“Are you full yet?”

“Finish your plate!”

Does this sound familiar to you? As children these phrases are just the beginning of listening to external sources to help us decide when, what and how much to eat. Fast forward to adulthood and now we eat because of advertising, the clock, our peers, our emotions or even our dietitians! But our body has a very clever system in place to help us to eat the right amount of food for health and happiness; many of us have just stopped listening to it.

How does it work? Over simplified, sensors in your mouth, nose, stomach and intestinal track activate in the presence of food and send a message to your brain about how much and what type of food has been eaten. Your brain then stops looking for food. The reverse also happens in the absence of food in the gastro-intestinal tract. The real situation is more complex and involves many other environmental and internal factors.

Young children are a perfect example of this system working. Babies and toddlers who are offered regular nutritious food are experts at eating the exact amount for their optimal development. This is because they haven’t (yet) been exposed to years of external messages regarding food choices. Some messages are well intended, such as our parents concern we are getting enough nutrition. Some are less so, such as marketing for junk food.

So what can we do about it? Despite many factors being out of our control, one activity that helps get us back in touch with these body signals in a huger-fullness scale. Scan your body before and after meals and try to bring awareness to internal cues. Does my stomach feel empty, full or bloated? Is it moving or growling? Am I light headed, nauseas or irritated? Is my mouth dry? Am I thirsty? Then rate yourself on a scale of 1-10, 1 being starving, 5 being neutral and 10 being completely stuffed full.  If we can stay at all times between 3-5 we can better regulate our energy intake and metabolism. Keep in mind it can take about 20 minutes for your brain to realise your stomach is full so if we stop eating at a 5 we will be comfortably full shortly after.

So what do you do if you have decided you are not actually hungry but still craving food? Use your new awareness skill and consider why. Are you bored? Excited? Sad? Lonely? Have you seen something yummy on TV or in the cupboard? Try to tailor your cravings plan to the real need you are feeling instead of using food.

If you would like more information on non-hungry eating, the hunger scale, cravings plans or anything nutrition related contact Eat Smart Nutrition!

Picture provided by www.fullplateliving.org

Accredited Practising Dietitian and Sports Dietitian Casey James on 0439745689 or

email: casey@eatsmartnutrition.com

Morning sickness is the most common symptom of the first trimester of pregnancy with up to 80% of woman suffering from nausea or vomiting at some point during their pregnancy.  Unfortunately ‘morning sickness’ is more like ‘all day sickness’ with symptoms likely to be at any time of the day.  It can commonly be felt in the morning due to an empty stomach.

Morning sickness will start at around 6 weeks and usually stops at around 12-14 weeks. The most severe form of morning sickness is a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), where a woman experiences excessive vomiting in pregnancy and it is important to be treated by your doctor or midwife.

Feeling sick is normally a good sign that your hormone levels are high.   The cause of morning sickness is not known but it is connected to your levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and oestrogen. The good news is it will not affect your baby’s wellbeing unless you are struggling to keep food and fluids down.

Some woman are more predisposed to morning sickness, such as:

• Those who have a family history
• Those who suffer from motion sickness or migraines
• If you have helicobacter pylori, a bacterial infection of the gastrointestinal system, one of the culprits of stomach ulcers
• Those expecting twins or triplets due to higher levels of pregnancy hormones

One theory is that an increased sense of smell and nausea your body trying to protect you from eating something that is unsafe or harmful.

Tips to help deal with Morning Sickness

Unfortunately there is no magic cure but the following tips may help you get through those first weeks easier:

