GI News—June 2008

• The pros and cons of juices and juicing
• Prof. David Jenkins’s Eco-Atkins diet
• Gestational diabetes and a low GI diet
  
• Should people over 50 eat more protein?
• Do we get all the vitamin D we need from the sun?
• Low GI carbs benefit young people with type 1 diabetes
  

In a recent op-ed New York Times piece, Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang wrote about fears of a recession that may lead American families to loosen their belts literally. They make the interesting point that reining in spending in the short term, may actually cause us to be more relaxed about other things. What’s the connection? Sandra Aamodt shared the original research on this with GI News which explains the crucial role glucose plays in self control and why exerting willpower in one direction (such as cutting back on spending) often leads to backsliding in another (watching what you eat). Read all about it in Food for Thought. As ever in GI News there are all our usual features including recipes, success stories and our regular columns with Dr David and Prof Trim.

Good eating, good health and good reading.

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

Food for Thought

Fuelling willpower
The benefits of carbs (glucose), the brain's critical fuel source, in tests like word recall, maze learning, arithmetic, short-term memory, rapid information processing and reasoning are well documented. All types of people – young people, university students, people with diabetes, healthy elderly people and those with Alzheimer’s disease – have shown an improvement in what's called cognitive function after eating glucose or a carb meal.



Willpower seems to be affected by our glucose supplies too according to Matthew Gailliot and researchers from Florida State University, which is possibly why being strong minded about one thing can lead to backsliding in another and helps explain why after firmly saying no to an impulse purchase you can find yourself eating a whole chocolate bar! Apparently even relatively small acts of self control deplete the brain's available supply of glucose which then reduces our capacity for exercising further self control until we have topped up the glucose tank. The Florida study involved numerous tests but a key one found that people who drank a glass of regular lemonade between one task requiring self control before beginning a second also requiring a fair bit of willpower performed equally well on both tasks, while people who drank a sugarless diet lemonade in between made more errors on the second task than on the first.

Writing in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology the researchers draw the conclusion: ‘… the body’s variable ability to mobilize glucose may be an important determinant of people’s capacity to live up to their ideals, pursue their goals and realize their virtues.’ They also point out that they used sugar in their studies because it is fast acting and convenient, but that ‘complex carbohydrates may be more effective for sustained self control.’ Research in memory tests has certainly shown that low GI carbs enhance learning and memory more than high GI carbs, probably because there is no rebound fall in blood glucose.

And there's more. According to Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, willpower grows with practice. ‘People who stick to an exercise program for two months report reducing their impulsive spending, junk food intake, alcohol use and smoking. They also study more, watch less TV and do more housework,’ they write.
– Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (2007, Vol. 92. No 2.)



– Sandra Aamodt PhD and Sam Wang PhD are authors of Welcome to Your Brain: Why you lose your car keys but never forget how to drive and other puzzles of everyday life.

News Briefs

Eco-Atkins diet: good for you and good for the environment
Prof. David Jenkins, the father of the glycemic index, wondered what would happen if you swapped the butter, eggs, cheese and meat in the Atkins diet for soy and other vegetable protein foods including gluten and vegetable fats, nuts, avocado, olive and canola oil. In effect exchanging saturated fat and animal protein for healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and vegetable protein.


Prof David Jenkins

The University of Toronto Eco-Atkins study of 44 overweight people with a high blood cholesterol level was initially conducted for four weeks with all food provided. Half the participants followed the Eco-Atkins (low carb vegan) diet, comprising 43% fat and 30% protein, with the remainder eating a low-fat NCEP vegetarian diet (25% energy as fat; 16% as protein) to compare the effects of different levels of protein and fat from plant foods. All the dieters lost around 4 kg (nearly 9 pounds), but those on the Eco-Atkins diet also reduced their 'bad' LDL cholesterol by around 20% compared with the low-fat dieters whose cholesterol dropped by around 10%.

After careful instruction, 23 of the dieters continued their eating plans for a further six months doing their own meal prep. Those on the Eco-Atkins diet lost a further 2 kg (around 4 1/2 pounds) and their LDL cholesterol stayed 5–6% below what's called baseline (what it was at the starting point).

Prof. Jenkins said that while the Eco-Atkins diet may not be everyone's cup of tea it also offers many environmental advantages compared to popular high protein diets where up to 1 kg of meat can be eaten each week. ‘Even if meat-rich diets were healthy and health professionals didn't have concerns about a potentially increased risk of bowel cancer, it would not be possible to feed a large proportion of our planet on such a diet.’

Talking to GI News, dietitian Sue Radd says: ‘What the Eco-Atkins diet shows is that just as not all carbohydrates are equal, neither is all protein – and plant protein has the added benefit of lowering LDL cholesterol and improving insulin resistance more. The 150 g of protein in the Eco-Atkins diet was from a mix of soy foods, gluten (seitan) and nuts. If you don't fancy gluten (available canned or chilled from Asian stores) or eating lots of soy foods, try other legumes such as chickpeas, lentils and beans and more nuts and seeds.’

The study has not yet been published, but the findings were presented at the 5th International Congress on Vegetarian Nutrition in California in March 2008. For more details check out the study protocol.

Will a low GI diet help prevent gestational diabetes?
The jury is still out according to the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, calling for further large studies with longer follow-up. Lead review author Joanna Tieu, at the Women and Children's Hospital at the University of Adelaide said: ‘While our results were promising, the evidence is not sufficient to recommend changes in clinical practices, because of the limited number of trials. [The three eligible studies included only 107 women.] Our results suggest that a low GI diet may be a benefit to mother and child, however. This is because low GI diets such as fresh fruits and vegetables and unprocessed wholegrain foods tend to slow down the digestion of food. Slow digestion allows the body to better adjust to the load of glucose coming in after a meal.’

Gestational diabetes affects an estimated 4% of pregnant women in the US, UK and Australia, and up to 14% worldwide. No one knows exactly what causes it, possibly hormones from the placenta block the action of the mother’s insulin. Without enough insulin, glucose cannot enter cells. Instead, it builds up in the bloodstream, causing hyperglycemia. The excess glucose and other nutrients flow through the placenta, causing the baby's insulin to rise, thereby encouraging faster growth. This produces significant problems such as a very large baby, an increased risk of the shoulder getting stuck during birth and injury to the mother during birth. There is also increased risks of an induced birth or caesarian birth. ‘Gestational diabetes also has been associated with spontaneous labor and premature birth,’ Tieu said. ‘And children of women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of obesity, glucose intolerance and diabetes in late adolescence and young adulthood.’
For more information, check out the Intervention Review Abstract.



Low GI carbs benefit young people with type 1 diabetes
For children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes, it is absolutely essential to do everything possible to achieve and maintain optimal blood glucose levels. Poorly managed blood glucose levels, can mean kids don't reach their full growth potential – this isn't an area where you get the chance to 'backspace' and try again.

Carb counting has been the key dietary strategy to maintain optimal blood glucose levels and reduce the risk of complications. A new study from the University of Newcastle and John Hunter Children’s Hospital has found that swapping high GI for low GI carbs brings additional benefits for children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes on multiple daily injections. In the randomized study, 20 young people aged 8 to 17 with type 1 diabetes ate high GI (84) and low GI (48) pre-made test meals for breakfast containing 60 g carbs (4 exchanges). Each child's insulin dose was standardized and continuous glucose monitoring was used to assess changes. The low GI meal produced a significantly lower postmeal glucose response for 30–180 minutes compared with the high GI meal. The researchers also investigated insulin timing for a low GI meal and found ultra short acting insulin given before the meal remained the optimal insulin therapy.

