Death of an Idol!

2008 acrylic painting on canvas.
140 x 180 cm (55 x 71 inches).

Can we have fruit on our low-carb diet?

So many people are afraid of fruit on their low-carb diet. The truth of the matter is that in the ongoing weight loss phase and especially in maintenance, fruit needs to be a part of one's diet. Think of all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that keep us younger and healthier.

Here is a quote from Mary Shomon's site that made me realize just how many people on low-carb diets are probably shunning fruit even these days: "June 2004 -- In a national telephone survey , many low-carb dieters told ACNielsen pollsters they are shunning fruit in their attempt to lose weight, even though nutritionists say fruit plays an important role in a healthy diet. Fruit consumption is encouraged during the maintenance phase of popular low-carb diets, but that message may not be getting through. The pollsters spoke with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults, 12 percent of which said they were following a low-carb diet. Among those on low-carb diets, 30 percent said they had reduced their fruit consumption and 14 percent had stopped eating it altogether. That means that 44 percent of low-carb dieters -- roughly 11 million Americans -- may have dropped from their diets some essential nutrients commonly found in fruit."

By the way, most low-carbers will not eat bananas, but I eat them. What I do is slice them and freeze them and then eat a few slices a day. They go further that way and I don't feel deprived. I will also use bananas sparingly in baking. When I'm not in weight loss mode (most of the time), I will eat a banana a day and not gain weight, so it really depends on the person.

GI News—October 2008

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

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

Good eating, good health and good reading.

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

Food for Thought

All food is good
For a whole range of reasons we tend to classify foods as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Dietitian Glenn Cardwell suggests we change our way of thinking about food and drop the guilt trip. It’s about the ratio not the food he says in his new book, Getting Kids to Eat Well. Here’s an extract.


Glenn Cardwell

“How can all food be good for you? It doesn’t make sense and let’s face it, trustworthy friends, family and the media constantly remind us that there are bad foods that will harm us and our children. Ask yourself this, however: ‘If I eat potato chips or French fries once a month will it shorten my life or increase my chance of heart disease or getting fat?’ I suspect most of you will say ‘No’. What if you ate the same food five days a week? Your answer will probably be ‘Yes’.

We have been conditioned to think that food is either ‘good’ or ‘bad’. If I ask you to name a few good foods you are likely to list: fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals and bread, lean meat, legumes, reduced fat milk or soy drink, and with a little more thought you might include nuts (unsalted, of course), peanut butter, rice and pasta and some of your famous home-made custard or pesto.

If I ask you to name the bad foods, your list might seem to be endless: fast foods, deep fried foods, soft drinks, confectionery, anything with caffeine, crisps, snack foods, coloured bits in breakfast cereals, candy floss, chocolate biscuits, hundreds and thousands … Be honest with yourself – aren’t some of those ‘bad’ foods also your favourite foods? Think about hot pizza on a cold Sunday evening when you couldn’t be bothered cooking, or chocolate melting over your tongue, or a cappuccino and croissants from that great café down the road overlooking the park?



How do you feel when you eat these foods? Guilty? Worried that the food is going to laugh maniacally, bypass your digestive system and leap onto your bottom to remain forever? It is common to feel ‘bad’ after eating ‘bad’ food.

How do you feel when you eat ‘good’ food? Pleased with yourself? Happy you have control over your food and your life? A glow from nourishing your body well?

How you classify food will determine how you feel after eating that food. Classifying food as ‘bad’ just means you feel bad after eating it. Calling it ‘bad’ has given that food a huge amount of power, a power it hardly deserves. Nature is designed such that you should feel grateful and happy after every repast. Feeling guilty or uncomfortable after eating is neither natural nor healthy.

Try spinning it all around. Start labelling a ‘bad’ food as a ‘good’ food. Now, the ‘bad’ foods will lose their emotional power. It can no longer make you feel bad or guilty. When you call a food ‘good’ instead of ‘bad’, the power actually returns to you. Here’s the tricky bit: it is now up to you to eat all foods in amounts that are good for your health and well-being.

Like you, I enjoy eating good quality food and feel much better for it. Indeed, one reason I like to make 90% of my food very nutritious is so I have some flexibility with the other 10% to enjoy, without guilt, some pizza, black jelly beans or corn chips. They may be high in saturated fat, sugar or salt, but as they comprise only 10% of the diet they have little chance to cause harm. This 90:10 mix works for me. You can even eat a nutritious diet based on a 80:20 mix, which is the common blend that most people can enjoy. If you go to a 70:30 mix then you will likely be getting too much fat, sugar and salt in your diet.

As a counter-point, I don’t think there is much benefit in trying to get a 100:0 ratio as you are likely to become food obsessive, striving to reach something called the ‘perfect’ diet. Nothing in life is perfect. Enjoying a treat is absolutely normal and makes life interesting. There is not a scrap of evidence that the occasional chocolate, bowl of premium ice cream or croissant ever led to anyone’s early demise.”

For more information, check out www.glenncardwell.com

News Briefs

Canadian Diabetes Association announces new Clinical Practice Guidelines
One of three key nutrition messages of the new guidelines is ‘Replacing high-glycemic index carbohydrates with low-glycemic index carbohydrates in mixed meals has a clinically significant effect on glycemic control in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.’ The other two key nutrition messages:

• ‘Nutrition therapy can reduce glycated hemoglobin by 1.0 to 2.0% and, when used with other components of diabetes care, can further improve clinical and metabolic outcomes.’
• ‘Consistency in carbohydrate intake, and spacing and regularity in meal consumption may help control blood glucose and weight.’

Read the Nutrition Therapy chapter (page S40)



Type 1 kids and postmeal glycemia – does GI matter?
Insulin pump therapy offers kids with type 1 diabetes the possibility of tailoring insulin delivery to what’s in the meal they are about to eat. So, where does GI come in and does it matter? Yes. Taking account of a meal’s GI along with the type of premeal insulin bolus makes a significant difference to postprandial glycemia according to the findings of the latest study from the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne published in Diabetes Care. Their findings show that both the GI of the meal and the type of premeal insulin bolus can have important modifiable effects on postprandial glycemia. The authors conclude: ‘Our data reinforce the beneficial postprandial glycemia impact of choosing low GI rather than high GI foods with relevance to commonly eaten mixed meals.’



Preventing type 2 diabetes
Lifestyle changes, not drugs, should be the main focus for preventing type 2 diabetes was the conclusion of a lively debate at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2008 Meeting. Diabetes experts witnessing the contest, declared lifestyle interventions the clear winner, on the grounds that they tackle the root cause, rather than the consequences, of glucose abnormalities. Read the report.

Add spice and reduce blood glucose
When you add herbs and spices to food, you get more than great taste. Herbs and spices are rich in antioxidants and a new University of Georgia study suggests they are also potent inhibitors of tissue damage and inflammation caused by high levels of blood glucose. Researchers reporting in the current issue of the Journal of Medicinal Food, tested extracts from 24 common herbs and spices. In addition to finding high levels of antioxidant-rich compounds known as phenols, they revealed a direct correlation between phenol content and the ability of the extracts to block the formation of AGE compounds that contribute to damage caused by diabetes and aging. When blood glucose levels are high, a process known as protein glycation occurs in which the glucose bonds with proteins to form advanced glycation end products, also known as AGE compounds. The researchers found a strong and direct correlation between the phenol content of common herbs and spices and their ability to inhibit the formation of AGE compounds. Controlling blood glucose and the formation of AGE compounds can decrease the risk of cardiovascular damage associated with diabetes and aging.

