Jumat, 03 Februari 2012
Demi Moore’s unhealthy diet
Selasa, 31 Januari 2012
GI News—February 2012
- Prof Jennie Brand-Miller dispels 8 myths about sugars and starches;
- Smart carbs for smarter kids? Dr Alan Barclay reports;
- Brown foods are better than white. Nicole Senior investigates;
- What does 'eat mostly wholegrain cereals' mean?
- Slowly digested carbs reduce inflammation associated with chronic disease;
- Brief, high-intensity workouts reduce BGLs;
- The scoop on barley with Emma Stirling;
- Three low GI recipes to try.
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Food for Thought
Getting savvy about nutrition in the news.
Dietitian Nicole Senior has just published Food Myths, a collection of food myths she has ‘busted’ in GI News … and more (many more). In the introduction (reproduced with permission) she asks us to think about a more serious side to these myths, puts forward some thoughts on why there are so many about diets and weight loss and provides pointers on how we can get savvy about nutrition in the news.
Food myths are prevalent in societies where food is abundant and choices are practically endless. In stark and distressing contrast, people in poor countries struggle to get enough food to survive. Are we fussy with our diets and vulnerable to food myths because we’re too well fed? By following fad diets, are we desperately clutching at ideas to narrow down our food options because they are now overwhelming? Are we looking to fix our broader unease with our hectic modern lifestyles? Has our food supply become so far removed from its source that we are reacting against it? These are deep questions that probably deserve book all on their own but I’d ask you to consider them when understanding why food myths persist. A bit of perspective is always good.
When I was putting my food myths book together, I couldn’t actually cover all the myths about diet and weight loss. I’ve often wondered why bad ‘diets’ seem to do so well. How can a diet that doesn’t work (in the long term) be so popular? How can a product that is unsubstantiated become a bestseller? It’s a tribute to good marketing but it also indicates the number of people struggling with excess weight, and the lengths they will go to in order to lose it. Unfortunately for many, the moderation message is boring and unappealing: instead, it seems as if we need to be shaken out of our old ways and shocked into submission. Perhaps moderation is far too sensible and we have a craving for risk? Perhaps we are just too impatient? Perhaps we latch on to the first person or company who seems to understand our difficulties? Who knows? The situation isn’t helped by the diet industry, which knows the moderation message doesn’t sell. It comes up with all manner of trumped-up benefits and half-baked theories about why their diets will actually work when all they are doing is selling creative ways to eat fewer kilojoules/calories.
To lose weight we must reconcile the – boring – fact that we must eat less and exercise more WITH ensuring we eat quality foods to meet our nutritional needs ... and eat foods we like ... and be able to afford them ... and please all the family ... and prepare food quickly. You can appreciate the challenges. Blacklisting particular nutrients such as carbs or fats, as many fad diets do, is not helpful. It’s a pity there are so many myths about weight loss and dieting to choose from. It’s also a great shame that so many people have wasted so much money and experienced so much heartache and disappointment at the hands of myth-spinners. I say: don’t get mad or get even—get savvy instead. Here are some organisations with scientific experts who review the evidence behind nutrition in the news.
Available from bookshops and online. You can download a sample chapter HERE.
Dietitian Nicole Senior has just published Food Myths, a collection of food myths she has ‘busted’ in GI News … and more (many more). In the introduction (reproduced with permission) she asks us to think about a more serious side to these myths, puts forward some thoughts on why there are so many about diets and weight loss and provides pointers on how we can get savvy about nutrition in the news.
Food myths are prevalent in societies where food is abundant and choices are practically endless. In stark and distressing contrast, people in poor countries struggle to get enough food to survive. Are we fussy with our diets and vulnerable to food myths because we’re too well fed? By following fad diets, are we desperately clutching at ideas to narrow down our food options because they are now overwhelming? Are we looking to fix our broader unease with our hectic modern lifestyles? Has our food supply become so far removed from its source that we are reacting against it? These are deep questions that probably deserve book all on their own but I’d ask you to consider them when understanding why food myths persist. A bit of perspective is always good.