What does this mean for young people and their families with diabetes? ‘Our study clearly showed that carbohydrate type as well as carbohydrate amount has an effect on blood glucose control after meals in children with diabetes. This was demonstrated in children on 4 injections per day who had already been taught carbohydrate counting. Substituting healthy low GI foods for high GI choices helps reduce post meal hyperglycemia and is good for the whole family. In addition, young people with diabetes should try to always inject before they eat as this assists blood glucose control,’ says study co-author and dietitian Carmel Smart
– Diabetes Care published ahead of print online May 5, 2008
For more information contact: carmel.smart@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au


Carmel Smart

What's new?
The Fertility Diet by Dr Jorge Chavarro, Prof Walter Willet and Patrick Skerrett (published by McGraw Hill)
Infertility affects one in six couples. There are various reasons – a structural problem like blocked fallopian tubes, or a disease of the uterus like fibroids or endometriosis. Many cases (18–30%), though, are due to a failure of ovulation – eggs just don't ripen and release when they're supposed to. IVF is an option, but it's time consuming, expensive, invasive and has a high failure rate. A simpler solution may be a ‘fertility diet’ aimed at increasing certain micronutrients and improving insulin sensitivity through diet (including low GI carbs), weight control and increased physical activity. We reported on this research from Harvard in January 2008 GI News. Here's the book that discusses the research in detail and provides natural ways to boost ovulation and chances of getting pregnant.



www.eatgoodcarbs.com
For the past fifteen years, American registered dietitian Johanna Burani has been counseling people and writing about how to incorporate low GI carbohydrate choices into balanced meals and snacks. Her new website shares her acquired knowledge and skills. Check it out: www.eatgoodcarbs.com

Who has taught you most about food and cooking?
It’s Australian Food Media Awards time. This year they have widened the field to give home foodies in Australia the chance to take part in the inaugural People's Choice Award. You can vote for one of the listed nominees: Margaret Fulton, Di Holuigue, Lyndey Milan, Ian “Herbie” Hemphill, Bill Granger, Stephanie Alexander, Maggie Beer and Joanna Savill. Or for your mother. All you need to do to cast your vote is go to the Food Media Club Australia website www.foodmediaclub.com.au and follow the Australian Food Media Awards prompts. Nominations close 31 July 2008.

Food of the Month

Juices and juicing
We are often asked about the benefits of juice as a way of totting up those daily fruit and veggie serves. Here, dietitian and nutritionist Catherine Saxelby explains the pros and cons of juices and juicing and provides tips on enjoying these (usually) low GI drinks along with some great fruit and veggie combos.


Catherine Saxelby

The juice bar cult has created a whole new market for freshly-squeezed juices and smoothies, often enhanced with a shot of wheatgrass, guarana, echinacea or ginseng. You can sip orange and carrot; peach, guava and pineapple; apple, capsicum and celery; watermelon, mint and beetroot – all healthy and on-the-go. Driven by the youth market, juice bars are a place for young people to gather after school, just as cafes are meeting places for older generations. And juice bars make fruit and vegetables seem exciting, enjoyable and tasty.

Fresh juices, along with raw foods, have long been recommended by natural health practitioners since the nineteenth century. Juices are said to be an integral part of detox regimes, used to ‘cleanse the digestive system’, ‘draw out toxins’ and make the body more alkaline. Some of these claims are groundless, but are capitalised on by juice bars and all-fruit drinks to highlight the virtues of juice.

Juice pros
Juice is healthy and natural. Freshly-squeezed, 100% juice with no added sugar offers many health advantages. It:

• Retains the maximum content of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antioxidants. Juices are rich in all the nutrients of fruit and vegetables namely vitamin C, beta-carotene (which is converted to vitamin A in the body), folate, vitamin B1, niacin, vitamin K, potassium and magnesium.
• Can provide some of your recommended 7 serves of fruit and vegetables a day.
• Is helpful for fussy eaters who don’t eat many fruits or vegetables.
• Packs in nutrition for an underweight person with a small appetite OR someone recovering from chemotherapy who can’t eat much.

Juice cons
Fruit juice is fruit that’s concentrated. Juices pack in a lot of kilojoules/calories and represent fruit in a form that’s all too easy to seriously over consume. The fibre and intact structure have been removed, and with that goes the ‘natural brake to over consumption. Look at this comparison:

• A 200 g (7 oz) apple PROVIDES 3 g fibre and 300 kilojoules (71 calories) and TAKES 10 minutes to eat.
• A 650 ml apple juice (2½ cups) PROVIDES zero fibre and 1300 kilojoules (309 calories) and TAKES 2 minutes to drink. In fact a large juice is equivalent in food value to 4 apples but takes a fraction of the time and volume to drink and you are missing out on the fibre in the skin.

The bottom line

• Think of a large juice as more of a mini-meal or a substantial snack than just something to quench your thirst.
• Order the smallest size or share one with a friend.
• Try the fifty/fifty option and dilute juice with water or sparkling mineral water. Or fill up the glass with ice cube first then drizzle over the juice.
  
• Drink water if you’re thirsty (no kilojoules/calories there) and eat a whole piece of fruit.
• Fruit and vegetable juice combinations ‘dilute’ the sugars and calories so it’s not so concentrated. Try adding carrot, spinach or other green leafy veggies, celery, tomatoes or other vegetables you like with your fruit juice.
  

Juicy combos
Here are some fruit and veggie combos you can make at home or enjoy in a juice bar. Keep in mind that apple and carrot will work in just about anything and there's nothing like ginger for added zing.

• Carrot, apple and ginger (add in a bit of celery too if you like)
• Tomato, apple and parsley
• Watercress and pear
• Carrot and kiwi fruit
• Beetroot, apple and carrot (add a little parsley too if you like)
• Carrot and ruby grapefruit or orange
• Watermelon, celery and pineapple

Catherine Saxelby is the author of Zest and Nutrition for Life available online.

Low GI Recipes of the Month

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


Kate Hemphill

Lemon and kaffir lime prawn pilaf
This is a lovely and easy dish to make. It can easily be doubled if serving a large group, or halved for dinner for two. The number of prawns can be adjusted according to their size or you can add any other shellfish you like. Kaffir lime is normally associated with Thai food and has a distinct fresh flavour. If buying a bunch, fresh kaffir lime leaves can be frozen until ready to use. If you can’t get fresh, dried leaves can also be used in this recipe. It's a real one-pot wonder, but you need to use a cooktop to oven to table pan. And for a complete meal all you need to add is a big crispy green garden salad tossed in a vinaigrette dressing. It makes generous serves for four people or a lighter meal for six.
Serves 4–6



1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves, spine removed and very finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced and rind finely grated
1½ cups (300 g) basmati rice
2½ cups (625 ml) salt reduced vegetable stock or water
16 green King prawns (shrimps), whole

To serve
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped

• Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). In a large casserole dish, sauté the onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until beginning to go tender. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the kaffir lime leaves, lemon juice and rind. Tip the rice into the pan and keep stirring until all the grains are lightly toasted and covered in onion and spices.
• Pour in the stock and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. When boiling, turn off the heat and arrange the whole prawns on top of the rice. Cover with the lid on and place in the oven for 20 minutes. The rice and prawns should be cooked through. To serve, stir through chopped fresh coriander.

