Limes & Lycopene is all about food and health. While there’s a glut of information available on these subject, much of it’s confusing, misleading and contradictory. Limes & Lycopene aims to cut through the rubbish, misinformation and downright silliness about health, diet and naturopathy.
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Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Blogging
Given my recent experimentation with native spices for the Tigers&Strawberries Spice is Right food blogging event, I’m pointing you in the direction of the Cook (almost) Anything Once blog for info on how to use Mountain Pepper Leaf (also known as mountain pepperberry ).
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26 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet
In researching my article for Wellbeing magazine about the new RDIs , my favourite quote is from the herald . When talking about the difficulty of eating in the boundaries of the new RDIs :
Is it any more unrealistic than expecting bodies that evolved to eat plants and wild game to thrive on instant noodles?
So there you have it, the argument in a nutshell. Yes the new RDIs mean being more careful with our diets than we currently are, yes it’s going to take some work to match them, but really, is it unrealistic?
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25 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
I love the food blogging event the Spice is Right . Each month Barbara sets an interesting challenge that encourages me to really think about a spice – what is it used for, what’s the history of that spice, does it have any medicinal qualities, how to use it in a recipe. I am a food nerd and just love all that planning, researching and thought about food. The latest challenge was to use “fresh and local” ingredients and my entry was a Baked Wattleseed Ricotta . The full event roundup is here .
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25 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Blogging
Having bought your packet of wattleseeds (and having promised this in a previous post), here are more ideas for how to use them (apart from making scrumptious baked ricotta that is) . . .
This is from an article written by Vic Cherikoff which appeared in the GI newsletter published by Sydney University:
How can you use wattleseed?
Of these, I’ve tried the wattleseed water (boil 2 tablespoons of wattleseed in about 100ml of water) mixed in with my morning porridge and it’s fabulous with a little bit of maple syrup. I’m also looking forward to trying wattleseeds mixed in with polenta in a vegetarian sausage recipe I have.
Wattleseed is apparently really good in sweet things, such as chocolate wattleseed biscuits , wattleseed pavlova and wattleseed creme brulee . To buy your wattleseeds contact either Herbies or Vic Cherikoff .
bq.
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20 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, A Balanced Diet, Sustainablity and Fat
While trying to negotiate the issue of not eating fish caught in an unsustainable way, you can add in the question of which fish contain the most Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Choice have a list in their article on frozen fish. There are also easy cooking tips here .
Oh yes and the frozen fish article concludes that most brands use el-cheapo fish and are seriously over-priced, so don’t waste your money.
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19 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in The Micronutrients and A Balanced Diet
I realised after blogging about calcium losses in sweat I was so busy talking about the extra bit you need, I didn’t give the overall Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) . . .
Basically the new RDIs give a range of values for each nutrient, depending on age, sex and so on. For calcium that range is 1,000mg – 1,300mg per day. The higher second value is for men and women over 70 and females under 18 that are pregnant or breast feeding.
This figure is debated by a number of scientists and nutritionists. I would recommend aiming for at least 700mg per day. For more on this take a look at the calcium debate and how to ensure you have strong and healthy bones.
Calcium is in more foods than just dairy and it’s good to use a variety of sources, I’ve tried to give useful serving sizes in the following list:
An example of how you might put this together to get the 1,000mg of calcium would be:
This gives a total of well over 1,000mg. If you don’t want to have salmon for lunch, then you could add some tofu to dinner in the evening and have a few dried figs with the afternoon snack.
1 comment
18 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Health News and Food & Health Myths
Last week was Australian Continence Week – did you know that 67% of pregnant women experience problems with incontinence= during pregnancy and 1 in 3 women have incontinence problems following childbirth? Also incontinence is the second leading reason why elderly people have to move to nursing homes. If you combine an incontinence problem with mobility issues, then it can be hard to cope. Incontinence also affects men, although less often than women.
One of the biggest myths is that there’s nothing you can do about incontinence, it’s just part of growing old or having a baby. However, for the majority of people, incontinence is treatable, through a combination of bladder retraining and pelvic floor exercises . Most local hospitals have continence nurses and physios and for a lot of people the treatment can be done through medicare.
Part of the problem is that nobody wants to talk about it and most people just accept the status quo out of embarrassment. However if you do experience urine leakage when you cough or laugh; if it’s limiting your ability to exercise; or if you find yourself planning your day around toilet stops , then it’s worthwhile having a chat with your GP and getting a referral. If you don’t want to do that, you can always call the Continence Hotline (1800 33 00 66) or try Continence Australia to find out your options. In July the ABC’s Health Report had an item on incontinence# .
