GI News—September 2007

This month we welcome Dr David Ludwig to GI News with ‘Food for Thought’ and a regular spot on raising healthy (and healthy weight) kids. David is Director of the Optimal Weight for Life (OWL) program at Children’s Hospital Boston and he shares the program’s practical and clinically proven advice in his new book, Ending the Food Fight. Dr Garry Egger joins us this month too as a regular contributor with exercise tips. Garry has been involved in men’s health for over 35 years and runs Professor Trim's Men's Weight Loss Program, the successor to the popular GutBusters. We are also delighted that London-based chef and cookbook author Kate Hemphill has come on board and will be showing us how to make the most of low GI ingredients with her delicious ‘Love to Cook’ recipes in the coming months. Of course there are all our regular features too – the latest research, new GI values, new books (the first ever book on low GI gluten-free eating), and your questions answered. As ever we welcome feedback whether you have questions on low GI eating or suggestions for topics you would like to see us cover in up-coming issues.

Good health and good reading,



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

Food for Thought

Guiding your child to a healthy weight in a fast food/fake food world
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight has never been harder with an environment that undermines our every move – the seductive food commercials on television, radio, billboards, buses, magazines and at the cinema; plus the super-accessible, affordable fast foods and junk foods on every street corner and mall; plus the supermarkets with shelves literally bursting with super refined high GI and high fat foods. In ‘Food for Thought’ this month, Dr David Ludwig shares his practical and proven strategies for helping kids achieve a healthy weight in a fast food/fake food world. ‘Children need an eating and activity plan that works with their basic biology, promoting weight loss without causing deprivation.’ says David. ‘Parents need age-appropriate strategies to help their children develop healthful habits (about food and activity) without causing conflict.’


Dr David Ludwig

10 steps for raising healthy kids

1. If you do it, they’ll do it too. Children are primed and ready to follow examples set by others – parents, babysitters, nannies, the day care centre teacher. So the key strategy is that you and those you hire to care for your kids ‘model’ a healthy lifestyle simply by eating well and being physically active in their presence.
2. Involve your child in decision making. Let them help with planning the week’s meals, preparing food, picking music for dinner, choosing which veggies go with what.
3. Create a home free from temptations. Stock your shelves with wholesome foods that can be easily prepared. Filling your home with what I call real food creates abundance rather than the sense of deprivation that so often accompanies typical diets. Plus, you’ll be protected from the complaint: ‘There’s nothing to eat.’ You don’t have to give up sweets, but without that half gallon (2 litres) of ice-cream in the freezer a trip to the ice-cream parlour becomes a special treat everyone can enjoy.
4. Cut back on sedentary activities makes room for real activities. The granddaddy of them all today is screen time – TV, video games, computer and SMS-ing. Aim for a maximum of 2 hours a day screen time (not counting computer-related schoolwork or other work). Why not try a TV Turnoff Week?
5. Make breakfast a priority. No ifs no buts, it’s a no-brainer. Eating breakfast makes weight loss easier. Skipping it leads to overeating later in the day to make up for the missed calories. Eating breakfast also improves school performance and mood throughout the morning. And a balanced breakfast gets your child well on the way to achieving the day’s nutritional goals all before 8 am.
6. Take control of the midday meal. Talk to your kids about what they’d like to have in their lunch – sandwiches and fillings, fruit, beverages. If you plan ahead you’ll have the time and ingredients on hand. And allowing your child to buy lunch occasionally from the canteen or cafeteria then becomes a treat.
7. Sit down to dinner as a family. Dinner provides a great opportunity to turn of the TV, sit down as a family and discuss the events of the day. You’ll be amazed at what you can discover about their world and how much fun you’ll have. Children who eat dinner with their families have a higher quality diet and tend to be thinner than those who don’t.
8. Slow it down. Eating slowly helps us listen to our appetite and stop when we are just satisfied not overstuffed! Try putting your knife and fork down between bites … eating with chopsticks … making each mouthful last 30 seconds.
9. Cut back on sugar sweetened soft drinks. Often kids drink soft drinks because they are thirsty, not hungry. The problem is these drinks leave hundred of calories behind. What about juice? Well, although 100% juice has more nutrients than soft drinks, it contains just as many calories and those calories add up fast. Very few kids would eat 10 apples a day, but how easy it is to have two or three cups of juice containing the calories from those 10 apples. The best way to satisfy the body’s need for fluid is beverages without calories: water, selzer water, no-calories flavoured water and tea.
10. Get active. Forget the 'E' word. When it comes to physical activity, children, especially before puberty aren’t mini adults. Metabolically they aren’t capable of sustained endurance activities such as jogging or working out at the gym, mentally they don’t maintain an intense focus on any one activity for long as you have probably noticed. For younger children play is the perfect solution, preferably outdoors in a safe environment. Bikes, roller skates, frisbees, balls. Older children enjoy the challenge of group sports, although some who are very overweight prefer non-competitive activities such as swimming or yoga. And dancing can be a great option for kids of all ages.

– From Ending the Food Fight (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

GI News Podcast

Children and the GI
In the last and seventh of the New Glucose Revolution podcasts, Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller talks about children and the GI and its potential role in helping children achieve and maintain a healthy weight.




Play the Podcast above or download here

GI News Briefs

The biggest losers go low GI
Not only is it hard to lose weight, there’s not a lot of consensus about the best way to do it other than ‘eat less and exercise more’. But that piece of advice on its own doesn’t seem to be able to deliver the necessary results for most of us – if we can stick to it.

A team of Cochrane researchers in Australia analysed six carefully conducted randomised controlled trials running from 5 weeks to 6 months and involving 202 participants. They found that overweight and obese people lost more weight (on average 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds more) on low GI diets than on similar energy high GI or other conventional energy-restricted weight loss diets. Not only that, the low GI diet had heart health benefits, too. ‘Low GI diets appear to be particularly effective for people who are obese,’ says lead author Dr Diana Thomas, who is the Scientific Director of the Centre for Evidence Based Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition. She went on to comment that this may be because it’s easier for people to stick to low GI diets as there’s less need to restrict food so long as the carbs have a low GI. Their systematic review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic. Check out the online review.



‘The (US) farm bill helps determine what sort of food your children will have for lunch in school tomorrow’ says Michael Pollan
‘A public-health researcher from Mars might legitimately wonder why a nation faced with what its surgeon general has called “an epidemic” of obesity would at the same time be in the business of subsidizing the production of high-fructose corn syrup. But such is the perversity of the farm bill: the nation's agricultural policies operate at cross-purposes with its public-health objectives. And the subsidies are only part of the problem. The farm bill helps determine what sort of food your children will have for lunch in school tomorrow. The school-lunch program began at a time when the public-health problem of America's children was undernourishment, so feeding surplus agricultural commodities to kids seemed like a win-win strategy. Today the problem is overnutrition, but a school lunch lady trying to prepare healthful fresh food is apt to get dinged by USDA inspectors for failing to serve enough calories; if she dishes up a lunch that includes chicken nuggets and Tater Tots, however, the inspector smiles and the reimbursements flow. The farm bill essentially treats our children as a human Disposall for all the unhealthful calories that the farm bill has encouraged American farmers to overproduce.’
– ‘You Are What You Grow’, The New York Times Magazine, 22 April 2007. Michael Pollan is author of the best-selling The Omnivore's Dilemma.



Five great things about dark chocolate apart from the obvious
Like so many good things in life, a little goes a long way – remember it’s high in calories and saturated fat and rather more-ish. But a square or two (just 6 grams, 30 calories/126 kilojoules) is a delicious treat that can do you some good. Here’s how writes dietitan Alan Barclay.

