The bread uproar - is white really that bad?

For such a simple story, even I was surprised how much interest the recent bread story generated. I guess I just assumed that most people knew that Turkish bread really isn't that good for you! In case you missed it, here is the Updates information that generated the media frenzy last week:

I know that the labels on the packet say that it is low GI and high in fibre but processing a food and then putting all the good stuff back in is never going to make it as good nutritionally as the unprocessed variety. Grains consumed whole, in their natural state contain a wide range of nutrients including Vitamin E, zinc and long chain fats which will always make them nutritionally superior than processed grains. In fact, as a dietitian I look at white bread and think that you may as well choose confectionery for the metabolic impact the food has on our body long term. Here are the commonly eaten white bread varieties and their relative carbohydrate and fibre contents for you to consider;
Bread Type Cal Carbs Fibre
Plain white 146 28.2 1.8
Wonder White 157 26.7 4.2
Helga’s 208 36.6 2.4
Lawson’s 302 53.0 3.4
Turkish 560 110.0 5.5
Sourdough 526 99.6 5.8
Mountain 144 27.5 2.1

Act like a woman, eat like a man

One of the most common food habits that brings a diet undone is the tendency to over do things at social gatherings. Potato chips, pesto dips, cheese and other nibbles contain plenty of calories and are exceptionally easy to overeat. An observation I have made is that men treat these foods very differently than women do. Men rarely plan their social engagements around their food choices, nor do they crowd around the kitchen stuffing their faces with non filling, high fat foods. On the other hand, women can spend hours planning the menu, preparing the food and making a distinct effort to make sure that they get to eat some of the delicious treats they have prepared!

Over the next few weeks as the end of year party season kicks off, practice being exceptionally mindful when it comes to party food behaviours. Try and avoid the same high calorie nibbles that you have eaten a million times before by having a filling snack before you go and if you must indulge, determine how many snacks you will have before you begin eating. Stand away from the food, preferably with skinny people who seem to not eat much and pay particular attention to how much better you feel the next day when you have not subjected yourself to a complete calorie blow out. And if that is not convincing enough, here are your favourite pre-dinner snacks and the calories you will ingest if you eat them.

10 rice crackers + chunky pesto and cashew dip = 2000kJ
5 Jatz and Mersey Valley Cheese = 1100kJ
Large Bag Red Rock Deli Chips = 3500kJ
Large bag of Grain Waves = 3400kJ
½ Brie and 6 water crackers = 1700kJ
30 peanuts = 700kJ

Why “healthy” is a misleading word

For those of you who take an interest in what you eat, and your health in general, new product releases that claim to be the latest and greatest for health and fitness catch our attention In the past few weeks alone we have seen a new high calcium breakfast cereal, no added sugar yoghurt and the product which particularly grabbed my attention, pizza with the Heart Foundation TICK. All of these products claim to be “healthy” choices, based on their individual nutritional characteristics which have a potential selling point with consumers.

Unfortunately from a dietetic perspective, my definition of what is healthy is often very different from a high GI cereal that has calcium added; a yoghurt that contains artificial sweetener or a brand of pizza which may have a TICK but which also contains >90g of total carbohydrate which is the carbohydrate equivalent to 6+ slices of bread.

Another more general example of this can be demonstrated if we consider the nutritional profile of ice cream versus yoghurt. Ice cream is generally thought of as a product that is far less healthy than yoghurt but if you consider that a tub of yoghurt can contain up to 30g of total carbohydrate and >200 calories compared to an ice cream such as Paddle Pop MOO which contains <100 calories and just 20g of total carbohydrate, you can again see that it can be easy to be mislead by products that are routinely put into a “healthy” category.

What is healthy or not for an individual comes down to how many calories the food has; the type of carbohydrate and fat it contains and what else it offers nutritionally, not just one of these characteristics. And like everything in life, if a food seems and tastes too good to still be low in calories and carbohydrates, it usually is.

