Ham & cheese toastie a winner in your household? School canteens in Western Australia have new restrictions in place which limit ham. Tune in to hear what’s changed and the evidence behind it. 

We cover:

• New school canteen guidelines in Western Australia - why guidelines exist and what’s changed? 
• Key challenges that arise when creating nutrition guidelines around foods and drinks
• What is the evidence behind the restriction on ham?
• If choosing ham, how do you go about choosing a better one? 
• What are some alternatives to ham? 
• What about processed turkey or chicken slices? 

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“Western Australia changed the guidelines that they provide to their schools. It refines where each food was categorised in terms of the traffic light system. Ham was one that was moved from being an amber food to a red food. Red meaning it can’t be on the menu. There was a small catch, canteens could still sell ham for only two days per week if it was already on the menu before they made this change to the guidelines.”

“This had some parents reportedly concerned, confused or frustrated about what that may mean their children would have access to at school.”

“The change in WA was a change to the guidelines overall, it wasn’t a change just to single out ham. Where we have seen the implication the most is with ham. A challenge we have is staying up with scientific evidence on what is good food to eat, but we’re able to communicate that with schools and often volunteers who are supporting school canteens to run, in a way that is going to support them and not hinder them or create additional problems.”

References
https://theconversation.com/why-ban-ham-from-school-canteens-and-what-are-some-healthier-alternatives-for-kids-lunches-223341

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It’s Pulse Week in February! In this episode we are joined by Theresa Pham, Nutrition Manager of the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council. We are sharing the benefits of pulses/legumes and helping you find them in the supermarket!

We cover:

• The benefits of pulses/legumes (in other words, beans & peas!)
• What legumes are in the supermarket and where to find them
• Why there has been a 12% increase in legumes in the supermarket the past two years
• The most popular legumes 
• What nutrition and health claims are used on legumes
• The highest fibre and highest protein legumes 
• Theresa’s favourite ways to cook and eat legumes
• GLNC’s position on the Australian Dietary Guideline review and how plant proteins should be positioned

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“Soluble fibre, resistant starch, insoluble fibre which has many benefits to gut health and as we know good gut health helps reduce the risk of chronic disease.” 

“Australians are only consuming about 19g of legumes each day, which is significantly lower than the recommendations which is half a cup (75g). We are only having about one quarter of the recommendations.” 

“Based on our audit that we collected, we found that borlotti beans have the highest fibre content followed by navy beans.”

GLNC Recipe Book!
https://www.glnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Love-your-Legumes-Recipe-Book.pdf

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Feeling uninspired about using the canned chickpeas in the cupboard? After listening to this episode you will know why you need to start eating more chickpeas and other legumes and how to go about it. 

We cover: 

• What are plant proteins? 
• What are legumes and pulses?
• How many legumes should we be consuming? 
• Nutrition and health benefits of legumes 
• Cost & environmental benefits of legumes 
• Easy ways to add legumes to your snacks and meals
• Teri’s opinion on how plant proteins should be positioned in the dietary guidelines 

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“If you’re not having an animal protein in your meal, really you need to be having one cup of legumes. This would be assuming you are having no other protein sources which is not what the typical Australian is doing.”

“When I use dried legumes I don’t even measure. I rinse them, pour them into a bowl, cover it with water and leave it overnight. It takes less than 30 seconds to set this up and they are ready the next day.”

“Studies have shown that one meat-free meal per week could save $40 per month off your grocery bill.”

References
Plant protein & health benefits (Norde et al. 2021; Morze et al. 2021; Trauchburg et al. 2023; Liu et al. 2020; Govindaraju et al. 2018; Gauci et al. 2022; Denova-Gutierrez et al. 2018; Pastore et al. 2022; English et al. 2021; Koutras et al. 2022; Bhandari et al. 2023; Zeraattalab-Motlagh et al. 2022; Eslami et al. 2020; Ramezani-Jolfaie et al. 2019; Pameijer et al. 2022)

Cost savings of one meat-free meal a week https://www.canstarblue.com.au/groceries/average-meat-cost/

Environmental benefits of plant-based diets
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9024616/

GLNC Recipe Book!
https://www.glnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Love-your-Legumes-Recipe-Book.pdf

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Rosemary is a stand-out Australian nutritionist and dietitian whose work has been acknowledged with an Order of Australia award. The Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADGs) are Australia’s leading public health nutrition resource. Every few years (when there is funding) the ADGs are reviewed and updated. Join us as Rosemary weighs in on the current ADG review. 

We cover: 

• Promotion of the DGs 
• Sustainability 
• International DGs 
• Expert Committee & Governance Committee 
• The “very high priorities” of the current review
• The need for the DGs to be practical 
• Stakeholder engagement
• Animal protein vs plant protein
• Plus more

Please refer to the up_statuss website for the NHMRC written responses. 