1. Chocolates don’t have a big impact on your blood glucose levels. In fact the average GI is around 45 because their high fat content slows the rate that the sugars are released from the stomach into the intestine, and absorbed into the blood.
2. Chocolates are energy dense – you get a lot of kilojoules (calories) in a little piece. This is good if you are trying to gain weight, travel long-distances with limited storage space, or participate in an endurance sport where it is an advantage to be able to carry around a concentrated and highly palatable source of carbohydrate and energy.
3. In real chocolate, cocoa butter (which is rich in a particular kind of saturated fat called stearic acid) is the main source of fat. Stearic acid raises the ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol much less than other saturated fats. It also raises the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol, so the net effect on your total blood cholesterol levels is not too bad at all.
4. Chocolate (along with tea, berries, cabbage and wine) is one of nature’s richest sources of a powerful group of antioxidants, known as flavonoids. It’s believed that these antioxidants may benefit people with diabetes or pre-diabetes by helping to prevent cholesterol sticking to the walls of blood vessels, relaxing major blood vessels, and maybe even reducing the ability of the blood to form too many clots.
5. Just one square of dark chocolate a day reduces blood pressure by a few mm Hg in healthy people with above-optimum blood pressure according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers found that from baseline (the starting point) to 18 weeks, dark chocolate intake (just one little square – 30 calories/126 kilojoules) reduced average systolic blood pressure by about 3 mm Hg and diastolic BP by about 2 mm Hg without changes in body weight, plasma levels of lipids or glucose. Hypertension prevalence declined from 86% to 68%. ‘This study provides enough evidence to suggest that low amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate as an addition to a healthy diet caused progressive reductions of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in older subjects with pre-hypertension without inducing weight gain or other adverse effects,’ said lead author Dr Dirk Taubert from the University Hospital of Cologne.

JAMA. 2007;298(1):49–60; JAMA News Release

Low GI carbs a key to healthy eyes as you age
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one is the most common causes of blindness in the over-50s in the Western world. 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 new 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. Dr Allen Taylor, director of the Tufts Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research, says the study shows that men and women who consume diets with a higher GI than average for their gender and age-group are at greater risk of developing advanced age-related macular degeneration.



The researchers analysed data from 4099 men and women participating in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study in the US. ‘Our findings suggest that 20% of the cases of advanced age-related macular degeneration might have been prevented if those individuals had consumed a diet with a GI below the average for their age and gender. Our results support our hypothesis that dietary GI, which has been related to the risk of diabetes, is also associated with the risk and severity of age-related macular degeneration.’ Taylor speculates that carbohydrates that comprise a high-GI diet may provide eye tissue with too much glucose too quickly, and overwhelm the ability of the eye cells to use the carbohydrate properly. ‘It is possible that the type of damage produced by poor quality carbohydrates on eye tissue is similar in both diabetic eye disease and age-related macular degeneration.’
– American Journal of Clinical Nutrition July 2007 Volume 8, Number 1; Nutraingredients- usa.com

Low GI Food of the Month

Getting them to eat their greens
Broccoli is always high up on the super food list. It doesn’t have a GI value because it’s not a source of carbohydrate and it has hardly any calories. But it’s an absolute nutritional powerhouse delivering vitamin C, fibre, beta-carotene, folate and vitamin E plus B vitamins and minerals like iron and calcium. People who regularly eat broccoli have a reduced risk of several cancers including bowel cancer. Enjoy it (or broccolini) a couple of times a week cooked and served as a side dish or blanched and served with traditional Mediterranean dips like hummous or babaghanoush, or tossed into salads or pasta, or added to stir-fries. Don’t overcook broccoli – al dente is best for both flavour and nutrition.



The only problem with broccoli is that some kids (little ones and big ones) don’t like it (or its cousin cauliflower). They find these cruciferous veggies a bit on the nose. A new study however shows that people can be ‘conditioned’ to like it in just five days! Elizabeth Capaldi and Gregory Privitera from Arizona State University ran what’s called a ‘conditioning’ trial to see whether sweetening broccoli with a little sucrose (table sugar) could increase its pleasantness.

• Day 1: Thirty-two undergraduates who said that they didn’t like broccoli and cauliflower were given 14 grams of unsweetened broccoli and cauliflower, they rated each food on three nine point scales (pleasantness, sweetness, and bitterness).
• Days 2, 3, 4: Half the students were given unsweetened broccoli and sweetened cauliflower, the other half were given sweetened broccoli and unsweetened cauliflower.
• Day 5: Both groups were given both vegetables unsweetened.

The conditioning process seemed to work. Broccoli and cauliflower were rated as more pleasant with each day that passed. This increase was greatest for vegetables that were sweetened. Prof Jennie Brand-Miller here at the GI Group isn’t at all surprised with the result. Based on her work with Australian bush foods she believes that we have a much sweeter tooth than our forebears did and that all the fruits we eat today are significantly sweeter than any they would have tucked into.
– Appetite, 2007, manuscript online ahead of print; doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2007.06.008

Low GI Recipes of the Month

Share good food and good times with family and friends with Kate Hemphill’s delicious recipes that showcase seasonal ingredients and make it easy for you to prepare healthy low GI meals and snacks. Kate has worked as a freelance chef and home economist before starting her own cookery school ('Love to Cook') in London. She favours a modern and relaxed way of cooking and herbs and spices are an intrinsic part of her recipes. For more information and recipes, check out Kate’s website: www.lovetocook.co.uk


Kate Hemphill

Seared tuna with mango salsa
This simple summer dish relies only on fresh ingredients and a little care not to overcook the tuna. It can be put together in no time, looks stylish and tastes fantastic. Serve with a mixture of basmati and wild rice doused in lime juice if you wish. Although this recipe may seem high in fats, they are mostly good fats from the fish, avocado and olive oil. If you want to reduce the fat, use smaller pieces of tuna and less avocado.
Serves 2

2 tuna steaks (about 150 g or 5 oz each)
1 teaspoon olive oil

Mango salsa
1 small ripe mango, cheeks diced into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 avocado (about 150 g/5 oz), diced into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes
2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander leaves
1 lime, juiced
1/2 long red chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil



To serve
Soft lettuce leaves, rinsed and torn

1. Prepare and combine all salsa ingredients and season to taste.
2. Drizzle the oil over tuna steaks and season with salt and pepper before cooking on a hot griddle or frying pan (or barbecue for that matter). The steaks should only need 1½–2 minutes each side, depending on thickness. You really want to seal the outside and create some heat to spread through the tuna, but without cooking it completely.
3. Serve cooked tuna on dressed lettuce leaves with salsa spooned on top.

Per serve
kJ/Cal 2450/583; Protein 52 g; Fat 34 g (includes saturated 8 g) Carbohydrate 15 g; Fibre 3.5 g

Sweet potato and pistachio quinoa
You can use quinoa instead of rice or couscous, it has a delicious nutty flavour along with fantastic nutrition. This dish can be served warm with lamb, chicken or fish such as mackerel and swordfish or served cold as a salad.
Serves 4 to 6 as an accompaniment



1 orange-fleshed sweet potato (about 400 g), peeled and cut into 2 cm (3/4 inch) dice
200 g (7 oz) quinoa
3 cups (750 ml) light chicken stock (low sodium)
3 tablespoons pistachios, chopped quite finely
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
rind only 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF ).
2. Roast the diced sweet potato for about 20 minutes or until tender
3. Cook the quinoa following the packet instructions in 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock, then drain.
4. For a warm dish, heat a large pan, add all ingredients and stir over low heat until warmed through.
5. If serving cold, simply toss all ingredients together and season to taste.