When I was putting my food myths book together, I couldn’t actually cover all the myths about diet and weight loss. I’ve often wondered why bad ‘diets’ seem to do so well. How can a diet that doesn’t work (in the long term) be so popular? How can a product that is unsubstantiated become a bestseller? It’s a tribute to good marketing but it also indicates the number of people struggling with excess weight, and the lengths they will go to in order to lose it. Unfortunately for many, the moderation message is boring and unappealing: instead, it seems as if we need to be shaken out of our old ways and shocked into submission. Perhaps moderation is far too sensible and we have a craving for risk? Perhaps we are just too impatient? Perhaps we latch on to the first person or company who seems to understand our difficulties? Who knows? The situation isn’t helped by the diet industry, which knows the moderation message doesn’t sell. It comes up with all manner of trumped-up benefits and half-baked theories about why their diets will actually work when all they are doing is selling creative ways to eat fewer kilojoules/calories.
To lose weight we must reconcile the – boring – fact that we must eat less and exercise more WITH ensuring we eat quality foods to meet our nutritional needs ... and eat foods we like ... and be able to afford them ... and please all the family ... and prepare food quickly. You can appreciate the challenges. Blacklisting particular nutrients such as carbs or fats, as many fad diets do, is not helpful. It’s a pity there are so many myths about weight loss and dieting to choose from. It’s also a great shame that so many people have wasted so much money and experienced so much heartache and disappointment at the hands of myth-spinners. I say: don’t get mad or get even—get savvy instead. Here are some organisations with scientific experts who review the evidence behind nutrition in the news.
- American Heart Association
- National Heart Foundation
- Glycemic Index Foundation
- Harvard University School of Public Health
- NHS Choices ‘Behind the Headlines’
Available from bookshops and online. You can download a sample chapter HERE.
News Briefs
What does ‘eat mostly wholegrain cereals’ mean?
Consume more wholegrains is enshrined in dietary guidelines around the globe and is something of a mantra with doctors, dietitians and nutritionists. Australia’s new draft dietary guidelines released in December 2011 urge us to eat mostly wholegrain’ cereals. So, how much is ‘mostly’ and how strong is the evidence? A Nutrition Reviews study that evaluated 135 articles on refined grain foods (published between 2000-2010) reports that the great majority found no association between the intake of refined grain foods and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain, or overall mortality whatsoever. A few found that very high intakes might be associated with some types of cancers. The evidence overall shows that consuming of up to 50% of all grain foods as refined grain foods (without high levels of added fat, sugar, or sodium) is not associated with increased risk of disease.
Vegetarian fried brown rice from The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook available from bookshops and online. Photo: Ian Hofstetter.
GI News asked Prof Jennie Brand-Miller to comment. ‘This paper raises questions about the newest dietary guidelines. When health authorities recommend that we eat most grains as wholegrains, they'd like to think we will be eating more fibre (that’s probably true), more micronutrients (not likely), and lower GI carbohydrates (and that’s definitely not true!). The reality is that for most cereal products today, both the “white” version and the “brown” version have a high GI.
I’d like to suggest that we re-define wholegrains as “foods that not only contain the germ, the endosperm and the bran, but also the GI characteristics of the original grain”. At least then, we might see some real benefits of eating them. Wholegrain products might have started with the germ, the endosperm and the bran of the grain, but in many cases, the finished product has been cooked, flaked, toasted, puffed and popped beyond recognition. It’s a long, long way from the grain that came in nature’s packaging.
There are very few clinical trials that have directly compared a “brown” diet with a “white” diet that was otherwise identical. In the largest clinical trial of its sort to date, UK researchers, found that when they provided 316 overweight men and women with a range of wholegrain foods and asked them to substitute them “like for like” for refined grain foods in their typical diet over a 16 week period, there was not even a hint of difference in heart risk (cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin sensitivity and a range of common inflammatory markers) between those who substituted wholegrain foods into their diet, and those who didn’t (the control group).’