3 comments
18 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in All In A Day's Work, The Micronutrients and A Balanced Diet
I’m writing an article at the moment for Wellbeing magazine about the new Nutrient Reference Values released by the health department. A whole series of changes have been made – RDIs have gone up for some nutrients, down for others, for all different reasons.
One that has increased is the RDI for calcium, because . . . we lose about 60mg of calcium every day in our sweat. This simply wasn’t known when the old values were set. To add to the complexity, in order to get this 60mg, we actually have to consume an extra 320mg of calcium. Sounds bizarre doesn’t it?
For many vitamins and minerals there’s a difference between how much we eat and how much we actually digest, absorb and are then able to utilise in our bodies. This is sometimes called the bioavailability of the nutrient. One example is folate, we only absorb half of the folate from the foods we eat, the rest just passes straight through.
In the case of calcium, the more calcium we have in our bodies, the less we absorb. This is a safety mechanisms, to prevent you from over-dosing on calcium, which is a good thing. It does mean, however, in order to get that extra 60mg into our bodies where it can be used, we have to eat more than five times that amount.
320mg of calcium can be found in:
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18 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket, Blogging, Recipes: main dishes, Recipes: vegies and Gluten-free
Australian bush foods are always something that have intrigued me, but I’ve never really known what to do with them. This month’s Spice is Right is about using a locally grown spice in combination with fresh and local produce, in a dish that reflects the flavours of home. This month I was in the mood for experimenting and thought it was time to try out something new – a native spice.
Many of the bush foods and spices are unique to Australia – they’ve been grown, harvested and cooked here for thousands of years and way before Captain Cook set foot on this land. Today the variety of the food choice in Sydney is amazing – Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Turkish, Spanish, Indian . . . on and on goes the list and yet these indigenous foods are rarely used. If the aim this month is to create a dish that reflects the land in which you live, then for Sydney it also has to reflect our melting pot of cultures.
Since living in Sydney, my favourite tree has become the wattle and their bright, golden yellow, fluffy flowers are in bloom at the moment. So, for this Spice is Right, I’m concentrating on wattleseeds . They do not solely grow in Australia, but they are very Australian and the wattle or Acacia is our national floral emblem. Indigenous Australians have been using the seed, root and bark of wattles for thousands of years as both food and medicine. The early colonists included branches in the construction of their houses using the “wattle and daub” method – hence the name wattle.
There are over 700 species of wattle in Australia, of which about 100 have edible seeds. The seeds have to be dried and roasted before use, as fresh wattleseeds contain thiaminase, an enzyme which breaks down vitamin B1. Wattleseeds are high in protein (about 26%), contain polyunsaturated fats and are about 30% fibre. They also have a low GI and can reduce the glycemic effect of any foods they contain.
Dried and roasted they look a bit like coffee grinds and have a slightly bitter, nutty flavour – kind of a cross between bitter chocolate, coffee and hazelnuts, hence they’re often used in sweet recipes . However, I wanted to make something savoury and so with the help of Spice Notes by Ian Hemphill, I’ve been playing around with wattleseed blends and having fun in the process.
My final recipe is for a wattleseed spice blend which can be used in many different ways. I’ve combined it with ricotta from the Blue Mts and some winter vegetables, all grown in the greater Sydney area. The dish is a combination of cultures – the indigenous wattleseeds, the slightly North African feel to the spice blend, baked ricotta is something I always associate with Italian food and what could be more Sydney than a stack!
Wattleseed Spice Blend
Dry roast the cashews, sesame seeds and coriander seeds in a frying pan until toasted. Be careful not to burn these, as they tend to change from toasted to blackened very quickly. Add the wattleseeds and then grind together in a mortar and pestle (or a spice grinder).
This spice mix can be used with meat or fish or added to burgers. You could also sprinkle over mixed vegetables before roasting. I purchased my wattleseeds from Herbies .
Baked Wattleseed Ricotta Stack
Try to get fresh ricotta, cut from a cake for this recipe – most supermarket delis sell ricotta by weight.
Serves 2
Heat the oven to 220C.
Thinly slice the potatoes, red onion and pumpkin, you want them in about 5mm slices so they cook quickly. Place on a baking tray with the green beans. Drizzle with half the olive oil and put in the oven, on the top shelf, for about 20 minutes. Turn the vegetables over half way through the cooking time.