Milk helps the body recover after exercise
Gulping down a glass of milk rebuilds muscles after they are damaged during physical activity according to findings published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. The study carried out at Northumbria University in Newcastle showed that semi-skimmed milk and milk-based supplements helped preserve more muscle than sports drinks or water when consumed immediately after muscle-damaging exercise. According to the researchers, milk limits the effects of exercise induced muscle damage by providing protein and carbohydrate, which may stop the protein from being broken down. This is the first study to show that it may actually reduce muscle damage.



Eggs for brekkie help weight loss
Eating a couple of protein-packed eggs for breakfast, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories according to a report in the International Journal of Obesity. The researchers also found that blood levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg breakfasts.



Camomile tea and diabetes
“Daily consumption of chamomile tea with meals could be potentially useful in the prevention and self-medication of hyperglycemia and diabetic complications,” write researchers from the University of Toyama (Japan) and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry the findings of their experimental laboratory study looking at the effects of camomile tea and its chemical components on cells in the laboratory and in a rat model of diabetes.

Reality check: NHS Choices provides a useful guide to the science that hits the headlines says: ‘Although this study provides an insight into the effects of camomile and its components on rats and cells in the laboratory, the extrapolation of these findings to humans is very premature. In particular, the experiments relating to their effects on diabetic complications only are at a very early stage and should certainly not be taken as proof that camomile tea could prevent or improve these very serious conditions. People with diabetes should continue to follow their doctor’s instructions about diet, exercise and treatment, and should only drink camomile tea if they like it, not in the hope that it will alleviate their diabetes.’



What's new?
Lifestyle Medicine
Edited by Prof Garry Egger (aka Prof Trim), Dr Andrew Binns and Prof Stephan Rossner
Published by McGraw Hill
This practical book written by an impressive team of renowned experts, ranges from disease prevention to modifying risk factors and rehabilitation. It was written to provide general practitioners, practice nurses, clinicians and health professionals with an invaluable resource, but its highly practical and accessible format means that it can be read by anyone who is concerned about their health or community health issues. The comprehensive text summarises aspects of lifestyle medicine by examining the causes, measurement, and management of a range of modern health problems (including diabetes, heart disease and obesity) with predominantly lifestyle-based aetiologies. It presents the latest research findings and includes practice tips, key points and professional resources. For more information, check out: www.lifestylemedicine.net.au



JDRF UK launches a new website for kids with type 1 diabetes
JDRF stands for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, an international organisation searching for the cure for type 1 diabetes. This new UK website for kids explains how kids with type 1 can help find the cure. It’s also packed with info to help kids with type 1.

World Vegetarian Day: October 1
Find out more about it.
To combine the basics of healthy vegetarian or vegan eating with the benefits of low GI carbs, check out Kate Marsh's Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook. It's packed with delicious recipes and mouth-watering photography.

Food of the Month with Catherine Saxelby

Want to lose weight? Add more mushrooms


Catherine Saxelby

Mushrooms add a rich deep savoury flavour for very few calories and are almost as indispensable as onions in cooking. Think of the difference mushrooms make to stroganoff, risotto, omelet, stir-fries, salads and of course stuffed mushrooms. It’s all due to their high content of glutamate, the naturally occurring version of the favour enhancer monosodium glutamate or MSG. They also have significant quantities of another key flavour compound, salicylate.

At only 23 calories (96 kJ) per 100 grams, mushrooms have what’s called a low ‘energy density’ – they means that they have few calories for their weight or their volume, a big plus these days when so many of our snack foods and take-aways have a high ‘energy density’.



When it comes to nutrition, there are even more bonuses. They have no fat but heaps of B vitamins, especially riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid, which, along with some vitamin D if they have been briefly exposed to sunlight, sets them apart from other vegetables. If they are grown on a compost of horse or chicken manure, they add some vitamin B12 which is often difficult for strict vegetarians to obtain. Being a fruit of a fungus and not a true vegetable, they have little vitamin C or beta-carotene, but are rich in the mineral potassium.

Watching your weight? A recent US study published in Appetite found mushrooms to be an ideal way to cut calories without losing out on flavour or a sense of fullness. You eat well and eat less!

Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found they could drop the calorie content of a lunch meal by half if they substituted ground (minced) white button mushrooms for beef mince in familiar dishes like lasagna, ‘sloppy Joe’ (a kind of savoury mince) and ‘chili’ (as in con carne). When asked about palatability, appetite, satiation (post meal fullness) and satiety (general fullness), the study participants didn’t rate the mushroom meals any differently from the beef meals. And despite consuming fewer calories with the mushroom meals, they didn’t compensate by eating more later in the day.

Don’t know about you but I’d certainly be happy to double the amount of mushrooms I add and cut back on the meat or chicken or pasta – and save 20 g of fat and all those calories without feeling any pain. I wouldn’t want a dish composed entirely of mushrooms, but a 50:50 mix of beef and mushrooms in my beef casserole certainly sounds appealing.

Dietitian and popular nutrition communicator, Catherine Saxelby, is the author of Zest and Nutrition for Life



For more information on super foods and healthy eating, visit Catherine’s website: www.foodwatch.com.au

Low GI Recipes of the Month

Mushroom and asparagus noodle soup with sprouts and chilli
With mushrooms the flavour of the month, we asked Veronica Cuskelly to share one of her recipes from her new book (with Nicole Senior), Heart Food. Veronica says: ‘Don’t be dismayed by the length of the ingredient list. The flavours combine to create a truly mouth-watering soup! Why not make double quantity and freeze half in suitable portions for those days when there’s no time to cook.’
Makes 4 serves ● Each serving contains 3 serves of vegetables



1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 cm/1½ inch piece ginger, chopped
½ cup (30 g) sliced green onions (shallots)
1 cup (125 g) thinly sliced carrot
1¼ cups (180 g) thinly sliced red capsicum
1½ cups (100 g) sliced flat mushrooms
1½ cups (100 g) sliced shitake mushrooms
4 cups (1 litre) water
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and sliced
100 g/3½ oz rice vermicelli noodles
3 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 cup tightly packed mint leaves
100 g/3½ oz snow pea sprouts
2 small red chillies, sliced

• Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan over a medium–low heat. Add the garlic, ginger and onion and cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes. Add the carrot, capsicum and mushrooms and stir for 2–3 minutes. Add the water, cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the asparagus and continue cooking for a further 1–2 minutes or until the asparagus is cooked. Stir the oyster sauce, sugar, lime juice and mint leaves into the soup.
• Meanwhile, place the vermicelli in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 2–3 minutes. Stir to separate the noodles. Drain.
• Ladle noodles and soup into bowls and top with sprouts and chilli.

Per serve
Energy 933 kJ/223 cals; Protein 9 g; Fat 5 g (includes 1 g saturated fat); Carbohydrate 34 g ( 2 exchanges) ; Fibre 7 g ; Sodium 195 mg

This month from Johanna’s kitchen: Vinaigrette asparagus with eggs
American dietitian, Johanna Burani, has a home in Friuli, in north-eastern Italy, which she visits frequently – always in pursuit of new recipes. In GI News she shares her totally simple and simply delicious low GI Italian fare.


Johanna Burani

Vinaigrette asparagus with eggs is a simple, inexpensive, wholesome dish is a definite crowd pleaser, and a typical part of an evening meal in several Mediterranean countries. Ready to eat in a flash, it is the perfect antidote to drive-through or take-out meal temptations. (Adapted with permission from Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Da Capo Lifelong Books, New York). Food photography Sergio Burani.