Per serve (for 6 people)
kJ/Cal 1269/302; Protein 8 g; Fat 12 g (includes saturated 2 g) Carbohydrate 38 g; Fibre 5 g

Your Success Stories

‘It had been so long since I felt “good” after a meal’ – Amy
‘I am telling you this one hundred per cent true story about my ongoing experience with The Low GI Diet. It actually seems a little ridiculous to even call it a “diet”. It is so easy to follow, and makes so much sense. I laugh every time I think of the time and money I wasted on Weight Watchers ... oops ... sorry if I offended any WW people. Anyway, I am a nurse, and very serious about researching everything before I try it. Well, I was surprised at the research I did about this low GI thing. It made perfect sense. I have battled, I mean REALLY battled with digestive problems for about six years. I have had fertility problems, acid reflux, terrible bloating and weight gain throughout the past six long years. I have been eating only low GI foods, and very occasionally I will eat a moderate GI food for about 2 weeks now. I was able to stop taking my Prilosec (which I was totally dependent on) after two days. I stopped taking all my other digestive medications after 3 days. My bloating ended after day one. I am completely satisfied after a low GI meal. Not bloated, not tired, not miserable ... just satisfied. It took me a few days to realize what that actually felt like. It had been so long since I felt “good” after a meal! I have lost 6 pounds in two weeks. Yep. SIX pounds! I feel GREAT! I have so much more energy than I did before. I look great, and my husband has started on the plan too. I’ll have to get him to write his story soon too!’



‘I no longer drool when I see all those pizza food commercials on TV’ – Dolores
‘Four months ago I was diagnosed by my doctor as pre-diabetic, having a high sugar count, and asked to lose ten pounds and have my blood retested in three months. I discovered your diet after researching online, and have lost 28 pounds in the last four months! My blood test revealed my sugar count down 30 points, and I am no longer pre-diabetic! I am not hungry with this diet, never snack between meals, eat more fruit and veggies, and I'm convinced my stomach has shrunk!! I can't even finish a “large” meal, I drink more water, and no longer drool when I see all those food commercials on TV, especially the pizza, I just see all that fat. I am nowhere near my weight loss goal, but seem to have no problem sticking to this diet. Unfortunately I am unable to exercise, I'm 76 years old, can't walk too far, or stand too long. If I could, I know I would have lost much more weight.’



‘How can I listen to a “specialist’ who believes the glycemic index is a fad?’ – Barbara
‘I am a diabetic 2 - and was recently in hospital for removal of a stomach lining tumor. A consultation with the hospital nutritionist was part of the schedule but shortly I sent her packing. How can I listen to a “specialist’ who believes a carb is a carb and the glycemic index is a fad? How could she argue with success - both my husband and I have lost 20 pounds, are close to our target weights, and are looking forward reaching our goals, following a low GI diet! Hurray for this site! Keep up the good work and research!’

Inspire others. Share your GI story.


We'll send you a free copy of The Low GI Diet Cookbook or The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook if your story is published.

Move It & Lose It with Professor Trim

Can you resist?
Don’t even try to. Go for it. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in April this year showed that resistance exercise (such as weight-lifting, using resistance bands, press-ups and sit-ups) that helps to maintain and build muscle-mass reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. In this recent study, 36 men and women in their early 60s who were consuming adequate or moderately high amounts of protein worked a variety of muscle groups for 75 minutes three times a week for 12 weeks. At the end of the test period, their glucose tolerance was increased by up to 30 per cent.


Dr Garry Egger

Resistance exercise works your muscles at loads greater than they are accustomed to. When this happens, your muscles adapt by getting stronger and bigger. There are other benefits too. Regular resistance training:

• Increases bone density and strength.
• Boosts metabolism.
• Improves blood glucose and blood fats.
• Reduces body fat.
• Lowers heart rate and blood pressure.
• Improves balance and stability.

Before you begin, have a chat to your doctor, gym instructor or personal trainer. If you don’t want to go to a gym or invest in special equipment, there are all sorts of things about the house that can double up as exercise equipment.

Rice bags: 500 g or 1 kilo (1 or 2 lb) rice bags can be used like dumbbells, one bag for each hand. These add resistance to exercise-to-music at home or can simply be used like weights with any exercise.
Your own body: calisthenics is the form of exercise made popular in the 1960s through programs like 5BX and 10BX. The body is used as its own form of resistance for doing a range of exercises such as push ups, dips and squats.
A chair: a solid chair is a great device for stepping up and down on, or as a base to increase resistance experienced when doing callisthenic exercises.
A partner: exercising with a partner can provide as much increased resistance as the partner is prepared to put into it. A partner can also add to the benefits of stretching exercises.
Exercises bands: these are worth investing in (try from sports stores). They are great for travelling as they don’t take up any room.
A backpack: adding weight by strapping on a backpack when walking increases the effort required and therefore uses more energy and fat.



Click for more information on Professor Trim.

Dr David’s Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

Snack attack
You’ve seen it before: your child hangs on the refrigerator door staring inside while munching on a bag of potato crisps and complaining there’s nothing to eat. As cold air floods out, he's not just wasting electricity; he’s wasting an opportunity to make a healthy choice. End the hassle and help kids make healthy choices for after-school snacks by coming up with a list of options at the beginning of the week and then stocking your home with those foods. Snacking is a healthy part of a balanced diet if you make the right choices. But you need to:

• Plan ahead. Prepare snacks in advance so you have a healthy alternative to junk food when hunger strikes.
• Pay attention to hunger. Are you or your child really hungry or just bored. Will you be eating dinner in an hour or so, and if so will something small suffice? Or do you need a more substantial snack?
• Keep it simple. Set aside a drawer in your fridge or pantry as a ‘no thinking’ snack zone filled with ready-to-eat (or nearly assembled) healthy snacks.

Take a tip: Encourage your child to put the snack on a plate and sit down to eat it. He will end up eating less and enjoying it more.


Dr David Ludwig

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

Video – CBS’s Hannah Storm talks to Dr David Ludwig about ending the food fight.

Books, DVDs, Websites: What’s New?

Low GI Gluten-free Living
Endorsed by The Coeliac Society of Australia
Written by Kate Marsh, Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and Philippa Sandall



Here’s what Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and gluten-free guru Sue Shepherd says about this book in her foreword:

‘As a dietitian working in the area of coeliac disease for a very long time, I have seen first hand the struggle many have faced in making their gluten-free diet varied, nutritious and enjoyable. As more and more people are aware of the importance of GI, combining with the gluten-free diet has created some confusion about what to buy, what to cook and how to cook it! Low GI Gluten-free Living really does take away such uncertainties and difficulties – it is packed full of ideas of how to accomplish a great tasting gluten-free low GI diet ... But it is more than just a recipe book. I commend the authors for a marvellous job in compiling useful information for readers, including background to the gluten-free diet, glycemic index and principles of healthy eating. The menu plans are so helpful. The comprehensive low GI gluten-free food list at the back of the book is an invaluable resource. The information and recipes have been compiled with such careful attention to detail – this is a great reference book of all things low GI and gluten free.’

And from Louise, a reader:

‘Yesterday I visited the Gluten Free Expo in Sydney (Australia). During my visit I purchased a copy of Low GI Gluten-free Living at the Coeliac Society's stand. Just wanted to let you know it was my best purchase of the day. In less then 24 hours I have read the 244 page book. I could not put it down. It was just what I was after. After reading the foreword and the title page for chapter one I knew I was onto a great book and it struck a cord with me. Now looking at what I've been eating it was high GI and explains why I was having problems controlling my blood glucose levels. My inability to control my blood glucose levels has led to me being stuck in bed unable to function some days. Knowing if I follow the recommendations in the book I can avoid this is a relief. Also with a son who is only 3 years old with coeliac disease it has given me a great guide to ensure he too is eating a balanced diet. I really found the various menu plans for different ages a great tool and something I will continue to refer to especially in regard to ensuring my son is eating adequately for his age group as his needs change. Thank you for listening to needs of the gluten-free community by putting this valuable resource out there. My family are going to start following the recommendations of Low GI Gluten-free Living today!’

Published in Australia and New Zealand by Hachette Livre Australia
To be published in the US and Canada in Spring 2008 by Da Capo Lifelong Books

WE HAVE 6 COPIES TO GIVE AWAY!
SORRY! COMPETITION NOW CLOSED. WINNERS NAMES POSTED ON THE BLOG.
We have 6 copies of Low GI Gluten-free Living published by Hachette Livre Australia to give away to residents of Australia only. The first six people to email us will receive a free copy. Enter your name and address in the draw by clicking HERE.

