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Dietitian shares the best diet tips for radiant skin

Dietitian Rebecca Gawthorne has shared the best foods to include in your weekly shop to keep your skin looking healthy and radiant. The Sydney-based mum took to Instagram while she was walking through the supermarket aisles to explain what ingredients will help keep your skin clear. She starts by picking up avocados, olive oil, tinned salmon, nuts and hemp which all contain healthy fats. Rebecca explains that foods containing healthy fats, such as Omega-6 and Omega-3, help build blocks of cell membranes and prevent skin dryness to keep skin dewy and hydrated. They're also rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids which is important for radiance and can add softness to your complexion. She then says to pick up low GI foods, such as red lentils, rice, chickpeas and multigrain bread. Scientists believe that following a low GI (glycaemic index) diet may help to reduce acne and skin inflammation. Rebecca also advises to pick up antioxidant rich foods that are high in vitamin C including oranges, raspberries, kiwi, turmeric and broccoli. These foods will protect your skin against environmental factors and in turn fight signs of ageing and inflammation, as well as help the skin to correct damage from the sun. Next, Rebecca encourages to pick up foods that are high in zinc, such as black beans, pumpkin kernels, almonds and garlic. Zinc is especially important for people with oily skin as it with other vitamins and minerals to help treat skin lesions and can decrease the severity of acne. On top of all these food groups, Rebecca reminds viewers to keep up their water intake to promote clear and healthy skin. Image credits: Instagram

Beauty & Style

5 reasons why a dietitian doesn’t recommend paleo (and how to adapt it)

The paleo or stone age diet, heralded as an easy way to weight loss, has the nutrition world polarised. Half love it, while the other half say it’s a modern fabrication and does not replicate how our ancestors ate. Paleo cuts out any food that wasn’t available 10,000 years ago when organised agriculture began. This removes all grains, legumes (lentils, chick peas) and dairy plus anything else that came later, such as sugar and refined oils. Many researchers dispute the paleo diet, arguing that both humans and foods have evolved since our caveman days so what we ate then has little bearing on the modern food supply. Those bright orange carrots you now buy, for instance, aren’t the same as the thin ugly carrots of days long gone. And their colour is recent – originally all carrots were purple or yellow in colour. It's also important to note that the diet is not easy for vegetarians and almost impossible for vegans who rely on legumes and grains for their protein. Here’s 5 good reasons why I don’t believe a conventional paleo diet is right for the over 50s: 1. It’s not balanced. You need a little carb from whole grains and legumes to fend off hunger and tiredness. This is especially true if you exercise – and you must for weight loss and good health! 2. It can quickly deteriorate into a carb-free regime as you eat no rice, potato, bread or pasta. 3. It eliminates the main source of calcium (in dairy such as milk, cheese and yoghurt) which you need for strong bones as you get older. Unless fortified, almond or rice milks are low in calcium and not a true replacement. While the life span of a paleo person was only 25 years, we now live until our 80s, an age that makes us prone to osteoporosis. 4. It removes the main source of fibre (grains, legumes) which you need for gut health and regularity with age. Not forgetting the body needs whole grains, which have proven health benefits like the 20 to 30 per cent reduction they create in lowering the risk of early death, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers. 5. It relies too much on meat with its environmental problems. Any meat eaten should be fresh whole cuts like steak (which is expensive) and not processed such as sausages, bacon and ham, which are so popular. Don’t forget you’re not eating wild beasts but domesticated sheep and cows raised using mass production methods, even if grass-fed. What we can take from it On the plus side, paleo removes all packet and processed foods so you’re eating little added sugar (honey is ok), salt, refined oils or additives. You cook from scratch using whole foods. You eat a nutrient-rich diet from vegetables, meats, fish, chicken, nuts, seeds and fruits. Would paleo suit you? Paleo works well if you need to shed weight and if you: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Enjoy eating a higher protein intake from meat, chicken or fish</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t snack between meals</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Dine out a lot. Simply order steak or fish and salad but skip the mash or chips.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">How to make paleo more realistic and balance</li> </ul> 1. Add 2 serves of whole grains a day such as rolled oats, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, brown rice, pearl barley or grainy bread (dense chewy types, not the soft pappy square ones). Remember our early ancestors DID eat wild grasses such as the wild rice harvested by American Indians – but not huge quantities and no refined flours. This could be as: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">½ cup muesli or 1 bowl of porridge with added seeds AND</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">1 thick slice grainy toast OR</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">½ cup cooked quinoa or brown/black rice</li> </ul> 2. Add 2 serves of fermented dairy foods a day such as: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">1 150g tub yoghurt</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">1 200mL glass kefir (fermented milk)</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">a thick 40g wedge of cheese</li> </ul> 3. Add 1 serve of legumes a day such as <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">½ cup cooked beans or lentils OR</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">1 small 100g can of baked beans.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Bottom line</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Use the paleo diet as a starting point then add in these whole grains, fermented dairy and legumes. Paleo favours weight loss due to its high protein content which is very satisfying and may increase muscle mass. But don’t forget that long-term balance and enjoyment are important. Know what you can stick to for longer than a week.</li> </ul> Further reading: <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Dietitians Association of Australia: The low-down on Paleo</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">The University of Melbourne: Paleo diet: fab or fad?</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council: Grains and health</li> </ul> Written by Catherine Saxelby. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/health/nutrition/5-reasons-why-a-dietitian-doesn-t-recommend-paleo.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Beauty & Style