Makes 3 serves



350 g/12 oz fresh thin asparagus (about 15 spears per person)
3 hard boiled eggs, shelled and quartered
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup grated parmiggiano-reggiano cheese

Vinaigrette dressing
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar (not balsamic)
Salt and pepper to taste

• Cut or break off 5 cm/2 inches from the bottom of the asparagus spears. Wash and place them in a steam basket and then in a saucepan with 2.5 cm/1 inch of water. Cover and steam on low heat until tender, approximately 3 minutes. (If using thicker asparagus, allow 10 minutes.)
• In the meantime, in a small bowl, mash the eggs with the back of a fork until crumbled; add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
• Place cooked asparagus in a deep, oblong serving dish. Whish together the dressing ingredients and toss with the asparagus and grated cheese.
• Arrange the crumbled eggs over the asparagus and serve warm.

Per serve
Energy 693 kJ/165 cals; Protein 5 g; Fat 11 g (includes 5 g saturated fat and 11 milligrams cholesterol); Carbs 5 g; Fibre 2 g

Visit Johanna’s website for more recipes: www.eatgoodcarbs.com.

Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: You can’t die of a broken heart


Nicole Senior

Fact: Yes you can, but heart-friendly food shared with loved ones might well be the cure.

A broken heart may well be the stuff of romantic novels and sonnets, however modern medicine is now shining a light on the connection between the wellbeing of the human spirit and the physical health of the heart. While the traditional risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, being too fat and not getting enough exercise are all too familiar, being depressed or socially isolated are now also accepted as significant risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Depression has been described as the most disabling illness in Australia, and the World Health Organization describes it as a leading cause of disability worldwide. Can food help? There are a number of reasons to think that it can. Firstly, there are nutritional factors that can help the function of the brain, and secondly food and eating can be a very positive influence on our well-being.



The primary fuel for the brain is glucose so it’s good to eat regular meals and keep the fuel supply going by eating low GI carbs. Porridge for breakfast, dense grainy bread for lunch and pasta at dinner may well deem these ‘happy meals’. Carbohydrates are well known for their ability to boost serotonin levels and help us feel calm – hands up who gets cranky after too long without food? While the term ‘fat-head’ is a bit sad, the brain is in fact made up almost entirely of fat and the fat you eat is important for being happy. Eating more long chain omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish may help re-wire the brain for better mood. Interestingly, countries that eat less fish have a higher incidence of depression (and vice-versa).

The term ‘breaking bread’ encompasses the idea that cooking and sharing good food can bring us closer together. While in today’s hectic lifestyle shopping and cooking can be seen as a chore, perhaps we could see them more as affirmations of love and care – for ourselves and others. Perhaps the path to a happiness and enlightenment starts in the kitchen? Maybe we all need to take a little more time for what we think is important, and what could be more important than the food we eat?

So it seems you can eat to beat cholesterol all you like, but if it ain’t heart food shared with those you love, it’s just not as good. To start this kitchen-led happiness revolution, try Veronica Cuckelly's recipes in Heart Food available from www.greatideas.net.au (and whistle while you cook!)

For more information on cholesterol and eating for a healthy (and happy) heart, check out Eat to Beat Cholesterol by Nicole Senior and Veronica Cuskelly: www.eattobeatcholesterol.com.au

Healthy Kids with Susie Burrell

Lifestyle Lesson 3: Table talk matters (with the television off)
For many modern families, the idea of sitting down together to enjoy a home-cooked meal at 6 pm each weeknight is a pretty unfamiliar scenario. Long working hours with even longer commutes, both parents at work and an increasing number of single parent families are just some reasons why the family meal seems to be going the way of dinosaurs. It’s becoming clear, however, that the simple act of enjoying a meal together as a family a few nights each week delivers a lifetime of health and psychological benefits.



Teens who sit down to eat family meals at least four times each week are significantly less likely to have weight issues or become trapped in disordered eating behaviours. Furthermore, they do better at school, can manage stress better and are less likely to abuse tobacco and alcohol. Pretty convincing stuff! As yet we can’t explain exactly why this is so, but when families sit around the dinner table, they talk and listen and scientists believe that it’s this communication that supports kids’ emotional needs, helping them become resilient and develop coping skills that they can use at school, in the playground and in social situations. Family meals also give Mum and Dad an opportunity to make sure their kids are getting the right stuff to grow and thrive and to eat their greens too – thus giving their kids a great example to follow.

So, even if you can only manage to make a date to dine with your family once or twice each week, start making an effort to do so; the rewards will repay you. And make sure that you turn the television off to let the conversation flow ...

Susie Burrell is a specialist Weight Management Dietitian at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. In her private practice, she balances her clinical work with writing for print and electronic media. For more information check out: www.susieburrell.com.au


Susie Burrell

Move It & Lose It with Prof Trim

‘Help! I’m losing off the arms and shoulders, but it doesn’t seem to be coming off the waist.’ – Jim
Fat cells on the male upper body are all similar i.e. they’re large and lipolytic meaning that they give up their fat as energy easily. The waist, for most men, is where they store reserves of fat last – it’s a good, readily accessible store which can be accessed easily in hard times, such as famine.

But this doesn’t mean fat isn’t also stored elsewhere. It’s a bit like blowing up a multi-shaped balloon. Different balloons pop out in different places when you blow. But ultimately all will expand totally if you blow hard enough. Because men typically store fat on the waist last, this tends to be the first place it comes off. But in some cases there will be losses off the arms, chin, chest etc., as well as the waist (usually there will be a corresponding decrease in waist). The idea is to keep at it. Eventually it will come off the waist as well.

If you need to lose weight, here’s a tip you won’t find in the women’s mags: Weight loss is not a linear process. You’re unlikely to lose a steady 1 or 2 kilograms per week until you get down to where you want to be. This is because weight loss is a dynamic process. Change one thing (e.g. food or exercise), and the body changes other things (e.g. metabolism, the rate at which you burn energy, etc.) to make sure that you don’t disappear.


Dr Garry Egger aka Prof Trim

For more information on weigh loss for men, check out Professor Trim.

Curly Questions

"I am a type 2 diabetic who tracks my carbs with the GI; however, I was wondering about how the GI should actually be used when other foods that are high in protein, but contain the proper amount and type of fat too, are eaten knowing this slows the digestive process and helps regulated the glucose level of the body?"
The GI was introduced to rank the glycemic nature of the carbohydrate in individual foods. The purpose was to exchange one carbohydrate source with another in mixed meals or snacks. People often ask about the effect of extra protein and fat in the food on GI and blood glucose response. Eaten alone, protein and fat have little effect on blood glucose levels, but that’s not to say they won’t affect your blood glucose response when combined with a carb-rich food. This is because protein and fat both tend to delay stomach emptying, thereby slowing the rate at which carbohydrate can be digested and absorbed. So a high fat meal will have a lower glycemic effect than a low fat meal even if they both contain the same amount and type of carbohydrate.



More importantly, a meal’s GI value doesn’t make it good or bad for you. You need to base your food choices on the overall nutritional content along with the amount of saturated fat, salt, fibre and of course, GI value. We have found that people who simply substitute a low GI food for a high one in their everyday meals and snacks (especially with their choice of breads, breakfast cereals, starchy vegetables) reduce the overall GI of their diet, gain better blood glucose control and lose weight.

