Putting the Fun Back into Fitness

Breathe easy when swimming – it makes a difference.   
When summer approaches, my heart lifts. I can get back in the water. And although it takes a little time for the Pacific Ocean to bring in the warmer currents, they are on their way. My current challenge is to improve my swimming technique to the point that I am strong and confident enough to “swim the bay” – jumping into Bondi Beach at the north end and swimming the 800 or so metres across to the south (think of it as beginner’s ocean swimming).

Before attempting the bay swim, you are advised to be able to comfortably swim the distance non-stop in a pool. And at the beginning of this season I couldn’t, not doing the crawl (freestyle). I have always been a breast stroker. It feels natural, streamlined and effortless. With freestyle I have always felt more like a flailing cat. So I enlisted the help of Mermaid Swimming Academy at Bondi, and into the paddling pool I was put.



My instructor started on my breathing. It all starts with the breath she said. And through a simple drill of lifting my face to the side, ear in line with water and then turning it back underneath without altering my neck alignment, I realised how right she was. I had a strange feeling like I was a child again, panicking at putting my head under water. This is always the way when you have practised something with poor technique for years, developing certain “bad habits”. The correct technique feels foreign, frustrating and indeed scary – as though you will never get it right. The beauty of technique training is that you do, and often so much more quickly than you imagine. But it takes perseverance.

After a week of getting in the pool and making my way slowly and often uncomfortably up and down the lanes, practising this new breathing technique on both sides, everything became easier, enjoyable even until I was relaxed and found 800 metres perfectly manageable. So now the bay awaits ...

Swimming is possibly my favourite form of exercise. The whole body is engaged and gets a great work-out against the resistance of the water. There is zero impact on the body, so a very good way to get fit without stressing your joints. It also keeps the heart rate up, builds endurance, tones muscle strength and helps maintain a healthy weight, while focussing on correct breathing, keeps both your mind and body active – like active meditation.

If you are not a comfortable swimmer and get puffed or anxious about swallowing water, I cannot recommend a few technique lessons highly enough. It will transform your relationship with swimming and open up a whole new world of physical possibility including ocean swimming.

Follow up:  You will remember back in January, that I was heading off to Hawaii to paddle in its glorious waters and waves. I spent a week with Dylan Thomas of Surfski Kauai, learning technique on different surf skis and getting comfortable paddling on the river and in the open ocean. Here is a clip of my first down wind "joyride" in a double Fenn ski behind instructor, Dylan.

Emma Sandall runs Body Playground, an online space for discovering how to put the fun back into your fitness routines. With fellow Body Playground director and Pilates teacher, Peta Green, she has developed a new and expressive style of workout that brings together the technical and fluid aspects of Pilates, yoga and ballet. For tips on stretching or to learn a nice sequence you can do any time, any place, check out Vimeo.

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

The low down on dietary fibre
We hear lots about dietary fibre these days – in particular how good it is for us and how we all need to eat more. In this first of a two-part series, I explore what it is, why we think it is good for us, and why most of us need to eat more.

What fibre actually is The current definition of dietary fibre is much the same around the globe. Australia and New Zealand’s food regulator FSANZ says: “dietary fibre means that fraction of the edible part of plants or their extracts, or synthetic analogues that are resistant to the digestion and absorption in the small intestine, usually with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine … and includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides and lignins.” This basically means that dietary fibres come mostly (but not exclusively) from plants and that they are the poorly digested portions that pass through into the large intestine (bowel) and provide much of the bulk in our stools (along with water and bacteria, amongst a few other things).

There are a number of ways of classifying the different types of fibre. One of the most popular systems is whether they are soluble in water or not:

• Water soluble fibres include gums (e.g. agar), fructans (e.g. inulin), mucilages (e.g. psyllium) and pectins. They are found in a range of foods including fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, peas and lentils) and some grains (oats and barley)
• Water insoluble fibres include cellulose, hemicellulose and lignins. They are mostly found in vegetables, wheat and other wholegrains, nuts and seeds. 

The different types of dietary fibres have different effects on our health.

Why we think fibre is good for us “Fibres promote one or more of the following beneficial physiological effects – laxation; reduction in blood cholesterol; modulation of blood glucose” says the second part of the FSANZ definition. Soluble dietary fibre may help reduce blood cholesterol levels and modulate blood glucose levels – but whether it does so or not depends in part on the degree of food processing and of course how much you eat. High cholesterol and blood glucose levels are risk factors for heart and other blood vessel diseases and type 2 diabetes and there is evidence that high fibre diets can indeed reduce the risk of heart disease, but perhaps surprisingly, there is little evidence that high fibre diets by themselves reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Insoluble dietary fibre primarily helps with laxation, which in turn may decrease the risk of constipation, haemorrhoids and colo-rectal (bowel) cancer.

Why most of us need to eat more Australia’s nutrition recommendations advise that women consume 25 grams of total fibre each day and men 30 grams each day. Based on the most recent nutrition survey, Australian intake is not far under the target amounts and way ahead of the US and UK with women eating 21 grams of fibre a day and men 27 grams. In the USA, women consume just over 14 grams a day and men just under 18 grams. In the UK, women consume 12.8 grams a day and men 14.8 grams a day. But, here’s what has been dubbed the Australian fibre paradox. Despite the relatively high average fibre intakes, Australians have some of the highest rates in the world of bowel cancer – ahead of the UK and US.

In part 2 (March), I’ll show how we can all incorporate more fibre into our diets in an enjoyable way, and talk about whether or not high fibre foods are low GI as many people think.


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.barclay@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com

Q&A with Jennie Brand-Miller

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions. 



I find coconut water refreshing. But I have recently come across maple water. What is it? They say it is low GI. I am tempted to try it.
Maple water is the very same sap from the tree that they make the syrup from. It’s long been known as a refreshing drink straight from the tree when the sap is running in maple country, and not just in the US and Canada. In South Korea, drinking maple sap (“gorosoe”) is more than a springtime ritual, they have festivals and sap-drinking contests. Until recently, sap drinking had a very limited season as it could only be harvested during a narrow six-week window. According to the manufacturer of one of the launch brands, Kikki Maple Sweet Water®, “the sap is frozen to maintain its healthful benefits and maximize its fresh shelf life. At a local bottling plant, a hot fill process, with the liquid heated to just below 96 degrees Celsius, ensures that the drink remains below pasteurization temperature to preserve its purity, highlight the flavour and maintain healthful benefits. The product is then shipped, stored, and served chilled.”



What’s in it? Kiki has about 60 calories (250 kilojoules) per 10 fluid ounce (300ml) serving. Its light maple sweetness comes from the 2–3 percent concentration of sugars in the sap, but that still gives you around 15g or 3 teaspoons of sugar (sucrose, glucose and fructose) in a serve – as does coconut water, if you want a comparison. There are claims that it is a low glycemic drink. But there is no actual GI value for it at present, as it has not been GI tested – I assume the claim is based on the GI value for pure maple syrup (GI 54). This is a hard one to guesstimate, and it would be good to see it GI tested (ditto coconut water). If it is only 2–3% sugars, then it empties faster from the stomach (like watermelon), so it could have a higher GI than maple syrup, depending on the balance of the sugars. Even so, the glycemic load would be low unless you drank several cups at a sitting as there is less sugar (carbohydrate) in it. There are other claims about its nutritional benefits including vitamins, minerals and polyphenols. We still think that it’s one for the occasional category, and not for everyday hydration. It’s the calories that not only count, but add up. To quench your thirst, it’s hard to beat water.

