Nutrition Space

What are some snack ideas if you have nut allergies?

My PT's recommended almonds as a great snack but I'm allergic to nuts. Is there anything else I can have that's just as filling?

Absolutely! Firstly though, are you allergic to all nuts? Things like almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans (to name a few) are tree nuts, whereas peanuts are actually legumes. Some people are allergic to some tree nuts...but not all.

Let's assume that you are allergic to all nuts. Nuts contain carbohydrate, proteins, fats and fibre and its mostly the last 2 things that satiate us (protein does also, but we're looking at fats and fibre here). So when we're looking for an alternative for something that will keep us "full" but with little bulk, we're aiming for something as energy packed as a nut.

Are you allergic to seeds? Seeds like pumpkin, sunflower, chia, flax and sesame can all be eaten on their own or mixed in with a little yoghurt if you wish. Depending on the variety 2 tablespoons of seeds will give you approximately 10g of fat, 1g of fibre and 3g of protein and be around 100cals. The great thing about seeds is all the other vitamins, minerals and secondary compounds they contain. For example, pumpkin seeds are great for killing parasites and chia seeds are reportedly good for stamina. Seeds are a good source of zinc which is awesome for our immune systems. I would aim for seeds as a second option to nuts.

Here are some other ideas if seeds aren't your thing:

•· ¼ avocado on 1 slice of toasted vogels bread (or rice/chia bread for a yummy gluten free toast) will provide around 10g carb, 3.5g fibre, 5g protein and 11g of good fats. It's small, but will digest easily and keep you full. It's approx 185-200cals.

•· Similarly you could have a slice of toasted bread with a tablespoon of hummus with 4.5g of fat and 4.5g of protein and 2.5g of fibre. This snack only packs a 133cal hit.

•· A half serve of protein powder mixed with water and 2tsp of flaxseed oil is a good wee snack. Protein powders are usually 30g of protein per serve. So this snack would be 15g of protein, 10g of fat and to add some fibre we can add a tsp of slippery elm powder to add 1g of fibre. This is approximately 150cals.

•· Weetbix with marmite. Remember as a kid we'd smear butter and marmite over a weetbix. You can still do this! But instead replace the butter with a tablespoon of avocado. This snack is only 100cals with 3.4g of fibre, 2.7g protein, 5g of fat and 10g of carbs.

•· Try mixing 4tablespoons of low fat cottage cheese with 1 tsp of pesto and have this on a Ryvita Cracker. This snack is approximately 100-120cals, has 11g of protein, 3-5g of fat (depending on the type of pesto), 7g of carbs, and 1g of fibre.

In a nutshell (so to speak) shoot for foods high in fibre and essential fatty acids that take the digestive system a while to work on, while not overloading it.

Stacey
16 Nov 2010

Will rice wafers increase my blood sugar eventhough they're high GI?

"I'm wonderng if rice wafers are ok to eat as a snack as I see on the glycemic index that they're actually quite high on the index. If I only have 2 will that raise my blood sugar levels?"

Yes rice cakes do sit quite high on the Glycemic Index, with low-amylose versions being higher still. Amylose is quite a resistant starch which doesn't raise blood glucose as fast. The reason why some rice cakes wouldn't have much of it, is due to the processing and the type of rice used. But don't panic about this too much, because it's not all doom and gloom for the humble rice cake.

The Glycemic Index is a scale which rates the speed at which a carbohydrate containing food raises blood glucose levels. Foods are typically rated against white bread which has a GI of 100, this allows an easy reference for people. In this case, glucose would therefore be rated with a GI of 140. It's more practical for us to assess against white bread - if we assessed against glucose having an index of 100, then white bread may not look as bad to some people. Theoretically though, the GI is rated against glucose (GI=100)

Rice cakes have an approximate GI of 61 for high amylose to close to 99 for low amylose.

But wait, we really need to look at the Glycemic Load.

Glycemic Load measures the total effect that our portion of our carbohydrate meal will have. Glycemic Load is calculated by taking the total carbohydrate grams of our portion and multiplying it by the GI and dividing by 100.

So let's take 1 rice cake - approx 5g of carb with a hypothetical GI of 99. 99x5/100=4.95. So the Glycemic Load of 1 rice cake is 4.95, which is pretty low, even though the GI is high. Your 2 rice cakes will give you a GL of 9.9, which is still fairly low. Eat 10 rice cakes and that GL races up to 49.5, which is great if you need some quick energy in the case of hypoglycaemia or endurance events. Fat loss, not so much. Even a low GI food can be turned into a high GL food...so watch your portions.

There are a few things that will lower the GI of a food; fat, protein and fibre are the ones you can control (processing, types of products used etc are reasons why one brand of rice cake can be different from another). If you ever find a chocolate cake that says low GI, don't get excited, it's lowered its GI probably by including copious amounts of fat and can also be influenced by other additives, types of flour etc. This DOES NOT make cake...any cake a health food.