"Is there a GI number I should strive for each day? Or one that I should not go over?"
We are often asked if there’s a ‘GI to shoot for’. The simple answer is no, there’s no formula. You don’t need to add up the GI each day. In fact there’s no counting at all as there is with calories/kilojoules. The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply ‘This For That’: swapping the high GI carbs in your diet with low GI foods. This could mean eating muesli at breakfast instead of wheat flakes or a grainy low GI bread instead of normal white or wholemeal bread. So, what you need ‘to shoot for’ is identifying the high GI carbs in your current diet and swapping them for some quality low GI carbs. Dietitian Kaye Foster-Powell says in Low GI Eating Made Easy: ‘We have found that many people who substitute low for high GI foods in their everyday meals and snacks reduce the overall GI of their diet, gain better blood glucose control and lose weight.



If you are looking for some guidelines, here are some tips.
Every day you need to:

• Eat at least three meals—don’t skip meals. Eat snacks too if you are hungry.
• Eat fruit at least twice—fresh, cooked, dried, juices.
• Eat vegetables at least twice—cooked, raw, salads, soups, juices and snacks.
• Eat a cereal at least once—such as bread, breakfast cereal, pasta, noodles, rice and other grains in a wholegrain or low GI form
• Accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity (including incidental activity and planned exercise).

Every week you need to:

• Eat beans, peas and/or lentils—at least twice. This includes baked beans, chickpeas, red kidney beans, butter beans, split peas and foods made from them such as hommous and dhal.
• Eat fish and seafood at least once, preferably twice, each week—fresh, smoked, frozen or canned.
• Eat nuts regularly—just a tiny handful.

Email your curly question about carbs, the GI and blood glucose to: gicurlyquestions@gmail.com

Your Success Stories

‘I’m having fewer hypos, I am on low doses of insulin and I feel much better.’ – Sarah
‘About six months ago I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which I managed with insulin. I read lots of handouts about how to manage diabetes with diet, but the focus was very much on reducing sugar in my diet and little about low GI foods. As a result, I continued eating breads with high GI, lots of potatoes and so on and my BGLs were all over the place. Six weeks after having my baby I found out that the diabetes was actually late-onset type 1! It was recommended that I try a low GI diet; I did lots of reading, including The New Glucose Revolution (The Low GI Handbook in Australia) and incorporated their recommendations into my diet. I have found that my BGLs are much more stable, I’m having fewer hypos, I am on low doses of insulin and I feel much better. My partner is also on the low GI diet and he feels more energetic, particularly in the mornings when he used to feel lethargic and unmotivated.’

GI Symbol News with Alan Barclay

Can you count on the carbs?


Alan Barclay

A reader recently asked about the accuracy of the carb count (in grams) on food labels. It's an excellent question and there isn't a simple answer. Under most national ‘food laws,’ two ‘carb counting’ methods are allowed.

• The amount of carbohydrate listed on the food label can be determined by ‘difference’ – the amount of protein, fat and fibre is measured, and whatever is left over is called available carbohydrate.
• Alternatively, carbs are measured by ‘direct analysis’, where each of the different sugars and starches in a food are measured and the totals are given.

Not surprisingly, carb counts based on difference will be intrinsically less reliable than those from direct analysis. But direct analysis is time consuming and rather costly, so the carb counts you see on food labels in the supermarket are typically calculated by the difference method.



Although measuring seems to be the way to go for accuracy, there’s a fair bit of natural variation in most foods we eat: they are grown in the ground, not produced under strict controls in a laboratory, so the carb count in a food can typically vary from variety to variety, crop to crop, batch to batch …

So, back to the food labels. While it is difficult to give a reliable estimate for carb quantities in packaged foods, variations of up to 20% are not unusual. That means for most of us, there’s little justification for counting carbs to the nearest gram – the values on most food and drink labels simply aren’t that accurate. However, some people (like those with diabetes) clearly need a practical system for estimating the amount of carbohydrate in foods so they can match their insulin or oral hypoglycaemic agents to what they eat. What’s the most practical tool they can use to help them do this reasonably accurately without fuss and a calculator?

Research has proven that carbohydrate exchanges (an average of 15 grams of carbohydrate per typical household serve of food, with an allowance for variation of 12–18 grams per serve) or portions (10 grams of carbs per serve) provide equally satisfactory estimates of the amount of carbohydrate in food to enable most people with diabetes manage blood glucose levels satisfactorily.

Of course, the amount of carbohydrate in a food is only one part of the equation when it comes to good health – the GI is equally important for all of us. Email us for more information: alan@gisymbol.com

Contact
Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD
CEO, Glycemic Index Ltd
Phone: +61 2 9785 1037
Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046
Fax: +61 2 9785 1037
Email: mailto:alan@gisymbol.com
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com.au

The Latest GI Values with Fiona Atkinson

Woolworths Select pasta meals and instant noodles
Alfredo Pasta & Sauce GI 57
Cracked Pepper & Cheese Pasta & Sauce GI 48
Four Cheese Pasta & Sauce GI 55
Macaroni Cheese Pasta & Sauce GI 48
Sour Cream & Chives Pasta & Sauce GI 50
Creamy Bacon Carbonara Pasta & Sauce GI 54
Instant Noodles (Beef, Chicken and Oreintal) GI 52

The Latest GI Values from GI Testing in Canada
President's Choice ® Blue Menu ™ breads and cereals
Oatmeal Loaf GI 63
Whole Grain Oatmeal Bagel GI 58
Whole Grain Multi-Grain Flax Bagel GI 52
Whole Grain Cinnamon Raisin Bagel GI 55
Whole Grain Jalapeno Corn Tortilla GI 35
Whole Grain Chipotle Red Pepper Tortilla GI 47
Lavash Whole Grain Flatbread GI 43
Omega-3 Granola Cereal GI 51



President's Choice ® Blue Menu ™ cookies, cake, muffins & bars
Fruit & Nut Whole Grain Soft Cookie GI 56
Oatmeal Double Chocolate Soft Cookie GI 42
Oatmeal Raisin Whole Grain Soft Cookie GI 49
Apple Crisp GI 48
Cinnamon Coffee Cake GI 62
Two-Bite Brownie GI 39
Whole Grain Banana & Prune Muffin GI 53
Whole Grain Carrots, Dates, Pineapples & Walnuts Muffin GI 55
Fruit & Nut Mixed Berries & Almonds Chewy Multi-Grain Bars GI 63

President's Choice ® Blue Menu ™ pasta
Fettuccini GI 54
Tricolour Linguini Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil and Original Nest GI 42
Tricolour Linguini Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil and Original Nest GI 52
Whole Grain Lasagna Sheets GI 59
100% Whole Wheat Spaghetti GI 45
100% Whole Wheat Penne Rigate GI 51
100% Whole Wheat Lasagna GI 46

President's Choice ® Blue Menu ™ convenience meals
9-Vegetable Vegetarian Patty (frozen) GI 54
Whole Grain Pizza Kit GI 65
Tomato & Herb Chicken with Vegetables GI 29
Chicken & Rotini Soup GI 38

Click for more information on Loblaws brands President's Choice ® Blue Menu ™ products

COBS Bread Higher-Fibre Low GI
White Block Loaf GI 46
White Block Loaf Small GI 46
White Roll GI 50

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

See The New Glucose Revolution on YouTube

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Helen Clark's pants are really on fire

After Helen Clark and John Key blamed their respective chiefs of staff for decisions not to include the minor parties in the TV3 debates, it is revealed that Clark lied again. It was her decision to have the minor parties out of the debate and she spoke to Key and convinced him that it was a good idea.

