Part 3: Fibre & gluten free diets

Just been diagnosed with coeliac disease? Having trouble keeping regular? Well you're not the only one. Getting enough fibre on a gluten free diet can be quite a challenge because cutting wheat, rye, barley and oats from our diets means we need to get our fibre from other food sources!

So let's do a quick refresher...

What grains you can eat on a gluten free diet

Glute free grains & starches include rice, corn (maize), soy, sago, tapioca, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, quinoa, arrowroot, amaranth, besan (chickpea) flour, hops, lupin, potato, lentil, teff, psyllium, polenta and coconut.

And let's remind ourselves on...

Why we need to eat fibre every day

Dietary fibre is important for our digestive health. Most of us associate fibre with its function to help keep us regular, but fibre has many other health benefits. It helps to lower cholesterol, stabilise our blood sugar levels, reduces our risk of bowel cancer and lowers the GI of foods. Overall we need 25 - 30g fibre each day.

So what are the fibre rich options for people on a gluten free diet?

There are 3 different types of dietary fibre: soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch. Each has important roles in our bodies. The following table lists gluten free foods that are a rich source of dietary fibre:

Soluble                         Insoluble                                Resistant Starch
Fruit                               Skins of fruit & vegies              Lentils
Vegetables                    Brown rice                                Banana
Legumes                       Rice bran                                 Cooked & cooled rice
Rice bran                       Nuts                                         Cooked & cooled potato
Pysillium husks             Seeds                                       Seeds
Soy flour
Soy grits

Reference: Coeliac Australia

So let's put it into practice now by designing our very own gluten free meal plan.

Gluten Free Meal Plan

Breakfast:

• To your gluten free cereal add a spoonful of one of these: rice bran, psyillium husks, linseeds, LSA (linseed, soy and almond meal), chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas or some chopped nuts. You could also add some prunes or stewed fruit on top with some yummy low fat yoghurt. (And yes, I said prunes! Don't be afraid, these sweet but nutritious fruits are packed full of fibre also have a low GI.)


• If you're having gluten free toast try to find a gluten free bread that is grainy or contains added fibre.


• You might even like to have baked beans on gluten free toast for a fibre & protein loaded hot brekky. Remember all your veggies are gluten free & high in fibre, so don't forget to add sauteed mushrooms, spinach and grilled tomatoes for more goodness.

Morning Tea:

Piece of fresh fruit

Lunch:

• Ensure you eat at least 2 serves of vegetables with lunch (eg. lean meat & salad sandwich) for a boost of soluble & insoluble fibre


• Choose a grainy or high fibre gluten free bread for a sandwich


• If you're having a salad, ensure you add plenty of beans, chickpeas or lentils

Afternoon Tea: 

Dried fruit, nut and seed mix OR cheese & gluten free crackers

Dinner:

Add 2 serves of green veggies to your plate. These should take up 1/2 of your dinner plate. Fill the next 1/4 with starchy veggies, rice, soba noodles or gluten free pasta (eg. buckwheat) and the last 1/4 with lean meat. And whatever you do, don't peel your vegetables! Vegetable peel contains a fabulous source of insoluble fibre, so for those veggies where the skin is edible, leave the skin right where it is. And that also means less time in the kitchen peeling veggies (not hearing any complaints there about that one...!) 

Dessert: Why not try my quick & easy rice pudding recipe !

And don't forget about fluids

One of the other most very important things to remember when talking about fibre is that you can't just eat a high fibre diet and not drink fluids. Water and fibre must go hand in hand, and if you eat a lot of fibre but don't drink enough fluids, you call still become constipated. Think of the water as being there to flush the fibre through the system. So the moral of the story is, eat plenty of fibre and drink plenty of water while doing so!

We've spoke a little about GI today and I'm going to expand on this next week. Many gluten free grains have a high GI so stay tuned for some tips on how you can still make low GI choices on a gluten free diet.

 

Muesli... a GOOD breakfast choice

Tonight's blog has been inspired from a recent report published by well renowned Choice magazine on their latest review of muesli. Now I have been a member of Choice for many years and I'm certainly a big fan of their work, up until this point.

