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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Health news from the net 5 June 2014.

Health news 5 June, 2014.

Do you enjoy reading about health as much as I do?
Here are links to a few health and nutrition related articles I was reading today. Click on the links for the full article and to read them from the source. Hope you find them interesting.

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Foods You Should Always Have in Your Kitchen
This article was originally published in Time

A well-stocked kitchen allows you to throw together a fast, flavorful meal after a long day. And, when you wake up and have to dash out the door for work, it pays to have grab-and-go breakfast and snack options on hand. We tapped registered dietitians, personal chefs, and bloggers for their must-have foods to always keep in their kitchens. (And yes, they�re all good for you, too.) Some you probably already have, while others you�ll want to add to your list.

Read more: http://time.com/2806142/19-foods-you-should-always-have-in-your-kitchen/
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IS CACAO BETTER THAN COCOA?
This article was originally published in the Nutrition Guru and the Chef

Today I was asked if I had made a mistake in one of my recipes for a smoothie containing cocoa.
�Don�t you mean cacao, surely you don�t mean cocoa as cocoa doesn�t contain any nutrition and is an inferior product� the reader asked. It�s a great question, as cacao has exploded onto the health food scene of late.
THE ANSWER?
I didn�t make a mistake in the recipe, I chose to use the humble cocoa and YES the humble cocoa does contain nutrition.
WHAT�S THE DIFFERENCE?
Cacao is the unprocessed cocoa bean popular as it contains high levels of nutrients such a flavanoids, theobromine, magnesium and a range of antioxidants. It has been handled less and is closer to its natural state. Cacao sells for approximately 6 x higher than cocoa.

Read more: http://www.thenutritionguruandthechef.com/2014/03/30/cacao-nutrition-is-cacao-better-than-cocoa/
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Offer vegetables early and often to fussy toddlers, study says
This article was originally published in BBC news

Children can learn to eat new vegetables if they are introduced regularly before the age of two, suggests a University of Leeds study.
Even fussy eaters can be encouraged to eat more greens if they are offered them five to 10 times, it found.
The research team gave artichoke puree to 332 children aged between four and 38 months from the UK, France and Denmark. One in five cleared their plates while 40% learned to like artichoke.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27635861
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You�re not Barbie and I�m not GI Joe, so what is a normal body?
This article was originally published in The Conversation

We live in a world of improbable bodies; they populate our television screens, magazines and billboards. If you�re like most Australians, you might sometimes get the feeling your body isn�t normal. But don�t fret � it�s all the virtual bodies around us that aren�t.
Pick up a Barbie doll and have a good look at her. Which part do you think is the most anatomically improbable? No, you�ll have to look lower.
Relative to the average young Australian woman, Barbie�s feet (adjusted for height) are 17 standard deviations below the mean. Other parts are almost equally unlikely: her bust-to-waist ratio is 13 standard deviations above the mean.

Read more: http://theconversation.com/youre-not-barbie-and-im-not-gi-joe-so-what-is-a-normal-body-14567
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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Juices, smoothies or plain old fruit and veggies?

I was sitting in the waiting room of my doctor's office today, watching rubbish daytime television (lucky me!) which included a stream of infomercials for juicers, blenders and shakes in packets. Many diet sites and nutrition books talk about juices and smoothies, and everywhere you look lately someone is carrying a glass jar with something green in it (what is it with jars?) Movies like "Fat sick and nearly dead" promote juicing for weight loss and many magazines promote juice "cleanses". Boost juice and other juice franchises are booming and fancy appliances are for sale in every shopping centre. You may feel that if you're not making juices or smoothies then you must be doing it wrong. So what's the lowdown on juices and smoothies and are there any health benefits over and above just eating fruit and vegetables? Let's have a look.

What's the difference between juices and smoothies?

To make a juice you need a juice extractor (or "juicer") which removes the liquid from fruit and vegetables leaving the pulp and fibre behind. A smoothie, however, is made in a blender or food processor and uses the whole fruit including the fibre. This difference in preparation has a big impact on the health effects of these drinks.

