GI News—June 2007

‘Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ...’ Did you know that they were part of the staple diet of Southern Europe, Turkey and Asia for centuries. In fact until potatoes arrived on the scene, they were a major source of carbohydrate. And now we know that they are low GI. Check out Food of the Month and GI Values Update. This issue we also look at how low a GI diet should go, whether you’ll burn up more fat if you exercise before breakfast and how a low GI diet benefits your genes. There's more on low carb-high protein diets, too - what’s the long-term risk to your health? The jury may still be out, but Prof. Walter, Willett from Harvard reminds us that it’s the type of carbohydrate and the type of fat rather than the relative amounts that make a difference. Enjoy June GI News and don’t forget to try our real food recipes this month: Chilli Chestnut Fettuccine, Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup and Instant Berry Fool.



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

Food for Thought

How low should a low GI diet go?
Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and Diabetes Australia's Alan Barclay believe there's a real need to define the numerical difference between a low GI diet and a low GI food. Because a low GI food is defined as 55 or less, people have made the reasonable assumption that a whole diet that averages less than 55 is 'low enough'. In fact the AVERAGE Australian and American diet already has a GI of 56 to 58 because we all eat low GI fruits and dairy products and of course sugar (GI 60). So to reduce the risk of chronic disease, a low GI eating pattern/diet must have much lower number.

What we now know from observational/cohort studies is that the GI of the diet of the people in the lowest quintile (20% of the population) is about 40–45. Since this reduces the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease and people can achieve it in real life, we think it's a reasonable definition of a low GI diet (i.e. less than 45). How do you achieve this? Substitute low for high GI foods in your everyday meals and snacks, especially in the breads you choose. Breakfast in particular is your opportunity to go for gold by selecting a low GI breakfast cereal. Don't assume that adding milk to crispy flakes makes it a low GI meal. If you don’t eat breakfast cereal, make sure you choose a low GI bread for your toast, and of course low GI breads are a must for those sandwiches at lunch.’



Seven secrets to making healthier eating a habit
Now that a large US study published in the April edition of American Psychologist has come to the obvious conclusion that (fad) diets don’t work, GI News asked Nutrition for Life author Catherine Saxelby what sort of eating plan helps people lose that excess and keep it off.

‘Well, the best way of eating if you are overweight, is a diet you enjoy and can stick to for more than a week. It has to be sustainable – it’s not about dropping a dress size, it’s about healthy eating for life! Cut down the fat, especially saturated fat. Eat protein at each meal for satiety. Choose high fibre or low GI carbohydrates to slow digestion and absorption. Cut down, but don’t cut out! Eat a large salad a day. It fills you up for few kilojoules. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast. But food aside, you need to adopt some healthier eating habits. Remember, although motivation may get you started, it’s habit that keeps you going and keeps the kilos off.’


Catherine Saxelby

1. Listen to your stomach. Your stomach is only the size of your fist clenched. Imagine this and you’ll soon realise that it doesn’t take a lot of food to fill that volume. Aim to eat only when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re comfortably full – not stuffed. I believe this notion is so important, I created a ‘Hunger-Fullness Log’ where you can plot your hunger rating over the day (peckish, hungry, ravenous, running on empty, starving or too weak to chew). You can download it at www.foodwatch.com.au/foodwatching.
2. Think long term. Think weeks or months, not one week. Your excess weight crept on gradually and that’s the best way for it to come off – slow and gradual. That way, you won’t trigger your body’s ‘fast and famine’ mode.
   
3. Eat small. It’s now clear that the bigger the portion in front of you, the more you’ll end up consuming, as Prof. Brian Wansink has amply demonstrated in his new book Mindless Eating. Watch your portions. You can still enjoy a treat as long as it’s small. Don’t let waiters and fast food chains upsize your portions for very little more money. It’s a trap – if it’s not waste on your plate, it will end up around your waist!
   
4. Practise mindful eating. Eat slowly, savouring each mouthful and enjoying the different flavours and aromas. Focus on the food in front of you. Put your fork and knife down between bites. Sit down to eat, even if it’s only for a snack. Turn the TV off and don’t read. Check in with your stomach every so often – it takes the stomach 20 minutes to signal the brain that it’s FULL! Before you start to eat, take a long breath in and out to trigger the start of your mindful eating.
   
5. Plan meals ahead.
   Have something in the fridge or freezer that you can defrost and cook when you come home tired. If you’re going out, take a salad box or sandwich with you so you don’t have to buy fast food.
   
6. Use the 90/10 rule. If 90% of your intake is healthy, then the remaining 10 per cent of an occasional treat won’t derail your efforts. And the odd treat will stop you feeling deprived and less likely to pig out and binge. One chocolate won’t spoil a healthy diet – but the whole box will!
   