Is McDonalds really that bad?

The perception of what is healthy is often very different to what the science would suggest. In fact you may be surprised to hear that the fried foods from McDonalds are actually much better nutritionally than fried foods found at the other major fast food chains. Can you believe it?

Fast food; whether it is pizza, burgers, chips or wraps contains a significant amount of fat, and the majority of the fast food chains use palm oil or other hydrogenated vegetable oils to cook their food in. Not only are these oils a nightmare nutritionally, but the growing of the crops used to make these oils can be linked to the destruction of vast areas of forests in countries including Malaysia, which has put significant pressure on a number of endangered species including tigers and orangutans.

A few years back, McDonalds committed to using vegetable oils that have much more favourable nutritional profiles, which means that even though your burgers and fries are still high in fat, the fat is not as saturated, making it better for the heart. Now, this does not mean you have permission to indulge in high fat foods more than once a week, but it does mean that choosing Macca’s will be better than the other popular pizza, chicken and burger options.

Is McDonalds really that bad?

The perception of what is healthy is often very different to what the science would suggest. In fact you may be surprised to hear that the fried foods from McDonalds are actually much better nutritionally than fried foods found at the other major fast food chains. Can you believe it?

Fast food; whether it is pizza, burgers, chips or wraps contains a significant amount of fat, and the majority of the fast food chains use palm oil or other hydrogenated vegetable oils to cook their food in. Not only are these oils a nightmare nutritionally, but the growing of the crops used to make these oils can be linked to the destruction of vast areas of forests in countries including Malaysia, which has put significant pressure on a number of endangered species including tigers and orangutans.

A few years back, McDonalds committed to using vegetable oils that have much more favourable nutritional profiles, which means that even though your burgers and fries are still high in fat, the fat is not as saturated, making it better for the heart. Now, this does not mean you have permission to indulge in high fat foods more than once a week, but it does mean that choosing Macca’s will be better than the other popular pizza, chicken and burger options.

Theme park outrage

As an Australian, it is highly likely that you have been to Dream World or Sea World at some point in your lives. It is also highly likely that you mum, or girlfriend or wife packed some food to take with you for the day. Sure, you enjoyed a treat of ice cream or hot chips at some point during the day but you saved money and looked after your health by taking some decent food with you. No more is this the case.

Over the last week Warner Village Theme Parks has decided that we can no longer take our own food into the parks. No, it is to not protect wildlife or because they are implementing a brand new healthy menu, it is simply because they want to make sure you are buying your food there.

The decision of Warner Village Theme Parks to ban patrons from taking their own food provisions to the family focused locations is both disappointing, and quite possibly irresponsible given the current health climate in Australia which indicates that 25% of Australian children and 60% of Australian adults have significant weight issues. History indicates that the most foods available at event venues are high fat, energy dense food choices including pies, hot dogs and soft drinks. Given this decision, is Warner Village able to confirm that meal options available for families to purchase on site will be both nutritious and affordable?

We think not....at this stage anyway....

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/07/28/102071_gold-coast-top-story.html

Is reduced sugar confectionery a good thing?

A media release issued by food industry giant Nestle detailing the company's plans to reduce the sugar content of its confectionery was met with mixed reviews from nutrition spokespeople last week. The main feeling was that improving a product that is 100% bad still makes the product bad.

While confectionery is never going to be on a list of healthy food options, the reality is that confectionery is not going anywhere either. If you consider that when a company the size of Nestle decides to change the nutrient composition of their products, it ultimately has an impact on the health of millions of people.

There is also a growing body of scientific evidence to show that the human brain can become primed to want increasingly sweeter food items. So, based on this reducing the sweetness of confectionery will be of benefit from population health perspective.

No one is saying that confectionery is good but at least a changed formulation may result in confectionery that is lower in calories than previously.

Now, if food companies then advertise the confectionery more in order to increase consumption; then we have a problem :)