Let's start with juices

Proponents of juicing can be an extreme lot, with websites using words like "miracle cure", "cleansing healing" and many other health claims that make me distinctly uneasy. There are significant health benefits found from eating more fruit and vegetables but no reputable science to suggest that there is any health benefit specific to juicing. In fact there are some reasons why juicing should be approached with caution.

When using a juicer, the juice and most of the vitamins and nutrients of the fruit and vegetables are extracted, and the pulp and fibre are left behind. So does this matter? In fact it does. Dietary fibre is vitally important for the normal functioning of the bowel and only around 2/3 of Australians and half of Americans meet the recommended 30g of dietary fibre a day. Meeting that 30g a day can decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes and bowel cancer. Juicing your vegetables will lower your fibre intake and make this situation worse.

Fibre not only provides benefit to your bowel, but within fruit it also binds the fructose (natural sugars) of the fruit so they are released more slowly. Remove the fibre and the juices can play havoc with your blood sugar level even if you are healthy, and dramatically so if you have diabetes.

Fibre also makes up a significant volume of the fruit - remove this and it will take a lot of fruit and vegetables to make a glass of juice. You may need to juice 5 or 6 oranges to make a glass of juice. Apart from being expensive, this also means the calories add up and even the natural sugars of fruit that are healthy in regular doses can end up being a problem in that big a dose. Have you ever tried to eat 6 oranges in a row? Probably not because you would get too full. Yet we would not think twice about drinking a glass of orange juice with our meal. That is just not healthy.

By definition juices do not contain protein or fibre, both of which are important to satiate hunger and make you feel full. This means that juices can leave you quite hungry afterwards so can lead to added unnecessary calories.

"Juice cleanses" are heavily promoted and should be avoided. The lack of protein, fibre and fluctuating sugars involved in a juice only diet can leave people fatigued, weak, and with rapid weight loss (which is usually muscle rather than fat.) This kind of rapid weight loss can have significant effects on the long term metabolism and make future attempts to lose weight harder (see this post). For people with diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance the risks are magnified and the blood sugar effects of juicing can be dangerous.

Some of the health claims made by juicing proponents are quite preposterous. Just looking at a couple of websites recently I found some claims that do not make sense. One site said that juices were excellent for "cleansing and detoxification" which is completely unjustified. Your body does not need to be "detoxified" - your liver and kidneys do that for you all the time without any intervention from you. And as for cleansing, considering it is the fibre in fruit and vegetables that "sweep" your bowel clean and keep it functioning efficiently, cutting out all the fibre by juicing is likely to not cleanse but in fact have the opposite effect! And apart from all the crazy claims of miracle cures of every disease known to man, one site even said juicing meant "nutrients were available in much larger quantities than if you eat them whole" - I am not sure how the juice extractor is going to actually make MORE vitamins? That's some scientifically magical appliance that I really need to see to believe!

So what about smoothies then?

As smoothies are made in a blender, the whole fruit or vegetable including all the fibre and pulp is retained. This resolves a lot of the problems with juices losing the pulp (and the fibre and nutrients contained in that pulp). It also means the volume of the fruit/vegetable is maintained so you use less of the whole product and it fills you up.

Smoothies use blenders rather than juice extractors (cheaper to buy and easier to clean) and are therefore a bit more versatile. If you use your smoothie as a base to add some protein (such as Greek yoghurt, egg or nut butters) and some low GI carbohydrates (oats, quinoa, low GI fruit) you can have a balanced home made meal replacement if you wish. Some people add protein powders, which is probably quite unnecessary but is an option. Some recipes have 4-5 pieces of fruit on board - just be careful if you start adding those commercial supplements, plus fruit, yoghurt, honey etc you can end up with a high calorie option. Be very careful of commercially made smoothies as some have up to 30g sugar (that's 6 teaspoons full).

So what's the bottom line?
Eating fruit and vegetables is very good for you - in fact is an essential part of a healthy diet. There is no scientific evidence that blending them and keeping the fibre has any nutritional or health benefit over eating them whole. Juicing them without the fibre can have significant health impacts (especially if you have bowel problems or diabetes).