Feedback—Your FAQs Answered

What’s the GI of …

Sesame seeds and flaxseeds?
Sesame seeds and flaxseeds contain a large amount of oil and very little carbohydrate so the GI isn’t relevant. Remember that the GI is a measure of carbohydrate quality.

Evaporated natural sugar cane juice?
Evaporated sugar cane juice hasn’t been tested. We would imagine its GI would be similar to that of table sugar (around 60). We believe that a healthy diet can include around 40 grams of added sugar a day. Just keep in mind that the 40 grams we are talking about here includes all the added sugar (added by you or the food manufacturer) you are eating that day. For more information check our story in February 2007 GI News.

Raw coconut?
Coconut is high in fat not carbohydrate too, so again the GI doesn’t apply. The fat is saturated so it’s important to watch how much you consume.



I have been putting raw rolled oats and raw walnuts into my breakfast smoothie, thinking I was getting the full benefits of the low GI, but I wonder if I am losing the benefit of oatmeal by grinding it up with the blender.
The amount of grinding that occurs in a blender is not enough to make a significant impact on the GI. Flours, on the other hand, are highly refined thanks to factory steel milling.



Do you happen to have a list of 100 basic foods/whole foods ranked top down from 100 to 1 (or whatever is reasonably lowest) that I could briefly scan before I am about to prepare and/or eat something?
Well not a list ranked from 100 down to 1. However, there is a book called Low GI Eating Made Easy (Brand-Miller, Foster-Powell and Sandall) which includes the top 100 low GI foods. It’s essentially written for people like you who like to prepare their own meals and enjoy whole foods. Check it out in your local library, bookstore or on Amazon. You may also find the Shopper's Guide to GI Values (Brand-Miller and Foster-Powell) handy. The 2008 edition will be available towards the end of the year.

GI Values Update

New GI values
How true is the low GI blue tortilla story?
We recently received a ‘EurekAlert’ press release that stated that ‘people with dieting blues should try swapping white corn tortillas for blue which had ‘less starch and a lower glycaemic index than their white counterparts.’ Along with ‘20% more protein.’ The study was reported in the Journal of Science of Food and Agriculture (DOI 10.1002/jsfa.3008). The authors state in the press release that ‘one important benefit of the lower GI blue tortillas is their potential role in preventing or controlling metabolic syndrome … stroke and diabetes.’ The findings received a whole heap of publicity (enough to make us pretty envious) and sounded like just the thing for our GI News readers so we thought we should check the story out. Sadly, we have to set the record straight.

Blue tortillas may indeed have a lower GI than white, but it hasn’t actually been tested in people following the international standardised method. It’s just been guesstimated. What the researchers actually did was compare the tortillas ‘with respect to in vitro starch digestibility – available starch, total and retrograde resistant starch contents, amylolysis rate’ and then predict the GI. So we actually don’t know the GI at all.

But we do know that Mexican corn tortillas (white ones) prepared the traditional way using nixtamalized (see below) maize grains have a low GI because they were tested some years ago, the results were published in a peer -reviewed journal (Noriega E, Rivera L, Peralta E. Diabetes Nutr Metab 2000; 13: 13-9.) and are already on the GI database.

Mexican corn tortilla
GI 52
Serving size 50 g
Available carbohydrate 20 g
GL 11

Mexican wheat tortilla
GI 30
Serving size 50 g
Available carbohydrate 20 g
GL 6

What’s ‘nixtamalization’?
Thanks to wonderful Wikipedia, here’s a definition. ‘It is the process whereby dry maize grain is soaked and cooked in an alkaline solution, usually limewater, to cause the transparent outer hull, the pericarp, to separate and be removed from the grain. This process has several benefits including enabling the grain to be more effectively ground; increasing protein and vitamin content availability; improving flavor and aroma and reduction of mycotoxins. In the Aztec language Nahuatl, the word for the product of this procedure is nixtamalli or nextamalli. The term nixtamalization can also be used to describe the removal of the pericarp from any grain such as sorghum by an alkali process.’

New GI values from SUGiRS
Continental™ Wholegrain Pasta & Sauce convenience meals

• Cheesy – GI 37; carbohydrate per serving 22 g
  
• Creamy Carbonara, – GI 39; carbohydrate per serving 23 g
  
• Creamy Sun-dried Tomato – GI 43; carbohydrate per serving 23 g
  
• Parmesan and Cracked Pepper – GI 33; carbohydrate per serving 20 g
  

All servings are 200 grams and were prepared following packet instructions with water, reduced fat milk and margarine.
Manufacturer: Unilever Australasia, Epping, NSW, Australia

New GI values from Glycemic Index Laboratories
SoLo Gi Bars
We published the GI values of SoLo Gi bars in December 2005 GI News. The manufacturers have added a new flavour (Lemon Lift GI 28) to their range and all flavours now come in a smaller 100-calorie size that provides 12-13 g carbohydrate and has a GI of around 23.
Check out their website for nutritional information: http://www.solo-gi.com/products_main.html

Where can I get more information on GI testing?

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

North America
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
36 Lombard Street, Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario M5C 2X3 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web www.gilabs.com

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

GI Symbol News

Where can I get more information on the GI Symbol program?

Alan Barclay



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

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Original stories, from the source

Posted by Josh Cohen, Business Product Manager

Today we’re launching a new feature on Google News that will help you quickly and easily find original stories from news publishers -- including stories from some of the top news agencies in the world, such as the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, UK Press Association and the Canadian Press -- and go directly to the original source to read more.

Our goal has always been to offer users as many different perspectives on a story from as many different sources as possible, which is why we include thousands of sources from around the world in Google News. However, if many of those stories are actually the exact same article, it can end up burying those different perspectives. Enter “duplicate detection.” Duplicate detection means we’ll be able to display a better variety of sources with less duplication. Instead of 20 “different” articles (which actually used the exact same content), we'll show the definitive original copy and give credit to the original journalist. (We launched a similar feature in Sort-by-Date and got great feedback about it.) Of course, if you want to see all the duplicates on other publisher websites with additional analysis and context, they’re only a click away.

By removing duplicate articles from our results, we’ll be able to surface even more stories and viewpoints from journalists and publishers from around the world. This change will provide more room on Google News for publishers' most highly valued content: original content. Previously, some of this content could be harder to find on Google News, and as a result of this change, you'll have easier access to more of this content, and publishers will likely receive more traffic to their original content.

Because the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, UK Press Association and the Canadian Press don't have a consumer website where they publish their content, they have not been able to benefit from the traffic that Google News drives to other publishers. As a result, we’re hosting it on Google News.

Duplicate detection isn't just for our news agency partners -- it also enables you to find the original copy of articles from publishers and news agencies that have their own destination site. For these publishers, we’ll continue to show just a snippet of the story and a link, so you can read the full story on their site.

We hope you agree this will improve your Google News experience. As always, we welcome your feedback.

Florida Doctors Wear "Moon Suits" to Hide Participation in Lethal Injections

In Florida, doctors hired to monitor and participate in lethal injection executions wear purple "moon suits" and goggles to conceal their identities from witnesses and circumvent an American Medical Association (AMA) code that forbids participation in executions, according to the Associated Press.

Though Florida and other states say the participation of medical personnel ensures "a dignified and humane death" for those facing execution, the AMA, the American Nurses Association, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and the Florida Medical Association all disagree. "We are a profession dedicated to healing. Participation in an execution is an image of a physician with a dark hood. . . . It is part of the role of a physician, helping people, preserving life and maintaining the trust and respect of the people we serve. We do not feel killing people is appropriate in that context," said Dr. Mark Levine, chairman of the AMA's Council of Ethical and Judicial Affairs. He added that doctors must decide whether they are "an instrument of the state or a member of a profession dedicated to preserving and protecting life. You can't be both."The role of medical personnel in executions is a key concern for states reworking lethal injection protocols after existing procedures were challenged as violating the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment."

