News — Nutrition

A new meta-analysis of 17 observational studies, involving a total of 562,455 participants and 36,727 major cardiovascular “events” has found a significant connection between fried-food consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

The analysis, which was recently published in the Journal Heart, discovered that with every 114 weekly serving (that’s a medium McDonald’s fries), the risk of cardiovascular disease rose by 3%, 2% and 12%, respectively.

Compared with the participants who were consuming the lowest amount of weekly fried foods, the participants with the highest intake had a 28% heightened risk of major cardiovascular events, a 22% increased risk of coronary heart disease and a 37% increased risk of heart failure.

The problem with fried-foods

Frying means cooking food in hot fat, usually some kind of oil. This significantly increases the energy and fat content of the food, and generates harmful trans-fatty acids from the partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which are often used in restaurant deep fryers. A diet high in trans-fat has been known to increase your risk of heart disease and contribute to unhealthy cholesterol levels.

The process of frying also requires considerable high temperatures, which causes changes in the vitamin and antioxidant content of the food, and generates carcinogenic compounds, which have proven to be harmful to our health.

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is currently the leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for 16% of the world’s total deaths. The strength of current research and evidence highlights the importance of healthy dietary patterns and lifestyles for the prevention of CHD and stroke. A healthy balanced diet that contains no to minimal fried-foods will play an important role in the management of crucial risk factors of CHD such as diabetes, hypertension and excess weight. 

We promote a healthy balanced diet with our nutritious and wholesome ready-made meals. Our meals are rich in whole foods, nutrients, bioactive compounds and antioxidants. They contain low sodium, and no processed sugars, preservatives or additives. Our meals contain no processed or fried foods, and we use minimal oil in our cooking (typically extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil for our Asian dishes).

Find out more about us here.

References:

Pei Qin et al. Fried-food consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of observational studies. Heart, 2021; heartjnl-2020-317883 DOI: 10.1136/heartjnl-2020-317883

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness

If you’ve just started your low FODMAP journey and you think it sounds bland and uninteresting, think again! The truth is that you can still have delicious, varied and flavourful food while managing your digestive symptoms. There are so many amazing tummy-friendly flavours that you can use to give your dish an extra boost of deliciousness.

Let’s take a look at how to increase flavour on a low FODMAP diet:

1. Herbs (e.g. parsley, coriander, thyme, basil and rosemary) – most herbs are low FODMAP and you can use them fresh or dried. Chives are also great for adding a mild onion flavour to dishes.

2. Spices – single spices like cumin, coriander or turmeric are great. If you’re keen on spice mixes, watch out for onion and garlic powder in the ingredients list. Cinnamon is a great spice favourite to have on hand to add to smoothies or breakfast oatmeal. Asafoetida powder is an Indian spice that adds depth and an onion-garlic flavour to curries and stews (it’s especially great in vegetarian dishes and you only need a tiny pinch). Ginger (fresh or dried) is amazing to add to soups, sauces, stir fries or even oatmeal for a warming flavour hit.

3. Fennel bulb – adds flavour and replaces the texture of onion in soups or stews. Fennel bulb is FODMAP-friendly at ½ cup serves, and also contains lots of prebiotics for gut health. Win-Win!

4. Nutritional yeast flakes are an incredible pantry stable. Add to sauces, mix with popcorn or sprinkle on top of pasta for an added cheesy flavour. We love to use it in our homemade vegan pesto sauce, which we then mix through gluten free pasta with chicken, zucchini and sundried tomatoes for the ultimate low FODMAP dish full of flavour.

5. Spring onions (green part only). Top tip: place the white bulbs in a glass of water near a sunny window and the green leaves will grow back.

6. Fresh lemon or lime juice – a little squeeze of sourness can contribute to an incredible balance of flavours in a dish. We love to add a squeeze of lemon to our herb quinoa and serve it with our low FODMAP Roast Lamb with Aubergine and Tomatoes with a drizzle of Tahini Dressing.

7. Garlic-infused olive oil – because the fructans in onion and garlic are water-soluble and not oil-soluble, garlic-infused olive oil is a safe low FODMAP option for extra flavour and aroma. If you don’t have infused oil on hand, another option is to cook large chunks of onion/garlic in olive oil and then remove them. This gives you extra flavour without the FODMAP’s.

8. Miso paste (<2tbsp)

9. Soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce (max 2tbsp per dish)

10. Homemade salad dressing (e.g. with balsamic or olive oil)

11. Salt and pepper – only a small amount of salt is needed to bring out the flavour of food (if you have high blood pressure or need to limit sodium seek help from your health professional).

12. Maple syrup (real, not flavoured)

We hope this list has reassured you that you can still eat tasty foods even if you have food intolerances. In the Wholesomeness kitchen we pack our low FODMAP meals full of flavour, and bursting with super food ingredients. That’s why our low FODMAP meals are super popular among our customers. Check out our low FODMAP plan here.