In their report they sensationalised the fact that some mueslis have more fat than a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder. But to me this makes no sense. We don't eat nutrients, we eat foods. And there is no way you can compare a bowl of muesli to a fast food burger.

The flaws in Choice's report

To the naked eye it may appear that Choice have lifted the cover on a giant list of mueslis, and uncovered all of their deep dark secrets. What you need to know is that there are a number of limitations in Choice's report. Choice based their conclusions mostly on numbers on a nutrition panel. But as we know, it's important to look at the ingredients list as well as the numbers to find out the whole story. You can download my How To Read a Nutrition Information Panel here, where I talk about what numbers to aim for but also a what to look for in the ingredients list. It's important to read both when making a decision about choosing a product.

Choice looked unfavourably upon a lot of mueslis that had higher total levels of fat, even if these fats were mostly unsaturated (the good types of fat). More and more evidence is showing us that we need good fats in our diet. These include a number of plant based oils such as canola oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds, many of which are found in mueslis. These fats are heart protective and good for us. We need these in our diet. As the dietitian for Carman's Fine Foods, I was alarmed that Choice rated Carman's mueslis only satisfactory, even when their mueslis have <3g saturated fats per 100g.

The other major limitation of the report was that sugars were looked upon as one single nutrient, and it was not considered what type of sugar it was or what food it came from. So those mueslis that contained small amounts of dried fruit were shunned upon because they had higher levels of sugars, and there was no comparison made between those mueslis that used added sugars and those that used naturally occuring ones from dried fruit.

What you should know about muesli

First things first I think we need to remember that a number of people don't eat breakfast at all. This means their bodies are not receiving the fuel they need to run efficiently all day. So having a bowl of muesli for breakfast (with reduced fat milk of course) is a good thing! Well done to those of you who do this already.

Secondly most mueslis are wholegrain and low GI due to their base ingredient of oats. This means you are going to feel fuller for longer and will be less likely to grab the lolly jar at morning tea time! Wholegrains are a rich source of dietary fibre, which also helps to keep you satisfied, as well as keeping you regular, reducing cholesterol and reducing your risk of bowel cancer.

When you purchase a muesli, check the ingredients list to see what fat is used. If there are some nuts, this is a plus. If there are oils like olive, canola, sunflower or safflower, grapeseed, soyabean or corn oil, these are high in good fats and get the Heart Foundation Tick (see page 4 for an oil comparison). Try to avoid mueslis that have palm or coconut oils listed in the ingredients list. If 'vegetable oil' is listed you'll need to contact the manufacturer as this could mean a good oil such as canola oil or it could be a not so good oil such as palm oil. Natural mueslis are also a better choice over toasted mueslis as they contain less kilojoules overall.

And as for sugars, look at the ingredients list to check what the source of sugars is. If it's dried fruit, and it's a fair way down in the ingredients list (near the end), then you know there is only a small amount of dried fruit in the muesli. Dried fruit is healthy in small amounts, and there's no need to avoid a muesli that contains dried fruit.

So now looking back that McDonalds Quarter Pounder is not looking that crash hot after all. Just remember we eat foods, not single nutrients, therefore we need to look at the whole picture not one element inside it.

Part 2: Gluten Free Eating - Label reading

Where is gluten found?

Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. There are a number of different names for grains based on wheat, barley, rye and oats, so I've listed these below:

Most breads & pizzas are wheat based. You can find a good range of gluten free breads in the supermarket and most restuarants that serve pizza have the option of a gluten free base.

Wheat: atta, bourghal/burghal, cous cous, dinkel, durum, farina, german wheat, polish wheat, graham flour, emmer, freekah, kamat/kamut, semolina, spelt, triticale (wheat and rye hybrid)

Barley: malt (barley)

Rye: pumpernickel

Oats: pilcorn

What foods are gluten free?

Well the good news is that many foods are naturally gluten free. There are also many grains and starches that are gluten free. Here's a list:

Naturally gluten free foods

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Unprocessed meat, poultry, fish

Eggs, nuts and legumes
Milk (some flavoured milks may contain gluten)
Fats and oils




Polenta



                                            

Gluten FREE grains & starches
Rice, corn (maize), soy, sago, tapioca, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, quinoa, arrowroot, amaranth, besan (chickpea) flour, hops, lupin, potato, lentil, teff, psyllium, polenta, coconut.