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Amanda Brien takes us through the  nutrition highlights of the latest season of Eat Well For Less NZ. 

Coffee drink sachets what is actually in them? Are 98% sugar free ones better? 

How to create an after school/work snack

Where people go wrong with meal planning

One legume dish that every Kiwi & Aussie should know about 

Amanda's take on food prices in NZ 

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In this episode we look at how to avoid weight gain during the holiday period, without any loss of joy. Joy is a non-negotiable during the silly season right?!

We discuss a 2023 study which looked 375 Australian adults who weighed themselves across an entire year. This study was the first to look at changes in weight across a full calendar year in a southern hemisphere country!

We cover:
- Annual weight changes
- When weight changes occur across the year - festive periods, weekly fluctuations, seasonal variation
- 4 key areas to think about during festive periods
- Why a little bit of nutrition defence could go a long way

One-liners you don't want to miss:

“The study found that weight gain was prominent during the festive seasons, so in Easter we are having chocolate eggs and hot cross buns and slapping that butter on there, the average weight gain here was 244g.”
 
“In this particular study, 1/4 of participants finished the year 2% heavier than when they started which was an average increase of 1.7kg.”

“So now what….is it about now worrying about weight gain this festive season. No, this is the time of year you can sit back relax and enjoy time with your loved ones after a big old year. What I’ve got are 4 key areas you can think about... "

“If you don’t start doing a little bit of nutrition defence during the festive seasons the weight gain may very well catch up on you.”


Reference
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/article-abstract/2807660

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Throughout Whole Grain Week in November questions came in about grain food products that are found on supermarket shelves. Thanks to those who sent them through! 

We take a look at:

- Abe's Supergrain Bagel
- Vogel's Original Mixed Grain Toast
- Weet-Bix Bites Berry

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An episode for the Aussie listeners, brought to you by The Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council in celebration of Whole Grain Week in November. 

Australian Native Grains are re-emerging and Jacob Birch (an academic & entrepreneur) is here to tell us where the opportunity lies. 

We cover:

• The nutritional composition of Australian Native Grains
• Who benefits from popularising the health benefits of native foods
• Breeding for commercial viability at the cost of nutrition
• Nutritional quality of food grown in degraded landscapes
• The vision for Australian Native Grains
• Indigenous principles of reciprocity, relationality, respect & responsibility in relation to food and health

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“Grain comes from grass whether it’s wheat, rice, barley, corn they are all in the grass family. We have 1100+ native species of grass and quite a few of those have been used in the past by First Nations People in a similar way that you would use grains anywhere else in the world.”

“Protein levels equivalent to what you get in chicken breast.”

“Our natives take a lot of extra processing to get the grain out of the husk. We need to showcase how to do that on a commercially viable scale.”

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It’s Whole Grain Week in November! In this episode we are joined by Kathy La Maccia, General Manager of the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council. We are going against the grain and busting 5 top myths about grain foods. 

We cover:

• Myth: Eliminating carbs is the key to weight loss
• Myth: Grains cause bloating
• Myth: Grains cause inflammation
• Myth: Grains cause blood sugar levels to spike
• Myth: Those with coeliac disease can’t eat whole grains

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“People can see sudden weight loss shifting into a low carb diet because carbs do cause the body to store extra water. So the sudden weight loss is essentially the water weight loss.”

“When you have refined grains they definitely do increase some inflammatory markers, but that is the complete opposite to what whole grains do.” 

“If you are having a refined grain like white flour or white bread, they do have a much higher and faster peak in blood sugar levels. What we are talking about are whole grains - which are full of fibre which actually help to maintain a more steady blood sugar level.”

References 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6627338/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18005489/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9777732/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2821887/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537883/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24158434/

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The Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council’s Whole Grain Week is here! We’re bringing you Ali Baldwin, the Nutritionist at Arnott’s, to answer your top questions about Vita-Weat. 

Your top questions:

• Are Vita-Weat good for you? 
• What does 100% whole grains mean?
• What’s the Health Star Rating of Vita-Weat?
• Are Vita-Weat plant-based?
• How do Vita-Weat support digestive wellbeing?
• Are Vita-Weat high in carbs?
• + plus more!

One-liners you don’t want to miss:

“This little crispbread packs a whole grain punch, they are made with 100% whole grains and those whole grains deliver a natural source of fibre which helps support your gut. It also provides a natural source of vitamin B3 which is an essential B vitamin which helps you unlock your energy for the day.”

“A chocolate coated Vita-Weat is surprisingly good.” :p

“Vita-Weat is made from 100% whole grain and that means that all of the grain used to make Vita-Weat is a whole grain and comes from a whole grain. 

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