Adding a lean protein like tuna or cottage cheese or a healthy fat like avocado to your rice cakes will help lower the GI. It will still have the same GL, but the load won't enter your blood stream as rapidly, meaning that you'll feel more satiated for longer, and those hard working fat burning hormones have a fighting chance to do their thing without battling against insulin.

Short answer, 2 rice cakes will be fine, always top it with healthy food and try to buy wholegrain rice cakes. And if all round health is your M.O. leave the flavoured ones on the shelf.

Stacey
4 Nov 10

Can grapefruit help fat burning?

" I see some diets recommending having grapefruit at breakfast to help with fat burning. Can grapefruit help with fat loss? how so?"

Ah yes, the Grapefruit Diet. Before I waste too much of your time the first thing you need to know is that the principles of this diet are to eat around 800 calories and have half a grapefruilt or 8 ounces of grapefruit juice with every meal. "They" recommend to do this diet for 12 days. Hmm, sounds like a fad to me.

Now it doesn't take a degree in nutrition to know that if you eat 800 calories you will lose weight, grapefruit or not.

"They" reckon that the enzymes in grapefruit stimulate fat burning. This diet has been around since the 1930's and has been named the Hollywood Diet, The Mayo Clinic Diet and The Scarsdale Diet. I'm sure there must be other names, but they all mean the same thing, starve yourself and have a grapefruit or 2.

A study published in 2006, found that over a 12 week period subjects taking fresh grapefruit lost 1.6kg, the grapefruit juice group lost 1.5kg and the grapefruit capsule group lost 1.1kg. The placebo group lost 0.3kg. But before you all go and rush out for grapefruit by the bundle, the conclusion states "Although the mechanism of this weight loss is unknown it would appear reasonable to include grapefruit in a weight reduction diet". Yes, that's right folks, they did not attribute the weight loss to the grapefruit. The purpose of this study was in fact to test grapefruits effects on insulin resistance.

If I lost only 1.6kg in 12 weeks on a clinically controlled diet (if it was in fact controlled), I'd want my money back.

But back to the main point...the actual grapefruit diet is only 800 calories. If you eat your normal food and expect the addition of grapefruit to be a miracle fat melter, then you will be disappointed.

Grapefruit has been shown to improve cholesterol and serum triglycerides, but one study reports that "The addition of fresh red grapefruit to generally accepted diets could be beneficial for hyperlipidemic, especially hypertriglyceridemic, patients suffering from coronary atherosclerosis"

Do you actually have coronary atherosclerosis? Whether you do or not, this study still doesn't prove grapefruit will burn your fat for you.

This diet works similarly to the Lemon Detox Diet. Starve yourself, lose weight through water, muscle, a bit of fat and a few toxins and then when you can't sustain it anymore put the weight back on.

Eat grapefruit, it's good for you (like all fruit and veg), but if you want to "burn" fat, you require oxygen to do so...and that means get puffing. If you don't want to put back on the fat you have just burnt, then don't overeat. And finally, if you don't want to screw up your metabolism to make it harder to burn this fat then don't eat refined junk.

The Effects of Grapefruit on Weight and Insulin Resistance: Relationship to the Metabolic Syndrome. Ken Fujioka, Frank Greenway, Judy Sheard, Yu Ying. Journal of Medicinal Food. Spring 2006, 9(1): 49-54. doi:10.1089/jmf.2006.9.49.

Red Grapefruit Positively Influences Serum Triglyceride Level in Patients Suffering from Coronary Atherosclerosis: Studies in Vitro and in Humans J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54 (5), pp 1887-1892 DOI: 10.1021/jf058171g

Stacey
7 Oct 10

What am I suppose to eat before morning cardio?

What am I supposed to eat before my morning cardio? some people say nothing as its better fat burning. Some say just have a coffee as that helps fat burning. If I eat, what can I eat? Can you help.

There is such varied opinion and research on this topic that it is a hard one to answer. So let's look at a few of the theories.

Eat a very small something before working out: This one is supported by one well known nutritionist that I know of, the reason behind this is to pretty much wake the body up and tell it that it's time to start using energy. And this small something was literally a very small something, this nutritionist mentioned even something as small as a strawberry with a tablespoon of yoghurt. Some research has also suggested that men do well having something to eat before training.

Eat what you prefer to burn before working out: Research popped up earlier this year saying that if you start the day with the fuel you prefer to burn then you will burn it preferentially for the day. So that means if you want to burn carbs, then eat a higher carb breakfast, or if you want to burn fat - go for the protein/fat option. You'll find many people will just have a small protein shake in water before training - this doesn't have such a huge spike on insulin, but can provide a little extra energy to work harder.

