Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior

Myth: Thin people are healthier.


Nicole Senior

Fact: Thin people can still carry fat around their organs and this is places them at increased risk of chronic disease. There’s now a new name for this thin AND fat state: ‘metabolically obese.’

How many times have you thought or heard, ‘he/she is thin so they can eat anything and don’t have to worry’? It’s almost like the slender folk among us appear untouchable to the afflictions of fatties, but being slight of frame is no longer a guarantee all is well on the inside where it really counts. British Prof Jimmy Bell coined these folk ‘TOFIs’: Thin Outside, Fat Inside.

The advent of sophisticated medical imaging machines means we can now look at where fat is stored in the body and apparently thin people can still carry risky amounts of fat around their internal organs (visceral fat). A US study by the Mayo Clinic found 20–30% of people fell in this thin-but-fat category when they measured 6000 adults over nine years. Even though they don’t look overweight, people with ‘metabolic obesity’ are at greater risk of all the usual disease we associate with fatness including high cholesterol, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes. A predisposition of storing visceral fat is the reason why certain ethnic groups have a higher risk of disease at a lower BMI: people from Asia and India are considered overweight at a BMI of 23 rather than 25 for the general population.

So how do you know if you’re metabolically obese? Aside from the use of expensive imaging equipment, the easiest thing to do is to measure your waist. In men, a waist more than 94 centimetres (37 inches) is an increased risk, and more than 102 centimetres (40 inches) is a greatly increased risk. For women it is 80cm (31½ inches) and 94cm (37 inches), respectively. Asian and Indian men – typically with skinny legs and a pot belly - have increased risk at a waist measurement of 90cm (35½ inches). For more ethnic-specific waist targets visit the Department of Health's website.

The good news is that visceral fat is the easiest to move by eating less and moving more. It’s your body’s easy access storage depot of spare fuel. It also depends on the type of food you eat. An analysis of almost 49,000 Europeans participating in the EPIC study found higher energy density and higher glycemic index (GI) diet were associated with visceral fatness. Enjoying low GI foods can help. And on the flipside, if you are larger it doesn’t mean you are – or have to be – unhealthy. Eating the right foods and exercising regularly can balance the health ledger in your favour. Stay tuned next month for more on being ‘fit and fat’...

For more great information and delicious recipes on eating to stay thin on the inside, check out Nicole’s website at eattobeatcholesterol.com.au.

GI Symbol News with Dr Alan Barclay

Dr Alan Barclay

‘Swap it. Don’t stop it.’
What does it mean? ‘It just means swapping some of the things I’m doing now for healthier choices’, says Eric, the balloon man at the centre of a campaign here in Australia that’s aiming to encourage us to adopt some simple healthy weight management techniques and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

The approach is refreshingly simple. But it’s not new. The key messages for the campaign were originally developed by the UK’s Department of Health where the program’s tagline was ‘How to lose weight and feel healthy without giving up all the things you love’ – a sentiment we totally agree with.

Adopting new and restrictive eating habits to lose weight that don’t fit in with you or your family’s background or way of life and backing them up with a mantra of self-denial (and guilt when you can’t stick to it) is not a successful strategy for long-term weight management or good physical and mental health.

Rather than demonising any particular food or nutrient, we should be enjoying our meals and drinks, eating an all-round healthy diet and being more active every day, not embarking on an endless cycle of restrictive weight-loss diets that avoid or eliminate the latest bogey food or nutrient. As most of us know through either personal experience or professional training – these kinds of diets are not a recipe for long-term success by any measure.

Here at the GI Foundation, we are big fans of the 'this for that' swap it approach. We have actually been promoting the concept of swapping healthier low GI choices for your regular high GI foods and drinks in our books and websites for many years – long before the UK and Australian Governments came on board. The reason why is relatively simple:

• The GI was originally designed to choose the better options within each food group;
• Research has shown that consuming an ad libitum low GI diet (that essentially means eating as much and often as you need to) will not only help you lose body fat and maintain lean muscle mass (ie, improve your body composition), it helps you keep it off in the long-term. In fact, a low GI diet can really help us to achieve 'Health at Every Size' by helping us to improve our body composition without self denial.

Unlike restrictive diets that require you to count and cut out certain food groups or ingredients, swapping lets you choose foods that fit your personal, religious and cultural tastes so you can enjoy your meals and reap the benefits of healthy eating – for the rest of your life.

For more information email Dr Alan W Barclay here: alan@gisymbol.com



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

Professor Jennie Brand-Miller answers your questions



‘What is the latest research on low GI carbs for exercise? Is the intensity of exercise important?’
Whether you are a professional athlete, exercising for health and fitness or aiming to lose weight, the type, timing and amount of food you eat before and after exercise will help you achieve your goals, whatever they are. When you are exercising, your muscles rely on carbohydrate and fat as their main sources of fuel.

• Carbohydrate is stored in your muscles as glycogen, but the stores are limited and about 90 minutes of high intensity exercise will deplete them.
• Fat, which provides the largest nutrient store in the body, can fuel 100–200 hours of exertion, but at a lower intensity.