Per serving (based on 6 serves)
1243 kJ/ 295 calories; 15 g protein; 7 g fat (includes 1 g saturated fat); 42 g carbohydrate; 1 g fibre

Cajun stuffed peppers
This makes a hearty dinner allowing two peppers (capsicums) per person, or you can serve the peppers on a platter as part of a buffet. Wrap any leftover filling in a tortilla, or eat it as a ‘bean’ salad on its own. Cajun seasoning is a flavoursome blend of paprika, pepper, dried herbs and aromatics. It’s available in supermarkets.
Serves 4 for a main meal or 8 as part of a buffet



8 small red peppers (capsicums)
4 rashers lean smoked bacon or ham, cut into 1 cm (1/2 inch) pieces
1 small clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 x 400 g (14 oz) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 x 400 g (14 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cob corn, kernels removed
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
1–2 tablespoons olive oil for drizzling

• Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC. Cut the top off the peppers at the top (to make a lid) and scoop out the membrane and seeds. Set aside on baking tray and keep the lids.
• Sauté the bacon in a non stick pan until it starts to brown, then add garlic and Cajun seasoning. Stir until fragrant then add the beans, corn and parmesan and stir to combine well.
• Stuff the peppers with the bean mixture and top with the ‘lids’. Drizzle a little olive oil over and bake for 45 minutes, or until capsicum flesh is tender.

Per pepper (capsicum)
884 kJ/ 210 calories; 14 g protein; 7 g fat (includes 1.5 g saturated fat); 20 g carbohydrate; 8 g fibre

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: We get all the vitamin D we need from the sun.


Nicole Senior

Fact: My mother was recently told she had low vitamin D levels. I was quite surprised as she is an active lady who loves the outdoors and spending time in her garden. Living in a sunny country like Australia, surely she gets enough ‘sunshine vitamin’? Looking into this subject further, I discovered low vitamin D levels are a real problem for many people, especially older people whose skin is less efficient at making vitamin D from sunshine. People over 70 need three times as much vitamin D as those under 50.

The risk also increases in those living in less sunny climates, those with dark skin, those who don’t expose their skin to the sun for religious reasons, and those who always wear high protection sunscreen. My mother’s low vitamin D levels are now starting to make sense – she has taken skin cancer prevention very much on board and never goes outside without sunscreen, a long sleeved shirt and a hat. Low vitamin D levels are also passed on from mother to baby as vitamin D deficient mothers make vitamin D deficient breastmilk. Also of interest is that obese people are more likely to have low vitamin D because it is fat-soluble vitamin and gets trapped in body fat unable to travel around the body to where it is needed.



What does vitamin D do? It is vital for metabolising calcium and strong bones. In fact my mother’s vitamin D status was discovered after she broke a rib, albeit as a result of falling off a ladder! But the magic of vitamin D doesn’t end with bones. It is implicated in protection against cancer, Parkinson’s disease and high blood pressure; regulating the immune system; insulin secretion and blood glucose control. Research has also found a strong correlation between higher vitamin D levels and HDL (good) cholesterol levels. A recent study also found a link between low vitamin D levels and depression suggesting the potential for more vitamin D to boost mood – giving new support for the idea of a ‘sunny disposition’.

Vitamin D deficiency requires supplementation to correct, but how can it be prevented? It makes sense to get some sunshine each day if possible, but dietary sources have taken on renewed importance – especially in countries like Australia where skin cancer incidence is high. Foods containing vitamin D include some fatty fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines) and fish liver oils, as well as small amounts in liver, cheese and eggs. In the US, milk is fortified with vitamin D but in Australia, vitamin D is added only to some brands of dairy foods and milk alternatives (eg, soy milk). All margarine spreads in Australia and some in the US have vitamin D added making them good to include for general good health as well as healthier cholesterol levels. You can check the label to ensure minimal trans-fat levels.

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



For more information on nutrition and heart health visit www.eattobeatcholesterol.com.au

Dr David’s Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

So you think you can dance?
There's no two ways about it. You can. So shake it.
I am often asked the following question: ‘Isn’t obesity mostly a question of biology? If you happen to be born with “fat genes,” isn’t there really very little you can do about it?’ It can seem overwhelmingly difficult to maintain a healthy body weight in countries like the US, Canada, Australia and the UK today. But this hasn’t always been the case. Since World War II, most people in America and Europe have had plenty to eat, but obesity rates didn’t start rising until the 1970s in the United States and the 1980s or 1990s in Europe.



Just as there are biological forces that push body weight up, there are powerful forces that keep weight down. Just think about having a large Thanksgiving dinner: afterwards, you didn’t want to even look at food for a while, and you probably ate less the next day. The bottom line is that the obesity epidemic is caused by our environment, not our genes. If we could return to the environmental conditions of the 1960s, the obesity epidemic would vanish. It may take some time to make the world a healthier place to live. But until then, we can create a protective environment around our children at home. Not too many surprises here in the following list.

• Stock up on good food: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, lean protein, reduced-fat dairy products.
• Don't let junk food such as cookies, cakes, sweetened cereals and sugary drinks through the front door (or the back one). Save treats for special occasions: You don't have to give up sweets entirely, but go out for them instead of having them at home.
• Avoid fast food. We did a study that showed overweight teens consume about 400 more calories on a day when they consume fast food compared with a day in which they don't.
• Make physical activity the focus of the home instead of television. Don't allow TVs in the kitchen or bedrooms. Instead, give children the basic tools to be active: jump ropes, balls, baseball gloves, Frisbees, cricket bats, tennis rackets, bikes, skate boards, surf boards. And get out there and have some fun too. Remember, if you are active, your kids will follow your example.

And here's the best bit, saved for last.

• Shake it! Have fun. Encourage your kids to dance. When kids are having fun, they are not thinking about it as exercise. As you know, I’m not a fan of sedentary stuff like watching TV, but perhaps reality shows like ‘So you think you can dance’ can play a part in getting more kids moving more.

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

Move It & Lose It with Prof Trim

Should people over 50 eat more protein? And does this need to be timed with exercise?
Losing muscle mass is a significant problem with age. Combined with an increase in fat mass, this can lead to decreased ability to carry out daily tasks, increased prospects for dangerous weight gain and a greater potential for damaging falls. Weight training has been proposed as a possible way of at least maintaining, if not increasing muscle mass amongst those in the sixth decade of life and beyond. But studies examining this have had conflicting results, giving rise to the suggestion amongst some medical practitioners, that lean body mass loss is an inevitable function of ageing.



To test the effects of nutrition with weight training, scientists have compared the results of weight training in older men after eating a normal omnivorous diet or a lacto-vegetarian diet. They’ve found increases in strength in both groups, justifying resistance training as an effective technique for improving muscle function with age. But muscle mass usually increases in the meat-eating group whereas it decreases in the vegetarian group.This suggests that while vegetarian diets may be healthy in older age, they could have disadvantages in the limited amount of protein supplied, particularly if resistance muscle work is employed, as it should be for musculo-skeletal benefits in the aged.

In answer to the second part of the question: more recent research has shown that protein is best taken up in muscle if eaten within 1 hour before or 2 hours after resistance exercise.


Dr Garry Egger aka Prof Trim

– Click for more information on Professor Trim.

Your Questions Answered

I am curious why cereals like Bran Flakes and Sultana Bran that look so healthy, and everyone assumes are healthy, actually have a high GI?



Bran Flakes and Sultana Bran (Raisin Bran in the US) are fibre-rich breakfast cereals designed to keep you ‘healthy on the inside’ as the ads say. But sadly they are high GI and digested in a flash because the long cooking times, the presence of lots of water, the flaking process and finally the toasting all conspire to make the starch very accessible. Here’s how Prof Jennie Brand-Miller describes what happens in The New Glucose Revolution.

