wear out” your pancreas over time and eventually this can lead to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes.’

‘There’s also evidence from the studies that have been done that high blood glucose levels are linked to certain types of cancer, as well. This is because constant spikes in blood glucose from eating high GI gushers cause the body to release more insulin, and also increase a related substance called insulin like growth factor one (IGF-1). Both these hormones increase cell growth and decrease cell death, and have been shown to increase the risk of developing some types of cancer.’

‘Other research shows that a high GI diet tends to reduce “good” HDL cholesterol levels and raise triglycerides levels; bad news for cardiovascular diseases. And people with low HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels are more prone to gallstones.’

‘What it comes down to is that there’s a simple, cost-effective way for everybody to reduce their risk of developing diabetes and heart disease and enhance their quality of life. We all need to eat a healthy, low GI diet. I guess that simply means when it comes to carb-rich foods, choose the tricklers and reduce the overall GI of your diet.’

10 tips for reducing the GI of your diet

• Aim to eat at least two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables every day, preferably of three or more different colours. Tidbit: Fill half your dinner plate with veggies.
  
• If you are a big potato eater, either have one or two Nicola, Almera or tiny chat potatoes. Tidbit: Make ‘mash’ replacing half the potato with cannellini beans.
  
• Choose a low GI bread. Look for the GI Symbol or choose a really grainy bread, true sourdough bread or a soy and linseed bread.
  
• Replace high GI breakfast flakes (real glucose gushers) with low GI alternatives like natural muesli, traditional porridge oats or one of the lower GI processed breakfast cereals.
  
• Look for lower GI rices such as basmati, Doongara Clever Rice or Moolgiri medium grain rice and choose less processed foods or low GI wholegrains such as traditional rolled or steel-cut oats, or quinoa for porridge or pearl barley, buckwheat, bulgur, whole kernel rye, or whole wheat kernels.
  
• Eat legumes (beans, chickpeas and lentils) often – home cooked or canned.
  
• Include at least one low GI carb with every meal. You’ll find them in four of the food groups: fruit and vegetables; bread and cereals; legumes; low fat dairy or soy alternatives.
  
• Choose low GI snacks – fresh fruit, a dried fruit and nut mix, low fat milk or yoghurt.
  
• Vinegar and lemon or lime juices slow stomach emptying and lower your blood glucose response to the carbohydrate with which they are eaten. Tidbit: Get the salad habit and toss it in a vinaigrette dressing.
  
• Limit refined flour products – cookies, cakes, pastries, pies, crumpets, crackers, biscuits irrespective of their fat and sugar content.

Two extra tips to reduce blood glucose spikes

• Incorporate a lean protein source with every meal – lean meat, skinless chicken, eggs, fish or seafood, or low fat dairy, legumes or tofu if you are vegetarian.
  
• Remember portion caution with carb-rich foods such as pasta, noodles and low GI rices. It’s all too easy to over-eat them. While they may be low GI choices themselves, eating lots of them will have a marked effect on your blood glucose.

News Briefs

Low GI diet reduces metabolic risk factors
Heart disease and type 2 diabetes don’t just happen. The signs may be silent, but the metabolic risk factors such as low levels of good HDL cholesterol, insulin resistance and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood will be there. An article in the March issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that in the Dutch population that was studied, people who ate a low GI diet rich in dairy foods and fruit but with a low potato and cereal intake had higher levels of HDL 'good' cholesterol (the one that clears cholesterol from our arteries and aids its removal from the blood), improved insulin sensitivity, reduced chronic inflammation, and in nonsmokers, fasting glucose. The authors make the point that the 29% decrease they found in CRP was associated with a 10-unit decrease in dietary GI and seems promising for decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease.