What about coconut water? 
We were recently asked about how healthy coconut water really is. We haven’t reviewed it, but Catherine Saxelby over at Foodwatch has. You can check out her report HERE.

The latest GI values from SUGIRS 
Rice syrup 
Also called: Brown rice syrup, rice malt syrup This is a mild-flavored, malted-grain sweetener that dissolves easily and is used in drinks and dressings, in baking and as a topping for cereals, waffles and pancakes. It is about one-third as sweet as regular sugar (sucrose) and is made by fermenting whole brown rice with enzymes that break down the natural starch content of the grain. The sugar composition of the final product is around 45% maltose, 3% glucose, and 52% maltotriose (a trisaccharide consisting of three glucose molecules joined together).

• Glycemic index = 98
• Available carbohydrate per 5g serving (1 level teaspoon) 4g 
• Glycemic load per 5g serving (1 level teaspoon) = 4 
• Glycemic load per 10g serving (2 level teaspoons) =8
• Glycemic load per 15g serving (1 level 15-ml tablespoon) = 12
• Glycemic load per 20g serving (1 level 20-ml Australian tablespoon) = 16 

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—January 2014

• Bill Shrapnell on why sugar intake from soft drinks is falling; 
• Prof Tom Wolever puts the GI facts on the table for healthier choices;  
• Prescribe yourself lifestyle as medicine in 2014 with Dr David Katz;
• Nicole Senior enjoys raspberries in taste of health, and Anneka Manning bakes a raspberry and nectarine crumble;
• Put the fun back into fitness with paddling, it is a complete release and a great workout writes Emma Sandall. 

GI News 
Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD
Contact email (for questions or permission to reproduce stories from this newsletter): info@gisymbol.com for technical problems or faults please contact smb.ginewstech@sydney.edu.au

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Food for Thought

More carrot, less stick might help do the trick.  
Taxes on ‘bad’ foods are the dish du jour in nutrition policy,’ says Prof J.T. Winkler in the BMJ commenting on a study where the authors propose even more taxes – just a bit higher despite acknowledging that most taxes are small, based on flawed evidence, and have limited, even negative, effects. ‘These are unlikely to be adopted and would be ineffective if they were,’ writes Winkler. While Katherine Rich, CEO of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council pointedly notes: ‘I have heard many times the idea of food taxes. But I have never heard the idea of a food tax – be it sugar of fat – being championed by anyone who was not comfortably drawing a six-figure salary at the time.’

#1. Instead of talking taxes on ‘bad’ food, how about we tell the powers-that-be that we want them to look at ways of making the healthy choice the cheaper choice. A new meta-analysis from Harvard suggests that healthier choices do indeed cost more. The researchers report that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts (which would indeed be healthy and low GI) – cost more than diets rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains. Totting it all up, the Harvard team calculate that it costs about $1.50 more per person per day to make the healthy choice. Over a year for a family of four, that’s about $2200. We think, for some people, that's on the low side. Research shows that rural Australians pay much more for fresh food than city-dwellers do (A$9 for six mushrooms or A$4.50 for one small piece of broccoli or cauliflower).

 #2. Instead of talking taxes on ‘bad’ food, how about we tell the powers-that-be that we want them to look at ways of making sport and recreation more accessible and affordable for young and old. From swimming lessons (an essential), to signing up for winter and summer sports, taking part in organised sport is increasingly expensive (club fees and kit and travel), and out of reach of many families, especially single parent ones.

#3. Instead of talking taxes on ‘bad’ food, how about we tell the powers-that-be that we want them to be looking at ways of opening stairwells so we all can get more puff into our day. Prof Arya Sharma has suggested that perhaps we should be thinking of establishing codes for ‘active’ buildings. He describes the new Edmonton Clinic Health Academy where you are immediately faced with a wide open staircase (not stairwell!) on entering the building and the elevators are rather hidden in a corner.

#4 Instead of talking taxes on ‘bad’ food, how about we tell the powers-that-be we want them to boost food literacy and teach every child to cook says Nicole Senior. ‘Fast food is so much easier to avoid if you can whip up something tasty quickly. It’s so much easier to eat well if you know what to do with healthy ingredients (and you know what different ingredients are!). Every child should know milk comes from a cow and at the very least the difference between parsley and basil. Ideally they would know basil tastes divine with ripe tomato and how to grow them in the garden, pot or Styrofoam box. Food skills are living skills and if we build them up, we’ll be less vulnerable to unhealthy food marketing.’



Harris Farm Markets keep a well-stocked barrel of fruit at the entrance of their produce stores. This picture was taken at the new Harris Farms Markets Bondi Beach store on Hall Street. We think this is a great ‘More Carrot, Less Stick’ initiative. ‘Thumbs Up’ from the GI News team. 

News and Reviews

The naturally low GI spud story. 
Everyone loves potatoes but they are often very high GI and a problem when managing BGLs. Back in 2007, when Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and Dr Alan Barclay saw the evidence mounting that it is the potato variety that effects glycemic impact not the cooking method, they sat down with potato expert Graham Liney, grower Frank Mitolo and Dutch potato breeding company Agrico to put a low GI potato on the table. Three years after the first crop was pulled from the soil, the not-so-humble Carisma was internationally certified as the first low GI potato (GI 55). They were developed from conventional plant crossings with other potato varieties and tested in field trials in Australia.
 
 Kai Lin Ek, Accredited Practising Dietitian

Presenting at the International Congress of Nutrition in Granada in September 2013, Sydney University researcher Kai Lin Ek reported her findings that showed that Carisma ‘not only ranks well alongside other potatoes, but is also comparable with other low GI foods. Potatoes tend to get bad press because they are generally classified as a high GI carbohydrate but our research has discovered that Carisma has half the blood glucose response compared to other potato varieties,’ she said. ‘It has a similar GI to pastas, all of which are usually classified as low GI foods. But don’t overcook it. Any starchy carbohydrate has a higher GI if it is overcooked. If rice is mushy or pasta is not al dente you just increase the starch digestibility. Boiling for about nine minutes is the ideal cooking time to enjoy the health benefits and flavours of Carisma.’



Developing a screening method for identifying further low GI potato cultivars is a health and agricultural priority. In a follow-up study published in the British Journal of Nutrition Kai Lin Ek reports that low GI potato cultivars could be identified by in vitro screening. In this study of seven potato cultivars she concludes, we found that: ‘GI values were strongly and positively correlated with the percentage of in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of starch in the cooked potatoes. Amylose, dietary fibre and total starch content was not correlated with either in vitro starch digestibility or GI.’ Carisma potatoes are now grown all over Australia, and they are now in the ground in North America and Europe, so they will be commercially available in those regions in the near future.

Let’s put the GI facts on the table so consumers can make healthier choices. 
‘GI methodology is accurate and precise enough for practical use; GI is a property of foods; and GI is biologically meaningful and relevant to virtually everyone,’ writes GI pioneer Prof Tom Wolever in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition addressing current criticisms that focus on GI’s validity. ‘None of the critics provide sound reasons for rejecting GI because some of their arguments are based on flagrant errors in understanding and interpretation while others are not supported by current data or are inconsistent with other nutritional recommendations.’

Wolever is concerned that current dietary guidelines recommend increased consumption of whole grains and dietary fibre, but do not mention GI. ‘This is illogical,’ he says ‘because the evidence that GI affects health outcomes is at least as good, or better, than that for whole grains and fibre. GI is a novel concept from a regulatory point of view and a number of problems do need to be addressed to successfully translate GI knowledge into practice. The problems are not insurmountable but no progress can be made until bias and misunderstanding about GI can be overcome and there is better agreement about what is the actual state of knowledge on GI so that the real issues can be identified and addressed.’ Speaking to GI News, Tom Wolever says: ‘I have nothing against recommending people consume more fiber and whole grains, my concern here is that these are not better markers of carbohydrate quality than a food's GI value.’ 