Meanwhile place the ricotta cheese in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the wattleseed spice blend. Drizzle with the rest of the olive oil and place in the oven, underneath the vegetables, for about 10 – 15 minutes, or until the ricotta is slightly brown and feels solid when touched.
To serve, carefully place half the vegetables on a plate and top with a slice of the baked ricotta.
7 comments
16 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket and Health News
Having already talked about watermelon and it being a fruit high in lycopene (although it’s usefulness to us is questionable ), I just could not resist this . . .
News from the UK about square watermelons – yep you heard it, instead of being the usual spherical shape, these watermelons have clear boxes placed around them while they grow, so they end up as cubes. They were first grown for the Japanese market because they can be cut into strips, rather than crescent shapes and are therefore easier for lunchboxes, plus they’re also be easier for growers and supermarkets to transport and store.
I think they look kinda cute, if somewhat bizarre.
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14 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Blogging
Over the weekend Richard and I did some Limes&Lycopene housekeeping – updating to the latest version of Wordpress , installing a spam filter and so on.
And I now have a del.icio.us linkroll – look at the right hand sidebar, underneath the Blogroll and Health Resources. This is the latest 10 articles, blog posts and resources I’m reading. If you want to see more , then just click on the del.icio.us banner at the top of the list.
At it’s most basic del.icio.us is an online bookmarking application – see an article you’re interested in, post it del.icio.us and you can access that bookmark from any computer. Where del.icio.us gets really funky however, is in the way it enables the sharing of favourite sites and information. You can look at who else is reading the same things as you and share lists of bookmarks.
Now my my blog and del.icio.us bookmarks are talking to each other. As I read stuff, I’ll post it to my del.icio.us account and the Limes&Lycopene linkroll will be automatically updated. This list will change regularly, at least once, if not several times a day as I come across new information and resources. Let me know if you find it useful.
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14 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Health News
The Herald reports today about concerns over the use of bio-identical hormones – that they may increase the risk of breast and uterine cancer and also of blood clots.
Bio-identical hormones are used by some menopausal women to reduce the symptoms associated with the menopause. They are usually prescribed in the form of troches, or small lozenges and are made by compounding chemists , based upon a prescription from a doctor and pathology test results. They can contain differing quantities of oestrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormones, testosterone or DHEA, although it should be noted that the latter two are not approved in Australia for use by women. They are not herbal medicines, although some of them are manufactured from plants. Bio-identical hormones are exactly that, a hormone treatment.
The concern seems to stem from reports by Dr John Eden of the Sydney Menopause Centre , Randwick’s Royal Hospital for Women, after noting two women with uterine cancer who were taking bio-identical hormones.
At present, I don’t know enough about these reports or the topic to comment. I’ll follow up over the next few days as a clearer picture comes through. If you are using bio-identical hormones then I would recommend seeing your doctor before making any decisions, to discuss the treatment and your concerns.
For further information about compounding chemists go here , here and here . The general medical perspecitve on bio-identical hormones can be found here .
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13 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Recipes: vegan, Recipes: vegies and Gluten-free
A few posts ago I promised a recipe for home-made potato wedges. I make these a lot because I love potatoes, they’re super-easy and always work. Moreover, given that most potato wedges and chips are deep fried, these are a good low fat alternative, with only about 2.5g of fat per serving.
I always leave the skins on, but you don’t have to. In this recipe I’ve tossed the potatoes in fresh rosemary, but you could use some paprika, or sesame seeds, or just leave them plain.
Oven-Cooked Potato Wedges
Serves 2
Heat the oven to 180C.
Wash the potatoes and then cut each lengthways into 6 wedges. Place these in a bowl with the rosemary, olive oil and salt and toss to combine.
Place the potatoes on a baking tray and put them in the oven, on the top shelf. Cook for about 10 minutes, take them out and turn each wedge over. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until crisp and golden on the outside. Serve immediately
5 comments
13 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in All In A Day's Work and Health News
There was an interesting article in the Health&Science section of the Sydney Morning Herald this week – The Hype Behind Herbs . In many ways it’s a good report and makes some valuable points. Australians spend a lot of money on complementary health products each year and, as with any industry, there are both good and bad operators and products. For consumers, faced with rows and rows of bottles, it’s really hard to tell what’s going to work and what’s a waste of money.
Unlike drugs made in the laboratory, plants can vary in their potency, depending on where they’re grown or which part of the plant is used.