We asked Alan Barclay whose meta-analysis that systematically reviewed the results of 37 prospective cohort studies on the association of dietary GI and chronic disease 'What’s a realistic GI to aim for in our diet and meals?' ‘A GI of 45 or less is a reasonable definition of a low GI diet or meal,' he says. ‘This is because what we now know from numerous observational cohort studies around the world is that the average GI of the diet of people in the lowest quintile (20% of the population) is about 40–50. Similarly, in a recent meta-analysis of 15 experimental studies investigating the role of low GI diets in managing diabetes, the average GI was 45. Since this average GI has been proven to have significant health benefits in people with existing diabetes and in reducing the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, and importantly, people can and do achieve it in real life, we believe a GI of 45 or less is what we all need to be aiming for.’
– American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008; 87



There’s always a catch
The balance of protein to carbs in the diet is critical in extending lifespan – in fruit flies – according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The key to a long life is eating less protein – and not just fewer calories, as was previously thought. But there’s a catch. While cutting protein may help you live longer, it may mean you'll have fewer children, well, if you’re a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster).

‘Animals that eat less live longer, up to a point,’ says Prof. Stephen Simpson of the University of Sydney's School of Biological Sciences. Using new techniques developed by Simpson and Prof. David Raubenheimer (Auckland University) ‘Our research shows the balance of protein to carbohydrate in the diet is critical.’

‘Flies lived longest when the diet contained a low percentage of protein, and died sooner the more protein they consumed,’ says Professor Simpson. ‘But protein is needed for reproduction – so flies are faced with a conundrum: eat less protein and live longer, or eat more protein and lay more eggs? When offered a choice, flies behaved like nutrient-seeking missiles, unerringly mixing a relatively high protein diet that maximised their lifetime egg production. In other words, flies preferred to achieve maximum evolutionary fitness rather than live as long as possible,’ says Simpson.

– For more information: www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0710787105/DC1
– email: stephen.simpson@bio.usyd.edu.au



GI Group: What is Drosophila melanogaster and why bother about it?
We turned to Gerard Manning’s website for answers here. Drosophila melanogaster the little fruit fly about 3 mm long that hovers over the ripe fruit bowl may be a pest in your kitchen but it has proved to be one of the most valuable organisms in biological research. Gerard Manning says: ‘Drosophila has been used as a model organism for research for almost a century. Its importance for human health was recognised by the award of the Nobel Prize in medicine/physiology to Ed Lewis, Christiane Nusslein-Volhard and Eric Wieschaus in 1995. Part of the reason people work on it is historical – so much is already known about it that it is easy to handle and well-understood – and part of it is practical: it’s a small animal, with a short life cycle of just two weeks, and is cheap and easy to keep large numbers.’ If you want to know more about fruit fly research, check out: ceolas.org

Don’t underestimate yourself
Five hundred and two people asked to estimate their waist measurement got it wrong! Men on average underestimated their waist size by 3.1 inches (7.9 cm).

The study, conducted by researchers from Leicester University, looked at 502 people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Women in general got their waist measurements wrong by 2.2 inches (5.5 cm). People from white European backgrounds were worse than people from South Asian backgrounds when estimating measurements, with an average 2.9 inches (7.4 cm) error compared to 1.6 inches (4.1cm) for South Asians.

The results of the study were presented to Diabetes UK's Annual Professional Conference in March. It can take years for symptoms of type 2 diabetes to emerge so simple indicators like waist size (having a large waist is one of the main risk factors) are important signals. ‘Measuring up is a reality check, the first step to recognising that you may not be as well as you feel,’ said Douglas Smallwood, Chief Executive of Diabetes UK. ‘To believe that you are more than three inches slimmer than you are is to ignore a clear warning of a risk of diabetes.’

So the take-home message is measure up. With a tape!



What's new?
Heart Food
By Veronica Cuskelly and Nicole Senior

Don’t get it, prevent it, is the message in this delicious new cookbook. While you can’t control your age, sex or family background, you can reduce your risk of becoming a heart disease statistic with a healthy heart diet and an active, low-stress lifestyle. Veronica and Nicole’s practical guide to caring for your heart starts in the kitchen. Their new book is packed with family friendly recipes that will be a hit at home, boost your energy, delight your tastebuds and best of all, give your heart the TLC it needs.