Bill Shrapnel on why sugar intake from soft drinks is falling.


Bill Shrapnel, Accredited Nutritionist

‘Carbonated soft drinks have been a major source of sugar in the Australian diet for decades. In 2007, Dr Gina Levy and Professor Linda Tapsell published an analysis of sales of soft drinks and other water-based beverages in Australia between 1997 and 2006. There were three key findings – beverage sales were increasing; there was a shift away from sugar-sweetened to non-sugar drinks; and the per capita contribution of sugar from these beverages to the national diet was declining. Recently, Gina Levy and Bill Shrapnell conducted a study to update the earlier findings of Levy and Tapsell. Their objective was to assess trends in sales of soft drinks and other water-based beverages over a 15-year period, from 1997 to 2011. The paper has been accepted for publication in Nutrition and Dietetics and Gina Levy presented their findings at the ‘Sweet Symposium’ in Sydney on 2 December 2013. The most interesting finding from this study was the fall in the sugar contribution from carbonated soft drinks from 8.4kg (about 18 pounds) per person in 1997 to 6.2kg (about 13 pounds) per person in 2011. In relation to the broader category of sugar-sweetened beverages, per capita sugar contribution fell over the 15-year period from 9.2kg (about 20 pounds) to 7.6kg (about 16½ pounds). The reason for the decline in the contribution of sugar from these beverages is the ongoing, long-term decline in the proportion that is sugar-sweetened, from 70% to 58% of the total. This is largely driven by a substantial shift in carbonated soft drinks from sugar-sweetened to non-sugar drinks. Over 15 years the proportion of carbonated soft drinks that is sweetened with sugar has fallen from 64% to 45% of the total. There has been a corresponding increase in the proportion of non-sugar soft drinks (e.g. diet soft drinks with non-nutritive sweeteners) and still water. The traditional drivers of the soft drink market have been indulgence and convenience. It now appears as though increasing health consciousness, especially in relation to body weight, is making its presence felt.’ To read more, head over to The Sceptical Nutritionist. (Reprinted with permission).



Reviewing the role of fructose, sucrose, and HFCS in diabetes.  
‘There remains a lack of consistent evidence to suggest that fructose, sucrose, or HFCS at moderate doses is directly related to the development of diabetes and other cardio-metabolic diseases, although there is potentially cause for concern where fructose is provided at high doses or contributes excess energy to diets’ write Drs John Sievenpiper and Al Cozma in US Endocrinology. But ‘many questions remain unanswered,’ they say. ‘High-quality trials are needed to assess the role of fructose-containing sugars in free exchange with foods likely to replace them in the diet in the development of diabetes and cardio-metabolic diseases.’

What’s new?

Nicole's Taste of Health

Raspberries to that 
Ever wondered where the term ‘blowing a raspberry’ came from? It’s kinda obvious in a way because the shape of your mouth when you blow a raspberry looks a bit like a raspberry, but the real low-brow humour comes from the English rhyming slang ‘raspberry tart’ for fart- the noise blowing a raspberry. Ahem, moving right along.

Raspberries are my all time favourite because of their mouth-watering tang and subtle sweetness. It’s a pity they are expensive as they are one of the few fruits you can eat by the tub without blowing your kilojoule budget. One of the main reasons they are expensive is they are highly fragile and have a short shelf life. Their velvety skin is easily damaged and their softness prone to mushiness. Of course even in this less than perfect state they are fine to use in recipes (they’re too good to waste). Look for raspberries in good shape (plump) and rich in colour and store them in the fridge in a single layer on some paper towel. I would recommend you eat them as soon as you get them home while they are still perfect but they will last in the fridge for a few days if they were fresh when you bought them. If by chance you have a surplus, they can also be frozen for up to a year, either in a freezer bag (in a single layer) or suitable solid container. Another reason raspberries are so special is their fleeting availability only during summer. Luckily they are available frozen to prolong the pleasure through the year and are perfectly fine to use in muffins, loaves, friands, crumbles, tarts and pies, smoothies and yoghurt.

You may not know that raspberry bushes are covered in sharp hairs so in the days before commercial production they were an even greater prize due to the pain incurred during the harvest. Raspberries are easy to grow but easily spread by popping up new stems from the roots underground. Plant them where you won’t mind them getting away, or be prepared to remove the new runners should they pop up where you don’t want them.

When it comes to nutrition raspberries are in the top of the charts for phytochemicals, including ellagic acid, anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids and tannins that play a variety of roles to benefit health such as reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, enhancing insulin action, and reducing cancer cell activity. They are also rich in vitamin C and fibre, and contain vitamin E, folate and manganese. Just one cup provides around half the daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

While raspberries are divine eaten fresh they also add something special to porridge or muesli, fresh squeezed juice, smoothies, yoghurt and fruit salad. And they play a starring role in desserts such as crumble, syllabub, pudding and parfait. If you’re fortunate enough to grow a bumper crop, raspberry jam, jelly and sauce are marvellous ways to keep the good times rolling. Try serving jam on some wholegrain toast with ricotta for an almost-cheesecake experience, and drizzle the sauce over ice cream or yoghurt and garnish with your favourite nuts. Raspberry coulis (pronounced koolie) is simply a sweetened sauce with the seeds strained out and fabulous on just about anything. I would remiss if I didn’t also mention how well raspberries partner with chocolate, especially the dark, rich, not-too-sweet kind. Top your favourite chocolate dessert with fresh raspberries or raspberry sauce/coulis to take bliss to a whole new level. I will never blow another raspberry again!



Nicole Senior is an Accredited Nutritionist, author and consultant who strives to make healthy food taste terrific. You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook or checkout her website

In the GI News Kitchen

Family Baking, Anneka Manning, author of Bake Eat Love. Learn to Bake in 3 Simple Steps and founder of Sydney’s BakeClub, shares her delicious ‘better-for-you’ recipes for snacks, desserts and treats the whole family will love. Through both her writing and cooking school, Anneka teaches home cooks to bake in practical and approachable yet inspiring ways that assure success in the kitchen. She is running her popular Healthy Kids' Lunch Box class on February 3 in Sydney. Just click the link to sign up.

 
Nectarine and raspberry crumble 
This summery fruit crumble plays on the heavenly aroma and flavour of ripe nectarines alongside the refreshing tang of juicy raspberries, all topped off with a deliciously nutty crumble mix. Remember, the tablespoon I use is the 20ml Australian tablespoon (equals 4 teaspoons). Serves: 8

800g (just under 2lb) ripe, white nectarines, cut into eighths
300g/10oz frozen raspberries
1 tbsp honey

Crumble topping 
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 tbsp LSA (ground linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
½ tsp ground ginger
40g/1½ oz butter or margarine cut into 1cm/½in pieces
¼ cup natural almonds, coarsely chopped

Honey yoghurt 
1 cup reduced fat Greek-style yoghurt, to serve
1 tbsp honey


Photo: Georgie Esdaile

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350F. Line an oven tray with non-stick baking paper.
To make the crumble topping, place oats, sugar, LSA, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and ground ginger in a bowl, mix to combine. Add the margarine and use your fingertips to rub in until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the almonds.
Place the nectarines and raspberries in a bowl, drizzle with the honey and mix gently to combine. Divide the fruit among eight ¾ cup ramekins or ovenproof dishes and place on the oven tray. Sprinkle each evenly with the Crumble Topping.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the crumble is crisp and golden and the fruit is tender when tested with a skewer. Meanwhile ...
To make the honey yoghurt, combine the yoghurt and honey in a small bowl and stir until evenly combined. Serve with the crumble.