‘Grinding, milling, flaking, popping and puffing grains radically changes nature's architecture and makes it easier for water to be absorbed and digestive enzymes to attack the food. This is why many foods made from fine flours tend to have a high GI value. The larger the particle size, the lower the GI value, as the diagram below shows. One of the most significant alterations to our food supply came with the introduction, in the mid-19th century, of steel-roller mills. Not only did they make it easier to remove the fibre from cereal grains, but also the particle size of the flour became smaller than ever before. Prior to the 19th century, stone grinding produced quite coarse flours that resulted in slower rates of digestion and absorption. When starch is consumed in ‘nature’s packaging’ – whole intact grains that have been softened by soaking and cooking – the food will have a low GI. For example, cooked pearl barley’s GI value is 25 and most cooked legumes have a GI of between 30 and 40 whether home cooked or canned.



I was diagnosed with PCOS about 20 years ago with most of the standard symptoms. My doctor did a glucose tolerance test, which came out to be normal. Why I am not showing any signs of insulin resistance, if PCOS is supposed to be caused by it?
Insulin resistance is the most common cause and 70–80% of women with PCOS have insulin resistance. But a glucose tolerance test doesn't pick up insulin resistance. It picks up the inability of the pancreas to deal with insulin resistance. If your pancreas has lots of ‘puff’, your glucose tolerance will remain normal, perhaps all your life. Only a fraction of people with insulin resistance go on to develop impaired glucose tolerance. Nonetheless, high insulin levels can cause other problems downstream, and the ovaries are particularly sensitive. Any woman with diagnosed PCOS also needs to have the actual cause of the problem pinpointed so she gets the right treatment for her and thus the best outcomes. Some of the other causes are anorexia, bulimia, stress, excessive exercise, high blood levels of prolactin and tumors of the adrenal glands, ovaries or pituitary gland. And for some women the cause is unknown. There’s a really excellent paper by Dr Warren Kidson on PCOS called ‘The Polycystic Ovary Syndrome – A Starting Point Not a Diagnosis’ which you can download here.

Your Success Stories

‘Just wanted to say I was glad to see that there is support for the low GI diet in youth with type 1 diabetes.’ – G.
‘Last summer (2007) my daughter had a sports physical 3 weeks before turning 15 and we discovered she had type 1 diabetes. Her A1c was 12.7. We read all we could and I asked the nutritionist about GI affecting her sugar (blood glucose) and was told it’s a myth. We were told the insulin to carb ratio was all that mattered. Well in the first month my daughter and I discovered that high GI foods wreacked havoc on her blood glucose. Her diet was more balanced before they got a hold of us. They were just telling us she had to have this many carbs at a meal. Whenever I asked about the amount being too high or that it was difficult to create a balanced diet with that many carbs in a meal, I was told that it’s only for a while until we determine how much insulin she needs. So we read and guessed and made our own adjustments and though she already had a balanced diet we tweaked it more; taking out almost all white flour and using whole wheat instead and other substitutions. Two months later her A1c was down to 6.3 and 3 months later it was down to 5.4. This was achieved without low sugar. We only had one episode on Christmas morning and that was due to homemade cinnamon rolls, insulin over compensating, and guitar hero!



I am tired of the fact that we try not to have her sugar go above 120–130 (6.7–7.2 mmol/L) two hours after a meal and are told that we don't need to worry about it. But the low GI foods achieve this without much difficulty. Not to say that there aren't special occasions when she eats a high GI food but she tries to throw in a real low GI food with it. Anyway just wanted to thank you for doing the research to support saying that low GI foods can have a positive impact on type 1's blood glucose.’

(UPDATE: Just before posting June GI News we heard the great news that G's daughter's A1c was 5.0.)

– This Success Story was sent to Dr Tonja Nansel of the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It was Tonja's and her team's research on the low GI benefits for young people with type 1 diabetes that we covered in May 2008 GI News.

‘Fifty and fit.’ – Lance
‘Love your newsletter! Been a subscriber for two years. Four years ago I went from 205 lb (93 kg) to 150 lb (68 kg), and this morning I weighted in at 151 lb (68.5 kg): holding steady. Your website and newsletter has been a great help in education and allowing me to diversify my diet. While my story continues to have a happy ending, thanks to an understanding of the GI, my story is not that different to many others … Over the years my weight crept up, and by age 47 I was 205 lb. I had no formal understanding of diet and its effect on health and weight gain. Other than in my early twenties I quit smoking, stopped drinking alcohol, and have only eaten animal protein from fish and seafood. With these positive lifestyle changes I still put on the weight.

Without any awareness that the GI existed, I followed Dr Bernstein’s “medically supervised weight loss” program (a low glycemic diet), and lost 55 lb (25 kg) in 4 months. Once I started losing the weight I really wanted to know why, and why without the hunger. This led me to the understanding of the GI. Needless to say the weight loss changed me for life. At 48 (in 2004) I started on a physical fitness program: weight training and running. In the fall of 2005 I ran my first marathon (42.2 km/ 26 miles) on the original track in Athens Greece. Then on January 27th this year I ran in the Khon Kaen International Marathon in Thailand and qualified, in my age category, for the Boston marathon with a time of 3:30:14.

Over the last four years, I have had some ups and down along the way; gaining and losing a little weight. But the more I understand the GI of foods, the easer the weight management gets. When I see people struggling with their weight/health, I feel so fortunate to have the knowledge of how to easily manage my weight. It is nice to see resource websites and newsletters like GI News that continues get the message out about the benefits of a low glycemic diet.’



‘Most of the time and only because of glucose revolution I stay in the 104–120 fasting and 130–140 range after eating.’ – Gretchen
‘I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (5 months ago) and wasn’t surprised, I come from a very strong family history of diabetes (insulin dependent) on both father’s and mother’s sides. I chose not to go on medication but to use the GI instead along with 45–60 minutes of exercise everyday. I have had very tight control of my glucose most of the time …will go weeks and can count on one hand the number of occasions that it’s gone above 150 (8.3 mmol/L). Most of the time and only because of glucose revolution I stay in the 104–120 (5.8–6.7 mmol/L) fasting and 130–140 (7.2–7.8 mmol/L) range after eating. I have learned so much from your newsletters and the New Glucose Revolution books and have lost about 20 lb (9 kg) – and all painlessly by eating GI way.’

GI Symbol News with Alan Barclay

Saturated fat and GI symbols
A reader recently sent in the following question: 'I have noticed that many food products labelled as being low GI actually contain more than 10% saturated fats. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of aiming for a healthy diet?'


Alan Barclay

I'll answer this question in two parts. First of all, foods high in saturated fat will raise blood cholesterol levels, and may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease. Globally, most diabetes and heart associations recommend that people aim to have less than 10 per cent of their daily kilojoule intake from saturated fats – this is equivalent to eating no more than 22 grams of saturated fat for the day for the average adult in the developed world.

To help people select foods with a lower saturated fat content, food authorities allow a range of claims. For example, in Australia and New Zealand, to make a low in saturated fat claim, a food must not contain more than 1.5 grams of saturated fatty acids per 100 grams, and a drink must not contain more than 0.75 grams of saturated fatty acids per 100 grams. However, it is important that a balance of healthier fats are also consumed, so higher fat foods with a saturated fat content of less than 28% of total fat are also able to make certain claims. Importantly, the recommendation to consume less than 10% saturated fat is for the total diet – not specific foods.