Peach, Orange, Carrot and Tahini Juice with Honeydew Melon
Makes 2 serves



Each serving contains ½ a serve of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit

1 cup (250 g/9 oz) sliced canned peaches in natural juice
1 orange (300 g/10½ oz), peeled, quartered, seeds removed
1 carrot (125 g/4½ oz), peeled, chopped roughly
1½ tablespoons (30 g/1 oz) tahini
3 ice cubes
2 wedges(100 g/3½ oz each) honeydew melon

• Place the peaches and juice, orange, carrot, tahini and ice cubes in a blender and blend until smooth – about 20 seconds. Pour into glasses and serve with the melon wedges

Per serving
917 kJ/219 calories; 6 g protein; 9 g fat (includes 1 g sat fat); 27 g carbohydrate ; 8 g fibre

Low GI gluten-free Living Made Easy – North American edition now available
By Kate Marsh, Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller and Philippa Sandall
Published by Da Capo Lifelong Books



More than two million North Americans have celiac disease and need to eat a gluten-free diet – but the absence of grains and the higher fat and sugar content of many gluten-free products can cause some nutrient deficiencies. Having lived with type 1 diabetes since she was ten and celiac disease for the past few years, dietitian and author Kate Marsh knows the difficulties of following a restricted diet. That’s why she teamed up with Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and Philippa Sandall, to put together in a very simple and down-to-earth way everything you need to know about healthy, gluten-free eating including:

• 7 simple dietary guidelines for low GI gluten free eating
  
• Low GI substitutes for common high GI foods
  
• GI values of hundreds of popular gluten-free foods.

Plus 70 easy-to-prepare, delicious recipes the whole family will relish.

Food of the Month

Healthy bones and a bowl of miso
Hot on the heels of last month’s ‘legumes linked to lower diabetes risk’ story, comes news that boosting your intake of fermented soybeans (like miso) can help with insulin resistance and lead to improvements in bone health. In a study published in Geriatrics and Gerontology International (vol. 8, supplement 1), 56 healthy post-menopausal women were randomly assigned to receive a bowl of fermented soybean soup, providing a daily isoflavone aglycone dose of 24 milligrams, or a bowl of a placebo soup for four weeks. The women didn’t eat any other soybean-based foods or isoflavone supplements for five weeks prior to the start of the trial nor during it. Lead author Mari Mori from Mukogawa Women's University Institute reports that a ‘four-week intake of fermented soybeans improves bone metabolism in post-menopausal women by attenuating the excessive enhancement of bone resorption as well as by promoting bone formation.’ The researchers also found that blood levels of insulin were significantly lower after four weeks of the fermented soybean soup, compared to the placebo soup.



If you haven’t tried it, miso is a Japanese soybean and grain paste that has been fermented and then aged for up to three years. It is usually made with rice or barley. It’s a versatile savoury soup base similar to bouillon paste or cubes. Look for tubs of miso in the refrigerated section of Japanese food markets, health foods stores, or large supermarkets. Powdered miso is also available, as are powdered soup mixes made with miso and dashi.

And if you want to boost your bone health, try Kate Hemphill’s miso soup recipe this month.

Where do you get it?
Readers tell us that they have problems tracking down some of the low GI foods we recommend. So now you have it. ‘Where do you get it?’ Dietitian Kate Marsh is first of the rank with her favourite organic home delivery service who stock Nicola potatoes, brown basmati rice, quinoa and a wide range of legumes and sourdough breads! So Sydneysiders, this one is for you: www.abundantorganics.com.au

Low GI Recipes of the Month

Our chef Kate Hemphill develops deliciously simple recipes for GI News that showcase seasonal ingredients and make it easy for you to cook healthy, low GI meals and snacks. For more of Kate’s fabulous fare, check out: www.lovetocook.co.uk. For now, prepare and share good food with family and friends.

