GI Update

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions


Prof Jennie Brand-Miller

Can the GI be applied to everyday meals?
Criticism of the GI has focused on unpredictable outcomes of blood glucose values after meals because of variations in fat, protein and fibre content. Most of our meals consist of a variety of foods – not just a single food. Even though GI values are derived from testing single foods in isolation, we and other scientists have found that it is possible to predict the ranking of blood glucose responses among meals that consist of several foods with different GI values.

Concerned about the methodology of recent studies showing unpredictable responses, we and our co-researchers at the University of Toronto’s Department of Nutritional Sciences conducted studies with mixed meals on two groups of healthy subjects in Toronto and Sydney. We had previously done smaller studies, but we wanted to revisit the question, using more meals and variety in two different centres with judiciously selected foods. This time, 14 different test meals were used in Sydney and Toronto, and the food combinations reflected a range of typical breakfast choices.

Despite the variations in food factors, relative blood glucose responses remained consistent with GI measures. In fact, we were startled by the degree of predictability. The carbohydrate, fat and protein composition of the meals varied over a wide spectrum. The glucose responses varied over a fivefold range, and yet 90 per cent of that variation was explained by the amount of carbohydrate in the meal and the GI values of the foods as given in published GI tables. We found that the GI works just as predictably whether subjects consume a single portion of one item or a normal meal; we reported these findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

More recently, we systematically tested 121 single foods in 1000 kJ portions and 13 mixed meals in 2000 kJ servings. There were wide variations in carbohydrate, fat, protein and fibre content. We found that the GI and/or glycemic load were best predictors of the magnitude of hyperglycaemia and insulinemia, outstripping carbohydrate content in every instance. Indeed, among the mixed meals, carbohydrate was not even a significant predictor. These findings were also published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Another study in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that there is substantial uncertainty in predicting the GI of mixed meals. The limitation with this study, however, is that the investigators chose to study just 3 mixed meals with a very narrow range in predicted GI (51, 53 and 63). Not surprisingly, they found that they couldn’t distinguish between the two lower GI meals. The potato meal produced the highest response as we might expect. Ideally, in studies such as this, it makes sense to study more meals across a wider spectrum of predicted GI.

New GI Values from SUGiRS
Arnott’s Vita-Weat Lunch Slices
These crispy slices make a great base for your favourite toppings for lunch or a snack. You’ll find them in supermarkets in Australia. Here are the GI values for the two flavours we tested:

• Soy Linseed and Sesame: GI 52 – 1 slice provides 19g available carbohydrate. The GL of this size serving is 11
• Sunflower Pumpkin and Canola – GI 59 – 1 slice provides 19g available carbohydrate. The GL of this size serving is 13.

If you want to compare these crispy slices with similar products – or a slice of bread or piece of toast – here’s the nutrition information product data per 100 grams from the packaging (it wasn’t on their website when we checked just before posting this issue online):

• Soy, Linseed & Sesame per 100 grams – Energy: 1720kJ; Protein: 14.5g; Fat: 11g (includes 1.3g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate: 57.1g; Fibre: 11.7g; Sodium 465mg
• Sunflower, Pumpkin and Canola per 100 grams – Energy: 1720kJ; Protein: 14.3g; Fat: 11g (includes 1.4g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate: 58.1g; Fibre: 10.9g; Sodium 473mg

Sanitarium Up&Go Breakfast Yoghurt
Available in a 200g ‘squeezie pack,’ it’s a convenient way to grab a healthy yoghurt for breakfast when you are on the go. You’ll find this product in the chilled section in your supermarket and convenience outlets (Victoria Australia only). The nutrition and ingredient information is on the Sanitarium website HERE.

• Strawberry and Vanilla flavours: GI: 44 (both) 1 serve (200g) provides 35g available carbohydrate. The GL of this size serving is 15

New GI Values from GI Labs
Hollywood Foods More Than Pasta
More Than Pasta is fresh pasta produced artisan style with an original Italian pasta machine to give you that ‘homemade’ pasta experience. Co-owner Gabriella Micallef says that: ‘it’s a unique product as it has been specifically developed to be significantly higher in protein (15g per 60g serving) and fibre than traditional pastas.’ Available fresh or frozen, you can buy it in Toronto and selected outlets in Canada. Visit www.hollywood-foods.com for availability and nutritional analysis. More Than Pasta:

• Fettuccine: GI 31 – a 60g (2oz/1/3 cup) serving provides 17g available carbohydrate, 5g fibre and 15g protein. The GL of this sized serving is 5.
• Linguine: GI 31 – a 60g (2oz/1/3 cup) serving provides 17g available carbohydrate, 5g fibre and 15g protein. The GL of this sized serving is 5.

GI testing by an accredited laboratory North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
20 Victoria Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web 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 www.glycemicindex.com

See The New Glucose Revolution on YouTube

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GI News—October 2011

• GI and reducing your risk of breast cancer
  
• Low blood glucose and food cravings
• Keep an eye on your eyesight if you have diabetes
• Nicole Senior debunks the myth that canola oil and margarine cause macular degeneration
• Catherine Saxelby delivers the scoop on lutein-rich spinach
• Miracle foods, myths and the media – download this NHS Choices report
• Free eye examination for people at risk of AMD, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma

We all take our eyesight for granted. Protecting it is one of the most important things we can do to help maintain quality and enjoyment of life. And for anyone with diabetes, it’s absolutely vital to be vigilant because there’s a higher risk for glaucoma, cataracts (‘clouding’ of the eye’s lens) and diabetic retinopathy. This issue we focus on vision, what we can do to look after it and where a healthy low GI diet comes into the picture. Of course there are all our usual features including three low GI recipes to try – Marinated eggplant slices, Zingy Italian White Bean Soup and Anneka Manning’s Tacos. Enjoy.

Good eating, good health and good reading.

Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD

Food for Thought

Why you need to keep an eye on your eyesight if you have diabetes
Our sight is something most of us fear losing the most. Protecting it is one of the most important things we can do to help maintain quality and enjoyment of life. And for anyone with diabetes, it’s vital to be vigilant because there’s a higher risk for glaucoma, cataracts (‘clouding’ of the eye’s lens) and diabetic retinopathy.

The good news is that in most cases the serious visual loss that can be part and parcel of diabetes can be prevented with regular eye examinations and treatment – the earlier the better.

It’s estimated that about 75% of people with diabetes in Australia will develop diabetic retinopathy. The risk is greater for those who have had diabetes for a long time or if their blood glucose isn’t well controlled. Signs and symptoms include blurred vision, floaters and spots, blank or missing areas of vision, double vision and difficulty seeing well at night. Often there are no signs or symptoms until the condition is quite advanced.