Baker's tips

• Store any leftover crumble in the ramekins covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 
• Serve cold or reheat in an oven preheated to 180C/350f for 10-15 minutes. 
• This crumble can also be baked in a 2-litre (8-cup) ovenproof dish at 180C/350F for 30-35 minutes. 

Baking tins
You may have noticed that traditional enamel bakeware is making a comeback. Available in a variety of sizes I find it is perfect for making crumbles, vegetable bakes and roasts or even to serve from – salads in particular. If you love the dish I have used here, the brand is Wiltshire and it is available in Australia through Woolworths and David Jones. There are various sizes. I used the individual dishes for the crumble.

Per serve 
1075 kJ/ 255 calories; 6 g protein; 12 g fat (includes 3.3 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.28); 28 g available carbs; 6 g fibre

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.



Baked winter pears with fresh grape juice sauce 
Here is a wholesome, no-sugar-added, naturally sweet dessert coming to you from Mother Nature herself while on one of her trips to Italy! Serves 6 (a pear per person)

Grape sauce 
4 lb (1.8 kg) red or black grapes with or without seeds
1 cup red wine such as Cabernet, Merlot, etc.

Baked pears
6 large, firm pears (Bosc), halved, peeled and cored
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom



To make the grape sauce Remove the stems from the grapes, wash and pat dry. Add the grapes in batches to a food processor and finely chop • Place the chopped grapes in a container with a lid and refrigerate for 2–3 days • Strain the grapes through a sieve into a large pot – be sure to press out as much liquid as possible and to scrape off the pulp from the bottom of the sieve and add to the liquid • Cook the grape juice, uncovered, over medium-high heat for approximately 30 minutes. The liquid should reduce down to about ¾ cup. • Add the wine and boil for 1–2 minutes. Set aside.

To make the baked pears Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) • Place pear halves, cut side down in an 11-inch (20cm) round baking dish. Sprinkle the cardamom on the pear tops • Bake until a knife easily pierces through, approximately 40–60 minutes (depending on ripeness). Baste 3–4 times with the grape sauce. When the pears are done, remove from the oven.

To serve There are two serving options with this dessert • You can simply pour the grape sauce and pan juices into a gravy boat and serve with the warm (or room temperature) pears • Alternatively, you can transfer the grape syrup and pan juices into a small saucepan and rapidly boil it down until it thickens and starts to caramelize (3–5 minutes). Quickly pour the reduction over the pears, forming a type of glaze.

Per serve 
1000kJ/240 calories; 2g protein; 2g fat (includes 0g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0);  49g available carbs; 7g fibre

Vino cotto 
If you slowly reduce unfermented grape juice, you end up with a velvety, sweet condiment that compliments desserts and savory dishes. If you don’t have time to make your own, look for vino cotto in larger supermarkets and gourmet stores. It tends to be an artisanal product, but more brands are appearing on the shelves. We tried Il Baronello (with quince) drizzled over plain yoghurt, and also in a rocket, pear, walnut and parmesan salad. Angela Galtieri, whose family who started Il Baronello, says: 'Encouraged by interest from adventurous home cooks, we began producing vino cotto. We had also noticed that older generations of Italians no longer made their own (it’s very hard work), and preferred to buy it when they needed it for their traditional sweets.' Vino cotto itself has not been GI tested, but Chateau Barossa grape syrup (essentially the same thing) has a GI of 52. Make sure the ingredient list simply says '100% grape must' plus any other additional fruit flavouring.

Summer barbecue for easy meals and entertaining 
Barbecued prawns with avocado and mango salsa
Here at GI News, we always enjoy Luke Mangan’s recipes, and have published several over the years as he has lovely ideas for using low GI ingredients like lentils and corn. This recipe is from his new book, Salt Grill: Fine dining for the whole family (Murdoch Books). With mangoes in season here in Australia, we couldn’t resist. Serves 4.

16 fresh king prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined, tails left intact
A little extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
¼ iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
Vietnamese mint leaves, to garnish

Mango salsa 
2 small ripe mangoes
¼ red onion, very finely diced
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp roughly chopped Vietnamese mint
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
1½ tbsp chardonnay vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil



Peel the mangoes, then cut off the cheeks and as much flesh off the stones as possible. Dice the mango flesh and place in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining salsa ingredients, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix lightly.
Place the prawns on a tray. Season and drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat the prawns. Place the prawns on a hot barbecue or frying pan and cook for 2 minutes on one side. Turn the prawns over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove and rest on a plate for another 2 minutes.
Add the lettuce to the mango salsa and place on a platter. Scatter the prawns and avocado on top. Garnish with Vietnamese mint.

Per serve
925 kJ/220 calories; 17.5 g protein; 10 g fat (includes 2 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.2); g available carbs; g fibre

Produce pic



Pic Ian Hoffstetter, The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (Hachette Australia)
In now Peaches
What’s in them? Delicious, chin-dripping-juicy peaches (GI 42) are a good source of vitamin C, potassium and fibre.
What to make? Poach in a light syrup or wine (or champagne) with a vanilla pod and serve with Greek yogurt; or halve (remove stone), fill with a nutty crumble, and grill. Check out the summery fruit desserts in The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (in bookshops and online) including Poached peaches with vanilla yogurt and marinated raspberries and Ameretti-baked nectarines.

Putting the Fun Back into Fitness

Paddling.  
Here in Australia, it is fair to say that kayaking or ‘paddling’ is in. The minute I sit in a kayak with a paddle in my hands and feel the sensation of the criss-cross motion gliding through the water, all cares vanish. Prof Jennie Brand-Miller tells me that she has an ‘industrial strength’ blow-up kayak and like me, she finds paddling around the harbour with her husband, John and their miniature poodle, Sacha, a complete release and a great workout.

Kayaking is a low impact activity that can improve your aerobic fitness, strength and flexibility. You can take up paddling as a hobby, a competitive sport or for an active holiday (there are kayaking safaris). However, no activity is for everyone. People with tight hip flexors or bad backs often find the seated posture in a kayak painful.

When you kayak with the correct technique – pushing the pegs with your legs, engaging your core muscles, and working your torso and arms with a criss-cross figure 8 motion – you work your entire body without strain, using the resistance of the water. Wind, tide and current can add additional pleasure, exhilaration, motivation and cardiovascular effort.

On top of this, you can experience the beauty of the world around you from a unique perspective, discovering new nooks and crannies in familiar places. Kayaking has transformed travel for me, and I now hunt down places to paddle wherever I roam – Perth, the Whitsundays and Israel so far, with Hawaii and Switzerland on the agenda for 2014.



Paddling in the Whitsundays

To get started, it’s a good idea to take some lessons, or join a local paddling group or club. People of all ages and levels of fitness can enjoy canoeing and kayaking, but you need to be properly prepared (and that includes stretching before and after) and use your common sense. Better Health Victoria has an excellent fact sheet on safe paddling and kayaking.

Emma Sandall runs Body Playground, an online space for discovering how to put the fun back into your fitness routines. With fellow Body Playground director and Pilates teacher, Peta Green, she has developed a new and expressive style of workout that brings together the technical and fluid aspects of Pilates, yoga and ballet. For tips on stretching or to learn a nice sequence you can do any time, any place, check out Vimeo.