Miso, Shitake and Soy Bean Soup
When you really want something nutritious and comforting, try this soup. It’s gluten-free too! Fresh soy beans are now readily available shelled and frozen in some larger supermarkets and in Asian produce stores. You may know them as edamame in Japanese restaurants.



Serves 4

2 tbsp brown rice miso
6 cups (1½ litres) water
handful dried shitake mushrooms
200 g (7 oz) frozen shelled soy beans (edamame)
50 g (1¾ oz) buckwheat soba noodles
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 spring onions, finely sliced
red pickled ginger to serve (optional)

• Dissolve the miso paste in water and bring to the boil. Add the soy beans, mushrooms, noodles and ginger and simmer for 10 minutes, or until beans and noodles are cooked.
  
• Serve in soup bowls topped with spring onions and pickled ginger (if using).

Per serve
570 kJ/ 136 calories; 9 g protein; 3.8 g fat (includes 0.5 g saturated fat); 18 g carbohydrate; 3.8 g fibre

Brown Rice Salad with Beetroot Relish
By combining the brown rice with barley, you reduce the overall GI of this lovely, crunchy, nutritious salad. Use a low (or lower) GI brown rice such as Uncle Ben’s Ready Whole Grain Brown Rice (GI 48) or Doongara brown rice (GI 66). The beetroot relish also works well with grilled meats and burgers and will last for five days, covered, in the fridge. You can add any other vegetables you like to the salad to make it a veritable Mediterranean medley.
Serves 4–6

100 g (3½ oz) brown rice
100 g (3½ oz) pearl barley
1 red + 1 yellow pepper, cut into 2–3cm (1 inch) squares
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
200 g (7 oz) baby spinach, rinsed
extra virgin olive oil (about a teaspoon)

Relish
2 large beetroot, roasted and peeled (or pre-cooked in natural juices and drained)
1 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

• Cook the brown rice and pearl barley in two separate large saucepans of boiling water until tender. Drain and return to the rice pan with all other salad ingredients. Stir well and add a little extra virgin olive oil. Even if you are serving the salad cold, this step will soften the vegetables with the heat in the rice pan. Season with plenty of cracked black pepper.
  
• While the rice and barley are cooking, blitz all relish ingredients together, leaving a little texture.
  
• Serve rice salad warm or room temperature with a spoonful of beetroot relish on top.

Per serve (based on 6 serves)
980 kJ/233 calories; 5 g protein; 11 g fat (includes 1.3 g saturated fat); 26 g carbohydrate; 4.5 g fibre

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: Colon cleansing promotes a healthy bowel.


Nicole Senior

Fact: While the idea of sticking a tube up your bottom and flushing your bowel with loads of warm water might make you squirm, alternative practitioners of colonic irrigation say it has a variety of benefits such as removing toxins, restoring healthy bowel function, and even reducing tiredness and depression. Despite it being a most unnatural act, you should know that colonic irrigation (or lavage) has a number of risks such as bowel perforation and infection, electrolyte imbalance and transfer of bugs that cause diarrhoea. The most serious risk, bowel perforation and infection, requires surgical repair and IV antibiotics. While good bowel function is essential for your inner glow, a healthy balanced diet with enough fibre and a bit of exercise does the job for you in a more natural and enjoyable way.

So, how do you eat enough fibre to stay healthy on the inside? Well, not by sprinkling bran on everything. Actually too much insoluble fibre (such as bran) can interfere with the absorption of minerals such as iron and zinc, and without a simultaneous increase in fluid intake may plug things up. In general, it’s best to drink plenty of fluids and get fibre the way nature intended: in plant foods such as vegetables; wholegrains; legumes; fruits; nuts and seeds. And the bonus is these foods are heart-friendly and good for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes as well.

