Been thinking - How much do you eat - do you really need it?

[BFG]

You are a very quick learner - well done!

[Fat Bob]

Cool! So you can teach old Gods new tricks?

[Burbage]

Well, there are gods, and then there are GODS.

[BFG]

Cool! So you can teach old Gods new tricks?

Mmmmmarvelous! You are on fire today, young man!!!

[Fyn]

More on Hi/Low-GI diet.

Potatoes and white bread linked to cancer
Monday Mar 10 11:00 AEDT
By ninemsn staff

High-GI foods such as white bread and potatoes have been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes and early death by Australian researchers.

A comprehensive study by Sydney University researchers provides further proof that carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion, causing spikes in blood glucose and insulin levels, can lead to long-term health problems.

"The GI (Glycemic Index) of your diet is a powerful predictor of disease," researcher Alan Barclay said.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, involved analysing the results of 37 observational studies worldwide into GI diets published over the last decade.

The study examined the diets of nearly two million men and women, ranging in age from their early 30s to late 60s.

Mr Barclay said he was not surprised by the link between high-GI foods — which include short-grain rice and highly processed breakfast cereals — and diabetes.

"If you have constantly high blood sugar and insulin levels due to a high-GI diet, you may literally wear out your pancreas," he said. "Eventually it may lead to type 2 diabetes in older age."

Mr Barclay said there was also a "strong relationship" between GI and common diseases like cancer and heart disease — illnesses not usually associated with carbohydrates.

He said that constant spikes in blood glucose cause the body to release insulin as well as an insulin-related hormone known as 'insulin like growth factor one'.

"Both these hormones increase cell growth and decrease cell death and have been shown to increase the risk of developing cancer," Mr Barclay said.

Consumers of high-GI foods are also more prone to cardiovascular disease because these foods tend to lower "good" cholesterol levels in the body and raise levels of triglyceride, a central ingredient in vegetable oil and animal fats.

Mr Barclay said low-GI foods such as grainy breads, fruit, natural muesli and starchy vegetables are preferable because they release glucose gradually into the bloodstream.

"They can keep you feeling full longer, help you maintain a healthy weight and provide you and your brain with more consistent energy throughout the day," he said.

[slinky]

Thanks for that article, Fyn. I was just thinking over the weekend that we don't really need the potatoes, noodles, or rice - that I seem to automatically make each night for dinner (and that I usually eat for lunch the next day in leftovers). I've decided to make a real effort to avoid those things more often than not when cooking at home. Unfortunately, I do like those things, so I'm going to need to come up with some yummy substitutes!!

[azzam]

This is all very well, but which of you is going to bring me chocolates? And a little foot rub.

[Burbage]

I do like those things, so I'm going to need to come up with some yummy substitutes!!

Have them as a treat then. That's what I do. I make fish and chips on a friday night, and enjoy the chips all the more because I only have them once a week. Of course there's nothing more healthy than fish, so there is a bit of offset there.

Mainly I just eat meat, vegetables and fruit.

[Aliya]

Makes you larf really all this food stuff, if potatoes and white bread etc are really bad for you then how come the UK population hasnt died orf?

[Burbage]

Give them time.

The natural end point of the sugar and high GI carbohydrate industry is providing the product at cheaper and cheaper prices (it is essentially a industrial product). That means that this type of food is relatively cheaper compared to other food and to what it was twenty years ago. This meas that while twenty years ago people didn't eat so much of it, now they eat far too much of it. You talk about populations dying off. Have you not heard of the obesity epidemics sweeping the UK, Australia and the US? These people will die young.

Maybe Pestilence can come out of retirement?

[Aliya]

The obesity epidemics will be an absolute curse going forward in manpower, taxes etc.

[Lili Von Shtupp]

OMG, My husband just walked in the door with a Snicker bar for me. Seriously.

I think he's trying to kill me.

[azzam]

I want that man!!

What's wrong with potatoes? I like potatoes.

[Kooky]

Have you read that book yet, Aliya? Good. Now go buy his GL Diet Book.

White carbs bad.
No carbs bad.
Good carbs good.

Quinoa is what you need.

[azzam]

Why does it have to be so complicated? I don't understand why people have to make rocket science out of it.
Eat sensibly, lots of fruit and veg, cut down on fats and sugar, exercise. How hard can it be?

[Aliya]

I agree - it isnt rocket science is it. Quinoa - fantastic stuff, been having it every day with everything a very versatile little seed, filling and good for you in lots of ways, really delighted with it, recommended.

[Kooky]

Roast a load of vegetables (lots of colours), cook your quinoa with some veg stock, cut some black olives and coriander into it, top with vegetables - yum. Quinoa is both your protein and carbs.

[slinky]

Have them as a treat then. That's what I do. I make fish and chips on a friday night, and enjoy the chips all the more because I only have them once a week. Of course there's nothing more healthy than fish, so there is a bit of offset there.

Mainly I just eat meat, vegetables and fruit.

That's the current plan, Burb. I grilled some salmon the other night and had a mango salsa to put on top and some steamed cauliflower and broccoli on the side. Good stuff! Tonight will be grilled pork chops with a red cabbage & carrot cole slaw (dressing for the slaw is olive oil, vinegar & mustard, so pretty healthful).

Of course the damned (and delicious) Cadbury Easter eggs have made their annual appearance

[daffodil]

Wait 'til the Hot X buns arrive!

'Course, you health nuts could always have them with soem quinoa on the side!

[slinky]

I pretty sure I don't even know what quinoa is

[daffodil]

Looks a bit like bloated couscous

[slinky]

Looks a bit like bloated couscous

[smilie=gnigni.gif] OK, but is it a grain or what?

[baloo]

Off the top of my head.....

Quinoa (pronounced /ˈkinwɑ/ KEEN-wah or /ˈkinoʊə/ KEE-no-uh, Spanish quinua, quínoa, or quinoa) is a species of goosefoot (Chenopodium) grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal as it is not a grass. Its leaves are also eaten as a leaf vegetable, much like amaranth, but the commercial availability of quinoa greens is currently limited.

Quinoa originated in the Andean region of South America, where it has been an important food for 6,000 years. Its name is the Spanish spelling of the Quechua name. Quinoa is generally undemanding and altitude-hardy, so it can be easily cultivated in the Andes up to about 4,000 meters. Even so, it grows best in well-drained soils and requires a relatively long growing season. In eastern North America, it is susceptible to a leaf miner that may reduce crop success; this leaf miner also affects the common weed Chenopodium album, but C. album is much more resistant.

You might find pictures of it here.

[azzam]

Well here's a thought. If we were eat the fresh food that is available to us in our local area, instead of what happens to be fashionable ( not pointing any fingers here, I love olives and couscous ), not only would we be healthier and trimmer, we would be saving all those carbon emissions that are produced when we import exotic foods. Mankind has always been able to exist on what is able to be picked or hunted locally. Why all these complex diets and food fads? I suspect the health food market is as commercial as any other.

[Burbage]

Due to the idiotic Australian market system, fresh food produced in Far North Queensland has to travel south for 2000km to Brisbane to be sold at market and then it has to travel 2000km north to be sold in the supermarket. So a mango can do 4000km and end up on a supermarket shelf 500m from where it was grown.

Oh, and there's nothing complex about it. View anything made with flour or rice or potatoes with grave suspicion. Avoid sugar completely, except for the occasional treat. What could be simpler than that?