This election about trust. The only thing you can trust Helen Clark to do is lie.

Nakedness on the streets

note: post updated
After a recent Kapiti Coast District Council bylaw that would allow nakedness on beaches, it has been revealed that you are legally allowed to walk down Wellington beaches - and streets and in churches for that matter completely starkers as well. However walking naked down any street would not be recommended in a Wellington southerly.

Naturally Bob McCoskrie of Family First will be furious about this. Apparently, what the council has done is merely removed a law stating that children under the age of eight don't need wear togs on the beach. So nobody has to wear togs on the beach or clothes on the streets, but if a bunch of grown ugly women run around Oriental Bay on a sunny Sunday afternoon, or walk down Lambton Quay in the lunch hour during school holidays you can be sure people will find that offensive, particularly if they were naked.

So, its not what you display, but where you display it that counts. It's analogous to the 1998 display of the virgin in a condom" artwork at Te Papa that caused debate at the time. Display it in the artists bedroom, that will not be offensive. Displaying it at Te Papa will offend somewhat. However, displaying it during a Catholic Mass will not break any laws, but it will greatly offend.

And if a man offends too many people by his nakedness in crowded areas, he may end up like this man.

Ouch!

I understand the Wellington City Council will be commenting and I'll have that for you when it arrives.

Update Its arrived.
Clarification re nudity on Wellington beaches

Today's Dominion Post story, headed 'Capital's beaches open to nudists', is somewhat misleading. Wellington's beaches aren't 'open to nudists' despite the fact the City Council has removed and replaced an old bylaw relating to the requirement to wear suitable bathing costumes on beaches and other public places in the city.

Under the Local Government Act 2001, Wellington City Council, along with all other local authorities, is required to review and update its bylaws - especially if they contain complicated wording that's difficult to understand, or if they no longer are relevant.

Earlier this year the Council reviewed a number of bylaws - including the old Harbour, Beaches and Foreshore Bylaw - which, in part, required all persons over 8 years of age who were on, or swam at, a beach to wear a swimsuit or clothes. The wording of the old bylaw was 'clunky' and not really suitable for the 21st century.

The review was a fully public process and included extensive public consultation in April - and then submissions to Council meetings before the final decision on the bylaws was made in June.

Admittedly a review of bylaws is not something that usually excites the community greatly - but we received no submissions relating to beach nudity.

The removal of the old bylaw does not mean that people can freely remove all their clothes on any city beach.

If someone removes all their clothes on Oriental Bay beach, for example, and then offends other beach users, the Police could be called and could require the person to put their clothes back on. The Summary Offences Act can be used by the Police to enforce this.

Nudity is really not an issue on beaches in Wellington City - and we're not expecting a sudden rampant increase in nudity as a result of the withdrawal of the bylaw. Generally, for example, people do not go fully nude on Oriental Bay beach.

It is quite well known that the isolated north-eastern end of Breaker Bay Beach, on the South Coast, is Wellington's 'unofficial' nude beach. Because it takes a long and arduous walk through soft sand to get to the beach, relatively few people go there and so people generally are free to sunbathe nude without causing trouble.

For further details please contact:
Richard MacLean, City Council Communications, tel 04 801 3578 or 021 227 8180.

RSC Books

The RSC have released new editions of Love's Labour's Lost and Hamlet which you can purchase them from our online shop, from as little at £4.40.

Love's Labour's Lost Rehearsal Photos

Click here to view the full set of pics...

Thanks to the RSC and Ellie Kurttz for the new photos of David rehearsing for Love's Labour's Lost.
Love's Labour's Lost opens with previews from Thursday 2nd October at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon.

Having a say

In a democracy, everyone should be allowed to have their say. National and Labour have colluded to prevent minor parties being present in their political debates on TV3, and TV3 caved in to their demands. Some parties have protested at their exclusion, saying that they have been gagged.

Now, nobody is to have their say as TV3 has pulled the plug and there will be no leaders debate. And its a good decision. If Clark and Key don't like it they shouldn't have been arrogant sods to start with.

TVNZ is a little more mature about things and will screen a leaders debate of the minor parties - after all it is the minor parties who will decide who gets to be the Government. TVNZ is a little more inventive too, linking up with YouTube for a leaders debate. The questions will be asked by voters and if you want to have your say you can post a video of your question right here.

What's more you can even view some of the the videos others have sent and rate them. Now that's a superb idea. Well done.

And then Google News came to Poland

Posted by Benoit Lafortune, Sr. Strategist, News Online Team

We're thrilled to announce that we've launched Google News in yet another language: Polish! With this launch, Google News is now available in 23 languages and 48 country editions.

In addition to searching and browsing more than 300 news sources from their desktop, 40 million Polish speakers from Poland and around the world will also be able to find News results through an iPhone. These news results will also be blended into standard Google search results. So to quickly get an overview of what's happening in Poland right now, go to http://news.google.pl/

If you're a Polish speaker, you can check out what Przemysław Budkowski wrote about this launch on the Google Poland blog:

http://googlepolska.blogspot.com/2008/09/google-news-w-polsce.html

To all our Polish friends, welcome aboard!

S59: lets have a whackers charter

The Green Party thinks the proponents of a referendum on smacking intend to create a 'whackers' charter', legally describing how parents can assault their children.

Sue Bradford made the comments after Simon Collin's one man travelling road show found that 86 percent of those surveyed opposed the smacking legislation. Additionally, most people didn't understand how the law worked, and supported the referendum question "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?.

It's contradictory," says Bluff cameraman Stuart McCormick, 35, and many others. "How can you not use the other things [such as preventing harm] for correction?"

But Bradford will harp on about now is to claim that "no offence of smacking was created" and so the referendum question is irrelevant.

Smacking has never been a criminal offence, and still isn't......no offence of smacking or spanking was created, and I believe the proponents of the referendum have deliberately confused the issue.

So why, then, are people being investigated for smacking if it is not a criminal offence? And if it is not a criminal offence, as Bradford claims, she's right, we don't need a referendum to change the law because its legally okay to smack your kids.

In fact if light smacking was a criminal offence we wouldn't have passed legislation to change the law, would we.Duh!

The woman is mad. If this is the best she can come up with no wonder the public don't understand the law. But it was always Bradford's intention that the public did not understand the law.

We already have a whackers charter. It's called CYFS caregiving.

The Dangers of Undercooked Chicken

This blog post would not have occurred to me had my husband's cousin not contracted Guillain-Barré syndrome from undercooked chicken. Guillain-Barré syndrome is a situation that arises when one's immune system attacks the nerves and causes paralysis that can last several weeks. Most people make a full recovery within a few weeks or months. However, some may take longer to recover and others may have permanent nerve damage.

Here is the full article on campylobacteriosis There are some precautions to be taken when handling raw chicken and if you're presented with undercooked chicken at a restaurant, send it back to be cooked properly. Choose rotisserie chickens that look more well-done to prevent parts of the chicken from being undercooked. Don't eat it if it looks pink or red. Juices should run clear as well.

www.HiddenEgypt.com » Blog Archive » Amazing Abydos

www.HiddenEgypt.com » Blog Archive » Amazing Abydos

At last for everyone who wants to spend more time in Abydos there is somewhere to stay and what a fantastic atmospheric write up Iris gives the place.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Abducted Western tourists freed

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Abducted Western tourists freed

Troy Davis case decision expected by Oct. 6

English translation:
Second eleventh hour stay for Troy Davis
- New orders, Mr. Davis. Nothing's for sure yet. In the meantime we'll keep you in here.
- For lunch, you may have the last meal you turned down yesterday.