There are two stages. Background or non-proliferative retinopathy is when the weaker blood vessels begin to leak. At this stage there may be no noticeable change in vision, but without treatment it can progress to the more serious proliferative retinopathy where the retina grows new (and weaker) blood vessels that can bleed onto the retina or the vitreous (the jelly like centre of your eye). At this stage vision can be affected suddenly and seriously.



5 tips for protecting your eyesight

• See an eye specialist or optometrist when you are first diagnosed with diabetes and at least every 1–2 years afterwards. If retinopathy is detected, you will need to have your eyes examined more often and you may be referred to a ophthalmologist. Get in touch with your eye care professional immediately if you notice any changes in your vision.
• Because diabetic retinopathy is likely caused by both chronic high blood glucose levels and variation in blood glucose, the best way to prevent it is by keeping your blood glucose levels and HbA1c at recommended levels. Talk to your doctor or diabetes educator about this.
  
• Your lifestyle matters. Being active every day and eating a healthy and balanced low GI diet will help you manage your blood glucose levels. The key dietary recommendations are – choosing nutritious carbohydrate foods with a low GI as your staples; being aware of how much carbohydrate you eat; getting plenty of fibre in your diet; limiting foods that are high in saturated fat; eating lean protein foods to suit your appetite including fish once or twice a week or if you are vegetarian, making sure you focus on including foods that contain quality proteins and are good sources of omega-3 fats; using monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil); eating plenty of fruit and vegetables every day and limiting your salt and alcohol intake.
• If you have high blood pressure, research also shows that by reducing it you can slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, so do see your doctor for regular checks.
• If you smoke, quit.

By taking these steps to protect your vision, you’ll also improve your diabetes management. Now that's a win-win situation.

News Briefs

Free eye examination for people at risk of AMD, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma



The Centre for Eye Health in Sydney (Australia), an initiative of Guide Dogs NSW/ACT and The University of New South Wales, provides state-of-the-art eye imaging and visual system diagnostic services to the general community, at no charge. A major goal of CFEH is to perform detailed eye examinations for individuals particularly at risk of glaucoma, diabetic retinal disease and age-related macular degeneration. Early diagnosis means the earliest possible intervention to prevent or minimise long-term vision loss. To visit CFEH, you just need a referral from your optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Low g-eyes
Dietary factors are known risk factors for age-related macular degeneration. In ‘Food for Thought’ (May 2006) we reported on research suggesting that the quality of the carbohydrates you eat may help to bring it on — or hold it off. A 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirms that it would be a good idea to make a low GI diet part of any AMD prevention plan along with foods you already know about such as dark green leafy vegetables, a variety of fruits (all different colours) and fish. Prof. Paul Mitchell from Sydney University’s Department of Ophthalmology says the prospective population based study shows that a high GI diet is a risk factor for early AMD – the recognized precursor of sight-threatening late AMD. ‘Low-glycemic-index foods such as oatmeal may protect against early AMD,’ say the researchers in their conclusion.



The results of this earlier Australian study have been backed up by a recent review. There are a number of reasons why high GI diets may increase the risk of the development of AMD, says Dr Alan Barclay "high post-meal blood glucose levels and high average blood glucose levels lead to increased glycation of proteins within the eye, increased oxidative stress, increased blood pressure, activation of protein kinase C, and direct gluco-toxic effects on the retina itself".

Low blood glucose affects food cravings
A small but interesting study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation reports that we lose our ability to control desire and feel an increased urge to eat when our blood glucose levels drop. The researchers from Yale University School of Medicine and the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine showed 14 healthy participants high and low calorie foods (from cake and ice-cream to tofu, fruit and vegetables) and non-food images and measured how seeing these images related to their desire for food and their brain activity under varying blood glucose conditions. Using scans to detect brain activity following a drop in participants’ BGLs, they then compared the results of the scans to the participants’ stated desires to eat different foods. They found that small drops in blood glucose activated the region of the brain that produces a desire to eat, while adequate levels of blood glucose activated the region of the brain that controls impulses. You can read the NHS Choices appraisal of the study HERE.



What's new?
#1 Download – Miracle foods, myths and the media. “Curry could save your life.” “Beetroot can fight dementia.” “Asthma risk linked to burgers.” Every day there’s a new crop of seemingly life-changing headlines about how the food we eat affects our health. This special NHS Choices report looks at some of the foods that regularly appear in the news and examines whether the reports match the scientific evidence behind them. The reviewers point out that: ‘Research into single foods on our health is notoriously difficult to carry out. We have complex diets and it is difficult to disentangle the effects of one particular food or compound from all the others we consume. This means that many of the studies behind the superfood claims have limitations. These limitations are rarely reported in the media, and even more rarely given their true significance.’ The report discusses limitations such as confounding factors, inaccurate memories, proxy outcomes and animal and laboratory studies and why RCTs (randomised controlled studies) and systematic reviews are generally the best type of study for finding out if a food has any effect. You can download the report HERE.



#2 Event – Bees, Bureaucracy and Biosecurity: Australia’s food future on a knife’s edge In September GI News, we reported bees around the world are in decline and without them it will be pretty hard to tuck into that low GI plant-based diet. Did you know:

• Some 65% of Australia’s food supply (fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds) rely to varying degrees on managed European honeybees (Apis mellifera) for their pollination
• Without honeybees to pollinate almonds, not one nut would set from the delicate flowers
• Cooking essentials such as onions rely on honeybees
• Even meat and dairy foods rely on lucerne and clovers pollinated by honeybees
  

‘Australia is the last remaining country to remain free of the devastating Varroa mite – the key contributor to decimating honeybee populations around the world. Australia however faces its own onslaught of challenges, which if not urgently arrested have the potential to wipe out honeybee populations in Australia within 10–20 years,’ writes fourth generation apiarist Jodie Goldsworthy in UPDATE, the newsletter of the Australian Association of Food Professionals. She says: ‘In 2008 the small hive beetle breached our biosecurity and snuck into Australia. It has now spread across much of Australia establishing itself particularly well in our environment and has changed beekeeping forever in this country for the worse. Another unwanted intruder, still classified as an “incursion” is the Asian bee (Apis cerana – Java strain) which arrived in 2007 and is currently confined around Cairns. The Asian bee is the natural host of the Varroa mite.’