There’s no need to stick anything anywhere the sun don’t shine for a healthy bowel – let healthy food shine through for you!


Click on the cover to purchase

Dietitian Nicole Senior is author of Eat to Beat Cholesterol available online at: www.eattobeatcholesterol.com.au

Dr David’s Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

The dreaded V word
Sooner or later there comes a moment that all doctors working with overweight kids dread. We pause, take a breath and utter the ‘V’ word. Vegetables. Suddenly the mother trembles, the father dives for cover and the kid erupts with some version of ‘Eewwwwwww! Yuck.’ Of course there’s nothing in a child’s nature that makes him hate vegetables. If there were, humans would have died out from malnutrition generations ago. Vegetables don’t have to be a battle. But they do have to be tasty. And you don’t have to be sneaky. It’s better for all concerned if kids understand why veggies are important for their health and learn to enjoy them.



Eleven year old Sam and his mother Tricia were generally pleased with the progress made during their first few months at OEL. Sam had really made substantial improvements with his diet and was getting to be more active. However, he simply refused to eat vegetables. Period. Tricia, who held down a demanding full-time job was honest in admitting she was no Julia Child. ‘I’m not a great cook, and my husband is worse,’ she said. Nevertheless, each night she dutifully prepared a balanced meal consisting of protein, low GI starch and … canned vegetables. She was frustrated Sam wouldn’t even give them a try. Cautiously I said I possibly wouldn’t eat canned veggies either. I told Tricia that I appreciated how little time she had, but making veggies tasty doesn’t take much time. In fact they have to look good, taste good, smell good and feel good. Here's my tips that helped Tricia get Sam to gobble up his greens. I hope they help you get your very own ‘refusenik’ asking for more.

• Make a salad of crispy lettuce tossed in a vinaigrette dressing with raw veggies such as tiny tomatoes, carrot rings, celery slices, pieces of capsicum (sweet pepper)
  
• Stir fry any fresh green leafy vegetable (spinach, broccoli, mustard greens, collard greens) in a pan with a little olive oil, garlic and a tiny pinch of salt if you wish and stir over a medium heat.
  
• Bake sliced zucchini topped with a favourite red pasta sauce in the oven for twenty or thirty minutes.
  
• Steam just about any vegetable until just tender, sprinkle with reduced-fat grated cheese and enjoy.
  
• Juice some veggies or add them to soups or serve vegetable finger foods with dips.

And as Kaye Foster-Powell says in her Low GI Family Cookbook: ‘Don’t leave vegetables till the end of the day. Young children especially can be tired and fragile by dinnertime so getting them to eat their dinner let alone the vegetables is a big ask. Try to incorporate 3 vegetables as a normal part of eating throughout the day from raw carrot and celery sticks as snacks to salad with their lunchtime sandwich.’


Dr David Ludwig

– Dr David Ludwig is Director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program at Children’s Hospital Boston and author of Ending the Food Fight

Move It & Lose It with Prof Trim

Less sleep, more fat
This month’s story sounds a bit like a contradiction of the ‘move it and lose it’ terms. But lack of sleep causes more problems than just feeling tired the next day. Although the connection has been suspected for some time, several studies have now shown a connection between lack of sleep and increases in body weight. This has been shown to occur early in life, with children as young as five or six having a greater risk of becoming overweight later in life if they sleep less than seven hours a night on a regular basis.



One reason for this might be obvious: The longer you are awake, the more time you have to eat. And given that this time is not likely to be spent being active, the extra energy intake will quickly develop into extra body weight.

More detailed research however has also shown that certain hunger hormones, particularly one called leptin, are increased with extra waking hours. It’s proposed that this goes back to evolution when longer periods of wakefulness were associated with getting more food in lean times. Irrespective of the cause it seems sleep is important – and we’re getting less and less of it with our busy modern lifestyles.