As for low GI claims, there are numerous low GI claims and logos on foods and drinks, and they are currently not regulated in most countries. As such, there are no criteria to limit low GI claims to healthier foods and shoppers should beware. However, the GI Symbol Program, and its Glycemic Index Tested logo, has food-category specific nutrient criteria for saturated fat, and the cut-offs for each food category have been set to ensure only foods or drinks with reduced amounts of saturated fat are allowed to be part of the program (generally less than 20% of total fat) . This does not necessarily mean that they contain less than 1.5 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams however, but it does mean that they are among the best choices within their particular food category. Therefore, to choose the healthiest lower GI alternatives within a food group, simply look for the Glycemic Index Tested logo. The amount of saturated fat will be shown on the product's nutritional label.



If you are a food manufacturer or health professional and interested in finding out more about GI Limited's healthy fats and saturated fat criteria for specific food products, please contact me.

Contact
Alan Barclay, CEO, Glycemic Index Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9785 1037
Fax: +61 2 9785 1037
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com.au

The Latest GI Values

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

Australia
Fiona Atkinson



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

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

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Cathay Pacifc

Cathay Pacific will be suspending its 3 weekly Toronto bound flights that are flown via Anchorage, Alaska from Hong Kong. The flight numbers are CX 828/829. This change will take place effective late Oct 2008. CX will continue to however offer daily nonstop service on this key route using their flagship Boeing 777-300ER.

CX will also be suspending 4 flights on its Vancouver route by reducing it from triple daily to 17 weekly flights effective Oct 26th 2008. The reduced flights are CX 835/836 which will be flown 3 times a week only using an A 343.

Emirates

Emirates will be increasing its frequencies to key Indian destinations effective July 2008. This is being made possible due to the recent bilateral enhancements allowed for UAE carriers to increase capacity to India from their respective hub airports. The additional operational highlights for EK in India are as follows:

HYD - increased from 11 to 18 times a week. From July, 5 additional flights will be flown using an A 332 four times a week + one B 773. From Oct, two more weekly flights will be flown using a B 772.

DEL - increased from 14 to 18 times a week. From July, all 4 additional flights will be flown using a B 772.

BLR - increased from 8 to 15 times a week. From July, 2 additional flights will be flown using a B 772 and from Oct, the remaining 5 flights will be added using a B 772 as well.

Besides increasing India, EK's Chairman has recently announced publicly in an interview that one new USA destination, Algiers plus one new Far East Asia destination will be added to the network this year. According to many, ORD-Chicago will be the new USA destination being flown nonstop from DXB using a B 777-300ER.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines is once again striving itself on being recognized as the premier international carrier from USA as it announced new 4 weekly nonstop flights from its Atlanta hub bound for KWI-Kuwait from Nov 7th 2008 onwards. This new flight will be flown using a Boeing 777-200ER.

In addition to launching ATL-KWI, DL is also increasing its ATL-DXB nonstop flights to daily effective Oct 6th. All DXB bound flights are too flown using a B 772ER. DL's new ATL-KWI flight timings are as follows:

Days of service: Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat

DL 158 Dep ATL 2100 - 1905+1
DL 159 Dep KWI 2330 - 0700+1

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines will be increasing its A 380 operated flights to London Heathrow from this July. SQ will now use the A 380 11 times a week instead of daily with SQ 318/321 getting the A 380 on days 1-3-5-7.

Air France

Air France has announced many changes to its long haul route network for the upcoming Winter 08-09 season. The main highlights are as follows:

SEA - reduced to 5 weekly A 332s from daily flights.

BOM - capacity increased to 5 weekly B 773ERs + 2 weekly B 772ERs; previously was daily B 772ERs.

BLR - capacity increased from daily A 332 to daily B 772ERs.

IKA - capacity reduced from 4 weekly A 343s to 4 weekly A 332s.

SFO - capacity reduced from daily B 744 to daily A 343.

BOS - reduced to daily B 744 from daily A 343 + daily B 744.

JFK - reduced to 4 daily flights from 6.

ICN - capacity reduced to 3 weekly B 773ERs + 4 weekly B 772ERs.

MRU - frequencies increased to daily B 744s from 4 weekly B 744s.

PHL - reduced to 5 weekly flights from daily.

IAD - reduced to double daily B 772ERs from triple daily.

YUL - reduced from triple daily to double daily i.e. daily B 773ER + daily A 343.

MEX - reduced to 12 weekly B 772ERs from double daily (daily B 744 + daily B 772ER)

HAV - increased to daily B 744s from 5 weekly.

SCL - increased from 5 weekly B 772ERs to daily.

EZE - capacity increased to daily B 773ER from daily B 772ER.

PEK - reduced to 10 weekly B 773ERs from double daily B 773ERs.

DXB - increased to 13 weekly flights from 12 i.e. 6 weekly A 332s + daily B 772ERs.

BKK - capacity increased from daily A 343 to daily B 744s.

GIG - frequencies increased to daily B 744 + daily A 332.

Northwest Airlines

Northwest Airlines has finally released its flight schedule for its new daily nonstop flights to PVG-Shanghai, China from its main DTW-Detroit hub. The flight will be flown using a Boeing 747-400 and the timings are as follows:

NW 089 Dep DTW 1545 Arr PVG 1830+1
NW 090 Dep PVG 0845 Arr DTW 1025

Iran Air

Iran Air will be increasing capacity on its popular Tehran-Heathrow route by deploying its Boeing 747-100 from mid June onwards. It will be replacing the A 300-600R that is currently being used 4 times a week on this sector.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has officially confirms that it will be launching new flights to MAA-Chennai and CCJ-Calicut in India. Both cities will be served daily from Abu Dhabi using an A 320-200. This is being made possible with the recent UAE-India bilateral enhancements.

Iran hangs two for family feud

May 27, 2008: Iran hanged two people for killing close relatives, the Fars news agency reported.

A man, R.A., convicted of fatally shooting his two brothers and the wife of his brother two years ago was hanged in the northern city of Babol. He was executed in a police station in the city, the report said, adding that the shooting broke out over an inheritance feud.

Meanwhile, a man was hanged in the northern city of Ardebil for murdering his wife. The execution was carried out by the victim's family in Ardebil's central prison.

Sources: Agence France Presse, 27/05/2008

Academic attacks the Maori seats

The Business Round Table has just released a report [PDF] by Canterbury Law Professor Philip Joseph that recommends the abolition of Maori Parliamentary seats.

The Maori Party has responded, calling for the Maori seats to be entrenched. Imagine a system where the Maori seats are entrenched but the Maori roll isn't? That would be silly. But they do make one good point

A strong and independent Maori voice in the Parliament guarantees Maori views are heard, if not heeded, on all issues. That’s good for our people, it’s good for democracy – and it’s the last thing the Business Round Table wants

Joseph argues that Maori seats based on ethnicity have provided effective and proportional representation for Maori and so therefore the seats are not needed.

Yet he does not define what "effective representation" actually is. Is it a Maori bum on a Parliamentary seat? If so, how do we know whether that Maori identifies with the Maori constituency - for example Clem Simich, perhaps; or is effective - think Alamein Kopu.

Joseph appears to think that bums on seats is effective representation as long as it's proportional, which is perhaps why he states that if the Maori Party were to win all the Maori seats in 2008 it "will not make Maori representation any more effective overall". To him, Maori bums on seats in a party that has Maori interests at heart is no more effective representation than the same amount of Maori bums in a opposition party like, say, UnitedFuture?

If a Maori Party were in Government or had the balance of power in certain votes, it is likely that Maori representation would be more effective than in an small non-Maori opposition party, you would think.

Furthermore, the Maori seats are not based on ethnicity - if so why not have Asian seats - they are based on indigenity.

If the Maori seats were removed, we would have no constituent Maori MPs in Parliament, and Maori representation will not be proportional to the population .Joseph maintains that if the Maori seats and roll roll disappear, it is almost certain that there will be more Maori electorate MPs in Parliament.