• Eat before rising (keeps some dry crackers such as cruskits or saladas on your bedside table to nibble on).  Give yourself some extra time in the morning, have a dry cracker before getting out of bed and rise slowly.
• Many woman find having an empty stomach or feeling too full can increase nausea so try to consume small, frequent meals during the day. Drinking fluids between meals rather than with meals may help.
• Avoid high fat, high spice and high flavoured foods.  If a food or meal feels ‘rich’ to you, it more than likely will not go down too well.  Bland, dry foods are easier to consume.
• It may also help to leave windows open or use an exhaust fan to get rid of odours when cooking. Also ask your partner to take up the cooking!
• Cold meats can be less nauseating than cooked meats.  (Remember home cooked and fresh is best).  Try cold meat and salads instead of a hot meal.
• Fresh ginger or ginger products are a natural way to ease nausea and work for some woman.  This could be consumed through ginger tea, ale or tablets.
• Avoid smells that make you feel sick.  Strong odours such as body odour, coffee, petrol, garbage, and cooking aromas being the most common.  Avoid these as best you can!
• Have a small snack before bed that is low glycaemic index and a source of protein to help you not wake up starving.  Examples of this are a milk drink, a tub of yoghurt or slice of wholegrain bread.

Examples of bland foods to snack on during the day include:

• Crackers such as corn thins, plain rice crackers/cakes, cruskits
• Pikelets, scones
• Fresh fruit
• Toast – plain or fruit
• Rice
• Plain pasta
• Cereal

And remember, it will end and you WILL get through it!  Feel comfort knowing many mothers have had it or are also experiencing it. You’re not alone!

If you need help maximising your nutrition in any stages of your pregnancy, see an Accredited Practicing Dietitian to tailor a plan to suit you. – Peita

Those cooler nights call for curries! This Thai chicken meatball curry is super quick, and you can even make the balls ahead of time and keep in the fridge or freezer ready for cooking. It is the ultimate prep ahead meal!

Ingredients: 

(makes around 16 meatballs)

Meatballs

• 500g chicken mince
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 long red chilli thinly sliced
• 5 spring onions
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Poaching liquid

• 3 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
• 2 teaspoons of olive oil
• 2 cans light coconut milk
• 2 kaffir lime leaves

• Basmati rice and steamed asian greens to serve

Method:

1. In a large bowl mix together all meat all ingredients until well combined.

2. Roll mixture into balls around the size of a golf ball, and set aside (this is where you could freeze or keep in the fridge)

3. Heat oil in a large frying pan and add curry paste, cook until fragrant (around 2 minutes)

4. Add coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves

5. Bring milk to a slow simmer, add meatballs to poach.

6. Poach meatballs for around 5 minutes on each side or until firm.

7. Serve with basmati rice and steamed asian greens.

What’s New?

5 new supermarket products

Cauliflower/broccoli ‘rice’:

• Coles have developed a quick and easy packaged version of cauliflower and broccoli ‘rice’. Why is this so fabulous? It now makes it easier than ever to get in your vegetables as they are pre-washed and food processed into fine pieces ready to cook. This is a great way to help increase vegetable intake and it is a great low carbohydrate option to help those health conscious or watching their weight to increase their vegetable intake and reduce carbohydrate intake in the evening meal in particular. As accredited practicing dietitians, we do not advocate cutting out food groups such as ‘carbohydrates’, however educate and explain the reasoning behind our recommendations. The general population is often quite sedentary at night, meaning they don’t require as much energy in the form of carbohydrates at night. Though, this of course does not apply to everyone, particularly athletes or exercising individuals. https://shop.coles.com.au/online/mobile/national/coles-microwave-broccoli-cauliflower-rice

Quark yoghurt:

• The dairy aisle in the supermarket is probably one of the most confusing and conflicting places to end up during your weekly grocery haul. Thanks to the Swedish company Rokbey Farms- it just got some more competition. Their new Quark yoghurt is made with a special blend of cheese and yoghurt cultures, it’s the cold filtration process that increases the natural protein by three times. For a 170g tub of the plain yoghurt you can get 17g of protein with only 1% fat and over half of the recommended daily intake for calcium. The flavoured varieties stack up nicely as well with at least 14-15g protein content and 1-2% fat.
• These are a great low calorie and high in natural protein snack option for everyday people looking to fill that gap, as well as athletes looking for a convenient and tasty snack option for in and around training sessions.
• Check them out: http://rokebyfarms.com.au