Many of us have trouble sleeping from time to time, especially when we are stressed or have worries. Insomnia is a symptom not a disease. Reducing anxiety and sticking to a day–night routine can improve sleep quality. Suggestions include:

• Get your bedroom right, it should be cool, dark and quiet. And limit activities to sleeping and sex. No television or dealing with the day’s emails on your laptop.
  
• Take time to unwind before bed – whatever it takes: a warm bath, soft music, meditating, a good book. No late night news or sitcoms.
  
• Cut down on drinking. Yes a nightcap can be relaxing. It may even help you nod off. But it will more likely produce fragmented, fitful sleep than sweet dreams and sound sleep.
  
• Avoid tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks after four in the afternoon. That includes drinks with guarana.
  
• No big meals late at night. Give your full stomach the good two hours it needs to digest food before you dream of turning in.
  

If your insomnia has persisted for years, see your doctor or contact a sleep disorder clinic.


Dr Garry Egger aka Prof Trim

– Click for more information on Professor Trim.

Your Questions Answered

This month GI News welcomes back dietitian and nutritionist Catherine Saxelby to answer your questions about healthy living, food and nutrition.

The fundraising chocolate bar makes my blood boil! Do you have any suggestions for alternatives that parents like me will be happier selling to our friends?
Fundraising chocolate isn’t the Win/Win situation the chocolate companies would have you believe. It’s actually a win for them but a no-win for your family’s health. Chocolate has long been an easy vehicle for fundraising because it keeps for weeks without refrigeration, it’s easy to carry, and everyone loves a treat. I have to confess that all too often we end up buying the whole box and just paying the school the money! Here are five win/win fundraisers that I have found. I am sure you’ll be much happier asking your friends to buy these practical products.

• Small 100 g tubes or roll-ons of SPF30+ sunblock. Keeps well and every family always needs more! The local pharmacy may be happy to help organise this with your school.
  
• An Apple Spiral or Slinky machine is an easy, healthy alternative. It cores, slices and peels an apple into apple spirals or slinkies that kids love. Google ‘apple spiral or slinky’ for brands and contact details.
  
• This one is good for you and good for the planet. Instead of buying bottled water when you are out and about, take your own filtered water bottle. The one I know about is Brita’s sport bottle. But there are others on the market. Just Google ‘filtered portable water bottles’.
  
• Consider making inroads into your school’s lost property by fundraising with easy, fun iron on clothing and name labels. The school or the P&C circulates an order form from a label making company and takes orders and money. The goods get delivered to the school which receives a 20% donation from the supplier which is what a retailer would normally take. Google ‘iron on clothing and name labels’ for brands and contact details.
  
• Fresh produce – a bit like having a farmers’ market at school. Invite the local fresh produce market or shop to supply mangoes, watermelon, corn cobs or other fresh product on a set day – depending what’s in season. The school advertises it as “Magic Mango Day” or similar and the kids go home with something fresh for the family to eat at a good price.

If you have some bright ideas for school fundraisers that are healthy and practical, we would love to hear from you. Just post your suggestions below.

I was interested in your comments on salt last month. I have heard that the Australian soil is devoid of iodine. Is this true?
Yes, the soil in some parts of Australia has low levels of some minerals, especially the trace minerals iodine and selenium. Tasmania and the ACT for example have low levels of iodine as do many parts of New Zealand which means that foods grown in these soils will be deficient. Iodine prevents goitre and promotes normal functioning of the thyroid gland. It also aids brain function. And although we only need a teaspoon for an entire lifetime, lack of iodine is a major problem in many parts of the world and it’s now thought that iodine intake levels in Australia have dropped. Your best sources of iodine are readily available — fish and iodised salt. In fact, eating fish once a week should give you all the iodine you need.



