Our new look website

Our website has udergone a major transformation to make it easier for you to find the information you need.
We hope you enjoy our new look website.

Find out how to IMPROVE YOUR DIET by doing our on-line course module on
"Healthy Eating Tips" for $29.95 (as part of 2004 annual subscription). Subscribers also get:
- access to the on-line book "Food Facts" on CD-rom by Professor Wahlqvist
- member discounts for all our on-line healthy eating course modules More.....

HEC short on-line Healthy Eating course ( 5 modules, $195) More ....
The HEC website is the only website currently offering on-line reputable course modules for the general public in nutrition.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

June 2004 issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition

The June 2004 issue has an interesting study on legumes and longevity - legumes proved to be the most important food contributing to longevity in a large sample of elderly people (n=785) from Japan, Greece, Sweden and Australia. Click here to read abstract

If you wish to receive a hard copy of the journal, annual subscription is only AU$135 (inc. GST); for on-line access only subscription is AU$120 (inc. GST) - more...

______________________________________________________________________________________________

WHAT'S NEW IN NUTRITION RESEARCH

High fat high carbohydrate fast food linked to "inflammation"

More and more diseases like heart disease, stroke and cancer are being linked to "Inflammation".

Ordinarily, inflammation is triggered by our immune system to protect the body from viruses, bacteria and physical injury like cuts. When we have an injury or irritation the body sends disease fighting white blood cells to the site by increasing the blood supply to the area resulting in redness, heat and swelling. The white blood cells enter the tissue to prevent the spread of infection by destroying bacteria/viruses and cellular debris. During this process, the tissue is also damaged and then repaired - however, the repair may not be 100%, especially in blood vessels where there has been extensive inflammation. Scientists have known for the past decade that inflammation is linked to heart disease. Inflammation associated with damaged blood vessels (due to smoking, hypertension, fatty plaques/atherosclerosis) can cause vessels to swell and narrow increasing the risk for heart attack and stroke.
A study published in the April 2004 issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Aljada et al) found that eating a
900 kcal breakfast of Egg McMuffin and Hash Browns flooded the bloodstream with undesirable inflammatory more

Australian children ranked 6 "fatty" foods as their favourite foods

More than half of Australian adults and one quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese with obesity
related deaths in Victoria being four times higher than Victoria's road toll. The Australian government is under pressure from the World Health Organisation to address its weight crisis.

Roy Morgan Research in Australia asked 1853 children aged 6-13 to name their favourite foods. This is what they found: 1) 90% chose hot chips; 2) 87% pizza; 3) 81% fish and chips; 4) 80% chicken nuggets; 5) 75% barbecue chicken; 6) 74% pies, pasties, hamburgers. The biggest problem with these "fatty" foods is the quality of the fat they are cooked in - which tends to be high in artery clogging saturated fat. Some fast food restaurants, like McDonalds, are switching to a healthier unsaturated frying fat containing canola oil. However, many smaller take away shops use a highly saturated vegetable fat which can also be high in the atherogenic trans fatty acids more....

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

NUTRITION RESOURCES ON THE WEB

Rainbow food
Naturally colourful food tends to also contain plentiful nutrients and antioxidant phytochemicals (see our article). Denise Greenaway, a psychologist who has had extensive experience in working with young people who have eating disorders,has taken advantage of this fact to create The Rainbow Food - Eating by Colour® program which aims to increase the variety of healthy food consumed by children. This program has already been implemented in 9 preschool centres in Australia targetting 929 families as well as some primary schools. The results were very positive - the variety of foods consumed, primarily of plant origin, improved by up to 300%.
Her program is a fun, culture free program, suitable for ages 2-12 and delivered by means of an inspiring activity workbook of the same name. The workbook is designed to invite family participation in the program. A video for teachers inspires developmentally appropriate activities, relevant to various educational settings.
For more information see: http://www.rainbowfood.com.au

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this newsletter, then tell a friend