Slowly digested carbs reduce inflammation associated with chronic disease.
Associate Professor Marian Neuhouser
A diet rich in slowly digested carbohydrates reduces a marker of inflammation called C-reactive protein (associated with an increased risk for many cancers as well as cardiovascular disease) by about 22% in people who are overweight and obese, according to a study by Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in The Journal of Nutrition.
‘Lowering inflammatory factors is important for reducing a broad range of health risks. Showing that a low-glycemic load diet can improve health is important for the millions of Americans who are overweight or obese’ say lead author Marian Neuhouser PhD, RD and colleagues who also found that among overweight and obese study participants, a low glycemic load diet modestly increased – by about 5% – blood levels of a protein hormone called adiponectin, which plays a key role in protecting against several cancers, including breast cancer, as well as metabolic disorders such as type-2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hardening of the arteries.
‘The bottom line is that when it comes to reducing markers of chronic-disease risk, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Quality matters,’ she says. ‘There are easy dietary changes people can make. Whenever possible, choose carbohydrates that are less likely to cause rapid spikes in blood glucose.’ These include legumes such as kidney beans, soy beans, pinto beans and lentils; milk; and fruits such as apples, oranges, grapefruit and pears.
Brief, high-intensity workouts reduce BGLs.
Professor Martin Gibala
Researchers at McMaster University report in Journal of Applied Physiology that brief, high intensity workouts, just six sessions over two weeks, can rapidly lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. They found that just 30 minutes of high-intensity intermittent exercise a week, lowered 24-hour blood glucose concentrations, reduced blood glucose spikes after meals, and increased an important marker of metabolic health called skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity.
What did the workouts involve? Participants rode a stationary bike for 10 bouts of 60 seconds with 1 minute between each burst of exercise. The routine also included a warm up and cool down so each session lasted 25 minutes in total. Participants showed improved blood glucose levels even though they did not lose weight during the two-week study. ‘The improved glycemic control may be linked to changes in the participants’ muscles, such as an improved ability to clear glucose from the blood after meals,’ says Professor Martin Gibala. ‘We need to conduct further research to identify the mechanisms behind these results.’ Martin Gibala explains the research HERE.
Consume more wholegrains is enshrined in dietary guidelines around the globe and is something of a mantra with doctors, dietitians and nutritionists. Australia’s new draft dietary guidelines released in December 2011 urge us to eat mostly wholegrain’ cereals. So, how much is ‘mostly’ and how strong is the evidence? A Nutrition Reviews study that evaluated 135 articles on refined grain foods (published between 2000-2010) reports that the great majority found no association between the intake of refined grain foods and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain, or overall mortality whatsoever. A few found that very high intakes might be associated with some types of cancers. The evidence overall shows that consuming of up to 50% of all grain foods as refined grain foods (without high levels of added fat, sugar, or sodium) is not associated with increased risk of disease.
Vegetarian fried brown rice from The Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook available from bookshops and online. Photo: Ian Hofstetter.
GI News asked Prof Jennie Brand-Miller to comment. ‘This paper raises questions about the newest dietary guidelines. When health authorities recommend that we eat most grains as wholegrains, they'd like to think we will be eating more fibre (that’s probably true), more micronutrients (not likely), and lower GI carbohydrates (and that’s definitely not true!). The reality is that for most cereal products today, both the “white” version and the “brown” version have a high GI.
I’d like to suggest that we re-define wholegrains as “foods that not only contain the germ, the endosperm and the bran, but also the GI characteristics of the original grain”. At least then, we might see some real benefits of eating them. Wholegrain products might have started with the germ, the endosperm and the bran of the grain, but in many cases, the finished product has been cooked, flaked, toasted, puffed and popped beyond recognition. It’s a long, long way from the grain that came in nature’s packaging.
