GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

What, no potato?
While it is the popular whipping boy of many a fad diet, the humble spud has been enjoyed by humans for many millennia. In fact, in many nations today, it is the most popular vegetable in the pantry. In Australia, for example, potatoes account for one third of all vegetables eaten.

A boiled, steamed or microwaved potato eaten with its skin on is a great source of carbohydrate, and is high in fibre, vitamin C and potassium. However, approximately 60% of potatoes are consumed as chips (French fries) and crisps in Australia. The removal of the skin, cooking in fat and addition of salt all decrease the nutritional profile of an otherwise healthy vegetable.

A typical serve of potato containing approximately 15g of available carbohydrate is equivalent to 2 small new potatoes, 1 medium sized (120g/4oz) regular potato or ½ cup mashed potato (120g/4oz).

The average GI of all of the potatoes that have been tested around the world is 77, with a range from 48 to 102. While the way you cook and eat your potatoes does have an influence on their GI, evidence is mounting that it is the potato variety itself that makes the real difference. For example, we recently cooked the world’s first low GI potato Carisma using a variety of techniques (frying with minimal fat and mashing) and found that it made relatively little difference to its average GI value (53) -- see GI Update below for details (and see GI News Kitchen for great tips on mashing potatoes from Kate McGhie.)



Due to their relatively high carbohydrate content and typically high GI, potatoes are in the top 5 contributors to the average daily dietary glycemic load in Australia and many other parts of the world. Therefore, finding lower GI alternatives should be a high priority, along with limiting potato chips (French fries) and crisps to special occasions (they are party foods, not daily fare).

The GI Foundation, University of Sydney and Agrico Australia has been funding a PhD research program for the past three years with the aim of trying to find out what factors affect the GI of commonly eaten potato varieties. We are hoping that this research program will help us to identify many low GI potato varieties that we can eventually bring to your local supermarket no matter where you live in the world.

New baby Carisma potatoes are now available in a 750 g bag in Coles supermarkets throughout Australia. And Australian consumers can be completely confident that they are buying a HOME GROWN product.

The GI Symbol, making healthy low GI choices easy choices



For more information about the GI Symbol Program
Dr Alan W Barclay, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Glycemic Index Foundation (Ltd)
Phone: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Mob: +61 (0)416 111 046
Fax: +61 (0)2 9785 1037
Email: alan@gisymbol.com
Website: www.gisymbol.com

GI Update

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions.



I am 30 weeks pregnant. I’m not eating for two. In fact I think I’m pretty much eating what I usually eat. So, how come I’ve gained all this weight?
It’s a very good question! Careful studies in well-nourished women reveal either no change in their food intake during their pregnancy, or only a minor increase that’s so small it simply can’t explain all extra energy (calories) deposited.

Scientists have long been puzzled as to why this is so. Some suspect that physical activity declines and others suspect that absorption of nutrients increases, but at the present time we really don’t know why most women do not appear to eat more during pregnancy yet gain weight.

In women from affluent countries like Australia, the average pregnancy weight gain is about 13 kg. Most is in the second and third trimesters and that’s a cracking pace in anyone’s books – half a kilogram every week for 26 weeks!

For a woman who gains the typical 12 to 13 kg (26 to 28 pounds), the baby weighs on average 3–4kg (6–9 pounds) at birth and the placenta 600g (1.3 pounds). The blood volume also increases, as does the weight of the uterus and breast tissue. Not surprisingly, the biggest variation is in the amount of fat a woman stores. It ranges from no increase at all in some developing countries to 5kg (11 pounds) or more in affluent countries. Here’s what it typically looks like.



But where does the weight come from? For average weight gain of 13 kg, a woman would need to eat around 75,000 calories of additional food energy over about 9 months. This is equivalent to roughly 275 calories (1125kJ) a day. But we know that mum’s appetite doesn’t change much and she’s not eating for two at all. In fact she’s pretty much eating what she usually eats (around 2000 calories/8400kJ a day on average).