Of course that's not guaranteed, but Joseph didn't say that.

Georgia has scheduled the execution of Curtis Osborne

On June 4, Georgia has scheduled the execution of Curtis Osborne. Osborne's own defense lawyer at trial was racially biased against him and failed to do the most basic investigation that might have saved his client's life. The attorney repeatedly referred to Osborne with a racial epithet, saying, "that little n____r deserves the chair."

At the time of the murder that sent Osborne to death row, he was suffering from mental problems and his family had a history of mental illness going back for 3 generations. However, Osborne's attorney failed to raise this issue.

Law enforcement officials and religious leaders who have come to know Curtis Osborne have noted his complete remorse for the crime and the dramatic changes in his life while on death row. His story is recounted in a video prepared by his current defense attorneys. (Posted May 28, 2008).

View the video with Windows Media Player. View the video in QuickTime.

Former President Jimmy Carter has expressed his support for a commutation of Osborne's death sentence. See also a letter for commutation from the former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, Norman S. Fletcher, who reviewed Osborne's case while on the court.

Source: Death Penalty Information Center

Kiwi Party secretary needs a jolly good smack

The Kiwi Party- that’s the Larry Baldock party, not the Family/Destiny one - has forgotten to apply for free broadcasting time for this year’s election. Obviously their smacking referendum is more important than talking to the public about getting into parliament.

Despite having three former MP’s in the party, one of them being acting party secretary Bernie Ogilvy, you have to wonder about their priorities. Perhaps the smacking referendum is taking up too much of this party`s time. They won't get anywhere near Parliament if they continue to poll just 0.1% more than the Christian Heritage Party, a party that doesn`t even exist

Why attempt to fix something that ain't broke?

Earlier this month, National announced that it intended to seek a referendum on our electoral system. But it indicated it was not about to revert to First Past the Post, but if people want a change from MMP, the range of proportional representation (PR) electoral systems will be up for grabs - SM, STV, MMP etc. Problem is that most don't even understand MMP and so how would they understand Single Transferable Vote, (STV) or Supplementary Member (SM), a cross between MMP and FPP, or any other PR system without public education campaign?

Many interpret a referendum as a platform to decide whether to return to First Past the Post or not. That would be a mistake. In 1990, National got 69 percent of the seats with 48 percent of the vote, and in 1993, our last FPP election, The Alliance got 18.3% of the vote, but got the same amount of seats as NZ First: two. Had it been an MMP election The Alliance would have got 23 seats and NZ First 10 seats.

If you are reading this and prefer the FPP electoral system, why on earth would you want to support such a disproportionate system? Why fix something that ain't broke?

U.S.: Majority of Voters Claim Presidential Candidate Opinion on the Death Penalty is ‘Very Important’

According to a new IFC poll, there is overwhelming support for the death penalty across political parties, with the majority of voters claiming that Presidential candidate opinion on the death penalty is "very important." Additionally, only 12% of Americans felt the death penalty would be abolished in the US in the near future. Here is a link to the poll results.

Also, IFC will premiere the original documentary At the Death House Door tomorrow, which will provide viewers with an intimate look at the death penalty in Texas. We also have the trailer/clips from At The Death House Door available for posting. The New York Times did a story on At the Death House Door.

New York, NY – May 27, 2008 – On the heels of the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the constitutionality of lethal injection (Baze v. Rees), IFC and E-Poll Market Research announced today the results of a new independent poll examining American voters’ attitudes towards the death penalty, and the significance of the death penalty as a key issue in the upcoming election. The national poll was conducted for IFC by the network’s political polling partner, E-Poll Market Research, as part of IFC’s year-long “Election Coverage for the Rest of Us” campaign. Among other results, the poll revealed overwhelming support for the death penalty across political parties, with the majority of voters claiming that Presidential candidate opinion on the death penalty is “very important.” In addition, only 12% of Americans felt the death penalty would be abolished in the United States in the near future.

The network will also premiere the original documentary At the Death House Door, which will provide viewers with an intimate look at the death penalty in Texas, May 29.

IFC’s recently launched “Election Coverage for the Rest of Us” is a comprehensive multiplatform initiative that is part of the network’s expanding News division and overall focus on being the voice of independent culture and thought. Leading up to the ’08 Presidential Election, IFC News will help viewers deconstruct American politics and the electoral process; showcase key stories, issues and events from popular and political culture and highlight the role of independent thought within the political landscape through a series of political polls fielded by its partner, E-Poll Market Research, and exclusive specials.

“Our poll shows that the death penalty is an important, but thorny issue. Popular support for the death penalty remains remarkably strong, and the clear majority of voters say it is a ‘very important’ issue in the coming Presidential campaign," said Evan Shapiro, General Manager of IFC. "However, it seems there may be a connection between so called 'sanctity of life' issues, and that they contain some potentially unforeseen land mines for Presidential and Congressional candidates.”

“58% of voters say they ‘totally/somewhat agree’ that the death penalty is very important for Presidential candidates, and 75% say they ‘totally/somewhat’ agree that abortion is very important. However, 45% ‘totally/somewhat’ disagree that it makes sense for a candidate to be both pro-life and pro death penalty, and 58% see an inherent contradiction between being both pro-abortion and anti death penalty. This contradiction is especially apparent among Democrats and Independents, giving Democrats and Republicans something to think about as they move into more moderate states and the general election.”

The following poll questions were among those asked of registered voters to gauge their views on the death penalty, and its potential role as a key issue in the upcoming Presidential election:

1.) Are you in favor of the death penalty for a person convicted for murder?

• IN FAVOR:
• Total Respondents: 73%
• Republicans: 85%
• Democrats: 65%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 73%

2.) Presidential Candidate opinion about the death penalty is very important to me.

• AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):
• Total Respondents: 58%
• Republicans: 63%
• Democrats: 58%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 52%

3.) Presidential Candidate opinion about abortion is very important to me.

• AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):
• Total Respondents: 75%
• Republicans: 78%
• Democrats: 77%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 69%

4.) It makes sense for a Presidential Candidate to be both for the death penalty and against abortion.

• AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):
• Total Respondents: 55%
• Republicans: 68%
• Democrats: 45%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 53%

5.) It makes sense for a Presidential Candidate to be both for abortion and against the death penalty.

• AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):
• Total Respondents: 42%
• Republicans: 30%
• Democrats: 49%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 44%

6.) Abortion and the Death Penalty are two separate issues and cannot be connected (Agree or Disagree)

• AGREE (Totally/Somewhat agree):
• Total Respondents: 82%
• Republicans: 82%
• Democrats: 82%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 80%

7.) 91% of all known executions in the world take place in Iran, Iraq, China, Sudan, Pakistan, and the USA. Does that lessen your support for the Death Penalty? (asked among those who are in favor of the Death Penalty ONLY)

• YES:
• Total Respondents: 8%
• Republicans: 5%
• Democrats: 13%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 7%

8.) Based on the below statements, do you think that the death penalty is going to be abolished in the U.S. in the near future?

- New Jersey abolished the death penalty.

- Over 100 people released from death row after they were exonerated.

- 91% of all known executions in the world take place in Iran, Iraq, China, Sudan, Pakistan and the

USA.

- The Supreme Court reviewed the issue of lethal injection

- 60% of all American executions in 2007 were in Texas in 2007.

- 36 States still have the Death penalty.

• YES:
• Total Respondents: 12%
• Republicans: 11%
• Democrats: 15%
• Independent/not-affiliated: 10%

E-Poll randomly selected qualified respondents from their nationwide proprietary panel to participate in an online survey. IFC designed the questionnaire, with input from E-Poll Market Research. E-Poll conducted the survey which was fielded from May 15-18. There were a total of N=1,211 completed surveys meeting all demographic and screening criteria. A total of N=1,211 completes yields a margin of error of + 3%.