1. If you are meeting your daily requirements of 2 serves of fruit and 5+ serves of vegetables and are happy with what you are doing, there is no health reason for you to start making smoothies. You're already doing it right!

2. If you are struggling to get all your serves of fruit and veg in a day and need another way, or if you are bored and you think a blended smoothie might be a nice change for you, then go right ahead. There are some great smoothie recipes online, but here's some basic principles. Treat it like a proper balanced meal, not just a drink with extra calories. Add dairy or alternatives, natural lean protein, low GI carbohydrates and keep the ingredients simple with one or two serves of vegetable or fruit. Remember the calories add up. It can make a great breakfast on the run and is certainly far superior to eating a processed breakfast bar, a fatty take away or skipping breakfast altogether. I believe there is no need to add a processed protein powder to your meal unless it has been recommended by a doctor or dietitian - there is very little evidence they are of benefit to most people with a healthy balanced diet.

3. I wouldn't recommend anybody take part in a "juice fast" or a "juice cleanse" at all. If you are going to drink juices, then stick to mainly vegetable juices, have them occasionally, and keep fruit juice as a drink for special occasions only. Treat all extracted juices with caution and monitor regularly if you have diabetes.

For me, I think I'll just stick with eating my fruit and vegetables and drinking my water :)

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Related posts you may wish to read:
Stop dieting now. Please!
What to eat for a healthier you
The beauty of breakfast
When it comes to diets, one-size-doesn't-fit-all

Recipe - healthy pizzas (with flatbread or eggplant)

After finding a cute photo of pizzas made out of eggplant the other day I got inspired to do some experimenting. Regular pizzas from the pizza shop can be incredibly high in calories, fat and salt - as they are usually fried and covered in cheese, sweetened sauces and lots of fatty processed meat. Wood fired gourmet pizzas are sometimes a better option, but the meat and cheese is still an issue. For people who can't eat gluten, pizza bases can pose an extra challenge, and for people wit diabetes the large amount of processed carbohydrates in the dough can be a nightmare. I love the flavour combinations, but pizza is just something I don't eat any more... until tonight!

Tonight I made two different pizza preparations. One for me, that I made on eggplant slices, and one for the boys that I made on slices of large Lebanese flat bread. Alternately make individual pizzas on smaller pita bread. If you prefer to make your own pizza bases that's easy to do, I was just going for a really easy option that would give a thin crispy and not too heavy dough base.

You will need:
One large eggplant
A pack of flat bread
sauce for your pizza (I used tomato paste and basil pesto on different pizzas)
Pizza toppings - whatever you fancy - feta, spinach, tomatoes, olives, capsicum, mushrooms, basil, artichokes, roasted root vegetables, anchovies, pepperoni (use anchovies and pepperoni sparingly!) pineapple, onions, whatever you like on your pizza!

For the bread pizzas
Heat your oven griller to 200C and use a baking tray or pizza stone
Place the bread under the grill until one side is toasted slightly - watch it, this bread cooks fast and it's easy to burn the edges.
Take it out and turn it over to the soft side
Add your sauce of choice - I made one pizza with basil pesto and the other with tomato paste

Add a sprinkle of grated cheese (not too much) then your favourite toppings. Health wise be sparing with the high fat/salt/calorie toppings like processed meat and go mad with the vegetables - lots of greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, capsicum, herbs and so forth
Back under the griller for 5-10 minutes at most and its done

For the eggplant pizzas
Heat your oven griller to 200C and use a foil covered baking tray
Slice your eggplant into 1-2 cm thick circular slices

Spray your foil tray with olive oil spray, place your eggplant on, spray/brush with a little olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper
10 minutes under the hot grill until golden then remove.
Turn over as you did with the flat bread, coat with your sauce of choice and pile high with toppings, I used mushrooms , capsicum, tomatoes, feta, anchovies, basil pesto and a sprinkle of grated cheese.
Back under the griller for 10 minutes and its done.

Whichever way you make them, serve your pizzas with a lovely green salad for even more veggie goodness.