'What is the latest research on low GI carbs and those who exercise moderately (around 60 minutes, mod intensity) and those who exercise at a higher intensity. Information on pre and post exercise carbs (as per a fitness course I'm currently undertaking) appears to conflict with general advice on good nutrition, advocating high GI foods.
Dr Emma Stevenson who is an expert in these things says: ‘Our research has continually showed that consuming low GI carbs in the hours before exercise can increase the rate at which you burn fat during exercise and also will help to maintain a more sustained blood glucose level. Eating a meal or snack containing LGI carbs 2–4 hours before exercise is what’s usually recommended. The type of carbohydrates that you consume during recovery from exercise depends on the length of time before your next training session. If your recovery time is more than 4 hours then it doesn’t matter what type of carbohydrate you eat or drink as long as you consume enough of it! If recovery time is short, then HGI carbs are useful to replace muscle glycogen concentrations quickly and efficiently. However, research has shown that consuming low GI carbs over a 24-hour recovery period can improve endurance capacity the next day.’



Following your piece on the benefits of beans (particularly soybeans), do you have a selection of recipes which includes these beans? And how much is a high intake?
The cookbooks by Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and her team all have lots of legume recipes, including a few with soybeans and miso. Some titles to check out are The Low GI Diet Cookbook, The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook, Low GI Gluten-free Living and The Low GI Family Cookbook. As you will see this month our food of the month is miso (fermented soybeans) and Kate has a recipe using it too. Asian and vegetarian cookbooks are the best place to find recipes using soybeans, but we will keep your request in mind. If you would like to snack on roasted soy nuts, check out the recipe in the January 2007 issue of GI News (just pop the recipe name in the Google search bar in the right-hand column). What's a high intake of legumes? Well the women in the study who were consuming the most legumes were eating around 65 g (2 1/2 oz) legumes a day (including soybeans) and a high daily intake of soybeans was 32 g (a bit over 1 oz). The women also ate around 3 g a day peanuts (yes, they are legumes too). It’s very achievable as these aren't huge amounts at all. To help you get started, here are some tips to boost your intake.

• Serve home-cooked or canned red kidney beans with tacos, burritos, pasta or rice.
• Chickpeas go well with curries and stir-fries.
• Make some dahl with lentils or split peas to serve with a curry.
• Add home-cooked or canned cannellini, borlotti, butter or black-eyed beans to soups, stews and salads.
• Snack on roasted soy nuts. Just a small handful.

Your Success Stories

‘Eating low GI is saving my life’ – Bev
The threat of type 2 diabetes loomed large in my life. I had undiagnosed gestational diabetes with my first child and was able to control it through healthy food choices during my second pregnancy. Although significantly overweight, I was always interested in nutrition. Then last year I realised I’d better take the weight off if I didn’t want to develop diabetes and end up significantly disabled by it – just like my mother. Low GI made that change possible. I was never hungry because my blood sugar no longer spiked and I was eating high fibre foods. My chronic headaches disappeared and I had much more energy. After the first 30 pounds (13.6 kg) I began jogging and now, at almost 60 pounds (27 kg) lost, I would never want to eat or live any other way.



Low GI foods help me maintain a healthy blood glucose and give me all the energy I need to raise a family, work full time and still fit in a run three times per week. Even my kids like low GI. Last night I was greeted with squeals of joy that we were having salmon with pasta and a crispy salad for dinner. And you should see all the blueberries I have in my freezer that I put up when they were in season. I plan to be around a long time now and healthy enough to chase after my future grandchildren when that day comes.

‘We both love being outdoors and staying active.’ – Kathy
I was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic and quickly adopted the GI way of eating. Everything is under control with this healthy eating program and increased exercise. I lost the unwanted and unhealthy weight, and my energy levels soared. You are never too old to get into shape. I am on no medication whatsoever. For starters I go to the gym two or three times a week. I always take a couple of classes per visit, and mix up the classes each week.