As a special Q&A event for the Crave Sydney International Food Festival the Australian Association of Food Professionals has put together an expert panel to highlight and discuss the issues, and what is and isn’t being done:

Where: Australian Museum Theatrette College St Sydney
When: 23 October 11am–1pm
Cost: $25
Bookings/inquiries: 0448488080 secretariat@foodprofessionals.org.au

Get the Scoop with Foodwatch's Catherine Saxelby

The scoop on lutein-rich spinach


Catherine Saxelby

If you’re not adding spinach to your meals, you're missing out on a dark green leafy vegetable that’s chock full of vitamins, minerals and plant compounds (phytochemicals). It’s one of those vegetables that is always recommended for peak health. The trick is to find ways to incorporate it into your cooking.

What’s in it? It’s an excellent source of vitamin C, folate, beta carotene (which is converted into vitamin A in the body) along with some vitamin E. An average serve (35g) provides 5 mg of vitamin C, one-eighth of the recommended daily intake.

Long famous, thanks to Popeye, for its high iron content, spinach’s iron is actually not well absorbed. It’s present but doesn’t get into the body in great amounts. Red meat, chicken and fish are better for absorbable iron.

It also offers many antioxidants and, along with other leafy greens like kale and silverbeet (Swiss chard), is one of the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin. These two antioxidants can help protect our eyes as we age, so keeping macular degeneration at bay. I suggest eating spinach in some form – raw or cooked – at least three times a week if you have a family history of this form of blindness.

And it’s one food you can happily eat MORE of! It contains dietary fibre, virtually no fat and so few kilojoules/calories, you could eat as much as you wanted and not put on any weight.

Easy ways to enjoy spinach

• Make a salad of baby spinach leaves and toss through toasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese. Drizzle over a good dressing with wine vinegar and olive oil.
• Add 1 cup of well-drained frozen chopped spinach to your meat loaf or meat balls. It’s a great way of sneaking in vegetables to kids who won't eat any!
• Toss a handful of baby spinach leaves into a curry or stir fry at the end of cooking. They will wilt in the heat of the dish, adding colour and nutrition.
• Use cooked spinach as a base for eggs or fish. Think of Eggs Florentine.
• Eat a baby spinach leaf salad every day or every second day.
• Add chopped cooked spinach to lasagna and meatloaf.

Or try Anneka Manning’s Eggs in Nests with spinach from The Low GI Family Cookbook. You can find the recipe HERE.

Catherine Saxelby is an accredited dietitian and nutritionist and runs the Foodwatch Nutrition Centre at foodwatch.com.au.

In the GI News Kitchen

American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna's website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.

Marinated eggplant slices
According to some sources, Italians have been cooking with eggplants since the 14th century. I know that it has been on our family’s table and those of every one of my relatives’ tables for my entire life, which alas, now spans many decades! This versatile fruit-vegetable can be roasted, grilled, stuffed, pureed or, as in this recipe, sauteed and marinated. Eggplants are also versatile in another way: they are considered to have diuretic, sedative and laxative properties. Feel free to cut back on the amount of oil. Makes 10 servings (2 slices each)

750g (1½lb) eggplant (common or Western types), cut into 0.5cm/1/4 in slices
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
2 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed, chopped
1–2 cloves garlic, minced
120g (4oz) large green olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
15 fresh mint leaves, chopped
salt/pepper to taste



Sprinkle salt on the eggplant slices, place them in a colander and let drain for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Brush 4 tablespoons of olive oil on both slides of each slice, place on a tray or plate and set aside.
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4–5 eggplant slices at a time and cook until browned on both sides. When done, place each slice in an overlapping fashion in a shallow ceramic serving tray. Continue until all slices are cooked. Set aside.
In a small bowl add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the next 4 ingredients (capers through mint). Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Transfer the dressing evenly over the layered eggplant slices and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over them. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Per serve
Energy: 530kJ/126cals; Protein less than 1g; Fat 12g (includes 2g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 0g; Fibre 3g

Cut back on the food bills and enjoy fresh-tasting, easily prepared, seasonal, satisfying and delicious low or moderate GI meals that don’t compromise on quality and flavour one little bit with this Money Saving Meals recipe from the New York Times Number 1 best-seller, Forks Over Knives. For more recipes check out the Money Saving Meals website

Zingy Italian White Bean Soup
This recipe from The Feel Good Guru Moira Nordholt begins the night before, when you will need to rinse your dried cannellini beans and cover them in water to soak. Serves 2 generously and easily 3.

1 cup dried cannellini beans (white Italian kidney beans), soaked
1 unsalted vegetable bouillon cube
4 garlic cloves, minced
Half a red onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
half a fennel bulb, diced
1 zucchini (courgette), diced
1 bunch of fresh spinach, chopped
1 tsp chopped oregano
4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tsp chopped parsley
Splash tamari
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon

Drain the beans, then put them in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until al dente.
Dissolve the bouillon cube in ¼ cup water in a large soup pot, over medium heat. Add garlic and onion. Cook, stirring constantly, until they sweat. Add celery and fennel. Allow the vegetables to heat through and soften. Cover the vegetables with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5–10 minutes.
Add zucchini, spinach, cooked beans, oregano, sage, parsley, tamari, sea salt and black pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the zucchini is cooked but not mushy. Turn off the heat. Squeeze the juice of a whole lemon into the soup. Adjust the seasonings to your liking and serve.

Per serve (for 3 people)
Energy: 1030 kJ/ 245 cals; Protein 18 g; Fat 2 g (includes 0.3 g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 28 g; Fibre 20g



Forks Over Knives (published by The Experiment and New York Times Number 1 best seller) is available from bookshops and online.

Tacos
There’s nothing like Anneka Manning’s tasty tacos to get the family to feast on those budget-friendly, nutrition power packs – legumes. To add a little heat to the occasion, add 1 chopped red chilli to the tomato sauce with the red kidney beans and paprika. Anneka makes her own tomato sauce (1 onion, a garlic clove and 2 cans diced tomatoes) and guacamole (1 avocado, lime juice, a garlic clove, 1 spring (green) onion, 1 tomato and coriander/cilantro). If you don’t have your own favourite recipes for these, you can find Anneka’s in The Low GI Family Cookbook. Makes 12.

2 cups tomato pasta sauce
2 x 300g (10oz) cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 tsp mild paprika
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
12 taco shells
1/2 iceberg or cos lettuce, shredded
2 carrots, scrubbed, coarsely grated
1½ cups coarsely grated reduced fat cheddar cheese
1 cup guacamole



Place the tomato sauce in a medium saucepan. Add the red kidney beans and paprika and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes or until thick. Taste and season with pepper.
Transfer the red kidney bean mixture to a serving bowl. Place freshly ground black pepper, on the table with the taco shells, lettuce, carrots, cheese and guacamole for everyone to assemble their own tacos.