A growing number of states have proposed lethal injection procedures that would allow medical personnel to perform a variety of tasks, including the insertion of intravenous tubes, performing "cut down" procedures to locate useable veins, observing heart monitors, tracking an inmate's consciousness, purchasing and maintaining drugs used in the lethal cocktail, and pronouncing death. All of these tasks present tough questions for medical associations, which hold the power to revoke memberships for ethics code violations. With that in mind, a number of states are taking steps to protect the identities of medical professionals who agree to participate in executions. For example, in Missouri, a new law allows executioners to sue anyone who discloses their identity, legislation authored after a St. Louis paper revealed the name of a doctor who had participated in dozens of executions. In Alabama and Ohio, a curtain is drawn after the execution so doctors examining the inmate are not seen by witnesses. Florida is the only state to require that medical personnel wear a moon suit similar to those worn by biohazard teams.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the son of a physician, admits that finding doctors willing to assist in lethal injections is difficult. When asked about the ethical dilemma faced by physicians, he said, "I don't know. It's pretty hard . . . the oath is taken to save life, of course."(Associated Press, August 26, 2007).

Source : Death Penalty Information Center

Board's ruling not seen as shift in favor of killers

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles' role in saving a San Antonio killer from execution Thursday may have delighted death penalty opponents, but legal experts said the panel's recommendation of mercy does not portend a policy of sympathy for capital killers.

The board's 6-1 recommendation that Kenneth Foster's death sentence be commuted to life in prison was only the fifth time in more than a dozen years that the board has acted in favor of a killer.

Thursday's action also marked the fourth time in that period in which a governor accepted the board's recommendation of a life sentence.

Gov. Rick Perry made the move about seven hours before Foster's scheduled execution and explained that his concern centered on the fact that Foster, who drove the getaway car, and the gunman were tried together.

While Texas' position as the nation's busiest death penalty state remains secure, Thursdays action may lead to greater discretion in the filing of capital cases against those other than the actual killers.

"With the death penalty under tighter scrutiny if someone isn't the actual shooter, it's going to be harder to get the death sentence," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the non-partisan Death Penalty Information Center.

Perry's commutation of Foster's death sentence "was very unexpected," said Rob Owen, a clinical professor at the University of Texas School of Law.

"This decision by the governor today, which I applaud, can be justified in that Mr. Foster did not anticipate that a killing would take place," Owen said. "That will serve to distinguish this case from any other case."

But it would be "over interpreting the case" to conclude that the parole board has become more receptive to killer's appeals, said David Dow, a University of Houston law professor also with the Texas Innocence Network.

"I think Gov. Perry's statement illuminates the highly unusual nature of the board's action in this case," Dow said, alluding to the governor's expressed concern about the pair being tried together.
The lesson to be drawn from the board's action, Dow said, is that appellate attorneys should submit clemency petitions to the pardons board more often. He said they are not filed in 75 percent of capital cases in Texas because "attorneys don't get paid for doing it."

Source: Houston Chronicle

Petition to abolish the death penalty

We the people, revoke the governments power to kill people in the name of justice.

The death penalty does not bring closure for the victims' families. Instead it creates more victims.The death penalty is a violation of human rights. It is torture that inflicts unbearable emotional pain and suffering on the condemned person and those that love them.

The emotional pain and suffering, continues for the life of the condemned family.

All governments currently engaging in any punishment that causes death are committing human rights violations.

By signing this petition, I recognize any government currently engaging in any punishment that causes death, in violation of Human Rights.

Click here to sign the petition

Obesity in America still Rising

Does it surprise you to hear that 31 states in America have reported rising obesity rates? One state, Mississippi, has more than 30% of the population falling into the obese category according to a recent report in CNN. In addition: “In 32 states, 60 percent of the population is either overweight or obese. West Virginia ranks highest in the combined statistic, with nearly two-thirds of its adults obese or overweight.”

I recently watched some older movies with a young Elizabeth Taylor and was struck by how amazingly slender for the most part the women and men were in those days, even the older men and women. They seemingly did not have our weight woes in those days, although we do know that Elizabeth Taylor struggled with her weight in later years. So, did the American diet finally catch up with her too? The older ladies and men in her movies escaped that. What happened then? We know our diets changed, our stress levels increased and our activity levels decreased. The biggest contributing factors of those are probably the diet and the activity levels (backed up by the CNN report for Mississippi), because stress existed in earlier generations too. Our diets suddenly contained a much greater variety of processed foods, such as cereals and cookies, not to mention the explosion of different varieties of sugar-filled (often high fructose corn syrup, one of the worst offenders) sodas. Hidden in the ingredients one also would find trans fats (nowadays less so, but still present in many fast foods and other restaurant meals), and often too much sodium (especially in soups and processed meats). Very often when fat is removed from a processed food product, sugar is added to make up for it. Tremendously delicious and carb-filled, sugar-filled, and ironically, fat-filled desserts are everywhere to tempt us. The fast food restaurants make a fortune out of selling people fattening food that is essentially not healthy to eat too often. Ever watch the movie, “Supersize Me”? Besides the food not tasting that great, in my humble opinion, there is always a risk of an e-coli infection with undercooked hamburger meat. Not so long ago, I went with the family to a well-known hamburger franchise and both times we went the hamburger meat my boys and husband ate was undercooked, still appearing pink in the middle. Needless to say that has literally put me off for life and today I make hamburgers for the family when they desire them.

The CNN article mentioned that there is a higher level of poverty in Mississippi and we all know carbs are cheaper. What do lower income families buy then? They probably skimp on the more expensive meats, veggies and fruits and fill up on empty, freely available, inexpensive white breads and baked goods. It is very addictive to start eating that way, in any case, as insulin levels will be higher in the presence of lots of refined carbohydrates. Even if they could suddenly afford better food, chances are they will still crave the carbohydrates they’ve become accustomed to eating in large quantities. Carbohydrate addiction is a very real thing and it is outlined in several low-carb diet books, such as the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, Atkins, etc. The late Dr. Atkins went as far as to say that many people develop an allergy to wheat products and ironically the body will crave the very thing it is allergic to. It is also not surprising that high rates of diabetes are found amongst those who are very overweight.

Dr. Atkins said that higher insulin levels in the body result in more fat storage. Many studies have proven him right. His whole diet premise is to do an end-run on insulin production. The same is true for other low-carbohydrate diets, such as Protein Power, Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program, etc. Dr. Bernstein, who wrote a couple of books that I am aware of (see Amazon), addressing a very low-carbohydrate way of eating for people with diabetes, also maintains that it is the embracing of the low-fat diets (read: high carbohydrate) that has brought about the obesity problem in America.

It is really sad that so many people are suffering unnecessarily. It is time more people hear about the lower carbohydrate diet alternative, which has been proven to work for many people, even reversing diabetes in many cases. My friend, who lives in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in Canada and who I’m hoping will write her testimony for my blog, is one shining example of success that I know personally.

Perry Commutes Death Sentence

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Eugene Foster of San Antonio to life imprisonment after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (TBPP) recommended such action.

On May 6, 1997, Foster was sentenced to death for his role in the 1996 capital murder of Michael LaHood. Foster sought to have his death sentence commuted to a life sentence arguing that he did not shoot the victim, but merely drove the car in which that the actual killer was riding. In addition, Foster was tried along side the actual killer, Maurecio Brown, and the jury that convicted Foster also considered punishment for both him and his co-defendant in the same proceeding.

"After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment," Gov. Perry said. "I am concerned about Texas law that allows capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously, and it is an issue I think the legislature should examine."

The TBPP voted 6-1 to recommend commutation, and the governor signed the commutation papers Thursday morning.

The governor's action means Foster's sentence will be commuted to life imprisonment as soon as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice can process this change.

http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/press/pressreleases/PressRelease.2007-08-30.0856

Gov. Perry commutes death row inmate's sentence

AUSTIN -- Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday commuted death row inmate Kenneth Foster’s sentence to life, following a 6-1 recommendation by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

“After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster’s sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment,” Gov. Perry said. “I am concerned about Texas law that allows capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously, and it is an issue I think the legislature should examine.”