7. Think positive. Don’t dwell on what you CAN’T eat! Think of the good things you CAN enjoy from a bowl of hearty chicken and vegetable soup to good Greek yoghurt.

And finally, be active – just walking more helps! ANY exercise is better than none!



Catherine Saxelby’s most recent book, Zest, The Nutrition for Life Cookbook, includes 120 ‘real food’ recipes for vitality and good health that will help you achieve and maintain a weight that’s right for you. For more information about Zest, check out Catherine’s website: www.foodwatch.com.au

GI News Briefs

Putting your genes on a diet
It’s a commonplace to say you are what you eat, but Petteri Kallio and colleagues writing in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in May suggest that’s pretty much what’s happening at a molecular level in a study that highlights changes in gene expression in people consuming diets with different effects on post-meal insulin concentrations. The researchers from the University of Kuopio in Finland randomly assigned 47 men and women with metabolic syndrome either to a rye-pasta diet producing a low insulin response or an oat-wheat-potato diet producing a high insulin response for 12 weeks and assessed the effect by looking at the effect on subcutaneous fat (that's the fat under the skin). They found the genes regulating insulin signalling were down-regulated on the rye-pasta diet, and genes related mainly to stress were up-regulated on the oat-wheat-potato diet.

In an accompanying editorial entitled ‘Putting your genes on a diet’, Dr Sandra Salsberg and Dr David Ludwig say: ‘The present study has direct implications concerning our understanding of the dietary glycemic index (GI). High-GI meals produce greater postprandial insulin concentrations and C-peptide excretion than do nutrient-controlled low-GI meals. Observational and interventional studies have linked GI to the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, although the topic remains much debated …. The results of the present study emphasize the age-old wisdom to “use food as medicine” – in this case, for the targeted prevention and treatment of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.’
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2007;85:1417–27
– http://www.ajcn.org for the accompanying editorial


Dr David Ludwig

GI Group: Gene expression is the process by which a gene’s DNA sequence is converted into the functional proteins of the cell. For more detail check out Wikipedia.

Is the jury in or out on the long-term effects of low carb-high protein diets?
In the past 20 or so years, people struggling to get rid of extra pounds frequently opted for a high protein-low carb diet on the basis of promises that these diets led to faster weight loss and better weight control. Recent evidence has in fact suggested that these diets do deliver faster weight loss. But, a more serious question is whether sticking to these diets long term is compatible with long-term health? Fans of these diets gave a collective sigh of relief last year when a US observational cohort study based on the Nurses Health Study revealed no link between a low carb diet and mortality, particularly from heart disease. Two new studies from Sweden (Dr Lagiou’s) and from Greece (Prof Trichopoulou’s) appear to flatly contradict this, both concluding on the basis of similar long-term studies with large numbers of women that prolonged consumption of a diet that’s low in carbohydrate and high in protein was associated with increased total and particularly cardiovascular mortality among women. So where does that leave us? Harvard’s Prof Walter Willett to the rescue. In an editorial comment in the Journal of Internal Medicine, he makes the point that the complexities of human diets make comparisons of patterns between one population and another difficult, suggesting that the most likely interpretation of the inconsistency between the US and Swedish studies is that both are correct in the context of their respective populations and diets. He says:
‘Within the relatively lean and younger Swedish women, replacement of largely whole grains with the protein packages consumed in that population probably have an adverse effect on cardiovascular disease. In contrast, within a heavier and older population of US women, replacement of mainly refined starch and sugar with almost any source of calories is not likely to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. This conclusion emphasizes the most fundamental conclusion of research into diet and cancer during the last decade: it is the type of fat and type of carbohydrate rather than the total amounts of either that influence risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, in the Nurses’ Health Study, a low-carbohydrate pattern that emphasized vegetable sources of protein and fat was associated with a significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease … There is every reason to believe that a moderately low carbohydrate intake (approximately 30–40% of energy) can result in low risk of cardiovascular disease if the proteins and fats are mainly from plant sources (but do not include hydrogenated oils) and the remaining carbohydrates are from whole grains, fruit and vegetables.’
– Journal of Internal Medicine 261; 366–374 (Swedish study) and 363–365 (Walter Willett)
– European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007) 61, 575–581 (Greek study)