Bon appetit!!

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Health news from the net 4 June 2014.

Health news 4 June, 2014.

Do you enjoy reading about health as much as I do?
Here are links to a few health and nutrition related articles I was reading today. Click on the links for the full article and to read them from the source. Hope you find them interesting.

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7 Harmful Diet Lies You Probably Believe
This article was originally published in Time

As a culture, we go through phases with our diet preferences � low-fat gave way to low-carb, dairy-free begat gluten-free, and eggs (poor eggs) are either omega-rich wunderkinds or insidious cholesterol bombs depending on the current political climate and whether or not Mercury�s in retrograde. Yet, there are some out-there diet myths that we simply can�t seem to shake. Over the course of The Anti-Diet Project I�ve struggled to dislodge these false beliefs from my own diet-addled brain, but it�s not easy. When I�ve believed for 10 years that a potato is four points, it�s really hard to see it as a potato again. I still struggle with eating dinner, even when I�m hungry, and I�m fairly convinced it�ll take years of couples counseling for me to ever trust bananas again. We�ll get there one day, bananas.

Read more: http://time.com/106863/harmful-diet-lies/
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Feedback�Your FAQs Answered - GI values of fruit
This article was originally published in GI News

I have been hunting for the GI of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, honeydew melon, tangerine, currants, crab apples, lemon, lime, cumquats, nectarine, plum, rhubarb and have had no luck.
Apologies, to our regular GI News readers who have seen this question in other guises more than once before � it�s a regular to gifeedback. To deal with the �where to hunt� bit first. Check out the database at www.glycemicindex.com, The Shopper�s Guide to GI Values (it is updated annually), use the Google search facility in the right-hand column of every issue of GI News, or thumb through the �top 100 low GI foods� section of Low GI Eating Made Easy. More importantly, we know that people who eat three or four serves of fruit a day, particularly apples and oranges, have the lowest overall GI and the best blood glucose control.

Read more: http://ginews.blogspot.com.au/2007/07/feedbackyour-faqs-answered.html
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10 Meals In Mason Jars You Have To Try

This article was originally published in Prevention Magazine

When the pickles are gone and the jam is scraped clean, what becomes of the humble mason jar? Make it your new favorite lunch box. Mason jar meals are unsurpassed in portability�and you can cram in way more nutrition than a brown bag could ever hope to hold. Try out these take-anywhere mason jar recipes today.

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-recipes/10-amazing-mason-jar-recipes

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How to manage d-lunches �on the road�
This article was originally published in Diabetes Counselling Online

Quite a few of our readers have indicated that they find having a nutritious lunch to suit their diabetes requirements in their busy lives a tricky thing to deal with. Hopefully this blog will help with some practical ideas that you can implement whether you�re a truck driver, a shop owner, a school teacher, an office worker or even a shift worker.

Of course if you have ideas of your own that work, we�d love to have you add them at the bottom of the blog to help others too.

Read more: http://www.diabetescounselling.com.au/diabetes-and-weight-management/how-to-manage-d-lunches-on-the-road/

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Health news from the net 3 June 2014

Health news 3 June, 2014.

Do you enjoy reading about health as much as I do?
Here are links to a few health and nutrition related articles I was reading today. Click on the links for the full article and to read them from the source. Hope you find them interesting.

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eating positively work sheet
Article originally published at The Nutrition Guru and the chef

Our health philosophy is really quite simple. Focus on the positives rather than the negatives.

How does this translate to helping you to lose weight? Well, by trying to add more healthy foods to your diet, you will find that you don�t have room for the unhealthy foods.

At 3 pm when you normally have that chocolate or biscuit craving, you will already feel satisified and have adequate energy because you have just eaten your afternoon snack of a healthy banana and yoghurt.

