Foodwatch with Glenn Cardwell

Mushrooms and cancer


Glenn Caldwell

Mushroom eaters get many health benefits (one serve provides more than 20% of our daily needs of the essential nutrients riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, copper and selenium). Back in October 2008, GI News reported on a US study that found mushrooms to be an ideal way to cut calories without losing out on flavour or a sense of fullness. Now the mushroom is showing itself to be a tasty way of stacking the odds in our favour against developing the top two cancers that hit non-smokers.

If you are a non-smoker, then, statistically speaking, the cancer you are most likely to get is either breast or prostate cancer, each of which kill around 3000 Australians every year (compared to 7,500 people dying of lung cancer). Yet a solution could be a close as your local supermarket. According to a report from the University of Western Australia published in the March issue of the International Journal of Cancer, one of our most popular foods could greatly reduce your risk of getting these cancers.



Mushrooms good to breasts Researchers, led by Dr Min Zhang, studied 1000 Chinese women with breast cancer and compared them to 1000 control women without cancer. Their findings reveal that those women who consumed the most fresh mushrooms were around two-thirds less likely to develop breast cancer in comparison to those that didn’t eat mushrooms. There was a further risk reduction if they also drank a cup of green tea each day.

You may be thinking that the women in the study were eating exotic mushrooms that we rarely see in the supermarket. Not so. The most common mushroom consumed was the button mushroom, and 10 g (about 1/3 oz) or one small mushroom a day was enough to lessen the chance of breast cancer.

Mushrooms good to prostates too Earlier research published in the journal Cancer Research in 2006 has revealed that unique compounds in mushrooms inhibit two enzymes – aromatase and 5-alpha reductase – which encourage the progression of both breast and prostate cancer respectively in mice. The results have proved so encouraging that funding has just been granted to conduct human studies in the US to observe the effect of mushrooms in those who have had breast or prostate cancer.

First human research The study by Dr Zhang was the first human research showing a link between button mushrooms and a lower risk of breast cancer. A previous Korean study looking at other types of mushrooms also noted a link between mushrooms and a lower risk of breast cancer.

So, start stacking the odds in your favour with Johanna Burani’s Pappardelle con funghi or Diane Temple’s Mushroom minestrone with barley in this month’s GI News.

Glenn Cardwell is an Accredited Practising Dietitian consulting to the mushroom farmers of Australia. More information on mushrooms is available at www.mushroomsforlife.net. Make sure you check out Glenn's website.

IN THE GI NEWS KITCHEN

STICKS, SEEDS, PODS AND LEAVES 
Kate contributed the recipes to Ian Hemphill’s best-selling Spice and Herb Bible. You will find more of her recipes on the Herbies spices website. Or you can follow her on Instagram (@herbieskitchen).

Kate uses Herbies spices and blends in her cooking, but you can substitute with what you have on hand in your pantry.

APPLE AND ALMOND OVERNIGHT OATS WITH CHIA SEEDS 
Based on a bircher muesli recipe, these oats are a delicious, ready-made breakfast to kickstart the day. Herbie's Fragrant Sweet Spices blend contains coriander seed, cassia, cinnamon quills, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, poppy seeds, cloves, cardamom and rose petals. Quick steel cut oats (Uncle Toby’s) have a low GI (53). • Prep time: 10 mins • Refrigerate: 12 hours (overnight) • Serves: 6



2 cups quick steel-cut oats
¼ cup white chia seeds
1½ cups cloudy apple juice
2 cups reduced fat milk (or almond milk)
1 granny smith apple, grated
1 tsp Herbies Fragrant Sweet Spices

Topping
1 granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks
½ cup slivered almonds
½ cup flaked coconut
Honey (optional)
Plain Greek yoghurt

Combine the oats, chia seeds, apple juice, milk, grated apple and spices in a bowl and mix well. • Place in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. • Serve topped with apple matchsticks, almonds and coconut, a drizzle of honey if using and a dollop of yoghurt.

Per serve (with milk) 
1395kJ/335 calories; 11g protein; 16g fat (includes 4g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0.5); 32g available carbs (includes 16g sugars and 16g starches); 8g fibre; 63mg sodium; 504mg potassium; sodium : potassium ratio 0.13

CHRISSY FREER’S FOOD WITH ADDED LIFE 
As a qualified nutritionist, Chrissy’s philosophy is simple: limit the amount of processed food in your diet and focus on whole foods. “By returning to eating whole foods, that is foods in their most natural state, we allow our bodies to benefit from all the available nutrients that food can provide.” Steer clear of food fads and miracle cures, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is!