Exercise benefits women with PCOS
A structured exercise training program is a simple way to help reduce cardiovascular risk in women with PCOS say researchers from the University of Naples writing in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. There are other benefits as well as this small study shows. Ninety overweight young women with PCOS but otherwise healthy took part in the randomised trial. Half undertook a supervised and structured exercise program that included aerobic activity 3 times a week with 30 minutes on a bicycle. The other half did no structured exercise. Both groups were encouraged to follow a healthy balanced meal plan with 50% of calories from carbohydrates, 25% from protein and 25% from fat. All the women completed the trial. After 3 months (84 days to be precise), the exercisers had achieved a significant reduction in BMI, waist circumference, hip to waist ratio and insulin resistance. Sixty per cent also had normal menstrual cycles. No changes were observed in the non-exercisers.
– JCEM Vol. 92, No. 4 1379–1384
– http://www.medscape.com (login required)

Want to take part in a PCOS diet study?
The University of Sydney is conducting a dietary study for women with PCOS. If you have PCOS, live in Sydney (Australia), are aged 18-40, and are not taking the pill or trying to get pregnant, contact pcosdietstudy@nnd.com.au for more information.



Australians get help in managing type 2 diabetes
Medicare rebates are now payable for group services provided by eligible diabetes educators, exercise physiologists and dietitians for people with type 2 diabetes, on referral from a GP. The new rebates are in addition to the current Medicare items for individual services provided by health professionals. For more information and a referral ask your doctor.

GI News Podcast

GI News Podcast: Strategies for Cooking and Eating Low GI Foods
In the fourth of the New Glucose Revolution podcasts, Prof. Jennie Brand-Miller talks about strategies for cooking and eating with the glycemic index. Where do you begin? How to get your engine revving at breakfast time.




Play the Podcast above or download here

Low GI Recipes of the Month

The low GI recipes this month are from Zest, Catherine Saxelby’s new cookbook written with Woman’s Day Food Director, Jennene Plummer and published by Hardie Grant. Each recipe has been analysed for calories/kilojoules, fat, fibre and sodium. Low GI recipes are highlighted.

Instant berry fool
Instead of berries you can use chopped mangoes, papaya, bananas or passionfruit says Jennene. And if you are wondering what to do with those leftover yolks, use them to bind patties or meat balls or to enrich sauces. They can also be frozen for up to a month.
Serves 4; Preparation time; 5 minutes



3 egg whites
¼ cup (55 g/2 oz)caster sugar
2 cups (500 ml) low fat pouring custard
2 cups (300 g/10 1/2 oz) mixed berries of choice
1 tablespoon chopped toasted almonds

1. In a clean, dry bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Take care not to over-beat them, though, or they will collapse and cannot be used.
2. Gradually add then sugar, beating until it is thick and glossy.
3. Gently fold in the custard and berries and spoon into serving glasses. Chill until required. Serve topped with almonds.

Nutrition analysis per serve
810 kJ/193 Cal; 3 g fat (includes saturated fat 1 g); 2 g fibre; 9 g protein; 33 g carbohydrate; 100 mg sodium

Chicken and sweetcorn soup
To serve, whisk an egg and stir through soup just before serving to make ‘egg flowers’ – shreds of cooked egg through the soup, says Jennene. For a change, add 120 g (4 oz) of thinly sliced button mushrooms and some sliced chilli.
Serves 4; Preparation time 10 minutes; Cooking time 10 minutes



2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock
2 cups (500 ml) water
¼ cup (60 ml) sherry
1 tablespoon grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 skinless chicken breast fillet, thinly sliced
400 g (14 oz) creamed corn
50 g (1½ oz) baby corn, halved lengthwise
½ bunch choy sum, sliced
6 green onions (spring onions/shallots), sliced

To serve
soy sauce
grainy bread or bread rolls

1. In a large saucepan combine the stock, water, sherry, ginger and garlic. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the thin chicken slices and corn and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the choy sum and green onions and simmer for another minute.
3. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve immediately with a drizzle of soy sauce if desired. Accompany with grainy bread.

Nutrition analysis per serve (includes 1 slice of sourdough or grainy bread)
1215 kJ/289 Cal; 6 g fat (includes saturated fat 1 g); 6 g fibre; 21 g protein; 32 g carbohydrate; 815 mg sodium

Low GI Food of the Month

Chestnuts
Chestnuts are something of an anomaly in the nut family – they are very low in fat and are a great source of smart carbs (GI 54 for crushed uncooked chestnut kernels). They are also high in dietary fibre and rich in minerals like potassium and calcium and in B group vitamins. What else? Well, they are versatile – just roast them in ‘that open fire’ and enjoy hot, or add them to soups, stir fries, stuffings, casseroles, vegetable dishes, pasta, risotto and desserts. You’ll find fresh chestnuts in your supermarket or produce store from Fall through to early winter. Look for even-sized nuts which feel heavy for their size, with undamaged, firm shells. One kilogram of chestnuts yields approximately 700 grams (1 lb 10 oz) of shelled chestnuts. Because they are about 50% water, store them in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator to stop them from drying out. You can also buy them year round frozen, canned, vacuumed packed, pureed and dried.