Read more: http://www.thenutritionguruandthechef.com/2014/05/31/eating-positively-work-sheet/
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Is Greek Yogurt Really More Nutritious Than Regular Yogurt?
Article originally published at LiveStrong

America's preference for Greek yogurt is growing, and fast. In 2008 Greek yogurt sales accounted for three percent of total yogurt sales in the U.S. Just four years later in 2012, that number had already grown to 19 percent. And an interesting fact: Canadians consume 33% more yogurt per capita than Americans. According to Business Insider, Greek yogurt is "one of the hottest-growing food categories of all time."
Is all the hoopla about Greek yogurt justified? Just what is the difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt? And is Greek Yogurt more nutritious? Read on, for some answers.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/is-greek-yogurt-really-more-nutritious-than-regular-yogurt#ixzz33PJCRMDS
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What do GI and GL mean and what�s the difference between them?
Article originally published at Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch

GI stands for Glycaemic Index and GL, Glycaemic Load. These two terms can be confusing. GI seems to have been around for ages and people are comfortable checking the GI of the foods they eat, but GL? In this post I try to demystify these two terms for you so you can make an informed choice when deciding what you should eat, especially if you have diabetes.

Read more: http://foodwatch.com.au/blog/carbs-sugars-and-fibres/item/what-do-gi-and-gl-mean-and-what-s-the-difference-between-them.html#ixzz33PK3oKEL
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How to follow the Mediterranean diet, or �way of life�
Article originally published at Figureate

No doubt you have heard people talking about the Mediterranean diet and how good it is for your health.

There is mounting research to show how the Mediterranean diet can be protective against heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and how this style of eating can benefit brain health (even slow Alzheimer�s) and assist with weight loss and control.

Read more: http://www.figureate.com.au/follow-mediterranean-diet-way-life/
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Monday, June 2, 2014

Health news from the net 2 June 2014.

Health news 2 June, 2014.

Is your diet making you gain?
This article was originally published in Prevention Magazine

If you're trying to slim down, you've probably amassed a menu full of calorie-cutting tips and tricks. So it may come as a shock to learn that many of the ones you've sworn by are actually keeping you fat. "In their quest to lose weight, many women unknowingly sabotage themselves," says Elisa Zied, RD, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson and author of Feed Your Family Right! Here, six well-intentioned approaches to weight loss that can go awry, and the expert and research-proven ways to drop pounds for good.

See more at: http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/eating-mistakes-cause-weight-gain
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Is it safe to cut the mould off food?
This article was originally published in News @ CSIRO

The short answer is that it�s a lot safer than not cutting it off.
Some moulds make and release poisons, called mycotoxins, into the food that could, over time, make you very sick. Why they do it is not especially well understood but that doesn�t make it any safer.
Some mouldy foods should simply be discarded (ideally, to compost). For others, though, you can salvage and use the unaffected parts without exposing yourself to a health risk. That�s good if your mouldy food is an expensive, vintage cheddar cheese!

See more at: http://csironewsblog.com/2014/02/04/health-check-is-it-safe-to-cut-mould-off-food/
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I didn't quit sugar
This article was originally published on The Nutrition Guru and the chef

Let�s do this Gurus! Let�s help our friends and families.
Let�s spread the word that fruit is not the enemy when eaten in the right quantities and shouldn�t be categorised into �high and low fructose�.
In a time where statistics show that Australian�s are not eating the recommended amount of fruit, let�s spread the word that fruit contains a gabillion health benefits including the ability to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, organ damage, Type 2 Diabetes and can promote weight loss. It can help us live a longer life.
It�s a gift of nature!

See more at: http://www.thenutritionguruandthechef.com/2014/03/19/quit-sugar/
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Are you exhausting yourself for weight loss?
This article was originally published on Nat's nutritious delicious

When we think weight loss, we think exercise and nutrition right? But how much emphasis do you place on one or the other? Do you have the proportion right?
Let�s face it, the weight loss industry is a multi-million dollar industry, consisting of shakes, powders, pills, expensive gym memberships, celebrity endorsements, guaranteed promises too good to be true, and of recent times, reality television � no prizes for which program I�m referring to. As such, this industry has the potential to polarize populations, and already we are seeing these effects.

See more at: http://www.natsnutritiousdelicious.com/blog/are-you-exhausting-yourself-for-weight-loss/
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Sunday, June 1, 2014

It's okay not to be perfect.