Sorghum grain products

• Sorghum pasta, another gluten free option on the market. Ceres organics sorghum pasta is 100% organic sorghum, high in protein and fibre! The sorghum grain is a naturally gluten free grain that also weighs up as a low food chemical grain for those following an elimination diet and are finding they need some variety. It does seem to be a ‘trendy’ food product, as with the ‘gluten free’ trends, but sorghum actually originates from West Africa where they use it over other grains for fertilization and drought purposes.
• Price $6.25 https://www.aussiehealthproducts.com.au/ceres-organics-sorghum-spaghetti-g-f-250g.php , yet to see in Coles or Woolworths chains, but it is a matter of time.
• More about Sorghum- http://www.glnc.org.au/grains/types-of-grains/sorghum/, AND https://www.sanitarium.com.au/food-nutrition/nutrition/sorghum

Helga’s new gluten free bread rolls- 5 seed mix

• Weighing in at 72g, this wholegrain 5 seed bun packs a punch with 5g protein and 3g fibre per serve and only 760kJ! These bread rolls have no artificial colours or flavours and are a nutritional source of fibre. Following a gluten free diet is usually hard to get in quality wholegrains which provide premium petrol for good health (think low GI and a happy bowel) however with great new products like this, Coeliac’s or people following gluten free diets are now able to incorporate more wholegrains into their daily diet without the affects of gluten! Wholegrains are so important for maintain long term health regarding the bowel, heart health and blood sugar management as you may have seen some recent studies identifying the gluten free diet with higher risks of heart disease and or type 2 diabetes as it is typically lower in wholegrains.
• See articles http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2017/05/03/unnecessarily-avoiding-gluten-could-be-bad-for-heart-health.html AND http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2017/03/10/gluten-free-eating-linked-to-increased-diabetes-risk.html
• More information on the bread rolls: http://www.helgas.com.au

Australia’s new food origin labeling requirements (OK this one isn’t a new food product per say) BUT food labelling is becoming clearer!

• For many years, Australians have been demanding changes to origin claims on food labels. Up until now, country of origin labelling has often been unclear. It was hard to know the difference between descriptions like ‘made in’ and ‘product of’.
• The new labels will be easier for you to understand, so you can make a quick, yet informed, decision wherever you buy your food. The Australian Government is introducing new food labelling requirements, which easily tell you at a glance where your food is grown, produced, made or packed. The labels also provided a visual for the percentage of the ingredients that come from Australia!
• The new labels give you the information you need to easily make informed decisions about the food you buy. This is important, especially for fresh produce as often some foods or products are imported and can degrade in nutrient quality throughout the long transportation process.
• More information:http://foodlabels.industry.gov.au

Written by our Sports Deititan Zara Nance

June is Bowel Cancer Awareness month- the facts on FIBRE

Fibre is made up of the indigestible parts or compounds of plants, which pass relatively unchanged through our stomach and intestines.

The main role of fibre is to keep the digestive system healthy, but did you know it can also help with stabilising blood glucose and cholesterol levels?!

How much?

• It is estimated that adults require at least 30g fibre daily, whereas children require 10g + their age (i.e. an 8 year old requires 18g/day).
• Due to possible nutrient interactions, regular intake greater than 50g/day is not recommended.

Types?

Soluble

• Slows gastric emptying, slows glucose absorption, binds to other nutrients which reduces the absorption, slows GI transit time
  • Dietary sources: vegetables, fruits, oat products, psyllium, lentils, dried beans, and soy products

Insoluble

• Adds bulk to the faeces, reduces GI transit time, and increases the water-holding capacity of undigested components
• Insoluble fibre is the most important form of fibrefor keeping our bowels ‘regular’ and for preventing and controlling constipation.
  • Dietary sources: rice bran, corn bran, wheat bran, nuts, seeds, whole grain foods, and skins of fruits and vegetables

An adult could easily achieve 30g fibre in one day through eating foods such as:

• 1 bowl sultana bran or bran-flakes
• 2 slices multigrain or wholegrain bread
• An apple and a banana
• 3 vegetables with dinner
• 1/2 cup kidney beans thrown in with the pasta sauce or stew
• 30g almonds as a snack

Tips

• It is important to drink enough fluid to allow fibre to do its job by absorbing fluid into the large intestine to ‘soften’ the stools, making them easier to pass.
• Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of fluid daily – more on hot days and after strenuous exercise.
• Regular exercise is very important for good bowel function. Try to include a form of aerobic exercise, such as walking, riding a bike or swimming every day.