Label reading

Reading labels to find out if a product is gluten free can actually be quite a challenging exercise. I know the first time I learnt this it took a while for me to get my head around it. So to make life simple for those of you that do require a gluten free diet, here's my guide on how to find out if a product is gluten free.

The following guide is based on the Australian Food Standards Code and the fabulous information provided by Coeliac Australia. This organisation is a must to join if you have coeliac disease!

1. If a product contains gluten, it must be listed on the label

Under the Australian Food Standards Code, if an ingredient is derived from wheat, rye, barley or oats, then this must be declared. So, if you see wheat, rye, barley, oats or gluten on a food label, the product is NOT gluten free.

This product contains barley and oats and therefore is not gluten free


The following table shows the difference in labeling of gluten containing ingredients and those that are gluten free. If a product does not specify the source, it is deemed gluten free.

Not Gluten Free                                                     Gluten Free

Thickeners 1400 – 1450 (wheat)                              Thickeners 1400 – 1450
Vegetable protein extract (wheat, barley malt)         Vegetable protein extract
Maltodextrin (wheat)                                                  Maltodextrin
Cornflour (5% wheat)                                                Cornflour


2. The label of GLUTEN FREE overrides a product’s ingredient listing

The label of gluten free overrides anything else on a label. If you see GLUTEN FREE on the label, the product is gluten free regardless of the ingredient list.

Declaration of interest: I consult to Carman's Fine Foods

3. Highly processed ingredients

Some products are so highly processed that even though they include wheat as part of their name, they are deemed gluten free. These are:

- Glucose Syrup (from wheat) or Wheat Glucose Syrup
- Caramel Colour (150) from wheat
- Dextrose from Wheat

4. Advisory statements

Products that use advisory statements such as “may contain gluten” or “manufactured on the same line as gluten containing products” are not suitable for those on a gluten free diet.

However, if the only statement is “contains wheat” and the only wheat based ingredient identified is glucose syrup, caramel colour or dextrose (see point 3), the product is gluten free.

These Dove chocolates would not be gluten free as
wheat and barley are listed as "may contain" ingredients

5. Oats

In Australia oats cannot be labelled as gluten free. Oats contain a gluten containing protein called avenin, in which 20% of people with coeliac disease react to. Oats may also be contaminated by wheat in Australia. It is recommended that people with coeliac disease do not consume oats unless under medical supervision.


I hope that you find this label reading guide useful, and as always, if you have any questions I'm just a few clicks away.

Next week I'll be looking at how to get adequate fibre on a gluten free diet.

Part 1: Your one-stop guide to gluten free eating

Welcome to the first post of my Gluten Free Eating series! I've had lots of requests for this one so I really hope you enjoy it & gain something from it. What will I be covering? I've split this series into 4 short blogs, and will aim to cover the following topics:

1. What is a gluten free diet and who should be on it
2. Where is gluten found & how to tell if a product is gluten free
3. How to get enough fibre on a gluten free diet
4. Low GI eating on a gluten free diet

If there are any other topics you'd like me to blog on while I'm at it, let me know and I'll add it to my list!

So without further ado, let's get started with Part 1....

What is a gluten free diet and should you be on one?

The reason most people require a gluten free diet is because they have coeliac disease. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease meaning that you are born with it and will have it for life. Only 1% of the population have coeliac disease.

Now what happens in coeliac disease is that the body does not have the ability to absorb a protein found in a number of grains called gluten. A non-coeliac person's gut is made with tiny finger-like projections called villi, and these allow them to absorb all their nutrients. What happens in coeliac disease is that because the body can't absorb gluten, the gut goes a bit crazy and instead of being finger like (with a nice long surface area to increase absorption of nutrients), these villi become flat as though to say, sorry this door is closed. No entry here. And as such many nutrients are malabsorbed (not just gluten!)



Hope you like my little drawing, and no I'm not an artist :)

 
Once a person is diagnosed with coeliac disease, in order to get their villi back into tip top shape they need to elimate all gluten from their diet. Permanently. What happens if a person with coeliac disease continues to eat gluten? Well by doing so they're placing themselves at an increased risk of developing some forms of cancer, osteoporosis, infertility, miscarriage, depression and general ill health.