Mr. Foster was the getaway driver in a 1996 armed robbery spree that ended in the murder of a 25-year-old San Antonio man. He contends he had no knowledge a murder was going to occur, and he was not the trigger man. But he was convicted, in the same courtroom as the shooter, under the state’s “law of parties,” which authorizes capital punishment for accomplices who either intended to kill or "should have anticipated" a murder.

Mr. Foster is one of an estimated 80 Texas death row inmates convicted under the law; about 20 have already been put to death. Most states have such laws for many types of crimes, but Texas is the only state to apply it broadly to capital cases. While death penalty opponents decry its use, prosecutors argue all those responsible for heinous crimes must be held accountable.

Mr. Foster acknowledges he was up for getting high and robbing a few people on that night 11 years ago. But he was in a car with two other men nearly 90 feet away when one of his partners shot and killed Michael LaHood in what jurors determined was a botched robbery.

The men in the car, including Mr. Foster, have testified that they thought they were done robbing for the night and that there was no plan to stick up - and certainly not to murder - Mr. LaHood. The shooter, Mauriceo Brown, was executed last year.

Mr. Foster's attorney believes his client's fate was sealed during his joint trial with Mr. Brown, when one of his robbing partners testified that "it was kind of like, I guess, understood, what was probably fixing to go down" when Mr. Brown got out of the car.

It was enough for jurors - and later, the appeals court - to support a capital murder charge for Mr. Foster on the basis of conspiracy: They believed Mr. Foster, as the getaway driver on two previous robberies, either knew what was about to occur or should have anticipated it.

But Mr. Foster's attorney never got the chance to cross-examine the two other partners, who both received life sentences. One has since given a sworn statement to Mr. Hampton saying he didn't understand Mr. Brown's intent was to rob Mr. LaHood until Mr. Brown had already made his way up the driveway. The other has testified that Mr. Foster asked the men all night to quit and worried about returning the car to his grandfather.

In recent weeks, Mr. Foster’s case has brought waves of attention, from rallies across the state to public statements from former President Jimmy Carter, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actress Susan Sarandon.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, upheld Mr. Foster's sentence for a final time this month.

Source : DallasNews.com

Board recommends condemned man be spared

AUSTIN -- The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended this morning that Gov. Rick Perry commute death row inmate Kenneth Foster’s sentence to life – leaving the governor just 7 hours to determine Mr. Foster’s fate.

“I’m trying to get him to make the decision just as fast as possible,” Keith Hampton, Mr. Foster’s attorney, said from the governor’s office. “I’m meeting with attorneys here to tell them the ups and downs and find out where they’re at.”

The execution by lethal injection is scheduled for 6 p.m. The governor’s office had no immediate comment the board’s vote. Mr. Perry does not have to follow the board’s recommendation, and he has rarely intervened in death penalty cases as governor.

Mr. Foster was the getaway driver in a 1996 armed robbery spree that ended in the murder of a 25-year-old San Antonio man. He contends he had no knowledge a murder was going to occur, and he was not the trigger man. But he was convicted under the state’s “law of parties,” which authorizes capital punishment for accomplices who either intended to kill or "should have anticipated" a murder.

Mr. Foster is one of an estimated 80 Texas death row inmates convicted under the law; about 20 have already been put to death. Most states have such laws for many types of crimes, but Texas is the only state to apply it broadly to capital cases. While death penalty opponents decry its use, prosecutors argue all those responsible for heinous crimes must be held accountable.

Mr. Foster acknowledges he was up for getting high and robbing a few people on that night 11 years ago. But he was in a car with two other men nearly 90 feet away when one of his partners shot and killed Michael LaHood in what jurors determined was a botched robbery.

The men in the car, including Mr. Foster, have testified that they thought they were done robbing for the night and that there was no plan to stick up - and certainly not to murder - Mr. LaHood. The shooter, Mauriceo Brown, was executed last year.

Mr. Foster's attorney believes his client's fate was sealed during his joint trial with Mr. Brown, when one of his robbing partners testified that "it was kind of like, I guess, understood, what was probably fixing to go down" when Mr. Brown got out of the car.

It was enough for jurors - and later, the appeals court - to support a capital murder charge for Mr. Foster on the basis of conspiracy: They believed Mr. Foster, as the getaway driver on two previous robberies, either knew what was about to occur or should have anticipated it.

But Mr. Foster's attorney never got the chance to cross-examine the two other partners, who both received life sentences. One has since said in a sworn statement that he didn't understand Mr. Brown's intent was to rob the victim until Mr. Brown had already made his way up the driveway. The other has testified that Mr. Foster asked the men all night to quit and worried about returning the car to his grandfather.

In recent weeks, Mr. Foster’s case has brought waves of attention, from rallies across the state to public statements from former President Jimmy Carter, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actress Susan Sarandon.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, upheld Mr. Foster's sentence for a final time this month. If Mr. Foster is executed, it will be the third in Texas this week, and the 24th this year.

Source : DallasNews.com

Not the Killer, but Still Facing a Date With the Executioner

HOUSTON, Aug. 29 — Kenneth Foster has a date on Thursday with the executioner’s needle. Not for killing anyone himself, but for what he was doing — and might have been thinking — the night in 1996 when he was 19 and a sidekick gunned down a San Antonio law student.

Ensnared in a Texas law that makes accomplices subject to the death penalty, Mr. Foster, 30, is to become the third death row inmate this week, and the 403rd since capital punishment resumed in Texas in 1982, to give his life for a life taken.

But unlike most others condemned to death in this state, Mr. Foster, a former gang member and aspiring musician and now a prison poet from San Antonio, is not a murderer in the usual sense. He was convicted and sentenced to die for abetting a killing — 80 feet away — that he might, or might not, have had reason to anticipate.

The gunman is dead, executed last year. Two accomplices are serving life terms.
Now, failing a last-minute reprieve, Mr. Foster, the group’s driver in a robbery spree — who argues that he never was party to the murder — is facing lethal injection. His guilt, affirmed so far in every appeal, including five turned away by the United States Supreme Court, hinges in large part on difficult questions of awareness and intention.

Other states also hold co-conspirators responsible for one another’s criminal acts in a so-called law of parties. But few of those states have a death penalty. And no other state executes anybody on the scale of Texas.

Click here to read this feature in full.

Source : The New York Times

Report on status of Foster case

The update on Kenneth Foster is that the Board of Pardons and Paroles was working on John Amador's case all afternoon and didn't get to Kenneth's case. Johnny was just executed in Huntsville. The Foster family was with the Amador family in Huntsville for the execution. Both families are from San Antonio and Johnny and Kenneth both began a hunger strike last week. The Fosters had an eight hour visit with Kenneth today. Tomorrow they will have 4 hours.
So tomorrow the Board will rule on Kenneth's case. I am not holding my breath for them to do the right thing as they almost never do. But I still think we should call them all morning until they rule. The number to call is:

Board-- 1-512-406-5852
Gov-- 1-512-463-2000

It is so hard to have execution after execution in Texas while we know that this damn system will ultimately be done away with. But how many people do we have to lose to this racist assembly line to death sponsored by the state of Texas? I encourage everyone to turn their anger and energy at this machinery of death toward building the movement for abolition. We can't build a movement for all of the 400 people on death row in Texas, so we must build a movement to stop the whole disgusting tool of the rich rulers of this state.

Gloria Rubac

Another stain on justice, Texas style

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Gov. Rick Perry can spare a life, uphold justice and bring a semblance of honor to Texas this week, if only he will seize the opportunity.

Perry has the power to stop the execution of death row inmate Kenneth Foster, scheduled to die Thursday for a crime everyone acknowledges that he did not commit. The state's Board of Pardons and Paroles also can halt the execution.

Foster, 30, is not the sweetheart anti-death penalty activists insist he is. He was a thug, armed robber and drug dealer in San Antonio. But he did not commit the murder that put him on death row.