Should you go gluten-free? A dietitian weighs in

This decade has seen the rise of a new "food fiend" – gluten. With the jury out on fat, and sugar having solidified its place in the "Food Hall of Shame", gluten is the new food component to be villainised. But what exactly is gluten, why is it getting a bad rep and does the general public need to be worried about eating it? The World Health Organisation describes gluten as "the rubbery protein mass that remains when wheat dough is washed to remove starch". Gluten is present in wheat, rye, and barley and is used widely in food processing to give dough the desired baking properties, add flavours, and improve texture. It is naturally present in the make-up of these grains and is not an additive. There seem to be three different types of people who are avoiding gluten in our society: 1) those that have the diagnosed condition Coeliac disease, 2) those that perceive themselves to have Non Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) and 3) those people of the general public that, despite not having any health condition, have cut out gluten (often alongside other foods such as dairy etc.) on a path to purifying their diet. There is a danger here as each of these three groups of people have very different rationale and levels of gluten restriction. By grouping them all together, society risks treating those with Coeliac disease in the same way as those who just try to avoid gluten as much as possible, which can have serious consequences. Coeliac disease is a serious illness where the body's immune system attacks itself when gluten is eaten. This causes damage to the lining of the gut and means that the body cannot properly absorb nutrients from food. Coeliac disease is not a food allergy or intolerance, it is an autoimmune disease. Even traces or crumbs of gluten can lead to serious gastrointestinal symptoms, and long-term inclusion of gluten can lead to increased risk of multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis and infertility. NCGS on the other hand is a less well understood condition where the body experiences similar symptoms to Coeliac disease but does not make antibodies to gluten. It is still being debated whether the gastrointestinal symptoms are caused by gluten or by certain carbohydrates in food (called FODMAPs). This group of people do not have the same long-term health risk as those with coeliac disease and rarely need to restrict their gluten intake to the same degree. Finally, the "diet-purifying" group are making the choice to eliminate gluten, not due to immediate health risks, but for perceived benefits to their health in the future. It is important to remember that when we make the conscious decision to cut out certain foods, there can be implications to our nutrient intake. It has been noted that diets low in gluten also tend to be low in fibre intake, due to restrictions on wholegrain carbohydrates. Fibre has many known health benefits, such as heart health, maintaining a healthy bowel and controlling blood sugars. Switching to gluten-free can also be very expensive and can lead to some anxiety when socialising and eating out. Overall, most people have free choice over what they eat and going gluten-free is not harmful provided fibre and vitamin intakes are maintained by eating from other food groups, such as fruit and vegetables. To summarise, gluten is not a harmful food component for the general public and it is present in foods that contain fibre and nutrients which are actually beneficial to our body. However, for people with Coeliac disease, gluten must be strictly removed from the diet. Being aware of the differences will mean you can relate to and cater for all three groups appropriately, should you ever have to cook for them. Written by Niamh O'Sullivan. Republished with permission of <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz</a>.

Body

5 foods a dietitian would never eat

Dieting is difficult enough at the best of times, and sometimes when we think we're making healthy choices we're actually being our own worst enemies. In an interview with the Australian Women's Weekly Ashleigh Keep, an accredited practising dietitian, has shared the foods she would never touch. However, as Ms Keep notes, "It’s important to remember that no food should be labelled as ‘bad’, rather there are certain foods which should be eaten sparingly. This is due to their adverse effects on our health and wellbeing." So here are the five foods a dietitian would never touch! <ol> <li>Refined breakfast cereals – Ms Keep says, “Breakfast cereal, especially the refined kind, can often be high in GI due to their hidden sugars. Plus, they're high in sodium and preservatives. Due to their low protein and fibre content, consumption of refined cereals do not lead to satiety meaning we are likely to excessively snack later on.”</li> <li>Juice cleanse products – Ms Keep says, “Whilst some people claim that juice cleanses detox the body, this is not the case. It doesn’t help that these juices are often full of sugar and missing the filling fibre you get from eating whole fruits.”</li> <li>Products that use vegetable shortening – Ms Keep says, “Used in many pre-packaged products such as cakes and biscuits, vegetable shortening is sky-high in trans fatty acids. Trans fats increase our LDL ('bad') cholesterol and reduce our HDL ('good') cholesterol which may increase our risk of heart disease or stroke.”</li> <li>Frozen sugar drinks – Ms Keep says, “Drinks such as Frozen Cokes and Slurpees can often contain in excess of 21 teaspoons of sugar, which is equivalent to 3 cans of coke. We now know there is a clear link between drinking soft drinks regularly and weight gain and obesity, and of course, being overweight or obese can lead to a myriad of chronic health problems. This includes type 2 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, some cancers and poor dental health.”</li> <li>Processed canned meats – Ms Keep says, “Yes Spam, I’m talking about you. Processed meat with minimal protein, excess sodium, saturated fat and preservatives? No thanks!”</li> </ol> Source: Australian Women's Weekly Related links: <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2016/03/herbal-teas-to-relax-aches-and-pains/">5 herbal teas to relax aches and pains</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2016/02/is-coconut-water-good-for-you/">Is coconut water really good for you?</a> <a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/health/body/2016/02/nutrients-that-ease-arthritis-symptoms/">Easy symptoms of arthritis with these 3 nutrients</a>

Body

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