There are very few clinical trials that have directly compared a “brown” diet with a “white” diet that was otherwise identical. In the largest clinical trial of its sort to date, UK researchers, found that when they provided 316 overweight men and women with a range of wholegrain foods and asked them to substitute them “like for like” for refined grain foods in their typical diet over a 16 week period, there was not even a hint of difference in heart risk (cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin sensitivity and a range of common inflammatory markers) between those who substituted wholegrain foods into their diet, and those who didn’t (the control group).’
Slowly digested carbs reduce inflammation associated with chronic disease.
Associate Professor Marian Neuhouser
A diet rich in slowly digested carbohydrates reduces a marker of inflammation called C-reactive protein (associated with an increased risk for many cancers as well as cardiovascular disease) by about 22% in people who are overweight and obese, according to a study by Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in The Journal of Nutrition.
‘Lowering inflammatory factors is important for reducing a broad range of health risks. Showing that a low-glycemic load diet can improve health is important for the millions of Americans who are overweight or obese’ say lead author Marian Neuhouser PhD, RD and colleagues who also found that among overweight and obese study participants, a low glycemic load diet modestly increased – by about 5% – blood levels of a protein hormone called adiponectin, which plays a key role in protecting against several cancers, including breast cancer, as well as metabolic disorders such as type-2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and hardening of the arteries.
‘The bottom line is that when it comes to reducing markers of chronic-disease risk, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Quality matters,’ she says. ‘There are easy dietary changes people can make. Whenever possible, choose carbohydrates that are less likely to cause rapid spikes in blood glucose.’ These include legumes such as kidney beans, soy beans, pinto beans and lentils; milk; and fruits such as apples, oranges, grapefruit and pears.
Brief, high-intensity workouts reduce BGLs.
Professor Martin Gibala
Researchers at McMaster University report in Journal of Applied Physiology that brief, high intensity workouts, just six sessions over two weeks, can rapidly lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. They found that just 30 minutes of high-intensity intermittent exercise a week, lowered 24-hour blood glucose concentrations, reduced blood glucose spikes after meals, and increased an important marker of metabolic health called skeletal muscle mitochondrial capacity.
What did the workouts involve? Participants rode a stationary bike for 10 bouts of 60 seconds with 1 minute between each burst of exercise. The routine also included a warm up and cool down so each session lasted 25 minutes in total. Participants showed improved blood glucose levels even though they did not lose weight during the two-week study. ‘The improved glycemic control may be linked to changes in the participants’ muscles, such as an improved ability to clear glucose from the blood after meals,’ says Professor Martin Gibala. ‘We need to conduct further research to identify the mechanisms behind these results.’ Martin Gibala explains the research HERE.
Get the Scoop with Emma Stirling
The scoop on barley.
Emma Stirling APD
As new age, but ‘ancient’ grains like spelt and quinoa take over, it’s easy to forget traditional, tried-and-true players like barley – one of the oldest cultivated cereals. But if you need to watch your BGLs or want to lower the GI of your diet, you should definitely be backing barley. Rich in protein, high in cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre (beta-glucan) and packed with essential nutrients like B vitamins, pearled barley also has a very low GI (25).
Barley shopping basket The barley we buy in the supermarket is usually in the form of pearled barley and is not technically a wholegrain. ‘Pearling’ is an abrasive process which causes some loss of the outer bran layer, but still leaves a highly nutritious grain. Wholegrain barley does exist, it can be found in products labeled as ‘whole’, ‘wholegrain’ or ‘scotch’ barley in which the grain undergoes a different process to ensure all three layers – the bran, germ and endosperm – are maintained.
You’ll also find (but not low GI):
Barley flour – made by grinding the barley ‘pearls’. In the Middle East and Africa, barley flour is blended with wheat flour to produce breads or is ground and cooked as porridge.
Barley grits – are chopped grains with a shorter cooking time used in casseroles, hamburgers, soups, stews and as an ingredient in breakfast cereals.
Barley flakes – are barley grains that have been soaked to soften before being added to baked products. They may also be used to make porridge, milk puddings and breakfast cereals.