Per taco
Energy: 1035 kJ/ 250 cals; Protein 11 g; Fat 12 g (includes 5 g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 22 g; Fibre 6 g

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Nicole Senior

Myth: Canola oil and margarines cause macular degeneration.
Fact: Good fats – including canola oil and trans-free unsaturated spreads are probably protective against AMD.
One of worst things about food myths is the – albeit unintentional – harm they can cause. Such as was the case a few years back in Australia when an ophthalmologists thought he’d have a go at nutrition and started giving advice completely opposite to the prevailing dietary guidelines by recommending unhealthy fats like butter and warning against vegetable fats like canola oil and margarine spreads in an attempt to reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

He got it wrong.

Macular degeneration causes damage to the retina and is the most common cause of blindness in developed countries. The cause is not fully understood but risk factors have been identified: the strongest factors are smoking and advancing age. Overweight, high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol are also risk factors, which is ironic because the advice the eye-doctor gave increases blood cholesterol levels. National dietary guidelines recommend we replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils and trans-free spreads, fish, nuts and seeds in order to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease – still our biggest killer.

The first mistake the well-meaning ophthalmologist made was devising public health advice based on only a couple of studies; second was not understanding the types of studies they relied on are not designed to prove causation; third was ignoring the fact his advice conflicted with well established evidence-based advice for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease; fourth was starting a campaign to convince others including the media; and lastly he failed to properly translate the theory from the US studies into relevant food advice in the Australian food context.

The population studies he relied on can only indicate an association that needs further investigation, and are ranked as low-level evidence. Having a proposed mechanism also bolsters a case for causation but there was none. He transposed the American food supply on to Australia’s and got the food advice wrong (for example Australian margarines are very low in trans fats). He basically pitted eye health against heart health and challenged us to choose but there’s not much point having good vision if you’re dead from a heart attack! It also wasted the valuable time of organisations like the Heart Foundation (Australia), the CSIRO and the Dietitians Association of Australia and more sensible eye specialists who had to control the damage with media communications refuting his ill-conceived advice.

Since this fiasco – which sent conflicting messages and confused people – a study conducted in Australia, the Blue Mountains Eye Study (BMES), did not find any link between vegetable oils or margarine spreads and macular degeneration. In fact they found a significantly lower risk of developing macular degeneration in those consuming higher amounts of both long and short chain omega-3 fats, such as those naturally present in fish, canola oil, linseeds, some nuts and green leafy vegetables. The BMES also found a lower risk of AMD in those eating higher amounts of zinc, and lutein and zeaxanthin: the yellow/orange coloured pigments in vegetables, fruits and eggs (and the greatest benefit was seen among participants who regularly consumed a combination of the protective nutrients as part of a low GI diet). A systematic review and meta-analysis of lutein and zeanxanthin and AMD also found a protective effect of consuming higher amounts. The benefits of other dietary antioxidants are not clear, however a Cochrane review of the evidence does not support taking dietary supplements to ward of AMD. Lowering the GI of the diet appears to be protective with several other studies showing associations between a high GI diet and AMD. What we really need is high level studies such as randomised controlled trials to find out the best diet for preventing AMD and be prudent in the mean time.

So what does the current evidence suggest we do to reduce our risk of AMD?

• Don’t smoke
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Eat fish and seafood to obtain omega-3 fats
• Eat plenty of different coloured vegetables and fruits for their beneficial phytochemical antioxidants
• Make the switch to low GI carbs (the smart carbs)
• Replace saturated fats from animal sources such as butter, whole dairy foods and fatty meat with unsaturated fats from vegetable oils and trans-free spreads, nuts and seeds
• Minimise trans fats in partially hydrogenated oils by limiting commercially produced pastries, cakes and deep fried fast foods – be aware sources of trans fats vary by country
  

Nicole Senior is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist and author of Eat to Beat Cholesterol, Heart Food and Belly Busting for Blokes. She loves to see-food and eat it!

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

Reducing your risk of breast cancer through a healthy lifestyle
In Australia and the US, breast cancer accounts for around 1 in 4 cases of all cancers, and the number of cases has more than doubled over the past 25 years.

There are a large number of risk factors for breast cancer that you can’t do anything about such as your genes and family background, the number of children you have, your age at when your first child is born, and your age at menarche and menopause. However, there are also a number of risk factors related to your diet and lifestyle that you can do something about.

The main risk increasers include the usual suspects.

• Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of developing breast cancer. The risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed. Women who drink 2 or more standard drinks a day have about a 21% increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to those who do not drink at all.
• High fat diets have been found to increase the risk of developing breast cancer by 10–15%, and high processed meat consumption (e.g. more than 3 serves a week) has been found to increase the risk by 8%.
• Being overweight or obese has been found to increase breast cancer risk in women by 9% after menopause.

A recently published systematic review and meta-analysis has added another to the risk increaser list, finding that a high GI diet may increase the risk of breast cancer by 8% when a high (GI 60 or more) diet compared to a low GI diet (GI 45 or less) is consumed for 5 years or more.

Three key risk reducers are regular exercise, eating plenty of dairy foods and enjoying an all-round healthy, balanced diet.

• Regular exercise reduces the risk of breast cancer by up to 25%. The American Cancer Society recommends 45–60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on 5 or more days a week to help reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
• Consuming plenty of dairy foods (that’s more than 2–3 serves a day) has been found to decrease the risk of developing breast cancer by 15%, most likely due to their high calcium content.
• Eating an all round healthy diet has been shown to decrease the risk of developing breast cancer by 11%. This analysis did not take GI into account, and the one study that did found a 32% risk reduction!
  

How do you go low GI? To reduce the average GI of your diet by 10–15 units, simply swap any high GI foods that you may be eating with low GI alternatives. For example, swap high GI breads and breakfast cereals for low GI ones. A 10–15 unit difference for each food you eat within all of the major food groups will make a difference as it all adds up.

Here at the GI Foundation, we are big fans of the ‘this for that’ swap it approach. The reason why is relatively simple: the GI was originally designed to choose the better options within each food group.



In Australia, the easiest way to find all round healthy low GI choices is to look for foods with the low GI symbol: not only have they had their GI tested at an accredited lab, but they must also meet category specific nutrient criteria for calories/kilojoules, total and saturated fat, sodium (salt), and where appropriate fibre and calcium.