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

Low GI foods and drinks help kids keep in shape
While it’s common knowledge that adults around the world are piling on the pounds, we sometimes overlook the fact that our children live in exactly the same obesogenic environment and that they too are increasing in girth at a faster rate than they are increasing in stature. Here in Australia, for example, 1 in 4 children aged 5-17 years were classified as overweight or obese in Australia's most recent national nutrition survey.

A new systematic review and meta-analysis of low glycemic index and load diets in children has shown how consuming low GI/GL meals and snacks can help children prevent weight gain. The researchers identified six studies that included 213 children aged from four to seventeen and found that kids can reduce their average energy intake at the next meal by approximately 600 kilojoules (145 calories) by choosing healthy low GI alternatives.

The authors report that: “The underlying mechanism regarding the relationship between GI and energy intake is glucostatic hypothesis. In this theory, decrease and increase in blood glucose level is the main determinant of hunger and satiety, respectively. L[ow] GI foods provided sustained blood glucose levels. Thus, feelings of hunger are delayed following an L[ow] GI meal compared with an H[igh] GI meal.” This new level 1 evidence (the highest) builds on results from the recent Diogenes study that found that a higher protein, low GI diet is the best eating pattern for longer term weight maintenance in children aged from five to eighteen.



Most kids like to graze on small meals and snacks throughout the day. By providing healthy low GI snacks between meals you can help your children reduce their overall kilojoule/calorie intake at their main meals. Healthy low GI snacks for children include:

• Fresh fruit (apples, grapes, pears and other temperate fruits) and fruit salad 
• Canned/bottled fruit 
• Dried fruit (apple, apricots, dates, peaches, pear, prunes) 
• Fruit and nut mix 
• Reduced or low fat plain milk 
• Reduced or low fat flavoured milk (e.g., Milo)
• Reduced or low fat yoghurt (plain or with fruit) 
• Low GI bread (Burgen, Tip Top 9 Grain or Mission corn tortilla all carry the GI Symbol) with a favourite spread or topping (e.g., hummus)
• Raisin toast with a scrape of jam 
• Wholegrain crackers and crispbreads
• Muesli bars (e.g., Uncle Toby's Crunchy or Chewy varieties)
• A small bowl of breakfast cereal (Kellogg’s Sustain or All Bran Fibre Toppers) with reduced or low fat milk

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.barclay@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com

Q&A

Guest contributor, Dr David Katz, gets to ask and answer the first Q&A for 2014. 


Dr. David Katz

‘When I ask my patients why they’ve come to see me, the answer is always to get better if something is wrong, or to get advice about staying healthy if nothing is currently bothering them. My second question is “Why do you care about being healthy? What is health for?”
Usually these questions are met with silence. No one really thinks about the fact that health is for something, but it is. It’s for living the life you want, for feeling good and functioning at your best. It’s a reward and a return on your investment in yourself. That’s true of the money we put aside to secure our futures or pay for our kids’ educations, and it’s certainly true of the effort we devote to improving our health. After all, your life will be better if you have good health. And if you pay it forward by sharing your health-promoting, disease-fighting strategies with your loved ones, your life will be better still because the people you love will share good health with you.

It requires effort and practice to make these skills automatic, especially given the world we live in. We didn’t choose to be born into an environment that promotes obesity, but here we are, nevertheless. We did not choose to find ourselves in a world awash with highly palatable, energy-dense convenient foods. And while we did not choose to be among the first generation of Homo sapiens that could count on technology to do everything for us, in areas ranging from work to recreational pursuits, once again, here we are. You don’t need to be gluttonous to overeat or lazy to underexercise and gain weight in the modern world; you simply need to live in the modern world, which is why obesity and chronic disease are not exceptions – they are now the norm.

There’s a place for both personal policy and public policy in fixing what ails our collective health. Remember, while you’re waiting for the world to change, it is possible to steer a course of your own and your family’s to better health. It’s called lifestyle. And it is the best medicine there is, ever was, and likely ever will be. At a fork in the road for health care, our economy, our culture, and what the future holds for our children and grandchildren, each of us holds a spoon that could get this medicine to go down. When you prescribe yourself lifestyle as medicine you will discover that you can:

• Build skills to improve your eating habits at home and on the road, your food shopping and cooking habits, and your level of physical activity. 
• Retrain your taste buds to prefer healthier foods, discover physical activities you enjoy and fit them into your life, and embrace the gift of physical activity. 
• Improve other aspects of your lifestyle including your sleep, stress, pain and social connections so they can enhance your eating and exercise habits. 

When you prescribe yourself lifestyle as medicine, you are the doctor for yourself and those you love. But as with all doctoring, it requires a skill set. If you don't have it, you can get it. No other medicine can do what lifestyle can do, and no one else can practice lifestyle for you. It's your life, and only you can live it. If you empower yourself, if you acquire the requisite skill-power to take lifestyle as your medicine, it will almost certainly be a better life. Healthy people have more fun.’

This is an edited extract from Dr Katz’s new book (with Stacey Colino), DISEASE PROOF, where shares the very skill set on which he and his family rely to enjoy lifestyle as medicine.



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—December 2013

• Give prime position on the buffet table to healthy dishes; 
• Does replacing sugar with isomaltulose improve BGLs?
• Lower BGLs, better memory;  
• Prof Jennie Brand-Miller on getting kids to like good foods;
• Dr Alan Barclay on festive drinks;   
• Nicole Senior enjoys deliciously low GI dates;
• For festive fare try: Spiced date, nut and pomegranate loaf; Moroccan-style BBQ or roasted turkey with date stuffing; Almond meringues 

GI News 
Editor: Philippa Sandall
Web management and design: Alan Barclay, PhD
Contact email (for questions or permission to reproduce stories from this newsletter): info@gisymbol.com for technical problems or faults please contact smb.ginewstech@sydney.edu.au

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Food for Thought

Health-by-design at the festive table
The holiday season is rapidly approaching and chief cooks in households around the world are starting to think about what festive fare to serve family and friends (of course the better organised ones have already made the Christmas puddings, mince pies and cakes). Serving the special foods that are part of your cultural traditions is part of the ritual and something everyone looks forward to. In my family, ensalada rusa (Spanish potato salad) will always be on the buffet table along with other traditional Spanish and Aussie Christmas fare. It’s all so tempting, it's hard not to overfill your plate ...

The big problem these days with our festive fare is that the holiday season seems to have spread way beyond that special Christmas eve dinner or Christmas lunch with parties and celebrations galore, each vying for your eating affections. However each time you overload your system with excessive food, it’s akin to metabolic assault: your blood becomes milky with fat (post-prandial lipaemia); glucose, insulin levels and inflammatory hormones rise; your blood vessels become less flexible (called endothelial dysfunction) and your blood becomes more likely to clot (or pro-thrombotic). Unfortunately for those with diabetes or pre-diabetes, these adverse effects are worse.



And did you know that rather than signalling the body to ease-off at subsequent meals, huge meals can actually increase appetite for the next meal perpetuating a vicious cycle of overeating (people often say their stomach has stretched). It’s no wonder hospital emergency rooms experience a rush of cardiac patients on Christmas and Boxing Day.

Surely it’s time to move on? The planet can no longer sustain such excess and our physical health is suffering as a result. Not to mention the moral affront of gluttony in a world where there is so much hunger, plus the environmental disaster of food waste.

• If you are catering, be bold in offering healthier options and cook the right quantities to avoid waste. Don’t pressure guests to eat more than they need.  
• If you’re on the receiving end of pressure to eat more than you want to, be kind but assertive. Your health and comfort need not suffer to please others. 