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness

Author:
Lisa Cutforth
B.Sc Nutrition with Psychology (Dual Degree)
Consulting Clinical Nutritionist to The Banyans Wellness Retreat
Owner and Managing Director of Wholesomeness

For anyone working on health or weight loss goals, the beginning of a new holiday season can sometimes feel a little bit stressful. There’s usually lots of parties and socialising with friends and family, and decadent holiday foods play a huge part in the festivities.

The thought of the approaching holiday season can sometimes spark fear of overindulging or gaining weight, so we thought it would be beneficial to put together 3 healthy mindset changes that you can make this festive period, so that you can enjoy holiday eating, and have more time for celebration, family and friends.

One: Be flexible

Be flexible, aim for improvement, not perfection (especially during the holidays). Striving for perfection with the “all or nothing” mentality with no middle ground or compromise will let you down. Goals and intentions are amazing to set up, but make sure that they’re realistic and achievable. If you have made a plan for yourself for the holidays, make sure that it’s not going to make you feel restricted and deprived. Having realistic goals in place will make you feel more empowered around your food choices and you’ll be less likely to overindulge, compared to if you had set up rigid goals that were unattainable.

Take home: Create goals that you know you can achieve  

Two: Enjoy what you love (and leave the rest)

The holidays always involve amazing selections of delicious foods, from appetizers and cocktails to beautiful roasts, cookies and desserts. You know yourself better than anyone, so you know what foods you absolutely love and have been looking forward to all year. When you arrive at your holiday party, ask yourself “what would I enjoy here?” and then fill your plate with those things, and leave the rest. This will help to avoid the mindless “eat everything in the room” mentality, which is often prompted by strict expectations that you may have first put on yourself (not always, but often).

Take home: Take the time to choose the foods you want to enjoy

Three: Give yourself permission to enjoy

Holiday foods are known to be super indulgent and yummy, and are usually “special” unhealthy foods that we only eat on celebratory occasions. These foods have the purpose of bringing us pleasure, because they taste amazing and someone we love usually made the food for us. When we are eating food that is meant to bring us pleasure, it’s hard to receive that pleasure if we have feelings of guilt, or we’re checking ourselves out from the eating experience. Being present while eating and using our senses to smell, taste, chew and enjoy the food allows us to really receive the pleasure that the food is giving us. When we make pleasure the priority during eating, it becomes harder to overeat because we’re more in check with ourselves during the eating process (and overeating is also not very pleasurable!).

Take home: stay present with your food choices throughout the holiday season

We hope that you found this short list of holiday mindset-change tips helpful. As December creeps up on us remember to keep your health goals in mind, but stay mindful and stay open…maybe even let the holidays guide you a little bit! 

A very widely discussed topic in the world of grumpy guts is the Low FODMAP diet…but what exactly is the Low FODMAP diet? Read on to find out more about this evidence-based dietary strategy…

What are FODMAPs?

FODMAPs are a group of short-chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found naturally in foods and additives. FODMAPs include fructose, fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides, lactose and polyols. They have been linked to a variety of digestive issues common with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) such as gas, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, stomach pains and altered gut motility.

 The low FODMAP diet for IBS

The International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders has estimated that 10-15% of the world’s population suffers from IBS, with most people being under the age of 50. The condition can have a huge burden on quality of life, with symptoms being unpredictable, often causing unwanted disruptions to personal and professional activities.

As such the low FODMAP diet was created to help control symptoms of IBS, and it can also be used if you have been diagnosed with FODMAP intolerance. 

Working with a health professional, the low FODMAP dietary strategy usually involves a four phased response: clinical assessment, dietary assessment, education, followed by the reintroduction phase. The diet starts by restricting high FODMAP foods for 4-6 weeks, and ends by slowing re-introducing the high FODMAP foods. The end result is a diet that can be used long-term that is low in the individuals problematic FODMAPs.

What can you eat on a low FODMAP diet?

The types of foods that are restricted on a low FODMAP diet depends on the individual and that is why it is important to see a health professional to help you through the process.

High FODMAP foods include:

• Garlic
• Onions
• Wheat
• Some fruits – apples, apricots, cherries, figs, mangoes, nectarines, peaches
• Some vegetables – asparagus, cauliflower, leeks, mushrooms, snow peas
• Legumes and pulses
• Nuts: cashews, pistachios
• Sweeteners
• Other grains - amaranth, barley and rye
• Some dairy products – cream cheese, cottage cheese, milk, yoghurt
• Some beverages – chai tea, chamomile tea, coconut water, rum, desert wine

Food composition knowledge is key to managing this diet, that’s why we created our low FODMAP meal plan to make it easier to eat low FODMAP (no more meal planning, ingredient research, or cooking!). Our low FODMAP dishes are gentle on the stomach and are cooked with maximum nutrition with the aim of healing and promoting gut health (improved gut health helps to ease digestive symptoms AND helps to support immunity – win win!)

Some of our absolute favourite low FODMAP dishes include:

• Roast Lamb with Zucchini, Tomatoes, Lemon & Herb Quinoa and Gravy
• Roast Chicken with Mash Pumpkin, Green Beans and Savoury Jus
• Orange Spiced Chicken with Coconut and Carrot Rice
• Lentil Dahl with Lemon Spiced Rice, Green Beans & Tomato Chutney (also vegan!)