Malted barley – is used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as beer and whisky and as a flavouring agent for cereal breakfast foods and for malted milk.
How to embrace barley? So you like the idea of backing barley, but you’re not sure where to start? Try waking up to a warming breakfast porridge with barley or in Australia look for a cereal with BarleyMax – the CSIRO’s naturally modified barley grain. Or add barley to soups, stews and pilafs or grain-based salads (switch it for freekeh in my Hot smoked salmon nicoise). But the easiest way to raise the profile of barley on your plate is to use it instead of rice as a side dish or rice-based dish like Johanna’s Barley risotto with mushrooms and thyme.
Cook it, store it Steaming pearl barley takes a little longer than steaming white rice, but the method is similar (and super easy if you have a rice cooker). For the stovetop method, place 1 cup (200g/7oz) well rinsed barley in a saucepan with 3 cups (750ml) water and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer gently for around 35–40 minutes or until the grains are tender but still a little chewy (al dente like pasta). Remove from the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes before fluffing the grains with a fork and serving. If you cook a large batch, freeze leftovers in small batches for up to 6 months. How easy is that?
Emma Stirling is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and health writer with over ten years experience writing for major publications. She is editor of The Scoop on Nutrition – a blog by expert dietitians. Check it out for hot news bites and a healthy serve of what’s in flavour.
Emma Stirling APD
As new age, but ‘ancient’ grains like spelt and quinoa take over, it’s easy to forget traditional, tried-and-true players like barley – one of the oldest cultivated cereals. But if you need to watch your BGLs or want to lower the GI of your diet, you should definitely be backing barley. Rich in protein, high in cholesterol-lowering soluble fibre (beta-glucan) and packed with essential nutrients like B vitamins, pearled barley also has a very low GI (25).
Barley shopping basket The barley we buy in the supermarket is usually in the form of pearled barley and is not technically a wholegrain. ‘Pearling’ is an abrasive process which causes some loss of the outer bran layer, but still leaves a highly nutritious grain. Wholegrain barley does exist, it can be found in products labeled as ‘whole’, ‘wholegrain’ or ‘scotch’ barley in which the grain undergoes a different process to ensure all three layers – the bran, germ and endosperm – are maintained.
You’ll also find (but not low GI):
Barley flour – made by grinding the barley ‘pearls’. In the Middle East and Africa, barley flour is blended with wheat flour to produce breads or is ground and cooked as porridge.
Barley grits – are chopped grains with a shorter cooking time used in casseroles, hamburgers, soups, stews and as an ingredient in breakfast cereals.
Barley flakes – are barley grains that have been soaked to soften before being added to baked products. They may also be used to make porridge, milk puddings and breakfast cereals.
Malted barley – is used in the production of alcoholic beverages such as beer and whisky and as a flavouring agent for cereal breakfast foods and for malted milk.
How to embrace barley? So you like the idea of backing barley, but you’re not sure where to start? Try waking up to a warming breakfast porridge with barley or in Australia look for a cereal with BarleyMax – the CSIRO’s naturally modified barley grain. Or add barley to soups, stews and pilafs or grain-based salads (switch it for freekeh in my Hot smoked salmon nicoise). But the easiest way to raise the profile of barley on your plate is to use it instead of rice as a side dish or rice-based dish like Johanna’s Barley risotto with mushrooms and thyme.
Cook it, store it Steaming pearl barley takes a little longer than steaming white rice, but the method is similar (and super easy if you have a rice cooker). For the stovetop method, place 1 cup (200g/7oz) well rinsed barley in a saucepan with 3 cups (750ml) water and bring to the boil. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer gently for around 35–40 minutes or until the grains are tender but still a little chewy (al dente like pasta). Remove from the heat and leave to stand for a few minutes before fluffing the grains with a fork and serving. If you cook a large batch, freeze leftovers in small batches for up to 6 months. How easy is that?