So it's serious stuff. The one thing to note from this is that if you don't have coeliac disease or an intolerance to gluten there is no need to be on a gluten free diet. In fact, by doing so you will be substantially limiting your food choices and placing yourself at risk of micronutrient deficiencies. It is not 'healthy' to eat a gluten free diet, even though foods are often marketed this way. But neverless, if someone requires a gluten free diet, it can be healthy and perfectly adequate but you'll need guidance from your GP and dietitian to ensure your diet ticks all the boxes.

Next week I'll talk about what foods contain gluten and I'll give you a simple label reading guide on how to tell if a product is gluten free (it's not quite as easy as looking for the big words 'GLUTEN FREE').

Until then,



Please note that this Gluten Free Eating series is based on Australian recommendations and this will differ across countries according to their Food Code.

If you have coeliac disease, I would strongly recommend you join Coeliac Australia as it's the best place to go for up to date and reliable information. You'll also receive a bunch of fabulous resources, supermarket discounts, and most importantly a support centre if you ever have any questions.

Butter or marg?

This topic always creates some lively debate. Butter or marg? Which is better for you? Well hopefully this post will help you to make that decision.

The ‘natural’ theory

Some people may say that butter is better because it is natural and comes from a cow, whereas margarine is not as it’s made in a factory. The truth is, margarine comes out as the nutritional winner. Let's talk about why.

When we look at animal fats, what we find is that most animal fats are high in saturated fats. These are the fats that can raise your cholesterol and increase your risk of heart disease. There are a couple of animal fats that are good for you, and that’s fish and eggs. I’ve done up a little table to summarise this.

Bad animal fats        Good animal fats

Beef                            Fish
Chicken                       Eggs
Lamb
Pork
Dairy

So as you can see, dairy comes under the bad animal fats column. Now before you start eliminating dairy from your diet, I must say that dairy is a very wonderful food. In fact it should be eaten every day. What you can do to reduce those bad fats from dairy is choose the low or no fat options, that is in milk, yoghurt and cheese. These are the best choices and you get just as much protein, calcium and minerals from the low and no fat options.

Now butter is also a member of the dairy family, and as such it is also high in saturated fats. Unfortunately there is no such thing as skimmed butter, which is why margarine is a much healthier choice.

Margarine, the better choice

Margarine is made from a range of plant oils. Some are made from olive oil, others canola, some are made from sunflower and there are plenty of others to choose from. Now when we look at the chemical structure of plant oils, what we find is that these ones are high in the mono and polyunsaturated fats, the good fats that help to protect the heart and lower cholesterol.

There’s also been plenty of talk about trans fats in margarine. What I can reassure you is that in Australia we are safe. Our margarines are very low in trans fats so there's no need to be concerned.

So that means I can use margarine to my heart’s (no pun intended) content?

Not quite. Margarine is the best choice but don’t forget about the quantities that you are using. We often forget how easily calories can add up when using spreads like butter and margarine. Just to give you an example, 2 teaspoons of margarine that you'd probably spread on your toast contains 250kJ, the equivalent of a small slice of bread. So the message is to go easy with your spreads. And if you don't need it, don't use it!

My motto, (and just a warning it’s a little bit corny...) is ‘see your bread through the spread’. So this means spreading your margarine thinly so you can see your............ ok I think you get it.

And if, like me, you’re not that fussed by either butter or marg, another great option is avocado. It’s high in monounsaturated fats (good fats) as well as vitamins C,E & K, and has such a creamy, delicious taste. Gram for gram, it is also much lower in total fat compared to margarine or butter (23% versus 80%).

So summing up the key points…

1. Just because it comes from an animal doesn’t make it healthy
2. Some animal fats are healthy (fish and eggs)
3. Choose margarine over butter, and make sure you can see your bread through the spread

Check out the Heart Foundation website for more info.

The Dukan Diet - a closer look

Some of you may have seen the link I posted on my facebook or twitter pages recently to the comments I made on the Dukan diet that were published in Monday's Herald Sun.

No unfortunately they're not my abs..