Foster was driving the car with three criminal friends on a robbery spree the night Michael LaHood, 25, was shot and killed in 1996. One of Foster's passengers, Mauriceo Brown, shot LaHood in the face during an attempted robbery. Brown was executed for that crime last year.
Foster was convicted under Texas' Law of Parties statute that considers those who had a major role in a capital crime as guilty as the actual killer. Texas is the only state that applies the Law of Parties to capital crimes, and an estimated 80 death row inmates have been condemned to die under that statute.

Foster and the others in the car with him say Foster had no idea Brown would kill LaHood. But prosecutors and a jury said Foster should have known that Brown intended to shoot LaHood and should have prevented it.

The inescapable problem with the Law of Parties is that a jury has to go back in time and read the defendant's mind, guess at his intention. The sentence is based on what the jury believed Foster was thinking when the crime occurred. No one's life should hinge on guesswork by jurors.

A federal district judge overturned the death sentence in 2005 after determining that Foster didn't play a major role in the conspiracy to rob LaHood. But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court and reinstated the death sentence in 2006. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Foster's appeal.

So now it's up to Perry or the Board of Pardons and Paroles to do the right thing and spare Foster's life by granting him a reprieve. It's the only just thing to do. If the governor or parole board allows this execution, Texas will be further stained by injustice.

Since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, Texas has executed 400 people, far more than any other state. That's more than a third of all the 1,100 executions in the United States in that same period.

Everyone can sympathize with LaHood's family and share their grief at their loss. But granting Foster a reprieve in no way endangers this state's embrace of the death penalty or threatens to turn a cold-blooded killer loose on the streets.

It only assures that one man is not put to death for a crime committed by someone else. It's simple justice.

Source: Austin-American Statesman (from Save Kenneth Foster Blog)

Kenneth Foster Execution a 'New Low for Texas' and a 'Shocking Perversion of the Law,' Says Amnesty International

(Washington, D.C.) -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) today condemned the scheduled August 30 execution of Kenneth Foster, who was convicted of a murder he did not commit and has consistently denied knowing would occur. The human rights organization has mobilized its international membership to urge the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry to grant clemency.

Foster was sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of Michael LaHood under Texas' controversial "law of parties." This law abolishes the distinction between principal actor and accomplice in a crime and allows both to be held equally culpable.

"This is a new low for Texas," said Larry Cox, executive director of AIUSA. "Texas has the most far-reaching 'law of parties' in this country, further marking it as the death penalty capital of the United States. In essence, Kenneth Foster has been sentenced to death for leaving his crystal ball at home. There is no concrete evidence demonstrating that he could know a murder would be committed. Allowing his life to be taken is a shocking perversion of the law."

Source : Amnesty International USA

Texas: former high school honors student executed

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – A former high school honors student convicted of killing one of four people gunned down at an East Texas bar 13 years ago was executed late Tuesday night.
DaRoyce Mosley, 32, was the 22nd inmate executed in Texas this year.

Mr. Mosley didn't deny walking into the Kilgore bar intending to rob the place, but insisted his uncle who accompanied him was responsible for the slayings 13 years ago. The uncle, Ray Don Mosley, 44, took a plea bargain and is serving life in prison.

Mr. Mosley's execution was delayed for several hours while the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed his request for a stay. The court rejected the request about 10:30 p.m.

Source: The Associated Press

Executing this man is bloodlust, not justice

You might have missed the story. After all, the football season is starting, and we had all the excitement of a tax-free weekend.

But Texas is about to execute an innocent man, that is, a man who killed no one, who did not want to kill anyone, who did not help kill anyone.

On these points, there is unanimous agreement between all the parties involved. How could this happen in Texas?

Kenneth Foster is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection Thursday for a murder committed by Mauriceo Brown, a friend of Foster who was executed for murder last year.

The incident in question is the murder of Michael LaHood. In an altercation, Brown pulled a gun and shot LaHood. Brown testified that LaHood had drawn a gun on him first. Whatever happened, it is undisputed that Foster sat in the car 80 feet away from the shooting. There is no evidence that Foster had felonious intent. When he heard the shot, he started to drive off before Brown got back in the car, a fact kept from the jury.

Part of what got Foster charged with capital murder is a legal concept known as "the law of parties." In Texas, a person is responsible for the criminal conduct of another if he intentionally assists the other in committing a crime. If a second crime is committed, and it can be anticipated, he can be held criminally responsible for that crime, as well.

Problematic law

Nearly thirty years ago, I was appointed to represent a capital murder defendant in Brazos County where the "law of parties" was involved. In that case, my client agreed with another person to do physical harm to the victim and the victim died as a result. Even though there was no direct evidence that my client intended the death of the victim, his conduct fit clearly within the "law of parties."

This is not the case with Kenneth Foster. Foster was merely present in the vicinity of the murder, not a participant in it in any way except that he was driving the car in which the killer, Brown, left the scene.

It should surprise no one who keeps up with such cases that Foster is a black man accused of killing a white man, a factor in many capital murder cases. Michael LaHood was the son of a well-known attorney in San Antonio. The LaHood family, through the media, made it known it wanted the guilty parties executed. The prosecuting attorney withheld evidence that would have supported Brown's testimony that LaHood was armed and that Brown shot him in self-defense. Foster was tried with Brown, a decision by the judge and prosecutor that prejudiced Foster's chance to receive a fair trial. Foster's court-appointed attorney made no inquiries into Foster's background. Had he done so, he would have found many factors that would have mitigated against sentencing him to death by lethal injection.

Proponents of capital punishment argue that we need this punishment for those who are the worst of the worse; for those who commit murder under the most cold and heinous circumstances; for the irretrievably lost among us. None of these conditions comes close to describing Kenneth Foster.

This case is not about revenge against Kenneth Foster because Foster didn't kill Michael LaHood, nor did he even want to kill him. It is about blood lust. Whether the proponents of capital punishment take refuge in Scripture or their general outrage at crime, their hands will be covered with the blood of Kenneth Foster if this travesty of justice is not stopped.

-- Lamar Hankins is a San Marcos attorney.

Suspend the United States' and Japan's Observers Status at the European Council

We, the undersigned, as citizens of the world opposed to the death penalty, demand that the United States and Japan be suspended as observers at the European Council.

On August 22, 2007, Texas carried out its 400th execution in 25 years and Japan carried out 3 executions on the same day. While the European Union has always voiced a strong opposition to capital punishment, it has, however, never moved beyond statements of intention.

This urgent situation calls for action as statements do not and will not change this dramatic state of affairs. In a recent statement, you declared: "Despite the potential unpopularity of the measure, capital punishment must be totally removed in all countries which strive to uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights", and in 2001 during the first International Congress against the Death Penalty, which took place in Strasbourg, representatives of all European Union states signed a resolution calling for universal abolition. Since then we, as abolitionists, have been completely abandoned in the face of the terrible ongoing wave of US executions, especially in Texas.

The European Union continues to display verbal convictions that it is obviously unable or unwilling to support with committed actions in defense of its beliefs. We expect and demand action beyond mere words to help bring government-sanctioned killing to an immediate and unconditional end.

Click here to read more and sign the petition.

Petition from Sherrie Stone: Help save her father's life!

I have a father on death row in Alabama. Most of you never knew this about me. He has been there for 25 years for a crime he did not commit. He is scheduled to be executed next month 09-27-2007. His web site is Thomas Arthur Fight For Life.

There is history about his case there and links to legal documents. What I am asking of you is to sign the petition that is on the web site. I am asking the Governor of Alabama to stay the execution until we can have the crime scene evidence DNA tested. There is actual crime scene evidence that was collected and still exists that the State of Alabama refuses to DNA test. If you look at the site and do not want to sign the petition, I will truly understand. If you do sign and want to e-mail the Governor, I will appreciate it with all my heart. I will be on some national news show in the coming weeks in an effort to change some laws in Alabama, and to plead with Governor Riley in Alabama to stay the execution until we can DNA test the crime scene evidence at our own expense. If you look at the site and decide to sign the petition and know anyone you can pass this information to, I would appreciate it with all my heart.