“It’s like the difference between one wine and another – to say that all St John’s wort or all echinacea products are the same is like saying all shiraz is like Grange Hermitage because they’re all made from grapes,”
For me, however, the really interesting part of the article, is that nowhere does it mention or refer to professionally qualifed herbalists. The experts that are interviewed are professors and doctors. In the list of recommendations about how to choose products, it doesn’t suggest talking to an actual real-life herbalist.
Having spent a long-time studying herbal medicine, being a qualified and practising herbalist, being a registered member of both the National Herbalists Association of Australia (NHAA) and also the Australian Traditional Medicine Society (ATMS), I find this highly disturbing. In looking at the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines, why was it not obvious to the reporter to check with a herbalist, or seek the opinion of one of our professional bodies? Being the people that have studied herbs in detail, that know about the physiological effects of herbs, being the experts in this field, why was our voice not sought?
It’s hard to know the exact answer, it could just be bad reporting, in which case a few letters to the editors of the Herald are in order. In general though, we herbalists have been pretty average at getting the message out about the credibility of our profession. We are not media savvy, we don’t have a big budget for spruiking our message and we have so far been less than effective at presenting a united front and message.
While I don’t have all the answers, I do know we need to get better at this, because we’re working against some very powerful and well-funded voices from the conventional side of the health field.
It should have been obvious to the reporter to check with a professional herbalist on an article about herbal medicine – it should have been more than obvious, but it wasn’t and yet again our profession is further marginalised.
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12 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in The Micronutrients, Health News, Antioxidants and Fruit
As you know, I love lycopene , heck I even named my blog after it, so of course I have to report on any lycopene discoveries or trivia that are out there.
I read today that, according to the US Department of Agriculture, the lycopene content of watermelon is significantly increased if it’s stored at room temperature, by as much as 40%, so it’s a big difference.
Personally, I love my watermelon straight from the fridge, on a hot, hot day, sat in the garden, not worrying about the juice dribbling down my chin – which is not going to help the lycopene content. However, while lycopene is a really important antioxidant and this research is interesting and despite my love of lycopene, I’m probably not going to change my behaviour.
Firstly, watermelon is a source of other micronutrients, including vitamin C, many of which will survive just fine when stored in the fridge, so when eating cold watermelon I’m still getting some good nutrition. Secondly, as I’ve said before , we don’t absorb the lycopene from fresh, uncooked foods very well. Instead cooking, heating and processing lycopene increases its bioavailability – ie how much of it we can make use of.
More than this though, food is also about enjoyment. I could store my watermelon on the benchtop, I could even heat it up, to make sure I get every last drop of lycopene from it, but for me that just wouldn’t be the same. It would spoil the enjoyment I get from biting into a cold, sweet, juicy piece of watermelon, of having those juices trickle down my chin before spitting out the pips. That’s the real reason why I’ll carry on storing my watermelon in the fridge.
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10 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Shopping Basket
From yesterday’s Good Living, a short article on buying cookery books in Sydney – they list:
I’ve never been to The Book Kitchen, although it sounds wonderful and I shall be down there soon. I have visited The Cookery Book, in its old Crows Nest home and Kinokuniya does also have a great range.
Online I’ve always found the people at Books for Cooks really helpful. This Victorian based business only has a basic website at the moment, but they stock a huge range of both new and second-hand books and the staff are knowledgeable. They are planning to have an online catalogue soon.
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09 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Health News, A Balanced Diet and Fat
I read this week that one Krispy Kreme doughnut contains 20% of the recommended daily intake of kilojoules. Let me say that again, one little doughnut from Krispy Kreme, is the equivalent of 20%, ie one-fifth, of all of the energy you need to eat in one day. One original glazed Krispy Kreme contains 12g of fat and 835kJ, which is a lot, but not quite as extreme as the chocolate iced cream filled doughnut, which has 21g of fat and 1,454kJ.
Now I like a bit of chocolate, a glass of wine, or a little cakey thing as much as the next person and am certainly not saying you should never eat a Krispy Kreme again. However, that’s a LOT of fat and a LOT of kilojoules for one little sweet thing, that you usually tag onto the end of meal. They definitely fall into the “occasional” and not the “everyday” food category.
To put that in perspective, 12g of fat is about one-quarter of your daily fat needs, and is equivalent to:
1 comment
04 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Seasonal Health
We’re into August, the weather is definitely a bit warmer and days are noticeably longer – spring (and therefore summer) are on their way!
Spring is one of those times everyone re-focuses on their health, getting rid of winter colds and trying to lose those few kilos put on over winter. So why not start now?