When the U.S. Supreme Court meets Monday to decide Troy Anthony Davis’ fate, its nine justices face a fairly straightforward question: Is there sufficient doubt about Davis’ guilt to warrant further scrutiny of his case?

Davis needs four justices to vote “yes.” Otherwise, his execution, halted by the high court less than two hours before it was to be carried out Tuesday evening, will be rescheduled. The court is expected to announce its decision Oct. 6.

“The court can grant a stay and then refuse to hear a case, but they don’t issue the stay lightly,” said Thomas Goldstein, a Washington lawyer who specializes in arguing cases before the high court. “They are thinking about it hard.”

The stay infuriated the family of slain Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail. They had traveled Tuesday to the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson to witness the execution. But it sent Davis’ family and supporters, who arrived at the prison in a church bus to stage a protest, into a jubilant frenzy.

Davis sits on death row for the Aug. 19, 1989, murder of MacPhail, a 27-year-old officer shot dead after he responded to the wails of a homeless man being pistol whipped in a Burger King parking lot. The former Army Ranger and father of two, working off-duty as a security guard, did not have time to draw his gun before being shot three times.

Davis was convicted with scant physical evidence: no DNA, no fingerprints, no murder weapon.

Since the 1991 trial, seven of nine key witnesses who testified against Davis, 39, have recanted their testimony. These include trial witnesses who testified they saw what happened, as well as witnesses who testified Davis told them he killed MacPhail. More witnesses have come forward and implicated Sylvester “Redd” Coles, who was with Davis in the parking lot, as the triggerman.

Coles, when previously approached by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, declined comment. He was the first person to go to police and finger Davis as the suspect and is one of two witnesses who have not backed off their trial testimony.

The other, Stephen Sanders, first told police he could not identify anyone at the scene except by the clothes they were wearing. But at trial, Sanders testified he saw Davis fire the fatal shots.

Chatham County prosecutors say they are certain Davis is a cop killer, and MacPhail’s relatives say the death sentence should have been carried out long ago. But Davis’ lawyers contend there is too much doubt to allow the execution.

Indiana University law professor Joseph Hoffman noted that at least five justices must vote to grant a stay of execution. While this does not mean the high court will accept Davis’ appeal, it indicates some justices wanted more time to look at it, he said.

With the exonerations of inmates nationwide based on DNA evidence, the U.S. Supreme Court is giving more careful scrutiny to innocence claims, said Hoffman, a death penalty expert.

“This is the kind of case that has the court on edge right now,” he said. “So it’s not completely surprising that out of all the death cases that come before it this would be the one granted a stay.”

Davis is appealing a ruling by a sharply split Georgia Supreme Court. His lawyers are asking the high court to declare that the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment bars the execution of the innocent and requires at least a court hearing to assess the recantation evidence.

Courts have long considered the recantations of trial witnesses suspect. Trial testimony is closer to the time of the crime, when memories should be more reliable. Witnesses also are allowed to be cross-examined under a judge’s supervision.

For this reason, courts erect high thresholds for convicts to clear when seeking new trials based on newly discovered evidence or recanted testimony.

In Davis’ case, the question before the U.S. Supreme Court is whether the Georgia Supreme Court set the bar too high.

In a 4-3 Georgia Supreme Court decision, written by Justice Harold Melton, the court followed a precedent that demands proof, with “no doubt of any kind,” that a witness’ trial testimony was “the purest fabrication.”

Melton cited a state Supreme Court ruling in 1983 involving a Clayton County murder conviction, obtained when a witness testified he lent his car to the defendant on the night of the killing and saw the bound and gagged victim placed in the back seat. When it was later shown the witness was in the Cobb County jail at that time and could not have been telling the truth, the court granted a new trial.

The recantations in Davis’ case do not rise to such a level of proof, nor has he shown that his new evidence is “so material that it would probably produce a different verdict,” Melton wrote.

Justice Leah Ward Sears, in dissent, said there is merit to requiring proof that testimony was the “purest fabrication” to warrant a new trial or hearing. “However, it should not be corrupted into a categorical rule that new evidence in the form of recanted testimony can never be considered, no matter how trustworthy it might appear.”

Ezekiel Edwards, an attorney with the Innocence Project in New York, called the state Supreme Court’s decision troubling.

“It sets a terrible precedent for innocent people who are incarcerated and where there isn’t DNA evidence but where there may be one or multiple recanting witnesses who for a whole bevy of reasons are saying their original testimony was false,” he said. “In most recantation cases, you could never meet the standard they’ve set.”

In filings before the U.S. Supreme Court, the state Attorney General’s Office noted Davis’ lawyers attacked the credibility of prosecution witnesses at trial and Davis declared himself innocent on the stand, yet jurors still convicted him and sentenced him to death. Since then, state and federal courts have considered the recantation testimony, presented in the form of sworn written statements, and rejected that too, the AG’s office said.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 29, 2008

Chris Trotter needs to be informed before writing tripe on the Maori Party

Chris Trotter should stop writing about the Maori Party. It's obvious he sees the party as a threat to his beloved Labour Party, and wants to portray the party as dangerous coalition partner because he is finally aware that it prefers National.

Yet he has no idea what the Maori Party wants, if his Sunday Star Times column today is anything to go by. In his column, entitled "What is Maori Party up to?" Trotter breathlessly revealed that the Maori Party does not want a coalition partner, but a "treaty partner" - but that's old news as Pita Sharples said that three weeks ago. Trotter obviously missed that, but he still doesn't know what kind of a "treaty partner" the Maori Party wants.

Trotter also opined that the National Party is "firmly convinced" they will be able to secure a coalition with "Tariana Turia's party" after the election. Trotter's wrong there too. He maintains that if numbers are tight, National will promise to revisit the Foreshore and Seabed Act. He's wrong there, too, as the Act is getting lower in the list of priorities - it is certainly not in the top four. Actually "guaranteed an ongoing participation by Maori within the parliamentary system at the table, not just an advisor , but at the table", is the top priority according to Harawira. Trotter said that a seat at the cabinet table is not guaranteed as voters determine that.

He's wrong there too. The Prime Minister determines who "sits at the table". Actually, what Trotter doesn't like is that the Maori Party may well determine who warms the seats in the cabinet room if it is in a position to chose whether Labour or National gain power and Trotter is worried it will be National. The Maori Party knows a cabinet post is not guaranteed and Trotter is naive to interpret Harawira's comment in this way, when clearly, it is the participation that is guaranteed.

Finally, Trotter comments that Maori Party president Whatarangi Winiata said that the Maori Party form the "tikanga Maori House" in Parliament. Winiata said on National Radio this means that the "partners respect each other and the decisions they come to are not determined by a head count"[ audio here]. Trotter interprets that as the Maori Party intending to exercise a form of veto over the Government based on the veto that the Anglican's "Tikanga Maori House" has over the Churches General Synod. In other words, acting undemocratically.

Trotter's wrong there, too. As Professor Winiata says here, a Tikanga Maori House is nothing of the sort. It is merely a group of Maori MPs represented by the Maori caucus. His comments can be interpreted as decision by consensus, not majority.