Example of some other fibre options

            Food                                        Fibre g/serve Source of fibre           

• All Bran cereal (1/2 cup)                    9.5g     Soluble
• Kidney Beans (1/2 cup)                      8.2g     Soluble
• Lentils, cooked (1/2 cup)                    7.8g     Soluble
• Ry-vita crackers, 2                              5.0g     Insoluble
• Asian pear, raw, small                       4.4g     Soluble
• Almonds, 30g                                      3.3g     Soluble/insoluble
• Benefibre/ Metamucil                        3.0g     Soluble
• Broccoli, cooked, ½ cup                      2.8g     Insoluble/ soluble
• Kiwi fruit, raw, 1 small                       2.4g     Soluble/insoluble
• Whole-wheat bread, 1 slice               2.0g     Insoluble
• White bread, 1 slice                           0.8g     Insoluble

Written by our Eat Smart Sports Dietitian Zara Nance

Inside Zara’s recent half marathon experience

Firstly let me clarify, this was NOT my first time running a half marathon and I knew exactly what I signing up for, BUT despite all of this I still experienced bad race day nerves, as I do with most my races. Despite all my training or type of race, I find pre-race my gut has a general unsettled feeling, I need to go to the toilet about 5 times before I can line up at the start line and I often feel like butterflies are in my stomach until the gun goes off. Working as a sports dietitian I am very aware of pre-race nerves and it is very important for me to be practical with my athlete clients regarding issues such as “what do I eat the night before?” OR  “what are the best foods/products to consume on/during the race?”

SO, back to my race experience, the Noosa Winter Festival is a fabulous event that I have attended every year since 2015 and it is ever-growing and attracting state-wide athletes. It offers multiple swim, cycling and running events over the weekend for all ages and abilities. It just so happened that my personal weekend was jam packed with other commitments and unexpected life ‘stress’ (when is it ever not). This saw me arrive at Noosa late Saturday evening, hungry and looking to eat anything (gluten free) in sight. Now this is not an ideal situation, but these things happen and it is part of life to be able to deal with different situations as they come.

Been an experienced runner, I of course had already set a race goal time I’d like to achieve, so fully aware that I am asking a lot of my body to get me over the line in 90 – 95minutes. With my nutrition and dietietics background I know there are certain types of foods and condiments that one might want to avoid or limit leading up to an endurance event such as a half marathon such as higher fibre and fat dishes, but Zara did not care to think about those things at this point in time (cue: hangry) as it was 8pm. If you have been following previous blogs, you will also notice I am a coeliac, which again limits the types of foods I can consume (gluten free diet is the only cure). So with this in mind, I began my hunt for survival (dinner) in Noosa.

Now Noosa, is quite a trendy spot to wine and dine, and with gluten free typically considered a trend in this era, I expected that sourcing a gluten free pasta dish would not be challenging at all. Usually I would cook homemade gluten free pasta, however did not have this opportunity. It happened to turn out that in fact Noosa did not have a gluten free pasta option for me and by this stage I had given up and resorted to plan B, pizza. I would consider pizza to be one of my favourite foods however again being gluten free, the bases can be really hit or miss. I finally settled on a pizza place and ordered ASAP. The restaurant so kindly had a bottle of chili oil on the table; one of my favourites and this went superbly with my garlic and prawn pizza. RED FLAG ALERT- high consumption of fat the night before an endurance event can predispose you to a higher chance of stomach upsets the next morning (and/or during the event), what I like to call ‘pre-runners gut’. NOW I can’t fully blame the oil, as I said I am quite a nervous racer and nerves, stress, anxiety or all of the above also play a huge role in gut health. As can timing of your last meal, dehydration, high carbohydrate intake such as sugary beverages or too many gels and of course the obvious fact that you are exercising and therefore there is a reduced blood flow to the gut which is enough to cause issues.