It’s lighter in the evenings so what about picking up that exercise regime? When you get home from work, pop out for a 20 minute walk. All you need to do is walk away from your home for 10 minutes, turn around and walk back again. You could meet up with a friend, take the kids along or just use it as your wind down from the working day.
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03 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Recipes: 15 minute, Recipes: main dishes and Recipes: legumes
They say pride comes before a fall.
Having confidently talked about how good legumes are for you and how easy they are to cook – I now have to blog about what to do when you’re distracted while cooking chickpeas and end up boiling them into a mush.
Whups.
I was at home yesterday and foolishly thought I’d multi-task by cooking a batch of chickpeas while working.
However the distractions of work, phone calls and emails, meant I forgot about the little peas and waaaaaay over-cooked them.
So now I have about half a hundred-weight of mushy chickpeas.
An obvious options is to make hummous. Plus mushy chickpeas are also useful for soups like lablabi. However I decided to make chickpea patties.
These are based on a Donna Hay recipe and I’ve been making them for years. You can use tinned chickpeas, they’re great for barbecues and the raw mixture freezes. Plus they’re quick, easy and tasty.
I often mix the flavourings around, using fresh herbs or taking out the chilli, depending on what’s in the fridge.
Serves 4
Making the patties: Place all the ingredients into a food processor and process for a couple of minutes until combined. If you don’t have a food processor, simply mash up the chickpeas and mix together with the rest of the ingredients.
Divide the mixture into 8 and shape into patties. If you have time, put them in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Cooking the patties: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan and place over a medium heat. Add the patties. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, or until crispy. Be careful when you turn them over, as they’re quite delicate.
Remove and drain on paper towel.
How to serve: I usually serve these with home-made low fat oven cooked potato wedges and steamed vegies.
5 comments
03 August, 2006
Posted by kathryn in Health News and Weight loss
Over half the adult population and a quarter of children in Australia are overweight and obese. We’re heading towards serious long-term health issues if solutions are not found to this problem.
An easy way to fix obesity is one of science’s hot topics – here take this pill, or eat this food and suddenly you’ll be able to eat everything you want and you won’t get fat.
On the front page of today’s SMH there’s a report entitled At last – all you can eat and never get fat. Researchers in California have been able to vaccinate rats against the actions of a hormone called ghrelin. Ghrelin is a recently discovered hormone that seems to be involved in appetite regulation. The study found that rats vaccinated against ghrelin did not gain weight, even when they were allowed to eat freely and the hope is that a similar treatment could be used in humans. As Dr Janda, the study leader says:
“The results demonstrate a proof of the principle that active immunisation against ghrelin can be used to control weight gain and adiposity in mammals”
I think it’s pretty tough being a scientist these days. There isn’t a whole lot of money around for researching, spending is targeted towards end results and if you can make an impact or get some press to advertise your work, then all the better for you.
But to be honest I hate these stories in the press, they make my blood boil. Despite the newspaper headline and what the researchers say, this is not proof that it’s possible to vaccinate people against obesity; if there is going to be a vaccine it’s decades away and yet we have to find ways to deal with the obesity problem here and now .
Levels of the hormone ghrelin rise and fall throughout the day, depending on when and what you’ve eaten. However, ghrelin is just one of a whole range of hormones and biochemicals that interact in complex ways to regulate when we’re hungry and when we’re full. Blocking the action of one will probably not suppress appetite, but instead lead to others dominanting.
Reducing the problem to a hormonal level also ignores the many reasons why people are overweight and obese. It’s not simply about hunger, instead we eat for comfort; because we’re upset; it can be a form of self-harm; a way of satisfying boredom; or simply that people do not know enough to make good food choices.
Reports like these take away individual personal power and responsibility. Yes hormonal and metabolism changes do occur in obese individuals, but for the vast majority a diet that is low in saturated fat and includes low GI carbohydrates, will work. Instead we’re being fed a message that obesity is a disease; we need a vaccine; there’s nothing you can do because it’s your metabolism or a hormonal problem. The more people are fed this message, the less willing they are to do anything about their weight.
This problem is not going away, it ain’t getting better. Science does many fantastic things and has helped us understand so much about our bodies and the way they work. However we can’t wait for science to come up with a vaccine or a pill, because that’s decades away and people are struggling with this problem now. It’s affecting people’s health, wellbeing and happiness, now. It’s increasing the rates of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, now.
So I wish these reports would be written more realistically and responsibly. Let the scientists do their work and continue to find out more about our bodies, but let’s address the overweight and obesity problem today, we can’t wait for a vaccine.
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02 August, 2006