So back to the heading 'What is the Maori Party up to"? Trotter didn't answer that because he clearly does not have a clue. Perhaps it would be good for him to understand the distinction between tino rangitiratanga and mana motuhake.

That would be a good start.

National releases policy

National released its Maori Affairs, Electoral Law and Treaty Policy. Will be commenting on it and replacing this post once I`ve finished work.

Update May have to be tomorrow - but read this in the meantime.

Greens new billboard

The kids looks like he's been to McDonalds a few too many times. I wonder if he eats his greens. I wonder if Andy Moore will put it on his Don't vote Greens site. Almost as good as the new Labour burns billboard.

Hattip Lindsay Mitchell

It's a fine day

It is a beautiful day today in Wellington. And here's a beautiful song about it. Here's Opus III. Enjoy.

El Mamela Tombs at Esna - Ank Tify

Back in July I published the new ticket prices and on the list were the El Mamela Tombs. I was asked what I knew about them and had to admit total ignorance. A subsequent question on EEF didin't reveal any more information. But I have just found out something about this. I am still trying to visit the tomb but you need special permissions. Anyway what I have found out is that it is the tomb of Ank Tify from 10th dynasty under Neferkare. It is 15 km south of Esna I saw it from the road yesterday but was not allowed to stop. After Ramadan I will try and get there.


Now can anyone out there give me more information or a link to more information.

Harry Potter Network Premiere

ITV1 will be hosting the network permiere of Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, which stars David as Barty Crouch Jr, next Sunday 5th October at 19:10pm.

U.S.: Price isn't right for the death penalty

As the country's economic woes continue to mount, frightening many Americans, it has become clear that the United States simply cannot afford capital punishment.

The death penalty is the revenue-guzzling SUV to the cost-efficient hybrid of life without parole. Researchers all over the country are crunching the numbers and coming to the same conclusion - the death penalty is far too expensive.

In its recently released report, the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice found that California's current death penalty system costs $137 million annually compared with $11.5 million for a system without the death penalty. The commission also reported that California's system is "dysfunctional" and that it will cost an additional $200 million a year to fix it.

In January 2008, New Jersey became the 1st state to abolish the death penalty in 40 years.

The New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission's report included the costs of a capital punishment system as 1 of the 7 issues it studied. It noted that costs associated with death penalty cases are significantly higher than those associated with life without parole cases.

The New Jersey Department of Corrections estimated an average savings to the state of over $1 million over each inmate's lifetime. In addition the Commission noted "the devastating emotional costs of the death penalty ... the adverse effects of executions on third parties: judges, jurors, judicial staff, correctional staff, journalists, clergy and spiritual advisors, as well as the families of the victim and the families of the condemned inmate ... these intangible emotional and psychological costs must also be taken into consideration in weighing the costs of the death penalty."

In Maryland, the Urban Institute study of March 2008 noted that it costs the state 3 times more to try a death penalty case than a non-death penalty case. The report stated that "an average capital-eligible case resulting in a death sentence will cost approximately $3 million, $1.9 million more than a case where the death penalty was not sought."

A 2004 study in Tennessee said the findings were the same. Capital trials cost almost 50 percent more than trials where life without parole is sought. Similar findings have been made in Washington, North Carolina, Indiana, Florida, Kansas and Texas.

The death penalty is a failed government program for many reasons. One is that it is a colossal waste of government resources. Since 1977 we've carried out over 1,100 executions in this country to the tune of what is conservatively estimated over $1 billion. We would have been far wiser using this money to meet our many pressing needs, such as improving our schools, building safer communities, fixing our deteriorating infrastructures, shoring up our social security system, providing health insurance for children, etc.

That money has only purchased a system that doesn't work. In the last 3 decades, 129 individuals have been released from death row because they were innocent. That's 1 exoneration for every 9 executions. Would you buy a car that failed to start one time out of 10?

Whether one believes in the death penalty or not, we have to face the true costs of this policy. Nearly 3,300 men and women sit on death row right now.

Even if the United States were to return to the heyday of the death penalty, 1998 with 98 executions, it would take more than 30 years to kill all of these individuals. What will the cost of execution have risen to by then?

The reality is that most individuals remain on death row for at least 10 years before all state and federal appeals are completed. Based on the 129 exonerations so far we know it takes on average nine years and three appeals to reverse a wrongful conviction.

Many prisoners will die of natural causes before they can be executed. It would be far cheaper to commute these sentences to life without parole than to continue this failed policy of state killing. Indeed juries which now have the option of life in prison without parole in 35 of the 36 death penalty states are increasingly refusing to sentence people to death.

The death penalty is a bankrupting policy. Let's abolish it.

Jack Payden-Travers is the public education associate with the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project.

Source: Pasadena (Calif.) Star-News

Texas: prosecutor's intimacy may affect more than a single death row case

Recent confirmation of a long-rumored romance between a former Collin County district attorney and a former judge could lead to allegations of unfair trials in hundreds of cases, but legal experts differ over what should happen next.

In court depositions sought by attorneys trying to get a new trial for death row convict Charles Dean Hood, Judge Verla Sue Holland and prosecutor Tom O'Connell reportedly admitted to a years-long affair that Mr. Hood's attorneys say prevented him from getting a fair trial in 1990.

At least one other man, Timothy David Nixon, was found guilty of murder while Judge Holland was on the bench and Mr. O'Connell tried the case. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison for allegedly killing his mother.

Some legal ethicists say prosecutors have a responsibility to identify cases from the years the two held office and ensure that the convicted have their day in court. Others doubt that is the prosecutors' role.

"They do have a proactive responsibility," argues Robert Schuwerk, a University of Houston law professor who co-wrote the Handbook of Texas Lawyer and Judicial Ethics.

"The principal duty of a prosecutor under our system is not to convict but to see that justice is done," he said. "I would think that a prosecutor has the duty to either bring those cases forward or, at the very least, cooperate in establishing which cases were affected by this behavior."

Others say it is a defense responsibility to raise issues about the validity of a conviction.

Collin County Assistant District Attorney John Rolater says it is his duty to see "that justice is done," but the chief of the county's appellate division declined to comment on whether the county will proactively identify cases that might have been affected by the relationship between the judge and prosecutor.

Normal procedure

It's "uncharted territory," said Rob Kepple, executive director of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. "I'm at a loss to answer that."

Prosecutors "normally wait for a defendant or someone else to raise these questions," he said. And, he added, prosecutors "want to see where the injury is, where the harm is. We want someone to spell it out for us. ... If the defendant can link that up and show me something in the record, I guess we can talk about it."

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott who stepped in days before Mr. Hood's most recent execution date to urge an investigation into the relationship said he would have "to know more background facts, what exactly happened, when did it happen" in each case before deciding whether a review was warranted.

So far, Mr. Hood's defense team has not cited any specific example of unfair treatment during his trial. In a petition filed Thursday, the defense wrote that the relationship, which included professions of love and sexual encounters, "created an appearance of impropriety and an impression of possible bias" requiring automatic reversal of his conviction and sentence.

According to the writ, Judge Holland said it was "absolutely not" improper for her to have presided over Mr. Hood's trial while Mr. O'Connell prosecuted it. She told attorneys that the romantic relationship began in 1982 and ended in 1987, before Mr. Hood's arrest and trial.

Mr. O'Connell told attorneys that it began around 1984 or 1985 and continued until 1989 or later. Even after the romance ended, they remained close friends, and in 1991 traveled to New Mexico and Missouri together.