I thought I would write about this diet in more detail to explain why the Dukan diet is NOT the same as a high protein & lower carb or low GI diet. It is these diets which have shown positive results including weight loss & the maintenance of weight loss. The Dukan diet may seem on the surface to be similar, but it isn't. It is still a restrictive diet and promotes unbalanced eating habits. Read on to find out more...

What is the Dukan diet?

The Dukan Diet is not just a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. It also requires you to exclude major food groups and it encourages poor eating habits. It starts you off on a protein only 'attack' phase, where it requires you to consume only lean meats, fish, eggs and low fat dairy. What this does is sends your body into a state where it starts breaking down its lean muscle mass to use as energy. Carbohydrates usually supply the body with energy but as these are eliminated from the diet, the body has no choice but to start attacking the muscles. And this is what you see on the scales. A reduction in muscle mass. You'll also find that you lose 'weight' due to fluid losses.

After the first phase, the diet becomes less restrictive. You are slowly allowed to introduce fruit (but only 1 piece a day), vegetables, and eventually even starchy vegetables like potatoes - shock horror yes you're allowed to eat carbs!! The final stage then makes out that you're back to your original eating plan, as it allows you to eat whatever you like, provided you stick to a couple of conditions. One is that you continue to exercise (this is a plus) and the other is that ONE DAY in EVERY WEEK you must go back to the original 'attack' phase and eat protein only foods for the entire day. This has to happen one day in every week of your life in order for the diet to work. So is it a healthy diet? No. One that cuts out most major food groups (even if it is for one day a week) could never be classed as a healthy diet.

Let's forget about diets

Whenever I hear of someone going on a diet, I always ask them whether they think they will be able to stick to this diet for the rest of their life. If the answer is no, then I ask them why they would choose to commence a restrictive diet that they can’t maintain.

Going on any diet means changing your normal eating habits to something that is unfamiliar and unnatural.

Ask yourself realistically if you are happy to restrict so many foods that you love.

Will it have an impact on my loved ones?

If you are considering a diet, it’s important to have a think about how this diet is going to affect the people around you. Children are very good at picking up habits from their parents and dietiting can be one of them. In order to teach your kids healthy habits you need to be a good role model yourself. And there's always social situations to think about and how easy it will be to maintain a such a strict diet when social events come up.

How dieting can mess with your mind...

Dieting can also mean entangling yourself in an emotional rollercoaster. One minute you may be feeling good and motivated as you’ve lost some weight, and the next you may feel down and miserable because you’ve regained the weight or can’t seem to lose any more.

The majority of diets do not work.

You’ll feel like a failure when in reality the diet has failed you.

Dietiting encourages unnecessary food restriction and negative associations with foods. Yet really there are no bad foods, it’s how much and how often you eat them that's important. I've plugged this book before but I will do it again. It's called Weight Loss for Food Lovers: Understanding our minds and why we sabotage our weight loss by Dr George Blair-West. It focuses on how you can create a positive relationship with food.

Nutrition info you need to know

Overall the Dukan Diet fails to provide a balanced eating plan. Here are some nutritional consequences that you should know about:

• Even in the final (and least restrictive) phase of the diet, you still won’t be getting the energy, fibre and antioxidants for one day every week. These are nutrients that your body can't afford to go a day without.
• Dr Dukan recommends taking a multivitamin supplement on the diet, but as we absorb vitamins and minerals better through our foods, taking a supplement is no replacement for a balanced diet. Nutrient deficiencies that could develop whilst on this diet include vitamin A, C, folate and B vitamins.
• Another side effect of the Dukan diet is constipation, as fruit and vegetable intake is restricted and you are only allowed to eat a certain amount of oat bran. To me, this is a clear signal that the diet is not good for your body.
• Eating large amounts of red and processed meats has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and some cancers.
• Eating a diet very high in protein is also not recommended as it can result in calcium being lost from your bones, meaning that you may be more likely to develop osteoporosis later in life.
• People on the Dukan diet may also consume more salt or sodium, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

But what if I have a wedding coming up and I want to lose weight quickly... it can't be that bad for you in the short term can it?