A 2011 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition which employed a smart little gadget called an IDEEA (Intelligent Device for Energy Expenditure and Physical Activity), helps shed some light on the subject. The study in 32 pregnant and 21 non-pregnant Swedish women, found that the decline in energy expenditure perfectly matched the increase in energy deposition required during pregnancy. But it was a very subtle difference. The pregnant women simply slowed down; they lay down a little longer, they stood less; they walked or jogged or trained at a slower pace – but it amounted to about 225 calories (945kJ) less per day.

To me, these findings have important implications for the slow incremental weight creep that generally accompanies ageing, in both humans and animals. As we gain weight, we don’t necessarily eat more….we just move less. That’s not so surprising because just like pregnancy, a heavier body can be a little awkward and take more effort to lift. In fact, the mathematicians have worked out that our current obesity epidemic can be explained by just 7 excess calories a day over and above our energy needs. In other words that extra bite of apple was your undoing!. Seriously, no one, even a dietitian, can fine-tune calorie intake and calorie output to that fine degree.

The lesson from pregnancy is that obesity is not a disease of gluttony and sloth as so often portrayed, but one where just the smallest effort (the decision to use the stairs instead of the lift, or eat one mouthful less at dinner), has a ripple effect on your whole life.

Prof Jennie Brand-Miller and colleagues Dr Kate Marsh and Prof Robert Moses have just published a book called The Bump to Baby Diet – a low GI eating plan for conception, pregnancy and beyond to share the latest science and help women enjoy a healthy pregnancy while safeguarding their baby’s future wellbeing. It’s available from bookshops and online in Australia and NZ and as an eBook from Amazon, iTunes etc. You can look inside HERE.

New GI values from SUGiRS.
Cooking with Carisma.
Back in 2006 we sat down with chef and potato expert Graham Liney, Australian potato growers and the Dutch potato breeding company Agrico, to bring Carisma, Australia’s first low GI potato to your table. It’s a versatile, general purpose potato that’s full of flavour with a creamy taste and ‘melt in the mouth’ texture. When boiled (skin on) and served slightly al dente it has a GI of 55. We are now delighted to let readers know that Carisma fries and Carisma mash also have low GI values.

• Carisma fries (cooked in olive oil using a Tefal Actifry): GI 53
• Carisma mash (boiled then mashed with olive oil): GI48

A standard 150g (6oz) serving of fries or mash provides 15g carbohydrate and has a glycemic load of 8.


GI testing by an accredited laboratory
North America
GI Labs
Dr Alexandra Jenkins
Glycemic Index Laboratories
20 Victoria Street, Suite 300
Toronto, Ontario M5C 298 Canada
Phone +1 416 861 0506
Email info@gilabs.com
Web www.gilabs.com

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

Copyright and Permission

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Copyright in the website and in material prepared by GI News is owned by GI News, Human Nutrition Unit, University of Sydney. Copyright in quotations, images from published works and photo libraries, and materials contributed by third parties including our regular contributors Alan Barclay, Jennie Brand-Miller, Johanna Burani, Emma Stirling and Nicole Senior is owned by the respective authors or agencies, as credited.

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Άντρος: «Σωτηρία των τραπεζών και όχι των Ελλήνων»

Ο πρώην υπουργός Οικονομικών της Αυστρίας, Χάνες Άντρος, μιλώντας στη μεγάλης κυκλοφορίας αυστριακή εφημερίδα «Κουρίρ», κατήγγειλε ότι... «Η σωτηρία της Ελλάδας είναι μια σωτηρία των τραπεζών και, έως σήμερα, στους ίδιους τους Έλληνες δεν έφθασε ούτε ένα λεπτό του ευρώ».