Elsewhere in the world, checkout the GI News’ 10 tips to reduce the GI of your diet, make use of the GI database at www.glycemicindex.com or pick up a copy of the annual Shopper's Guide to GI Values (it’s published in Australia, New Zealand and the US/Canada.

The GI Symbol, making healthy low GI choices easy choices



For more information about the GI Symbol Program
Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Glycemic Index Foundation (Ltd)
Phone: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046
Fax: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com

GI Update

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions


Prof Jennie Brand-Miller

My mother has been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration and besides being told to take lutein and zeaxanthin supplements, she was advised to up her leafy green veggie intake and to eat a healthy low GI diet. Can you explain how a low GI diet would benefit your eyes?
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the central macula of the eye, leaving sufferers with only peripheral vision. The macula is the small yellowish spot in the middle of the retina that provides the greatest visual acuity and colour perception. It’s the macula that lets us to see fine detail and is critical to central vision helping us to recognise faces, drive a car, read a newspaper, or do close handwork. It is now one of the most common causes of blindness among older adults in the Western world and AMD Alliance International estimates that 25–30 million people are affected worldwide.

Researchers from Tufts and Harvard universities were the first to notice the link between GI and vision. They had followed 526 women without previous visual problems from the Nurses Health Study for ten years. At regular intervals, they assessed the nurses’ diets using a food frequency questionnaire. They found that when total carbohydrate intake was constant, consuming a high GI diet was associated with a doubling of the risk of developing AMD.

Similarly, Professor Paul Mitchell, the lead researcher of the Blue Mountains Eye Study in New South Wales, and his colleagues found that a high GI diet, but not a high carbohydrate diet, was linked to an almost 80 per cent higher risk of having age-related macular degeneration within the 10 years of the study. They also found the incidence of cataracts was higher among elderly people who chose a high GI diet.

Why the link between GI and vision? Well, the retina has among the highest supplies of blood and nutrients, including glucose, and is dependent on adequate glucose delivery from the circulation to maintain its function. Because glucose stores in the retina are negligible and there are no glucose transporters in the cell membrane, it appears that glucose levels in the retina reflect whatever level is found in the blood. High levels spell trouble because excessive uptake produces high reactive charged particles called free radicals that damage all the machinery inside the cell.

Although ‘observational’ data like these studies cannot establish that the observed association is ‘cause-and-effect’, they indicate a new direction for further studies.

GI testing by an accredited laboratory
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
20 Victoria Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web 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 www.glycemicindex.com

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GI News—September 2011

• Beat your metabolic rate and burn your fat stores – Prof Jennie Brand-Miller explains
• Red meat and diabetes risk
• Green vegies, dried fruit, legumes and brown rice linked to fewer colon polyps
• The scoop on vitamin D with Emma Stirling
• New GI values for meal replacement shakes, soups and bars
  

Nicole Senior's new book, Belly Busting for Blokes landed on our desk recently, so we asked her to write about why a big belly is bad for your health for Myth Busting this month. (If you are interested, the book is a fun read and very practical and we have given copies to some of our favourite blokes who are finding it a bit harder to tie their shoelaces.) Prof Jennie Brand-Miller expands on the 'belly busting' theme and explains why controlling insulin levels is important for trimming your waistline and how low GI diet can help you beat your metabolic rate and burn your fat stores. There are all our usual features of course, including three delicious 'belly busting' low GI recipes to tuck into.

Good eating, good health and good reading.

Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD

Food for Thought

Beat your metabolic rate and burn your fat stores – Prof Jennie Brand-Miller explains how


Prof Jennie Brand-Miller

Our genetic make-up underlies our metabolic rate – how many kilojoules (calories) we burn per minute. Bodies, like cars, differ in this regard. A bigger body like a bigger car requires more fuel to run than a smaller one. When a car is stationary, the engine idles – using just enough fuel to keep the motor running. When we are asleep, the ‘revs’ are even lower and we use a minimum number of kilojoules. Our resting metabolic rate (RMR) – the kilojoules we burn by just lying completely at rest – is fuelling our large brain, heart and other important organs. Although the number of kilojoules (the amount of fuel we use) increases when we exercise or move around, the greatest proportion of the kilojoules we use in a 24-hour period are those we use to maintain our RMR.

Since your RMR is where most kilojoules are used, it is a significant determinant of body weight. The lower your RMR is, the greater your risk of gaining weight – and vice versa. And here’s where your genes come into the story as they determine whether you have a high or low RMR – it one of those things that does run in families. We all know someone who appears to eat like a horse but is positively thin. Almost in awe we comment on their fast metabolism, and we may not be far off the mark.

Men have a higher RMR than women because their bodies contain more muscle mass and are more expensive to run. Body fat, on the other hand, gets a free ride. These days, too many men and women have undersized muscles that hardly ever get a workout. Increasing muscle mass with weight-bearing (resistance) exercise will raise your RMR and is one of the secrets to lifelong weight control.

Interestingly, we know that our genes dictate the fuel mix we burn in the fasting state (overnight). Some of us burn more carbohydrate and less fat even though the total energy used is the same. Scientists believe that subtle deficiencies in the ability to burn fat (as opposed to carbs) lie behind most states of being overweight and obese.

Indeed, in their latest research, if you have one copy of a high risk gene called FTO, geneticists have found you are 30 per cent more likely to become overweight. If you have two copies, then you are 67 per cent more likely! That is the strongest association yet of a common gene with obesity. Unfortunately, one in six people of European descent carry two copies and are therefore more prone to gain weight in the current environment.

This doesn’t mean that if your genes are to blame you should resign yourself to being overweight too. But it may help you understand why you have to watch what you eat while other people don’t. Furthermore, the current epidemic of overweight can’t be blamed on our genes – our genes haven’t mutated in a space of 25 years, but our environment has. So while genetics writes the code, environment presses the buttons. Our current sedentary lifestyles and food choices press all the wrong buttons!

If you were born with a tendency to be overweight, what you eat matters more. Genes can be switched on or off. By being choosy about carbohydrates and fats you will maximise your insulin sensitivity, up-regulate the genes involved in burning fat and down-regulate those involved in burning carbs. By moving your fuel ‘currency exchange’ from a ‘carbohydrate economy’ to a ‘fat economy’, you increase the opportunity of depleting fat stores over carbohydrate stores. This is exactly what will happen when you begin to eat a nutritious, low GI diet.