About IFC

IFC (The Independent Film Channel) is the first and only network dedicated to independent film and related programming, 24 hours a day, uncut and uncensored. Operating under the mantra 'always, uncut,' IFC presents feature-length films, "cult classics," thought-provoking original documentaries such as At the Death House Door and This Film Is Not Yet Rated, shorts, animated series, exclusive web series, and television's most comprehensive independent film library. The network also offers some of the most innovative and edgy original series on television, including the sketch comedy "The Whitest Kids U' Know." Providing a voice for independent thought not found anywhere else on television, IFC broadens the audience for independent film and supports the independent film community through its exclusive live coverage of notable film events like the Independent Spirit Awards. The network's On Demand offering, IFC Free, gives audiences the opportunity to watch premieres of all of IFC's original series in HD before they air on the linear network. IFC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.

Click here to watch video.

Source: IFC

Tennessee: State to Retry Inmate

The Union County district attorney said the county would meet a federal judge’s deadline for a new trial in the case of a death row inmate whose trial was questioned by the United States Supreme Court. The state is facing a June 17 deadline to retry or free the inmate, Paul House, who has been in limbo since June 2006, when the Supreme Court concluded that reasonable jurors would not have convicted him had they seen the results of DNA tests from the 1990s. The district attorney, Paul Phillips, said he would not seek the death penalty. Mr. House, 46, who has multiple sclerosis and must use a wheelchair, was sentenced in the 1985 killing of Carolyn Muncey. He has been in a state prison since 1986 and continues to maintain his innocence.

Source: The New York Times

Smacking: and the ODT website

The Otago Daily Times has upgraded its website , so I have added to the RSS feed on Flock.

This story takes a look at a poll on smacking commissioned by Curia for Family First.

In the poll, 48% of parents said they smacked their child in the past year. But what some people didn't know was that Curia did a poll last year as well, with 78% saying they would smack their child.

But a question saying that parents would smack their kids, to them saying that they did smack their kids in the past year is an entirely different question.

Just like I would thump someone if they broke into my house, but I haven't done so in the past year.

That seems to have been lost on some journalists.

Man with multiple sclerosis on death row despite Court ruling

CROSSVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Multiple sclerosis has Paul House in a wheelchair. A tenacious prosecutor has him on death row, deemed too dangerous to be released two years after the U.S. Supreme Court said he likely isn't guilty.

That closely watched ruling, which made it easier for inmates to get new hearings on DNA evidence that emerges after their trials, and the fallout from it have left House in limbo while a prosecutor methodically battles every effort from the courts to have him retried.

Federal judges have done as the high court ordered: They reviewed his murder case and concluded new evidence raises reasonable doubt about his guilt. Not allowed to overturn the conviction, they took the extraordinary step of giving Tennessee a six-month deadline to bring House to trial or release him.

And still House, 46, is locked up in a Nashville prison.

Read more>>>

Attorneys seek clemency for condemned killer

Associated Press - May 27, 2008 7:25 PM ET

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Attorneys for a man sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of a Japanese student in Oklahoma City will make their final attempt tomorrow to save their client's life.

Terry Lyn Short is scheduled to die by lethal injection on June 17th for the January 1995 killing of 22-year-old Ken Yamamoto, who died after Short threw a firebomb into the apartment of his ex-girlfriend, who lived below Yamamoto.

The five-member Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is expected to hear from the 47-year-old Short via video link from death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Oklahoma City attorney Jim Rowan, who represented Short at trial, says Short has no other legal appeals taking place.

The clemency board will listen to presentations from Short's attorneys, the attorney general's office and anyone representing the victim, then decide whether to recommend clemency to Gov. Brad Henry.

The governor will make the final decision on whether to spare Short's life.

Source: The Associated Press

Man hanged for murder 86 years ago pardoned

SYDNEY, Australia - An Australian governor gave a posthumous pardon Tuesday to a man hanged 86 years ago for the rape and murder of a young girl, after new research discredited the evidence used for his conviction.

Colin Campbell Ross, who was hanged in 1922 at the age of 28, was pardoned Tuesday by Victoria state Gov. David de Kretser.

Descendants of Ross and the 12-year-old victim, Alma Tirtschke, petitioned for the pardon.

Prosecutors alleged that Ross, who ran a wine saloon in Melbourne, gave Tirschke alcohol before raping and strangling her on New Year's Eve 1921. The only physical evidence connecting him to the crime were hairs on a blanket; prosecutors said the hairs were Tirtschke's.

While witnesses gave alibis for Ross, he was convicted and hanged four months later, protesting his innocence.

The pardon petition built on research by Kevin Morgan, who wrote a book about the case called "Gun Alley (Murder, Lies and the Failure of Justice)." Morgan arranged for forensic tests on the original hair samples and showed that the ones on Ross' blanket did not match Tirtschke's. He also gave new character evidence about the prosecution's main witness.

Victoria Attorney-General Rob Hulls said in a statement Tuesday that he referred the petition to the Supreme Court of Victoria and received an opinion "that there had been a miscarriage of justice in Mr. Ross' case."

"A pardon is not the same thing as a declaration of innocence," Hulls said. "In the circumstances of the case a retrial is not possible. A pardon is recorded against the conviction in recognition that the State forgives the legal consequences of the crime."

Tirtschke's niece, Bettye Arthur, was pleased with the pardon.

"It is a tragedy for everybody that the actual perpetrator was not caught and an innocent man lost his life," she was quoted as saying Tuesday.

Victoria state abolished the death penalty in 1975.

Source: msnbc

Virginia death row inmate executed

A man whose lawyers claimed he was mentally disabled became Virginia's first execution since 2006.

31-year-old Kevin Green of Broadnax was pronounced dead at 10:05 tonight (5/27) at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

Green died by injection for the August 1998 slaying of Brunswick County convenience store owner Particia Vaughan.

Green's execution was delayed by an hour when his attorneys attempted to get a federal judge to step in after governor Tim Kaine and the US Supreme Court refused to intervene.

Source: WHSV.com

Fiscal drag is part of the Government's fiscal strategy

Keith Ng has done a good post on the budget, analysing the Governments tax cuts. Go and read it. In short, if you`re earning more than $47,000, you've just had a pledge that your overpayment - or is that an interest free force d loan to the Government - is to be repaid back to you but over three years. This, in an attempt to win your vote this year. Here's the cheat sheet:

* Fiscal drag is the increase in the average tax rate (*not* the amount of tax paid) caused by the tax system failing to keep up with wage increases.

* Fiscal drag is not a right-wing conspiracy. It is real. It is significant. It's a part of the Government's fiscal strategy.

* Fiscal drag means people pay a greater proportion of their income in tax. That does not mean that people are worse off, since income is rising, too.

* Labour's tax cuts will negate the fiscal drag of the last eight years for everyone earning over $47,000 per year (22% of tax payers). For those earning under $47,000 (71% of tax payers), it will be greater than the amount lost to fiscal drag.

It is noted that WFF payment is not included in this analysis. If you're earning a more than $47,000, you've just paid for your tax cut. Congratulations, you don't really get a tax cut at all.

More fears about executing the innocent

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (AP) -- A call from death row inmate Terry Lyn Short interrupted a meeting in the office of his attorney, James Rowan.

Short wanted a promise that, after he is put to death next month, he won't end up in a pauper's grave in the cemetery that contains the bodies of many of those hanged, electrocuted and lethally injected at the 100-year-old Oklahoma State Penitentiary.

