White bread

Made from just the starchy inner part of the grain with all the fibre and many nutrients removed this is the least nutritious bread. 
It almost always has a high GI meaning the carbs are absorbed almost as quickly as if you drank pure glucose in water! 
This gives you big rise in blood glucose levels and needs a lot of insulin to be dealt with. Not good news for heart health, weight control or reducing risk of or controlling diabetes. 
However there are now a few low GI white breads on the market. These are a step in the right direction if you must eat white bread. Sourdough white is also much better having a lower GI. Many also have fibre added but these are still not the same as eating a wholegrain bread.

Wholegrain bread

These are the best types of bread as the grain is processed intact. Usually these have a lower GI, all the fibre and most of the nutrients preserved from the intact grain.

Wholemeal bread

It’s important to recognise the difference between wholemeal and wholegrain. Wholemeal are more processed – often the fibre component is added back, making them more nutritious than white bread, however the GI is often still high.

Multigrain bread

Multigrain bread is often white bread in disguise, dressed up with a few seeds and grains thrown in! Take a bite of a multigrain slice and feel it dissolve in your mouth. It is rapidly absorbed, just like white bread. Go for wholegrain rather than ‘multigrain’.

Flat breads

Joanna loves Mountain bread and Sorj bread – no preservatives and literally just flour water and salt. Joanna uses Tannour bread for making homemade pizza for the kids – made by Old Time Bakery Pty Ltd and described as “first made by Ancient Phoenicians”. There has been a real move back to these kind of old fashioned breads. Good old wholemeal pita is also good and tends to be low GI.

Sourdough bread

Longer dough fermentation aids in restoring the function of the digestive tract and supporting the immune system. Sourdough bread is a low GI food. This has been proven to provide many health benefits for medical conditions such as diabetes while also assisting in weight control by improving appetite control and delaying hunger. These breads are best eaten cut fresh, rather than as a sandwich later in the day. Sourdough doesn’t hold together as well over time.

How to Make a Healthy Wrap!

Bursting with colour, fibre, low GI carbs, lean protein and a dash of healthy fat this wrap will keep the hunger under control and provide loads of nutrition.

Ingredients

1 wholegrain Mountain bread

1 grated carrot

1 generous handful of baby spinach

1 thinly sliced tomato

+ any other salad vegetables you enjoy

100g thinly sliced chicken breast

¼ avocado used as healthy spread

Cracked pepper to taste

Method

Slice up all salad vegetables and place on a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. In doing so this will stop your wrap going soggy by lunchtime!

Arrange your ingredients down one end of the Mountain bread to allow a tight and easy roll. Roll with care and to be environmentally friendly, wrap in some aluminium foil, as it can be recycled.

Enjoy, Lisa xo

Kilojoules, calories, kilocalories, cal, kJ… Huh? 

If that’s you, than you are in luck. A new website has been launched by the NSW Food Authority in Australia to help us all understand a little more about kilojoules. The new website is www.8700.com.au .

kJ (kilojoules) is the Australian measure of how much energy we get from consuming a food or drink. Nearly everything we eat and drink provides our bodies with energy. Some foods provide loads of energy/kJ and other foods provide little energy/kJ.

Energy from food provides fuel for walking, running, skipping and breathing. When we take the dog for a walk we use more energy than when we are on the couch watching the television. If we eat more energy than our body requires, we put on weight and that energy is put into storage (usually as fat).

Simply, active people require more energy than inactive people.

The average Australian adult consumes about 8700kJ a day and that’s why the new website was titled 8700. Large, active men typically require more energy than small, inactive women.  You can work out how much energy your body requires by going to the ‘Your Ideal Figure’ tab on the www.8700.com.au website. This section of the website will estimate your total requirements after you fill in your age, gender, weight and activity levels.