CHIA-CRUSTED SALMON WITH STIR-FRIED ASIAN GREENS AND TAMARI DRESSING
Chia seeds are a great alternative to breadcrumb crusts (and are gluten free). Combining them with and salmon ensures this meal is packed with essential fatty acids. It’s also packed with the goodness of Asian greens. Stir frying or lightly steaming these greens is the best way to preserve their nutrients and flavour. Prep: 10 minutes • Cook 10 • Serves 4



2 tbsp white chia seeds
2 tbsp black chia seeds
4 x 150g (5oz) skinless salmon fillets
2 bunches choy sum, washed and trimmed
2 tbsp sunflower oil 3
cm (1½in) piece ginger, peeled and julienned
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Tamari Dressing
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 tsp caster sugar

Combine white and black chia seeds on a plate. Press each salmon fillet in the chia seeds to evenly coat one side, then set aside. • Remove the stems from the choy sum, cut in half if long and reserve. To make the tamari dressing, put all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. • Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the salmon, chia side down, for 2–3 minutes or until golden. Turn and cook for a further 2 minutes (for medium), or until cooked to your liking. Set aside and keep warm. • Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add the ginger and garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the choy sum stems and stir fry for 1–2 minutes, then add the choy sum leaves and stir fry for 1 minute more or until almost wilted. Add half the dressing and toss to combine. • To serve, divide the choy sum between serving plates, top each with a piece of salmon and drizzle over a little of the remaining dressing. •Serve with steamed noodles or rice.

Per serve (without rice or noodles) 
1919kJ/457 calories; 38g protein; 30g fat (includes 5g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0.56); 5g available carbs (includes 5g sugars and 0g starches); 4g fibre; 560mg sodium; 630mg potassium; sodium : potassium ratio 0.89

INDIAN SCRAMBLED EGGS 
Delicious for breakfast or brunch, spicy scrambled eggs with mushrooms makes a tasty light meal any time of day. Portabella mushrooms (sometimes spelled Portobello) are larger than the regular white mushroom with an almost meaty texture and the perfect partner topping scrambled eggs on low GI Burgen toast. As dietitian Glenn Cardwell reminded us in GI News, “mushroom eaters get many health benefits (one serve provides more than 20% of our daily needs of the essential nutrients riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, copper and selenium)”. Recipe courtesy Total Wellbeing Diet’s new Protein Balance program. Prep 5 mins •Cook 10 mins • Serves 1



1 tsp olive oil
2 Portabella mushrooms, sliced (60g/2oz)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (optional)
cooking oil spray
2 x 60g/2oz eggs
¼ cup milk
1 tsp turmeric
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
25g (¾oz) cheddar cheese
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1 slice low GI Burgen bread, toasted

Heat olive oil in a small frypan over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and garlic for 2–3 minutes or until golden. Set aside. •Whisk together eggs and milk in a jug. •Heat a small frypan over medium heat and spray with cooking oil. Add turmeric and cumin seeds and toast for 1 minute or until fragrant. Pour in egg mixture and grate over cheese. Once eggs are set around the edges, begin to fold egg mixture over itself until almost cooked. • Serve scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast topped with coriander leaves.

Per serve
1884kJ/451 calories; 33g protein; 26g fat (includes 9g saturated fat; saturated : unsaturated fat ratio 0 : 53); 14g available carbs (includes 5g sugars and 9g starches); 4g fibre; 464mg sodium

News Briefs

For better blood glucose, it’s the GI not the colour of rice that counts
Consuming more white rice appears to be associated with a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, whereas consuming more brown rice may be associated with a lower risk for the disease, according to a report from researchers at Harvard University published in Archives of Internal Medicine. The NHS Choices Behind the Headlines review of this study makes the point that: 'Despite the quality of the study, the results don't actually prove that eating white or brown rice directly raises or lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes,' as cohort studies like this can draw associations but cannot prove causation. They go on to say that the researchers' conclusions are in line with general recommendations that people should include more wholegrains in their diet because they are thought to have a number of health benefits.

GI Group: While choosing brown rather than white rice may help reduce your risk of getting diabetes (along with being active and eating a healthy balanced diet), it's the GI of the rice that matters. The Harvard researchers said that the average GI for white rice was 64 and for brown rice it was 55. The higher GI of the white rice, and the loss of fiber, vitamins, magnesium and other minerals, lignans, phytoestrogens, and phytic acid, in the refining process are the likely factors for the increased diabetes risk.

However, neither colour nor size are a good guide to the GI of rice. Its amylose content is what counts. Amylose is a kind of starch that resists gelatinisation. Although both white and brown rice are grain foods, when you cook them, millions of microscopic cracks in the grains let water penetrate right to the middle of the grain, allowing the starch granules to swell and become fully ‘gelatinised’, thus very easy to digest. It’s true that popular white rices like jasmine have a high GI. But brown rice often has a surprisingly high GI too. This is because the insoluble fibre around brown rice is not viscous and it’s micro-thin. It’s easy for enzymes to attack the starch in rice because the milling operation has resulted in thousands of minute channels that allow water to hydrate the grain and gelatinise the starch during cooking. Greater gelatinisation of starch means higher GI. Finally, don’t forget that a healthy low GI diet is associated with a lower risk of diabetes than either eating brown rice, or wholegrains in general.