Emma Stirling is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and health writer with over ten years experience writing for major publications. She is editor of The Scoop on Nutrition – a blog by expert dietitians. Check it out for hot news bites and a healthy serve of what’s in flavour.
In the GI News Kitchen
American dietitian and author of Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, Johanna Burani, shares favourite recipes with a low or moderate GI from her Italian kitchen. For more information, check out Johanna's website. The photographs are by Sergio Burani. His food, travel and wine photography website is photosbysergio.com.
Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Cook the brown rice and pearl barley in separate pans of boiling water, with one teaspoon of cumin added to each pan. Cook stirring occasionally for 25 minutes or until al dente (pearl barley will take a little longer). Drain well. Meanwhile …
Place the sweet potato onion, and chick peas in a large bowl. Mix the remaining cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric and the olive oil together then add to the bowl with the sweet potato and toss to evenly coat. Place the sweet potato mixture in a single layer on the prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is just tender.
Toss the rice, barley, sweet potato, chickpeas, currants, almonds and coriander together in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the dressing, mix all ingredients together until well combined. Serve the salad drizzled with a little of the dressing.
![[JOHANNA]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2008/sept08/joanna175.jpg)
Broccoli with orzo soup.
Leave it to the Italians. All they do is boil fresh broccoli with some other fresh household staples and they get this wonderful tasting soup. It’s usually served in the evening with bread, cheese and wine. Servings: 4 (approx. 1 3/4 cups each)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large scallions (spring onions), finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
450g/1 lb fresh broccoli (including stems), chopped
6 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (stock)
1 cup orzo pasta
4 tsp parmigiano reggiano grated cheese
Cook the orzo in 2 litres (quarts) of boiling water (with 1 teaspoon salt if you wish) according to packet instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. In the meantime ...
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or casserole over medium heat. Add the scallions, carrot, garlic and parsley and gently saute for about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
Puree vegetables to the desired creamy consistency. Add the pasta and heat through. Serve hot with grated cheese.
Per serve
Energy: 1120kJ/267cals; Protein 13g; Fat 5g (includes 1g saturated fat and 1mg cholesterol); Available carbohydrate 43g; Fibre 6g
Cut back on the food bills and enjoy fresh-tasting, easily prepared, seasonal, satisfying and delicious low or moderate GI meals that don’t compromise on quality and flavour one little bit with this Money Saving Meals recipe making the most of barley. For more recipes check out the Money Saving Meals website.
Brown rice & barley salad with spiced chickpeas, sweet potato and currants.
Combining the brown rice and barley like this lowers the overall GI of the meal while adding spices and roasting the chickpeas is a great way of adding lots of flavour to this salad that’s a satisying meal in itself. Serves 6
2/3 cup brown rice
2/3 cup pearl barley
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp tumeric
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small (250g/9oz) sweet potato, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
400g/14oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup currants
¼ cup lightly toasted slivered almonds
2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Yoghurt tahini dressing
½ cup low fat natural yoghurt
1 tsp tahini
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp pure floral honey
Preheat oven to 180ºC/350ºF.
Cook the brown rice and pearl barley in separate pans of boiling water, with one teaspoon of cumin added to each pan. Cook stirring occasionally for 25 minutes or until al dente (pearl barley will take a little longer). Drain well. Meanwhile …
Place the sweet potato onion, and chick peas in a large bowl. Mix the remaining cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric and the olive oil together then add to the bowl with the sweet potato and toss to evenly coat. Place the sweet potato mixture in a single layer on the prepared tray and bake for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is just tender.
Toss the rice, barley, sweet potato, chickpeas, currants, almonds and coriander together in a large bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To make the dressing, mix all ingredients together until well combined. Serve the salad drizzled with a little of the dressing.
Per serve
Energy: 1680kJ/420cals; Protein 13g; Fat 10g (includes 1g saturated fat); Available carbohydrate 58g; Fibre 9g
My Meatless Mondays.
Aubergine, potato & pepper stew.