NOTE: kJ are similar to Calories:

• 1 kJ = 0.2 Calories (Cals)
• 1 Calorie = 4.2 kJs

Large restaurants and cafes now prominently display the kJ count where you can see them on their menu boards so you can make the best choice for your requirements. If you want to check how many kJs are in your meal before you head out, you can by using the website. The 8700 database includes many products from the brands affected by the NSW kJ display laws, and a small number of similar, common foods. You can even download the new 8700 phone application for easy reference when out and about…

Tips from the website:

Remember that healthy eating is all about what’s right for your body’s needs and balancing the amount of kJs you take in with the activity required to burn them up.

Make regular physical activity part of everyday: It helps you maintain good health and manage your weight and reduces your risk of chronic diseases.

Get active: You should try being active in as many ways as you can throughout the day. Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day.
 Don’t spend so much time sitting.

Losing weight: 60 – 90 minutes moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. Start small and within you level of fitness, gradually work your way up.

Finding out how much energy your body requires might come as a surprise, and if it does, you now have a tool to help you understand where the energy in your diet is coming from and make some positive changes.

Take a good look at the website and have a tour. Explore, click and play… But, as always, choose foods close to nature, make informed decisions but don’t get too hung up on counting and calculating.

Eat well, be well… Lisa xo

About ten years ago I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease. At the time I wasn’t sure what that was, but I recall my gastroenterologist saying “No more breads and cereals for you”. A decade ago I hadn’t heard of Coeliac Disease and the term ‘gluten free’ wasn’t something I had ever come across.

I remember thinking I would starve to death. Each morning I’d consume two Weet-Bix for breakfast and always had a salad sandwich from the school canteen for lunch. After going to the gym in the evenings I’d eat a bowl of untoasted muesli as I prepared a vegetarian dinner that usually featured pasta or couscous. Back in the day (before becoming a dietitian) I thought my diet was pretty ‘bang on’; but it was making me sick, it was full of gluten and I was always hungry. My Coeliac Disease meant that I wasn’t absorbing certain nutrients and my intestines were in a bad way.

All that seems like a lifetime ago, but I remember feeling overwhelmed and unsure about what I should eat. There wasn’t a shopping aisle devoted to gluten free goodies back then. I started out devouring bucket loads of rice to fuel my training as a group fitness instructor. My rice cooker was used almost every night. Let me tell you, there are loads of nutrient dense gluten free carbohydrate sources other than rice!

Ten years after my diagnosis there are now hundreds of gluten free products available and strangely eating ‘gluten free’ has become some sort of trend. People seem to think that eating gluten free will make them lose weight or that it’s healthier, but to be honest, some gluten free products are ghastly and are often high GI and laden with fat or sugar.

Fact is, eating gluten free won’t help you lose weight and isn’t always the best option; that is unless you have gluten intolerance or Coeliac Disease.

Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, said people who cut gluten to stay slim are relying on a strategy common to almost all quick-fix diets: restricting food choices. “When people have fewer choices, they tend to eat less and lose weight accordingly,” he said. “But you could accomplish the same thing by consuming only healthful, wholesome foods, including whole grains that do contain gluten. The result would be an easier, more sustainable, and potentially more nutritious diet overall.”

There is nothing unhealthy about gluten unless someone has a true sensitivity or Coeliac Disease like myself. Gluten is simply a protein that has been in the human diet since the dawn of agriculture and acts like a ‘glue’ in baked goods; giving stretch and rise to foods like breads.

If you suspect you have a gluten intolerance or Coeliac Disease you need to be tested. If the results come back positive, I promise you, you won’t starve to death and you will feel so much better. It’s important you seek advice from an Accredited Practising Dietitian like Dr Joanna or myself to help you establish a well balanced gluten free diet. If your results come back negative, don’t cut out wholegrain breads and cereals because you think you’ll be healthier. Wholegrains are a superb source of fibre and minerals that will keep your gut and bowel healthy for life.

For more information about symptoms and testing, I highly recommend checking out this website:http://www.coeliac.org.au/ . Here you will learn about symptoms, diagnosis and following a gluten free diet if you are diagnosed with an intolerance or Coeliac Disease like me.

Live, love, life… Lisa x