News Briefs

Muscle up and reduce your risk of prediabetes
A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism shows that higher muscle mass (relative to body size) is associated with better insulin sensitivity and a lower risk of diabetes and prediabetes. Although previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, this is the first to show increasing muscle mass to average and above average levels, independent of obesity levels, would lead to improved BGLs. ‘Our findings represent a departure from the usual focus of clinicians, and their patients, on just losing weight to improve metabolic health,’ says senior author, Preethi Srikanthan. ‘Instead, this research suggests a role for maintaining fitness and building muscle. This is a welcome message for many overweight patients who experience difficulty in achieving weight loss, as any effort to get moving and keep fit should be seen as laudable and contributing to metabolic change.’



Red meat and diabetes risk
A study by Harvard researchers published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds a strong association between the consumption of red meat – particularly when the meat is processed – and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that, for an individual who eats one daily serving of red meat, substituting one serving of nuts per day was associated with a 21% lower risk of type 2 diabetes; substituting low-fat dairy, a 17% lower risk; and substituting whole grains, a 23% lower risk. Based on these results, they advise that consumption of processed red meat like hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and deli meats, which generally have high levels of sodium and nitrites, should be minimised and unprocessed red meat should be reduced. If possible, they add, red meat should be replaced with healthier choices, such as nuts, wholegrains, low-fat dairy products, fish, or beans (legumes).

‘The evidence linking diets high in processed meats with risk of type 2 diabetes is very consistent’ says Dr Alan Barclay. ‘While a diet moderately high in protein has been proven to help with long term weight loss, the protein should come from a variety of plant and animal sources and processed meats should be limited to no more than one serve a week.’



Green vegies, dried fruit, legumes and brown rice linked to fewer colon polyps
Eating legumes at least three times a week and brown rice at least once a week was linked to a reduced risk of colon polyps by 33% and 40% percent respectively according to the findings of a study in Nutrition and Cancer. The researchers also found that tucking into cooked green vegetables once every day or more (compared to less than 5 times a week) was associated with a 24% reduced risk; and having some dried fruit 3 times a week or more (compared with less than once a week) was associated with a 26% reduced risk. ‘Legumes, dried fruits, and brown rice all have a high fibre content known to dilute potential carcinogens,’ says lead author Dr Tantamango. ‘Additionally, cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, contain detoxifying compounds, which would improve their protective function.’


Credit: Kaye Foster-Powell's The Low GI Family Cookbook (Hachette)

What's new?
# 1 Issue – Bees are in decline. Bees are important for agriculture, the economy and the health of ecosystems and they are in decline. Without bees, it would be pretty hard and probably prohibitively expensive to eat that plant-based diet that’s so widely recommended as more than one-third of the world’s fruits, vegetables and flowering plants depend on pollination by bees. A timely, informative and beautifully written book new book, The Beekeeper’s Lament by Hannah Nordhaus, provides ‘an engaging account of the men and insects, who put food on our tables’ and the huge problems that they face today. Published by HarperCollins, it’s available from bookshops and Amazon.



#2 Download –Diabetes UK Evidence-based nutrition guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes These guidelines for healthcare professionals and people living with diabetes provide information about nutritional interventions that will assist in making appropriate food choices to reduce risk and improve glycemic control and quality of life.

#3 Download –UK National diet and nutrition survey. Findings suggest that the overall picture of the diet and nutrition of the UK population is broadly similar to previous surveys. Intakes of saturated fat and sugars remain above recommended levels.

#4 Download – Energy density, portion size, and eating occasions: contributions to increased energy intake in the US, 1977–2006 published in PLoS Medicine suggests that efforts to reduce obesity should focus on reducing the number of meals and snacks and portion sizes. The researchers examined US population and dietary data dating back to 1977 and found that average total daily energy intake increased from about 1803 calories in 1977–78 to 2374 calories in 2003–06, an increase of 571 calories a day.

#5 Cookbook – Ian Thorpe’s Cook for Your Life



In Ian Thorpe’s first cookbook, the Olympic Gold medallist and long-time GI supporter shares some of his favourite recipes as well as his philosophy on diet gleaned from experts in nutrition and performance. Although it’s what we’d call a ‘meaty’ book (chapters cover seafood, poultry, beef and kangaroo, lamb and pork) it’s good to see many low GI ingredients featuring such as beans and lentils, parsnips, pears, pearl barley, quinoa along with a chapter of vegetarian fare. The introduction is particularly fascinating as Ian describes how he has had to rethink the way he eats at different times in his life to keep in shape from being an elite athlete to when he stopped swimming competitively. Published by Hardie Grant and available from bookshops and the iBookstore

GI Group: Make your healthy eating pattern low GI and ‘cruise instead of spike and crash’ says Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe who generously donated his time to enable the GI Foundation to get the word out about quality carbs and a healthy low GI. The commercial provides a brief explanation of the GI and shows a range of typical high and low GI foods:

Get the Scoop with Emma Stirling

The scoop on vitamin D


Emma Stirling APD

There’s been hot debate lately about the pros and cons of getting your little ray of sunshine. Nutritionists have long understood the importance of sunlight in helping people meet their vitamin D requirements. And we are learning more and more about the role of vitamin D in good bone health and beyond. However, that gorgeous, sun-bronzed image simply doesn’t fit with today’s knowledge on sun exposure and skin cancer risk. So how do you get the balance right?

D for deficiency? According to worldwide reports, including the Medical Journal of Australia, a significant number of people may be marginally vitamin D deficient. Plus there’s evidence that the incidence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing. Those at most risk of vitamin D deficiency include people confined indoors, especially the elderly in residential care and people who cover their skin for cultural or religious reasons. However, as more people work indoors, cover up and slather on sunscreen to avoid sun exposure, Vitamin D disorders may become more common again.

A major role of vitamin D is to assist calcium absorption from the foods you eat and build strong, healthy bones. However vitamin D may also play a role in immunity, cardiovascular health, insulin responsiveness and diabetes. And according to a recent review in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, good cohort studies in Scandinavia have shown a link between vitamin D supplementation in infancy and reduced risk of type I diabetes 30 years later.

Getting your daily dose – food sources Very few foods in nature contain vitamin D and dietary sources can help boost your status. Good sources in Australia include oily fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon and tuna, eggs, fortified margarines and milks, plus red meat. Wild mushrooms and those pulsed with UV light are also a good source. In other countries, more foods are fortified with vitamin D such as breakfast cereals. Recipes like this Fusilli with Salmon and Baby Spinach (from Catherine Saxelby's Zest cookbook) is a great place to start and will be a winner with the whole family.