Yes it can, here's why:

1. Dieting stuffs up your metabolism.

Rapid weight loss such as what the Dukan diet encourages means that your metabolism is altered. When you diet, your metabolic rate crashes due to the loss of lean muscle mass. Instead of burning fat stores, your body clings to these tightly as a back up as it thinks it’s being starved. As soon as you return to your normal eating patterns, your body will create more fat stores just in case it goes into starvation mode again, meaning that you are likely to regain the weight and more.

So the end result is a loss in lean in muscle mass and a gain in fat stores. Maintaining your lean muscle mass is important as this is what helps to kick start your metabolism and burn body fat.

2. Other negative consequences...

Other than a reduced metabolic rate, rapid weight loss can also have a number of negative consequences including tiredness and fatigue, bad breath, headaches, nausea and vomiting, as well as the formation of gallstones and even gout.

My final message... and the SECRET to losing weight and keeping it off

The key to successful, long term weight loss is eating a wide variety of nutritious foods in the right portions. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, lean meats, beans, eggs and low fat dairy coupled with regular physical activity is the best solution to losing weight and keeping it off long term. It may take a little longer than you would like, but the difference is that you’ll keep it off. Cutting out major food groups, even for a day here and a day there, is a recipe for disaster, not just for your body but for your emotional wellbeing as well.

Remember there is no magic pill or quick fix when it comes to sustainable weight loss. An Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) can help you design a healthy eating plan that fits in with your daily lifestyle, without excluding the foods that you love. Find an APD on the DAA website at http://www.daa.asn.au/ or call 1800 812 942.

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

ChooseMyPlate - The new US food icon

This morning was a new revolution for dietitians in the US.

Yes, it was time that the US food pyramid had a makeover. The new ChooseMyPlate is in town.

Yes, I did manage to find the plate in other colours - I like this pink one! You can check out the graphics section of the website here.

Here's an excerpt from the ChooseMyPlate website with the key nutrition messages that go with the plate.

	Balancing Calories
	●	Enjoy your food, but eat less.
	●	Avoid oversized portions.
	Foods to Increase
	●	Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.
	●	Make at least half your grains whole grains.
	●	Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
	Foods to Reduce
	●	Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals ― and choose the foods with lower numbers.
	●	Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

Interestingly, Australia already uses the plate as the national food selection guide and has since 1998. Here's what Australia uses at the moment (although Australia is currently revising their food guide as we speak.. to be released later this year).

I guess I have a couple of quick thoughts on the new US food icon that I would like to share with you.

1. I think the simplicity of the plate makes it easy to read and understand, even for a child as First Lady Michelle Obama said.

2. Although there are no pictures, the colours make each food group easy to distinguish and there is no bias as to specifically what foods should be eaten. Thus the plate is compatible for diets across cultures.

3. I agree with Marion Nestle that the word protein is a nutrient, not a food, and when all other words on the plate are food words (Fruits, Vegetables, Grains, Dairy), why not use food words to describe the group which primarily contains the nutrient, protein.

4. I think what may be confusing for people is the fact that MyPlate is not just a representation of the proportions that foods on a plate should be, but it is also a representation of the portions of the food groups that you should have each day. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on what you see when you look at the MyPlate. Share your thoughts with me on Facebook or write a comment below.

5. Should fruits and vegetables be included together as a message to form half of the plate? I know here in Australia we generally eat enough fruit but it's the 5 serves of vegetables that we struggle to eat every day. I've always liked the concept of filling half your plate with vegetables, and I'm worried that by combining the fruit and vegetables that people may get the wrong idea and cut back on their vegetable consumption and increase the not-so-ideal fruit containing foods such as large quantities of fruit juices, fruit bars etc.

6. We need to remember why the USDA has launced this plate in the first place. It is about trying to guide consumers to eat a healthy diet and reduce the rates of overweight and obesity. Yes there may be elements in the guide that are missing, such as good fats and physical activity, and although this plate is not the single answer to the obesity epidemic, it sure is a step in the right direction. (Sometimes I think that if we make things too complex, people will not mesh with the idea at all and place it in the too hard basket!)

The MyPlate website has plenty of additional resources and information, so make sure you check it out. And if you're into Twitter, use the hash tags #foodicon and #myplate in a search which will bring up lots of interesting discussion from people all around the world!

Hopefully it won't be too long before I will be able to share with you the news of Australia's new food selection guide. What would you want that to look like?