Sincerely,

Sherrie Stone

Shujaa Graham speaking on behalf of TX Death Row Inmate Kenneth Foster

Shujaa Graham, here speaking on behalf of TX Death Row Inmate Kenneth Foster, July 2007, spent three years on California’s death row for a crime he did not commit. Shujaa was framed for the murder of a prison guard because he was active in fighting for prisoners' rights. It took four trials and the work of dedicated high school students until Shujaa was found not guilty.

Source : National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

A Cruel and Unusual Excuse: Texas Evades EU Call to Conscience

In order to stop the killing at Texas death row, the European Union on Tuesday, through the office of its Presidency, asked the Governor of Texas to declare a death-penalty moratorium. But the Governor's reply was quick and flippant. He did nothing to stop the 400th killing Wednesday evening, and it is becoming horribly apparent that he will do nothing to intervene in the 3 executions scheduled for next week -- not even for Kenneth Foster who never killed anyone.

"We believe that elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights," argued the EU. "We further consider this punishment to be cruel and inhumane. There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment means that miscarriages of justice - which are inevitable in all legal systems - cannot be redressed. Consequently, the death penalty has been abolished throughout the European Union."

In reply to the EU's four carefully worded reasons, the Texas Governor answered that "Texans are doing just fine governing Texas."

"Texans long ago decided that the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens," said the Governor in an oddly titled "Statement by Robert Black." Does the Governor have in mind some joking reference to the film, "Meet Joe Black"? Speaking for the Governor, Mr. Black reminded the EU that the USA was born out of a revolution "to throw off the yoke of a European monarch."

The reply by the Texas Governor is a logical embarrassment, because it waves around an issue not disputed by the EU while failing to provide any reason beyond state's rights for why the long-ago decision by Texans should be considered reasonable.

When the Governor calls the death penalty "just and appropriate" we first wonder if he means to suggest that anything whatsoever can be just and in-appropriate. The construction of the Governor's conjunction signifies a careless haste in thinking precisely in a moment when careful considerations are most called for - that is, on the eve of the state's 400th execution.

If Texas has good reasons for deciding that the death penalty is a just basis for killing 400 people, and if the killing is to continue with an even broader scope to include people who drive cars for killers, then a "decent respect to the opinions of mankind" would compel the Governor to treat the matter with the logical seriousness that it deserves. Instead we get an anti-littering slogan on retreads: "Don't Mess with Texas."

Perhaps the Governor means for his readers across the Atlantic to infer that where a "most horrible crime" has been committed, a most terrible punishment is not to be considered cruel or unusual. An eye for an eye, a life for a life. If this is the Governor's intent, we would prefer that he state his reasons more clearly so that the discourse may continue on open ground.

In matters of judgment and punishment we may allow the Governor a point, despite the atrocious rhetoric that he uses to put it across. The law does seem to demand a certain reciprocal retribution for wrongdoing. But in all other cases, the lawful currency of punishment is put in terms of cash damages or some manner of restricted freedom, up to and including life in prison. If we don't literally take an eye for an eye, on what basis do we decide to take a life for a life? Texas has enough prisons to hold 400 killers for life.

The Governor's failure to state the case more clearly not only deflects dialogue on the second point raised by the EU; it also serves to fog the fact that the Governor completely evades the other three issues raised. If Texas takes the position that death for death is just, based on the horribleness of the crime, where does Texas stand on the other 3 issues raised by the EU?

Does Texas not believe that an eventual end to the death penalty is demanded by "the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights"? The Governor's reply to the EU waves the bloody shirt of a 230-year-old war, but what about the progressive evolution of law in the USA since that time? Didn't Texas and USA follow several European examples in the abolition of slavery for example? Is the Governor suggesting that such monumental achievements of legal progress in Texas will require the world to apply the same methods that put an end to slavery? As for the third point raised by the EU, where does Texas stand on the question of deterrent effect? Does the Governor ease his own conscience by thinking about deterrence or not?

And what about the grave problem of irreversibility?

Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for starting a fire that killed a person. But the Texas Governor refused to consider expert reviews declaring that the fire could not have been arson in the 2st place (Mills and Possley, Chicago Tribune, Dec. 9, 2004).

Ruben Cantu went to his execution in 1993 claiming that he had been framed. A dozen years later, both his accomplice and a witness now say Cantu spoke the truth (Olsen, Houston Chronicle, July 24, 2006).

Carlos De Luna was killed by the State of Texas in 1990, but there is good reason to believe that another man was the more likely killer (Possley andMills, Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2006).

"I'm an innocent black man that is being murdered," said Shaka Sankofa(Gary Graham) before his execution in June of 2000 (Wikipedia).

In the case of Kenneth Foster -- who is today on a hunger strike in protest of his scheduled execution next Thursday - the State of Texas does not even claim to be executing a killer. Foster drove the car that a killer rode in. The killing was impromptu and took place about 80 feet from the car. Foster was not part of any conspiracy to murder (Editorial, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Aug. 19, 2007).

As the EU says, mistakes in human judgment are inevitable. Does the Governor believe that Texas is infallible? A decent respect for world opinion requires the Governor to answer the question as if the moral life of his state depended upon it.

By what principles in the 21st Century does the Governor carry his conscience when he acts as if carefully planned killings are necessary to his lawful rule? His reply to the EU, that he executes people because the people of Texas long ago made up their minds to let him, displays a cruel and unusual disrespect toward the ongoing discourse that conscionable governance requires.

Texas Civil Rights Review - August, 24 2007

Source : National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Rough justice: 80 lashes for 'immoral' Iranian who abused alcohol and had sex

His face covered by a balaclava, an official brandishing a cane repeatedly lashes the back of a man found guilty of breaking Iran's morality laws.

Two police officers hold the legs of 25-year-old Saeed Ghanbari and another his arms to ensure there is no escape from the punishment of 80 lashes handed down by a religious court.

Traffic was brought to a halt in Qazvin, 90 miles west of the capital Tehran, as more than 1,000 men gathered behind barricades to watch the public flogging.

Some took pictures on mobile telephones, others climbed traffic lights for a better vantage point as Ghanbari was marched to the centre of the square under the watch of blue-uniformed guards carrying machine guns.

A four foot long metal bench was taken from a police van and the convicted man was made to lie on it on his stomach, his fawn checked shirt pulled-up to his shoulders to expose his back and waist.

One police officer held his hands together beneath the bench, two others gripped his legs to ensure there was little movement.

Two police officers stood-by, their faces covered with balaclavas - each to administer 40 lashes.
Both men then lashed Ghanbari, taking the cane back behind their heads to guarantee maximum impact, each stroke leaving a distinctive red mark and bruising on his back.

Several wounds began to bleed.

It was unclear exactly what his offence had been as the country's strict morality laws cover many areas, but it was reported he had been convicted of abusing alcohol and having sex outside of marriage.

The public lashings have been endorsed by the judiciary as a way of deterring alcohol abuse at a time when it is on the increase among young men but some religious leaders are said to be questioning their validity, fearing they have an adverse impact on the country's image abroad.

Although men and women convicted of flouting public morals are routinely flogged in detention centres, public floggings are considered rare.

Human Rights groups say there have been a marked rise in recent months in the number of people sentenced to executions and floggings in Iran.

Amnesty International, which said it is "greatly concerned by continuing human rights abuses in Iran", has highlighted figures revealing 117 people were executed in 2006 with thousands facing floggings.

They included a woman, who had been forced into prostitution as an eight-year-old, receiving 99 lashes because of "acts contrary to chastity."

Earlier this year, a man was flogged after a copy of the Bible was found in his car.

At least 120 executions have been recorded so far this year, according to Amnesty, with two youths under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes among those killed.

The latest gruesome pictures have emerged three weeks after there was an outcry over a video of a flogging in a Malaysian jail was posted on the Internet.

The sickening images showed a man being lashed repeatedly on the buttocks until he bled from several wounds.

Source : Daily Mail