Rowan told his 47-year-old client not to be concerned about that. "It's not going to cost you anything, so don't worry about it. That's the least of your worries," he said.

What worries Rowan and other defense attorneys is the possibility that an innocent man could be executed now that the nation's death-row machine is gearing up again following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection.

They point to past death sentences of men who were later exonerated, blaming ineffective lawyers, overzealous prosecutors and shoddy evidence.

"The answer is yes, it could happen," said Rowan, who has defended more than 40 capital cases.

Since 1973, 129 people have walked off death rows in 26 states after evidence proved they were wrongfully convicted, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Read more>>>

Source: CNN.com

His Life With the Deaths That the State Carried Out

A lonely field of concrete crosses, engraved with dates and numbers and surrounded by weeds, is the first thing a viewer sees in the film “At the Death House Door.” Some of the graves in that field belong to inmates who were executed by the state at the prison in Huntsville, Tex.

Walking tenderly among those crosses is the Rev. Carroll Pickett, the laconic, soft-spoken prison chaplain for 15 years and witness to 95 executions. The documentary, which will be shown Thursday night on the Independent Film Channel, reveals that Mr. Pickett, a 74-year-old Presbyterian minister, was anguished by his job, and that he finally concluded that the death penalty served neither justice nor morality. He says he believes that some of the men he helped lead to death were innocent.

“After each execution I made a tape on everybody that I walked with to the death chamber,” Mr. Pickett says early in the film as the camera trains on his office, full of boxes of cassette tapes. “I knew I had to talk to somebody, and the only thing in my house at that time was a tape recorder.”

Of all those executions, he was most haunted by that of Carlos De Luna, convicted of stabbing to death a gas station clerk in Corpus Christi, Tex., in 1983. Mr. De Luna asked if he could call the minister Daddy on the day in 1989 when, at 27, he was executed despite his protestations of innocence. Two reporters for The Chicago Tribune wrote a series of articles in 2006 that made a case that Mr. De Luna was wrongfully convicted. Mr. Pickett said he believes that Mr. De Luna was innocent, and the minister’s relationship with the condemned man is a focus of the film.

Read more>>>

Source: The New York Times, May 27, 2008

Virginia set to execute killer

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Barring intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court or Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a man will be executed Tuesday for killing a convenience store owner in 1998.

Kevin Green, 31, would be the first person executed in Virginia since 2006 and the third inmate to die since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection in April. Georgia became the first to execute an inmate May 6, ending a seven-month refrain on capital punishment nationwide.

Green's attorneys have asked the Supreme Court to halt the execution while it considers reviewing the case. They claim the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals erred when it ruled in February that he had passed the statute of limitations for claiming ineffective counsel.

Attorneys for Green also have asked the governor to grant clemency, claiming Green is mentally retarded.

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Source:WTOPNEWS.com

You will always have the poor with you

Labour has decided that beneficiaries without kids are people after all. Although it is not going to increase benefits, it will assist those who realise that if they have run out of food, they can seek WINZ assistance by altering the annual limit to food, particularly the annual $200 limit for single childless people on the sickness benefit, most whom should really be on the dole looking for work.

But it's not widely known that any two parent family with kids getting less than $61,300 a year can get up to $165 a week off WINZ for assistance with their mortgage, rates and insurance - or rent - via the accommodation supplement provided they have less than $10,000 in the bank - and if they have essential maintenance costs such as getting a plumber in for a leaky shower, or essential building work which brings down the balance below $10,000, they can recoup those costs as well. If by chance the maintenance is extensive and you have to take out a bank loan to pay for them, the weekly repayments to the bank can be added on as a second mortgage to assist with that as well.

Furthermore, if that family earns less than $702 a week - thats approx. $36,500 a year - they can get up to $450.00 in free food if they run out of money. That's equivalent to 72% of Cullen's annual tax cut (October 2008) for those earning under $35,000.

The low income family can also get an interest free loan to pay the power bill if they are threatened with a disconnection notice. Actually, you don't have to run out of money, if you have $1534.76 in the bank, you can still get a food grant -but that money in the bank will have to have been earmarked for something else - like paying the credit card, rates, motor vehicle repairs, or another essential bill.

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What a laugh

This is weird. A young guy goes and gets his licence. It comes back with his name on it - but a picture of an elderly lady.

So he vists his local newspaper. Sure it will make a good story, he thinks, an old woman pictured on his licence. But the story gets better. One of the paper's sub editors recognises the woman on the licence photo.

It was her mum.

Mary Shomon's Review of More Splendid Low-Carbing

Mary Shomon is a thyroid patient advocate and an author of several thyroid-related books.

Taking the low-carb/Splenda thing a bit further, you might want to check out a great new cookbook, More Splendid Low-Carbing, by Jennifer Eloff, a prolific cookbook author and low-carb expert (who is also hypothyroid). Jennifer has spent years developing low-carb versions of so many wonderful treats, and I know your mouth will start watering when you hear some of the titles of the recipes:

* Buffalo Wings
* Mandarin Spinach Salad
* Cauli-Fried Rice (tastes like Chinese fried rice)
* Faux Mashed Potatoes
* Zucchini Fries
* Wholegrain Bread
* Caramel Custard
* Chocolate Mousse
* Black Forest Cake
* Homemade Chocolate Protein Bars
* Gingersnaps
* Brownies

These are just a few of the many wonderful recipes for everything from drinks to main dishes to treats that Jennifer has lovingly assembled. The book is available at: Low-Carb.us

Red faces at Crown Law

What on Earth is going on at Crown Law? The Crown Law office, headed by the Solicitor-General, is the official legal advisor to Ministers and to the public service. Short of getting a judgment from the courts, a Crown Law opinion has always been considered a weighty and influential document. But events this week have seen new questions being asked about the competence and impartiality of the Office.

The Electoral Finance Act now places firm restrictions on campaign expenditure by political parties for the whole of Election Year. It also requires third parties that intend to place more than $12,000 worth of election advertising to register their intentions and provide relevant details. After registration by the Electoral Commission, they may then spend up to $120,000 on election-related advertising. But the Act is clear that a person that is “involved in the administration of the affairs of a party” may not register as a third party. Otherwise it would be simple to rort the expenditure restrictions simply by registering, for example, the John Key for Prime Minister Society as a third party and spending $120,000 promoting the National Party cause. Then repeating the exercise as many times as the budget permits.

Last month, the nation’s largest union, the EPMU, applied to the Commission for registration. Yet the EPMU is affiliated to the Labour Party, and its Secretary Andrew Little sits on the Labour Executive. The Electoral Commission sought advice from Crown Law. And Crown Law advised that the restrictions in the EFA (S13(2)(f)(i)) did not apply to the union because the Act restricted “persons” and an organisation like the EPMU could not therefore fall within the definition.

The Commission, headed by former Justice McGeechan, followed the Crown Law advice, but, clearly apprehensive as to its quality, very sensibly left a period for legal challenges to play out before giving the EPMU registration. And this week the High Court very predictably overturned the Commission’s decision, and exposed the Crown Law advice for the shonky piece of work it was.

Now, there will be red faces over at Crown Law. Justice McKenzie’s “declaration” that the word “person” “has the meaning given to it by S29 of the Interpretation Act 1999” rather served to underline the fact that the legal definition of “person” was hardly in doubt from the outset. Quite how Crown Law had managed to come up with an interpretation that would have rendered the expenditure caps in the EFA totally meaningless boggles the mind.

But this is not the first time Crown Law has had difficulty with the EFA . Read the rest here