The bottom line: For better blood glucose, opt for the lower GI varieties with a higher amylose content such as Basmati, Doongara Clever Rice, Moolgiri medium grain or the Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice brown rice pouch range. These high-amylose rices stay firm and separate when cooked. But you still need to keep portions moderate, even when you choose a low GI rice as eating too much can have a marked effect on your blood glucose. Here’s our tip: a cup of cooked rice combined with plenty of mixed vegetables can turn into three cups of a rice-based meal that suits any adult’s daily diet.

Better blood glucose for kids with type 2
The incidence of type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in young people is sweeping the world at an alarming rate. In Australia for example, nearly 1 in 10 young people with diabetes now has type 2. Twenty years ago it was almost unheard of in this age group. Managing type 2 involves helping the kids normalise their blood glucose levels, reduce their blood fats and blood cholesterol and prevent the progression or development of complications.


Lauren Gellar M.S., M.ED., CHES

A small cross-over pilot study published in the Journal of Pediatrics has found that the average mean daytime blood glucose was significantly lower when the kids ate a low GI diet (GI 40) compared with the day they ate a higher GI diet (GI 64).

For the study, 12 obese young people aged between 7 and 16 with type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance were served a full day of high GI and a full day of low GI meals (matched for carbs, protein and fat content) in a supervised clinic setting. Participants demonstrated significantly lower mean daytime blood glucose and a trend toward lower variability, suggesting a clinically relevant impact of reducing glycemic index.

In their conclusion, the authors, Lauren Gellar and Dr Tonja Nansel write: ‘Our findings are of particular importance given that children who develop disorders of glucose metabolism are likely to be a particularly high-risk group. Thus the ability to demonstrate substantial differences in blood glucose with a dietary change lasting a single day suggests that a low GI diet is a promising approach for achieving improved health outcomes.’ For reprints of this study contact Dr Tonja Nansel

Resistance exercise better than aerobic for blood glucose
Ten weeks of resistance exercise (3 sessions a week of typically around 35 minutes) were associated with significantly better glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes compared with aerobic treadmill exercise although the average energy expenditure for both exercise groups was similar according to a study published in Diabetology and Metabolic Syndrome.

Before each session, participants in both groups performed warm up exercises, consisting of stretching exercises for the major muscle groups and there were no differences between the groups concerning their perceived exertion,’ write the authors. ‘The resistance training group followed an individually monitored progressive resistance training program using multiple-station universal weight machines. Seven exercises were used for resistance training that encompassed knee and hip flexion/extension, shoulder flexion/extension, adduction/abduction, elbow flexion/extension and a chest press. Three sets of 8–10 repetitions were performed for all exercises,’ they report.

If you take metformin, get your B12 checked
If you have diabetes and have been taking metformin (brand names such as Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Fortamet, Riomet, Glumetza, and others) for years, ask your doctor to check the level of vitamin B12 in your blood. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal reports that metformin may lead to a B12 deficiency. We need minute amounts of this vitamin (also known as cyanocobalamin or cobalamin) a day for the production of red blood cells and to maintain healthy nerves and a healthy brain.

‘Our data provide a strong case for routine assessment of vitamin B-12 levels during long term treatment with metformin,’ concludes Coen Stehouwer. The 4-year study tracked 390 people with type 2 diabetes and found that the 196 participants taking metformin had a 19% reduction in their vitamin B12 levels compared with the 194 participants who had taken a placebo, who had almost no B12 change. The reduced levels of vitamin B12 in the metformin group also persisted and became more apparent over time, they said.

Where do you get it? Most of us get plenty of vitamin B12 from our diet as red meat, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, shellfish and fortified breakfast cereals and enriched soy or rice milk. You can also take a supplement. What about mushrooms? Dietitian Glenn Cardwell writes: ‘To accurately establish the levels of B12 in mushrooms, scientists at the University of Western Sydney checked mushroom samples from the major mushroom growing centres around Australia in 2009. Writing in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry they report that there is a modest amount of B12 in mushrooms, closer to 5% of daily needs in a serve (three button mushrooms). It is the same type of B12 as found in meats and seafood, so it is the type of B12 that the body finds very easy to use.

GI News—October 2008

• 40 new GI values
• Spices protect against high blood glucose
• Why isn’t the weight coming off my waist?
• Is there a GI number I should strive for each day?
• Camomile tea and diabetes
• Can you die of a ‘broken heart’?

For a whole range of reasons we tend to classify foods as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Dietitian Glenn Cardwell suggests we treat ourselves to a reality check in Food for Thought. The new Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines have been published and one of the three key nutrition messages is ‘Replacing high-glycemic index carbohydrates with low-glycemic index carbohydrates in mixed meals. Read all about it in News Briefs along with reports on preventing type 2 diabetes and milk and muscle recovery. In Food of the Month, Catherine Saxelby looks at mushrooms and a new study on how they can help with weight loss. There are all our usual features too, including two low GI recipes and 40 new GI values from North America and Australia.

Good eating, good health and good reading.

GI News Editor: Philippa Sandall
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