Neither the trial court nor the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled on the writ.

As a death row inmate, Mr. Hood has had an army of attorneys, including state-paid appellate attorneys and pro bono attorneys, to champion his cause.

But many convicts, like Mr. Nixon, may not even be aware of the relationship and that it could affect their cases. Unlike Mr. Hood, most don't have attorneys to investigate the issue. Mr. Nixon, who remains in prison, could not be reached for comment.

The number of cases that could be affected is unknown.

"It's premature at this point to confidently say that all these cases are going to be affected," said Mitch Nolte, president of the Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. "There's been no ruling on this case. ... And so, in legal terms, the issue's just not fully ripe."

Though difficult, it would not be impossible to identify the cases, said Tim Wyatt, public information officer for Collin County. "But no one to my knowledge has been asked to do it," he said.

The number of cases Judge Holland heard in her 15 years as a state district judge and while Mr. O'Connell was district attorney could number in the hundreds. But veteran attorney Keith Hampton, second vice president of the Texas Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, expects the number of cases that could have been affected to be "relatively few."

"The devil is going to be in the details," Mr. Hampton said.

Most cases pled out

The vast majority of criminal cases are disposed of through plea bargains, he explained, and if the judge served primarily in an administrative role in those cases, he doubts there will be any issue to raise.

In addition, most elected district attorneys rarely appear in court, so the number of cases with direct participation by both Judge Holland and Mr. O'Connell is probably small. Finally, defendants are not entitled to a court-appointed attorney to raise the issue, and raising it on their own is a long shot.

Mr. Hampton said he does not expect a blanket order from either the district attorney or a court to cover all cases potentially affected by the relationship. Instead, "they're going to have to do this one case at a time."

But Lawrence Fox, former chair of the American Bar Association Ethics Committee, said sweeping steps may be necessary to preserve confidence in Texas' criminal justice system. Not only does he think the district attorney is obligated to bring the cases to the attention of the court, he suggested that the state should provide attorneys for defendants to challenge their convictions.

"I would hope that, under these circumstances, the state would recognize a special obligation to these people, because, remember, it was two state officers who did all this.

"You would hope somebody would say the system of justice has a black eye right now, and one way to remove it is to make sure these people who are in a prison get counsel to deal with these issues," he said.

If that doesn't happen, Mr. Fox hopes local attorneys will step up to provide free services.

"There's so much at stake for the individual," he said, "but there's so much at stake for the system."

Source: Dallas Morning News

The Infinite Quest On iPlayer

You can watch the animated Doctor Who adventure, The Infinite Quest, courtesy of BBC iPlayer here.
It will be available to watch until 10:49am on Saturday 4th October 2008.

Chris Moyles Interview MP3

You can now download an MP3 file of David's recent interview with Chris Moyles here.

Arrogant and unacceptable

While it is true that either the leader of National or Labour will lead the next government, it is arrogant for both Helen Clark and John Key to refuse to debate on TV with the minor party leaders. Twenty per cent of the population voted for the minor parties in 2005. In 2002, more voted for the minor parties than voted National. I was one of them both times. I will be one of them this year, too as I won't be making a choice between National and Labour. In order for us to have a say we need to be informed and that includes hearing from minor parties.

Sure, those of us who are political journalists or bloggers are more informed than most, but in a democracy, we have the right to have an informed choice and it is arrogant and unacceptable for the two main party leaders to conspire to prevent minor parties having their chance to have a say in promoting why we should vote for them. Even Winston Peters deserves to have an opportunity to promote his party's policies. However it would be futile suggesting to TVNZ and TV3 to scrap the leaders debates on principle unless they demand that the two leaders debate with minor party leaders. TV networks also put money before democracy. Rather than seeing Key and Clark fight as to why they are the best leaders, I would rather hear about their policies, and for that reason I`d rather watch this.

In any case it is the Maori Party who is going to decide who the Prime Minister is after the election.

There's not one thing...that this government has done for all Maori: Harawira

Everyone wants to interview the Maori Party. Here's Gordon Campbell's interview of Hone Harawira.

Like all Campbell's interviews, it's good.

French Senator Crusades Against Death Penalty

The United States must follow the lead of European countries and outlaw the death penalty, French Senator and former French Minister of Justice Robert Badinter said yesterday as he brought his crusade against capital punishment to Gaston Hall.

The 80-year-old outspoken critic of the death penalty and former minister responsible for its elimination in France outlined his opposition to capital punishment, noting that European nations are far ahead of the curve on this issue.

"Europe has freed itself completely of the death penalty. For men of my generation, this is a most remarkable moral progress," he said.

Badinter said that one of the most significant points against the death penalty is its racial bias.

"Racial prejudice does exist," he said. "In my country, the number of North African or colored people executed for the same crime was 3 times higher than for the others."

According to a report from Amnesty International, 90 countries have abolished the death penalty, while 60 countries, including the United States, still use the death penalty. At least 24 countries executed people in 2007, with a majority of the executions in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States.

In Islamic states with the death penalty, Badinter stressed that Muslims, not Western outsiders, are best suited to abolish the death penalty because they are more familiar with Islamic law and customs.

"The abolition of the death penalty in Muslim states should be carried out by Muslims," he said.

Badinter continues to work toward abolishing the death penalty in China and the United States.

"90 % of executions in the world are the practice of only a very few states. The first one, far ahead from the others, is China, which runs like they do in the Olympics ahead," Badinter said.

His crusade against the death penalty first began in 1965 as a criminal lawyer in France defending Roger Bontems against a murder charge. Bontems was an inmate at Clairvaux Prison in 1971 when he and Claude Buffet led a revolt. Bontems took a nurse and a prison guard hostage and Buffet killed both when the police raided the prison. While it was determined in the court that Bontems was not the murderer, he was still sentenced to death. Outraged by the decision, Badinter decided to dedicate himself to abolishing the death penalty.

Badinter served as Minister of Justice for France from 1981 to 1986 and introduced legislation that abolished the death penalty in the country. From 1986 to1995, he served as the president of the French Constitutional Council, the highest constitutional authority in France.

He is currently serving a term as French senator for the Socialist Party.

The senator concluded his address by assessing the future of the death penalty in the United States.

"When it comes to [the] death penalty of the United States, I am thoroughly optimistic," he said, noting that the number of executions in the past 8 years has dropped by 50 %.

Source: The (Georgetown Univ. ) Hoya

Zapatero calls for moratorium on the death penalty at the United Nations

The Spanish Prime Minister also called for the Millenium Objective goals to be met.

Speaking to the United Nations in New York yesterday, the Spanish Prime Minister, Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero, has called for a universal moratorium on the death penalty in 2015 as a first step towards its complete abolition.

This was Zapatero's 2nd statement to the United Nations, the 1st was in 2004, and he spent most of his time urging the international community to comply with the Millennium Development Objectives, which has the target of reducing extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

Source: Typically Spanish

NZPA writes yesterday's news - today

This has been recently published on Stuff.

Police are investigating a complaint laid against Solicitor-General David Collins.A Police National Headquarters spokeswoman confirmed the complaint had been received and an investigation had been launched but would give no further details.

The inquiry was being run by a senior officer and Dr Collins was aware of the matter, she said.

This is not news. Well, its old news. The Prime Minister has known about it all month, and police confirmed they were investigating Collins back in in August.We know the Prime Minister knew about it. The story was then followed up by Ian Wishart on September 19.

I thought I had seen the news somewhere.