I am 60 years old and have been married for 40 years. I get my most fun exercise during all four seasons with my best friend and husband, Bill. In the winter we cross country ski and snowshoe. In the spring, summer and fall we kayak, bike, swim, hike, camp, fish, walk, etc. We also own three horses and maintain 10 acres of pasture. We both love being outdoors and staying active. Even on days when I feel sluggish, our hyper active English Springer Spaniel dog still needs to be walked. Getting our dog out to walk daily is a great chance to reflect on life.

GI Symbol News with Alan Barclay

Lowering the GI of your diet starts in the supermarket
We now know that lowering the average GI of your daily diet to around 45 is one of the keys to good health. Computer modelling has shown that whenever possible, choosing carbohydrate foods or beverages with the lowest GI within a specific category, is the best way of achieving this. Ideally, this means choosing ones with a low GI (less than or equal to 55) for each main meal or snack (if you have snacks).

Of course, for some food/beverage categories, there are no low GI alternatives, and as such, products with a medium GI may in fact be the best choice. For example, the average GI of most common varieties of potatoes is around 80 , and most breads is around 75. Choosing lower GI varieties of potato like Nicola (58) and Almera (65), which are not technically low GI, will still help you to lower the average GI of your diet if you are traditionally a big potato eater, because they are significantly lower than their regular counterpart.

Similarly, if you only like white breads ( or if you are unable to chew the heavy grained breads), choosing the lower GI varieties like Tip Top Up energi (58) or WonderWhite LowerGI (59) will still lead to a substantial reduction in the average GI of your daily diet.

To help people lower the average GI of their daily diet to around 45, GI Ltd will be encouraging manufacturers of lower GI foods to join the GI Symbol Program so that consumers can choose the tricklers at a glance when they are shopping.


Alan Barclay

Contact
Alan Barclay, CEO, Glycemic Index Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9785 1037
Fax: +61 2 9785 1037
Email: awbarclay@optusnet.com.au
Web http://www.gisymbol.com.au/

The Latest GI Values

Edgell's canned brown lentils
Although this is an Australian brand, it will probably be similar for other brands of canned lentils. Generally in our testing of legumes (pulses) we find that the GI values are a little higher for canned products than home cooked. Here are the results: GI 42

Sunrice Doongara CleverRice
This is the fifth time SUGiRS has tested this long grain rice in the past five years (they do it every time they are using this brand of rice in a GI study). This time Fiona's team cooked it in a rice cooker. Here are the results: GI 48

Where can I get more information on GI testing?
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web http://www.gilabs.com/

Australia
Fiona Atkinson



Research Manager, Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service (SUGiRS)
Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences
Sydney University
NSW 2006 Australia
Phone + 61 2 9351 6018
Fax: + 61 2 9351 6022
Email sugirs@mmb.usyd.edu.au
Web http://www.glycemicindex.com/

New Zealand
Dr Tracy Perry
The Glycemic Research Group, Dept of Human Nutrition
University of Otago
PO Box 56 Dunedin New Zealand
Phone +64 3 479 7508
Email tracy.perry@stonebow.otago.ac.nz
Web glycemicindex.otago.ac.nz

See The New Glucose Revolution on YouTube

Making the Most of GI News

Subscribe - it's free!
To subscribe to GI News, simply click on the SUBSCRIBE link in the top right-hand column. Help us be sure our email newsletter isn’t filtered as spam. Add "gifeedback@gmail.com" to your address book to ‘whitelist’ us with your filter, helping future issues of GI News get to your inbox.

Your questions answered
If you have posted a question in GI News, be assured that the GI Group will answer this as soon as possible. We welcome your views about our articles and other reader’s suggestions. Please POST your comments and questions on the site.

Want to search past issues of GI News?
Want to search the GI News Archive for a particular topic, food or recipe? Make the most of our search feature with Google. Simply enter the term in the space provided and press SEARCH.

Want to print a copy of this GI News edition?
Download and print the PDF.

Copyright
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. This document may be copied and distributed provided the source is cited as GI News and the information so distributed is not used for profit.

© ® & ™ The University of Sydney, Australia