Eating the Australian Way
Australians are often divided into the haves, and the have-nots.
But they’re not continually talking about cash.
These days, it’s often the haves (too much body fat), versus the have-nots (not overweight).
We cannot seem to make up our minds whether to consume at McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks, and All-You-Can-Eat rapid food restaurants, or whether to grab a protein snack, a freshly-squeezed fruit juice with wheatgrass and go straight to the gym.
Women’s Magazines have the same trouble. A sample magazine from this month featured diet and exercise behaviors from 3 TV celebrities and movie personalities. Yet the back section of the magazine featured recipes such as luscious mocha fudge cake.
The incidence of obesity in Australia rose dramatically in the 90s – 80% for women. And through 20% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Our eating behaviors are often unbalanced.
Yet a trip to the local beach shows a large number of exceedingly fit bodies, often accompanied by personal trainers. maybe the rebellion has begun.
Australian authors are now liable for several internationally-known health and fitness books, such as the Sandra Cabot’s Liver Cleansing Diet, the CSIRO WellBeing Diet, and Jennie Brand-Miller’s New Glucose Revolution.
So let’s assume you’ve resolved to improve your health and fitness, upped your intake of raw fruit and vegies (for Liver Cleansing), are monitoring your intake of white breads and potatoes (for Glucose Revolution), and preparing a BBQ based around lean meat for dinner tonight (CSIRO diet).
A November 2005 announcement from Jennie Brand-Miller is good news for the traditional Ocker picture of throwing a shrimp on the barbie, while drinking a cold beer.
Apparently moderate alcohol intake has been relevant to a diminished risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The new study looked at the affect of beer, white wine and gin on a carbohydrate-based meal. The result was that the alcoholic drinks, in special the white wine, assisted to reduce the glucose and insulin response after the meal.
So if somebody criticises you for that pre-dinner drink this summer, just tell that you’re making an effort to stay away from diabetes. They may just pay for you another drink for being so thoughtful.
Cheers.