On the plus side, I did manage to bring my own gluten free breakfast food for pre-race as I know what works for me and don’t want to rely on local cafes for my pre-race nutrition. Additionally despite my tummy upset, I managed a personal best time at running this distance and am now motivated to continue training and enter the Gold Coast Half Marathon in July.

Lessons learnt:

• Be as prepared as possible, not only with your race gear but with your nutrition.
• Questions to ask: Is there a kitchen at your accommodation? What are you eating in the morning? Have you got familiar options for fuel for during the race? Have you practiced any/all of this pre-training?
• If you can cook your own meal the night before, I recommend this option, as it is likely safe and will be something you’ve eaten before or even better, practiced before a long training run/s!
• If you have to eat out the night before, think about the dish you are ordering, is it similar to something you would normally eat and is it a good source of carbohydrates, moderate protein and low in fat?
• Don’t let yourself get hangry/starving and make poor nutrition choices, if you are travelling far or over usual meal times, pack snacks.
• Running a half marathon is a mental mind game.

For more information or an individualized training or race nutrition plan, please get in touch with any Eat Smart Sports Dietitian here: http://www.eatsmartnutrition.com/clinichours.html

The Sports Dietitians Australia also has more information on ‘runners gut’ here: https://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/factsheets/fuelling-recovery/runners-gut/

3 o’clock-itis is often the time when we all go searching for something sweet. Though do you ever feel like something salty or savoury straight away? Or maybe the other way around, salty then sweet? Afternoon snacks don’t have to be extravagant, you only need a couple of basic pantry items. We have found the perfect combo of sweet and salty with these whole grain cracker toppings, which are sure to satisfy you.

The “Sweet” cracker:

1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter & thin slices of celery

The “Savoury” cracker:

1 slice of sharp cheddar cheese & slices of tomato with cracked pepper.

Why?

Dietary advice is all around us. It’s on the internet, in books, in commercial ads and on popular television weight-loss shows. But, despite having more access to this information than ever before, our waistlines continue to expand.

You don’t wait until all your teeth have rotted to see a dentist, so why wait until you have type-2 diabetes or are nutritionally unwell to go and see a dietitian for help?

Definition

“Accredited Practising Dietitians (APDs) are university-qualified professionals that undertake ongoing training and education programs to ensure that they are your most up-to-date and credible source of nutrition information. They translate scientific health and nutrition information into practical advice, and practise in line with Dietitians Association of Australia Professional Standards”

Dietitians are able to provide individually tailored nutritional advice to suit their clients needs and requirements as well as empower their clients to achieve healthy lifestyle changes long-term to achieve good health. We look at the whole picture, not just the food.

Dietitians know that losing weight is much more involved than calories in versus calories out.

In private practice consulting, is common to see clients who aren’t getting results because they may actually not be eating enough, or the timing and/or balance of their meals isn’t matched with their body’s requirements to help achieve optimal nutrition or sports performance. This is where a dietitian, or even a sports dietitian can help educate and manipulate your food choices regarding quality and quantity as well as timing and food environments to help achieve the best version of yourself in line with your goals and aspirations. Not one client is the same and after an initial nutritional consult an experienced dietitian will be able to underline what is holding you back from reaching your goals and then tailor advice to lead you in the right direction.

Again not one size fits all with this mode of delivering dietary advice and dietitians are able to be flexible in terms of deciding on a strategy to present such information. Some clients request a structured plan to help them decide exactly what to eat, others just want portion advice, help with meal planning or recipe ideas. Some do better with 3 simple goals to work on over the next few weeks or a more flexible plan to suit their lifestyle. One thing when consulting with a dietitian is to be clear in what you think may work better for you. If you know that you won’t follow a structure, then a structured meal plan may not work for you and that is fine.

Don’t wait any longer! Get the answers you’re after from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, considered an expert in the field of nutrition for health, weight management and disease prevention.