How to prepare chestnuts
Chestnuts have two skins. One is the hard outer shiny brown shell and the other is the inner thin skin known as the pellicle. Chestnuts Australia shared their prep tips with us.

Cut
Lie chestnut on its flat side and cut or score halfway around the nut piercing both the outer
shell and inner skin.

Cook
Microwave: place layer of cut chestnuts in a covered container on high/100% for 2-3 minutes until shell opens and flesh is soft.
Roast/bake/grill: place cut chestnuts on oven tray and cook at 200C (400F) or under a moderate grill for 15 minutes until shells open.
Boil/steam: place cut chestnuts in a pan of cold water or steamer, cover, bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until shell opens and flesh is soft.

Peel
Immediately wrap hot cooked chestnuts in a tea towel for a few minutes, and whilst still
hot, peel off outer shell and inner brown skin.

Chilli chestnut fettuccine
Here’s a great way to use leftover pasta. This spicy, nutty blend delivers a tasty meal in double-quick time. Even if you have to start from scratch and cook the pasta, it’s a speedy meal.
Serves 4; Preparation time 5 minutes; Cooking time 10 minutes



3 tablespoons (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 long red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 cups chestnuts, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
300 g cooked fettuccine (or your favourite pasta shapes)
shaved parmesan, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add garlic, chilli, chestnuts and parsley until golden and fragrant.
2. Add cooked, drained fettuccine and toss to coat in chestnut mixture and heat through. Serve topped with parmesan cheese and extra chestnuts, if desired.

Nutrition analysis per serve
1562 kJ/372 cal; 14 g fat (includes 2.5 g saturated fat); 12 g fibre; 7 g protein; 49 g carbohydrate

For more information on chestnuts visit www.chestnutsaustralia.com.au

Move it and Lose it!

Glenn answers those FAQs about exercise
When should I exercise? I have read that you will burn more fat if you exercise before breakfast.
The biggest factor for burning body fat is whether you do the activity in the first place. It may be interesting to speculate whether you burn more fat in certain circumstances, but the best I can give you is a general guide.


Glen Cardwell

1. To burn fat you have to be active in the first place.
2. The fitter you are the better your body is at burning fat. To get to a reasonable level of fitness, you need to move your body 3–5 times a week.
3. It doesn’t matter if you walk or jog. You will burn more fat jogging for 30 minutes than walking for 30 minutes. On the other hand, you will burn more fat by walking for 60 minutes than jogging for 30 minutes.
4. The amount of incidental activity during the day will potentially burn more fat than a jog. Getting up from your chair, having a stretch, taking a quick walk around the office, using the stairs etc will probably burn more body fat during the day. So don’t do 30 minutes of exercise then tick the exercise box and plonk your bum on a chair for the rest of the day.
5. Weight bearing exercise like walking, aerobics and jogging are better at burning up fat stores than weight supported exercise like swimming or cycling. However it’s better to do something you enjoy than analyse its fat burning potential. Refer back to point 1.
   

For more information see Gold Medal Nutrition.

Exercise goals for June
Fitness expert Dr Joanna McMillan Price says aim to walk at a steady comfortable pace for 20 minutes on four days. Plus complete three resistance exercises – squats (see April GI News); single leg extensions (see May) and assisted push-ups on three days.


Joanna McMillan-Price

Assisted push-ups strengthen and tone chest, shoulders and arms
The push-up is undeniably one of the best upper body exercises you can do. The push-up involves the muscles of the chest, shoulders and arms and is therefore an efficient means of toning the upper body all at once. Why do most people hate push-ups? The answer is easy—because they are hard! In fact, they are even harder if you are carrying too much body weight since you are effectively lifting your own body weight against gravity. Here is a modified version of the traditional push-up, which enables you to gain the benefits of the exercise but makes it easier for you to perform it correctly. You will need a low coffee table – alternatively, use the second or third bottom step of your stairs.

How to do it:

1. Start in a kneeling position with your hands wider than your shoulders on the edge of the table or stair. Move your knees back until your body is a straight diagonal line from head to knee.
2. Slowly lower your chest towards the edge of the table/stair while keeping your back flat and without letting your bottom stick up.
3. At the bottom of the move, your elbows should be directly above your hands – adjust your hand position as appropriate before returning slowly to the starting position.

How many: 2 sets of 10 repetitions with a short rest in between

– Source: The Low GI Diet and The Low GI Diet Revolution.