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?

Keep the pressure down – top tips on diet & blood pressure

Hi guys,

This week I have a special treat for you. Instead of posting on here, I've written a guest post for the lovely Emma Stirling (Accredited Practising Dietitian) on her blog, The scoop on nutrition.

So without further ado, here's the link... Find out what you can do to keep your blood pressure down (and what can happen if you don't!)

Keep the pressure down - top tips on diet & blood pressure with guest expert Jemma O'Hanlon APD

 

Enjoy,

Positive eating

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of hosting my aunties and mother down here in Melbourne for a weekend of shopping, wining and dining. It was a fantastic weekend and one that I won't forget anytime soon.

Aunty Lynette, Aunty Helen and Mum

Mum and I

One of the highlights of the weekend was the winery trip. We went out to the Yarra Valley on the Saturday and visited a number of wineries, including Rochford, Chandon, Yering Station, and we also managed to pop in to Yarra Valley Dairy to grab some beautiful local cheese.

Now what inspired this post was our lunch at Rochford Winery. A beautiful restaurant and amazing food, it got me thinking about having a positive relationship with food.

Yarra Valley Venison Sausage Cassoulet - Local venison sausage served on a bed of cannellini beans & autumn root vegetables served with a rich Rochford cabernet sauce

Seared Chicken Breast - Local chicken breast served with Chorizo & a smoked Spanish paprika spiced orzo pasta with Rochford fortified cabernet sauce

Roasted Pumpkin & Sage Risotto - Risotto simmered in Rochford sauvignon blanc with roasted pumpkin puree, spinach & aged parmesan

Seard Escallop of Tasmanian Salmon - Pan fried Tasmanian Salmon glazed with late picked chardonnay, sweet & sour peppers & chickpea salad

You see, after our delicious mains, we ordered dessert, and as my mother ate her dessert, she kept on saying to herself, "oh this is bad, how bad is this.." over and over again.

This was the devil itself, the one that was 'very bad'

Being the blunt daughter that I occasionally can be, I stopped her in her tracks and told her to be quiet and eat her dessert, enjoy it and stop feeling guilty!

Yes that's right, the dietitian approved the dessert! Why?

The grass is always greener...

If you are a regular reader of my blog (and if not I would encourage you to subcribe by clicking here), you will know that I encourage healthy eating at all times. But what I also say is that 'extra foods', those foods that are high in saturated fat and high in sugar, can still be eaten, just not every day. These foods should be kept to special occasions, or around once a fortnight.

Now this is the key. The key is to have these foods in small amounts every once and a while, so that you don't feel like you are depriving yourself of anything. As Dr George Blair-West notes, deprivation will only lead to the craving of that food. Often the grass is always greener on the other side. And as humans we tend to want what we can't have. But if we have a little bit of grass (those high calorie foods) once in a while, in small portions, then we will be less likely to crave them or want to eat them every day.

Creating a positive relationship 

So back to our lunch, sitting at Rochford Winery, eating our dessert, I said to Mum, "How often would you eat something like this?" (even though I knew that it was once in a blue moon that Mum would indulge in such a treat). I was right. So my response was that she needed to stop that negative self talk, stop saying how bad she was, and instead enjoy every moment of that luxurious mud cake and savour every mouthful.

Aunty Helen enjoying her Creme Brulee

So the moral of the story is, eat a healthy diet, and every so often, treat yourself to something you wouldn't have every day. Savour it, enjoy it, and throw away those negative feelings. We need to start creating a positive relationship with food.

Thank you to Rochford Wines for an amazing day in the beautiful Yarra Valley. It should be noted that no money or gifts changed hands to create this blog! 

8 week challenge starts today! Who's with me?

Today I am starting my very own 8 week challenge to kick start my fight against winter weight gain. So.... who's with me?

The first thing you need to do is write down some goals (yes get out a pen and paper and write them down. You need to see them visibly every day to keep you on track. Stick them up on your fridge along with a photo of yourself when you have felt the best about yourself - it helps to have a visual to look at every day of what you want to achieve.)

My major goal is: 

To reduce centimetres around my waist, thighs and butt and prevent the dreaded winter weight gain that seems to have been a trend for me in the past

What will your goal(s) be? Post these below. Remember goals need to be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.

The next step is to come up with some strategies as to how you are going to achieve your goals.

My strategies are:

1. To keep a food and exercise diary (writing down what you eat helps you to not only realise how much you are eating over the day, will stop you from making poor decisions as you have to write it down, and will help you to identify patterns in your diet, and any particular times of the day or week when you are likely to be at your weakeast, and the triggers behind this).

2. To go to the gym (or exercise) at least 5 days per week

3. To eat a healthy, low GI, higher protein diet and to eat vegetables at lunch and dinner

4. To keep treats to once a week 

5. To measure my success by measuring myself weekly and tracking any loss in centimeters

Finally I'm announcing this to you so that I have someone to answer to. Make sure you have a support network in place to help keep you motivated. It could be your husband, your wife, your boyfriend or your personal trainer.

Last by not least, wish me luck!! I hope you will also share with me your goals and strategies. Let's get fit together!