The relative contribution of carbohydrate and fat as fuel while you are exercising depends on both the intensity and length of your exercise session. Generally, your body’s use of carbohydrate as fuel increases as your exercise intensity increases, and decreases the longer your exercise session lasts. Aerobic training and fitness increase your body’s ability to use fat as a fuel source. This is a plus, as it conserves your limited carbohydrate stores, allowing you to exercise for longer or at a higher intensity.

Our colleague, Dr Emma Stevenson from Nottingham University, does a lot of work in this area. She says: ‘Our research has continually showed that consuming low GI carbs in the hours before exercise can increase the rate at which you burn fat during exercise and also will help to maintain a more sustained blood glucose level. Eating a meal or snack containing low GI carbs 2–4 hours before exercise is what’s usually recommended. The type of carbohydrates that you consume during recovery from exercise depends on the length of time before your next training session. If your recovery time is more than 4 hours then it doesn’t matter what type of carbohydrate you eat or drink as long as you consume enough of it! If recovery time is short, then high GI carbs are useful to replace muscle glycogen concentrations quickly and efficiently. However, research has shown that consuming low GI carbs over a 24-hour recovery period can improve endurance capacity the next day.’

In GI News over the years we have reported several studies that found that milk can be just as effective as sports drinks to aid recovery in athletes. Skim or reduced fat milk (plain or chocolate) also has a low GI and so can be a healthier alternative to sports drinks (yes, even with the added sugar in the chocolate drink).

GI testing by an accredited laboratory North America
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
Fiona Atkinson



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

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Lady Gaga fan of the baby food diet

Baby food sales are surging in supermarkets. A Coles spokeswoman said baby food sales had jumped 20 per cent in the past quarter. A Woolworths spokesman said they had experienced a 10 per cent year-on-year jump. Baby food diet advocates claim it is possible to lose 9kg in six weeks when the diet is combined with workouts.

Baby food products are subject to stricter nutrition controls than any other products, limiting salt, sugar and other additives. Pots and packets of baby food often contain between 400 and 600 kilojoules. The Jennifer Aniston version of the baby food diet is said to include up to 14 small pots a day to stave off hunger pangs, plus a regular meal of fish and steamed vegetables.



Dietitian Karen Inge said: "It is not an effective weight loss solution, as it has inadequate levels of calcium, fibre and kilojoules for adults, and is bland, so it will leave them hungry, bored and dissatisfied." The diet's creator is Tracy Anderson, the personal trainer who is also credited with sculpting the figures of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Dietpill Nuratrim

She said: "Liquid cleanses do help you lose weight but you will gain more the next week. I wanted something where you can eliminate toxicity, break bad habits but still have your digestive system going. Stars including Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Cheryl Cole are believed to have used the baby food diet.

Foods that actually help to speed up your metabolism

Cayenne peppers, jalapenos and habaneros are some brilliant hot and peppery foods that give the metabolism a great big boost. Basically, as well as tasting hot they also get your insides running hot too. These spices will keep boosting your metabolism for roughly three hours after you consume them. So if you’d like a three hour fat burnout then go have a meal with plenty of hot and spicy peppers but just be sure that the meal isn’t too high in carbs and fats.

Salmon, sardines and tuna – these fish are full of Omega-3 fatty acids that will help speed up your metabolism and even have the extra benefit of being very healthy for your heart. Our bodies possess a hormone known as leptin and our metabolism works more rapidly when the leptin amounts are low and these fish help to keep those levels lower, permitting your metabolism to run at a good rate and burn off calories. Fish are also a source of protein and protein is great for speeding up the metabolism.

Whilst on the topic of protein – foods like lean meat, legumes, eggs and also peanut butter will give your metabolism a boost. Peanut butter needs to be eaten in moderation as a result of its high fat content, but do endeavor to incorporate it in your diet as it is rich in both protein and monounsaturated fats. Nut butters are also high in protein, monounsaturated fats and also contain lots of antioxidants. Even though nuts are high in fat, if eaten in small amounts they may actually promote your weight loss.



Whole grains, like oatmeal, are also very good for boosting the metabolism. These foods contain glucose and energy that are much needed for our body and brains to function well, but regrettably many diet plans shun them. They are excellent for boosting the metabolism by regulating the insulin in the bloodstream. They digest slowly and only put a bit of insulin into the bloodstream which keeps things operating smoothly. If your blood sugar levels climb too high then a large release of insulin enters the bloodstream which makes your body attempt to save everything as fat, so it’s important to maintain the insulin levels at a healthy level so your body won’t store up excessive fat. The main reason they are so healthy is because they are rich in fiber which your body attempts to digest and convert to energy despite being unable to. Of course, fiber is also fantastic for digestive health.

Jenny Craig diet program scored top ranking as best diet

Consumer Reports largely based its decision on a recent study revealing that of 332 dieters, 92 percent stuck with the Jenny Craig diet for two years, averaging a loss of about eight percent of their total start weight. Past users say that while using Jenny Craig they were able to lose 2 to 16 times more weight than they were with other dieting systems.

Dietpill Nuratrim

They are also able to keep the weight off for much longer because Jenny Craig shows them how to remain thin as a permanent change to their lifestyle. This is perhaps the biggest difference between Jenny Craig and other weight loss systems; not only do they show their clients how to lose weight quickly and easily, but they teach them how to keep it off well after they have left the program. In fact, Jenny Craig’s main goal is to help people become independent of them- a characteristic quite unique among diet programs