Eat nothing before working out: This is based on the theory that glycogen is depleted therefore the body has to derive it's energy straight from body fat. However, it takes a couple of days of starvation to fully deplete glycogen, unless of course your diet really is tight enough that you are just eating enough to refill glycogen and then deplete it during the day. A large body of research shows this is an effective way to burn fat in the morning. Me personally...I just don't have time to wait an hour for food to digest before cardio, so I go empty stomach, and if that's helping my fat burning...great! Eating nothing seems to be the most popular choice

But a word of caution - if you are susceptible to hypoglycaemia, I recommend you either do your cardio later in the day when you are fuelled up, or try a small amount of straight glucose before cardio (like a barley sugar)

Have a coffee before working out: This has a couple of benefits. Drinking coffee assists in releasing free fatty acids into the blood stream for oxidisation. Secondly, it raises adrenalin which also helps with fat burning, but also gives us a kick that can make us work harder and burn more calories. However, drinking coffee on an empty stomach for an adrenalin burst can fatigue the adrenal glands and over time can result in adrenal fatigue (particularly if you are also a stressed person). Adrenal fatigue isn't pretty. I used to do the coffee before cardio thing...but decided my long term energy levels were a bit more important. By the way, energy drinks and coffees loaded with sugar don't come into this category, you will spend your whole workout burning off the sugar.

And of course, don't forget about the good ol' daily deficit. If you are still eating more calories than you expend, or if the calories you are eating aren't clean then you are negating the whole effect of those early mornings.

Stacey
28 Oct 10

Salicylate Allergy and Sensitivity Explained

Lisa has been struggling with unexplained allergies (Read Lisa's Bodybuliding Poisoning Me article) for some time now. Now, we're not saying it's salicylates, but this week's article explains what a salicylate sensitivity is.

Unexplained sinus problems, hives, eczema, stomach pains, mouth ulcers, swelling in face hands or feet, headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath. Tests, scans, medication, more tests, more scans, more medication and no relief. It's a scenario that some people experience on a daily basis.

Salicylates (Sal-iss-a-lates) are present in varying levels in most of the foods we eat, they're not additives and they are a necessary part of that foods life. Salicylates are hormones found in plants and have a chemical structure similar to aspirin. They act as a ‘protector' to foods to ward off pathogens. Salicylates are mostly found under the skins of food.

Salicylates have the potential to build up in the body faster than it can break them down and may cause problems for those susceptible to sensitivity.

A hypothetical scenario could play out like this: One day you're enjoying a punnet of strawberries (high in salicylates) but as the days go by you may end up with a persistent headache which you treat with aspirin and still continuing to eat strawberries, and perhaps a few tomatoes...you keep treating your headache with aspirin and a month later you end up with what looks like ‘an allergy to something' chronic sinus and perhaps a rash.

Salicylates are also found in other products. They're commonly found in acne medication as salicylic acid, they can also produce a ‘minty' flavour and are used in mints and mint flavoured products and may be referred to as oil of wintergreen. Salicylates are in virtually everything; deodorants, sports rubs, air fresheners, washing powder...the list goes on. Methyl Salicylate toxicity was found in a cross country runner in 2007 who was suspected to have overused a particular topical muscle relief product.

Where to from here? The first step is to assess whether you strongly believe salicylates are the cause of your symptoms.

•· Keep a diary which details every food eaten, medication taken and product used and list any symptoms, severity of symptom and time of day the symptoms occur.

•· Be attentive to your symptoms, sinus in pollen season may just be a pollen sensitivity and it will be hard to assess salicylate sensitivity during this time.

•· Start making a list of foods which you strongly believe are making you sick and then avoid eating them. You have to avoid them to help work out other foods which may be adding to the problem.

•· Assess the level of additives in your diet. Additives (such as preservatives, colourings, flavour enhancers, nitrates, amines, artificial sweeteners etc) can also produce headaches, sinus and other problems.

Before claiming a salicylate sensitivity try eliminating all processed foods for at least a week to see if your symptoms clear. This type of diet would include fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt and grains (oats, barley, millet, wheat, rice, corn), tea and coffee with no sugar or artificial sweeteners. Bread contains preservatives and should be left out when attempting a natural diet.

If you still experience mucus or stomach issues, you may have to cut dairy and grains also during this period. Yep that means a diet of veges, fruits, eggs and meat (organic and free range if possible)

If you have done all these things and a natural unprocessed diet is still causing symptoms then it's time to talk to your Nutritionist about a salicylate elimination diet. There are no tests for salicylate sensitivity per se.

Your nutritionist should also be able to provide you with yummy meals you can make from your limited foods list and teach you how to effectively identify problem foods.

Some foods which are low in salicylates may still cause a reaction in people either due to build up in the body or to excessive sensitivity.

This is a list of some of the common foods which can produce a sensitivity.

Aspirin and products containing aspirin or salicylic acid
| Almonds | Apples | Apricots

Berries (all)

Grapes & raisins | Nectarines | Oranges

Paprika | Peaches | Peppers (bell & chili) | Plums |prunes

Tangerines | Tea | Tomatoes

Wine & wine vinegar (grapes) | Oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate)

Rose hips or acerola (often found in vitamins) | Food colorings, preservatives, etc.

The complete list of foods and products is much larger than this.

Stacey, 1 Oct 10