Getting your daily dose – sunlight Regular, indirect sun exposure remains the best way to get your vitamin D. Generally, experts suggest that 10–15 minutes of exposure on most days on the hands, face and arms should be enough. Specific recommendations differ by country and season, time of day, cloud coverage and the environment. Jump over to the Scoop on Nutrition to read the guidelines for Australians and the International Osteoporosis Foundation position statement on vitamin D for older adults.

Move it outdoors So, make a point to move it outdoors a few times each week, as part of your recipe for healthy living. See your doctor if you are concerned about your vitamin D levels. Vitamin D levels can be checked with a simple blood test and your doctor will advise if a vitamin D supplement is necessary.

Emma Stirling is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and health writer with over ten years experience writing for major publications. She is editor of The Scoop on Nutrition – a blog by expert dietitians. Check it out for hot news bites and a healthy serve of what’s in flavour.

In the GI News Kitchen

American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna's website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.

Fresh nectarines with port wine drizzle
Late summer fruit and wine is a culinary marriage made, if not in heaven, certainly in most Italian kitchens. This recipe uses a dessert port wine but other good fruity red wine choices might be Merlot, Valpolicella or Zinfandel. Sometimes when friends stop over for a late afternoon visit to our Friuli home, I’ll prepare the fruit I have on hand in this way and serve it with nut-based biscotti. This is a light, healthful, summery treat that will not interfere with the evening meal. Serves 4 (2 halves each)

4 medium nectarines, halved and pitted
4 teaspoons port wine
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 almonds, dry roasted, chopped



Drop the nectarine halves in boiling water and leave for 2 minutes. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and cool under running water. Gently peel back the skin with a knife. Place 2 nectarine halves each on 4 individual dessert plates. Set aside.
In an espresso cup mix the wine and vanilla. Drizzle evenly over the nectarines. Sprinkle with the almonds. Chill slightly before serving.

Per serve
Energy: 690kJ/90cals; Protein 2g; Fat 2g (includes 0g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 16g; Fibre 3g

Cut back on the food bills and enjoy fresh-tasting, easily prepared, seasonal, satisfying and delicious low or moderate GI meals that don’t compromise on quality and flavour one little bit with this Money Saving Meals recipe from Nicole Senior and Veronica Cuskelly's Belly Busting for Blokes. For more recipes check out the Money Saving Meals website.

Spicy beef and bean chilli
You can serve this one-pot classic a number of ways. If you like to start from scratch (and save a few cents), soak dried kidney beans overnight and cook in lots of boiling water (don’t add any salt)—they’ll take about an hour. If you make extra, you can freeze them too. White corn tortillas have a low GI (53) Makes 2 hearty serves, but we found it easily stretches to 3 serves accompanied by a big garden salad.

400g (14oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 large red capsicum, finely chopped
2 tsp Mexican chilli powder
1 tsp sweet paprika
300g (10½oz) lean beef mince
400g (14oz) can diced tomatoes
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 white corn tortillas (soft)



Picture: www.furlongphoto.com

COOK
Heat the oil in a non-stick medium-sized saucepan over a low-to-medium heat. Add onion, capsicum, chilli powder and paprika and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft. Don’t rush it – this may take about 10 minutes and will really develop the flavours. Add the mince and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes to break up the mince. Stir in the beans and tomatoes and when hot reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the parsley.

SERVE
Spoon the chilli into 2 warmed bowls (or a large bowl for scooping and sharing) and serve in a soft corn tortilla wrap with salad.

Per serve (based on 2 hearty 'bloke' serves)
Energy: 2635 kJ/ 630 cals; Protein 49 g; Fat 22 g (includes 6 g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 50 g; Fibre 17 g

Per serve (based on 3 serves)
Energy: 1756 kJ/ 420 cals; Protein 32 g; Fat 14 g (includes 4 g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 33 g; Fibre 11 g



Baked salmon with mixed bean salsa
This low GI meal from The Low GI Diet Cookbook (available from bookshops and Amazon) provides a deliciously tasty source of vitamin D (and omega-3, too). Keep it light and easy and serve it with a leafy mixed salad or with cooked green vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus or spinach. Serves 4

4 salmon fillets (about 150g/5oz each)
1 lemon, squeezed
Bunch coriander, leaves picked
Freshly ground black pepper

Mixed bean salsa
440g/15oz can four-bean mix, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp chopped black olives
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar



Picture: Ian Hofstetter.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Put the salmon fillets in an ovenproof dish, squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle over half the coriander leaves and season with freshly ground black pepper. Cover with foil and bake until done to your liking (about 15 minutes for rare to 30 minutes for well done).
Make the mixed bean salsa by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Add the remaining coriander leaves and mix well.
Place a salmon fillet on each plate and top with a generous spoonful of bean salsa and serve with plenty of green vegies.

Per serve (fish and salsa)
Energy: 1950kJ/ 460 cals; Protein 45g; Fat 24g (includes 5g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 26g; Fibre 6g

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: A big belly isn’t that bad
Fact: A big belly – while very common, especially in men – is bad news for your health.
There are a lot of folks struggling to wrap their arms around their special someone, and a lot of special someones struggling to tie their own shoelaces because of a big belly. These some ones are mostly blokes because using the belly as an energy storage tank is what the male body does naturally. After the menopause, women change to a more ‘apple’ shape as well, but it’s the blokes who need the most help. While women seem to constantly think about their weight and body shape, it’s the blokes who need a bit of encouragement to see their growing girth might be a problem.

And a problem it is. A big belly is also called ‘abdominal obesity’, and the fat stored there is also called ‘visceral fat’. It is this belly-fat that increases the risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high blood glucose, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome and fatty liver. Not to mention erectile dysfunction, low testosterone levels and poor sperm quality. And it’s hard to look tidy in clothes, or find clothes that fit. Psychologically speaking, it’s a downer when people ask ‘when is the baby due?’, or when blokes can’t keep up with the kids, or can’t do the things they used to do with ease. There’s nothing good about a big belly.

Many fad diets promise the world and deliver little, leaving a trail of nutritional and psychological ‘collateral damage’, but what blokes really need is sensible advice to get them on their way. They need straight-talking, no-nonsense information which helps correct the food knowledge and skills gap. While things are gradually changing, men are at a disadvantage with food because they tend to be less engaged with it. They’ve always left it to their mother, partner, or increasingly to the food industry: they have outsourced their food. And this is where the trouble lies: leaving food to everyone else means they have lost control over what they eat. While ancient man was a champion hunter and gatherer, contemporary man can be hopeless at feeding himself in a healthy way. Blokes need to learn more about food and conquer the kitchen to bust their belly.