This rich, Mediterranean-inspired stew is full of flavours, which mature if there is any left over for the next day. It is an extract from The Meat Free Monday Cookbook, foreword by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney, edited by Annie Rigg, published by Kyle books and available in good bookshops and online. If you are worried about the fat, use a little less feta cheese and pinenuts. Serves 4-6
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into large chunks
1 medium courgette (zucchini), cut into large chunks
1 aubergine (eggplant), cut into large chunks
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 x 400g cans tomatoes
400ml vegetable stock
1 tsp caster sugar
400g can butterbeans, drained and rinsed
4 tbsp kalamata olives
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
125g crumbled feta
2 tbsp freshly chopped flatleaf parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat half of the olive oil in a large casserole dish, add the chopped onion and celery and cook until tender but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. While the onion is cooking prepare the other vegetables.
Add the remaining oil, chopped peppers, courgette and aubergine to the pan and cook for3–4 minutes. Add the potatoes, oregano, canned tomatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the sugar, cover the pan and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Continue to cook for about 25–30 minutes until all of the veggies are tender.
Add the butterbeans and olives and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and freshly ground black pepper if needed. Scatter with
toasted pine nuts, crumbled feta and chopped parsley to serve.
Per serve (based on 6 servings)
Energy: 1240kJ/290cals; Protein 9g; Fat 20g (includes 5g saturated fat and 14mg cholesterol); Available carbohydrate 16g; Fibre 6g
Busting Food Myths with Nicole Senior
![[NICOLE]](http://www.glycemicindex.com/blog/2007/dec2007/nicole125.jpg)
Nicole Senior
Myth: White foods have no nutritional value.
Fact: There are plenty of exceptions to this oversimplified dietary rule.
It would be nice if there was a simple colour rule for healthy eating. But there isn’t. This rule seems to have come about to discourage consumption/over-consumption of sugar, salt and white flour products, but eating well is a bit more complex than that. Brown sugar is on a par with white in the ‘little nutritional value’ stakes, and pink salt matches white for sodium, gram for gram. So forget about colour signifying health for these ingredients.
When it comes to grains, white rice and white pasta are important food staples around the world providing energy, vitamins, minerals and even a little protein, but they do have something missing – they have been refined and in the process lost some of their nutritional goodness. For example, white bread and flour have no bran or germ as a result. Choosing ‘brown’ or wholegrain versions of popular staples such as bread, rice and pasta delivers extra benefits in terms of fibre and B vitamins, however there’s no need to banish refined white bread, rice and pasta from the menu completely. You can still enjoy a soft white bread roll, yeasty Turkish bread (pide) or crispy pizza base. Although they’re not as good as their wholegrain equivalents, there’s no convincing evidence of harm in eating some refined grain foods in your diet according to a systematic review by Dr Peter Williams published in Nutrition Reviews. But don’t take this as license to live entirely on the whiter side of life: a study by Mozzafarian and colleagues in New England Journal of Medicine found refined grains were one of the foods associated with weight gain. And it’s a good idea to choose lower GI versions of your ‘white’ (refined) grain foods such as basmati rice and sourdough bread – white pasta is already low GI. The general recommendation for good health is to make sure at least half your grains are wholegrains – traditional oats, brown rice and pasta, and wholegrain (or wholemeal) bread and cereals.
What about eggs? Some people choose brown eggs and some like white, but truth be told, the colour of the egg has no effect on the contents. In general, chicken breeds with white ear lobes lay white eggs, and chickens with red ear lobes lay brown eggs (but even this isn’t a hard and fast rule). And of course, once you peel or crack the egg, they are all the same inside.
As for white foods such as milk, white veggies (cauliflower, onions, cannellini beans, new potatoes) and white fish – I don’t think the rule was intended to apply to these nutritious foods.
The bottom line: Enjoy a balanced diet that includes a wide variety of foods of all colours, including some ‘white’ ones for variety, health and enjoyment.
Nicole Senior is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist and author of Food Myths released on February 1 and available in bookshops and online and from www.greatideas.net.au
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