Of course, many of the adverse effects of overeating can be reversed by exercise, but it’s hard to throw a ball around when you’ve fallen into a postprandial stupor and can’t get out of your chair. Perhaps the best test of eating the right amount is having some get-up-and-go a few hours after getting up from the table? Some research conducted by Professor Brian Wansink from Cornell University might help. He found that placing the healthy items first on the buffet table helped diners fill their plates first with these better choices. I’m sure we could all could utilise a little health-by-design at our festive table to steer our guests towards more of the good stuff as well.

Sincere best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy festive season.

Nicole Senior is an Accredited Nutritionist, author and consultant who strives to make healthy food taste terrific. You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook or checkout her website

News and Reviews

Low GI diet in pregnancy reduces risk of excess weight gain 
Researchers in Ireland have found that giving women advice on a healthy low GI diet early in pregnancy can reduce the risk of excess weight gain and improve nutrition. Compared to women who received usual maternal care, those who were educated on a low GI diet in the first half of pregnancy had a lower energy intake, a higher intake of fibre and protein, and reduced their intake of high GI foods. They were also less likely to exceed pregnancy weight gain recommendations. Read more about the study here.



What’s better for your HbA1c — sugar or isomaltulose? 
Isomaltulose is a sugar (a disaccharide) found in minute amounts in honey and sugar cane. Compared with sucrose (aka regular sugar), it has a significantly slower rate of digestion and absorption because the bond linking the glucose and fructose molecules is harder to break down and this shows in the respective GI values – the GI of regular sugar is 65 (average); isomaltose is 32. A dietary intervention study in Diabetes Care reports that replacing 50 grams of sucrose a day with isomaltulose for 12 weeks was not enough to significantly improve HbA1c in people with type 2 diabetes. Triglycerides, however, were significantly lower in the isomaltulose group.

Lost your car keys? Lower BGLs and better recall 
A cross-sectional study in Neurology, has found that lower HbA1c and glucose levels were associated with better scores in delayed recall, learning ability, and memory consolidation. The authors conclude: “Our results indicate that even in the absence of manifest type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance, chronically higher blood glucose levels exert a negative influence on cognition, possibly mediated by structural changes in learning-relevant brain areas.”

Make room for mushrooms on the buffet table
Mushrooms are one of the tastiest, nutrient-rich, low energy-dense foods around with some100 kJ/24 calories in a 100g/3½oz serving. They are packed with, minerals like selenium and B vitamins including folate. They also have more protein than most vegetables. The GI isn’t relevant because they have almost no carbs although they are a very good source of fibre. What’s more, substituting a cup of white button mushrooms for red meat in three meals a week could be a useful strategy for enhancing and maintaining weight loss according to the findings of a randomized clinical trial reported in The FASEB Journal. At the end of the one-year trial, participants who substituted mushrooms for meat lost seven pounds, showed improvements in body composition compared to participants on the standard diet, and they maintained the weight loss. Looking for inspiration? Try Ian Hemphill’s Roasted Mushrooms with Ajowan.



Ingredients: ½–1 tsp chilli powder; 3 tbsp olive oil; 8 large field mushrooms, stems removed; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 2 tsp butter or margarine, cut into 8 squares; 1 tsp ajowan seeds; sea salt (optional); 4 handfuls wild rocket; cracked pepper, to taste
Method: Preheat the oven to 150°C (325°F) and lightly oil a baking tray or shallow ovenproof dish large enough to hold 8 mushrooms. Mix chilli with the olive oil and set aside to allow the flavour to develop while you prepare the mushrooms • Place a little crushed garlic and a tiny piece of margarine in the centre of each mushroom, then sprinkle each with just a pinch of ajowan and a little salt if using • Arrange the mushrooms face up on the baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until heated through • Rinse the rocket well under running water; drain, gently pat dry and toss in the chilli oil. Place a mound of rocket on each plate, and serve with two mushrooms and cracked pepper.
What’s ajowan? These small, pale-brown seeds look like celery seeds and have a distinct 'thyme-like' flavour. Add them to vegetable curries, steamed cabbage, carrots, potato and pumpkin or use them in slow-cooked dishes when the flavour of thyme and a slight peppery spiciness is wanted. Want to know more? Check out Ian Hemphill’s Spice and Herb Bible.

What's New?
Produce pic 



Produce Sweet red salad onions
Pic Emma Sandall 
Purchased from Greg@Envy Horticulture, Bondi Beach Farmers’ Market
What to do? Slice and add to salads or gently caramelise in olive oil as an accompaniment or a filling for field mushrooms. How? Brush mushrooms on both sides with a little olive oil, place cavity-side up in a baking dish and bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 15 minutes. Serve warm topped with the caramelised onion, a dollop of labne (or a soft, mild feta), a sprinkle of lemon thyme and a scatter of chopped walnuts.
What makes them sweet? Catherine Saxelby says: 'Onions have a natural sweetness because they are high in natural sugars (around 5% – glucose, fructose and sucrose). They might make you cry, but they are a good source of antioxidants called flavonoids. There’s also some fibre and potassium but they are fairly low in vitamin C and minerals.'
Want to know your onions better? Penny Woodward is expert on all matters allium (garlic and onions).  

Soil sustainability matters 



World Soil Day (December 5) recognises the benefits of healthy soil in sustaining plant life (and all life). In a recent terroir-for-produce series, “The good earth”,  Melbourne soil scientist Robert Edis profiled some of Australia's ancient soils and the flavours they bring to the produce table.

• Boneo Leptic Tenosol and parsnips
• Jasmine rice and Leeton Red Sodosol
• Clare Hypercalcic Calcarosol and durum wheat
• Green lentils and the Wimmera self-mulching Grey Vertosol
• Thorpdale Red Ferrosol and chip potatoes
• King Island cheese and Currie Yellow Kurosol
• Buderim Red Ferrosol and ginger
• Peaty Black Vertosol and asparagus
• Kensington Pride mangoes Darwin lateritic Red Kandosol
• Coonawarra Red Dermasol and cabernet sauvignon. 

Wine makers have long been telling us about the importance of terroir and the relationship between the flavour of a wine and its origin. In a new book, Barossa Shiraz (Wakefield Press $39.95), Thomas Girgensohn explains terroir – the concept of the vineyard’s site to the quality of the grapes and wine produced from it – in easy-to-understand terms.

Philippa’s bookshelf 
#1 You can’t turn a page in Rob and Sophia Palmer’s Colour of Maroc (Murdoch Books) without feeling the terroir. It’s very much a gift book, but you probably won’t want to give it away. Low GI picks for the buffet table? Try Barley and vegetable pilaf with cumin dressing; Roasted cauliflower salad with saffron and currant dressing; Fennel and blood orange salad; and Spinach and preserved lemon salad.



#2 I heard Bruce Auld talking about A Traveller’s Flora recently. It’s his self published A to Z guide to familiar plants along roadsides, in fields and forgotten places in south-eastern Australia. It includes common roadside plants, crop plants, native plants and weeds. Many edible, it you know what you are looking for. I’ll never look at the ubiquitous canna (Canna edulis) the same way again. I discover it’s long been cultivated (dating back 2500 years in Peru) for its edible tubers which are usually baked. Here's what Crops for the Future have to say about it. ‘Never write off a minor crop! Once a staple in prehistoric Peru but going nearly extinct there because of the inconvenience for direct use (in particular extremely long cooking time), this root crop has bounced back in the last 50 years – not in its native range, but in Vietnam and Southern China. Gels made from canna starch have extraordinary tensile strength, making it the preferred raw material of popular transparent noodles. Currently grown on some 50,000 ha of marginal land in Vietnam and China, canna allows poor farmers to derive profit from minimal investments and from land unsuited for food crops.’ We guesstimate that those noodles will be low GI.