In my experience it’s a lot easier for blokes to bust their belly than women. They’re less emotionally tied up with food and just get on with it: you tell them what to do and they do it. But of course in order to take action they have to appreciate there is a problem and male bravado is a barrier here. It’s tough for blokes to admit the fattening world has beaten them, especially if they’re doing so well at other aspects of life (and blokes can be competitive). Rather than punching their swollen belly saying ‘it’s all muscle’ and laughing it off, more blokes need to admit they’re worried and decide to take action. This will give other blokes permission to do the same. Blokes need to shake off their ‘threatened species’ status and pick up their cutlery for the good food revolution rather than digging their grave with a knife and fork. They simply won’t believe how much better they feel with a smaller belly.

Belly busting for blokes (New Holland) is Nicole’s new book of sensible and practical advice with Veronica Cuskelly’s simple, easy and tasty recipes (featuring the hunger-busting power of protein and lower GI carbs). Check out www.bellybusting.com.au

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

What's missing from traffic light labelling?
Like many countries, Australia is in the midst of an overweight/obesity epidemic and this in turn is creating an epidemic of diet-related chronic diseases, most notably type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke). Australian Government policy guidelines around food labelling have “agreed to tackle the burden of chronic disease”.

Although there is general agreement these days that excessive total energy intake relative to energy expenditure is the primary dietary factor contributing to overweight/obesity, the debate still rages in the scientific community about the specific contribution of macronutrients like fat, carbohydrate and alcohol.

Some well-intentioned Australian public health and consumer organisations are keen to see traffic light labelling on all Australian packaged foods, despite most other nations moving away from this particular front-of-pack labelling scheme. Choice, for example, recently used their model for traffic light labels to judge a range of mueslis for their fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium content.

Here at GI News we are as keen as anyone else to give consumers a simple way to make better choices in the supermarket that will help them achieve and maintain a healthier weight. However, we don't believe that the current traffic light labelling systems are the better buying magic bullet. Here's why.

The first and most obvious flaw with traffic light schemes is that they generally don't include kilojoules/calories (that's the total energy in 100 grams of food). Given that the general aim of traffic light labelling is to help in the fight against obesity, this omission seems almost inexplicable. When pushed on this, most traffic light advocates will say that most consumers don't understand kilojoule/calories. However, if there is this gap in consumer understanding, then surely what we should be doing is helping people understand kilojoules/calories and how to use them, rather than omit them from front-of-pack labelling schemes. A side effect of leaving them off, also suggests they don't matter as much as fat, sugar and salt ...

Secondly, while most traffic light labelling schemes include total fat and sodium, they only generally include half of the carbohydrates in the serving – that old bogey sugars. However, people with diabetes and those at risk need to know how much total carbohydrate a food contains – the starch as well as the the sugar. And of course if we were really serious about front-of-pack labelling helping in the prevention and management of diabetes (and obesity), we would also incorporate GI, as there is very strong (as in level 1) evidence that a low GI diet will help with both.

Thirdly, traffic light labelling schemes tend to focus on total sugars – not added sugars (the Choice critique of the mueslis for example, gives healthy products containing dried fruit a red 'sugar' traffic light. Some healthy foods like dried fruit (which our dietary guidelines say can contribute to your 2 serves a fruit a day) naturally contain sugars. What you have to watch with these foods is the portion size because they are energy dense, and this is where those kilojoules/calories have a key role to play.


Illustration courtesy Australian Food and Grocery Council – August 2011

Any front of pack labelling scheme needs to focus on both the positive and negative attributes of food if it’s going to truly help consumers make a balanced assessment of a product. If a front-of-pack labelling scheme is not entirely evidence based but instead focuses on the bogey nutrients of the day we can be sure that they will encourage food industry to reformulate their foods and drinks to avoid the dreaded red spot, but this may have the unfortunate side effect of increasing rates of overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes if the Australian sugar paradox is anything to go by.



For more information about the GI Symbol Program
Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Glycemic Index Foundation (Ltd)
Phone: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046
Fax: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com

GI Update

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions
Can you explain to me why controlling your insulin levels is important for trimming inches off your waistline?
Controlling insulin levels is the name of the game when it comes to being able to tighten your belt a notch to two because insulin is a leading player in the fat storage game deciding whether you burn fat or carbohydrate to meet your energy needs. It does this by switching muscle cells from fat-burning to carb-burning.

For example, if your insulin levels are low, as they are when you wake up in the morning, then the fuel you burn is mainly fat. If your insulin levels are high, as they are after you consume a high carb meal, then the fuel you burn is mainly carbohydrate. However, if the carbs you eat are healthy low GI ones, then the pancreas doesn’t have to work as hard, it shoots out less insulin to manage your blood glucose levels and you burn more fat.

Why don’t we just ditch the carbs altogether? Well, reducing carbs doesn’t have the same benefits as swapping high GI for low GI carbs. Low carb meals don’t have desirable flow-on effects to the next meal. They don’t improve the health and function of the beta cell as low GI carbs do. And finally, low carb diets don’t improve blood fat levels over the long term. What’s more, it’s much easier for you (mentally and physically) to swap one carb source for another rather than banish them entirely from your diet. Most dieters who’ve lost weight on low carb diets join the yo-yo brigade (the yo-yo method of girth control).

New GI Values for meal replacement products from SUGiRS
SUGiRS tested the dry powder products with water following the manufacturers’ instructions.

Achievit
VLED Shake (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry and Caffe Latte flavours) GI 22 – 17g available carbs per serving
VLED Soup (Creamy Chicken or Cream of Tomato and Veg) GI 20 – 17g available carbs per serving)

Tony Ferguson
Apricot Munch Bar GI 51 – 26g available carbs per serving (60g bar)
Berry Munch Bar 43g – 28g available carbs per serving (60g bar)
Crème of Chicken Soup GI 26 – 31g available carbs per serving
1 can (375ml) Chocolate Ready-to-Drink Shake GI 20 – 29g available carbs per serving
1 can (375ml) Espresso Ready-to-Drink Shake GI 20 – 31g available carbs per serving
Roast Pumpkin Soup GI 27 – 29g available carbs per serving
Chocolate Shake GI 22 – 29g available carbs per serving
Espresso Shake GI 22 – 30g available carbs per serving
Café Latte Shake GI 22 – 30g available carbs per serving

GI testing by an accredited laboratory
North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
20 Victoria Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web 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 www.glycemicindex.com

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