Guess what? You're not perfect and neither am I.

Some days you are going to be all over this healthy lifestyle change, you'll be motivated and focused and nothing will stop you. Other days you might wonder if it's all worth it, think you're defeated and not want to get off the couch. And some days you might make not so healthy food choices and feel grumpy and guilty like you've really fallen off the bandwagon.

That's okay. We are all human, none of us are perfect. There is no reason to feel guilty, it's just food. And this is not a 30 day plan or a 12 week program that you have "ruined". This lifestyle change has no expiry date, so you know what? You've got the rest of your life to get it right. Brush yourself off and start again, not tomorrow, not next week, right now.

Just aim small, step by step. Make changes, day by day, one healthy meal at a time. You don't have to be perfect. You're doing your best. And that's pretty awesome in my book.

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Miss anything? Sunday night round up 1 June 2014

Miss anything?

As not everyone may have a chance during the week to read every post, here�s a summary of the week that was on Lean Green and Healthy

Topical posts:

Need some motivation? Quick thoughts from me to you:

Need some culinary inspiration? Here's this week's recipes:

Need some light reading? Health news from the net:

Hope this week is a wonderful one!

Lyndal @ Lean Green and Healthy

Health news from the net 1 June 2014.

Health news 1 June, 2014.

Exercise Snacks Control Diabetes Levels Better
This article was originally published on Health Central

All of us snack on food from time when we�re hungry and hope that it wouldn�t raise our blood sugar too much. But I wonder how many of us take �exercise snacks.� New studies on food and exercise snacks point us in different directions. Food snacking may not be what it�s cracked up to be, and I will report on that study soon. But a new concept of exercise snacking is showing that brief but intense exercise before meals can help us manage our diabetes better.

See more at: http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/169371/exercise-control-diabetes#sthash.TKEcX93Q.dpuf
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A smooth(ie) way to ensure nutrient sufficiency
This article was originally published on Diabetes Counselling Online

As suggested by a member of the Diabetes Counselling Online Diabetes Weight Matters closed Facebook group, today�s blog is on the topic of �smoothies�. It�s very timely as this being the week before Christmas (only 2 days to go!!) as so many of us are short on time.

Smoothies are a great topic to chat about because they can involve ingredients from all the major food groups, they�re convenient and easy to make, as well as being both nutritious and delicious. In today�s blog I�ll cover how they can help you meet your dietary guidelines in certain food groups as well as providing a few recipe ideas to get you started if you like the idea.

See more at: http://www.diabetescounselling.com.au/uncategorized/a-smoothie-way-to-ensure-nutrient-sufficiency-over-christmas/#sthash.aX45txiX.dpuf
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Coco-loco
This article was originally published on GI News

When does a regular food become a super food? When it has lots of dough spent on promotion. And the over-hyped, �super� food of the moment is coconut: the Kardashian of the food world due to abundant self-promotion. Its uber-cool aura has now drifted from the health nuts to normal folk who are apparently caught; hook, line and sinker.

I love coconut for its flavour, texture and versatility in the kitchen. What I hate is amateur nutritionists encouraging coconut oil in everything because �it helps lose weight�, and the shameless marketers and their misleading advertising and PR. If I see another dodgy, unfounded, exaggerated and pseudo-scientific claim about the superiority of anything to do with coconut I think I�ll scream.

See more at: http://ginews.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/nicoles-taste-of-health.html
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Fast Weight Loss May Mean Muscle Loss
This article was originally published on Web MD

If you lose weight too fast, you lose more muscle than when you shed excess pounds more slowly, a small study says.

The researchers put 25 participants on a five-week very-low-calorie diet of just 500 calories per day. Another 22 volunteers went on a 12-week low-calorie diet of 1,250 calories per day.
The investigators found that right after the end of their diets, both groups had similar levels of weight loss. The average weight loss was a little over 19 pounds among those on the very-low-calorie diet and just under 19 pounds among those on the low-calorie diet.

See more at: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20140529/fast-weight-loss-may-mean-muscle-loss