Photo: Michael Hermann, Crops for the Future

Nicole's Taste of Health

It’s a date!
A friend brought along fresh dates to snack on the other evening and said they were as good as chocolate – high praise indeed. They were fabulous and had come all the way from California; my friend believes they grow the best she’s found. Food miles aside, I had to agree with her. I’m sure this will offend many other places that might lay claim to having the best dates, but speaks to the wide appeal of this fruit. Fresh dates have the perfect balance of flavour and sticky chewiness that really hits the palate ‘sweet spot’. And they are a fascinating fruit to boot.

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the few plants to thrive in the hot dry conditions of the Middle East and North Africa where it has been cultivated for at least 6000 years. Known as ‘the bread of the desert’ and ‘cake for the poor’, its fruit has long provided a local staple. It’s not surprising that date palms and hold religious significance for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This ancient fruit denotes victory and peace and is included in Palm Sunday festivities celebrating Jesus’ triumphant return to Jerusalem. It is commonly the first food consumed for Iftar, after the day’s fasting during Ramadan. There must be nothing better than dates after a day of hunger, much like a cool drink after walking through the desert.

There are many varieties of dates in three main categories based on water content. The dates I know as ‘fresh’ are also known as soft or Medjool dates. Then there are semi-dry varieties such as Deglet Noor, and dry dates like Thoory. You’re probably more familiar with the dried version that is much easier to export around the world in this shelf-stable form. In early times dried dates sustained Arab sailors during their long voyages of trade and discovery.



Photo: Ian Hofstetter, The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook (Hachette Australia)

As well as being a key ingredient in the popular sticky date pudding, and date and nut bread Americans enjoy over the holidays (try Anneka’s recipe below), dried dates are very versatile and can be added to cakes, loaves muffins, cookies and scones (the English kind traditionally eaten with jam and cream). They’re also delicious added to breakfast cereal, muesli and in a nutty trail mix. I’ve even been known to throw a few on a peanut butter sandwich-yum. They also provide a lovely balance of flavours in savoury dishes together with meat and spices in tagines and other slow-cooked casseroles. Fresh dates are so good they need no accompaniment, although they enhance a cheese platter beautifully.

I was amazed at the myriad of ingredients formed from the humble date: a syrup (dibs), which is used as a sweetener similar to honey, powdered sugar, paste, sparkling juice, vinegar and wine; not to mention the creative stuffings used inside stoned (pitted) dates including cream cheese, nuts, candied citrus peel or marzipan. A healthy oil can even be pressed from the seed. What a clever fruit.

Dates are sweet, so it’s not surprising to learn they contain 70% sugars: a varying combination of sucrose, fructose and glucose, depending on the variety. All are low GI. They are high in fibre and also contain vitamins A, thiamine, niacin and riboflavin, and some iron, magnesium, calcium and potassium. They even contain selenium thought to be important for reducing cancer risk, and fluorine for strong teeth that resist decay – both elements are not found in many foods.

Dates are also high in natural sorbitol (a sugar alcohol or polyol) which makes them excellent for promoting bowel regularity, although those with an irritable bowel and sensitive to FODMAPS (certain sugars that can be poorly absorbed by the body) may want to give them a miss (poor them). The rest of us can make a date with dates over this festive season and rejoice in how sweet life has been to us this year. Season’s Greetings!



Nicole Senior is an Accredited Nutritionist, author and consultant who strives to make healthy food taste terrific. You can follow her on Twitter or Facebook or checkout her website

In the GI News Kitchen

Family Baking, Anneka Manning, author of Bake Eat Love. Learn to Bake in 3 Simple Steps and founder of Sydney’s BakeClub, shares her delicious ‘better-for-you’ recipes for snacks, desserts and treats the whole family will love. Through both her writing and cooking school, Anneka teaches home cooks to bake in practical and approachable yet inspiring ways that assure success in the kitchen.

 
Spiced date, nut and pomegranate loaf 
This moist, fragrant date and nut loaf is studded with dried cranberries and hazelnuts. It has a little crunch and is mildly spiced to go perfectly with an afternoon coffee or pot of tea shared with friends. It is also great toasted and spread with fresh ricotta. The smell of the warm fruit and spices baking in your oven will get you in the festive spirit! Preparation time: 20 minutes (+ cooling time) • Baking time: 50–55 minutes • Makes: 1 loaf (Serves 20)

1¼ cups (300ml) freshly brewed black coffee
1 cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup currants
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (see Baker’s Tips)
2 tbsp honey
slightly heaped 1/3 cup (90g/3oz) Logicane or raw sugar
1/3 cup sunflower oil or 75g (2½oz ) butter
1 orange, zest finely grated
2 tsp mixed spice
2 eggs, lightly whisked
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped, plus an extra handful, coarsely chopped, to decorate
50g hazelnuts, coarsely chopped, plus an extra handful, coarsely chopped, to decorate
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1½ cups wholemeal plain flour
2 tsp baking powder

Glaze
2 tsp pomegranate molasses
2 tsp honey
1 tsp water



Preheat the oven to 180°C350F. Grease a 21 x 10cm (base measurement) loaf tin and line the base and two long sides with non-stick baking paper.
Combine the coffee, dates, cranberries, currants, pomegranate molasses, honey, sugar, butter or oil, orange zest and mixed spice in a large saucepan. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Remove immediately from the heat and set aside to cool.
Stir the eggs, walnuts, hazelnuts and sesame seeds into the cooled date mixture.
Sift the flour and baking powder together, returning any bran to the flour. Add to the date mixture and use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir gently until just combined.
Pour the mixture into prepared tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface. Sprinkle with the extra nuts, pressing into the mixture slightly.
Bake for 50–55 minutes, or until the loaf is firm to the touch on the top and cooked when tested with a skewer. If it is browning too quickly, cover with foil after 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and stand in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack.
To make the glaze, combine the honey, pomegranate molasses and water in a small bowl. Brush over the top of the hot loaf. Set aside to cool before serving.

Baker’s tips 

• Pomegranate molasses is available from specialty food stores and delicatessens. 
• This loaf will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Serve at room temperature. 
• If honey is firm or crystallised, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften before using 

Per serve 
785 kJ/ 188 calories; 3 g protein; 8.5 g fat (includes 1 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.13); 24 g available carbs; 3 g fibre

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.



Almond Meringues
Northern Italy, where we have our home, does not have the best sweets, in my opinion. Meringues, however, is a dessert that everyone seems to enjoy. They show up in bakeries more than in homes. Makes 30 meringues.

4 egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp almond extract
½ cup (60g) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
30 cocoa roasted almonds



Preheat oven to 250F (120 C) Place parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets and set aside.
Add the egg whites, cream of tartar and almond extract to the bowl of a stand up mixer. Mix the ingredients on low speed for 1 minute. Start adding the sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, and gradually increase the speed of the mixer. The egg whites will start forming soft peaks. Continue to mix at the highest speed until the peaks are stiff and glossy. Total mixing time will be 8-10 minutes.
Using 2 tablespoons, drop the meringue into 30 mounds on the parchment-paper-lined baking sheets. Place one almond in the center of each meringue.
Bake for 1 hour or until the meringues are set and dry. Turn off the oven, leaving the meringues there for 1 more hour. Meringues may be stored in airtight tins for several days.