Όπως τόνισε ο κ. Άντρος, το «πακέτο σωτηρίας» της Ελλάδας ως «απερίσκεπτη θεραπεία», που θα μπορούσε να στείλει τον ασθενή ακόμη και στον θάνατο, καθώς, χωρίς θεραπεία των αιτίων, η «επιβληθείσα, υπερβολική, εξαναγκαστική λιτότητα», δεν μπορεί να βγάλει τη χώρα από την κρίση.

Επίσης σημείωσε πως η οικονομία στην Ελλάδα συρρικνώνεται και το κράτος πρέπει να πληρώνει ολοένα και υψηλότερα επιτόκια, κάτι που μπορεί να συγκριθεί με έναν γιατρό, ο οποίος γράφει στον ασθενή ένα δραστικό φάρμακο σε δεκαπλάσια δόση, χωρίς να λάβει υπόψη του τις παρενέργειες.

Παράλληλα, υπογράμμισε ότι μια έξοδος της Ελλάδας από την ευρωζώνη, εξαιτίας του κινδύνου μετάδοσης σε άλλες χώρες της, είναι πολύ πιο ακριβή από ότι η προσπάθεια σωτηρίας της.

Ο κ. Άντρος θεωρεί πως οι ευρωπαϊκές τράπεζες, με μια χαλαρή παροχή δανείων, συνέβαλαν και οι ίδιες στο τεράστιο χρέος των Ελλήνων. Στο ερώτημα ποιος φέρει την ευθύνη, αυτός που δίνει το δάνειο ή αυτός που το παίρνει, ο Αυστριακός πρώην υπουργός δήλωσε ότι και τα δύο μέρη ευθύνονται εξίσου.
http://tro-ma-ktiko.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post_3721.html#more 

Η σφαγή στη Houla… Οι χασάπηδες μισθοφόροι της Houla…

-   ΜΜΕ & “δημοσιογράφοι” ΥΠΗΡΕΣΙΑΣ! Πως τα “έγκυρα” CNN & BBC παρουσιάζουν τους δολοφονημένους από τους μισθοφόρους της CIA ως θύματα του Συριακού στρατού! - Η σφαγή στη Houla.Το "έγκυρο" BBC εξαπατά την Κοινή Γνώμη

Το πρωτότυπο βίντεο το ανέβασαν οι ίδιοι οι δολοφόνοι. Παρατήρησαν αργότερα κάποιες "ατέλειες" και το κατέβασαν. Είναι το μοναδικό βίντεο από τη σφαγή στη Houla.

Στην αρχή του βίντεο οι τρομοκράτες ρίχνουν ρουκέτες στους πάνω ορόφους των σπιτιών και φωνάζουν "Allah Akbar".

Διακρίνονται στο βίντεο οι...
 τρομοκράτες να εισβάλλουν στα σπίτια για να σκοτώσουν τους κατοίκους. Στη συνέχεια με τις κάμερες στο χέρι προσποιούνται ότι βοηθούν τους εκτελεσμένους. Αλλά ένας από τους "αμάχους" κρατάει ένα εκτοξευτήρα ρουκετών.

Βάζουν δυο παιδιά να τρέξουν "για να γλυτώσουν από τις βόμβες", αλλά ταυτόχρονα τα φιλμάρουν!!!

Αν θα προσέξετε, το παιδάκι με το κίτρινο μπλουζάκι -στη συνέχεια του φιλμ- δολοφονείται, μάλλον με πυροβόλο όπλο. Αλλά για να παρουσιάσουν πολύ αίμα και να εντυπωσιάσουν του κόβουν το χεράκι να αιμορραγήσει!
http://sibilla-gr-sibilla.blogspot.com

Η δυναμική παρουσία στις νέες συνιστώσες της δεξιάς!

http://sibilla-gr-sibilla.blogspot.com/

ΠΡΟΣ ΛΙΜΕΝΙΚΟ ΤΑΜΕΙΟ ΣΚΟΠΕΛΟΥ ΜΕ ΑΥΤΑ ΤΑ ΧΑΛΙΑ ΤΙ ΘΑ ΚΑΝΕΤΕ?