Per meringue
Calories: 18 (75 kJ) Fat: 0.5 g Saturated Fat: 0 g Saturated:unsaturated fat ratio: 0 Carbohydrate: 2 g Protein: 1 g Fiber: 0 g

Moroccan-style barbecued turkey 
This recipe and photo, kindly supplied to GI News by Steggles, can be adapted for oven roasting. Simply follow the same directions, but roast on the lowest shelf at 180C/350F (fan forced) preheated oven. Remove turkey from refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. They have turkey roasting tips on their website. Preparation time: 40 minutes • Cooking time: 3½–4½ hours (plus resting time) • Serves: 10 (depending on turkey size)

1 small turkey (2.8 kg)
¼ cup honey
5 small lemons, halved
2 tbsp dukkah
bay leaves, to garnish

Stuffing
1½ cups chicken stock
1¼ cups instant couscous
¼ cup olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1½ tsp Moroccan seasoning
¾ cup chopped pitted dried dates
½ cup coarsely chopped parsley leaves
½ cup coarsely chopped coriander leaves
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1 egg, lightly beaten



Heat a hooded barbeque, hood closed, using indirect heat on medium setting. Or preheat oven. Remove neck from inside turkey. Pat turkey dry, inside and out, with paper towel.
Make stuffing. Place stock in a medium saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in couscous, then cover and stand for 10 minutes. Fluff grains with a fork. Meanwhile, heat half the oil in small frying pan and cook onion until soft, stirring occasionally. Stir Moroccan seasoning, dates, parsley, coriander, pinenuts, onion and remaining oil through couscous. Stir in egg.
Loosely fill turkey with about two- thirds of the stuffing (this will depend on size of the turkey). Do not overstuff, as stuffing will swell. Close rear cavity with metal skewers. Tie legs together with kitchen string. Bend wings back and tuck under turkey.
Place in a large roasting pan. Cover completely with a foil tent. Place in the centre of the barbecue and roast, hood closed. • 40 minutes before the end of cooking time, open hood and remove foil. Cover ends of turkey legs with foil to prevent burning. Brush turkey with 1 tbsp honey. Place lemon halves around the turkey and close hood. Continue cooking for 40 minutes. Brush turkey with honey twice during this time. If the turkey appears to brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil. • 5 minutes before the end of cooking time sprinkle turkey with dukkah. Test the turkey is cooked by piercing the thickest part of the thigh – between the thigh and breast. The juices should run clear. If the juices are pink, cover turkey with foil and continue to barbecue until cooked.
Remove the turkey from the barbecue and cover loosely with foil for 20 minutes. Place turkey on a platter, reserving pan juices. Place lemons and bay leaves around turkey. Carve and serve.  

Per serve
1145 kJ/ 274 calories; 6 g protein; 11 g fat (includes 1.3 g saturated fat; saturated:unsaturated fat ratio 0.13); 36 g available carbs; 3 g fibre

We Are What We Ate

The New World bird that took over the Old World table 
Christmas – our biggest annual celebration – may seem like an age-old tradition, but travel back in time, and you will find it was typically a modest event for most people and, at times, a non event. England’s Puritan government cancelled Christmas in 1647, forbidding traditional expressions of merriment, ordering shops to open, and churches to close. The Plymouth Colony Pilgrims worked in the fields on their first Christmas day; while over in Massachusetts Bay, Puritans outlawed Christmas 1659–81, fining anyone caught celebrating it five shillings.

Today’s Christmas with its trees, cards, crackers, carols, decorations, gifts, feasting, entertainments, and wishes for peace on earth and goodwill to all men and women comes from Victorian England. 1843 is something of a seminal year with Henry Cole launching the world’s first commercial Christmas cards and Charles Dickens publishing A Christmas Carol and putting turkey with the trimmings in prime position on Bob Cratchitt’s table.



Turkeys have been domesticated for some 2000 years or more. In America’s First Cuisines (written to highlight and celebrate the contribution made by the original inhabitants of the New World to the world’s food supply), anthropologist and food historian, Sophie D. Coe, tells us that the Aztecs had five domesticated animals: the turkey, the Muscovy duck, the dog, the bee, and the cochineal insect. By the sixteenth century, the number of turkeys the Aztecs raised was phenomenal. She quotes Motolinía, a Franciscan missionary who arrived in New Spain in 1524, who reports that “the market of Tepeyacac, just one of several suburban markets around Tenochtitlan, sold eight thousand birds every five days, and this all year round.”

According to Coe, the first actual evidence of turkey raising however, is in Maya territory. “The earliest bones of turkeys that could be considered domesticated were found in Tehuacan and date from between 200 BC and AD 700,” she writes. “Their use must have spread rapidly, because by the time the Europeans came exploring, turkeys seem to have been available beyond their natural range. Columbus may have brought them back from the islands on his first voyage, or perhaps he first saw them when he landed in Honduras on his fourth voyage. By 1511 the king of Spain was ordering every ship returning to Spain to bring back ten turkeys, five males and five females. It was one of the most rapid successes as far as the adoption of New World foodstuffs goes, speedily replacing the tough, stringy peacock as a spectacular dish for banquets.”
– America’s First Cuisines, University of Texas Press, 1994.

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

Cheers 
Festive occasions tend to involve feasting. And when we eat, we tend to have something to drink. But apart from water, drinks usually come with calories. Research shows that on average, overweight adults in the US pack on and extra 5 pounds (2.3 kg) over the six-week Thanksgiving–New Year period.

But the temptation to over-consume as we stand around chatting is a considerable challenge. To minimise weight gain, we really have to plan ahead to make sure we balance healthy food with festive fare along with ensuring we maintain (or increase) physical activity. And we all have to watch what we drink. It’s not just alcohol that’s the problem; many festive beverages are high in calories.

The soft stuff Water is best and although not festive, it is a great in-between-drinks-drink to help you pace yourself on a night out. It doesn’t have to be Chateau Tap. Soda water, mineral water, diet soft drinks, and diet cordials are useful “watery” choices for special occasions with little or no carbohydrate or calories, so they won’t spike your blood glucose or contribute to weight gain. Vegetable juices are tasty choices with few calories and loads of nutritional goodies. Fruit juices are another story, being rich in carbs (natural sugars) they come with plenty of calories. You are better off enjoying them watered down with mineral or soda water. Most regular soft drinks have even more calories and carbs than fruit juice; the diet or reduced-sugar versions are better choices if you want something sweet.

The hard stuff Keep it moderate – no more than two standard drinks on any day. It takes the liver about an hour to metabolise a standard drink, so don’t down them too quickly. It’s also wise to have at least a couple of alcohol-free days each week (that’s where the planning comes in during the festive season). What’s a standard drink? It is much less than you imagine.

• 100ml wine
• 285ml regular or low carb beer 
• 425ml low-alcohol beer 
• 250ml cider 
• 30ml spirits 
• 60ml fortified wine 

Which alcoholic drink is best? Along with the taste, the amount of alcohol, carbohydrate and kilojoules/calories in alcoholic beverages are all important factors to consider when choosing a drink. Check out our at-a-glance tables to make better choices in the festive season – and throughout the coming year. (We have rounded all figures up/down.)



Drinking and diabetes If you are taking medication for your diabetes, alcohol can interact with the medication and cause hypoglycaemia. Either make sure you eat some carbohydrate foods while drinking to reduce your risk of a hypo, or have the drink just before a main meal (which includes some carbohydrate). Here are some good choices for snacks:

• Low GI bread (e.g., Burgen) or grainy crackers with cottage cheese or hummus or salsa or dips 
• Mixed nuts and seeds (not salted)
• Fresh fruit platter 
• Dried fruit 
• Fruit and nut mix 

Cheers!

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.barclay@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com